Yesterday was the open house for our new church building. There were a lot of people who came, including our neighbors who accepted our invitation to come and check it out. Angela and the Stake Relief Society had a room where they talked about what the women’s organization does and there was a lot of interest and questions asked.
Today we had church in our new building for the first time. It was great!
Today we unpacked all of the furniture, artwork, and all the accessories for the new church building and set everything up. There was a LOT to do, but there were a whole bunch of people there to help so it went pretty fast. Sunday is our first Sunday in the building and we’re excited!
Tonight we had the orchestra feeder concert for Brittany. All the elementary schools and middle school were there to perform. They all did a great job! It still amazes me the difference between elementary and high school after those years of work and practice!
We also had a kick-off meeting with the City of Castle rock for basketball for Zach. We learned the ins and outs of the league and are excited for him to play. He will hopefully be on a team with a couple of his good friends.
Today, we all went over to clean our brand new church building to get it ready to open! There was a LOT of construction dust and grit all over. We got really dirty but the church looked really good when we were done! 
As you can see, Ben had a lot of fun too! We’re excited for this new building. It’s really nice and it has the new building smell to it.
Tonight we had trunk-or-treat at the church and had a great time! There were a few Captain America costumes there, and one of Ben’s good friends dressed up like that as well!
There was a pumpkin carving contest tonight as well. Zach came up with this crazy idea of having the “Halliday Haunted Hotel” which lots of people loved! It took a long time for us to put together, but we got it done and brought it over. The funny thing was that it WON FIRST PLACE! Zach got to go up to the front and get his prize which was a huge tub of cheese balls!
We had a great time with the boys there (the girls couldn’t make it due to a football game and marching band). Trunk-or-treating here in CO is much different than out in Naperville. There was one family who actually had a farmer in the dell theme and had a farm in the back of their SUV… live chickens and everything! It was really funny.
We had to leave a little bit early because tonight was senior night at the game and they recognized all the seniors, both football and band. It wasn’t like the senior night that we had at Metea, where they have each person recognized in front of everyone with his or her parents, but they do recognize the senior by name and applaud for them.
GREAT JOB Brittany! You are awesome! The performance by the Marching Band sounded wonderful tonight! We all thought it was one of the best we had heard!
Yesterday Brittany and Kirstyn had MB competition. It was cold and windy! They sounded really good but were the first ones to go when it was so cold. They placed next to last of 12 bands. Band director obviously not happy, but they learned a lot. All of us parents thought they sounded awesome!
Mom and Hobbs are here as well and it’s great to have them staying with us! General Conference was this weekend as well and Dad got to come to Priesthood Session with me. Even though it was broadcast on BYU TV this year, we still went to the church.
Homecoming for Thunderridge High School was last night and Brittany went with Taylor. She looked really pretty. I’m trying to find a picture but since it wasn’t here, we didn’t get any. She had a blast and when she came home, she talked and talked, and talked! Those two are becoming closer and are almost at boyfriend/girlfriend status, although Angela and I keep saying their just friends.
Today we watched General Conference together and between sessions, we took a leisurely stroll up Castle Rock with Mom and Dad. It was a gorgeous day and it was nice to get out and get some fresh air. Brittany was a really tired from the late night last night (and a tad grumpy because of it) so she slept in the van and missed out. 
We came back, watched the second session of Conference, and then had a yummy grilled meal out on our newly poured patio! The rock and sod and fence are not in yet, but things are looking good! This week they should finish up!
Today Brittany received her Patriarchal Blessing! She has been looking forward to and preparing for this for quite some time and was totally ready. We went to Patriarch Graves’ home and met with him for a wonderful chat before the blessing as well. The blessing was wonderful and very inspired. Brittany was very touched and has a lot of things to think about. She’s excited to get the printed version of this in about a week so she can read and study it often.
We’re so proud of you Brittany for taking this great step in your life and know that this will help you throughout your life no matter what challenges may come! We love you!
Seminary started today for the girls! They were super-excited to be going! This is Brittany’s last year, and Kirstyn’s first. They’ll be studying the Book of Mormon which will be wonderful! They have great teachers and I’m sure they’ll have a wonderful year! We’re proud of your commitment to Seminary, girls! Study hard!
Yesterday afternoon we packed up and went on our first family camping trip in Colorado! We were very excited to get out and into nature. The place we picked is called Devil’s head and is pretty close to us. It’s MUCH better than a forest preserve with a mowed lawn! It is a beautiful area. There are campsites there and the trailhead to the Devil’s Head Fire Lookout, which is actually in use!
When we got there, we put up camp, built a fire, and ate dinner. Then the boys went exploring. We had a great time relaxing and enjoying the beautiful night. At first it looked like it would rain a bit (typical afternoon), but then it cleared up and the night was beautiful and perfect for camping.
After dinner we made s’mores and the girls used Oreos instead of graham crackers. They coined the term S’moreos!
This morning we got up early and went the boys, Angela and I went on the hike up to the top of Devil’s Head. Kirstyn twisted her ankle last night and wasn’t feeling too much like walking, so Brittany volunteered to stay behind with her and sleep. The hike was absolutely amazing and we got some GREAT pictures!
When we got to the top, there are about 230+ stairs that you climb up into thin air to get to the lookout post that is situated on the top of the rocks. There is a ranger house up there that is occupied by rotating shifts of forest service personnel.
We could have spent a long time up there taking in the views, but we had a baptism to get to so we had to hurry back down the trail to the car, pack up everything and get home to shower the smoke from the fire off of us. The baptismal service (Kelsey Fradin in our ward) was nice and we went over to their home afterward and hung out, ate some food, and chatted with extended family members. It was great getting to know them better!
Today, I left really early from home and went and picked up the girls from camp. They had a GREAT time and absolutely loved it! The bear thing wasn’t a big deal, although one was spotted, and sleeping in tents was a lot of fun for them. Brittany was a Youth Camp Leader (YCL) this year like she was last year. This was her last year of camp, and it was both exciting and sad for her at the same time.
I helped them pack everything up and then helped our ward pack up and we came home. The girls were exhausted and after the mandatory shower and unpack/cleanup, they went to sleep and slept most of the day.
Good to have them back home!
Happy Pioneer Day everyone! We didn’t do anything special today… Just hung out and missed the girls who are at camp.
Brittany and Kirstyn left today for girl’s camp! They were a bit nervous because they had never had an experience at girl’s camp like this one would be! Instead of staying in A/C cabins and eating in a A/C lodge, everything was outdoors, and they slept in tents the whole week! They also had bear whistles and bear patrols to keep the kids safe! In IL, the most dangerous thing you could run into was a skunk. We’ll see how they do!
EFY ended today and the girls were really bummed! They made a TON of new friends and absolutely loved the program! At first, they weren’t sure that they would (not being able to stay on a campus and all that goes with that), but they were proven wrong big time! Kirstyn can’t wait to do that program again next year! We love sending the kids to EFY because they end the week on such a high spiritual note they are so pleasant to be around!
