Thanksgiving and My Birthday

On Thanksgiving morning Ryan was invited to go shooting with some friends from the ward. He just had to go and he really enjoyed himself. Now he wants to buy lots of guns and go shooting all the time.

We went to my parent's house for a delicious Thanksgiving meal. We had a small crowd this year since most people were out of town but we still had a great time.
That weekend was also my birthday and Ryan and the girls spoiled me. They got me lots of great gifts including the second best gift I have ever been given (my engagement ring is number 1). Ryan had taken my Mita's (grandmother) jewelry stand that I had inherited when she passed away in January to get refurbished. It was falling apart and would not have been able to stand much longer if it wasn't fixed. This jewelry stand means so much to me. I use to play with it when I was a kid and I would go visit my Mita and Papa. She had a bunch of costume jewelry she kept in it and we would dress up and have a great time. Her father had given it to her as a present back in 1931. He bought it in a small village just outside of Paris (my Mita is from Switzerland). It is something I will cherish forever and look forward to passing it down to one of my daughters.
I had a great birthday and am so grateful for my family who made it so wonderful.

Oceanography

The 5th grade students at Peyton's school have the option of going on the Oceanography trip to San Diego. Peyton wanted to go so badly but it was expensive and I didn't want her to go without a parent. So Ryan's mom generously offered to help pay for Peyton to go so her hopes wouldn't be dashed. I was the chosen parent to accompany her so we set off on an 8 hour bus ride to San Diego. It was a very long ride especially being pregnant and not having a lot of leg room to stretch out but we made it there around midnight. The next day we got up very early and took the bus to the marina for a 3 hour boat ride. Here is the only picture I am in during the trip and of course we took it ourselves.

The boat ride was very educational and luckily I didn't get motion sickness. Peyton was able to help pull up the net that was dropped to see what sea creatures were at the bottom of the ocean.
We saw lots of dolphins swimming in the ocean and that was Peyton's favorite part. It is amazing watching them swim in their natural habitat.
We also saw lots of sea lions.
Later that day we went to Sea World to learn about sea animals and to ride on Journey to Atlantis.
Of course we went to the Shamu show and I made Peyton wear a poncho so she wouldn't get soaking wet if we got splashed. We really lucked out and everyone to the left of us got soaked and I didn't even get a drop on me.
The next day we went to the Scripps Aquarium. Here is a statue that is out in front. It was huge and amazing.
Here is Peyton's group getting eaten by a shark.
The beautiful view of the ocean we had at the aquarium.
Peyton learned about lots of animals and even got to touch a few. Here she is touching a star fish.
We left to go back home after the aquarium and luckily the drive back didn't take as long and wasn't as terrible because I got a whole row to myself. Peyton had a great time and was so grateful she got to go. Thanks Grandma Ferrell for making it possible.

Halloween

The girls had a great time celebrating Halloween this year. Peyton dressed up like Crest toothpaste (it was a costume we found in the storage area at his parent's house), Hailey was a witch, and so was Alexis.

We were able to go trick-or-treating with Christin and Becky's family this year. My parents even joined us for the fun. It was a perfect night to spend walking around outside.

October Break

We love going to Utah for October Break and this year we decided to go again. It worked out that it was BYU's Homecoming game during that first weekend so we were lucky to enjoy the festivities. The first thing was the Homecoming parade. It was absolutely freezing that morning especially for us since we live in Arizona and it was hot when we left there. But we still braved the weather to enjoy the parade. Michelle and Drew came down from South Jordan to join us and we had a great time watching with them.

Alexis loves the marching band and was so excited to see it up close.
She even got to pet a llama that was walking in the parade.
That night we went to the tailgate party and the kids had a great time walking around and doing some of the activities. Here they are on the back of a fire truck.
Alexis got her face painted with a cougar paw. We didn't actually go to the game but we watched it on the tv and enjoyed spending time with Andrew and Rachael.
Of course any trip to Utah would not be complete without going bowling at BYU.
We were lucky to get to spend some time with some of our friends in Utah. We got together and went to a fun bounce place with Stacey and Beth. This is the only picture I took because I was too busy talking and having fun.
We also met up with the triplets again and enjoyed playing at the park and going to Cameron's football practice.
We spent lots of time walking up to BYU's campus. We love being so close to campus that we can walk up there every day.
We even spent some time running around the outdoor track. The girls loved having races.
Peyton was nice enough to give Lexi a piggy back ride when she started getting tired.
After racing around the track the girls just had to get some Dairy Queen.
Another favorite of ours is the Earth Science Museum (or as we call it the Dinosaur museum). Andrew and his family joined us along with Rachael.
Here are the girls with their cousin Drew at the Cougar.
A fun pose with Aunt Rachael.
We also went to some Halloween Festival that was super fun. There were tons of witches all around and lots of people dressed up as witches.
We can't wait to go back and visit Utah again this summer.

School Pictures

The girls looked super cute for school pictures. I just had to show them off.

Peyton's 10th Birthday

Peyton turned 10 years old on August 22nd. I can't believe I have a daughter who is in double digits now (I must be getting old!). She woke up to breakfast in bed. She chose to have crepes with strawberries and whipped cream. YUM!

She opened her presents before she went to school because she just couldn't wait. She got lots of stuff for her American girl doll and loved all of it.
Here she is with her 2 favorite sisters.
We invited my family over that night for brownies and ice-cream. Peyton's cousin Summer had just celebrated her 14th birthday 3 days before so we included her in the celebration.
The one thing Peyton really wanted to do for her birthday was have a party with her cousins Makenna and Aurora. Aurora lives in California but was able to come because it was the same weekend as the Ferrell Grandparent's going away party. It worked out perfectly.
First they went and got pizza.
Then they went ice skating. They had so much fun skating together.
After ice skating they went to frozen yogurt. It was great seeing them spending time together and enjoying every minute of it.
Peyton had a fabulous birthday and loved all of her celebrations.

The Ferrell's Are off to China (Again!)

Ryan's parents decided they hadn't gotten their fill of China the first time they went so they signed up to go again. They left in August and we had a going away party for them. All of their children were able to be there except for Tyler and his wife AnnaMarie. We enjoyed a delicious meal in a private room that allowed us to talk and enjoy one last time together for a year. We sure miss them.