Mesa Temple Lights

Saturday night, we went to see the Christmas lights at the Mesa, Az Temple. Of course, the whole family loved it!

Brad's piano recital

This is Bradley's 2nd year of piano lessons. He's doing so great! His teacher always sends home praises. He did a wonderful job at his piano recital last weekend. He played 2 songs, "The Indians are coming" and "A Quiet Pool."
(I'm very impressed that he can use both hands!)

This is Brad and his teacher, Sister Porter

Annual McBride Family Halloween Party

The McBrides do a family Halloween party every year. I think this is our 5th year! We love getting together to show of the kid's costumes.

We made candied apples



It's a tradition to play this game. The kids love it! Eating a donut on a string with no hands! A family favorite.



We bobbed for apples



(Jack wouldn't try it)

Happy Halloween!

Scott and Brad take on Aravaipa

My boys, ready to go!

Brad with his pack, I'm guessing it weighed close to 20 lbs.


Brad and his cousin, Trevor, also one of his best friends


Here's where they slept, remember, they had to carry everything

A lot of the hike was walking through water as deep as 2-3 feet.

Taking a break

Hiking through the water

At first, the boys thought hiking through water was fun! Until they got tired and realized it was hard work!


Brad holding a frog the boys found

Here's a close up of the frog. Cute.

In this next picture, you can see they had no dry land to walk on, they had to walk through the water!

We were so proud of Brad for completing this hike. It wasn't easy, but he was a trooper and did it without complaining! He can't wait to go again!!!

Principal's List

I was so happy to find out that both boys made Principal's List this quarter! It means there grade-point average was 3.8 or above. I couldn't be more proud of them!!!When Jared received his award, I got tears in my eyes. We thought he would struggle with school, but we were wrong. He's catching on and loving it! (of course there are pictures)

Brad with his award

Brad, standing with the other 3rd graders

Jared with his award

Jared, standing with the other Kindergartners

Fall Break

The boys had a week off from school this past week for fall break. We went to the park, had a friend over, but mostly played around the house.
But on Friday, I took the boys to the Children's Museum of Phoenix. We had never been before, and waited in front of the library for an hour before it opened to get the Culture Pass. It was worth it. We had a blast. I love that my boys are big enough that I didn't have to bring a stroller. I'd planned to stay the morning, but we ended up staying all day.
There are a lot of pictures, mostly for Grandma.