Some Serious Catching Up ... Part Two

Here it is, as promised.

Annalyce’s 10th Birthday

Can you believe Annalyce is 10? We can’t either! We celebrate with a yummy dinner; BBQ ribs, mashed potatoes, cauliflower, and followed that up with cream cheese pie (a Leuck tradition). Annalyce was so excited to receive earrings (and ear piercing), a friendship bracelet kit, a Justin Bieber CD, Aqua Sand, coloring stuff, a new sweatshirt, and money to spend on whatever her little heart desires.

Family Pictures

It finally happened; we finally had a new family picture taken. I have wanted a new picture for so long, but we haven’t made it a priority. It’s sad to admit that our last picture was taken when Peyton was only a few months old. Of course we have a lot of candid shots together, but nothing that I’ve wanted blow up and put on my wall. I am so grateful to my friend, Stephanie, who took these shots. Thank you, thank you, and thank you. You’re an angel!


Halloween

The girls had a lot of fun for Halloween this year. Macie, Erika’s daughter, came to stay for the weekend. We carved pumpkins together and went trick-or-treating.

After going to several different stores, we were able to pull together Annalyce’s 80s costume. I think she turned out pretty cute! Peyton’s costume was simple since she wanted to be a horse and that’s what she was three years ago. I just had to make a couple of modifications to the costume and it was perfect. She even won an award at school for one of the most creative costumes!





Pumpkin Patch

We took the girls to The Red Barn for Family Home Evening. It was a lot of fun! We took a hayride to the pumpkin patch and the girls ran around until they found the perfect pumpkin. Then they ran through the maze (made of apple bins) several times. We went back to the barn and got a special treat and some apple cider and headed for home.



Canning

I did some canning for the first time since I was a kid and helped my father with our homemade pickles (oh how I miss them). One of the great women in our ward helped me with the applesauce (I didn’t have all the tools or expertise) then I canned apple butter and apple pie filling. Next year I think I’ll try my hand at some peaches and pears. Maybe I’ll even try some meats, chili, stew, etc. over the next few months as I find great deals on groceries. I am so grateful to my dad for bringing me a 16 quart pressure canner to be able to preserve food for my family. It’s very satisfying seeking the jars in our pantry and knowing I tried something new that my husband and girls will enjoy. At the Black Friday sales I found myself a Victorio strainer (the tool we used for making the applesauce) and I am so excited to try it on my own next year!!

Suzuki Celebration

The girls participated in a Suzuki Celebration concert in October at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City. It was a great tribute to Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, a pioneer in music education. Though we endured a month of complaining (because the girls had a lot of practicing), it was absolutely worth it! The music was beautiful and there were over 2,000 violinists in addition to musicians playing the viola, cello, guitar, flute, vocal, bass, piano, and harp.

It was Peyton’s first performance and just before her turn to perform she said to me, “I’m a little nervous Mom.” She did great! She absolutely loves playing her violin and playing her songs for everyone, including her friends that come to play. We haven’t had any trouble getting her to practice since the concert.