We are excited to see family for Thanksgiving! 3 more days!

Yesterday we were all in the car. About the time that we turned onto our street, Addy and Jack started fighting. Evelyn asked- "Why are you guys fighting?" Addy responded very matter-of-factly- "Oh, because we are almost home!"

I love our children.

On Friday it was a cold day- it even snowed a little bit. I went outside with the kids to play and Addy got cold. Evelyn took off her coat and gave it to her. I asked Evelyn if she was going to be cold, and she said, "Yes, but I will help Addy how to be happy."

I love our children.

I am often asked if I have kids. When I answer that I have four, and tell people their ages, I am often met with a look of shock. Mostly, this look is because I look pretty young to have four kids, but at least part of it is usually because our kids are so close in age. Occasionally someone will make a smart comment like "you know how that happens, right..heh, heh."

Right. And then I usually respond by telling them how wonderful it is having our kids close in age. I mean it. My kids aren't just siblings. They are truly best friends. They play together. They fight with each other. They learn about things together. It is so fun to watch them interact that I can't help but feel bad for brothers and sisters who are years and years apart. It would be so lonely!

Anyway- back to our week. As I mentioned (I think) in another blog, Rachel and I recently got cross-country skis. Yesterday we went to Farragut State Park which is a mere 20 minute drive. Surprisingly, we haven't spent a lot of time at this place, and the purpose of our visit was mostly exploratory. Well, I am so glad that we went. I think Rachel and I will spend a lot of time here this Winter (and Spring, and Summer, and Fall). There are almost 50 miles of trails here, and most of them are groomed for skiing. There are several warming huts, as well as cabins that you can ski into to spend the night. And it is all so close that it would be easy to drop off kids for a couple of hours and go there for a Friday or Saturday date together. We are excited.

Well, here are some long-overdue pictures of Halloween. We hope you all have a great week!

It is 5:00 in the morning and I'm not totally awake yet, but I had to post something. Prepare yourself for a scattering of thoughts with no cohesion whatsoever between ideas. Here goes.

I've said it before, and I'll continue saying it every year- I love Autumn! It is by far my favorite season. I have started walking to work in the morning instead of riding my bike because I love the crispness of everything and the atmosphere and I just want to be out in it.

Of course with Autumn you also get the funnest holiday of the the entire year- Halloween! We made the most of it by going to two ward parties (the last one was just last night) and trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. We will have candy at our house for a long time...unless it mysteriously starts disappearing in about a week.

Rachel and I have also been enjoying a lot of time together lately. This weekend we went to a movie together- something we haven't done in years. It was fun. Also, we bought some x-country skis in preparation for the snow.

Business is good- like, really good. It makes us happy.

It snowed the other day- briefly. It still made the kids extremely excited and they all put on their snow clothes and went outside to play.

We will have pictures as soon as our camera cooperates and connects to the computer.