December Parties

 Travis and family were able to join the Ashcroft Clan in Logan for a big Christmas party. Its a good chance to see Travis' aunts, uncles, cousins, cousins kiddos, and of course, the two who made it possible, Grandma and Papa Ashcroft.

Leslie, Emily's sister, did a great job hosting the annual gingerbread house party. This year Travis and Emily decide to create a little village so everyone could make their own little house. It turned out better than plan and no one spent too much time making their creations. Plus Kate and Wyatt loved playing with Grandpa, grandma, and cousin Kenna. Thanks Derrell and Leslie!

Whoville Dinner Party

Kerri planned a fun Whoville dinner for us. We had Who Hash (funeral potatoes), Roast Beast (pork and ham), Cindy Lu Salad (fruit salad), Grinch Greens (green beans), Garlic in your Soul rolls, and Whos Treats. It was all good food and it  looked great!

Santa Clause

 

Between Wyatt being shy and Kate having stranger danger this was not the best Santa visit. It was still fun to get out and get some lunch.

Dec. Preparation

The kids had a blast decorating the Christmas tree and they did a good job.

 

This little man loves crafts and one on one time. He also loves nutcrackers! When Travis found this nutcracker to paint he knew Wyatt would have the time of his life. Man was he right!

Halloween Decorations

Travis got to use a bunch of his new Halloween decorations he got from last Christmas. He was excited to finally have a graveyard and a home grown pumpkin. He was busy and didn't finish making his gravestone lights and graveyard fence. Hopefully he will have them ready by next year. Inside the house there wasn't much around with a toddler roaming about. Kerri did host a party where we made potion bottles. Everyone's bottles turned out pretty neat and they looked great with the books that were made last year.

Halloween

 Grandma Gina invited us to attend her work family Halloween Party. Wyatt and Emily have been before and it was crowded, however, this year they had a low attendance because of the weather. That just meant they were not handing candy out, but trying to get rid of it. Kate and Wyatt came home with buckets full. Gina and Emily came home with purses full. There were some cute activities set up and photo booths. Nice job Discover!

 On Halloween day, Emily's family came up to Syracuse and went trick-or-treating with all the kids. The kids are all so young it was a quick trip up and down two streets. Paul, Travis' dad, also came over and took the kids to a few homes. After trick-or-treating, the family had dinner in a pumpkin, treats, and played games. The family watched Ghostbusters and Wyatt fell in love with it. He borrowed the movie and watched it everyday for weeks. Travis was not able to join the family Halloween night because he volunteered at his school's haunted house. Shadow of Fears changed its location and didn't get as many people. It was a pretty cool haunted house. Derek, Travis' youngest brother, dressed up as a clown with Travis and they had some cool juggling routines set up.

Travis' family joined in on the fun the weekend before Halloween and got to dress up as clowns together.

Halloween Activities

 For preschool, Emily had a field trip to Black Island Farms. Kate and Wyatt were able to come along since it was in the morning. It was a lot of fun. We went on a hay ride around the farm and were shown some of the produce grown in the fields. The workers even let everyone try some of the fresh produce. The fresh cabbage and carrots were the favorite treats, pretty crazy huh? At the end of the hay ride, everyone stopped in the middle of a pumpkin field and picked their own pumpkin to take home. After the ride all the preschoolers and families played in the courtyard. The courtyard had hay slides, a corn maze, swings, bouncy houses, and a few animals.

Kate and Wyatt painting their pumpkins they picked out from Black Island Farms.

Our first time to Lagoon's Frightmares. Travis, Emily, Wyatt, and Kate all went through some haunted hoses together, some kid friendly and some not. The kids loved the trick-or-treating houses and enjoyed the adult clown haunted house. Travis has taught his kids to love Halloween and all its scary decorations. Wyatt begs to go to Halloween stores all of October.



Some Frightmares with Emily's family.

Spackman Halloween Dinner

Kerri always does an amazing job with the family dinners she holds each month. This month everyone was encouraged to dress up in costumes and bring a spooky treat to share. The food was delicious and everyone looked great. Mindee's family was able to join us this month since they were in town. It was fun to have the extra friends around. Kate and Wyatt love their cousins.

In October, we got together again to create Halloween Houses. It was fun to see how different the houses all ended up. Wyatt was very proud of his house he made all by himself.

 

Barnum and Bailey Circus

For Emily's birthday, the Spackman family went to the circus. It was Kate's and Wyatt's first time at the circus and they loved it. They do not have elephants in the circus anymore, but the tigers were cool to see. It is amazing the skills and dedication of each circus member. Travis remembers a tiger cup his family got when the kids were all young, so he couldn't resist buying Wyatt a snow cone in an elephant cup. The best part was sharing all of this with so many family members.

Happy Bithday Kate

Happy birthday Baby Kate! We love her so much. She is a happy and dramatic little thing. She loves everyone and is still pretty friendly. She would pick a crowd over being home. Her unique laugh can get the crowd going and she loves to dance. Great addition to the Travis family.

Her party was a little rough because she bonked her head a few times trying to take off walking and tried to grab the lit candle on her birthday cake. She loved opening presents and visiting with everyone.

Silly Ana

We have still survived owning a dog. She is a lot of work, but the kids sure do love her. She is a big dog, but she is done growing. She is great with kids, but gets a little too excited when people come to visit. Overall, she is a good dog that acts like a lab!

This post is a little late considering she turned 1 at the beginning of the summer.

Idaho

Emily, Wyatt, and Kate went up to Idaho to attend a family wedding. They wedding events turned out perfectly. While there they stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Melander, who were great hosts. The boys visited an airplane museum and everyone enjoyed a little Zoo.

County Fair

Wow!!! What a fun event. It was a small fair compared to others we have attended, but it was perfect for the kids. Wyatt got to go on a pony ride and we all got to feed a ton of animals. They had a large corral filled with all sorts of animals roaming around. We got to stop any animal we wanted to pet and feed. It was in the words of Wyatt, "pretty cool!"

New Fence

We are all excited to have a fence! The kids can play more outside and Ana can be free in the yard.

Wyatt's Birthday

For months, Wyatt was telling everyone he was having a Lagoon birthday party! We have a lot of family and friends that bought season passes so we decided to not pass up the opportunity. It was a pretty easy party since we just had to plan food. Travis did a great job buying hot pizza, un-melted ice cream, and a birthday cake. Best of all Wyatt had a fun time and had a lot of support from friends and family.

One of his toys he enjoys!

Spackman Reunion

 Our Spackman Reunion was a combination of a bunch of celebrations. First we attended Travis' grandmother's reunion for the Thomsons. It was held in Cache County so we were able to visit a dairy farm owned by the Gittens (Kerri's sister and family). At the farm we were able to ride a tractor and feed baby cows. It was a lot of fun.

We spent some time at Paul and Kerri's house. The main event was a super hero party for the boy cousins. Marshell, Macoy, and Wyatt all have a birthday the beginning of August. They all love anything super heroes. Mindee did a great job coming up with games. We also had chalk drawing contests, crafts, and water fights.

We also attended the Ashcroft Reunion. Kerri did a good job putting together traditions her family has done over the years!

Bear Lake

We had a blast with the Spackman's at Bear Lake. The water was a little cold, but the kids didn't seem to mind. We also attended Ready, Fire, Aim, Juanito Bandito at Pickleville Theater. Wyatt loved all the singing and noise. Fun place to visit if you have not done so before. Don't forget to grab a raspberry shake!

New Dirt Hill

RiverBirch Cabin

The cabin is always a fun event each summer. Above is a picture of all the folks who were able to join this year. Most of us stayed up at the cabin for three days and two nights. Grandma and Papa Ashcroft also came up for a bit one of the days which is always nice to have them join.

One of the favorite activities is the hikes. This year we all hiked down to the Jacuzzi and shower. It was Wyatt's first time and he loved it. Even though the water is around 42 degrees, it didn't hinder  the boys from trying them out. Wyatt even thought it looked fun and attempted the shower. The hike ended at the waterfall where we all met up to watch a few of us jump off.

Great memories!

JULY FUN!

We started the month off with Syracuse Heritage Day's parade and carnival with our neighbors. We also joined our neighbors fireworks show.

For the 4th of July we joined the Spackman family in Lewiston, Utah for a parade and carnival. Even the puppy, Ana, joined in on the fun. It was fun to see the family and show Wyatt around the farm house.

On the 23rd of July Emily's parents spent the night to save a spot for Utah's Pioneer Day. On the morning of the 24th we all joined them for the parade in downtown, Salt Lake City, and went out to lunch.

HAFB Air Show

We attended the Hill Air Force Base Air Show and it was awesome. It took over two hours to park the which was not so fun with two kiddos. Once there we meet u with Emily's family and watch a few shows. We at least got to see the Thunder Birds preform. After the show, Wyatt went around with Grandma Gina to meet the Thunder Bird pilots and crew members. His grandparent's also bought him a Thunder Bird toy which he thought was pretty cool.

Street Pool Party

Wyatt loves to play with all the neighbor kids so we decide to have a pool party. We got out Wyatt's big blowup slide, two pools, sprinklers, and a slip-n-slide. The kids enjoyed playing with the water toys and eating the treats we provided. The party had a good turn out and lasted for a few hours. Every time a neighbor kid comes over they always ask when our next pool party will be.

Father's Day

This amazing guy gets to celebrate Father's day with these two cuties. Kate and Wyatt love their daddy! Travis is an amazing father and husband, we could not ask for anyone better. The kiddos gifted him a hero t-shirt and an electric hair buzzer. Travis tested it out on Wyatt's hair and gave him a Mohawk for the summer. Emily cut Travis' hair for the first time.