Disney on Ice 2026

I headed out this morning to drive to Kent with Ella and Emmett to go see Disney on Ice for the umpteenth year in a row.  I have been taking my children to see this show ever since 2010 when Lia was just 2.5 years old.  It has always been a fun family tradition and I am grateful that I still have two children who are interested in going.  The three of us had a great time watching this show with the incredible skating, acrobatics in the air, and amazing costumes.  We loved cheering on some of our favorite Disney characters and singing along to some of our favorite songs.  Until next year!

The three of us standing in front of one of the many massive cotton candy towers in the lobby.

Ella, Emmett, and I ready to watch the show!

Elsa letting it go!

Ariel twirling around with the help of Prince Eric.

Rapunzel getting to ready to swing up around her hair.

This was the first time that we saw both Rapunzel and Flynn swinging on the silks together.  It was super cool to watch.

All of the princesses skating together during their number.  This part of the program made me miss Lia the most as she has always been my biggest Disney princess fan!

Mirabel skating with the Encanto cast.

Moana sailing on out her boat.

The awesome whale shark puppet that skated through the rink during the Moana portion of the show.

Annual Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Since it's been a busy fall this school year, we haven't found the time to make our annual trip to the pumpkin patch.  Luckily, we had a free afternoon today due to having a half day at school.  After everyone got home from school, work, and XC practice, the three kids and I headed out to get flu shots before driving to Spooner Farms for the afternoon.  Since it was a beautiful day, we enjoyed walking around the farm and participating in all of the free activities that they offer there.  Emmett thoroughly enjoyed himself and his siblings were good sports to join him in a lot of the activities.  I am grateful that I still have three children to enjoy doing this holidays traditions with each year.

The four of us inside Spooner Farm's "pumpkin house."

The three kids posing in or above the photo cutout.

The kids posing in front of one of the giant spiders in the pumpkin patch with Mount Rainier in the background.  Since it has been cloudy most years when we have visited this farm, it is a rare thing to see this mountain in the background when we are there.

Emmett riding one of the racecar bikes around the track.

Ella pumping the water at the duck races.

Emmett sending the rubber ducks back to Ella on the other side.

How Tall This Fall?

The kids running around the half buried tires.

The kids enjoying their fudge outside the gift shop before heading home.

Logan's Trip to Hawaii

A few weeks ago, I received a text from Natalee asking me if Logan wanted to join them for their fall trip to Hawaii.  Since all of their older kids would be busy with school and work commitments, she was wondering if Logan would join them so that Trenton would have someone to play with on the trip.  After talking it over with Ron, we decided that this was an opportunity that we couldn't pass up and so we ended up giving Logan permission to miss four days of school to join them.  In addition to Logan, my mom and my brother, Eric, also decided to go and so the six of them headed off for six days on the evening of October 7th.  They then spent 5.5 days on the island of Maui before flying home on the evening of October 13th.  They were blessed with beautiful weather while they were there and Logan and Trenton had a great time spending many hours playing in the ocean and the pool.  Overall, Logan had a great time and I am so grateful to Natalee and Chris for providing this wonderful opportunity for him!

Logan, Natalee, Trenton, and Chris on Napili Beach

Logan had so much fun body surfing and boogie boarding in the waves with Trenton and his uncles.  Here he is in the water with Trenton and Eric.

Trenton and Eric catching a wave while Logan looks on.

Eric and Logan (on the left) catching a wave.

A lazy Sunday morning in the condo before heading to church.

The boys enjoyed many hours playing in their condo pool.  Here is a picture grandma took of them on Sunday afternoon after spending time at the beach.

Although the ate breakfast in the condo every morning and packed a lunch every day, they enjoyed eating out in a restaurant every night.  Here is the group eating at 

On Monday, the group drove up to the Hana Road to explore some waterfalls along the way.  Chris and Eric took the boys on a hike to a set of waterfalls where they enjoyed jumping off rocks and swimming in the pools below.  Here is Logan jumping off a ledge into the water.

A small Logan and Trenton to the left of the waterfall.

The boys walking along the rocks next to the waterfall.

Trenton and Logan standing in the pool.

The boys jumping off together!

Trenton, Logan, and Chris hiking on the trail.

A group photo of all four boys with another waterfall in the background.

After the boys went on their first hike, they joined up with my mom and Natalee for a second hike to Twin Falls.  Here are the boys with Natalee sitting on a log.

A group photo at the third and final waterfall they hiked to together.

Before flying home on Tuesday, they started off the day by snorkeling at the dumps.

And then made a stop at "Big Beach" for one last swim in the ocean before flying home that afternoon.

Ella's First Trip to the Temple

I was finally able to go to the temple with Ella last night when she did baptisms for the dead for the first time.  Although she has been old enough to attend the temple since last January, we have never been able to find the time due to how busy Lia's senior year was and how busy our summer was.  In addition, Ella missed the one other youth temple trip that our ward planned last spring due to having gymnastics practice on the Friday night that they scheduled it.  Although Logan was in Hawaii with Chris' family and couldn't join us, I was so grateful to be able to go with Ella for her first time.  She was really excited to do baptisms for the dead and had a really positive experience.  I loved being able to be there in person to watch her have this special, first-time experience and hope that she will have many more in the years to come.

Ella and I standing in front of the Seattle temple at the end of the evening.