Homecoming

Taylor went to Homecoming with a big group of friends.  She had a great time and looked beautiful.

Ward Halloween Party

I was asked to take family and group photos at our ward's Halloween party this year.  Cami helped me make some cute props and everyone seemed to enjoy it.  Here are a few pictures with Cami and her friends... and one of me and Ed :)

Halloween Party

We moved our annual Halloween Party to a new farm this year.  I was tired of the chaos at the other place and basically begged this new farm to take us on.  They had never done a night party before, but I promised that our guests would be on their best behavior and they wouldn't be sorry :-)  It was amazing to have the whole area to ourselves!  They kept huge fires going, took us on extra hayrides, and we didn't have to worry about little kids getting lost or running into a parking lot.  We made sure to clean up really well and they emailed the next day to invite us to come back next year.  Nailed it.

Clinical Ink

We had a very exciting evening at the Philly 100 Fastest Growing Companies awards banquet.  Clinical Ink was notified that it was in the top 100, but they didn't announce the order until the actual awards ceremony.  We were surprised when we made it into the top 50, then the top 25, then the top 10!  We were #2!  It was so exciting to think of how far this company has come from 4 short years ago when Ed, Brian and Pinal were working in a rented conference room here in Philadelphia.  Things are only going to get more exciting from here, but I'm grateful we had the chance to stop and celebrate the successes and many blessings that have come so far.  I don't say it often enough to him, but I will say it now - I am so, so, so proud of you Ed!  AND I am so grateful for all the amazing people who work right along side him! Congratulations!

 

New Cousins!

Janeen and Jason are adopting two beautiful little girls.  Their names are Davani and Elana and they are in 1st and 2nd grade.  We are so excited to welcome new cousins into the family and will be making a trip to Indiana over Christmas to meet them.  We love you already!  Here are two pictures - at the zoo a few days after arriving with a bunch of cousins and at the airport as they were arriving for the first time.

Visit With The Tippetts

After the morning session of conference we headed to lunch with Todd, Anna, Andrew, and Alex.  It was so nice to see them and we were grateful for the delicious hamburgers!  Their family certainly has been through a rough year, but they are doing great and we are grateful to keep in touch even when they are so far away.

General Conference

Let's not forget the real reason we were in Utah for the weekend - General Conference!  I LOVE conference and look forward to it every 6 months.  I listen to the talks over and over while I'm cooking, cleaning, or working on the computer.  We had tickets to the Sunday morning session and felt so blessed to be able to hear Pres. Thomas S. Monson speak during that session.  President Eyring also spoke (he is my favorite!) and Elder Hamula who Dallin met on Christmas Island.  When we heard his name announced we were all hoping that he would say ANYTHING about missionaries.  Instead he gave a wonderful talk about the sacrament, so I guess that's OK ;)  It would have been awesome if he had mentioned the amazing missionaries living in a hut on the island he just visited!  It was an amazing experience and I realize just how lucky we were to be able to attend.

We even saw another family that we knew from Avon, Indiana.  Ed and I were both reading on our phones before the session when we heard our names and looked up to see the Birchs!  They were sitting below us in our section and spotted us.  It truly is a small world!  I still remember when he was our home teacher and taught a lesson to the kids about worth.  He is a coin collector and brought a very valuable, not very shiny coin to compare with a not very valuable, bigger, and shinier coin.  It was a wonderful way to show the kids (who were very little at the time) that you can't judge a person's value by their outward appearance.  You see, I was paying attention!  So nice to see you Kim and Kevin!

Cousin Reid

We did find Reid while on campus.  We drug him all around with us and forced him to claim us as family.  Not always easy when Uncle Ed is involved, but he is a good sport.  Here are a few pictures from Saturday morning on campus and Priesthood session in SLC.

Hiking The Y

Taylor and Cami really wanted to hike the Y while we were at BYU.  Our schedule was pretty packed, but once the guys headed out to priesthood session on Saturday we met up with Kalani and the girls headed up the trail.  Mom and I waited in the car and enjoyed chatting and catching up.  They timed it just right so that they would get to see the sunset and got some beautiful pictures. Kalani said it was fun to be on the mountain with the girls because they aren't used to the mountain views.  It made her appreciate her home a little bit more :)

BYU Game

We went to the BYU v Utah State game the first night we were in Provo.  Getting all geared up, watching the band, cheering in the stands, watching all the festivities, and (my favorite) enjoying the beautiful sunset were definite highlights.  Watching our quarterback have a season-ending injury and realizing our season was disintegrating were NOT highlights.  Oh well, there is always next year.  We did snap some fun pictures before everything went bad, so I'll choose to remember these images!