Bishop Howe

A surprise came to the whole family when Dave was called as bishop of our ward near the end of October. He had been serving as the EQ President, and we figured his new calling would likely be a counselor, so bishop came as a bit of a shock. Our ward is small and everyone is needed, but this was still not on our radar! We know the ensuing years will be full of many challenges and blessings related to this new role, but as a family we are ready to answer the call. 

Reference photo so we can see how many grey hairs this gives him over the next 5 years

Dave's parents came down for the weekend to witness Dave get called and sustained as bishop. We were so grateful for their support! The night before our Big Sunday we went to the WT football game, which turned out to be extremely boring. It was 5-0 at the half, so we didn't feel bad leaving early. 

Sophie somehow snuck a paper doll kit into the game, which kept her very entertained

Family Football Weekend (Except Different Games in Different States)

Dave went away with Greg, Jack and his dad to California for a weekend in September. The main event was watching the Cowboys play the Chargers in the new SoFi stadium, but they also had time for a baseball game and a few other local highlights. Dave said overall LA was dirty and rundown, but he had a good time with his family. I told Dave to make sure he took pictures since I wouldn't be there to document, and came through with lots of selfies :)

With the Hollywood sign off in the distance

Griffith Observatory and Venice Beach

Harry Potter cast on the Walk of Fame

Ready for the big game

Cowboys won 20-17 over the Chargers

While Dave was away, we decided we should also go enjoy some football. It was no small feat to take 5 kids (ours + one friend) to a game all on my own, but the effort was worth it. WT won big and we had a great night cheering them on from the front row!! It felt weird going to a game at the university where Dave teaches without him, but I'm glad we went and had fun anyway. Go Buffs

Such a beautiful night for a game

After some early hysterics, Griffin managed to have a good time

Sidewalk chalk and popcorn served on the promotional frisbees kept them occupied when the game wasn't exciting enough

WT WINS!!

WT Football Game

This year was the opening season for the new football stadium at WT. The business school had a game night in mid October, and we were allowed to request up to 10 tickets so we invited our friends the Taylor to come with us. We chose to sit on the grass in the end zone so all the kids could run around and play during the game instead of being stuck in a seat. It was a good choice because they ran around all night, leaving us free to watch the game. WT missed a field goal at the very end that would have won it for them, so it was a sad ending, but still a fun night!

These cute kids are all such good friends and had so much fun at the game together

Sophie with the WT Buffalo

Charlie and Rossi enjoying the action and a bag of popcorn 

GG Grandma and Papa Gray Come to Visit

My Lambert grandparents came for a visit in the middle of October! We were so excited to have them and so grateful they made the trip all the way out here from California. It had been over a year since we had last seen them, and even though the kids didn't really remember who they were, they warmed up really quick and were all over them in no time!

While they were here we showed them our new house and around Amarillo. It was really cold while they were here, so we never made it out to the canyon, but still found plenty of other stuff to do. Highlights included dinner at the Big Texan, having Dave lead a tour of WT campus, lunch with Sophie at her school, a trip to Cadillac Ranch, lots of football watching, games, and stories.

Bedtime stories with GG. Davey also insisted that Papa Gray be the one to put on his pajamas and put him to bed. 

Dave gave us a tour of WT campus. We saw his office,  the classroom where he teaches, and the student center. Afterwards we enjoyed a yummy lunch at Braums. 

Dinner at the Big Texan! This was also our first time eating here, and it turned out to be really fun with good food! The Big Texan is famous for their 72 oz sirloin meal, that is free if eaten within one hour. There were three people that took on the challenge while we were there, but we didn't see anyone succeed. 

Our dinner was delicious. The rolls were light and fluffy and the meat was cooked perfectly. Dave and I split a prime rib dinner, and my grandparents shared a 36 oz steak, half the size of the competition sirloin. 

On the last day of their visit we went to eat lunch with Sophie at her school. You get to sit at a special table and Sophie loved having them there. We even picked up some munchkins from Dunkin Donuts as a special treat. 

Our last stop was Cadillac Ranch. It's not super amazing, but definitely a unique attraction that warrants a quick visit. The cars still had big puddles around them from all the rain, but luckily the walk out there was dry so we could still get pretty close. 

This was Charlie's first time meeting his great grandparents

I wish I had taken a picture of all three kids with them before church on Sunday, but I didn't so this one with the boys was the best I could do since Soph was at school. 

Family Swim Night

Dave's second year teaching at WT has begun, which also meant it was time to renew our family rec center pass. We were really good about going for awhile last year, but then Dave broke his nose, and I had Charlie, which put us on hiatus for several months. We talked about maybe taking a break this year, but then decided it was worth the $70 to add the family back in, so here we are!

We only need to swim once every other month to pay for our pass, but hopefully we will be able to go at least twice as often. Our favorite thing to do is grab a pizza on Friday night, eat dinner at the center, and then swim until bedtime. It's a fun way to end the week and the kids sleep so well after.

This was Charlie's first time swimming here. The water is just a bit chilly for babies, but he is well insulated and did great

In addition to the lazy river and slide, there is a shallow pool with a zero entry ramp that's perfect for Charlie.  Davey also likes to play in the little pool with his ninja turtles and Sophie loves the dumping water buckets. 

Grandmari & Paco Come to Visit

We had our first ever house guests arrive at the end of September. My mom and dad flew down from Seattle and were nice enough to also bring all the jam I had made over the summer in their suitcase!! (We had been eating store bought jam for the last month and it just wasn't the same.) They came to stay for 6 days and I had a full line up of activities planned. Sadly their arrival coincided with our week of torrential rain, so all my plans didn't really work, but we still found plenty to do and it was fun to show them around our new city. I know we don't live in the easiest place to get to (it took them 8 hours and 2 layovers), so we are very grateful they made the trip!

Sophie made this card to put on their bed as a surprise. She was so excited to have visitors for the first time and wanted them to feel welcome. Paco is green, Grandmari is red, and she is purple. The blob on the left is a heart. 

On Friday we paid a visit to the WT campus to see Dave's office, and then we went over to the activity center for pizza and some fun.  

After dinner we went bowling. It was the kids' first time and Sophie dropped a ball on her foot at one point and took a while to recover, but she had fun and can't wait to go again. Davey was fascinated by the ball return and it's a miracle he never got hit in the face or had his fingers pinched. I can't remember who ended up winning, but I'm guessing it was probably my dad. 

After bowling we went swimming. In my rush to get everyone else ready for the night, I forgot to bring a swimsuit for myself. Oops. It worked out fine though, because I was able to try the rock climbing wall with my dad instead. We both did three routes before meeting the others back at the pool. 

Video: Activity Center Fun

My parents were here for Conference weekend, so watching all those session filled  a lot of our time. We made sure to have our traditional coffee cake, and worked on a puzzle during one of the sessions when Davey was napping. 

We made a quick trip out to Cadillac Ranch on Sunday afternoon. Forty years ago someone decided to bury 10 old Cadillacs nose first in the ground. Kind of strange, but it's only a few miles from our house and made for a quick, fun side trip!

Cheering on the Seahawks to a victory over the Colts

On their final day my parents drove out to Palo Duro Canyon for some horseback riding. It's the second largest canyon in the country, and located about 30 minutes southeast of us. We will hopefully make a trip out there with our family once the kids are a little bit older. Right now Davey refuses to be carried in the backpack, but is also not willing to walk so we wouldn't get very far on a trail.

My birthday isn't for another month, but we went to celebrate early at Texas Roadhouse since I won't see them again until spring. Hooray for yummy steak dinner!!