At the beginning of this month, we waited and waited for a dry day to try and clean up the leaves. We finally got one on Veteran's Day, November 11.

Yes, Michael is standing in that pile of leaves! We were able to clean up the front yard and rake up the backyard before the rain came again.

I love our leaf-blower. It's lightweight and very easy to run - even Nicholas and Michael can start it up and run it!
Michael decided that sitting in a pile of leaves would be the best place for reading his book.

In-between raking and cleaning up the leaves, Michael and Nicholas went to perform at the local VA Hospital with their teacher's violin group.

The nurses at the VA Hospital allowed a few pictures as long as we were only taking them of our children. They discouraged videos, because of the privacy of the veterans.

Now at the end of November, the weather has become unusually cold for this area of the country. Our dog Copper is a coonhound, and is very cold! So I never thought I would need to put a sweater on a big dog, but here she is:

Isn't she cute?

Yesterday we went into NYC again for the Young People's Concert. The theme was Ravel's Paris, and they played French music for the program.

Our friend Jen was also at the concert with her daughter Amy.

After the program, we went to Times Square and a restaurant called Carmine's for dinner with some friends. It's an Italian restaurant that is served family-style. It is delicious food!

Our friends Liz and Kenny had gone to see "South Pacific" at the Lincoln Center Theater. They loved it! Liz and I took a picture with one of the cast members after the show.

I Still Love Fall!

So with the beautiful colors of Fall comes the cleanup! I still love Fall, but it takes a very long time to rake up and bag the leaves. We had a lot of rain this weekend, so the leaves are too wet to pick up.

This is our backyard completely covered with leaves.

Here is our front yard, also completely covered with leaves. Michael is loving being able to walk through the leaves and jump in the piles!

Today was my first day in Sunday School and Relief Society after 10 years of serving in the Primary. I didn't know what to do with myself! The Primary children made me a beautiful turkey with their names and "Thank you" notes from the teachers. I love the Primary children, and I loved being in Primary, but I am also happy to be with grown-ups!

Michael's School picture

We just got Michael's school picture along with a photo CD so I could post his picture. Enjoy!

I love Fall!

For those of you who miss the colors of Fall, I have posted a few pictures for your enjoyment.

Michael wanted to dress up as Harry Potter for Halloween this year. His violin teacher had a Halloween violin class two days before, so he got to wear his costume early.

Nicholas didn't want to dress up for Halloween this year, so he was in charge of handing out the candy.

Tony made a killer batch of chili to hand out to the adults. It was delicious!

I dressed up as Raggedy Ann, and I will post a picture when I get it back.

The week before Halloween, Michael and I carved a pumpkin. Nicholas carved a pumpkin at his Young Men's activity night(so unfortunately I have no pictures).

Oh, and the last bit of news I have - I was released today as Primary President! As of now, I have no calling, and I don't know what to do. I'm sure in the weeks to come, I will figure it out easily, and besides, in our small branch, I'm sure I won't be without a calling for long!