Cornelius Chronicles

It's official.  John is an athlete.  He's pretty much the best ever now that he has started his all time newfound favorite sport of street hockey.  He loves all the things about it, but most importantly he loves being part of a team and getting to wear the coolest doubles sided team jersey ever!  Plus, he gets to keep his hockey stick so that's a double awesome bonus.  It's sure a fun sport to watch, but my favorite part is seeing the big smile and confidence it is giving my John.  

It was the perfect day for Trick-or-Treating and I had the perfect bunch to enjoy it with!  We had a blast at the annual Morgan Business Trick-or-Treating event on Commercial Street and State Street, then the kids had fun running around town knocking on doors and collecting free candy.  Diana learned a new song, "Trick-or-Treat! Smell My Feet!  Give Me Something Good to Eat!" I learned I can say "Remember to say Thank You!" a lot when I'm out with the kids on Halloween. The Big Kids learned that trick-or-treating with a group of friends is AWESOME fun! This year we had: Loyd - no costume, just being an awesome missionary! Xavier - no costume, he worked and then played computer games at a friend's house with a bunch of friends Maeve - She made her own costume!!!! (with help from Grandma Phillips). She is Ena from the video game Monster Hunters Stories 2 video game Owen - we found him!  He's Where's Waldo John - the coolest Ender Dragon ever from Minec...

I've been trying to cram in as much family fun together as I can before Loyd heads out on his 2 year mission to Vancouver, Washington.  I'm really going to miss having him home and under foot. Here's just a few shots from life around the Cornelius House. We had the best time exploring Red Butte Gardens in Salt Lake City during their Neverland themed Garden After Dark event for Halloween.  Diana is pretty sure we explored the real Neverland and she made it home with actual fairy dust.   Loyd has some unfinished business to take care of before he was set apart as a full time missionary - setting off the rest of his firecrackers he forgot about from July! We have all been enjoying the renewable resource that is our raspberry patch.  I can't keep up with the demand around the house for chocolate raspberry bread.  We just gobble it down as fast as it comes out of the oven.   Diana and I have also been getting our craft on with lots of coloring, book re...

Diana and I got to help with "Haunted House Decorating Day" in John's 3rd Grade class.  We had the best time helping all of the kids hot glue their haunted house creations together.  Diana had so much fun, in fact, that she was ready to stay the entire school day with John.  When I told Diana we couldn't stay and it was time to go she said, "I can't go! I haven't even learned anything yet!"  I guess we'll have to come back another day when we can stay for the real business of school...education!  

What more can be said about quite possibly the most fantastic newly minted 17 year old out there?  Xavier amazes me every day with his steadfastness, his goodness, his ambition, his drive, his thoughtfulness, and his big heart.  Xavier has big dreams and knows he can reach them.  This year has been an adjustment and a struggle as he has adapted to his new normal as a Type 1 Diabetic, but I think we smashed it out of the park.  We had a blast at Disneyland, survived the Band trip to California, partied at Lagoon, rocked a week in the car and a week in Texas on our family road trip, and pulled off great grades at school despite missing tons of time for hospital stays, doctor appointments, and Diabetes education trainings.  I know the Spirit of the Lord has been with Xavier to bless him with peace, understanding, and patience as we learn how to navigate life with Type 1 Diabetes.  It has been a year where we have seen the goodness of Xavier's friends fill his ...

We got to have Rebekah home for General Conference weekend and it was the best!  It was also a time for John and Diana to get ahold of my phone camera and capture some funny candid moments.  It's fun to see what they think worthy of photography.  :D