Mom, Grandma, Leah, and I took a road trip to Kentucky over a long weekend to do some family history. It was really neat and fun to find all the places where our ancestors lived. We got to do research in libraries and visited some cemeteries, one of which had creepy dogs chewing bones. Even driving around in the "holler" was awesome because everything looked so cool.We even met Colonel Sanders!
Mom, Brooke, and Andrew went to Lake Erie which was frozen over. They were able to walk right on the solid lake, and took some cool pictures.
We took a family temple trip in January since Andrew was old enough to go. It is always a really neat experience there, and of course afterwards we had to go to Hometown Buffet.
On New Year's Day, Dad and Andrew decided to participate in the Polar Plunge, which is when you go to Lake Erie and jump in the freezing water and come right back out. Brother McMahon has been doing this for years and I guess he convinced a lot of people to join him this year, like some Kerrs, Delaps, and Olmsteds. I came along with Mom, Tyler, and Leah for moral support and it was pretty funny to watch them run into the water. When they came out, we wrapped them in blankets and went to the church to watch the video that Brother Kerr took, and a few weeks later we watched the fully edited one at their house. The group was pretty proud of themselves, and they even got t-shirts.
We celebrated New Year's Eve at our house with everyone. The evening included:
Pizza and Wings.
All of the family came to see Andrew receive the Aaronic Priesthood after he turned 12. It was a special day for a special guy.
Christmas was awesome. We set up the tree...
Dad, Mom, and Andrew took a road trip to Notre Dame to watch BYU play. It was cold and snowing but they said it was worth it.
Last year our group of trick or treaters shrank as Leah, Sydney, and I stayed inside and tried to do homework due to ruthless high school teachers. I think Brooke passed out candy or went with them. The rest of the kids had fun though!
Andrew and Brooke went with Macey, Jaden, and Jenna to see Potted Potter, a parody of Harry Potter. I guess it was pretty funny because they were quoting it for about a week, "One of you shall live, and one of you shall die...die...die..." Looks like they had a pretty good time!
Andrew reached a milestone in scouting as he earned his Arrow of Light. Now it's on to his Eagle!
Westlake High School had their annual Homecoming parade and game which the marching band plays in. During the quarter mile walk from Lee Burneson to the high school, someone fainted because it was so hot. Needless to say it was pretty scary and Mr. Walczuk got sort of flustered. It was towards the end though, so we were able to bestow our wondrous playing of the fight song and Across the Field to most of the spectators. Before the football game began, they announced the Homecoming King and Queen. This year, Jacob Cox and Holly Thomas, two students with Down syndrome, won. It was cool because they were nominated by students and they all voted for them. That was the highlight of the night, also because I honestly don't remember the details of the football game. The O'Neils were able to come and cheer us on!
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