McAlister Matters

The start of the school year is here. The kids have been loving it. The parents like it too except for the part when we all get colds. Kahlan has been involved with student council and started the youth orchestra doing violin. She's been pretty awesome getting up early to practice piano and violin. Juniper was excited to be put into the DEEP program for gifted learners (like Kahlan). Paul is still a rockstar reader. The kids saved the wearing of their new shoes for the first day. Penny started her online pre-school program last month. She's been doing really well. She loves the number songs. She's also been working really hard on color-by number pictures. She's also getting better riding her skateboard. We said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa Musser who are in Spain now serving a service mission . We had all the cousins over last weekend for fast Sunday since we won't be doing it in Farmington anymore. We did our annual back-to-school campfire last Friday. We did it

  We're proud of Juniper who decided to be baptized last week. She was very excited and it was a sweet baptism. The kids sang 'Be What I Believe'. Juniper asked Grandma Mormor and Grandma Musser to give the talks. We had donuts and chocolate milk at our house afterwards. We went to Enterprise for a few days to the Terry reunion. It was nice to see great Grandma and Grandpa Terry and hang out at the Terry ranch. We enjoyed delicious Dutch oven potatoes and amazing homemade root beer.  Kahlan turned 11 today! We had a party for her yesterday with her cousins. We set up the pool and splash pad in the backyard. It was 95 degrees. Kahlan wanted cinnamon rolls again and we had ice cream. Sarah and I were busy this week on the bathroom project. We finished all the drywall work and painting. It's starting to look pretty good. We're hoping to finish the floor this week. Sarah had a birthday last month too. 41! She decided she wanted her own skateboard and learn how to ride.

  Our trip to California in June started off great. The drive out was smooth and easy. The weather was nice. We enjoyed a week in Turlock going to parks and the kids playing on splash pads and the trampoline. Paul completed at least 20 puzzles. We visited the Modesto temple site one day with Stephanie, Milo and Orion. We visited the office and saw the model for it and met the site missionaries. It's going to look a little like a California mission and has almond blossom and waterfall elements to represent Yosemite. Friday we had a fantastic day at Pinecrest Lake up in the Sierra Nevadas. The weather was perfect and the beach wasn't crowded at all. The kids had a lot of fun. Of course we got giant ice cream cones at the end. The next part wasn't fun. On the way home from the lake our car was totaled after a car tried to cross the highway unexpectedly in front of us. We collided with the other car hard, spinning it around and into the railing. Both of our front airbags deploy

  Last Month Sarah and I backpacked for 3 days in the Grand Gulch which is part of the Bears Ears National Monument. We actually hiked through Kane Gulch, then part way thru the Grand Gulch and into a bit of Todie Canyon. It was an amazing place and a fun adventure for us.  We didn't see anyone on the trail the first day. It was surprisingly shady and pleasant in the gulch and there was a ton of shade and vegetation. We started with just 3 liters of water each. Luckily there was a lot of water available to filter this season, more than usual according to the rangers. The rock walls were beautiful and we saw a few ancient cliff dwellings and some petroglyphs and an arch. We had planned to take a lot of video but we forgot the charging cord for our phones so we only shot photos and video the first day. Click for pics

  Today was the last day of school for Kahlan, Juniper and Paul. They are all a little sad to say goodbye to their teachers. This Spring has been busy. We've been working on our basement bathroom and learning how to do drywall and demolition work. Hopefully it will be done by the end of Summer! We went to the Layton temple open-house with the kids a few weeks ago. They loved it! Paul and I got to go on another fathers and sons campout. I didn't sleep much of course but Paul had a great time sitting by the fire and got to make smores. The kids enjoyed a fun carnival at the church. We planted our garden also. Paul checks the plants every day. For Mother's day Sarah got a raclette grill. We found some raclette cheese and had a fun raclette meal with the kids. It was my first raclette meal since being a missionary in France. Sarah and I are leaving on another adventure today. We're excited to explore the Grand Gulch in southern Utah! more pics

  This is Paul. He turned 6 this week! Sarah made him a lemon cake with green frosting at his request and we had a party for him on Thursday night. The cousins came over for a party. Paul got a cool birthday hat at school. He wore it the whole day! Paul is a cool kindergartener! He's a really good reader and is learning to play the piano. He loves books on cars and bugs. He loves dinosaurs too. Paul is a good big brother to Penny and plays with her and she looks up to him. He is already taking inventory of the plants in our backyard. He loves to count things and keep track of things like days and hours and plants. He's good at building Legos. He's good at math too and memorizing things like scriptures. More pics    

  It was Spring break this last week and we took the kids once again to Moab to do some hiking. This time we braved the Delicate Arch hike with all the kids. They did great and we had a fun time doing it together. It was nice to hike without a kid carrier. The second day was a little more chilly with high winds. We went to Canyonlands National Park in the morning and did a few hikes with amazing canyon overlooks. It was fun to try something new and the kids liked it. The Double Arch is always fun to climb around underneath. The last day was windy too but the kids were troopers. Penny put the wind in 'time out' several times. We went to all the favorite spots including the Devil's garden. We only had a couple bathroom emergencies on the trip but no accidents this time or sickness in the car. :)   We hope everyone had a great Easter! Last Saturday the kids enjoyed the annual egg coloring and hunt party at the Musser's. We also celebrated Grandpa Musser's retirement to

  Penny counted down the days for a whole week and finally turned 4 on Monday! She was excited to get a daily vitamin now like the other kids and play PBS kids on the computer. The cousins came over on Monday for a birthday party. Penny wanted a strawberry cake with orange frosting. For her birthday lunch we took her out to her favorite restaurant Penny Anne's Cafe in Bountiful. We enjoy the breakfast there. They have things like 'Penny Puffs' and 'Heavenly Hotcakes' that we love.  Penny is always fun to play with. She is the master of the game Zen Battle. Somehow she almost always wins. She still loves her llama stuffy who is a constant companion. Penny loves puzzles and can do 100 piece puzzles on her own. She is also very good at Dot-to-Dot and coloring. Penny is great at riding a bike and scooter. She has the cutest laugh. Penny has a funny sense of humor. Lately she likes to ask 'Remember that time when... something funny happened...'. She exclaims '

We made the big road trip to California for Christmas this year and stayed until New Years. We opened Santa's presents the day before we left. The drive was good. We encountered some fog but only had one incident of vomiting. We enjoyed t-shirt weather in Turlock which was a nice change. We played some 90's dance music in the car and the kids loved the ' Everybody Dance Now ' song especially Penny 😆 We took the kids ice skating in Turlock. Heather and Stephanie came too. It was Penny's first time and she wanted to do it all by herself of course. She got the hang of it pretty fast. All the kids had a good time. It was so nice to be able to stay with Grandpa Bob and Mormor. We enjoyed crêpes, French toast and pancake breakfasts. The kids spent hours on the trampoline and time at local parks. I had to work for two of the days. We also got to spend time at Devon and Mimi's house. Granma Mimi got a new kitten! We went with Stephanie's family and aunt Emily to th