September 1st was an important day for Kaeleb, as you can see. He has learned the gospel, prayed for a testimony, and made the choice to be baptized. We are very proud of him for taking this decision seriously. He reads his scriptures and has been memorizing the Articles of Faith. The Primary Presidency gave him a special baptism book in which all who attended wrote him letters and he wrote his testimony in the front. The Spirit there was so sweet- and watching him in the water with his Dad felt like the most right thing in the world. It was truly a blessing.
We had a family lunch and party for him after the baptism.
On Labor Day we took a trip to the cabin so Kaeleb could try out his new Swiss Army Knife and practice shooting his bow and arrow.
I love this picture of Brennan. He is getting so tall and loves anything adventurous and fun. Including hoses and water. And mud.
Oh, the musty old cabin. Always endearing. It is such a part of Kemp Family living, so sometimes I just have to take a picture. What a legacy left by Kwint's grandparents. They would be glad to know our children are being raised close enough to spend a lot of time there.
We are having issues with the current fake smile Bren is using in pictures, but here he is on the 1st day of his 2nd year of preschool. He considers it a sad day, as he desperately longs for kindergarten, but he loves the kids and his teacher at ABC Discovery Preschool.
They all brought their favorite stuffed animals, which in Brennan's case is Chaucer the Bear. Pictured also are two preschool friends, Britton on the left and William on the right.
Next in the line up of exciting days in September was BRENNAN'S 5th BIRTHDAY!!! YAY!
He had an Avengers Party with some of his favorite friends and has loved being 5 so far.
My mom and her husband Gary are now home from their mission in Washington DC and we were happy to spend part of conference weekend with them here in Heber. One of the things we did for fun was pumpkin painting. All of these terrifying and spooky pumpkins are frightening the neighbors out on our front porch.
This was a fun day babysitting our friends, William and Jackson. I love William because he goes from the straightest face to the funniest laugh in .01 seconds. I love Jackson because he calls me "Mom".
Yesterday we took our annual trip to the corn maze. This year we went to Syracuse so we could spend the day with GnG afterward. Here's me with my little pumpkin heads, as my mom used to call us.
Big smiles all the way down the hayslides...
Well, ok, that doesn't look like a smile... Kaeleb smiled at the bottom. I promise.
Kaeleb and Kwint took a turn on the rock climbing wall. Kwint scrambled to the top twice and then helped Kaeleb go as high as he could.
I love this picture of my guys. We didn't even get lost this year! We are getting good at this. Daddy is a good corn maze map reader and the boys are picking up the skill. I just go where I am told.
We also went to see Hotel Transylvania, which we found hilarious. We love the Halloween season and are busy getting ready for the next 2 big days of the month--Saige's annual costume costume party (we never know what we will see when the Kemp's and Parker's combine in costumes.)--and Halloween next Wednesday. The costumes are more complex this year and have required more creativity, sawing, sanding, painting, and sewing prowess. Not that I really know what prowess is, I just know I must have it to do what I have been called to do this Halloween.
Speaking of being called, Kwinten and I have new callings. Our ward split a few weeks ago, which has been quite a big change, actually. We have loved every ward we've ever lived in and are amazed by all our great neighbors here in our new Wheeler Park ward, many of whom were in our ward previously, and we also miss our friends who stayed in the Daniel's Canyon ward.
Kwinten was called to be the Sunday School President which he has found a very stretching experience and is teaching him much. I am a Sunday School teacher (Totally by revelation, not convenient proximity, of course. Haha!) and I love it. I feel really grateful to be able to have this chance to teach the scriptures to the youth. My class kids are 14-15 years old and so much fun. I love teaching the scriptures and they are a great bunch of kids.
The kids are doing great in school. Kaeleb scored high in Benchmark testing and is really happy with his teacher and classmates. I feel like Kaeleb has been in God's hands every year, getting exactly who he has needed as a teacher to help him grow the most.
Brennan says he already knows everything they teach in preschool, so he should just stay home and play all day, but we're making him go anyway. I have had to get creative to keep him busy. Tumbling, sports at the Rec Center and millions of books at the library are among my tactics. His energy level is something to behold.
