It's Autumntime

I have been getting excited for Fall, so when I saw this craft idea & I decided to do it with the kids. My hands got tired of punching out the holes, but it was well worth the excitement the kids had making their trees.

The finished product.

We were finally able to convince Lexie to take these down,
& put these up instead.

Happy Fall!

Happy Labor Day

We headed down to Castlewood Canyon to celebrate the day off from our labors.

The kids were troopers. We hiked, climbed, walked for 3.5 hours. But we think they really enjoyed it. After hiking we stopped in at Chic-fil-a for some free sandwiches & a pic.

We had way too much fun today!

ARRRRRRR!!

Here are the kids displaying all of their loot from a fun Pirate Birthday Party.

Posting Marathon

Sorry. We've been super busy & have not been able to get any of these posts up. We're only over a month late on some of them... Anyway, scroll down this whole page to see what you've missed. Sorry, there are like 9 of them.

Little Monkeys

Lexie was jumping on her bed, singing a song, while Joseph & Andrew watched. When she finished she asked them if anyone else would like to have a turn. They both said yes. Then Lexie said, "Alright, but remember, safety first: Only one person can jump at a time! Okay, everybody?"

Andrew's 2nd Birthday

Hooray! Andrew is 2! Since Andrew isn't talking yet, we had a really hard time deciding on what kind of cake to make for him. We showed him lots of pictures of cakes & we finally chose to make a tiger cake because that was the one for which he grunted the loudest (& he also makes a great tiger roar).

He really enjoyed opening all the presents. I think this is the first time he actually understood the concept of finding a surprise underneath the paper.
Here is his great ROAR!

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

First Day of School (again)

Today was Joseph's first day of his second year of Joy School. He was so excited to go & be with all of his friends again & see Miss Jen! We're excited for all of the great things he will learn & do this year. He was also excited that Mom gets to go with him sometimes (because he likes to spend lots of time with me).

New Shoes

It was Lexie's first day of school & we were trying to get out the door...I asked her to put on her tennis shoes (which she had just worn 3 days ago) & she started crying about how tight they were. They were way too small! So, poor girl wore shoes which were at least 2 sizes too big, but it was all that we had. (They aren't allowed to wear sandals to school.) So, I went shoe shopping for her 2nd day of school. She loves her new shoes because there's hot pink on them. Why must children literally grow 2 sizes overnight?

First Day of School

Lexie is a first grader! It was really strange to have her gone all day long, but she did a great job & is really excited for all the fun things she will learn & do this year.

Matthew's Wedding

We took another quick trip out to Utah. But this time it was for my little brother's wedding. Matthew married Stephanie in the Draper Temple. It was a neat experience to have all of my siblings in the temple together. We'd never done that before.

We had a great time playing with cousins & seeing so many friends & family members. And we are very happy for Matthew & Stephanie. Congrats!

This was our last big "hurrah" for the summer because school starts Monday.

Family Reunion

In honor of my Grandpa R's 100th birthday, we had a big family reunion. It was so awesome to have all of my Dad's side get together & see so many of my cousins that I haven't seen in years. We had a great time playing games, chatting, & enjoying many of their talents at the reunion.

Here are my Mom & Dad's descendents (mom, her kids, their spouses, & children).

Here is my Mom with her 12 children.

Here is my Mom with her 40 grandchildren.

We had a fun family Talent Show with lots of fun numbers. Here is a re-enactment of one my family did way back in 1985.

Here is one from my oldest sister's family.

At the end of the Talent Show, Joseph started to get really upset because he didn't have a turn yet. I finally gave in & he walked right up to my Uncle Jeff & asked if he could have a turn. I had no idea what he was going to do, but he walked right up & sang this song that he made up as he went along.

And Home on the Range (added just for you, Nathan).

We are grateful for our wonderful families & the rich heritage with which we have been blessed.

Trip out to Idaho

Before starting our drive up to Boise, we attended the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House. The kids really enjoyed it. After you tour the temple, they had refreshments in a tent & there was player piano playing hymns. Rick asked, "Lexie, is that a ghost playing the piano?" She replied, "No, that's the Holy Ghost."

I asked Joseph if he could feel the Holy Ghost while we were in the temple & his reply, "I felt Jesus, but not the Holy Ghost."

We did make it to Boise & the kids enjoyed playing at Grandma & Grandpa's house.

On Wednesday, we all headed up to McCall to stay at a cabin & go boating. On the drive up, we pulled over to see a spot where Rick camped with his family as a child. Andrew thought he was pretty cool trying to drive Grandpa's car.

Lexie & Joseph both managed to cut themselves climbing on the trees & rocks. But, they were patched up fine & still had fun.

The kids got to meet their new cousin, Jada. Andrew loved holding her & giving her kisses. And Lexie, loved giving her lots of attention as well.

We were able to go out on Uncle Scott's boat twice & go tubing.

Those were great times. Lexie loved it! We had a lot of fun with cousin's up there & were glad to be able to do so many fun things with them.