Happy Halloween!!

Join us for.....

Pantless pumpkin carving!

Just kidding, the rest of us were fully clothed. But some of us don't carve at all.

Bub pounds instead....he hates pumpkin goo.

Miriam loves the goo, and insists on doing everything by herself!

Now we are all spookified!

Dreams Come True

Miriam was chosen to go to lunch with her Principal!

It's a privilege she has wanted since last year, hard work (earning good slips) and luck (getting her slip pulled in the drawing) worked simultaneously to make a 7 year olds dream come true.

She picked out her outfit carefully, thrilled that it had turned cold so we could break out the winter stuff I had been storing since last spring. She skipped off to school with squeals of delight.

I don't think I ever spoke to my principal. I don't think anyone did unless they were in trouble.

Times have changed my friends....times have changed.

Primary Program 2011

No Pictures on this one.

I hate posts without pictures but we were busy today!

It was our primary program, which is a yearly religious highlight for me. I haven't made it through one of them without crying since 2005 (after having Miriam). Primary songs hit my heart like nothing else. And then...my parents and Darin's parents drove up (and down) to watch. I was so grateful they had come, I know it made the kids feel extra special.

Well, this year was no different, I cried. The problem was that I was singing a duet with Miriam while I was crying. She and I sang The Lord Gave Me a Temple. She sang the verses and I joined her on the chorus. I made it through the first verse, but the second I lost it and dropped out. Afterwards Miriam said "Mom! You were only singing every other word!"

I have decided singing solos and duets in church is for the stone-hearted.

How could I NOT cry?

Bub, who had zero desire to be in the program, stood up and said his part so loud and clear! I was so proud, especially since I knew how much he hated to participate at all. He is not our center-of-attention guy. He was given the part of "I lived in heaven before I was born...." so he finished it with "I lived in heaven before I was born, now I live on earth." Classic Bub, his brain is usually thinking of scientific stuff.

Then...

Miriam who is our center-of-attention girl sang her heart out. She said her part with dramatic pauses "Our bodies, like temples, are sacred, and need to be treated with respect by others and ourselves." She seems to have no fear of speaking or singing in front of people...kinda seems to thrive on it actually. After her part, I joined her to sing our song. Her voice was sweet, and clear, and beautiful. My mistake came when I glanced at a few friends in the audience...they were teary eyed which made me start to quiver inside. Then I looked at Darin and crumbled. Miriam took the lead and got us both through.

We had our parents over for dinner which I love. I enjoy big family gatherings, but sometimes I want them to be just with us. I'm kind of selfish that way.

That explains why there are no pictures...Darin and I had a dinner to get ready quickly so the 'rents could drive back home. Soren, having missed a nap was a challenge to say the least. Between dinner prep, squeezing every ounce of time I had with my parents and in-laws, and trying to keep Soren from screaming, the camera stayed quietly on the counter.

Pumpkin Hunt

I told the kids they could only choose a pumpkin they could heft into the cart themselves.

$20 later I realize I greatly underestimated their determination.

( some of that $ went to squash)

Oh well, it was fun.

The hay maze, crazy squash displays, and cornfield were all very festive.

On the bright side, at least they couldn't lift these babies!

Scenes from a Sunday Afternoon

Fairy Architecture

Some of those logs we were stacking had perfect fairy house bark potential.

Miriam and Ali set some aside as they worked to create some magic.

I found the perfect moss carpet to build around and the girls went to work!

This picture was taken when they had just started. By the time we left there was a couch, pillows, fridge, real food, and a leaf blanket. Unfortunately, in all the rushing of packing up I didn't get another picture.

Where Boys become Men and Men become LUMBERJACKS

The cabin was in great need of fuel for those cozy crackling fires we warm our toes by all winter.

It just so happened our scheduled jumberjacking day was also the opening of the deer hunt.

The guys went out anyway but decked out in "don't shoot me orange".

I think the chainsaw might of helped keep them safe too...probably not a lot of deer in their vicinity.

Now for some action shots:

Darin and my Dad rigged a pulley system so the cut logs could be pulled up to the deck.

Miriam and Ali loaded bag after bag full of logs, Sarah and Darin were up on the deck unloading and stacking along with.....

Soren, who was kept safely away from the axe swingers, entertained by their hard work.

This is going to sound strange, but I loved this weekend more than our play weekends. I loved working side by side with my family, coming in to rest and eat with satisfied exhaustion.

My Mom taught the kids how to play Mexican Train in the evening, which I soooo appreciate. I know how good it is for kids to play games, but it's hard for me to be motivated to sit down and play with them. It may have something to do with trying to help Byron play while entertaining Soren. The cousins had such a great time working and playing together.

I'll just end with this cozy shot of a few of my favorite guys.

Mom and Boys Day at the Village

Gardner Village that is

Soren detested the witches, wouldn't go near them, but here he is happy as a clam with sunflowers and crows.

(please notice the eyeballs on their matching jackets. Sweet after holiday find at Target last year)

Boys are so easy to please.

Found the witches, got a cookie, bought a $.99 monster toy and they were ecstatic!

Oh Miriam...

Darin found this on the computer tonight, Miriam wrote it a year or so ago. It's just a taste of how Miriam spends her free time. She is constantly coming up with some sort of party or production.

Thank you for coming to this circus.

Our first act will be The Clowns act! We hope you enjoy it! {Clowns act}.

The next act will be The sword & light saber swallowers! {Act}.

We hope you are enjoying it! Acrobatic Act. {act}

This will our last act of the day. It is called Grand Finale! {act}.

Love that girl....

Breakfast With A Witch

Actually, breakfast with lots of them!

Including these three cackling beauties.

Kennedy, Miriam, and Miriam's friend Ali. Poor Anna came down with the stomach flu and couldn't make it so Miriam called a school friend last minute to come with us.

The girls in the witch parade.

Miriam and Grandma, the woman who got us all together for the fun!

On top of everything else, she bought all the little girls a darling trick or treat bag for their dolls, and carried on the tradition of buying a halloween charm to add to their necklaces.

The Granddaughters

After breakfast we all broke off into smaller groups to shop or witch scavenger hunt.

Miriam and Ali found all the witches !

So....

Much....

Fun!

Three pictures is a bit overkill I know, but these two are so wicked cute!

Perks

Darin is currently serving in the Cub Scout Program.

This means that once a month the kids get to do cool things like....

explode pop bottle rockets.

And...

eat treats!

I just got called to be an Activity Day leader (Girls 8-11) which means Miriam, although she won't turn 8 until February, has become one of the Activity Day Girls. Bub and Ren have become mascots. Games, crafts, service projects, and of course treats three times a month.

Lucky kids.

Just two more games in the season!

We couldn't be happier with Miriam's first experience playing soccer.

We love her coach, love her team, love the team cheer, and have loved the weather.

It's been fun to watch Miriam get more confident as the season has gone on.

She tentatively kicked at the ball the first game, but is now getting in there on the action. She took a ball to the face last game and just kept playing! She has never been a super aggressive or competitive kid but she has found her niche with assists which delights me. She may not be the fastest, or the most fierce, but she plays smart. Her coach gets all of the credit for this since I know next to nothing about soccer, and we have played at home maybe twice.

Coach: "Float like a butterfly!"

Team: "STING LIKE A BEE! GOOOOOOOO BEES!"

Conference Weekend

Technically, this happend after the weekend, but it was the highlight.

My family met up at the Salt Lake Temple to be with my Uncle and Aunt for their sealing.

Thoughts and inspiration from General Conference were fresh on my mind, especially the talks about family and treating each other with more kindess. It has been fun to watch my Uncle's romance unfold these past 2 years. I am so grateful he found someone with virtue and compassion t0 take care of him....and I know my new Aunt is lucky to have him as a loyal strong husband. Their lives are better because they have each other, and isn't that the reason for marriage?

My Mom took my kids to her house for the weekend so they could go to Tater-Water's 4th birthday party (BLOG JULIA). We met in Provo where I loaded her up with 2 kids + junk and she loaded me up with 25 + lbs of Carbon County's finest Concord grapes.

The smell is the best part, this will sound strange, but they smell like grape popsicles.

Seriously, it's such an intense smell it was almost fake!

So we de-vined, washed, steamed, pressed, processed....

Soren used a one for me one for the bowl method...seeds and all.

We now have 5 gallons of grape juice, and 20 cute little jars of grape jelly for Christmas gifts, with 3 reserved for us!

It's a messy sticky business, but I am so excited for movie night with air popped popcorn and a half and half mixture of grape juice and perrier.

Just think of all those yummy antioxidants!

Next up:

Canning Pears....soon, before they get too ripe!

We were given delicious Smithfield Pears and apples from Darin's Parents.

We have been the recipients of so much produce generosity this year!

Thank You parents!

Oh! I almost forgot (because I didn't have to deal with it) Miriam got the stomach flu while with my parents. I felt, and feel so bad about that. So Darin and I had an almost kid-free weekend to get projects done and listen to ALL of Conference while my parents delt with all that comes with the flu.

Yuck...and I am sorry.

Christmas has a contender for "the most wonderful time of the year".

It's pretty darn wonderful right now.

70 degree weather.

Watching Mimi play soccer in that 70 degree weather, I complain about the time commitment but we love the family time, and those 7 year olds are SO DANG CUTE (and fierce)!

Back to School!

and then there is THE FOOD, oh Heckter the food!

The above photo features our home grown tomatoes and basil (store bought mozz cheese and triskets).

I made roasted tomato marinara sauce yesterday, and we have had BLT's a time or two. The peaches, Green River melons, and crisp apples....it's all so good and good for us.

Best of all....there are no gifts to buy.

Move over Christmas.

Last weekend my Mom helped me can 21 pints of green beans.

This is how my Mom operates.

I mention that if my yard were larger I would plant green beans to can for the winter (less sodium you see, and better). Next conversation I have with my Mom, she has planted green beans and tells me to plan on canning in the Fall. She didn't mention them again until a few weeks ago and said they are ready. She and my Dad picked the beans (a job I was suppose to do but didn't make it down in time) and then she walked me through the process. My pantry is now full of very low sodium delicious green beans.

Does "Thank You" even cover it?

I don't think so, but Thank You Mom and Dad.

One of these things is not like the other.....

One of these things is kinda the same.....

Can you guess?

Labor Day Weekend was mostly spent laboring.

Cleaning (all of us)

Installing a new dishwasher (mostly Darin)

Car fixing (all Darin)

Recycling (Darin and I)

Crowd control (me)

But....we did have a little fun.

Julia took Miriam up with her to dance with Ryan Ramirez and Wadi Jones from So You Think You Can Dance. Miriam LOVED it! I was a bit worried she wouldn't keep up since all she has ever taken are ballet classes, but Julia says she did great. Her cousin Ali was there so even if she was overwhelmed she would have loved it. M has worn her signed t-shirt about a zillion times since attending the clinic.

I was watching Tatum and Wyler so after the clinic was over we all drove up to Odgen to the Eccles Dinosaur Museum. The kids played happily in the first 1/3 of the park, which was fine with us adults, but now Julia will have to join us another time to see the rest! I think we will have either Bub or Soren's birthday there so she will get another chance to see it all.

Thanks for coming up Julia, that would have been a fairly drab weekend without your visit!

Sting Like a Bee!

Miriam has a great coach and a team full of school friends.

It's the best case scenario for her first experience playing a sport.

She loves being with her friends, doing the team cheer, wearing the team colors, and water breaks. Maybe by the end of the season she will like playing soccer!

Labor of Love

I canned peaches till midnight on Tuesday because "come hell or high water" (direct quote from me to Darin) I was going to get those amazing peaches preserved before the fruit flies completely took over.

I bought the peaches because I love Utah peaches...

because I love my family and want them to eat healthy,

because I love local farmers and I want them to stick around,

because I love feeling like I can make some small impact on the environment,

because my parents love me they bought me canning supplies for my birthday,

because I love pretending to be Caroline Ingals.

I love seeing them stacked in the pantry.

Trolls

I know I would love my children even if they looked like trolls.

It's nice though, that I don't have to test that theory out.

Brody Dezember photography taken last March by they cutest, most patient, red headed photographer.