Birthday Boy

It's my boys birthday. A big 22! The years have absolutely flown and he will have officially flown the nest on December 21st. I couldn't have asked for a better boy. What a joy to be his Mom. Love you kid.

Check out how you've grown ... wishing all your dreams come true for the rest of your life.

Leadership Conference

This past weekend we were at Camp Hinckley in Running Springs. It was beautiful. The skies were blue and the leaves on the trees were beautiful colors. The temperature was perfect. (Yes, the same area where fires are now burning). We took the youth in the ward for a Leadership conference. We started with a great dinner, a Speaker (yours truly) and then we went to Ice Castle skating rink.

The skating was great. We had the whole place to ourselves. We had some great skaters and some not so great skaters.

On Saturday we had workshop with more great speakers and some group games to get the kids to work together. This one was really fun. They started out on the ground and had to try to stand up! Yes they did it.

Here is my girl and and her bud. Aren't they cute. We had another wonderful speaker to end the day (Yes, my main man) and then a testimony meeting.

These are the fabulous ladies that made it happen. I love these gals. They are so fun to be with. We went on a bear hunt Friday night and saw the big critter right in front of us. We scared him off in no time. We are all very brave.

Book Look

So I have been thinking about what fun information I might add to my blog. I immediately thought of one of my favorite things -- Children's literature. I love, love, love children's books and picture books especially. So I think from time to time I will do a book look of some of my favorites. Enjoy!



Russell and the Lost Treasure.

Written and Illustrated by Rob Scotton

Russell the sheep finds a treasure map and goes searching for the treasure. The treasure once found doesn't seem like much of a treasure at all until Russell puts it to good use.

A great message about families and a great story for those of us who like to photograph everything!

It's That Time

Yup, It's time to start thinking about that Perfect Halloween costume. I know most people dread Halloween, but not me! I love trying to think of fun costumes. No buying a package full of a pre-made costume. The best part about deciding early what you want to be for Halloween is that then you have lots of time to let the creative juices flow. You may be driving down the road and all of a sudden the perfect accessory for the costume will pop into your head. This picture of last years costume is a great example. I found the wig by accident. When I pulled it out of the unmarked bag at the store and put it on I could immediately see all the other customers salivating and waiting for me to put it down so they could snatch it up. Too bad for them. From there I went to one of my favorite places to find costume clothing - Ross (dress for less). Now I know many people shop there for real. I have found myself most successful there when I am looking for the absolutely outrageous. Hence, the funky shirt, Red Pants, and White shoes. The sunglasses were found at the costume shop a few years previous.

Danielle, likes no costume or a very understated one. The Artist outfit worked out great. She looked normal and didn't have to have weird make-up or embarassing clothing and she looked cute, cute, cute.

Katey is a girl after my own heart. Her idea came from her Evil clown school graduate t-shirt. This was a hand-me-down from Sean. We went crazy from there. She was really scary. I know there are some small children out there who will never be the same.

Below, is one of my all time favorites. These guys never want to dress up. It was some work talking them into it. They totally look the part in this picture. Sean even had the Napolean Dynamite Walkman and boots. Look at those faces. Ken definitely found his inner nerd for this one.



So what are you going to be this year? Better start thinking. Anygood ideas? Share them here. I love giving out ridiculous ideas to spruce up costumes.

COSTUMES FOR THE PAST

I'm Back

It feels like ages since I have posted. My life has been very busy and full of special events. First Natalie was safely delivered to the MTC. It was a difficult thing saying goodbye to her. She has been with us since June and we have had such great time together. She was very emotional (goodbyes have always been hard for Nat)and would stop every so often that morning and wipe away a few tears. We have since heard from her and she is doing fabulous. She said that as soon as she couldn't see us she felt better. I am trying to post info and letters on her blog. If you are interested check it out. If this link doesn't work on your server I also have her blog listed in the right side column under check it out.



We also safely delivered Katey to BYUI. Here she is unpacking. Please note the feet on the end of her bed. I guess someone was tired from the eternal drive to Rexburg. She seems to be doing great. We don't hear from her much. I guess her social life must be great.


While we were in Rexburg we also got to spend time with Sean. He did a Dirt Bike Race on Saturday. He won a tropy and some really gruesome blisters. It was great to be with him on his turf. He showed us his apartment ( I'm so sorry Sean) and took us to a great pizza place. We got to sneak a peek at the ring he bought for Stacey. He proposed after we left town. We are excited for him and Stacey. She is a fun, positive, and a beautiful woman, who seems to love our Sean like crazy. We can't wait for her to become a part of our family on December 21st in Salt Lake City.




Finally, We have our Danielle all alone at home with Mom and Dad. She is taking it well. She quickly arranged the bathroom with all of her stuff and got rid of everyone else's stuff. She is a great girl and fun to be around. Hopefully Mom and Dad aren't too boring for her.


I feel very grateful for all the great moments I have had with my kids the last month. It is hard to be away from them, but at the same time I am excited for them and all the wonderful adventures that lay before them.

Off She Goes

Katey is spreading her wings and flying off to college this weekend. We are making a quick whirlwind trip to drop her off. She is a very quiet girl around the house but now it will be even quieter. I am excited for her to have this experience. This is such a great time in life for a young woman. I know she will be a fantastic student and have a fabulous time getting to know new friends. Another great thing is that her brother will be around to show her the ropes and take her to get groceries. To Katey I say, " Fly Katey Fly".

See Ya

Sean hit the road today. Back to Idaho for him. He was dreading the drive but looking forward to being with Stacy again. His truck was loaded down as usual. It was a blast to have him here with us for a few weeks. I just wish Idaho wasn't so far away. Speaking of which, I will be in Idaho next weekend to drop of Katey for school. Just a quick whirlwind trip.

The pictures are from the trip Sean and Ken took to the Channel Islands. They went Kayaking in all the sea caves. They say the picutures don't do the place justice. The water was clear and everything was beautiful. They said there was all kinds of sea life around the caves. I am sure this will be a trip they will want to do again. By the way, the fuzzy pictures are courtesy of a disposable underwater camera.