The little things

One of Tori's friends stopped by the other day with Tori. She sat in the chair, looked around, then said, "I love your house at Christmastime Rosie, it's magical."

I teach the eight year olds in Primary. A couple of weeks ago I told them that I wouldn't be there the following Sunday, so they would have a substitute teacher. Things didn't work out as I had hoped, so I ended up being there. When I sat down one of the boys turned around and said, "I thought we were having a substitute today. I'm glad YOU'RE here."

These sweet little comments reminded me that it is not always the grand gestures that make someone feel good, it is the little things. Merry Christmas everybody!

JUST A THOUGHT.........

I want to share this thought that was in the McCall's magazine in December 1959:

"This Christmas, mend a quarrel.
Seek out a forgotten friend.
Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust.
Write a letter.
Give a soft answer.
Encourage youth.
Manifest your loyalty in word and deed.
Keep a promise.
Forgo a grudge.
Forgive an enemy.

Apologize.
Try to understand.
Examine your demands on others.
Think first of someone else.
Be kind.
Be gentle.
Laugh a little more.
Express your gratitude.
Welcome a stranger.
Gladden the heart of a child.
Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth.
Speak your love and then speak it again."

Wishing everyone a happy December!!

The last two months

We went camping during the deer hunt as we always do. The weather was nice and the kids enjoyed playing outside. No one got a deer the opening weekend but Nate and Jason both got one during the next week. Alicia and I took a couple of bags of the giant marshmellows to use for a "snowball" fight.(what else would you use them for?) The kids, big and little, especially Titan loved doing this. We may have started a new tradtion! Kayla is ready to take aim...
Titan making sure he has plenty of ammunition.
Jason, Herm, Kayla, Titan, and Kambree taking a break long enough for a picture--then they were back at it!

October continued...

The elk hunt was fun even though the weather was kind of chilly. It had snowed lightly so the ground was wet but we were able to spent some of the time outside. Here Strider is just chillin'.
Grandpa Lloyd started making balloon animals for the kids. The big "kids" got into the action too, dancing around the fire in their new hats. I think that is one of the reasons we all enjoy camping during the hunts--everyone has fun together whether they are playing games, shooting the breeze, or acting like idiots!!
The first part of October was Kayla's FOURTH birthday. She had a fun day and a nice party. She is getting very grown up!

September 2011

The end of September we went to Yellowstone again. The elk are in the rut and usually put on a great show. This fall however, it was too hot and the elk stayed out of the meadows. It was the first time that both Derrek and Jason and their families went with us. I loved having us all together. We did see two bears and had a nice time.
We always stay in a motel that has a swimming pool. It is a treat for the kids after riding so much during the day. It was especially exciting for Kayla because she had never been in a pool before. She loved it! The first night there our family was the only people at the pool--which was great.
Kayla started preschool after Labor Day. She goes twice a week and she loves it. I'm sure she is the smartest kid there! (I know she is the cutest!)

Sixth and first

The kids went back to school this week. It was a new experience for both of them. Tori had her first day of middle school. She now rides the bus and has many teachers. She was a bit nervous, of course. Her biggest worry was that she would forget her locker combination and not be able to get in it. She had the combination written down so she wouldn't forget it so there shouldn't have been a problem. SHOULDN'T have been a problem! One time she tried about four times to open the locker and couldn't. She got a teacher to help--who also tried about four times but failed. Someone else came to help (maybe a custodian) and tried a couple of times before it opened. Friday she had to get a teacher to help again. I hope she doesn't have trouble everyday or it is going to be a long year for her! Sorry I didn't get a picture but she left her house at 6:50! Titan is now a mighty first grader. He was very excited to go. He knows his teacher because she is in his ward. She taught Titan's daddy when he was in second grade. He lost one of his bottom teeth a couple of days before school started. Good timing.
And he's on his way to a great school year!

Strider celebrates

We celebrated Strider's first birthday this month. He is such a good baby. He has certainly changed since he was born but he is still as cute as a button!

He got a lot of fun gifts but he liked the wrapping paper and the balloon best.
Here is the traditional picture of the birthday boy and his cake--before--
and after! He loved it. No, he didn't eat the whole cake. When he had eaten enough it got knocked off the tray. It was a fun birthday.

A Day For Tori

Tori and I decided it would be fun to have a party with her three best friends. We made plans to have it on July 22. Kayla was in Disneyland and Grandma Marilyn took the boys for the day so the girls could be alone. Tori and I discussed a few ideas for the invitations and she decided on a fan. They were made out of polka dot cardstock with ribbons on the bottom. Each girl got a different color. On the back was information about our "Best Friends Afternoon of Fun". Tori wanted to start the party off with a tea party. We used a white tablecloth and at each place setting we put a piece of cardstock that matched the girls fan. They brought their fans to the party. We put colored sprite in a tea pot and had different cakes and cookies to eat. When I brought the tier of treats out one of the girls said, "wow, Tori!" I think it was a hit! I left them alone to giggle and gab. When they were finished with the food they painted wooden picture frames. It was fun to see how creative they were. Impromptu face painting happened after the frames were finished. This first picture shows Shaylee, Tori, Taylee, and Kaitlyn.
I made a treasure hunt for them. They were very cute as they discussed and figured out the clues. The "treasure" was small white bags with zippered fronts. Tori and I were going to have them draw designs on them with sharpie pens but the afternoon was moving quickly so we moved on to the dart throw. None of the girls had thrown darts so they thought this was fun. Each balloon had a paper inside that told them to do something for a treat. We finished off the afternoon by going to the splash pad. One of the girls told me twice how much fun they were having. They all seemed to have a great afternoon being together. I enjoyed spending the day with Tori and watching her interact with her friends. We may have to do it again soon!??!

Road rash!

About a week ago Tori fell while riding her bike. She skidded in the dirt and gravel. Ouch!!! Her leg is starting to look a little better but will take a while longer to heal.

Titan turns six

After a couple of weeks of counting down, Titan's birthday finally arrived. He had a great day and got a lot of fun gifts-of course! To celebrate he went with his family to see the cars 2 movie. He loved it!

Spring catch up

Well, I'm finally posting about all the happenings around here for the past couple of months. If you are interested, there are eight posts so keep scrolling! I love this picture of sweet little Strider. This was taken on Easter. He was 8 months old.
This was taken June 4. Strider is 9 1/2 months old. He is doing the army crawl now.

Let's party!

Kevin's parents are celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary on June 10. Kevin's sister Tana put together a surprise celebration on June 4th. She told them that we were going to have family pictures taken at the church. She sent the family invitations that looked like a wedding announcement-in fact it was nicer than most of the invitations I receive! She decorated the church like a wedding reception. She had a table with a guest book, round tables with cloths and centerpieces, a wedding backdrop,and a refreshment table. She had even taken a picture of their wedding cake to the bakery and they duplicated it as much as possible. Kevin and I had the job of picking them up and taking them to the church. They seemed very surprised when they walked in and saw about 80 members of the family seated and clapping for them. Tana showed a dvd of pictures of them throughout their marriage. It was a wonderful celebration. Thanks Tana for ALL of your hard work. I know they loved it. This picture shows the "happy couple" cutting the cake.
The traditional kiss after the cake has been cut.
Beth and Lloyd with their five kids-Kevin, Tana, Kent, Gwen and Kyle
One of the tables that held pictures of them.

School's out!!!

Another school year has come and gone. Both kids (and probably their teachers!) are ready for a break. They both had great teachers this year who went the extra mile. This is Tori's last day of fifth grade--look out middle school, here she comes!!
The 3 kindergarten classes had a very cute graduation program. The kids sang a few songs and got their diploma. Titan loved his hat.
This picture shows Titan on stage getting his diploma. His teacher, Ms. Jones is on the left.

"Spring" in yellowstone

We spent Memorial Day weekend in our favorite place--you guessed it--Yellowstone. We met up with our friends, Mark and Liz. It was a blast spending three days with them. We had a lot of fun as we adventured along. Parts of the park are green and spring-like and other parts still have a lot of snow. The weather was surprisingly pleasant for the most part. We did have a few rain/snow moments but that is how it is in the park this time of year. However, we have never seen so much snow still on the ground. It was an interesting trip in that regard. This snowman was at fishing bridge. He looks like he is praying it will stay cold!
This cute couple was spending the day at the shore of the lake.
This winter the snow got so heavy on the roof of the service station at fishing bridge that it collapsed. Ouch!
It snowed one night. This semi seemed to be having a bad morning as it tried to get from Norris to Canyon. Luckily they were letting vehicles pass as they decided what to do.

Favorite yellowstone pics

One of the reasons I love Yellowstone is because you never know what you are going to see around the next corner. This spring we saw 32 bears! They were everywhere--and we only spent one day in the part of the park that we usually see the most bears. There was a rock slide on the road so we could not go to the Tower/Lamar Valley area. This first grizzly was on the road between Norris and Mammoth.
Notice the claws on this grizzly. I bet he could rip apart any thing he wanted!
This grizzly was digging for something. He made a hole big enough for his head to fit in.
This cinnamon colored black bear was between Mammoth and Gardiner-in an area where we have never seen a bear before. In fact this trip we saw three bears in that area. What a nice surprise!
It rained hard off and on all the way home. This rainbow was near Idaho Falls. It was very bright and a nice farewell for the weekend.

Spring sports

Both Tori and Titan played soccer this spring. The weather was wet and cold for the first couple of games but warmed up a bit towards the end of the season. Tori has improved a lot and I think she feels more comfortable with the game. She had a great time. Last year Titan got hit in the face with the ball the very first game so he didn't play as aggressive as he could have. This year he was very aggressive and scored often. It was fun to see how much he has progressed.

Titan has started playing tee ball. His team is called the "Lugnuts". How dang cute is that!?
Titan is standing near second base--probably a little bored and wondering if anyone can hit the ball that far!

Our little miss gymnist

Kayla has been taking gymnastics this year. She loves it. A "meet" was held to showcase what the kids had learned. She did a great job. Here the class is stretching while they wait for it to start. I loved that Kayla stood up and waved before she warmed up!
Kayla on the balance beam. Don't you just love that intense look as she concentrates?
Doing her bar exercise. It was fun to watch her show off her skills.

Mother Nature

A female Finch built a nest on the ledge outside my bathroom window. It took her about four days to finish it. After she laid her eggs, she didn't leave the nest. The male Finch brought her seeds to eat. Finally the baby birds hatched. We were looking up at the nest so it was about a week before we were able to see their heads pop up when they were being fed. Both the male and female brought them food. There was at least five of them. When they got a bit bigger, they would stretch their wings and flap. I was sure a couple of them would get knocked out of the nest but they never did fall. It was fun to hear and watch them. Our little town had it's share of flooding this spring. This flooded pasture is about two blocks from my house. The flood washed over the bridge we always use. Word is that it probably won't be fixed. I will miss entering "home" by way of this quaint little road.

Like Mint??

If you do you will love these cookies! They are so yummy I thought I would share the recipe with you.

MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES (350 degrees)
1 pouch (17.5 oz.) Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. mint extract
1 egg
1 cup Creme de Menthe baking chips (sold by the choc. chips)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks (or chips)
6 to 8 drops green food coloring
In large bowl, stir first four ingredients until a soft dough forms. Stir in chips. Using a small cookie scoop or teaspoon, drop dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Store tightly covered at room temperature. Makes 3-4 dozen. ENJOY!

SWEET KIDS

Strider after his very first haircut. Isn't he a handsome little dude? He had a section of hair on top that was about three inches long. Now it is all even and very cute.
One morning I left unfolded laundry in the basket and went to make Strider a bottle. When I came back sweet little Kayla had folded the dish towels and cloths. They were folded very neatly and perfectly stacked. I was VERY impressed. I asked her if she helped her mommy fold laundry. She said, "No, I help my daddy." Then I was doubly (is that a word?) impressed. Way to go Kayla and Daddy!