Applesauce

I have found a new hobby that I really enjoy. Canning! I started canning last year when my good friend, Brook, offered to teach me. I caught the canning bug! Last fall I did peaches, pears, applesauce, tomatos, and a ton of apple pie filling. (We gave away the pie filling at Christmas to friends and neighbors.) I really loved doing it and seeing the results in the pantry afterwards. After I had organized everything in the pantry when I was done, I would walk past and stop to open the door just to "admire" my hard work! (Nerdy, huh?) :)

So, I have really been looking forward to the fall this year to start again. We have eaten almost all of what I made last year. Today my sister-in-law, Stephanie, and I made applesauce. She has apple trees in her backyard and she was nice enough to share with me. My brother, her husband, Andrew, also came for a while to help. He was a big help and it was fun to have him there! Thanks Andrew. Steph and I made some with red hots in it which made pink applesauce. It was a lot of fun. In about 3 1/2 hours we made 31 pints of applesauce! Not bad!

Thank you, Steph, for the apples! Our next project: apple pie filling. (Just not as much as last year!!) :)

Messy, messy, messy!

Saturday night we had a ward carnival. They had a dinner and carnival games for the kids. They also had cotton candy and snow cones. Obviously the kids had a lot of fun. What isn't fun about cotton candy, games, and snow cones all in one place?? We didn't know that they were also having a pie eating contest. They announced it and Dave said that he was NOT going to sign up. Pretty soon a lady came around and told Dave that she was putting his name down. Dave said he didn't want to because he was "too fat!" :) We asked him what he meant. He said, "Haven't you ever watched those hotdog eating contests? The fat guys never win!" :) But, with a little encouraging (a.k.a. pushing) from me, he relented.

They had vanilla and chocolate pies. Dave chose a chocolate. And, well, the pictures speak for themselves...

He didn't win, but he didn't have his whole heart in it, anyway. He said that it wasn't something that he really wanted to do again! :) I am just glad it was him and not me!!

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary!

I have the greatest grandparents! They are extremely sweet and loving and are willing to help anyone. My grandpa served in the Korean War, taught school, coached sports, was a principal, and finished up his career as a superintendent. He loved working with children. While serving in Korea he once played "Santa Claus" to a bunch of Korean orphans. He is just a neat man! My grandma had 4 boys. She was a wonderful mother who raised strong, polite, hardworking men. She loves to read, do puzzles, play card games, and just be with her children and grandchildren. They have 12 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. It is fun to see how happy they are when they see any of the little kids!



They recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Last night they had a big party to celebrate. It was a lot of fun. They had many friends and family attend. They looked so happy as they visited with people. I asked my grandma if she had fun. She said, "Yes!" Then I asked her if it was worth being married for 50 years to be able to have such a fun party! :) She laughed and said, "Yes!"


Easton and Paisley had a lot of fun playing with their cousins. The party was at a hotel by the river and so they were able to play outside. Easton played "karate" all night with his cousin, Stockton, and Paisley played with her little cousin, Madalyn. Avery was good while we enjoyed the refreshments, but then started to get pretty crabby. Dave ended up taking her home, and that left me to just enjoy talking to my family. (Thanks Dave for taking one for the team!!) :)





This was the scene from their party! Very beautiful and very fitting!



Thank you grandpa and grandma for your great example of marriage. Thank you for everything that you do for us and have taught us. We all look to you as examples in our lives. Congratulations on 50 years!! That is an amazing feat! :) We love you so much!!

First Day of First Grade!!

This morning I had great plans to get up early, get myself ready, get the kids up, make breakfast, and be out the door to walk Easton to school at 8:10. Well, I guess all of that happened except the getting up early. I forgot to turn my alarm on and so I woke up a half hour late. But, we all managed to be showered and out the door at about 8:12. Even with the pancakes. I made the pancakes especially for Easton, but he didn't feel like eating much, so he ate yogurt. Oh well, the rest of the family enjoyed them.

He was so excited when I woke him up. He came bounding up the stairs saying, "can you believe it is here?" He was so happy. He talked all the way to school.



We walked with my friend Heather and her kids. Her son, Rece, is also in first grade.



We got to school and they were just having the families come in to drop them off. So I was excited to be able to actually see him safely to his classroom. I got stopped a couple times talking to other moms and he quickly told me to hurry because we were going to be late.



When we got to his class he walked in and never looked back! I stood in the hall waiting for him to look back and wave, but he didn't. That was okay, though, because I know he must be completely at ease. I admit that my eyes wanted to tear up, but I was strong. :)

Last night, Dave gave Easton a father's blessing. That really comforted me. It was a special moment in our family and I know Easton felt the Spirit. He came up after and gave me a big, long hug. I love my boy! I am so proud of him. He is going to do great this year, and each year in the future.

Back to School night

Last night Dave and I took Easton over to Discovery Elementary for the Back to School night. We left the girls with our neighbors so that we could make it a special time with just Easton. (Thanks Todd and Valerie!!) Discovery Elementary is a brand new school they just built in our subdivision. When we got there they were doing a ribbon cutting ceremony. Then we went in for a little information assembly and then on to meet the new teachers.

Easton's new teacher is named Mrs. Grimm. She is brand new, this is her first class. She is also a newlywed as of April. She seems really sweet and nice. I was debating with a friend on whether it was better to have an older teacher with experience or a younger teacher with lots of enthusiasm. I think there are pluses and minuses for both. But, I feel really good about Mrs. Grimm and I think she will do a great job.

I just find it hard to believe that summer is already over and school starts tomorrow! But even harder to believe is that my baby is going to be in first grade! He will be away from me all day. It doesn't seem that long ago that he was learning to walk and talk. I am kind of sad, yet sooo excited. I am excited for him to start all day school and experience all that goes with it. I am excited for him to eat in the cafeteria and meet new friends. I am excited for him to learn to read better and to just learn something new each day. He is such a sweet boy and so smart and has such a bright future before him. Oh, to go back to first grade! He is so lucky! :)

So, tomorrow I will be walking him to school. Crazy it is already here. Tonight we will be going to go get new school shoes and then we should be all set! First grade here we come!!!

Happy Birthday, Dave!!

Yesterday my handsome hubby, Dave, turned the BIG 31!! He is so old!!! (I can say that because I will not be 30 for 6 more months, so I am still in my 20's!) :) He says all the time that his body is old. He feels it more and more lately.

The kids and I went shopping for presents yesterday afternoon. We got him a PS3 game, the Queen greatest hits CDs, and a really cute framed picture of the kids to put on his desk at work. I think he liked it all quite a bit.

Dave got to go to lunch with a bunch of friends from work. Then, they secretly wrote on the windows of his car. Stuff like "Just Married", "I love cheese", crazy stuff. That night we took the kids to dinner to celebrate. We then went to Back to School night at Easton's school. Then we had some of my family over for pie. (We celebrated with his family on Sunday.)

It was a good day. I hope he enjoyed it all. I love him very much and am so thankful for all that he does for us. Happy Birthday, hon!

Quick get-away

Well, Dave and I had a much needed get-away this last weekend. We just went to Salt Lake/Park City with our friends, Mike and Kalli. We left our 3 kids home in the care of family. (Thanks soooo much Erin, Mom and Dad, Shirley, Grandpa and Grandma, and especially Dan and Josie for staying overnight!!)

We left Friday afternoon and headed to Salt Lake. We ate dinner at the Rodizio. Expensive, but very good. We left there feeling absolutely stuffed and headed to the Gateway Mall for some shopping. When we got there we wanted to go up the escalator but it was broke, so we just walked up. I tripped as we were walking up. It wouldn't have been bad except that the edges of the stairs are really sharp. I cut open my toe as I tripped. I didn't think it was too bad but then I could feel blood pooled up in my sandal and realized it was bleeding quite a bit. So, Mike and Kalli were nice enough to go to McDonald's and get a bandaid and some napkins for me. Once that was all taken care of we had a great time.

Saturday we spent the whole day shopping in Park City. We had a lot of fun buying school clothes and spending lots of $$$!! That night we ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was sooo good. And, we of course left there with a huge piece of cheesecake for dessert!! Then we went back to the Gateway Mall for a little bit more shopping. By the time we got to the hotel it was about 9:00 and we were so exhausted! I slept like a log that night.

It was great to get away, but so good to get home to our kids, too. We sure miss them when we are away from them. They were well taken care of, though. We are very thankful for wonderful family members!!

Company Party

Saturday evening was Dave's company party. It was at a nearby park with a zoo and a few rides for the kids.

They had it catered by a restaurant in town. It was described to me when I first heard about it as "fair food." It is, too. They have hamburgers, fresh cut fries, hand dipped corn dogs. Greasy, greasy, and good! So, we ate dinner at the party. Then Mike and Kalli and their kids, my brother, Jarom, and his wife, Jackie, and their 2 kids, and our family went through the zoo. It was fun. I never get used to the stink at the zoo, but it was fun for the kids.

After the zoo, we went to the rides. There aren't too many to choose from. Some kiddie rides, a carousel, a Ferris wheel, and a spinny octopus ride. The company gave each person in the family 3 tickets, which did not give us too many rides. The kids rode a kiddie airplane ride.




Easton, Conner, Madisen, Paisley



Avery, as always on a family outing, in the stroller with a smile!



Then Kalli and I decided to each take 2 of the kids on the Octopus. I used to LOVE this ride as a kid. It just spins and twirls and goes up and down. Kalli took the boys first. She was yelling to me that she must have been crazy!! :) I started to rethink my decision, but I went for the girls. Paisley watched the boys go and then chickened out because she hadn't been feeling well all day. So just Madisen and I went. I will just say that I was so glad when the ride was over! I wasn't sick, it just wasn't as enjoyable for me as it used to be. I also had a headache the rest of the night. But, Madisen loved it, so it was worth it. Easton and Paisley finished up the night on the carousel and then we went home. It was a good, fun, family evening.

Crazy August weather!

Those of you who know Idaho summers know that rainstorms are very few and far between. If we are lucky enough to receive some rain, it is usually a very short shower. Friday was unlike most August days in Idaho.

We were invited to a wedding reception for the daughter of a lady that Dave works with Friday night. We decided to make a date of it. We invited our friends, Mike and Kalli, to come along. One good thing about hanging out with Mike and Kalli is that they have a son Easton's age and a daughter Paisley's age. They all get along really well and it makes it really easy to get together. Anyway, we got a brave 16 year old to babysit for all 5 of our kids at our house.

It had been cloudy all that afternoon and threatening to rain. On our way to the outdoor reception it started to rain. Kalli and I refused to get out of the car until it stopped raining, to save our hair of course! Knowing Idaho weather, we knew we would only have to wait a few minutes. We waited in the car about 15 minutes until it let up a tiny bit. We managed to run to the reception just as it really started to come down. The reception was sooo cute! And, luckily, they had a tent over the food and the tables. So, everyone was bunched up together under the tent. Eventually someone bought a bunch of umbrellas and started to hand them out. I felt so bad for the poor bride. It is usually pretty safe to plan an August ourdoor reception with no back up plan. She seemed to be having a great time, though, despite the rain. The food was good and we enjoyed waiting out the rain at a table.

By the time we left the rain had finally stopped. But, of course it was at the time the reception was supposed to end. We went to dinner and had a good rest of the evening. The best part...I am always nervous to get home when we've had 5 kids and a babysitter at our house. But, I walked in and it was silent. The house looked the same as I had left it. We went downstairs and there were the 4 older kids all sitting on or by the babysitter watching Harry Potter. No chaos, no mess, just peace! I was so happy! What a good babysitter!

So, a good night, but cccrraazzyy weather for Idaho for sure!!

Beat the heat party!

More fun in the sun today. We went to the Iona Library Beat the Heat party. I heard about it through our ward newsletter and thought that it would be a fun activity for the kids. My friend in our ward and her three kids came with us. They had lots of fun little water games for the kids. They had water T-ball, a sponge game, a bucket of muddy water to search in and pull out a prize, a sprinkler to run in, and the favorite: a face painting station. The kids went back for more face paint several times. They were drawing it on with washable Crayola marker and so when they would get very wet the pictures would wash off.





We ate a little picnic in the shade. Avery got very tired and cranky towards the end and so that ended the party. But, overall it was a fun activity. They even gave the kids dreamsicles. Easton and Paisley thought that a popsicle with icecream in the center was a great idea!!



Tonight we will be going to the new elementary in our subdivision for the open house. Two weeks until school starts!

Fun in the sun!

I followed through on trying to make the last couple weeks before school starts fun. Today I took the 3 kids swimming. A friend of mine and her two kids came with us. We went to Apple Athletic. It was a lot of fun. Avery seemed to really enjoy herself. She kept falling down face first which always scared me a bit, but she had fun. She liked being able to get in and out by herself. Oh...and of course she loved the snacks we had! I hardly saw Easton and Paisley the whole time. They just swam and played. It was a nice afternoon. We are all tired now and are having a much needed rest/quiet time. Now I just have to come up with something fun for tomorrow! :)




Paisley always does this cute little pose for pictures.




Avery with the cute little towel that grandma and grandpa gave her.

Too much to blog about!

We have done so many fun things this summer! It would take too long to blog about all of it. So, to do a quick catch up...enjoy the slideshow!!

Fourth of July

We had a really fun filled 4th of July. We went to the parade. It was very hot and long, but the kids really enjoyed it. Then we had a BBQ at our house with Dave's family. All the cousins played in the sprinklers and cooled off. In the evening we went to my brother's for another BBQ and then on to the fireworks. It was a long busy day, but lots of fun!

Busy Summer

Things have been really busy this summer. The kids had about 5 weeks of T-ball. They played on separate teams. Paisley played on an all girls team called the Purple People Eaters. Easton's team was the cowboys. They both had lots of fun and steadily improved over the season. They also just finished up 8 weeks of swimming lessons! Yea, I was really ambitious to do that. They had lessons 4 days a week for 8 weeks. That is 32 trips to the Apple!! But, it was well worth the time. They both are swimming now. Easton especially has turned into a little fish. They looked forward to going each day and seemed to love it.





This is what Avery did during the many t-ball and softball games.


Dave just finished his softball league. His men's team took second in the city. He says that he is getting old. He had a few minor injuries throughout the season and is glad to have the rest now that it is over!

We have two more weeks until Easton starts 1st grade! We are going to try to make the most of the last couple weeks of summer. I am not sure what we will do, but we will try to have fun!