The Pumpkin Patch

It's our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. I like this one because for a flat fee the kids get to go on a hay ride, jump in a bounce house, go through the maze, look at all the animals and pick out a pumpkin. It's a fun way to spend the afternoon and a good bribery tool also.

Megan and I on the hay ride


Mallory's face when the tractor turned on. Love it!





Connor's version of heaven...a huge pile of dirt.

Mallet Band

At Megan's school they have a mallet band and only 5th graders can join. This was very disappointing to Megan last year since she was a fourth grader so she made sure to join up on the last day of fourth grade. Is it bad to say that I was surprised at how beautiful their songs sounded? I loved the sound of the xylophones, although Daniel will only refer to them as glockenspiels. Anyway, it was really fun to hear her play.






On the right is Megan's "friend" Andrew and to Megan's left is her good friend Katherine.

Monsoons

This wash by our house is usually bone dry but it really filled up after a particularly hard rain storm. The rain ran down our street and into the wash in a huge sheet of dirty water. I'm still not used to having it rain when it's 100 degrees outside.

Mani-Pedi's

We went to CA for a wedding and got to hang out with Mimi and the cousins a bit while we were there. Sarah thought it would be fun to give the girl's manicures and pedicures and of course they loved it. Between Mimi and Sarah the girls had all the colors of the rainbow to choose from. And Connor even got in on the action with a bubbly foot bath.

The Slot Machine

Since I can remember my dad has ALWAYS wanted a slot machine. This might sound a little strange because my dad doesn't gamble and he hates Vegas but apparently he has a fascination with slot machines...that or a secret desire to make money from unsuspecting guests. He finally bought one for a great price and kept it in our garage while my parents moved here. Needless to say, there is not a nickel left in our entire house. Piggy banks were emptied, cushions searched, and wallets were ransacked. Thank goodness it wasn't a dollar slot!!!

Dinosaur Eggs

I'm teaching preschool again and for the letter D we studied dinosaurs. The kids had so much fun searching for dinosaurs in the eggs. Even my older kids made me promise to save them an egg. Thanks for the idea Melissa Nelson. They were a big hit.

Mt. Lemmon

Our ward camping trip was in Tucson at Mt. Lemmon. It was beautiful and the cool weather was lovely. Daniel was able to come with us this year but I don't have a picture to prove it. Megan claims she saw a black bear. We'll definitely camp here again.

Math genius?

This is a copy of Megan's math homework. Luckily, I checked it before she shoved it into her backpack. It was a page on expanded notation and word form. If you can't read it she's supposed to write out a long number in word form.

Her answer: You take a chunk of numbers and write them in words and so on.

I laughed so hard. I don't think we'll be hearing from MIT anytime soon.

Smith and Morehouse Lake

This lake is in Oakley, UT and it's just a few minutes from the cabin we were staying in. It was gorgeous and the water wasn't too cold either. We spent quite a few days here swimming, kayaking and fishing.


Skipping rocks


Kym, Mia, and Mallory


Colby and Megan


My mom, Megan and me


Man overboard

Megan, Connor and Papa








Connor and Papa discussing lures


All the kids fishing. Megan was the only one to catch a fish.

We need to get out more

I took the kids to IKEA to get some small tables and chairs for preschool. While we were there we went up to the restaurant for lunch. As we're sitting down to eat Connor says, "Wow, Mom! This is the fanciest restaurant we've ever been to."

Really?

Happy Birthday Daniel!

Happy 38 old man! You're a better husband and father every single year! Love ya!

Why I go to church every Sunday

There are actually lots of reasons I go to church but lately I've been feeling particularly grateful for the feeling of peace that I get at church every week. Throughout the week I get impatient, frustrated, stressed, etc, etc. As much as I try to stay focused I still get bogged down with the little troubles in my life. I lose perspective. And then Sunday rolls around and we get ready to go to church because that's what we do. My kids usually squirm through sacrament meeting and start whispering in my ear just when I really wanted to hear something but there's always that moment when I'm filled with the Spirit.

It can be a specific scripture, a certain song, or a comment from a lesson. And I know that the Lord is whispering to me. My priorities come quickly back into focus. I'm inspired to be more patient, more loving, more righteous. The Lord gently reminds me that I can't do it on my own. He will help me with my trials but I have to ask. I am reminded of the parable of the ten virgins. I don't know yet if I'm the wise virgin or the foolish virgin, probably somewhere in between but I do know that every time I go to church my lamp is being filled.

Visiting cousins

In Utah we were able to visit all the cousins on my mom's side. We haven't seen each other in a long time so it was really fun to get together. These are all our kids. Tragically, Kadan (the boy in the red shirt) died early Wednesday morning from a seizure. I'm so filled with sorrow for their family. To Nan'l, Brandi, and all my Mitchell family my heart goes out to you. I'm thankful that I got to see him so recently. What a sweet spirit he has.

AZ to UT

We hit a couple of 80 MPH test sections. Woo-hoo! Put the pedal to the metal!