Our Happy, Busy, Full Life - IN PICTURES!

 Rascal and his boy!

 Backyard BEFORE pictures.

The Mighty Ben has removed a major shrub, ALL BY HIMSELF!!

 Backyard DURING pictures!

 We interrupt this backyard renovation for an anniversary celebration trip to Bryce Canyon!

 I took this picture so that I could show our children just exactly what Daddy was doing just before he fell off the cliff.

Some of the plant-life was more cooperative for photos than others.

Oh yeah!  That's my man!

Can you see the sundog?

Isn't this a WAY cool picture?

Salty Dog.

My self-portrait on Salty Dog.

A little piece of paradise!

James is/was WAY more brave than I.  Who knows what might be down there??

Grammie and Grandpa with the grandkids at our niece Natalie's baptism.

 More DURING photos.  (Contractor time is different from regular people time.  "3 weeks" actually means about 2 1/2 months.)

Sadly, I lost my wedding ring this summer.  So, for our 14th anniversary, we went ring shopping.  I chose the one on my middle finger.  It's a beauty!

We interrupt this backyard make-over again, for a trip to San Francisco!

We ate here, mmmmmmmm!

And here, mmmmmmm!

And here, WOW!!

We interrupt this trip to San Francisco for a summer flashback:

poor, sweet Brianna fell and cut her eyelid this summer.  Once she stopped screaming, she was incredibly brave.

Who's crazy kids are these anyway??!

This is my awesome oldest brother, playing lead guitar in his awesome band, Kindle Creek.

If you haven't heard them, check out www.kindlecreek.com and take a listen.

Recycling in action.

A fun autumn Sunday hike at our nearby ski resort.

Messy!

James took me on a FANCY date!  (Don't we look like a couple of high schoolers on our way to Prom?)

Ben at piano lessons. 

The orange jetski is one of ours.  The other one is it's identical twin.  (Not sure which was born first.  Don't say anything, but I can't tell them apart.)

HAPPY FALL!!

Not the Sharpest Knife in the Drawer

When I was on my mission, there was a man in line at the soup kitchen where my companion and I were serving a meal who declared that I was "a couple books short of a full Bible." He went on to say, "You's missin' Axe and Duterominy."  Unfortunately, I've proven him right MANY times over the years. 
Tonight, I was playing a game on my cell phone: Shape Shift.  I've already deleted it twice from my phone because I waste WAAAY too much time with it whenever I open it up.   It consists of a screen made up of many boxes; the boxes can be one of four colors, and on each box is one of three shapes (circle, square, or triangle).  You move the boxes around by choosing two boxes with the same shape on it (i.e., a green box with a triangle, and a yellow box with a triangle) and the game will then switch their places on the screen.  When you have 4 boxes of the same color touching, they explode and disappear, and new boxes are fed in from the top of the screen.  Silly, I know, but something about it is highly addictive.  Maybe it's the explosions, or the consequent explosions that your initial explosion can cause, because as the exploded boxes disappear, everything above it shifts down to fill in the gaps.  If that shifting causes more boxes of the same color to connect, they too will explode.
 In "Classic" mode, you have the added excitement of bombs inside some of the boxes, with timers on them.  If you fail to get three (or more) boxes of the same color to touch that bomb's box, before it gets to "zero", then you lose and the game is over. 
As I was playing, I had a bomb quickly counting down to zero, and I was getting a little frantic trying to get the right color/shape combination over to it before it hit zero.  Ben, who was sitting next to me observing all of this--and who, to my knowledge has never played this game--says, "You don't need to get all stressed out about it, it's not a timer.  It just shows how many moves you have left to take care of that bomb. Did you see it go from 5 to 4 when you did that?"
Excuse me?  Who has played this for too many hours to count??  And who has just been observing for five minutes??
Patronizingly, I responded, "No, it is a timer, and if you don't take care of it before it goes off, you lose.  It has nothing to do with moves."  I go on to explain, slightly more patiently,"It's not in seconds, though.  You have to keep your eye on the bombs, because sometimes they count down fast, and sometimes they count down more slowly."

Um, ... ya, after a few more minutes playing, with his observation starting to penetrate my thick skull, it became apparent: he was right.  How could I have never figured that out??  It must have been in explained in "Duterominy."

First Day of School

Brianna was SO excited for her first day of kindergarten that she couldn't go to sleep last night.  She finally came down stairs two hours AFTER her bed time.  I held her and we chatted a little bit, mostly in whispers.  I told her that if she didn't go to sleep, Kindergarten could never come.  I kissed her and sent her on her way up the stairs.  She returned almost immediately and handed me a folded up note, which she explained in excited whispers was very important.  She then proceeded to tell me what the note said:

I will repent ... tomorrow.

Let's Play Catch ... Up

So, seriously, where did summer go?  My kids go back to school in a week and a half.  They are excited (or is that me?)  So, what did we do in the summer time?

Let me sum up:
Brianna had a birthday, turning 5 years old!!  She is growing up so much! 
Things I admire about Brianna:
* She is able to speak up, no matter the situation, in order to get help/information, get a random kid on the playground in trouble with his/her parent, voice needs/wants/likes/dislikes.  This is a skill that I admire greatly, because it is incredibly difficult for me to do, even as an adult.
* She is fun.  She just attacks life with a fun, playful, and intense attitude!  Sometimes I think I've forgotten how to be fun; I'm pretty sure that's part of why God sent Brianna to me -- to help me remember. :)
* She has a kind heart, and quickly forgives.
* She has a smile that lights up a room, and a laugh that makes the sun shine!

Brianna starts kindergarten this year, and is SO excited!  I took her school clothes shopping the other day, and she was so cute about it all.  She had very definite opinions about the clothes, but fell in love with nearly EVERY shirt that she saw.  I had to limit her choices for her.  During the limiting process, she explained to me multiple times that her teacher would be SO disappointed if she didn't get this or that item. She felt so important and happy as we shopped that she literally was skipping down the corridors at the mall. 

O.k., so this is sort of a mish-mash of catch-up. 

Ben started the summer with a week at his Grandpa and Grammie's, which he LOVED!  (He has since expressed that he wishes THEY were his mom and dad). 
He and Brianna then had a week of soccer camp, with a week of golf camp following for Ben.  Ben decided on his birthday this year that he wanted to take up the great game of golf.  He really enjoyed the lessons, but hasn't had much of a chance to practice his skills yet.
Throughout the whole summer, my kids have been blessed to be able to have swim lessons at a friend's pool, with a girl in our ward teaching them.  They have both made a lot of progress this summer, and while Michael Phelps they are not, they can both pretty safely enjoy a pool now.

Things I admire about Ben:
* He is really growing up.  He is no longer a young child, and yet, he's not a teenager.  He is sort of caught in the in-between stage (I suppose that this is what people call the 'TWEEN' stage, but I don't like that word.).  Sometimes he is so grown-up, and his conversation and his humor just delight me.  But there is still enough of a child inside that needs time to play and imagine and explore. 
* He enjoys yard work.  (That doesn't mean that he does a lot of it, but he does enjoy it.)  I think he gets a lot of satisfaction out of trimming a shrub, and being able to see the immediate results of his work. 
* His gospel understanding still continues to amaze me.  He really understands far beyond his years.

This summer we also were able to attend my family's GrandKid's Birthday Bash where we all gathered at a Barn/Lodge-ish facility and camped and waterskied and jetskied in celebration of all of the Grandkid's birthday's on my side!  It was a wonderful time for all who were able to come!

We had one of my brothers and his family come for a visit, and we ran them ragged with a Brazilian feast and jetskiing!  It was so fun to have them here!

We attended our neice's baptism and visited with James' side of the family which was super fun and special.  Brianna and two of her girl cousins (and two other girls) sang at the baptism and did a beautiful job!

James ran a half-marathon that he had been training for all year and did 2 minutes better than his goal-time, which was a lofty goal!!  I am SO proud of him!  He did that yesterday, and is pretty darn sore today.  After his race, we came back, grabbed our jetskis and met our good friends at the lake for a fun time!  We played until the sun went down!

Coming up this week is some girl-time for my mom, sisters, sisters-in-law, and me!  Can't wait!  Then, the next week, James and I will escape to celebrate our anniversary in Bryce Canyon, at my best friend from High School's parent's bed and breakfast!

In the midst of all of this, we unexpectedly found out we were pregnant!  What?!  Who knew that that particular marital activity between James and I could actually produce a pregnancy??  Crazy, eh?  Well, as it turns out, it was not a viable pregnancy (meaning no baby actually formed) and I ended up having a d&c in mid-July.  It was sad and difficult, and we still have pangs of sadness at the loss sneak up on us, but overall we have recovered well and are moving forward, ever grateful for the two beautiful children God has blessed us with.

Whew!  No wonder I'm tired.

My Kids Love Me, ... I Think

Ben: Mom, you know how "hot" means really pretty?
Me: Yes
Ben: Well, you're warm.

*******

Loudly, in the middle of Target:
Brianna: I'm going to be a better parent than you!!!  I'm going to let MY kids do WHATEVER THEY WANT!!
Me:  Oh, good.  Then you won't have ANY problems.

*******

A Page from Ben's Creative Writing Notebook

Once upon a boring time in a boring village, boring people lived.  Now, it wasn't that the people didn't want to change the village, it was the King who liked it boring. 

Years later, the people had a boring war against the king and his followers.  Pencil against pencil; math quiz against math quiz.  As they wrote they yelled out    "3 + 3 = 6"! or "5 - 3 = 2"! 

They fought like this until the King was stumped and the people got their freedom and they all (except for the King) lived excitingly ever after.

Stake Conference

While we were priviledged to have Elder Kikuchi as our visiting authority, this is what I heard:

Is it over yet?
How much longer?
Is it almost done?
I'm hungry.
I need to go to the bathroom.
When will it be done?
I'm thirsty.
I need to go to the bathroom again.
Can I have more snacks?
Can we just go home?

Pretty much the same thing I hear whenever Brianna and I head ANYWHERE in the car together. Gosh I love that little girl!!!!!! Truly, I do!

We Finished!

We tried it again. This time, beautiful weather on a paved course. James ran the 10k and came in 2nd in his age division!
The kids and I walked the 5k. (We ran occasionally, but only enough to remind me that I haven't been exercising and that my cardiovascular system has forgotten what it means to kick it up a notch.) I haven't worried so much about training to run, ever since James said that you burn the same amount of calories walking a 5k as you do running a 5k.
The kids are pretty happy with their awesome medals! Ben came in 5th in his age division, and Brianna came in 6th in hers!
I came in 3rd in my division. However, that would be attributed to the fact that there were only 3 in my division. (I hope you weren't drinking right then, or it may have squirted out your nose.)
Comments during the race:
Ben: I know why they plan these races so early in the morning: to ruin your breakfast.
Brianna: Why are they making us do this?
Ben: (As we are being passed by a running Grandma-type) That GRANDMA is in better shape than us!
This morning, Ben told me he wants to do another 5k! I was hoping he'd catch the bug.

P.S. I'd like to thank James for cropping the picture somewhat. I told the kids I would carry their drinks for them, but I had to wear a giant fanny pack to do it. Well, in the picture the black of the fanny pack blended into my dark pants and made me look like I was wearing a giant blue diaper!