Last Fall day

So, this was kinda the last fall day....tho' it had already snowed a little bit. We tended Jack so Justin and Tabitha could celebrate their anniversary. Jarren and Stephanie stayed and we all played hard! Jarren and Stephanie took Jack for a walk down the street and found this tree with it's beautiful colors still intact. Jack brought the leaves home and carried them around for awhile.
We had a marvelous time....but I was so tired! I truly believe you're supposed to have children when you are young for a very good reason:)

guess who?

Wow, I found and scanned these pictures...
On the left, standing on the chair, is Patty and on the right is Peggy...not sure how old.





Not sure how old we all are in this picture, either....but Mother made those dresses. I think it's about 2nd grade.....see how blonde I was??? (I'm on the far right)
We are much younger in this picture....again with the blonde hair. Tracey's just a baby so Patty and I must have been about 2.











Wish I could figure out how to put pics in order. The one of Mother holding both of us should have been first, obviously. Again, Patty on the left and me on the right. Love mother's glasses:)

Playing in Grovecreek

Another trip to the creek to play only this time with
Jack's cousin...Zada.
Again with the rocks......throwing so many it changes the direction
of the water....but that's ok. It's fun, right??
The water is so cold, they are shivering before long
but refusing to get out.
We found a shallow place where it was a little warmer.
Zada likes to put her head it but Jack did not.
Next summer they will be twice as daring, no doubt.

Timpanogos Storytelling Festival

On Saturday, Steve and I spent the day up Provo Canyon at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. We had never been....had wanted to go, just never got our stuff together...if you know
what I mean....so this year we went.


We were told by several people to "be sure to see John McCutcheon"
so we did and he was wonderful! He tells great stories and is so talented playing all sorts of instruments!
We had great seats, too. (just need to remember next year to bring pads).
I looked up both John and Bill and found them on You Tube...check them out for a laugh!
We were also told to not miss Bill Lepp. This guy is amazing. He could tell a running narrative for a whole hour! It was SO entertaining. We are going for the entire event next year.
We also heard 2 little girls who were very talented....one a 1st grader who
told the "3 little kittens lost their mittens" story.
There was a great lady telling an old story and one from Texas that I
just loved listening to her talk!
Next year we will remember to bring food for lunch rather then stand
in line for 45 minutes.
The Timpanogos park looks like a great place to go hang out on a weekend.

So this morning Justin and Tabitha stopped at our house to invite
us up to Grove Creek to "play in the water with Jack.


He was a little nervous about the water at first....but he LOVES throwing
rocks in the water. I think he could do that non-stop all day long.








He eventually ventured further and further in the water
till he was sitting on a rock. Justin acted like a photographer
on a photo shoot and Jack liked it a LOT.
See what a cute pose he can strike?





We found a cute hat that he really liked wearing.
Only one accidental fall into the water face first....but he got
right back in after a few tears.




There were a gizzillion spiders and bugs but it was a FUN outing.












We are already planning more that may involve hiking...I think I
can keep up with Jack at this age:)......maybe

4th of July yard sale

Justin and Tabitha decided to get rid of some stuff at a yard sale....so I brought junk and Stephanie brought her jewelry. We started on Friday and continued on Saturday. We had an impressive crowd Fri but not so much on Sat. Mostly we sat around and watched Jack interact with people who came by.



Books & CD's were the hottest items, but people bought the most random items...it was a fun study in human behavior. Yard Sale 101.....









Jack literally stalked any little kid who came with their parents. This cute little girl tried hard to ditch Jack by running all over, but he dogged her till she finally rested on this wall. Once Jack learned he could play with the loose dirt with his foot, he completely ignored the girl.

Alan's graduation from ASU

So, Alan graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature form the school of Liberal Arts. He has been working on this degree for about 8 years on/off and we are so PROUD of him!!

Justin and Tabitha were in attendance at the graduation held at Wells Fargo arena on the ASU campus.

Alan's friend Tara Craig [who graduated last year with the same degree and was in a couple of classes with Alan] came to support Alan.

Proud family:)

Water woes.....

I really love a good rain storm [thunder and lightning are a plus] but NOT when it is soaking the ground at the corner of my house; seeping into the downstairs bedroom and saturating the carpet and padding. We discovered this 3 rain storms ago. We figured out that the gutters and rain spouts are worn, bent and broken...so, during the 2nd rain storm [ago] Steve rigged up a funnel system with a tarp and bricks that worked well...at least we didn't get water in the basement:) We eventually had to move the tarp and bricks to mow the grass that was really high due to all the extra water in that spot. So, yesterday, we were running errands and got home when it was pouring down rain again. We had to rebuild the system during the rain storm....we were drenched to the skin....but, again, not basement water:):) Notice the rain pouring off the roof??

The overall solution to the problem is to replace the gutters and rain spouts [a mere $1000 is the current bid] AFTER we pay to remove the neighbor's cottonwood tree that is responsible for the gutter damage in the first place! [ a topic for another blog...]See the Peggy-made river I've created on the side of my house??
To reaffirm...I love well placed water such as this: just not water in my basement:)

Hello, hello, could you speak up, I can't hear you very well..........

What's that? you want to speak to my Grammy?

....well, she's really busy taking pictures of me right now, it's her favorite hobby of late....

Here, let me shout at her to talk to you.....BYE BYE NOW!

Jack's 1st Birthday

What a fun day!
Amazing how 1 little kid can make so many adults act so silly...
It was a FUN day
Too bad Jack was so tired....he really didn't appreciate the "cake" part
but it was profitable for him in the toy and pants department!

Well, at least somebody loves the winter!

So this is Fisher chewing a toy, in the snow, in our backyard. This was taken during the Christmas holidays. He was in his harness and had just pulled Keralyn around the yard on a sled.
Fisher LOVES the snow. I am glad it pleases someone because I am getting tired of it. It's not so much the snow.....I love pretty white snow [when I don't have to be out in it].....it's the dreary, cloudy, lack of sunshine that I am ready to be done with. I have felt sick more this winter then I remember from other winters and I am sick and tired of being sick and tired! There!
Hurry up spring!

Christmas at Grandma's and Grandpa's

Merry Christmas 2008. Due to the weather, we decided not to go up to Ogden on Christmas Day but, instead, made the trek on Sunday Dec 28th. We had a superb dinner [which Grandma kept apologizing for b/c it was leftovers, but we loved it!] The kids played extensive xBox and Grandma and Peggy even tried their hands at golf! Afterwards we went into the living room and sang Christmas songs and took pictures. A good time was had by all. We love you, grandma and grandpa.....thanks for being such wonderful grandparents!