Sunday Photo: 37

Today after church we gobbled up a late lunch; homemade Cafe Rio sweet pork burritos, rice and beans.  And with our tummies full we headed up the canyon to check out the changing colors and for a little hike.

  

Despite the fact that we drove to the same place we parked this week when Avery, Eli and Lucy played in the snow, we really had to search to find any.  We took our time and collected sticks and leaves and ran around on some trails.

It's an amazing world we live in.  I am reminded of that daily. 

We finished the evening off with a dinner of cookies and ice cream.  Because I am an awesome (lazy) mom like that.

~~~

Last night I got to go with my sister to the Relief Society General Broadcast. Click on the link to watch it yourself.  I liked all the talks, but I especially enjoyed Sister Reeves talk.  All of them spoke about covenants and making and keeping promises.  I know I am far from perfect.  But I also know when I try to focus on the little things, I am strengthened.  I've been trying to attend the temple every week.  I can really feel peace in my life from doing this.  I might not always be able to keep up a weekly schedule, but I find a  peace and strength  there that I need now and I am thankful.  I am so thankful I live close to one of my sisters and we could go together last night...add dinner after at Zupas - and it was a great girls night!  I am looking forward to conference this upcoming week!

Bottle Rockets

This week in scouts the kids shot off bottle rockets they made from 2 liter bottles.  Oh my gosh, this was so much fun!  The kids were having a blast and it was so funny.  We had some extra bottles from the holy war football party...so everyone decorated one and took them.  Noah's flew over the fence and went super high!  It was a pretty windy night and we thought some might even hit cars on the road!  We might need Wade to build our own bottle rocket launcher.

liftoff:

up, up and away:

(the tiny little speck in the sky!)

on the way back down:

and landing:

 Wade took a short video.

First Snow

It snowed in the mountains this week. We drove up and let the kids play in it for a little bit before it got too cold.

Some of the leaves aren't even changing yet, so it's crazy there is already snow!

Snow ball fight!

Lucy was more interested in eating her coat than playing with the snow.

We live in such a beautiful place!  I love this time of year.

First Fish!

Wade took the boys fishing last week.  He took them to Vivian Park because he thought for sure that they both could catch something there, but only Noah caught a tiny trout.  (which of course caused all kinds or problems because Gage didn't catch anything) but before that they both were having a good time.

Wade made Noah gut his own fish and Noah was worried about it.  He asked Wade what Heavenly Father thought of that.  Wade explained that since they were bringing the fish home and eating it that it was okay, but if thy were not going to eat it that they would need to throw it back.

Before fishing Wade gave the boys some new knives.  He got some free pocket knives with his Cabelas points and figures they are old enough for their own now.  They are always whittling sticks now.  I find sharpened sticks all the time outside.  

{Avocado}

The other night at dinner Lucy showed an avocado who was the boss....

{little hike}

One morning after we dropped the older 3 off at school we asked Eli what he wanted to do.

"A little hike"

he replied.

(everything he requests is "little"...the little stream, the little fish at cabelas, a little hike)

The leaves are changing colors so we had a good time finding and collecting leaves.

The best things in life are free.

What a great reminder.  

It was a perfect way to spend the morning.

{dinner in the canyon}

Last week we went up the canyon with Wade's brothers family for dinner and smores.  

Avery found this caterpillar and she kept it. She named it Delly and brought it home and put it in a jar.  It's now in a cocoon, but I am pretty sure they have shook the jar up so much the poor little bug will never come out.  

smores:

Wade brought his gold pan. 

He wants to be on the show Gold Rush.

He's going to make us millions someday.

Right?

Daesha's feet in the mud.  

Because I can't resist a good foot picture.

Thanksgiving Point

At the beginning of the year we bought a pass for Thanksgiving Point.  We really enjoy the Dinosaur Museum, and go there all the time, but this month we have tried to go see other things there and enjoy it all.

One morning while the big boys were at school we went to the farm and children's garden.

One Saturday we decided to take the kids out to Thanksgiving Point Gardens.  I think we made good on our pass just from this one visit.  We calculated how much it would have cost for us to go - about $73...but we got in free with the pass.  Good deal.

I forgot my phone, so we didn't get that many pictures. (Wade doesn't take a zillion pictures like me I guess)

We all had a good time.  Avery keeps asking if we can go back to the place with all the flowers.  We'll have to try to go again before it gets cold for good.

{September}

I have a lot of instagram pictures, and they never seem to get blogged.  I think that is a common problem these days - people use facebook and instagram and don't blog much anymore.  I still love to document it all, but hardly make time to sit down and post much.  Here are some of my random catch up pictures:

~~

Eli is loving being the "only" kid while Avery is in preschool and the big boys are at school.  Of course, Lucy is still around, but since she doesn't say much he pretty much gets to plan how he wants to spend his mornings.

He loves to go to Cabelas and check out the fish and the animals.

But his all time favorite activity is going to the "little stream."  He loved the splash pad park in Highland this summer and it doesn't have water in it anymore, but Eli doesn't care!  He asks me every night before bed if we can go to the "little stream" the next day.  He runs around and climbs and jumps on all the rocks.

~~

I don't ever really put shoes on our babies.  It's not like they need them, and really - I already keep up with everyone else's shoes, do I really need to keep up with hers too?  But, the other day we were going out (someplace besides the library or grocery store) so I thought why not?  She could not figure out what they were and kept looking at them.  She did a pretty good job at keeping them on.

~~

Lucy is in to everything, like I mentioned in her 10 month post.  The other day we were playing in the backyard and she scooted over and started picking at the flowers and the dirt.  Silly girl.

~~

Noah was learning about communities and different jobs, so Wade went and talked to Noah's first grade class about being a "foot doctor"  

According to Noah it was "kinda boring...not as cool as the firefighter....but kinda cool I guess...but we all just really liked that Dad brought a treat." 

Fruit by the foot.  The way to the first graders heart.

~~

This week Avery and Eli took some old crayons and make some new crayons. 

We used a gingerbread mold and I think they turned out super cute.  

Crayon people!

~~

Avery and Eli have been playing with boxes.  The best toys ever.  Avery likes to put Lucy in one and drag her around like it's a car.  Lucy just sits in it and claps her hands and giggles.  One afternoon we had story time in their boxes.

~~

Our nephew plays on the sophomore team at West Lake.  

The games are free and fun to go to. We've had a good time watching Wyatt.

I went to such a small high school - we only had one team.  The schools here are so big they have a team for each grade!  It's kinda crazy to me, but the games are super low key, so the kids run around and we get to watch a little football.

~~

This week I took Noah to Target to get his medicine refilled.  I wish he would just let me go during the day while he was at school, but he likes to go and pick a different flavor every single month.  His favorite flavor is grape, but this month he got banana.  Sounds gross to me, but he takes his medicine every single day without complaining...so whatever.

anyway....

He had a great time looking at all the Halloween stuff.  We got a kick out of the wigs.

~~

And last, but not least:

Lucy showed us how she felt about having to wear a BYU shirt last Saturday for the Holy War.

(go utes!)

Or she was just showing us how she felt about the final score of the game.

(go cougs!)

You decide.

10 Months!

I suppose it is time to get with it and post Lucy's 10 month pictures.  I took them the week she turned 10 months, and they have been sitting as a draft on blogger ever since. 

At 10 months Lucy is such a fun girl.  She loves to scoot around and scoots everywhere!  We find her down the hall, in the other room, in the kitchen, and mostly right under our feet with her arms up, wanting to be picked up.

She loves to play with her brothers and sister.  She gets so excited when they play with her.  She is bored when they are all gone.

Lucy has two little teeth.  And she will bite you with them to tell you all about them.  It's fun.

She loves to eat anything that she can do herself and we are constantly picking up and vacuuming.  Just when I think the floor is clean, she can find something and put it in her mouth.

(Mom - I think the picture above Lucy looks like the baby pictures of you.)

Lucy still wakes up in the night, but loves her two pink blankies.  She takes pretty good naps during the day and is an expert at taking naps anywhere - in the car, stroller, in our arms.

She loves music.  She loves toys that make music and she loves to bounce and dance with Eli to What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction.  Her favorite toy is still her maracas.  She has loved them forever and she never gets tired of them.

She can say dada, mama (only when she is crying) and her favorite is awa-awa.  Not sure what it means, but she loves to say it. a-wa-wa.  She babbles it all the time.

Obviously, Lucy is getting tired of these monthly pictures.  

Good thing she is 11 months soon, and only has just a few more of these photos shoots until she turns one!