Phoenix Photos

Enough said.  The last one's my favorite.  :)  I love this kid.

Kittens at Great Grandmas

We stopped by Great Grandma and Great Grandpas house to say goodbye before we headed back to Canada. While we were inside chatting the kids, as usual, went outside to wander among the hay.  After not too long, Sicily came running in with amazing news.  There were 6 kittens in the barn.  10 mins later Aspen came in to inform us there were actually 7.  10 mins after that they finally settled there were 8, and they were letting the kids hold them.

Great Grandma had to see that.  So outside we all went.

 They were so little and so precious.

And if they weren't being held they were eating the food we brought out for them, or tackling each other non stop.

Great Grandma thinks they were actually 2 litters.  The grey ones were the older set, and the white socked ones the younger.  If we didn't have to cross the border in 2 days I think I would have taken one home with me.  They were that cute.

But they weren't big fans of Beaux.  He tried to be friendly.  :)  Naw, I think his terrier instincts were kicking in.  He was a little more interested in them than he should have been.  Which sent Sicily into a fit.  In the end Beaux got to go sit in the car so Sicily would settle down.

Walker Haven

Last Canadian Thanksgiving we took advantage of smaller crowds and headed to Disney World.  This Canadian Thanksgiving we headed a little closer to home in Downey, Idaho to the newly established "Walker Haven" 

Even Beaux was excited to check out the new place.

 Jared and I recently purchased 40 acres of land just West of Downey, Idaho.

 And if you can't tell....it's BEAUTIFUL!

Even Beaux jumped right in.  Literally!  There's a creek that runs right through the middle, 5 seconds out of the car and he was straight in the mud.

The kids, on the other hand, headed for the shed.  Which was full of all their new toys.  3 dirt bikes (in various sizes), and three 4 Wheeler's.

London getting his first lesson from Dad.  He did awesome.  Putted around for the first hour or so then blazed himself new trails all the rest of the day.

Aspen kick starting her 4 wheeler.

 Phoenix quickly learned how to reverse after he ran into the bushes.

 Sicily's 4 wheeler needed a jump start so she started her day with a little picnic with her stuffies.

Phoenix's bike lesson didn't go quite as well as Dad would have hoped.  Phoenix was a little overwhelmed so he opted for the 4 wheeler, while Aspen was more than happy to take over the bike.

Sicily out on her cute little 4 wheeler.  She did such a great job.

All are welcome to join us for some camping, biking and fun.  We hope to be out here as often as possible. And it's right close to everything.

Jam Making

Tis the season of canning.  Since there's not much in the Faith in God booklet about food storage we decided to read a Conference Report on it instead, which is in the booklet.  :)  And watch a short video on the Church Farms.  Then apply our new found knowledge by making some jam for the girls to take home.

I wanted to use my awesome Victorio Strainer, because I knew they'd think it was awesome too.  And I had some frozen blackberries already, so the plan was to make Apple-Blackberry Jam.  

From left to right: Sierra, Sicily, Jocelyn, Teagan (a friend), Rylie, Isabel, Aspen and Nena.

 We each got a turn squishing the fruit down the funnel and turning the handle to make it all come out.

Next comes sugar, which means a little heat to make it dissolve.  Note Sicily's awesome smile.  She's crazy that one!

And last but not least, you must taste test the jam.  I made homemade bread which was hot and aromatic by the time the jam was finished. They went through 2 loaves in 10 mins.  :)  Gotta love em!

Latch Hook

How many of us have done Latch Hook over the years?  I have some little rugs I've made since having kids even.  Tigger and what not.  So Aspen has taken up the cause.  Isn't she cute?!  She even separated (with London's help) all the different colors of yarn and put them in their own separate baggies.  She's my little crafter.  

Temple Day

I thought attending the Temple at 10:30 am on a Friday it would be kind of empty.  I was rather wrong.  It was packed, it was wonderful and I loved it. 

Maybe having the kids in school all day won't be that bad after all.

What to do?

People think Stay-at-Home-Moms don't work.  Personally I don't know what they are talking about.  I actually was a bit worried about what I would do with my time once the kids were all in school.  But I honestly don't know where the time goes.  Today was full of:

LAUNDRY

 DISHES

 CANNING (about 25 jars of Strawberry Jam)

 and a bit of EXERCISE.

On the list for tomorrow is the joyousness of IRONING!!!  Yeah, can't wait.  ;)

Home At Last

I was rather excited to see the school bus pull into the neighborhood this afternoon.  I missed my kiddos.

 Looks like they all had a good day.  I'm glad they did but I'm more glad they're home now.

Moms and Muffins

Since so many Moms brought their kids to school today the school had muffins available for all of us so we could chat and cry together.  I was kind enough not to take any photos of those moms, not saying I wasn't one of them.

Then Phoenix wandered in.  The 3rd Graders are out in the portables this year so they got to take a little tour of how to get to the bathrooms, since there aren't any in the portables.  I caught him on camera again and gave him another hug and kiss.

Following the Bus

I followed the bus to school but with the crazy traffic and some poor little High Schooler, I got a little further behind the bus than I thought I would.

London and Aspen are in Middle School so I wasn't following them.  They know how to get where they need to go.  But Phoenix and Sicily line up on a different side of the school than they did last year.  So I wanted to make sure the first few days that they made it to where they were supposed to go.  

Obviously Phoenix found his friends.  Clockwise from the left: Jack, Liam, Luke, Kai and Phoenix.  So excited to be back with all their friends.

 Sicily's Kindergarten group really got split up.  But luckily she got her 2 bestest buddies still in her class.  Kiara, Isabell and Sicily.  3 peas in a pod.

First Day of School, First Day of School

They are all just getting so big.  Left - Right.  Sicily (1st Grade), Phoenix (3rd Grade), Aspen (6th Grade), London (8th Grade).  All cute and ready to go.

 The true nature of our kids.  This has been our entire summer, it's time to see some friends.  :)

On we go!

Bald is Beautiful

Sicily's sweet Teachers Assistant at school, Madame Cinnamon, held a fund raiser for the Children's Cancer Foundation this evening.  

She has had 4-5 family members, including her mother, and close friends die due to Cancer.

So she and her family all cut short, or SHAVED their heads to support those still fighting cancer.  They donated their hair to the Cancer Foundation and raised over $5,000 from the community in the process.

Sicily was so proud of Madame Cinnamon.

I'm glad there are people in the world willing to sacrifice for those in need.

Sicily's 1st Dance Recital

Our sweet little Love Bug did her first Dance Recital this morning.  Her class is 3-5 year olds and though she is 5 she's as tall as a 6 year old.  Some of the others were just tiny, so we had every size in class.

She was so cute and even had to pause in the middle to scratch her hand.  "It itched," was her explanation. I'll get the video loaded as soon as it will let me.

Daddy, of course, did his job and brought her some flowers.  She loved them, but later asked, "Why did Daddy give me flowers?"  She didn't quite get it.  But Jared got a kiss all the same.

Navajo Tacos

First time ever in 14 years of marriage we cooked something for dinner by frying it.  Navajo Taco's used to be one of my favorites and tonight they just sounded yummy.  The kids all came into the kitchen separately and asked "What are you doing?"  When they saw this was for dinner, everyone of them turned up their noses.  "You cook it in the oil?"  They couldn't believe that something could be cooked this way.

And though the Taco's were good and the Fry Bread with Honey was yummy too.  All of us had tummy aches after we finished dinner.  I don't think we'll be frying anything any time soon.  At least not for another 14 years.