Emma's 2nd Photo Shoot

Should I ruin this great post with a sad story? I was on my way upstairs last night to stop the rough housing I had begun to hear, but arrived a second too late. I found a domino effect with Gehrig at the beginning, Damian in the middle and Emma's teeth hitting the doorknob (I think) at the end. . .followed by a lot of crying, a little bit of blood and the very likely chance that her tooth couldn't survive one more beating (she's had several hard smacks to her two front teeth). . .I really think she did it this time and I just want to cry about it. She's only 3. Damian, who's 7 still doesn't have his front adult teeth. I can't imagine my princess with a black tooth for the next 4 years. Ugghh! On the bright side of things. . . I noticed that only 4 out of 14 pictures that Kimberly took of her show her teeth.

Oquirrh Temple Dedication and the Fruits of Our Labors

Oquirrh Temple Dedication
We had the unique opportunity to attend the temple dedication instead of holding our regular 3 hour block meetings this Sunday. Our plans to go together were unfortunately changed last minute, so I went to the 9AM meeting and Gehrig & his daddy went to the 3PM meeting. We each heard different talks and all were uplifting and excellent. I just thought father and son looked so handsome all ready to attend the dedication, I had to take a picture. Such a cute pair!

The Fruits of Our Labors
Gehrig has been the main gardener in our family, but somehow, this huge zucchini got past both of us! Isaiah is showing off the pre-dinner tonight. The kids are actually not as fond of squash as I'd think they would be, so tonight I tried out a couple of different recipes (Stuffed Zucchini, Baked Zucchini and Parmesan and of course, Zucchini bread). They didn't encourage me to save the recipes except for the zucchini bread. That was a winner, of course!

Fun Times. . .

2009 Ward Campout
We did have a little adventure trying to get to the campout. . .Going through Park City, we saw several cars off to the side of the road--apparently the climbing had been too much for them. I felt so sorry for them as we whizzed on by. BUT, our time was to come. Luckily Lou was doing the driving. We both felt the van surge and Lou said that he was losing the ability to accelerate. We had to pull over. I said a little prayer in my heart while Lou let the car rest. About 5 minutes later, it started up and we got another 4-5 miles before we had to pull over again--yeah, I thought it was going to be a faith promoting story about prayer, and in the end it was, but not miraculously after one prayer. We stopped about 4-5 times to let the car rest and then continued our journey and finally made it there safely. . .The miracle was that we made it there and then made it home without even having to stop (although it did surge a couple of times). Hopefully it isn't dying on us. Anyway. . . I love these pictures of Gehrig. They capture his keen interest in nature (top left: studying the tree sap that he learned turns into amber after several thousand years), his handsome ease in the woods (top right) and his silly side (bottom right). Ah. . .to be a child again where camping only has great times and fun memories! (Don't get me wrong, I enjoy camping, but it's not the same. It goes by much more quickly, sleeping is nearly impossible and there's a LOT of work getting there, being there and getting unpacked and cleaned up when you get home.)

Damian, Emma, Isaiah and their friend Madi had a great time building a tepee and playing in it. Lou set up and took down our tent that provided us with shelter for a night of fun. We enjoyed a great dinner of ribs, corn, chips and dessert and a great breakfast of pancakes and sausage. The campfire was fun with the other ward members. Lou took off to bed early, so I sent Emma and Isaiah with him. Damian and Gehrig wanted to follow shortly because they knew he would be playing a movie in the tent. So. . .I joined my family and fell asleep to a good Bing Crosby movie.

BINGHAM COPPER MINES
The kids and I were driving home the other day on roads we hadn't really traveled before (way West). Gehrig noticed how close we were to the mine and begged me to stop. So. . .I impulsively stopped and took them in to check it out. It cost $5/car to get in to see a 15 minute video about the mines, view the museum, overlook the mine and shop in the gift shop. Gehrig thanked me over and over for taking him. He's slightly obsessed with rocks right now and found some pretty neat ones up there (some even looks like it has gold flakes on it). I found it very fascinating and well worth the stop. Isaiah was freaking out in the bottom left picture because his sweet older brother, Damian, told him that the tire was going to fall on them. I was just trying to get a cute picture of them all there, and that is what I got instead. Damian was reading one of the plaques on an old mine cart in the top left picture and the little ones are looking down at the mine in the bottom right picture.

Our Ward Pool Party

Take a quick trip with me through busy Salt Lake into this backyard on the East side. A forest paradise in the middle of the city--that's all I want. . .if I have to live in the city! :) I almost gasped when I walked first in their backyard to see all these trees and no other homes. . .

As you walk down a charming wooden stairway. . .

. . .you can look down into the yard at the pool

A small waterfall in their back yard. Behind the pool and a sturdy fence with a padlocked gate, is Millcreek--yes, THE very creek with the sound and beauty of running water. I didn't even get pictures of half of the yard. Anyway. . .our friend's parents were so kind to offer their home and yard to our ward. It is so nice to enjoy the beauty and vision that others have been able to achieve. I don't even need the pool to be in heaven. Just the creek, waterfall and beautiful remote, foresty feel (with a small area of grass to enjoy).

If you look to the left of the pool, you'll see another fun part of the yard; a bunch of tables (shaded) for eating, playing games, etc.

I can't believe we got Lou in the water with us again! How fun!
All of the kids had a turn jumping off the diving board to me. It was priceless to watch Emma & Isaiah muster the courage to jump. I tried to get them to do it again for pictures, but it didn't work so well without me there to catch them. I love the middle picture of Isaiah as he contemplates walking out a little farther. Then, he decided not to go and started walking back (top right). But, I encouraged the man from the ward to go ahead and toss him off to another friend from the ward. He did great (still would have been better if I were in the water to catch him).
Emma was pretty hesitant to jump to somebody else too, but she did it. Look at the expression of near-terror on her face in the middle picture! Gehrig was brave enough to do flips off the board. Unfortunately, Damian would go back for pictures, but he did have fun jumping a few times when I was there for him.The slide was another fun spot they spent a lot of time at.
The weather was stormy in the morning and we weren't sure if it was going to be worth going, but by the time we joined the party, the weather had cleared up and we enjoyed several hours of perfect weather--perfect water--and great fun!

Another Fun Trip to Idaho

My grandfather turned 90 years old on the 11th and Mason turned 17 on the 15th! We made a quick Monday-Friday trip to Idaho to celebrate the birthdays. I can't believe I didn't get one picture of Grandpa on this great occassion. We really enjoyed being there to celebrate at an open house for him. The trip was well worth the effort for these two great men in our lives!!

I really let the camera collect dust this time. I only have Mason's birthday and Gehrig's latest adventure with a bee. Yep, he was playing with bees or hornets (something I can't quite convince him to stay away from) and got stung right in the middle of his forehead. He woke up the next morning looking like Will Smith from the movie, Hitch! Poor guy. It took several days for it to calm down, but he eventually got back to normal. What's an Idaho trip without something about Gehrig to make me call my sweet Uncle Jud (the doctor)?

My cousin Lindsey and her darling daughter made the trip with us. The traveling was quite insane, but I sure appreciated her coming with us and spending the week with the family.

The Young Princess Bride. . .

I couldn't help it. My mom had this veil and dress in her dress-up. . .I had to take her to the temple and take pictures of her. . .

When it was time to leave, she didn't want to go. She said, "No! I want to get married!" as she pointed to the temple. Poor thing. . .I told her we were just pretending for now, but she was really frustrated she couldn't go in and get married.

As we were walking away, the missionaries at the visitor's center beckoned us to come in. We (Carlianne came with us) had fun showing Emma off and showing her the new Christus. Emma was very shy at this point, but curious about the Christus. She was pretty concerned about all of his wounds, but eventually warmed up and was willing to touch him (which the missionaries encouraged her to do).

Sewing Projects Continued. . .

When I get the bug to sew, I go crazy until it's out of my system. I'm happy to report it's out of my system for the time being. I need a break and so does my living room where I've had to keep my sewing stuff out for the past couple of weeks. I made a duvet cover for Emma's satin comforter (I'm not a fan of the satin) and a couple of pillows for her bed. I actually need to do a few more pillows to make it cuter, but I've run out of pillows and steam! I made it reversible, as you can see in the pictures below. See my little monkey jumping on her bed? She's pretty excited about it. She's wondering when I'm going to make her pink (pink being her favorite color) curtains, but I figure the lavender ones I made earlier match well enough, so she'll have to deal with the lavender! :)

I have loved my comforter for the past several years, but was tiring of the look. So. . .over a year ago I saw this duvet cover and fell in love with it. I watched it on ebay for months, but just couldn't justify the expense. Well, when I got the bug to make the boys quilt, I figured that I'd be saving a little money there and might be able to justify my duvet cover. So, while everybody's rooms were getting a face lift, I decided we deserved one too. I ordered it and much to my dismay, it came with about 8 places where tape residue was left on the micro suede material. I figured since I paid full price for it and it was supposed to be brand new, I'd call the company to see what they could do for me. I was pleasantly surprised that they were going to ship out a new one and said I could keep, destroy, get rid of the old one. Well. . . being in the sewing mode, I decided to use it to make curtains, extend the bed skirt to reach the ground (our bed is higher than the average bed), and make pillow covers (4 of them) so that all the pillows match the bedding. I used every inch of material (being careful to use the sticky spots in places that wouldn't be seen (the crease at the top of the curtains). Unfortunately, the curtain rods need to be adjusted to make the curtains sit in the right place, but at least I have them. I'm excited to have a new look and way excited to put away my sewing machine for the time being!

Happy Birthday Damian!!

Damian's 7th birthday should be filled with great memories! We enjoyed his birthday with just our little family, anticipating a bigger party at the lake the next day. I can't believe he's only 7. :) In many ways, he's seemed more grown up. He's a great babysitter (most of the time) and has always been a great helper (when he wants to). He says he takes things apart all the time because he wants to figure out how to get them back together. Someday, that will be a great asset (maybe not the best one for our home & cars right now though)! We're so happy to have this little man in our family!

He really wanted a pinata this year, but I just didn't feel like doing it. So. . .I was looking in to buying one (since we didn't have to spend much money for his birthday presents), but my friend talked me into letting him make his own. Hmmm. . .should I give you the dirty details (of letting two little boys make a pinata together), or just let you think it was all fun and games. . . .?

Okay, for the sake of keeping good records, I'll let you know of some of the mess that came with this little project. He, Gehrig and their friends Alex & Annie did the first layer of newspapers. It's glued together with a sticky paste of cornstarch and water. They did so well that I turned them loose in the garage for the second layer (this time just Damian & Gehrig). I heard some noise and went out to find they were having a "water" fight with the sticky paste. Paste was EVERYWHERE! On my car, bikes, floor, rug, etc. No, I wasn't too happy. But, stupidly, I let Damian go ahead with the project. When it came to spray painting, I figured that if we did it on the grass and in a box, if anything went where it shouldn't it could be mowed away. Plus, I was out there reading to him while he sprayed. Well, at one point when I wasn't looking up (b/c I was reading to him, mind you) he sprayed the sidewalk. Nice, eh? Anyway. . .another day went by and I had cooled down enough to turn him loose with the paints to paint his Spiderman. Luckily, this one went without event. Overall, I think he did a pretty good job for a brand new 7 year old!

His first gift was the new bedding, pillows & curtains. I made them a couple of weeks ago and my wonderful Aunt Mary quilted and bound them for me. Damian requested the dog theme. I was so excited to finish a project that wouldn't be undone immediately (like most of the work of a mother and housewife). He also got a bike (unluckily, we've had 5 bikes stolen--luckily our great friend and neighbor has had 2 bikes left at her home and never claimed--so, she gave us one of her additional bikes to give him for his birthday!). He also got a portable cd player to listen to his books on cd and music, a CTR ring from Gehrig & science book from Emma & Isaiah.

On Monday, MaryLynn's family came with us to Pineview Reservoir and met up with Brinn and kids, Mom, Carli & Camille and kids! What a great party!! The kids had a wonderful time on the beach and in the lake. We had lunch, broke Damian's pinata and ate cupcakes! I didn't do the greatest job taking pictures, but here are a few from the exciting day!

(Annie, Emma & Quincy, Gehrig
Brooklyn, Kimberly, Brinn,
Katelynn, Brielle, Alex)

Mom was such a sport to always be willing to let Isaiah warm up on her after he got cold. He wanted to "warm" up even when he was hot! I think he just loves his Mimi!! Thank you all for coming and making the day so special for Damian. You should have seen his face light up when I planned it and told him who was planning on coming! He was so excited!!

So. . .this next set of pictures is depressing. If you're prone to get depressed for someone else, you shouldn't look. . .So. . .after two days of enjoying their brand new quilts I made for them with my very own two hands (instead of buying them something cheap), last night Lou brought Isaiah down looking like this. . . .

When I saw the damage to his quilt, I crumpled in a ball on the floor next it--desperately wanting to cry. But, to make a long, sad story short and happier. . .I scrubbed my little heart out for quite some time and you can't really tell unless you're looking for it. Thank heavens!