skate park and drew

Isaac's sweet pink sunglasses!
Heber recently got their own skate park. Drew of course it quite interested in it. During the summer at night all the big boys would be over there doing their tricks and drew was mesmerised by it, he told me he needed a skate board. I think he really wants to be into extreme sports. One morning when all the big kids were in school we took Drew, Isaac, and big Drew over there to run, ride their bikes, and the spiderman scooter. Probably not my best idea getting a two year old into a skate park and doing wheelys but it was a good time, he thought he was pretty cool.

a lot of peaches

My parents peach trees decided to really reproduce this fall and so we have had so many peaches, which we really like but they don't last very long. So Drew and I made jam one day, froze a ton the next day, and dried some more the next day. Dean wanted to make the coveted peach cobbler he had at our neighbors in the dutch oven. It was quite a process. To clean out the dutch oven from last years lake powell very burnt berrie cobbler. Then season it again, then buy the stuff to do it, Drew was his trusty assistant each step of the way. Finally at 9:45 one night we had some dang good cobbler! It is really easy too and I am sure you could do it in the oven. peaches, yellow cake mike, cinnamon & sugar, butter, and a can of fresca.

fall fun

Fall is officially here and we are very glad that it is not too cold yet, and that good TV is back! Friday was a beautiful fall day so I decided to take Drew on a little hike since I had not made it to the gym yet. It wasn't exactly a little hike it was a 3 mile loop that was a lot more up hill then I thought it was going to be but we had such a good time together. He walked and ran, of course, for the first 20 minutes then I packed him for awhile up hill.. at one point he asked me why I was making that noise, the noise being me panting, nice. The trees were beautiful and the temperature was nice. He started to get tired towards the end but nothing that a batman fruit snack and a promise to McDonalds couldn't fix. He walked again the last little bit and said he liked that hike. It took us an hour and half, but it was time well spent!!

A weekend with Dean

Dean has been working like crazy the last few weeks and has been busy with his new church job. My mom called last week and said hey we have a free hotel room in Salt Lake that is going to expire do you guys want it. I said heck yeah. We could not go on Friday but Sunday was not stopping us. We went on Saturday night, not until 8 or so because Dean went to the BYU game but still, could not pass this up. We met my parents and Gateway and they took Drew and gave us the gift certificate, they said it was a fair trade, whatever... We went to McGraffs which is a little strange because Dean and I do not like seafood. However, the wait was short and their steak and ribs are also quite tasty. Then we went to see Ghost Town, it was actually really funny, but I can't recommend without a disclaimer because it has a few not so choice words. Then off to our hotel room to sleep in without Drew waking us up at 7:30!! It was great. It was just what we needed thanks Mom and Dad for making it possible. Drew loves playing at their house when we went to get him he told us to go far away.... That's our boy!

For love of baseball and the ranch

Drew is a Dean clone by looks.. and everything else I am realizing more and more everyday. Dean has been playing softball every Monday night since May. It is just in Heber and was free so not too bad, but Drew and I had to go to EVERY game, the kid loves it. He always wants it to be his game, so on the drive over he would tell Dean it my game daddy, not yours. He wears his braves shirt, hat, and takes a bat, ball, and his glove (as I was informed it is properly called) to each game and we play in the grass until it is over and then he gets one hit on the field and gets to run the bases. Well the last game was last night and his team lost so no more baseball till next spring, but Drew still ask when daddy's games are when we drive by the park.






Their other shared love is the Ranch. Every August they "hay" that is what they call it. Anyway this year Drew was old enough to not be so in the way, and of course he loved every minute of it. He loved to ride in the tractor with uncle Randy then drive the truck with Daddy then back to get some more hays as he called it. He also likes seeing the animals, riding with grandpa in the tractor, riding the horses, looking for deer, and playing with his cousins. Last weekend we went camping there and he was Dean's little shadow, he wanted to help with everything including the fire!! and still he asks me if we can go stay in the cabin. I am glad he wants to be like his daddy!

Fear Faced, Not overcomed

So I got called to be a Relief Society teacher a couple weeks ago and have been dreading it ever since. I think next to Gospel Doctrine teacher it one of the worst callings for me. I have never taught a lesson, Dean and I were in primary in our old ward and I never taught once because I was scared of 5 year olds, this is far worse then that, I should have practiced.

I read the lesson a lot and finally this morning figured there was nothing else I could do. I had learned a lot from it and was glad to have the opportunity to really study it. But I was terrified to actually stand up there for like 40 minutes and try to talk about all that I had learned. I did survive and I think it was okay, there was never too much silence, and I don't think I said anything too crazy so that is good. However, I do not feel as relived as I was hoping because I just have to do it again next month.

Nie Nie

I have been reading these the last few days and felt a bit depressed because she does it all, and I don't even do a little, in my mind. But why not just do those little things for your husband or kids, just because. I think sometimes as a wife and a mom we are trying so hard to be the best and make things perfect that we miss the big picture and those moments that make being a wife and a mother so great!! She includes this in one of her post, which I also remember from his talk that is wonderful.

Elder M. Russell Ballard quoted her in a conference talk

"Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.”

Drew's TV debut

Drew and I had a great day today. He will probably not be on TV but it is a possibility. A guy in our ward's aunt makes these little kid movies called Little Playdates and they were shooting in Heber today at his Dad's farm. I signed Drew up about a month ago because I thought it would be fun, not to get discovered, Dean had high hopes. It was suppose to be at 9am but since Entertainment Tonight was covering the shoot, it got moved to 11. I was worried that he would be tired and crabby so I offered him a toy at Kings (in Heber that is a goldmine for toys, and the only store we have) if he would be a good boy and get dressed and let me comb his hair and go play with the kids on the hays.

He did so GREAT! he had so much fun. All the kids had to do was play on a tractor, hay stacks, pet a horse, and run around. All his favorite things!! He was so excited the whole time and I just had to point him in the right direction a couple times. There were three other boys that he played with and followed around, they were all really cute. Then when it was done after about 3 hours, he got pizza, chips, a juice box, and $27.50! When we were walking over to get the pizza he said that was fun mom!

Of course every Mom thinks there kid is the cutest and has the cutest personaility but I was so proud today to be his Mom!! He makes me laugh everyday. No doubt that kid can give me a headache and at times makes me want to scream. (Like last night when he dumped a container of sugar on the floor and was playing in it.) But today he was so darn cute and so fun to be around he was such a good boy!

Right after we headed to Kings where he had quite a difficult time picking just one toy, but finally decided on a remote control dinosaur. When we came out of Kings there was a swing set for sale in the parking lot, and without even pausing he said oh a park on the road :) I love this boy!

The Nie Nie Dialogues

So I have recently heard about this girls blog from some friends that have read them all. Then today I saw the family on the Today Show. So for those of you that have not heard about this I am sharing with you. I have not read much of the blog yet but apparently she is an awesome mom of four kids that finds so much joy in motherhood and she started blogging to remember it all. She is originally from Utah and now lives in Phoenix. People around the world have read her blog and are inspired by her dedication to her family. Last month her and her husband were in a plane crash and are were burned badly, 85% of her body and 35% of her husbands body. Her sister is now updating the blog and also has her own that is quite entertaining to read. Her name is Cjane. Through the blogging world people have raised over $100,000 to donate to this family through online auctions. Anyway thought it might be interesting to read and let others know about it.
Here is the link to the blog and also the video from the today show.