Thanksgiving

I would like to take a minute and reflect on the blessings I have received this year. I have good health, a wonderful husband, a missionary in the field, and four sweet daughters. We have been so blessed this year with a warm home, food,clothes and above all a job. My hubby and I were at Costco the day before Thanksgiving picking out pumpkin and pecan pie for dinner. As I looked at all the marvelous food that was prepared in the meat cases, I couldn't help but get choked up by all the "richness" that was around me. We are so blessed!! As my missionary said, "Be grateful that you have a drink of clean water, many don't have even that!" I AM THANKFUL!!!

Trick or Treat

It took a long day and a very long night of sewing but I finished my 4th dd's princess costume. She said she felt like a princess in it. Her sister curled her hair for her. She wore a devil costume for the evening. It was bittersweet...It was her last class party and last year of trick or treating as the magical age of twelve snuck up on us.












My third dd went to a costume party and she won as the famous PROGRESSIVE lady named Flo...a very striking likeness don't you agree as she strikes a pose? We all agree that she is much more beautiful as a blonde.(Notice the perfectly straight teeth? Yippee! Braces are off!)

Fall family pictures

The fam went picture taking at Murray park last weekend before the fall colors began fading. Here are some of my favorites.

Witches Fun

Last evening, the girls and I went to Gardiner Village for the annual Witches Nite Out...a glorified excuse to spend money and wear bizarre costumes. There is also dancing in the plaza to wacky halloween music. We like going because of the photo opportunities and to walk around inside our favorite shops. Our most visited were the Georgell Doll Shop, Pine Needles Quilt Shop and Afton's Sweet shop. We went till our feet hurt and had samples of the sweet shop's fudge.

Conference weekend

My dh got an idea that conference weekend would be an excellent time to refinish the floor. The weather cooperated so that we could keep the furniture outside. He sanded down the rough areas and then I explained that as long as the furniture was out and it was all taped up, we may as well paint the bottom half of the room. We were tired of green, so I zoomed over to Depot and grabbed some paint. It is a very light lavendar. The top color in the picture looks yellow but no, it's still the same creme color. It looks very nice! I will be dusting for the next week. The girls put up our Halloween decorations today. Conference talks were wonderful!

State Fair

A sweet friend came to visit us on the weekend. My dh and number 3 daughter took her fishing and then on the return we all went to the state fair. Here is a fun picture of the afternoon

This says, Use it up. Wear it out. Make do or Do without.

My favorite part is walking through and getting inspiration from all the fantastic quilts and handmade goodies that were in one of the buildings. I saw a fun jeans quilt. It looked very simple and really cute. It looked easy to make. The blocks are about 6 inches square. The layout is nine by nine squares and randomly the quilter put embroidered sayings and cute cut-outs appliqued on some of them. She framed some of the jean squares with cute fabrics. It was quilted by machine without batting, keeping it lightweight. Cute!

Another milestone happened that night. Daughter#3 went to her first teen dance over at the institute. She came home with glowing reports. :)

Paraguay!

Yippee! He got there safely! A twenty hour flight and nervous jitters for all involved! He called from Miami before boarding a plane to Buenos Aires. He was nervous but anxious to get going! These pictures were taken by the mission president and posted on their blog. We got to see these a few days after he arrived. He is the cute one in a light green tie and huge grin!The next picture is of the fabulous fourteen in front of the Asuncion temple and then with their trainers, in the white shirts.If you are counting, there were 14 from the states and four from South America that joined them.

County Fair

Abbie having a heart to heart with Lula Belle the cow.




It has been a wild and crazy month. A lot of activities have happened in our family. The week of August 15th, we went to Burley, Idaho for the Cassia County Fair and specifically to be with family at a fun time of year. There are so many memories connected with the fair. This year was the 100th year anniversary of the county fair. My sisters and a few of their kids went up too.
First it starts out as a non-stop cooking frenzy. Everything made throughout the year is entered on Monday afternoon. Judging is on Tuesday. The parade is on Wednesday.


Grandpa's go-cart is always a fun thing to do while all the moms are gritting their teeth hoping the kids don't plow into something.

We all went to the open class building to see what ribbons and awards we received. Our family won quite a few! Here shows Jessica with a winning ribbon for her scrapbook and got a gift certificate. Celeste won a huge blue ribbon for her quilted doll slumber blanket. The rodeo on Thursday night was fun. There was a bull that didn't want to get out of the arena and then of course the scones and corn on the cob is always great!

Swimming at the Burley pool.

Yard sale

OH, what do you do in the summertime...the girls have wanted to do a garage sale all summer. They got rid of a lot of stuff from their rooms and put it outside today. They made a whopping $1.80. Just enough money in gas to drive the rest of it to the local DI. We cleaned it up just in time for a monsoon. Something to do....

A new mode

Meet our new addition. It is a 1995 Ford Escort. We got a heck of a deal. It has only 75,000 miles and looks and acts brand new. The only drawback is that it has a manual transmission. No worries! The girls will just have to learn. With so much driving we do, it will be a blessing to have a car with great gas mileage. Now, to give it a name.....

My Hobby

My second dd is an artist! She needs to be an illustrator. This is a picture of me doing what I love to do when I have spare minutes.

First MTC Pictures

I thought ya'll might like pictures my son sent us today.

This is his companion, Elder Madsen, from South Jordan. On the back of this next picture he writes, "My zone on a Provo Temple walk on Sunday. Goofy, but a spiritual bunch!"

"Doing my laundry on P-day....My least favorite thing to do, but gotta...."

Birthday Present

Daughter number one wanted a birthday/graduation camping experience so we went up Big Cottonwood Canyon with five of her friends and three sisters. It was nice to get away from the valley.She decided all the menus, packed everything, and I think did a great job. The only hitch was no garbage bags or salt and pepper. Other than that, no worries. We hiked up Donut Falls this afternoon. Beautiful! We even saw a HUGE moose! Son's truck got a complete workout up and down the canyon. It was full to the rims, literally! She has really great friends.

IT"S A PARTY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAN! You are 14!


What a fun evening! Bean wanted to go to a Chinese place and so did Grandma. We then came home and opened gifts. Bean's Dad and Mom are so grateful she is a part of our family! We love her dearly!

Favorite City?

We had a great 4th of July weekend! We got up early Saturday the 3rd and went to the Murray parade. It is a traditon to go with the Muir family and meet across from Costco and have breakfast with them and a few friends from Murray. We had tons of fun.We brought our son's two friends with us, Katie and Teresa. The guys as usual yelled at all the city floats that had royalty. They always yell, "You're our favorite city!" It gets the girls waving. They are now moving on to "You're our favorite congressman, or you're our favorite tuba player..etc..." By the time it ends, the guys have no voice left. We usually get so much candy, the kids start throwing it back at the people in the parade.

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Sunday, we drove up American Fork Canyon and went four-wheeling up to a few lakes and then walked around Cascade Springs. It was beautiful. Took a few pictures on a rock. The weather was fantastic! Happy Birthday America!

First Letter Home

I saw the mail carrier coming towards our house today...Yippee a letter from the son! The mailcarrier is a really neat woman that lives only a few houses down from us. She's the one who brought us "The Call". She is a nonmember. She doesn't fully understand the magnitude of her calling to about five families here in our neighborhood. I had girls here making banners for girls camp but I just had to slip away to the bedroom to read the letter. It was all good news but you could certainly tell he was homesick.
My oldest d and I went to Relief Society tonight for a Party in the Pantry get together. We exchanged recipes for dishes using our food storage. I love the ladies in our ward. We have such a fun time!Got to get working on the food storage. Always, Ralene

He's There!

Hey All! Our family let go of our son yesterday. As promised, the drop off is so much nicer than sitting there doing an orientation! We arrived in Provo an hour early and beat the rush to get our pictures taken by the MTC sign. I am still a little numb by the feelings I am experiencing. I wanted to jump into the suitcase so that I could also experience the mission with him. I guess it will have to be vicariously.

It is strange to think that all the years of teaching and planning have finally made a difference and now, here it the time for him to shine! He was so excited to get going. It was totally fun to see all of the other families that were there at the drop off zone. We were all feeling the same electricity in the air! As a side note, my four darlings thought that all of the drop-off helper elders were "gorgeous". The white shirt and tie is so handsome, but I am certain the spirit that they carry make the man! Happy Times! Ralene