Sunday Stroll near the Riverwalk!

There has been a great emphasis in the church on keeping the Sabbath Day holy. We have heard many conference talks on remembering the importance of Sunday. One of my favorite talks about honoring the Sabbath day is by President Nelson: The Sabbath Is a Delight. Sometimes I ask myself how is the Sabbath a Delight?! and when will the Sabbath be a delight?! But sometimes (sometimes) there are delightful moments in our Sabbath day! One thing that has helped us is to make a "Sabbath Can" where we wrote down on strips of paper ideas that we can do on the Sabbath day like: go for a Sunday Stroll, deliver cookies to friends or neighbors, read stories from the friend, watch Bible Videos, or Mormon Messages, play a game as a family, work on Faith in God/Scouts....just a few ideas!

We went for a beautiful drive through the valley and saw the fall leaves in the country. Then we went for a walk along the river. 

It was nice to take advantage of the sunshine and nice weather. We will be stuck indoors for many months when the snow starts to fall so we were glad to get out and enjoy the perfect autumn weather! 

I love this little family of mine and grateful for the Sabbath day we have to be together. It's not easy with meetings, preparing meals, and other distractions, but I'm grateful for the special day we have to honor our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ!

Hiking to the M!

Ever since moving to this beautiful valley I've had a goal to hike to the 'M' on the mountain! Every time I see the white shining M I say "Someday I'm going to climb to the top of that M!!" Nate did not share my same enthusiasm for this hike, in fact it was not on his list of hikes! Ty had a scout camp one night and while Nate and Ty were at scout camp I took the other three kiddos and we hiked to the M!

If you look closely on the mountain you can see the M we climbed to!

The hike was REALLY steep! Total uphill climb! But totally worth it! 

Getting closer! Caleb did amazing! He practically ran up the mountain! Mara did great too, Carder did pretty good but needed a lift half way through and unfortunately I didn't bring the ergo so I had to carry him half the way!

Above the M is a flagpole, we are almost there! 

 They made it! The sun began to set as we neared the top of the mountain! I'm proud of these cute hiking kids that hiked to top of the mountain to fulfill their mom's crazy goal!

The view from the top was awesome. We could look down below and see the little valley we live near! The kids thought it was fun to see the tiny cars and trucks, and they were even able to identify places like the library, high school, and grocery story! 

 We did it! My kids were proud of themselves for hiking all that way! Now when we see the M shining on the mountain we can say "We did it! We hiked to the M!!'

I think I like the view of the M more from the bottom of the mountain than right on top of it!!

The Duck Pond!

I'm really enjoying my days with Carder! He is my little buddy! Some times we get a lot done around the house, or we run errands, or some days we go on fun adventures! One day we went exploring and found a duck pond and a park. We took his bike he loved pedaling around the pond. It was a beautiful fall day!

The pond was full of ducks, geese, and other birds. We couldn't feed them though! 

The water was a little murky but the area was pretty.

Carder practiced riding his bike along the path that went all the way around pond.

 Carder liked playing on the bridge!

Near the pond was a little path that went up to a park! We enjoyed the sunshine and playing on the playground at the park! 

It was a perfect day with my little buddy! Wish my other kids could have enjoyed it with us! 

Shout out for TY!!

Let's hear it for T-Y!! He is totally rocking middle school! I am so proud of him! He is keeping up good grades while trying to find time to practice the piano, he is on the swim team and also the Lego League, and last but not least he is in the scouting program! He is one busy kid but he is doing great!

Ty was given the assignment in his science class to build a cell model, so why not build it out of legos...one of his favorite things! He did an amazing job! It was awesome!

I had a 'mom-moment' last week that made me so happy and I wanted to shout for joy! Everyday Ty has DEN time, where he has free time to do various activities for an hour at school. It can be sports, art, computers, or get help with subjects they need help with. Ty decided one day (all on his own) to go to Study Hall and get his homework done so he wouldn't have to do homework after school! When I heard this I about started to cry! It might not sounds like a big thing, but for me it showed that Ty was growing up and that he was showing responsibility! Way to go Ty!

What a cute face!!

Whenever we go for a drive and Carder is a little sleepy we see the cutest/grumpiest face! Oh Carder! It just makes us laugh at how he can be so happy one minute and a few minutes of driving can make him so sleepy and grumpy (if he hasn't had a nap that is)!!

Nate gets a kick out of it the most! Whenever he is driving and sees this face in his rear-view mirror he says "Quick take some pictures of that face!" 

So sweet! His little hand goes straight to his cheek and a few minutes later his eyes will close and he'd be asleep!! He is a cute little passenger!

Utah State! Hey! Aggies All the Way!!!

It's always a great day to be an Aggie! Oh how I love going back! It's like going home! So many happy and fun memories are at Utah State! We went up for the opening football game and cheered on our Aggies for a win...a bad win! But we'll take it! There's just something I love about going back to this town! It makes me happy!

 It was fun walking around with our kids where Nate and I first met and telling them stories of our courtship and showing them where we lived.

 It was so exciting to be at the football stadium surrounded by fellow friends and Aggies! I must admit when we stood to sing the Scotsman and when I saw the football team rush the field I did feel like crying a few tears of joy!

It was a packed house, all the seats by us were filled! 

Feeling the love of the game! Or maybe just giving brotherly love! 

Love this little buddy of mine! He loved watching Big Blue ride out on his motorcycle! He also loved watching for Big Blue in the crowd! 

 Four future Aggies right here! We've hoping they catch the love for this place as much as we do and want to come here!!

I think one of the reasons I love Utah State so much is because I met this guy right here! My best friend, True Aggie Partner, and love of my life to eternity and beyond! It all began here! When I looked at the student section full of college students and thought of all the girls Nate had to choose from I am so grateful he chose me!! I knew he was the one for me and I'm so glad we could find each other! Love, love, LOVE Nate the Great!!

Feliz Cumpleaños Little Sweetie!

Our little sweetie is growing right up! She is down to her last year in the single digits! Nine years old! Wow I just can't believe it! Mara is such a great girl! She is nice, and funny, sweet and sassy (sometimes!) But mostly just a wonderful daughter! This year she celebrated her birthday at school! (Sometimes her birthday is on Labor Day!) But her teacher made her the Star Student all week long! She is definitely a star student! She loves school, especially reading, math and recess!

Mara could take a hat to school and she wanted to take this sombrero! But when she put it on she said it was way too big! She looks cute in it anyway! 

 

We visited Mara in her class and took over doughnuts for her birthday treat! She thought it would be so funny to get a picture of her stuffing her doughnut in her mouth!! Silly Sweetie! We also talked a little about Mara and what makes her so special and read a book to the class! 

I love hearing Mara laugh! She just makes us all smile! She couldn't blow out her candles, she kept trying and laughing too hard! We love Mara so much! 

Her birthday cake was a very yummy coconut cake! One of her favorites! 

 Happy Birthday Mara! Glad you are in our family! Hope all your hopes and wishes come true!

She just looks so grown up! Mara in her new outfit from Mimi & Papa! It was fun having them come up for the birthday and celebrate with us!

The Nature Center

Sometimes Saturdays are full of work and projects but other Saturdays we play and find fun things to do, like The Nature Center. They were having a scavenger hunt for families and we decided to go check it out! Glad we did! We saw lots of fun things and found everything on our scavenger hunt list!

 We found a giant birds nest!

The kids near a stinky pond! 

We also found a baby racoon up in a tree! I don't know which was cuter: seeing a baby racoon or watching my baby watch the racoon!! 

It was a jungle in there! It was a lot of fun exploring the Nature Center!

Family Night at the Bee's Game!

We have been planning on going to a Bee's Baseball game all summer long, but we have been very busy! So we finally made it to the Bee's game for Family Night! It was a perfect night for a baseball game! It was fun eating hot-dogs and nachos! The kids loved the family outing! Mara asked if we could get ice-cream and I told her probably not since we had done dinner instead. We decided to go for a walk around the stadium and as we were standing there a man came up and asked Mara if she would be willing to participate in the next activity down on the field! She was a little nervous and apprehensive but she did it!

So here is Mara down on the Bee's Field with Tony, the announcer! (Nate recognized him from his morning sport radio show!) 

Mara said it was a little scary being down on the field with all the players, but she did a great job and said it was fun! 

So the game Mara participated in Tony asked each side of the crowd to cheer and Mara had to choose which side cheered the loudest! 

Mara, The Bee and Tony listening to the crowd cheer! 

I cheered so loud! I felt like yelling "That's my daughter down there!!" But I didn't! Mara pointed to the loudest side and for participating she received a Bee's frisbee which had a coupon on it for a free ice-cream cone! 

Mara was even up on the jumbo-tron! Pretty exciting!! Way to go Mara!! Talk about being at the right place at the right time! We just so happened to be walking by when Tony was looking for a participant!

And Mara got her wish! A HUGE ice-cream cone! She did share with her family!  

Caleb loved the Bee's game, especially playing the game: "hit or miss?!" Before each batter hit we would say 'hit or miss?' and we would guess if the player was going to hit the ball or miss it! It was really funny to play with Caleb!

 

Carder also loved the game! He thought it was so fun cheering for the baseball players! He especially loved eating the ice-cream and playing at the playground! 

 Love these kiddos of mine! They are so fun to be with! It was a fun night being together as a family! We can't wait to go back to another baseball game!

First Day of School!

The new school year has started!! We actually have complete the first full week! It went by so fast! The kids are doing awesome in school! They all have great teachers and are excited for the new adventures, new friends and even a new school! 

I can't believe I have a middle schooler!! No way! It doesn't even seem possible! Ty is officially in middle school! This picture was taken at Back-to-school night. We went around and helped him find his classes, figure out his schedule, and practice getting in his locker! Oh my! The joys of middle school! Ty is doing well so far at his new school. He likes his teachers, he has lots of friends! Go Ty! I hope it's a great year for him!

These two little cuties get to ride the bus together! I'm glad they have each other and can go to school together! They were super excited for their first day!

Caleb is in 1st grade! All day long! It is a very long day for him and me! But he loves it! I miss him so much, and so does Carder! But he is meeting new friends and likes his teacher and I can tell this is going to be a great year for Caluba!

This pretty little sweetie is in 3rd grade! Oh my goodness, multiplications, cursive writing! Wow! She is so excited for school! She is such a smart girl and happy and loves learning!

There she goes with her new backpack on the bus!

Caleb was excited to ride the bus with his sister! (But he made sure we followed the bus up to the school to see him in his class!)

There she is! Ready to learn! She was already in her desk working hard on her assignment when we got to school! She loves her teachers and is happy to be in the class she's in! Way to go Mara!

Caleb walked right in and got busy coloring! He was excited to have two friends sitting by him! He is going to be a great 1st grader!

And then there was one!! Poor Carder! So sad! He feels lost and lonely without his siblings! The first couple days he liked the extra attention, but the fun has worn off and every day he asks when his brothers and sisters are coming home and if we can go to the school and get them! It's nice having one on one time with this little buddy of mine!

I didn't get a before school picture of Ty on his first day because he almost missed the bus! So I was waiting with camera in hand when he came home!! I sure missed this big boy of mine! He seems so far away at school!