Everyone Smile

Yesterday, as I sat in church, I flipped my scriptures open and saw a quote inside the front cover.

"Are you happy? Then tell your face."

Do you love the movie Elf? My family sure does and I love the line..."Smiling is my favorite". Someone once told me to go find a mirror and smile at yourself at least once a day. Try it. It is kind of goofy, but sometimes it is just what I need.

Here are a couple of things, off the top of my head, that slaps an instant smile on my face:

*Little kids laughing.
*Baby kitties.
*Canning lids sealing.
*Padlocks. (I can not explain my strange reaction to them.)
*Love letters.
*An awesome sale.
*Friends and family.

What makes you smile?

Come and Gone

This is how I know summer is almost over....

*school is back in session

*there are too many tomatoes and pears on my counter

*the garden is getting empty

*canning supplies haven't been put away for a couple weeks

*my boys are picking apples

We had a great summer and here are a couple of highlights...

Lots of swimming. It was good to see Mitch enjoy himself this year. He's been a little (okay, a lot) scared of water till now. I must share a story.

Last year we talked him into jumping off the diving board with his swimming class. So it was his turn and he got to the edge of the board. His teacher was in the water waiting for him. It became obvious that he wasn't going to jump. I was across the pool so I walked over there, yelling at him to jump. After about FIVE minutes everyone at the pool was chanting "Mitch, Mitch, Mitch...". I was yelling at him at this point and bribing him with DQ. The next thing we knew he is on his hands and knees. Then some how, and to this day I don't know how this happened, he was holding on the board with his fingers and toes. Yes, he was now underneath the diving board hanging on, like a monkey. I was more than mad and embarrassed and he was scared to death. His teacher finally peeled his toes off and he hung there by his fingers till he finally lost feeling in them. At that point I gathered up all the kids and we went home.

This year we are proud to announce that Mitch jumped off the diving board several times (with his teacher waiting for him, and yes, it was the same teacher) and down the slide all by himself! Yay Mitch!

One more swimming note. I got smart this year and put Judd in a life jacket as soon as we would get there. Last year I had to pull him from the bottom of the pool TWICE. Did I mention I was fully clothed both times? Wow, he could jump in there fast! I didn't have a chance.

We had a fun day playing in the mud. Is there anything more fun? Looks like Todd & his buddy Jonathan already cleaned up but Mitch and Judd are still covered head to toe. It must have been cold to clean off.

Anther really fun time was the day before school started. On August 19th Josie hosted the neighborhood children to a Coleman Back-Yard Olympics. She had laminated signs at each event station (about 10 of them). There was shot put, javelin, a triathlon (bike ride, running, end in the kiddy pool), and discus throw to name a few of the events. Here are some photos. They ended with an awards ceremony (medals made from canning lids) and lunch. She did such an awesome job and had the kids separated into age groups so they all had a chance to do well. It was enjoyed by all.

Now we are back in school. Josie is in the 8th grade, Todd is in the 6th grade, Mitch is in the 2nd grade, and Judd is still home with me. He watches the clock so he can be ready when "his friends" get home.

Summer was fun.

Mr. & Mrs.

Today Layne and I celebrate our 15th anniversary.

Where did the time go:

1993 - Married in the Idaho Falls, Idaho Temple

1994 - Moved to Ohio

1995 - Josie joined our family

1996 - Bought our new house.

1997 - Todd joined our family.

1998 - We had a wonderful vacation in Idaho with family.

1999 - Layne forgot our anniversary this year. Yes, he paid dearly.

2000 - We made the move from a car to a van.

2001 - Mitch joined our family.

2002 - We went to the Nauvoo, Illinois Temple open house.

2003 - Layne planned a Vermont get away for the two of us.

2004 - Justin joined our family.

2005 - Layne and I drove the family to Idaho to spend Christmas with our families.

2006 - We remodeled our house. If a marriage can withstand that...

2007 - Layne and I went to his 20th class reunion.

2008 - We still love each other.

Fixed the Link

Sorry guys. I put .com instead of .net.
www.wordle.net

What's in a Name?

This is so much fun! My cousin Kristi brought it to my attention. You can change the colors, font, etc. Too much fun!!! I can think of so many things to use this for. There are some really cute ideas in the gallery section. Thanks Kristi!!!

Go to http://www.wordle.net/ for lots of fun.

Mom, Come See Me!

Today was a big day for our youngest. He has learned how to ride his bike. As you may know, he is my 'on the go' kid and this will only get him there faster. He is so happy with himself. Isn't age 3 the best?!? So many new and wonderful things to learn and see.




To see the satisfaction on his face made me wonder what could I learn new? What do I want to do to say, "Mom, come look at me!". So now I want to know some of the things you would like to learn or do. I might want to add them to my new list.

(Did you notice that on his very first day of biking solo he has things out there to try to jump? That's my Juddy-Bear.)