AUTUMN IS IN THE AIR

Keith and I decided to take the two older kids for a ride up to Little Cottonwood Canyon today to see the leaves and enjoy the the nice day before the weather turns bad. It was the perfect day for a ride. the temperature was a little warm, but there was a nice breeze, the leaves were stupendous in their autumnal hues and the kids weren't too bad either.
We stopped and got something to eat and ended up at Tanner Flats at a picnic area just above the river. It was so peaceful. I really wished I sould stay forever and not come back to the chaos and confusion that runs our every day lives.
The kids loved climbing on the big granite boulders and slabs, loved gathering leaves andywhere from average size to itty bitty baby leaves. Austin was in his glory after he found a walking stick. Truly--does anyone have any answer as to why boys are drawn to big walking sticks? I just don't get it. Greg did it too when he was little. Austin even gathers little sticks and makes little nests out of them--he must be part bird!
We did a little mini hike, took pictures and then came home. It was nice to get away for even a few hours. They had a great time and as you can see by the final picture, Ashlynne was completely wiped out by the entire experience. Happy Autumn!!!

OCTOBER IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER

October is just around the corner, so I thought I would introduce you to the newest member of our family. Meet Uncle Fester Fang (aka Andrew). He joined our family last December, however, his fangs made their appearance just in time for Halloween and RJ shaved him the other night so his hair wasn't sooooo long for their wedding which is on October 24th.

FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS

It's the end of September and I really need to focus on the Primary Program. Ours is on Novemeber 15th. I have also been focusing on a wedding too!
The Program is written out already, it's just thinking about seating, how to get them to the pulpit, talks, new teachers, getting the talks together! Focus, Focus, Focus!

WHAT DID YOU LEARN TODAY?

Austin started a little pre-school (by little I mean 2 boys) at my friend Liz' house. She is a former First grade school teacher and she is wonderful with children. The other boy is her son Kyle. Austin loves Kyle and was very anxious to go to their house today.
So off we went to the Hughes house at 9:15 for school at 9:30. Liz takes Austin for 1 1/2 hours and I take Alison, their daughter while she has the boys.
Today they learned about cows and what a baby cow is called. When I asked him at home to tell Papa what baby cows are, his answer was "Well, they are cow kids!" So does that make them goats and not cows? When I reminded him that a baby cow is a calf, he said, "Oh yeah, I remember--they are what Nana said!"
They learned the Nursery Rhyme "Hey Diddle, Diddle" and have a poem called "Little Calf".










"Good morning, little calf," gentle mother cow said,
"It's time to get up from your sweet hay filled bed."
Little calf jumped, stamped his feet, swished his tail,
And followed him mother past a shiny milk pail.
Out in the barnyard, holding his head high,
Little calf looked up to the blue, blue sky,
Birds flying past chirped a joyful song,
Little calf smiled, and felt happy all day long.

One thing he said was that he didn't want to go back--probably because Liz doesn't let him play on the computer. Later he admitted to Keith that he really did like it and that he wanted to go back. Thursday won't be here soon enough!

FAMILY HIKE TO ENSIGN PEAK

The theme this year for Primary is "My Eternal Family." We decided as a Primary Presidency to have a family oriented activity for this quarter. We wanted something easy and painless, in the sense that we didn't want to do a lot of preparation for the activity.

On Saturday, September 13th, Our Grandview 2nd Ward Family took to the Ensign Peak Monument Trail Head and went on a 20 minute hike ( for me, more like 45 min.). At the top, one of our boys that is working on his Faith in God award, did a presentation on what the meaning of Ensign Peak in the LDS Church means, who was present and what was talked about at the meeting of the church officials when they reached the top.

As for painless--I was the last up and the last down, but on the bright side, my total knee replacement is workng--I'm not sure about the rest of me. The left leg hurt way too much for my taste, and the right knee(the replaced knee) came through with flying colors. I was exhausted--Austin went with and he made it to the top far faster than I. When I finally got to the top--he said to me: Where were you? I lost you and I need my water!!! Well, we know what why he wanted me there.

The hike was a success and we all made out without any injuries. it was a beautiful day and you could see the entire valley. The sky was completely cloudless and there was little valley haze.

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES....

This cute little thing is a constant trial to me--she is a girly girl that flips her hair, a dance diva, a music diva, a tomboy dressed in curls and pink, a Hypocondriac with a capital "H", and so much more. She can turn on the tears at the drop of a hat or the mention of bedtime. And I absolutely adore her and her sense of humor. She is a funny child (So is Austin for that matter). But tonight she came up with a good one.

Quiet time at our house is highly under-rated. By this I mean that it is very difficult to get these children to settle down, let alone be quiet. They are loud and noisy and come by it quite naturally. Our house is not quiet. Their mom and dad aren't quiet, their cousins, aunts, and uncles aren't quiet, none of their grandparents are quiet and when my mom or I blow--watch out below!!! We are YELLERS.

Okay, now that I have your attention, she was down with Keith tonight for "QUIET TIME." We have to separate these children or they will become the "Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat" at any given moment. So Keith is with her downstairs and he is carrying on a nice little conversation with her and asking about her day and so on and so forth. He was telling Ashlynne, for some odd reason---remember she is 3 1/2, that her Nana (that's me) is very BOLD in her manner of loyalty to what she believes in and what she doesn't and she will not hold back in telling others just how she feels in regards to a certain topic. (Wow, he talks about this stuff to the kids--who knew?--- I always talk about KID STUFF with them.
Ashlynne in her 3 1/2 year old mind replied, "Uh, uh, Papa; Nana's not BOLD, she has a lot of hair."
So much for his serious conversation with a toddler! It was laughter for the remainder of the evening.

GROWING!

I have a niece who was married a little over 3 1/2 years ago. They are an absolutely adorable couple--the kind of kids you would want to see have children. They have been trying for some time to get pregnant. But to no avail--it has always bombed out.
A month ago they went with her in-laws to Encenada, Mexico on a cruise. She hated it. She slept the entire time. She went to Las Vegas with us and didn't seem to be doing so badly. But then she didn't complain around me. She babysits a little girl who told her about a month go that she must be having a baby. KoriAnn asked Shaylee why she thought that and Shaylee said "it's because you are fat." You know little kids, they sort of tell you where you are, whether you think you are fat or not. KoriAnn bantered with her back and forth about it and she finally said, " I don't care what you say, you are going to have a baby!"
Well KoriAnn is far from fat,but Shaylee must have some intuition of sorts, because The Anderson's announced to their families tonight (Sunday) that they were expecting. My sister, her mother, isn't sure what to think other than that she is really scared.
Yep--she is scared alright, because they told her that no children of theirs were going to be left with her if she didn't quit drinking, and straighten up her life and quit living on the very edge. She even said that if they did have a baby she would stop--But we will see.
How they told my sister was by coming in the house and video taping her and horsing around with her (she really doesn't like to be photographed, but then who does?) And kept giving her a bad time. Finally she asked what they were doing and what they were up to. Then they brought their dog, Cherokee, in with a
t-shirt on that said "I am going to be a Big Sister on March 13th, 2010."
Now we know why she didn't enjoy the Mexican Cruise--the boat was swaying and she was a little nauseous! Ships do that, and if you aren't a sea lover it is difficult even when you aren't pregnant!
Congratulations, KoriAnn, Ben and big sister Cherokee! On the beginning of a whole new life.