10th Anniversary/ 5 years old

David and I had our 10th Anniversary this last week. We were able to go out to eat and do a little Christmas shopping because my mom came over for a visit. There's not much to say other than this is where we were ten years ago....

...and this is now. And I am so glad for these little people who have joined us, and for a wonderful husband who I love and who I want to go through the eternities with.

Five years after we got married...to the day...we had our little Sarah Anne. She had a very happy 5th birthday.

She loves Strawberry shortcake, so she ask for a Strawberry Shortcake castle for her birthday...well, that's it, and she loved it, so I was happy.

Happy Birthday Sarah! You are the sweetest five year old in the world, a ball of energy, and a ton of fun!

Odds and Ends

December is the beginning of a lot of fun. But, I missed most of November, so here is some catch ups. First of all, David put up our lights for Christmas...I almost killed myself putting up lights on the pine tree, but it all turned out so beautiful!

We dug up all the carrots in the garden. They were huge! David and I were so proud of them.

David's birthday was in November. We had a little party for him and bought him lots of white shirts...because I had a yellow crayon in the white laundry basket and ruined all his other ones.

Nathan makes a Christmas dress look so manly with a sword and heroic pose.

We have some twins that come over and play sometimes. We love having Brynlee and Maycee over!

Katie's Face

Self Reliance

The last couple of months, we have worked hard to bring our food storage back up. Seeing this again, has brought a huge sense of peace to me. During our 10 years of marriage, we have used our food storage several times. Not because of earthquakes or famine, but because of finances. Thankfully, even though David has a full time job now that provides for us, we are not out of the habit of storing up food.

A few weeks ago, we were really concerned that we wouldn't have the produce needed to bring our storage back up. So, we did as the prophets have counseled, increased our fast offering until it hurt. I have a testimony of the Lord opening the windows of heaven and pouring us out more blessings than we had room enough to receive. We had neighbors offering us apples and grapes, our garden started getting tomatoes, peppers and onions, my parents rounded us up a ton of apples and gave us of their garden tomatoes. We felt extremely blessed.

So, here are our totals this year of what we were able to bottle:

116 quarts tomato juice

41 quarts whole tomatoes

7 quarts sweet and sour sauce

55 quarts spaghetti sauce

37 quarts grape juice

10 pints grape jelly

15 pints raspberry jam

208 quarts applesauce

There is a wonderful feeling that comes from putting up food, and knowing your family will not go hungry this year. I have been reading "Daughters in my Kingdom" from the Relief Society, and the satisfaction those women got from being able to provide for themselves and their neighbors is similar to what I feel.

Thanks Mom, for teaching me how to work hard and put up food for a "rainy day". Thanks David, for always encouraging me and helping me get our family taken care of. And I truly thank my Heavenly Father for giving me the desire and ability to be self-reliant.

Halloween

Halloween was part of crazy hair day at school. My girls do not like to look crazy if they can't be cute. So are my cute crazy haired girls.

Sarah can't get away from fairies. She might be a fairy for Halloween as long as that outfit fits.

Nathan - Tigger, Rachel - bunny, Sarah - Purple fairy, Katie - Pink Fairy, Rebekah - cat. Halloween is one of my least favorite holidays. I just dread getting everyone a costume they like, and wasting money on a costume. Then getting tons of candy that I want to chuck as soon as it comes in the house. But, the kids love it, and they always look so cute.

I love Rebekah. I gave her a new toothbrush to distract her while I got everyone ready for Halloween. It worked a little too well. She wouldn't let go of it the rest of the night.

Rachel wanted to be a bunny. She was cute, and made it a point to hop around the whole night.

Katie - 7 Year Pictures

Photogenic Katie. I got an awesome new camera...but with Katie, her pictures always turn out great, so I might have wasted my money. Anyway, I was excited how they turned out, she is so beautiful!

Steph's Bridals

This is my sister Stephanie. She is getting married this month and we are so excited for her and her fiancee, Nick. My sister Melanie took some really great bridals, and I picked my favorites to post. Steph looks so beautiful!

"Berry" Delicious

We have been so excited to pick raspberries from our patch, and we saved for a week and a half to have enough to make raspberry jam. These cuties have helped pick (and eat) all the berries. Once we got done with the jam, it was unanimous, raspberries are awesome!

We have several different kinds of berries in our patch. The yellow or Anne berries are actually one of my favorite. They grow huge, are very sweet, and are earlier that the red. The red ones are always delicious, but it was fun to grow the yellow as well.

Seven Years OId

Katie turned seven this month! She wanted a guitar, so we gave that to her. But this was the face for the double dutch jump ropes she got. All the girls were excited about them.

This turned out way different that I had envisioned. I would have thrown it away if Katie hadn't of liked it. It is mostly frosting and fondant...and a little bit of cake. Maybe that's what Katie liked about it:)Katie is so sweet. She is continually thoughtful of her sisters and brother. She is so excited to do everything, and it seems whatever she starts, she continues until she has it nailed. I love her diligence and excitement for life. She is such a blessing in our home. We love her! Happy Birthday!

Hidden Haven

I heard of a family friendly, short hike up the canyon called Hidden Haven. It was perfect. It took about 1/2 hour to get there. I could use the stroller for Rebekah most of the way, and the kids had a blast. The waterfall was small at the end, but we were all in awe at how beautiful everything was.

This was not the end waterfall, but it was beautiful anyway.Rebekah and I bonded as we strolled along the trail

The kids said they wanted to do this every week, the loved it.

Snakes

Lately I feel like we find a new creature each week. This one is not my favorite. I like our lizard much better. Growing up in Utah, where it is rattlesnake country, you don't pick up snakes. David grew up in Michigan, and he is not afraid to pick them up. We think this was a water snake, but it wrapped itself around David arm and was tightening its muscles like a boa. The kids were all fascinated...I hope my lectures on "some snakes are all right, but some are really dangerous" sunk in.

New Playhouse

David and I have been working on this playhouse for most of the summer. He framed it and put up the walls. We had the girls pick the color of the outside, and I have to admit I was worried about the greenish blue color they chose, but it turned out cute. So, we painted, then David and I put up the white trim. David used an old door, cut it, and put it in the house. My dad and I made some flower boxes during Labor Day weekend. Then yesterday, I painted the front door. For amateurs, its not half bad! Sarah keeps telling me that I am "fantastic". Its small, but they love it!

Katie's First Lost Tooth

We finally got one out! Katie has been gently wiggling this tooth, and complaining about it hurting. Well, it hurt because her permanent teeth are actually behind the four bottom front baby teeth. So they are all wiggling.

Katie was scared, but she braved it. I had to take the pliers and pull it. And here are the fruits of our labors!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Sarah loves soccer. She has the energy non-stop at home, and it pays off in soccer. She made a goal her first game, and has loved the little friends she has made on her team.She is a very cute poser.

We had Grandpa and Grandma Z over for Labor Day weekend. Grandpa impressed all of us by standing on his head. I really don't think I could even stand on my head that long, it was very impressive. Its always fun when Grandpa comes!

Grandma Cox also came for the visit, and the kids made her a crown, a heart, and a scepter. Grandma was the greatest sport to wear it most of the visit. We love you Grandma!

We celebrated Grandma Z's birthday. We made her a yogurt pie, and the girls made her some place mats. She was very gracious, and we love it when she comes to visit. I don't know what I would do without her, she is amazing.

Carla also came for the visit. Honestly, everyone needs a sister like Carla. She is the sister you call for fun, to cry to, and to talk. I love her, and that doesn't even say half of it.

Sarah can make some pretty great faces....and this is one of my favorites.

David and the girls, we'll be glad when he gets his Masters done next month. We will sit on him all the day long, unless he decides to do his PhD. Ugg.

Our new pet lizard, Louie. He is stuck in our window well, and we love him. He takes care of himself, and we can look at him whenever we need a friendly face;)

Singin' in the Rain

Here are a few things that have happened recently... Rebekah got her first tooth. It is on the bottom left, so fun!
Rachel started 3rd grade! She brought her homework home, and she actually had a text book. It made her look so grown up. She also is trying to show you her new retainer in this picture. We've already had to dig it out of the garbage once, and that was not fun. Rachel is so excited for this school year.

As many of you know, I am not a big fan of pets. But I am a big fan of this little boy. He found this grasshopper outside, and the next thing I know, he is feeding it grass on a plate, giving it rides on the back of his tricycle, and carrying around in his little hand the rest of the day.

I wish he would have named it, and I have no idea what happened to him. At one point, Sarah and Nathan had a tea party and he was a special guest. It was a really fun morning, and this was my kind of pet.

Soccer season! I really like watching soccer, but it is way better when my own children are playing. Katie is kind of hesitant when playing, but she has potential. She wants to do everything and was excited to start it up. She also started 1st grade, and is ecstatic to be at school all day, and eat lunch there.

Katie just has a sporty look about her. Sarah also started soccer, but we didn't get pictures yet. Sarah loves it.

Canning. We were so grateful to get some apricots this year. We did about 5 bushel and got 73 quarts of apricot juice. These were my helpers, they were fabulous.

These two little helpers were the best. They could pit those apricots and wash them, and we had fun while we did it. Rachel and Katie got their turn when they got back from school. Nathan and Sarah worked so good, it was fun.

I find David and my shoes everywhere. All the kids love to grab them and walk around. Rachel and Katie have on David's shoes. And Nathan has on my high-heeled boots. He walks better in them than I do:)

Singin' in the Rain. We went to the dollar store, and they each grabbed an umbrella. The weather has been so crazy, we have had so much rain. The kids have loved playing this summer, and we are so excited for the new school year.