Up To No Good

Well, after being reminded, I realize a couple of fun things have occurred in the last couple of months. Here's a fast recap:

August 25th - Davis starts First Grade. What an adjustment that has been, mostly the waking up at 7:00 and out the door at 7:30 to catch the bus. But he loves the new things he's learning, he has the best teacher in the grade, and he rides the bus....HEAVEN!


Labor Day - My sister Jana and her hubby Jordan stopped by for a night to see us. YAY! We love visitors in our neck of the woods. Of course, for Labor Day, we realized that there is not much to do around here as far as hiking/picnicing in nature. So we walked a little dirt trail around Massacre Rocks reservoir and saw lots of spiders catching prey and had lunch at our local Mexican restaurant that is REALLY good. And we got to see a rattlesnake and hear it rattle a whole bunch. And I'm still trying to imagine Jordan in Arizona as a little kid shooting rattlesnakes with BB guns or whatever they used.



Sept 11th - Went with Ryan and Penny Allen for a great weekend at their family cabin. We saw moose, had lots of tangled kids' fishing line, learned that Claire's sensitive stomach means she gets carsick easy and actually throws up, went fishing but had no luck, threw many rocks in a river, and had a ball being with the Allens. Miss you guys!



Sept. 18th - Celebrated our 11-year anniversary. That seems very unbelievable. I'm not that old. Dave, maybe. So on our anniversary, Dave had to work. I got him a bag of goodies and then put 11 different, random items in the bag with little notes attached about each of our married years together. It was very clever, if I do say so myself. I get this trait from my father so I can't take much credit. Dave says it was so fun to pull out the items at work; pretty soon, his employees and even customers were gathering around wondering what came next. But I admit, when he told me he showed the missionaries these items, and they blushed at #1, I was pretty embarassed. So I'm sharing them with ALL of you. :) This list makes me realize how much we've been through and done. And then I think about what could be just around the corner for the next 40 years.

Year 1 (Skor Bar) - Remember all the "Skoring" we did? Tossing in the hay sure was fun!

Year 2 (Toy Car) - Remember buying the blue Malibu for my graduation present? We learned we shop around...a lot...before we decide. And you started at Wells Fargo as a teller..who knew?

Year 3 (Apple) - Remember going to "The Big Apple" with Jon and Mandy Phillips? What an awesome trip! Remember watching 9/11 on TV a couple of months later and how we thought, "That could have been us." And we cried.

Year 4 (Beret) - Remember the SLC 2002 Olympics? And the 8-hour wait just to get this beret? And seeing Michelle Kwan in the street? And your front-row seat to N Sync? And all that construction in Salt Lake just before the Olympics that made you stay off I-15 for good?

Year 5 (Davis Picture) - Remember Davis coming into our lives? And how amazing he was? And the year that we bought and fixed up our first house...and we had no idea what we were doing?

Year 6 (Tie) - Remember being called to the Bishopric? How shocked we, I mean I, was? And how Sunday became another work day...just like the mission! But we were blessed.

Year 7 (Toy Microphone) - Remember your Celine Dion surprise? And the show was cancelled? And we got to go a month later for half the price? And I loved you for it!

Year 8 (Claire picture) - Remember Claire Noelle? And what an easy, fun delivery it was? And how amazed we were that we got this beautiful little red-headed princess?

Year 9 (Mickey Mouse Ears) - Remember our Disneyland vacation? And how much fun we had. And our kids were SO GOOD. And then we bought our van a month later.

Year 10 (Sadie Picture) - Remember how our lives changed forever when you decided to interview for a job in Idaho. And Sadie Mae was born amidst the chaos. And we packed up our lives, and I cried.

Year 11 (KC Keychain) - Remember what a tough year this has been? But it slowly got easier...and then it ended with the highlight of the decade, your trip to Kansas City!


October 1-3 - I went with the kids down to Utah for a school break/Conference weekend. We didn't do much, just went back and forth between parents' houses and visited and played with cousins and enjoyed Conference. Dave had to stay and work at the last minute, so he got a nice relaxing quiet weekend, and I got to see my family and friends I desperately miss. Everyone's happy!

October 6 - Claire decides to hand me a bottle of purple nail polish to paint her toes, and I don't realize she has already opened it, so I'm careless and it drops and splatters purple nail polish across my dining room carpet and up the wall. And I flip out. And I run to the dollar store for nail polish remover, but it doesn't seem to be working. So then I change tactics and try the wall. And guess what....nail polish remover also removes wall paint! So then I call Jen, the carpet expert, in a panic, and she stays on the phone with me as we try different removers, and amazingly with enough Acetone Polish Remover and vigorous scrubbing, the carpet is restored. And my house stunk for days. And I actually managed to touch up the wall without repainting the entire thing and you can't tell. Wahoo!

This week - We're finally enjoying some fall-like weather, so I got these cut pics of my girls on
the swingset.




The last 6 weeks - We're reminded again what an energetic boy we have as we watch him play another soccer season and he never gets tired, and he ALWAYS keeps score, and we're trying to teach him not to be a ball hog. But we love him so much!