Halloween thru the years...

On the road again....

to Laramie, Wyoming!! Why? Lea needs to go to the eye doctor. Yes, Laramie, Wyoming...where the University of Wyoming is located. We go to this particular doctor because she is that GOOD. It's a good 6 hour drive from Jackson. Here are some of the highlights as we drive along...especially on I-80. This is Sinclair, Wyoming...guess what they do there?

When we see the wind farm, we know we're less than an hour away!

Lea and I make a fun time out of it...staying in a hotel and going out to dinner. Just the two of us.

I-80 is quite the interstate...I have seen some REALLY interesting stuff traveling on this road...like these GIGANTIC tires.

And the scenery isn't much to see once you're on I-80, but we were lucky to have bright blue skies and some cool cloud formations.

the welcome to the new week...ugh

Oh..just imagine my "joy" when I awoke this Monday morning and saw THIS outside my window! (actually, I get up pretty early and it was daw gone dark, but I could still tell that it snowed!) Three inches have graced us this morning.

I thought this was quite a contrast, with the yellow aspen leaves and all the dreariness around it.

I'm sure all the ski bums are fist bumping at this snow...I'm just sad that we didn't get out deck furniture put away while it was dry!

the visit

Mari came home this past weekend for a visit and brought some friends as well.

Lea was excited to make some new "brown" friends.

They decided to go for a shot of wheatgrass before heading back to school. Notice they each have two cups, one with a shot of wheatgrass and the other..a chaser(a.k.a. another type of juice)..to "chase" the wheatgrass taste away.

After the shot....take a look at their faces....priceless.

Birthday Girls!!!!

Yes, these two beautiful girls share a birthday! October 19th...Kara turned 22 and Sage turned 13. How many people can say they got a baby sister for their birthday? I know...what are the odds?

I had just attended a 50th birthday party and so I "copied" the decor for Sage's birthday celebration.


My newest teenager!!!!

ALWAYS an oreo cake with mint chocolate chip ice cream!!

Working girl Lea bought this cute journal for Sage...all on her own!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRLS....WE LOVE YOU!!!

Fall Sports

Volleyball, Swimming, Cross Country, Horseback Riding....oh my! These are the things that have kept our family of girls REALLY busy this fall since school began. Everyone had practice after school (except Lea..thank you girlfriend!) and they all ended at different times and in different places and usually all the way across town from each other! It was a juggling logistical nightmare. But now, they are all over and this mom is shouting Woot Woot! Maya was our volleyball player.

Check out how high this girlie can jump!

Sky doing the "fly"!

Swimmer twins

I know, lame picture, but I don't have a photo of my runner girl running...her in her uniform will have to do. She loves it though...is this kid mine?

And last, here's sweet Lea who just returned from Special Olympics held in Casper, Wyoming. She did horseback riding and garnered two golds and one silver. Woot Woot...go Lea!

I'd highly recommend...

this book that my sister-in-law Chantale recommended to me...it's called "Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together". It's by Ron Hall, Denver Moore and Lynn Vincent. It's an excellent book and highly inspirational. I just finished "Driven: An Autobiography" by Larry H. Miller and Doug Robinson. Great read as well. And now you ask...what am I reading now? Well, actually, I'm "reading" two books. I'm listening to a "playaway" (aka..audiobook) entitled "Washington's Crossing" by David Hackett Fischer. Obviously a historic book about the revolution. It's in this cool, compact 2 by 3-1/2 inch devide which uses your own headphones. I listen in the car as I'm driving (cuz you all know how much time I spend in my car!) and I even listen as I go about doing mindless housework. It's 19 hours..so, it'll take me a bit. The other book I'm actually reading is "Follow the River" by James Alexander Thom. It's a novel based on the true ordeal of Mary Ingles. I'm always looking for another good read, so if anyone has any suggestions, let me know. I'll add it to my list.

they ARE real....really!

This past year I've been working on scanning all my negatives from past years. It's a lot of fun to look back and see how our family has grown and changed. Seeing this picture, I can vividly remember the night these two boys went "hunting". This was in Kauai when we shared the house with Sandie. Many of you remember the frogs there and the noise they made each and every night. We were totally in disbelief when the boys produced the "booty"! Do I remember what they did with the "booty"? Nope, probably just let 'em go.

They're Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack........

Yes, they're back...my moose family. They came and lingered around for a couple of days. It's a momma moose and her twin babies, except they are not really babies so much, but growing teenagers. I am happy to let them roam around my house, but the rule is that they MUST stay on the other side of my circular drive. (Kirk's rule) Well, the kids had ventured across the driveway...uh oh...

Daddy Roney got wind and went outside and with his arms flailing wildly up and down, and him shouting at them, they retreated to their momma on the other side of the driveway.

And here's the momma moose look to end ALL....DON'T YOU BE MESSING WITH MY BABIES! (just to give you perspective because it's hard to see in the photo...her head is as big as the upper half of my body!)

Grandpa and Grandma come to visit!!!

Grandma and Grandpa came for an extended weekend visit. It was great fun to have them around. Lea especially enjoyed their visit. They went to a swim meet to watch the twins and to one of Maya's volleyball games.

Lea created this "love treat" for Grandma and Grandpa with the help of her provider Jules! Bet you wish you could have tasted this too!

My sweet boy Carson had his 2nd birthday and Saturday afternoon, Kirk, Sage and I went and celebrated at his party.

Grandma and Grandpa brought me grapes from my Uncle Woody and we made 20 quarts of grape juice. I love it when it's FREE!

After the Sunday morning session of conference, we had a nice lunch outside in the WONDERFUL sunshine.

---my conference craft was this wreath made of coffee filters--Lea would separate the filters and Maya would fold them and then I would pin them in place on a straw wreath. It ended up being this GIGANTIC wreath that looked like a coconut donut!

"I heard it's your birthday..."

Yeah, you heard that right! This cool gal just turned 23 years old! What did she do on her special day? Well, she went to the hospital and spread a little joy around, along with the weekly newspaper and some juice. Then she went horseback riding with a good friend at JH therapeutic riding. She is one HAPPY girl!

You all know that she doesn't like cake, or pie or ice cream or candy....SO, one has to get creative with her birthday treat. I do know that she likes unfrosted, plain sugar cookies. So, being inspired from all the cooking shows I watch on TV, I came up with this. I think it turned out rather cute.

It took her a few tries to blow out her candles....then some sisters decided to help.

The next day, Lea planned a party for herself with the help of some girlfriends. She is quite pleased about it by the look on her face.

Another birthday treat? Yep, this time it is a strawberry jello with mandarin oranges in it...yeah, she LOVES jello! This time we only put two candles...much easier to blow out!

The whole gang...Crystal Lee, Samantha, Jules, Katharine, Lea, Micah and Heidi. After a feast of pigs in a blanket and some jello "cake", they watched the movie "Grease 2". Lea had a great time with her girlie friends!