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!

Sunday's visitors

...were not invited. They were not our home teachers nor my visiting teachers. They were free-loaders checking out our delicious willows and berries! I know it's hard to see, but there are three moose in this picture.

Tired from all the grazing, these two decide to take a load off!

Who...me?

You got that right buddy...hit the road!

the color of the day is.....

ORANGE!!! I got home from taking Lea to work and these gorgeous nasturtiums caught my eye. There isn't much color left in our garden, but these were so brilliant, they were hard to miss.


Then there was this very orange" cinderella" pumpkin...

and then more pumpkins...

..and then there's this orange thing stuck in my yard! Go Maya, my volleyball player!

every morning

Kirk has a shot of wheatgrass...yes, we grow organic wheatgrass and I juice it EVERY morning for him. I can't drink it...it makes me hurl.

Then I make a "green" smoothie that we share. It's actually a really pretty drink before you blend it...then it looks like poop! So, I don't look at it when I drink it..kinda grosses me out.

Harvest time

It's that time of year when we gather the "harvest" and prepare it so it can be used in the future. Since I can't grow a garden here in Jackson...we only have 45 days a year that doesn't freeze at night...I have to rely on my neighbors in Utah and Idaho for my harvest. I always plant tomatoes each year and this year I was smart enough to bring them inside before the first freeze killed them. So, I am now enjoying tomatoes because they are ripening in my house. I used tomatoes from Utah to make a batch of salsa.

We have a great farmer's market that is open Thursday thru Saturday during the summer. I picked up enough fruit to make a frozen fruit cocktail.

Idaho provided me with peaches and pears. Usually, my friend goes to Brigham City and brings me back peaches each year. This year was no exception....except, she went the weekend I was in Arizona, and Ty and his friends were here, and well....when I got home, there were 10 peaches left! They were that good. So, had to get them in Idaho and I canned up a bunch of them.

As I was canning my pears, I didn't have enough to fill the canner, so I thought I'd just dry them. I completely filled a quart baggie with dried pears and my kids devoured them in an evening. Guess I'm getting more pears...
What kinds of things do you like "putting up" from the harvest?

catch up...

Seems like I am always playing "catch up" with everything. I always have to catch up writing in my journal....catch up with the ironing....catch up with the cleaning. So, guess that goes the same for blogging. Life has certainly been busy in our home as I'm sure it has been in all of yours. Hopefully this will "catch you up" with our lives! Mari is gone (B00 HOO!!!!), gone to college at BYU. Yes, she's an official "zoobie" and is LOVING going to everything and doing everything! She's been called as the Activities Person in her ward...pretty appropriate huh? These little guys miss her terribly, they remind me that I'm driving "her car" on Sundays when I pick them up for church!

This is my pride and joy. About 5 years ago, Kirk bought me four hydrangea plants one summer. The first summer, one plant was incredibly gorgeous, full of blooms! The next few years brought NOTHING. Last year, we decided they needed to be moved to a different location in the yard and this summer two of the four plants bloomed! I love hydrangeas...I just wish I could grow them year round!

This is Carson. WE LOVE THIS BOY! He is my neighbor's son and we have babysat him quite a bit this summer. We even go and get him from his Mom because we need a Carson fix. He calls Kirk, "Dad" and me "Mono". Maya is his favorite though.

Here's Lea participating in Jackson Hole Therapeutic Riding Association's Horse Show this summer. She's ridden all summer long and is even starting another session today. She's looking forward to going to Special Olympics in Casper, Wyoming with all her friends.

What do you do when it's raining outside? Well, jump on the trampoline...silly. Sky and Sage and friends, Morgan and Matt just messing around one afternoon. I'm sure this activity ended in the hot tub!

I attended my nephew's wedding in Mesa, Arizona over Labor Day Weekend. Mental note: it is HOT, let me repeat, HOT, HOT, HOT in Mesa this time of year! Congratulations Kyle and Leah! Love ya!

Got to reconnect with most of my family at the wedding. It was my brother, Keith's son who was married. They flew out from Virginia and we had a fun weekend. We were only missing my younger brother, Wade. Maybe next time!