I Love Primary!

Big news...for me anyway! :) I was called to serve as the Primary President of our ward the week before Thanksgiving. I can't say I was surprised, I started getting Primary ideas about 3 months earlier that didn't have to do with my music calling. I'm somewhat of an idea person anyway (need to work on the organization part...) so I put them out of my mind, but started to wonder if I was being prepared. I've been blessed with the most amazing presidency, hand picked for me for sure!

Yesterday was our first day in Primary together as a presidency. It went really well! I kind of wore 2 hats since my new music leader was in charge of sharing time with her little class, but it all worked out, and I was on cloud 9! I'm going to LOVE this calling! Music stressed me out. (I actually felt relief when I was called as the President..;-) I loved being with the kids, and playing song review games, but truthfully, I wasn't very good at teaching them songs. I learned some valuable lessons through that experience however, and am grateful that I had the opportunity to serve as the music leader.

I don't know a whole lot about Primary, since the majority of my service in the church has been with the YW, but I'm learning, and I couldn't love those kids more! Went to bed with a big smile on my face, and didn't even know it. Karl just started smiling at me, and I looked at him like.."what?" he said, "you're smiling!"

I guess I'm just happy!!

FALL FUN!

I love Fall, and wish it could last 2 more months! We had about 3 weeks of gorgeous, cute jacket wearing weather, then it dropped to the teens! What was that all about? We did have some fun adventures however, here is a recap...

I took the kids on a photo shoot...man they're a good lookin' bunch!!

Alyssa celebrated her 15th, (did I just say 15th??) birthday on Oct. 14th. We went out to dinner, and to a movie. She's awesome. Oh yeah, and I picked up the Drivers Test Manual....aaah!

Little man turned 5!! Having a birthday the day after Halloween is a bit tricky. He didn't go for the veggie tray suggestion instead of chocolate cake and ice cream...

The week before Halloween we always go to Pumpkinland at the Vinyard Nursery. They have a fun corn maze, and blow up stuff for the kids to play on. We all like to dress up, even though sometimes we're the only ones...who cares right?
The fam-
Following Vinyard, we go to my parents house and Allyson and Adrienne put on a Halloween treasure hunt. We ate some yummy chili and hotdogs.

Parker and Ashlyn, dressed up for Halloween....the wig was itchy, in case you were wondering...Parker is his own person, and wore that awesome getup to school doin' the strut thing and everything. Hilarious!

On Thanksgiving day we went hiking up Provo Canyon. There was a little snow, but the trail was packed down, and we had a great time!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Karl's brother got married the day before, so he was in San Diego, and joined us for pie later that night. Funny side note, Taylor was a little wet from the snow after hiking, so he changed into his PJ's (we slept at my parents house the night before), and wore them the rest of the day...it truly was relaxing!

Yoya!

We recently had the opportunity to host a Japanese exchange student by the name of Yoya. We really enjoyed his stay, and learned a lot! He was with us for 1 week, and it was our job to keep him fed and show him some sites around the area. During the day he attended various activities with his group, with BYU being the host site. He was not LDS, and didn't share our Christian beliefs, but boy was he a good, kind soul. After he left, I asked the fam what they learned from Yoya's visit with us. Here were some of their replys:

1. We are very blessed! To live where we do, and especially to have the gospel.

2. Japan isn't so far away when you have Google Earth at your fingertips.

3. There are many good people all around the world, and they're not all LDS...:)

4. It's hard to communicate when you speak different languages.

5. We pray a lot!

6. Japanese teens are a lot like American Teens. We had fun seeing what music and movies we all knew.

On Sunday we took him to Temple Square. There was a sister missionary who was from Japan, and spoke his native language..I could have kissed her!

We took Yoya to Cabela's, and the one thing he wanted to do was hold a gun. Later I remembered the one and only rule...the boys are not to touch weapons of any kind...OOOOPS!

Yoya loved sports and wanted to see an "American" football game. BYU played TCU that weekend so we took him to a game...rotten game, but we had fun!

For family night, we made smores in our fire pit, then jumped in a huge pile of leaves that Parker had raked earlier that day. Way fun!

You Had A Bad Day...

Ever had "one of those days" when you just wanted to run away from it all? Well, apparently 5yr. olds feel that way too sometimes. Today Taylor got in trouble and was sent to his room to "think about it", well his thinkin' led him to packin' and he was going to be on his way...away from here. He packed up his things in his duffle bag, grabbed his pillow ('cause he might be needin' that) and set out. Instead of taking the garage door way out, (which is closer to his room) he slowly walked by my bedroom door, where I was laying on my bed. He gave a slow, sad look my direction then proceeded out the front door. I quickly realized my boy was runnin' away, so I followed him out. Vaguely recalling a cute Mormon commercial from the '80's I tried to remember what the mom did when the boy wanted to run away. So I followed her lead.


"Hey Taylor, whatya doin'?"

"I'm leavin' this place."

"Oh I see, well, do you mind if I come with you?"

He didn't protest, even when I gave him a little hug. I took that as a yes. We start to walk down the driveway.

"So, looks like you're running away, huh?"

"yes" (tear is half way down his cute little cheek)

"Hmmm, well how about we go get the mail together?"

He liked that idea, and nodded. I quickly ran into get the key, and my camera. (too good to pass up...)

We started to walk to the corner, and I quickly snapped a shot of him. As we walked, I gave a little glance his way, and he glanced back. Soon a half smile apeared, he was trying to hold back, but within seconds we both broke out laughing. The humor of the situation was too funny to keep in. I then carried his pillow, and we got the mail.


When we returned to his room, we unpacked his stuff together, and I gave him a huge hug, and told him how sad I would've been if he ran away.. that he is one of my most favorite people in the whole wide world. He hugged me back, and we told each other we loved one another, and that was that!!

He actually did a great job packing...his blanket, Scamper his stuffed penguin, 2 pair underwear (yeah) clothes and his slippers!
The duffle bag came in handy after all! :)

What Have I Done For Someone Today?

President Thomas S. Monson

Conference Talk October 2009

Tonight for Family Home Evening, we reviewed a talk from our Prophet, President Monson, entitled "What Have I Done For Someone Today?" A story is told of a prominant physician who came from humble beginnings to accomplish great things in the world of medicine. However he attributed much of his great character to his father who taught him to serve. Each day at dinner his father asked his children "what have you done for someone today?" Thus instilling in them a desire to reach out to others on a daily basis.

We have taken this to heart as a family and have decided to adopt this dinner time question.

It's really about the little things isn't it?? Conference Talk Link

Grandma Pond

My Grandma Pond passed away last week, and we held her funeral yesterday. Our little family traveled to Oregon to be with our family and to celebrate grandma's life. She was my mom's mom, and the last of my grandparents. I never lived close to her, and didn't know her as well as I would have liked, but I sure enjoyed her company when we were together. A few years ago she came to Utah and we took her to Payson Lakes for a day trip. She and I escaped and took a walk around the lake and just talked. She was a good listener and a thinker, with much wisdom to impart. I was always surprised at the things she noticed about me and my family, she observed everything and was generous with her compliments of me. I loved that about her. She will be missed, however she was old and frail, and ready to go, so it really was a celebration for her I'm sure.

She was a true lady, always dressed up, wearing heels and beautiful, classy jewelry. She dyed her hair to the very end. :) Would you believe this was her 90th b-day party?

4 generations, a priceless picture.

All of my siblings attended except for Allyson who wasn't able to make the trip. All of us grandkids sang "Nearer My God to Thee" at the funeral, it was an honor.

The 4 children: (L-R) My mom, her twin sister Carol, Uncle Vernon, and Uncle Bob. (arrived a little late)

This is my favorite cousin Kari. She and I have been very close friends forever, and I love her very much!

Boy talk

My pantry used to be so organized!! What happened? Next project I suppose:)

Taylor: "so whatdoya want for a snack?"

Joseph: "doya have a graham cracker? I sure love those!!"


Tay: "yup." He proceeds to climb the pantry and get some crackers, then leisurely swing from the pantry pole like a monkey.


Joseph: (thinkin' outloud, probably eyeing Taylors get-up) "I don't know what I want to be for Halloween. Maybe a ninja or a clone."


Tay: "Oh! Be a NINJA!!! Remember we're gonna to do stuff like flips and cartwheels and stuff?"


Joseph: "but a clone has a GUN!"


Tay, giving a knowing look and nod: "well, you could just borrow a gun from us if you want."


Joseph: "OK".


Off they went enjoying their graham crackers, only to further discuss cool weaponry and the like. I could just follow them around all day...natural antidepressants!!

October Conference

I sincerely hope when I get to the other side, and the time comes for me to account for how I taught my kids the gospel, that I'll get tons of mercy and at least a "well, you had good intentions anyway..sure liked that idea you had for conference, sorry it didn't work out..."

The week prior to General Conference we had a nice little family home evening on what conference is about, who speaks etc. Since we have some fairly new General Authorities (church leaders) that my kids aren't familiar with, I decided to print off bios on all the GA's and start reviewing the newest ones. Oh my plan was so wonderful and would have provided an extra sense of spiritual connection to conference I just know it!

However, it didn't quite go as planned. (So unlike us...yeah right!)

We did review the three newest ones in FHE, with the plan to add a couple more each night with our scripture study. Well guess what??? Did we even have scriptures last week? Oh, maybe one day...we fell apart!! I tried to tape more pics up on our fireplace, hoping the kids would at least look at them, however I don't even think they noticed. Maybe next time...

Ironically we really did have a good weekend together listening to and watching General Conference, so all is not lost I suppose. (Sigh)

The pics and bios of some of the General Authorities. The rest of them are in a pile on the mantel...

On Saturday we all worked out in the back yard, clearing out the garden. It's amazing how much we fit into that little truck!! Great stomping guys!


General Conference was blaring out from our CD player, hope the neighbors didn't mind...heck it's good for 'em right??

Parker went to his first Priesthood Session of General Conference with Karl! I was so proud, I could burst! When they came home we had lots of ice cream, and they told us about the meeting. Great day!!

Soccer Season

I didn't know how much I would enjoy watching soccer! I LOVED going to the boys' games and cheering them on. Connor's division was comprised of both 5th and 6th graders, but his particular team was 90% 5th graders. They started out losing most of their games, but as the season progressed, they caught fire, and by the end they took 4th in the tournament!!

Taylor's team was hilarious to watch! Every now and then, when Taylor heard us cheering (or saying something like..."run the other way bud..."), he'd stop dead in his tracks, turn to us, and give us a big "thumbs up"! Soon several of the other team members caught on to the thumbs up thing and it became really funny. Kids and parents thumbs upping each other through the games!

Such shy, reserved boys...;0

Connor made some awesome goals throughout the season, and really grew as a player.

Their coach was awesome! After losing their last game, he huddled them around and told them how awesome they each were, and how proud he was of their hard work and progress.

Next year boys!!

Taylor running up on the ball...go Tay!

He wore that medal for the next few days, and check out that big bag of skittles!! What a treat!

Indian Days of Summer

We've had some fun activities this past month. You know how it goes, just trying to get it all in before the snow flies...It's hard to believe September is almost over! Here are a few of the highlights of the last dog days of summer:

My Parents and I took Sean's kids, and Taylor to the Wasatch State Park pond to play and of course feed the ducks!

We had a wonderful picnic, waded in the water, played on the playground and just enjoyed the beautiful day. Of course we topped off our day with shakes at Granny's! YUMMY!

Taylor, Megan, Josh and Ashlyn all decided to wash Karl's truck. It really wasn't very warm, but they had fun getting wet anyway.

(Karl paid them each a dollar :)

Sean and Melissa visited us from the great state of Washington. While here, we took all the cousins to Highland Glen Park and enjoyed the ducks and water. (just missing Nathan's kids...:()

For some unknown reason Sunday really does bring out the best in our kids. They find all kinds of creative ways to play, and generally get along really well...what happens to the rest of the week?

(gotta love Karl asleep on the couch in the background...day of REST, right??)
TWISTER...it's a Classic!

First day of school! We started on August 20th, which seemed early, but the kids were ready, and truthfully so was I!!

Birthdays and MORE Birthdays!

September is a big b-day month for us. Well, actually Fall is, we have 6 of our 7 birthdays from Aug. 10th to Nov. 1st. Ashlyn gets the Winter all to herself :) Anyway, Parker and I have a birthday 2 days apart. I'm not so crazy about celebrating my birthdays anymore, so it's great to focus on Parker. As it just so happens, my boy is becoming a man, and turned 12yrs on the 18th! Today he received the Aaronic Priesthood! He is such an awesome kid, truly someone I learn much more from than I ever teach him, to be sure. Karl ordained him and gave him a beautiful blessing, he is so blessed to have a dad who honors his priesthood...we all are. Here are some highlights of our week.

Mom and Me in Park City...shopped all day for my birthday, got some awesome running shoes!
Parker with his friends! He had a night game birthday party!

Parker just received the Aaronic Priesthood! Wonderful!

The Deacon's quorum presidency came to welcome Parker into the Young Men's program. They were steller! They each took turns outlining the duties of a Deacon, and gave him a hearty welcome. I was SO IMPRESSED, and very touched!!

Would you believe he ate the WHOLE thing??

Parker begged us for a unicycle...get this, he wants to learn how to play the banjo, and ride his unicycle!

He practiced all weekend!!

August Rush

I don't know about the rest of you, but

August FLEW BY!

With all the school prep and responsibilities (I chair a committee at the school), and Connor's birthday to boot, we were swamped all month.

My sweet Connor turned 10 yrs. old.

I remember being 10. I remember looking out the window, waiting for my friends to show up for my party, hoping people would come. I vividly remember standing off to the side of the window, behind the curtain so no one would see me, then feeling great relief when cars started to pull up. Funny huh? Haven't thought of that for a while. It was great to be in double digits, but still be a kid. I was never in a hurry to grow up, still that way. We celebrated Connor by having a big party with his friends at our house, then celebrated again at Payson Lakes with G & G Baxter.

We LOVE Payson Lakes!

Powered doughnut birthday "cake"...perfect for a campfire celebration!

Connor's friend party...all a bunch of hams! :)

Grandma and Grandpa Baxter and grandkids.


One of those "pensive moment" pics. My Parker boy is sure growing up!

Did you know "Nessy" the Loch Ness Monster's sister resides at Payson Lakes? Yup, true story! (looks like she brought a friend...)

Parker and Connor spent much of their time jumping and somersaulting off the dock. There were several teenagers admiring their tricks, which only encouraged the boys! hmmm...

Connor and Taylor..they rowed all around...so fun!

These rafts look cute, but they proved to be hard to maneuver...

only turned in circles, it was really funny!