UEA hike and Reflections

Anneke wanted to hike for our UEA break. Marcus needed ideas for the PTA Reflections contest. This is what resulted.

 Anneke kicked Mallory by accident. It looks like Mo is running, but she is trying to hop actually.

 Daddy carried her for a while until she felt better.

 This is a pretty cute picture.

 Mallory stayed with us for the first part of the hike.

 Fall colors

 "It's a rock that is shaped like a triangle. It's name is Martin."

 The path

The only photo I took was the first one. The rest I am sure are by Marcus.

Another month

It's about time for catch up again since it has been over a month since my last post. I will intersperse pictures from my phone.

We have been incredibly busy. Last week on our calendar we only had 1-2 things we had to do every day and it felt so nice.  We have loved being near family. My niece, Evie, comes over a lot and we love it. We helped pick huckleberries from the garden.  Luke and Mallory did so when the rest of us could not. Luke was rewarded with his own jar of huckleberry syrup, his favorite. We currently have a bowl of huckleberries on our counter that we are trying to figure out what to do with. They are quite bland on their own.

Having a garden has been fun. However, we were not sure what we could and could not take. There are a "plethora of pumpkins" out there. We have been cutting them and setting them out front with "FREE" signs. We have given some to a Snow College ward for an FHE activity. We have offered them to my young women for a pumpkin carving contest. I will take some for a Beehive activity. In short, we are trying to give them all homes. If we still have some next week I will see if Luke's teacher wants any, then Anneke's.

This guy is pretty amazing. Saturday he team babysat with his cousin Bella for over 8 hours. The children loved them. He is so great with kids! His cousin Dutch came to visit and was pretty much glued to "Monster Marcus" the whole time.

 At parent teacher conference we learned how responsible he is and how much his teachers like him. He gets most of his homework done at school. It was also requested that he be sure to sign up for art next year. The picture is of him making French Toast. He was sick one day and had to make up Home Ec. Marcus is glad that the Cinderella play is over. He is excited to begin work on The Taming of the Shrew. Today he is going to try out for a show choir called Ovation.

This is Iron Princess. She loves her school. She is pretty much friends with everyone. It is hard when no one wants to play with her, though. She is pretty tough. She got a bloody lip the other day and it didn't faze her.

 She is reminding me of our neighbor, Sam Kilts. She disappears and more often than not she has invited herself in to our neighbor's house. The Wheeler's don't seem to mind, but it is a bit frustrating and heart stopping at times. They are an older couple and their grandkids and great grandkids always seem to be around. She also will just talk and talk to them at church,

Soccer season is over. Luke never made a goal, but came very close many times. He was one of the best on his team when he was in the game. There was 1 or 2 games when he seemed distracted. He loves soccer and wants to play next year.

 Mallory wanted to go camping the other day.

 She fit just right.

 We loved having Aunt Cari visit. Mallory loved bossing her around.

 They had a lovely "hot chocolate" party.

 The last night Cari was here we wanted to go somewhere since Luke's soccer game was cancelled. Roy's Pizza seemed like a good choice. It was storming outside and the power was out, so we sat by the window. Our food took a long time to come. However, it was memorable and fun.

 Mallory at school. The teachers love that she likes to wear princess dresses so much as every day clothes. They are amazed that I let her. I figure, this stage is not going to last and she might as well get use out them.

 Mo has a mohawk

 Anneke loved when we had school one day and she didn't. She came and helped me at work. She dressed up and played with the kids. She has asked when she will get to come again.

 Anneke loved being in Cinderella and even had a speaking part. I loved the fact that her grandma, uncles and great grandparents could come (and DID) to see her. That was so important to her. In Las Vegas she really wanted family at her plays, but it was just us. She is sad because her cousin seems to have outgrown her.

I have a lot of pictures of Mallory since I am with her all the time. F is for Farm was a good week for her. She loved dressing up. They also went to a pumpkin patch and she chose a tiny pumpkin. She was so proud of it and carries it with her whenever she can.

 Evie was relieved that she and Luke didn't have to play each other in a game. However, the last week of soccer they had a scrimmage. (Evie is in gray on the left and Luke was wearing pants since we rushed over from dinner.)

 Luke's team was not the greatest, but they had fun.

 This picture is pretty self explanatory.

 The end of Farm week. She makes a good cowgirl.

Last week was a short week because of UEA. We let everyone pick one thing they wanted to do. We went swimming at the AC, had a pizza picnic, got drinks at Sip-It, went "somewhere" and hiked in the canyon. We also got family pictures taken by my sister, Heather. It was a nice rejuvenating time. (I will post some pictures of the latter two in a separate post.) 

Andy is struggling a bit to get his feet under him. He gives a special lecture this week on gender issues in relation to super heroes. It is at night in the library on campus. I hope to be able to attend and report. Andy is getting excited to teach Shakespeare next semester.

I think we are settling in. I realized in church yesterday that I don't feel as out of place. That's progress. I am struggling with work, but trying to make the most of it. It is hard being the oldest and an outsider. I don't really have someone I can look up to, or talk to about things. I tried and it (literally) got me into trouble. So, I will keep my head down and be the observer I know how to be. At least the kids like me.