Slippery the Fish

On Thursday Caleb came home from school with a new little pet. He has been very excited about his new friend and insists on taking it with us everywhere we go. We had to put our foot down about taking him to church! We don't quite know how long Slippery will last, we've already had to change baggies a couple of times and I'm trying to find look-a-likes...just in case!

Puppy Love

Nanny and Poppy suddenly and unexpectedly got a new puppy last week. Needless to say my kids are in puppy heaven...especially Caleb. The puppy, who we think is named Ted but we don't know for sure yet, is just a little tiny fur ball and cute as can be. Well Caleb loves to have Ted crawl all over him and when we were at Mom & Dad's on Saturday Caleb played and played with him and then Ted was ready for a nap. So Caleb got a little blanket and sat down on the couch with the dog wrapped up like a little baby. Ted fell fast asleep and Caleb sat and held him for a good 20 minutes just cuddling and loving that little dog. When it was time to go home Caleb did NOT want to go...he wanted to move in with Nanny and said "I want Ted as my dog, just my dog!". Boy he loves that little pup!

Fall Break...Hee Haw Farm Revisited!

**WARNING-way too many family pictures may follow**

The kids had fall break this last week and after all the talk about Hee Haw Farms that is what they all wanted to do...so off we went! The kids had a lot of fun, some of the highlights were Leroy the 1200 lbs pig...he smelled a little worse than that! Following the kids in circles through the corn maze as each took a turn deciding which way to go...we finally made it! Burying the kids in the "Corn Box". Riding on the pony (Sara's favorite). All three kids on the peddle karts. Shooting the corn cannons...nothing like Grandpa's candy cannon! But the over all favorite was the 30 foot hay bale slide. Caleb wouldn't go near it at first then after we finally convinced him to go down we couldn't get him away from it! We had a good time together...I have a feeling we'll be back!

We think he gets it from the neighbors!

Caleb's the only one that would get close enough!

The stairs up to the slide.

Ben and Caleb started out on the same kart, then when they came around the corner Caleb was on his own kart just a peddling away! I didn't think he'd be able to get that big thing to go in the dirt!Sara could barely reach...so she sat on the bar and off she went!

Faith Leads to Action

I was reading in the Preach My Gospel handbook a few days ago and one sentence caught my attention and has been on my mind since. It said that our faith in Christ leads us to action. I first thought of all the "Action" things I need to be more consistent with...Then I started thinking about all of the things that my faith has led me to do. Things keep popping into my mind and it has been a loving reminder that the things I do really do bring blessings. As I've thought about this I've realized that faith is more than just believing...it's a willingness to do. So since I'm too chicken to get up in Sacrament meeting...here's just a few of the things that have come to mind that I feel compeled to do because of my faith in Christ:
1. Live to be worthy of the Temple
2. Teach my children
3. Pray
4. Listen to the answers I receive (even when it's hard)
5. Serve (still working on the with a happy heart part!)
Kind of simple things, I know, but as I look at the list I'm immediately reminded of blessings that have come from each. I could make another list dedicated to each one. It makes me grateful that I've had opportunities to excercise my faith and gives me encouragement that what I spend so much time doing will bring me joy.

Let it Snow...

We had our first snow of the season and the kids...and I...could not have been more excited! They quickly put on their snow clothes and ran out to play in the little bit that started to accumulate on the grass and swing set. They even tried to make snow angels! Although it is all of a sudden FREEZING cold I can't help but be excited with them. There's just something about snow falling and piles of coats and hats and mittens and boots sitting in puddles of melted snow at the door while the kids are sitting at the counter all red-cheeked drinking hot cocoa! I love it!!So while Troy completely disagrees with me...I say "Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!"

Hee Haw Farm

Caleb and I went on his first ever field trip this week to Hee Haw Farm. He was very excited about it and we had a lot of fun together! It's a cute little farm out in American Fork that has a corn maze, a huge 30 foot slide made out of giant hay bales, a big "corn" box to dig in, lots of animals to see up close, a pumpkin patch that we got to hunt through and a lot of other really cool stuff! Caleb's favorite part was jumping from hay bale to hay bale in the "Mini Maze".

Duck Vader

Friday night as we were sitting around watching the BYU game Caleb snuggled up next to me and said "Mom, do you know what Duck Vader says?" I said "No...what does Duck Vader say?" Then he said "Quack, Quack, haa...puuu...paaa!". I guess that's exactly what Duck Vader would say!!

Book Fair Safari

The book fair is officially OVER...and life as we know it will resume tomorrow!! It was a marathon of a week working the fair for 10 to 12 hours each day. Not to mention the emotional dilemmas I had to deal with...shoplifters...lunch money spenders...both of which are long stories that begin with sad little 4th grade girls and end with me in tears!

My family has felt totally neglected and forgotten this week. But I felt completely justified and validated tonight as we totaled up our sales for the week and the number that came up on the cash register was over $10,000 (I checked it 3 times!). On top of that, we were able to fill 4 of our teachers empty book shelves! That's a good feeling...