September Birthdays!

 This is a popular time to have a Birthday! So we decided to celebrate even though everyone having a Birthday would not be at our little party. Edmund was happy to blow out the candle, again and again. We sang all the Birthday songs we knew just to mix it up a bit.

 This is a peach pie with the last of the peaches from my sister Danna's tree! Yum!
 

 Happy Birthday Grandma Arlene and Geneva! Happy Birthday Marc, Kimberly, Lesli, Tracey, Kaden, Justin, Ziona and Ellen! Happy Birthday to the little people and those that have passed on. Happy Birthday September! I hope i didn't miss anyone.

 YES we even had pink Ice Cream!

 My funny girls in their matching school clothes. Lucy and Jill are twins today. Jill had early Kindergarten because parent teacher conferences mix up the schedule at the end of the week.

Halestorm by Becky Akers

Waste of time book. It turned out to be a romance novel with a little bit of stuff you could call historical fiction during the revolutionary war. There was a love triangle with a psychopath and a the hero was way too good to be true, an angel. The third person was the girl. She was not very bright and seemed to just be the victim over and over again. Really the book had so much potential and the author is a great writer and I have enjoyed her writing in the past. This was a first time novel. She really knows her history and the facts about the founding fathers but this time the book fell short by my standards. Really, did we need all that smut and evilness to get a good message about freedom and sacrifice of the men and families that lived during the Revolution times?

Broken, Bent 

The Great Pumpkin Harvest

We finally picked the pumpkins! They were almost completely covered in weeds and we were surprised to find a few hidden that we didn't even know were growing.

 I love my pumpkin. The white one is called a Casper pumpkin. It looks like a ghost. It will make a very scary jack-o-lantern. Edmund hurt his finger and wouldn't stop crying till we gave him a band-aid, then he couldn't remember which finger it was so we put it on this one and he was happy. He is also officially potty-trained. All it took was a a bunch of monster trucks from the $ store and a day earning them. Hooray!

We saved $25 dollars growing pumpkins for the family instead of buying them for Halloween. A few have battle scars because the grasshoppers and the chickens sometimes tried to eat them. We are thankful for a bountiful garden this year despite the water restrictions and heat.

 A Praying Mantis on the little fire engine is a very exciting event.The kids came and told me there was a really big grasshopper and I needed to see it. Finally I went and looked and it was this big bug praying!

And the cucumbers are finally pickled! They are dill but next year I want to try sweet  or maybe some relish.

The Grape juice is made! Thanks grandpa Ron for the grapes from the vineyard in Lindon!

Brigham City Temple Open House, UTAH

First we get on a BUS to shuttle us to the temple down the road a bit. Some of my children thought this was the best part of the whole trip...and the soda and french fries later that evening. sheez!

 Buses are fun!

 The temple grounds are also very beautiful. And you don't need to be as quiet or still in this part of the tour. PLUS you just got a big chocolate chip cookie and some water. The temple is very hot and so crowded the water was a welcome relief. Someone said that before 5pm there had been 9,000people that had already come through that day! My favorite part was the sealing room with the peach blossoms painted on the ceiling. My cousin Tyler Huntzinger (Aunt Cecil's grandchild)  had a hand in this and it was beautiful to see his handiwork all over the temple! The chandeliers were really cool too, Peter said they were more impressive then the Sacramento's temple. The art was really fun too, sometimes it was scenes of the valley and mountains surrounding the temples and harvesting of fruit. Perfect for Brigham City!

 This little guy wanted to be carried and wasn't the most quiet little guy but I'm glad we brought him anyway.

 FAMILIES CAN BE TOGETHER FOREVER BECAUSE OF THE TEMPLES OF THE LORD!

 On a different note, OOKIE had his first day of school. He was not too thrilled that he as the only boy. He played with playdough and ate snacks, then made a cool sand craft with glue, it was blue of course. We sang a song and played freeze dance a rama and read a story. For playtime he demanded some boy toys. Luckily there was a bin produced so his life could go on. Next week a new boy will join us at Joy School! Whew!

Headline: Pre Teen Girl Found Safe In Pine Grove Playing With Cat!!

Okay, it isn't funny but in a way it is...long story short, if you skip school you are in big trouble. I really don't think it will happen again. The police, all the neighbors and a very very unhappy mother are not pleasant when they find out you weren't kidnapped, rapped and cut into a hundred pieces and stuffed into a car going out of state...but they are relieved. So on a happier note here is my lovely daughter sharing her talents on the piano. 

And another one!

BLUE MOON

It is harvest time! The garden is starting to wither away and the string beans are ready for blanching and packing in the fridge. I bottled a batch earlier and now I need some in the freezer.

 BEANS!

 My vacuum packer.

 Next up is the corn harvest!!

The peas are almost gone.

 Cantaloupe isn't quite ready yet.

Pumpkins are getting big for Halloween. The grasshoppers keep nibbling their sides.

Casper pumpkins are white like a ghost. We wanted to mix it up a bit with something new in the garden.

Onions!

 Finally the squash plants are almost dead! I can't take anymore squash!!!!!

 Corn harvest for labor day weekend.

 Husking on the trampoline is a tradition. This way you can clean up the mess easy and flick the bugs off.

 Corn ready for freezer!

 The kids were very excited to find lots of ripe watermelon and cantaloupe in the garden one day after grandpa Ron came to visit. One cantaloupe had a very suspicious red supermarket sticker on its side! You never know what is going to happen during a blue moon week out in the garden!