After having a cold for a week I finally felt good enough to even want to get out of the house. The sun was shining (after 4 days of rain) and although there was a bit of chill in the air, it was mostly warm. We had run to Ross to return some stuff and had the whole day ahead of us and when I asked the kids what they wanted to do, Tyler piped up with a firm, "let's go to the zoo". It was 10 in the morning and I didn't have a lunch or really anything except half a bag of pretzels and some waters on hand. I had my soled slippers on, so obviously I wasn't planning on doing too much, but after a little discussion it was decided we would go and only hit a few things that Tate and Tyler really wanted to see leaving by lunch time.

It was a perfect day for the zoo, the weather, the lack of people, and the overall attitude of not being in charge. That's right my kids were in charge and we saw what they wanted:

The MeerKats & the play area

The Goats (above) and the Wallabies (below)

The Blue Frogs

We also hit the Sharks and then with our spare time we went looking for the tigers, Clouded Leopard babies, Elephants and of course the Carousel.

This was a good day!

It feels like fall-the weather is cool and crisp in the morning, but most afternoons...

it's been quite warm so we've taken advantage by riding our scooters home from the bus stop.

My silly boy, this is what he does on the way home-need I say more?

The Blackberries have just ended but while they were out I had a craving and decided to make a blackberry pie. It was fantastic! Yummy fresh berries and thanks to John and the kids for picking them. I think the kids ate as many as they picked, but it's hard not too so big and sweet!

Birthday Ode to John

Compliments of Genny Phillips and Jorelle McClellan

Happy Birthday John!

37 years Old-does that sound old? I don't think so! We believe our Dad is in his prime! He's a lean, mean, Physical Therapist machine who still loves to tinker in the workshop, beautifying our home with his woodwork. As far as we are concerned he's the best swing pusher, chicken farmer, "Special Date"r, silly song singer, funny "goodnighter" and berry picker, hiker, camper and lately BYU Cougar football fan around!

We Love You Daddy John! Happy 37th Birthday!

Thanks for being a good sport to a wife who has now been sick for most of your birthdays.

I think I'm pry 5 out of last 9 of them?

Naches Loop Hike

It's become family tradition to do a family hike for John's birthday-to go and enjoy the colors of fall and to spend time together. We decided to do Naches Loop up Mt Raineer again. It was so beautiful we just couldn't wait to get back up there.

Oh the excitement and the energy-not too fast there's still 3 miles to go...

The flowers were amazing-and everywhere!

Snow in September?

Even hard and not fresh still fun to play in!

a few waterfalls worth noting

and more flowers

1st stop at a lil lake for a sandwich-fuel

Overlooking Dewey Lake-want to go there someday

Tate did get down off his ride and walked a few feet of the hike.

Photographer Tyler Took these great shots

The flowers and view was endless and breathless-although I think Tate might have gotten ahold of the camera and left a nice fingerprint on the lens.

Rewards for finishing-Cookies

We had a great time and enjoyed the fantabulous weather! The trail was a little busy and I was a bit surprised not to find any fall colored leaves, but we did get to try and eat the Huckleberries that were out on the bushes. The kids liked it, although many times throughout the hike McKenna declared she didn't want to hike anymore. Tyler scored a few rides on her Dad's shoulders and Tate became a front pack to balance out the backpack of food I was wearing. John and I loved it and look forward to hiking more with the kids.

Rise & Shout the Cougars are out....Goooo BYU!

The first couple of BYU Football games didn't go exactly as planned or hoped for but game #3 had the family yelling, screaming and singing! Dad has his cheerleaders at hand excited and cheering with him for the BYU Cougars!

Tomatoes

Tis the year and the season for canning. With a little encouragement from Helga and then some help we whipped out these 14 jars of tomatoes in about an hour. She's got a great system down and it's a lot of fun! only 2-3 jars are actually from my garden, but hey it's a star.

I decided to use a jar to make spaghetti sauce and it was pretty good, as good if not better than the store bought sauce.

Thanks Helga!

Tyler's 1st Day of Preschool

School is in session, for the little people. After weeks of anticipation the big day is finally here and as you can see Tyler is a little bit excited! We went and met the teacher last Thursday and she was so disappointed it was not her first day. She did play the shy card, but would look through her hair to see everything she wanted and needed to see.

This morning she put on her new school clothes, put on her backpack, with her bike helmet inside and we headed to the Sumner Cooperative Preschool.

Which started out with circle time discussing the color and shape of the week as well as the day of the week and month.

Then they went to freeplay where she was able to cut and paste shapes and paper, paint on an easel, mold some playdough, and write in her notebook. Then they had storytime, snack and then outside to play. They came back in for a few songs and then were off for the day.

This is her new teacher, Ms Withem.

I know Tyler had a great time as she was in such a great mood all day and couldn't stop smiling. When I asked what her favorite part of the day-"I made a new friend. Her name is Peyton, and she is her very own friend."

My heart melted and I'm so excited for her!

Good Day

It was a good day...can't say that a lot was accomplished, but it didn't seem to matter. After McKenna was off on the bus and John had left for work the 3 of us at home got ready for the day and then there were pictures to be painted, play dough to be thrown and a kitchen to be left a mess. Then we were off to have lunch and time to be shared with friends. It seems life gets so busy that sometimes you just need to make time for friends, especially friends that you talk to everyday but never actually see. :)

When we got home the sun was shining so we fed the chickens and then headed inside for naps, homework and reading. It was amazing how quickly 4 pm approached and 20 minutes before we grabbed our scooters and headed for the bus stop. Walking to and from the bus stop was one of my favorite moments of the day-Everyone was in a good mood, we weren't in a hurry and we just chatted about nothing. McKenna decided to branch out on her own by walking up the neighbors drive to get to our house while we rode the scooters behind our house. It's always neat to watch as she stands a little taller when she knows she's getting to do something the younger kids would never be allowed to do. Watch us both grow...

This evening John was at the Auburn Football game helping out on the sidelines-he'd invited us to come to the game, but frankly the thought of sitting in the stands with 3 young children who probably would have no interest in the game wasn't very appealing. After playing with the toys and then a light dinner we put our pajamas on, made popcorn and settled for a movie-Rio had come in the mail via Netflix and we were pretty excited to see it. We laughed, we danced we loved it! A very fun night with the kids-wish they were all so laid back, but this is the stuff I want to remember or read about when I look back.

School Begins...for McKenna

1st Grade is finally here-I think the last couple of weeks have been a little painful for McKenna who couldn't start school soon enough. The new school, the teachers, the kids..."It's soooo hard to Wait" is what she would tell me every night as we tucked her in for bed when I would tell her the next day wasn't school yet. When I answered in the affirmative last night-there were squeals of delight.

Sadly with a dead phone I missed the morning photo, but was able to get her coming off the bus. She is commuting 45 minutes each morning and afternoon-longer than John drives to work. Fingers crossed that the new school is completed by next year this time.

She didn't have much to report for the 1st day. She came home happy but reported that she did have a hard time finding her classroom, but Mrs Thomson helped her and all was ok. I think she also said she sat by Marella on the bus, I think on the way home. I don't think she's shy of friends-which I remember being scared of this time last year. Oh how I'm thankful that time heals most wounds.

Summer Ends

The summer is winding down quickly and so for our last day with McKenna home before school starts we decided to go on a picnic to a park we'd never been to in SouthHill. It was a huge park with 2 big playgrounds, horses (springloaded), TeeterTotters, a lil Lake with Ducks and a paved path that goes around the water. It was awesome and a great way to end our summer outings...with McKenna with us that is.