BYU Footbal Season

BYU Football home games have come to a close.  The final two games are away so I don't have to worry about my husband attending that.  Every year Allen and Tyler go to the home games in Provo, Utah with Allen's three brothers and father.  They have a great time and hopefully are building a great relationship while they travel the 3 hours to the game.  Allen loves to be there for all the pre-game activities and brings home a selection of freebies that are handed out.  He grew up attending the games with his Dad and brothers.  Allen is a diehard fan and has trained Tyler to be the same way.  Several years ago I bought season tickets for Allen as a Father's Day gift and it has continued on ( I didn't realize what I had started with that initial gift). We figured if Allen was going he ought to buy another ticket to take Tyler.  This year the last two home games didn't start until 7 pm and 8 pm, so one of his brothers and his Dad didn't want to go.  My other girls took the tickets one week and the other week Ashley and my niece went with the boys.  They had a blast, even though it was dark and cold.

Tyler, Whitney, Ashley

Waiting for the players to come out on the field.  The kids hit the players hand as they run onto the field.

Family Pictures

In October we went to Second Dam in Logan Canyon to have our pictures taken.  A very nice friend did them for us and we were very pleased with the outcome.  Joslynn was being a stinker and some of her pictures are funny because they show her true character.  Nonetheless, it was a beautiful fall day and we are very happy to have these pictures. 

Tyler - 14 years old

Ashley - 10 years old

Kaylynn - 7 years old

Alyssa - 4 years old

Josylynn - 23 months

Winter Wonderland

We had our first good snowfall of the season yesterday.  We had 10 inches of snow fall and I think winter is officially here.  It looked beautiful this morning with the trees covered and glistening in the sun and no tracks in the yard, but I am not ready to have it here permanently.  The kids were excited to play in it and this afternoon I went out with them for a little while.  We attempted a snowman, but couldn't get the snow to pack.  Alyssa wanted to be in the pile, so she was the snowman until the snow was getting into her boots.  We had fun doing snow angels and of course Kaylynn and Alyssa love to eat the snow.  Tyler and Ashley went to Provo with Allen for the final home BYU football game.  The game doesn't start until 8 pm, so it will be a cold one.  Last week Tyler found a place were he can get warm water so he took some Swiss Miss packets and he was going to make his own hot chocolate!

Joslynn just makes us laugh!!  She doesn't talk much, says a few understandable words, but jabbers quite a bit.  I'll hold her in my lap and tel her to tell me a story and she'll take off with jabbers and then break out in laughter.  She makes everyone laugh.  It is wonderful to have a toddler in our home.  I love to hear the pitter padder of her shoeless feet walk down the hallway.  I am very grateful for all of my children.  They each bring me great joy and make our family complete.  I am grateful to be a mother to these wonderful spirits.  Joslynn was playing with the empty milk jug after dinner one night.  Just looking at the pictures makes me laugh again.  



Tonight for dinner we had some roasted vegetables.  I put a few carrots on Joslynn's plate and she proceeded to take them off and place them on the table.  After the bowl had been passed around, she pushed her plate aside and grabbed it.  She started eating the carrots with her fingers and then took the spoon to eat the rest of them.  She didn't care for the broccoli, but loved the potatoes and carrots.  Funny girl!!

Apples, Apples and more Apples!!

My neighbor had tons of apples on her trees this year and she offered some to me.  Alyssa and I went and picked several bucket fulls one day and then my sister-in-law also gave me some apples she had picked.  I had 5 five gallon buckets, and 5 boxes full of a different variety of apples.  My sister-in-law told me about the wet pack cannery in Preston, ID.  For $10 you can use their facility to can just about anything.  I called and last Saturday was the last day they would be open.  Holy Crowded!!  Anyway - Allen and Ashley came with me and we started the process of washing, cutting the apples at 9 am.  We left the place at 3 pm with 80 quarts of canned applesauce and 3 five gallon buckets of applesauce that I would can in my own quart jars at home.  The cannery was a pretty cool place.

Alyssa helped me with the pie filling.  We bottled 30 quarts.

Happy Halloween

Halloween was on a Monday this year.  The kids wore their costumes to school and then Allen took them to his work for trick-r-treating.  They did walk around the neighborhood also that evening.  Alyssa and Kaylynn were witches, Ashley was a bed bug, Joslynn was Clifford.  Tyler wore his basketball uniform and is bummed that he is too old to go beg for candy.  After they were done at Allen's work they stopped by my work.  I work Mondays at the Hyperbaric and Wound Clinic at the Cache Valley Specialty Hospital.  Every year the employes pick a theme and dress up.  This year's theme was Toy Story so everyone picked a character.  I chose Mrs. Pototoe Head.  It was fun, but the costume got in the way of my work.  I was happy to get rid of it after the last patient left.

Front Row:  Rex, Slinkey, Ham, Alien

Back Row: Mrs. Potaoe Head, Jessie, Woody, Buzz, Boo Peep, Barbie 

Following the nights event we dumped all the candy in a garbage bag and I was amazed at how much candy the kids recieved.  The following day Alyssa helped me put the "good ones" in my quart jars and I vaccumed sealed them.  We opened some jars from 2009 and the candy was still good.  The Twix caramel was a little hard, but all the other kinds were still good.  In an emergency, I think anything would taste great.