Caramel Corn Gift

My new visiting teacher stopped by to share some delicious caramel corn with us. It was gone within the half hour after her brief visit. Yum!

Smashed Ben

We had smashed Ben for dinner.

What a fierce face Claire has!

BBQ with the Cooks

We were delighted to be invited to a BBQ with our new friends, the Cooks. We ate and played in their backyard. We especially enjoyed all of their fun toys.

Picking out Donuts

We picked up donuts from Yoke's this afternoon. They were all talking at once and so excited over all of the options. I have to admit...I'm a donut girl myself.

Mind the Gap

Emma pulled out her second top front tooth today. The first came out on the 4th. She's been saying a whole mess of words that sound really funny with her knew gap.

Working on the Park

We're excited that they're finally working on the park that's going in across the street in front of our house. Can you tell?

Bridges Bring Fun

We stopped off at Keewaydin Park to let the kids play and run their wiggles out. It was such a pleasant evening that it was fun for us also to watch them as they played.

Bridges are always so fun to stand on and look out over the water. My kids love them. They watched a Walmart bag and Red Bull can float down the waterway with much anticipation and enthusiasm.



They enjoyed the rock wall as that was a new addition to our park adventures.

Little Hands in the Popcorn Bowl

with cousins Jenna and Allie

Lainey has discovered popcorn. We were at a family gathering and she was just stuffing the popcorn into her mouth as fast as she could. I think she knew that I was coming to take the bowl away...after snapping a couple of pictures of course.

Playing in the Game Closet

Pioneer Day Celebration: Pasco Second Ward Style

It was fun to gather as a ward, even though we have yet to meet over half of it. There's something in just gathering together. And it was fun to think of our Pioneer ancestors that sacrificed so much in coming West. One young woman gave a talk in our ward last Sunday and shared the story of her ancestor that saved up to buy some shoes for the trek west. She took special care of them and was proud of these shoes. Along their journey when it came time to cross a river, she took the shoes off and tucked them in by a bush for safekeeping. It wasn't until they were well on their way, beyond the river, that this girl remembered her forgotten shoes, with no hope of turning back for them.

The young speaker continued to explain that she had recently read a talk in the New Era about a pioneer that didn't have any shoes on her journey west until she came upon a good, sturdy pair tucked under a bush just before she was to cross a river. They were her ancestor's shoes. Thus illustrating that sometimes our sacrifices may not make sense to us, but they are a means of blessing others. I think that all of pioneer heritage is that for me. They may not have understood why the persecution or being driven from their homes countless times had to happen, but I am grateful that their sacrifice has blessed me today...as I now make my home at the end of their route, nearly two hundred years later, with the restored gospel as the pattern for my life.

These are some shots from our gathering at the park:

Lainey was loving that Oreo

Benjamin found a good lounging spot

Lainey loves to go to people. It always amazes me, and the person she goes to, that she is willing in the first place. She makes a lot of people smile because she has no fear of people. Here is Lainey reaching out and going to our neighbor and friend Don Slaugh. She loves him!

Line 'em up!

We had friends over for a day of crafting and we lined them up at the border of the kitchen so they could eat and watch their Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie.

Salsa for Supper

We LOVE salsa in this house. Jason and I cannot break into the chips and pour out the salsa without everyone catching the aroma and coming to steal our snack. It just hangs in the air and makes us crazy! Kind of like the farm animals in this fun book, Chicks and Salsa by Aaron

Reynolds. It's a good one! Anyway, Benjamin probably loves the stuff more than any of our kids. He digs in and gets big scoops of salsa, chunks of peppers and tomatoes and all. I think he'd even be happy eating salsa for supper.

I told you...crazy!