Pumpkins....

Last night for FHE we went to the Schoenfelds to Stahlie farms Pumpkin Patch. Between us we have nine children ranging in age from 12 to 1. We had so much fun together.
Mike and Mary Ann had us over for dinner before we left and it was yum yum yummy.
Mike is a GREAT cook and he has made us some of the best foods, his egg rolls are my favorite. Last night was his awesome Lasagna. Mary Anne is a great cook to but she is really known for her mad baking skills. Mmmm, cinnamon rolls.
Mary Ann and I had our babies about 3 weeks apart. Grant and Gil are destined to be friends.
Abe and Gwyn on a little train ride together.

Abe and Lucy
When I told the boys what we were doing for FHE and who were doing it with, his reply was,"Yes, I never get to see Lucy anymore." Tuck's was "Sweet I get to hang out with Adam." Adam is 12 and very cool, he even babysits the boys sometimes.
Gil loved trying to pet all the animals. This donkey was nice and let Gil pet or whack him a bit.
This is Abe waiting for Gwyn to come back for the train ride and feeling very sad he missed it the first time around.
So, we used our waiting time for a little photo shoot.
This is Abe's crossed eyed look, he has done this since he was two and it always made us giggle.


When we made our way over to the pumpkin patch everyone dispersed and found their very own pumpkins. Well, miss Priss had a very distinct pumpkin that needed to be found....."a little beeby punkin."
Seriously, every single person had theirs picked out while they waited ten more minutes for Gwyn to find her "little beeby punkin."
After awhile all the kids started looking for a "little beeby punkin" for Gwyn. They would lift one up and she would say,"it's too big". So these are the pictures of her trying some of them out. I am happy to announce that she found her perfect pumpkin.
Gil enjoyed a little wagon ride with all the pumpkins.
I know I don't have many pictures of Tuck, but he was too busy hanging out with Adam to have pictures taken. I love the fall, and it was fun to have farm girl and her family with us.

Look What Visited Us For Halloween.....

While my mom was here Bob found a little bat friend in our garage.

My mom and I were a little freaked out by it, but Bob put in a big can and took it out to Coral Canyon to show the boys and their cousins and then to let it fly away.

Weepy...

I have been a bit weepy the last week , so bear with me as I use this blog as a journal.....

I have thought a lot about conference last weekend and some of the talks that have really stuck with me. I loved Elder Oaks talk on choosing, the good, the better, and the best ways to spend our time and energy. I really needed to hear that in my life right now. I am pretty sure he had me in mind when he wrote it. I also needed and loved the talk on service, I only heard it on the radio so I am not sure who it was. He spoke of his mother dying and her only regret was not serving more. I have trouble serving like I would really like too. I get lazy and think I'll do it later and then it never gets done, or that would put me out to much, Gil would miss a nap. Why am I like this, my mother did not raise me to be like that. She is the type to pull her sleeves up and dig in to the muck of anything. I can and will do more.

So, after a great weekend spent hearing the words from our beloved church leaders, I prepared to have this little surgery on Monday. My mom and Bob were amazing. My mom, who is always a wonder to me, used her 8 arms to clean my house, care for the children, fix lunches and snacks all day long, make three different sets of curtains for my house, care for me, and still get some shopping in. Who created this woman?

I have wonderful friends who brought meals and treats to me and came to visit while I was laying flat in bed. I was feeling hugely emotional for all the service that has been render to me. My mom treats it like nothing but I know that she has MANY obligations else where, and Bob has been so sweet and taking extra special care of the children while I am not fully better (you know: extra cuddles and wrestles, baths, and stories.) All I can say is a great big huge THANK YOU. Service has been thrown on me abundantly, much more than I deserve.

So these are some of the reasons I feel so weepy. Then there is the spending money issue. It is no secret that I love to spend money on Gwynnie's clothes, my boys too, but Gwyn is my Achilles heel. I love to shop for anything that has to do with her. I read Sarah's Blog and fully understood what she was saying about living in a very affluent area where families have so much and I have to remind my self that, that is not what it is all about. It's not so much as "keeping up with the Jone's", but that it is so easy to get sucked in to all that EVERYONE has, that "of course you should have it too." It is a battle, a lame battle, but still a battle.

So in the midst of my realizations and battles I find Alisa Blog, who really is fighting a battle. So after Amberly shows me this blog Saturday night I read it before church Sunday Morning. (Our good friend Amber Young is good friends with this girl and has served her so lovingly. If you get a chance you really should read her blog). I am sobbing at my computer thinking how much more I need to serve, serve my children, my family, and my neighbors. I am so blessed to be healthy, I have healthy beautiful children and an adoring husband who loves ME. I am blessed with a wonderful home and a husband who supports us comfortably. My problems for the moment feel minuscule.

Two hours later in sacrament the bishop tells us that our ward will be split next week, (our ward is huge and everyone knew it was coming). In his Testimony he talked about being fine with 1100 members in our ward, and I am thinking, "me too, the more the merrier". I feel weepy because I love my ward and my friends. I know that we will still be friends, but I feel like a ward is a type of family and that it is important to make your new ward your family. Change is coming and change is hard.

So this is where I stand, tears for gratitude, tears of joy, and tears of sadness. I have enough, I hope to get my priorities straighter, and use my time to the BEST of my ability. I use this little blog to journal those spiritual blessing that Elder Eyring spoke of. In an everyday life when sometimes I take my children and husband for granted, I need to realize the precious gifts I have been given, and love them to the best of my ability. (I promise my next blog will be a little lighter.)

We went and found fall.....

After conference we went to find a little fall on Kolob mountain. It is a special place for Bob and I because it is where we got engaged. Since we have lived in Dixie we make it up there as much as possible. Gwyn thought that the leaves were amazing.
Tuck found the most beautiful leaves, or at least that was his goal.
Abe found a rock to surf.
Here is one of Tuck's leaves.
Gwyn liked the "pink" leaves.
It is always so fun to find a lone red tree.....
I thinks this was a great personality moment for my kids....so telling for all of them.
My beautiful little family, I can't help but feel so blessed.
This is Gil's favorite place to be, on top of dad's shoulders. His head is used as drum, a sucker, and a pillow.
The boys found some masks and Gil thought they were great fun.

So tomorrow is the big day for surgery #2 and I hope it goes a little better than the last one. My mom is on her way down as I type and my house is some what in order. I am glad we made it up to the mountains because I get really home sick during the fall, and I don't think I can manage that long of a drive for a couple of weeks. I think for sure I would have missed all the leaves. What a beautiful weekend.

G-I-R-L

Yesterday I was making dinner and Gwyn was watching one of her Barbie movies for the billionth time and this is what I saw as I walked past her. It is amazing how maternal little girls are. It melts me to see her like this, she is so sweet to her "babies". If you come to visit she will ask as soon as you walk in "wanna see my dolly's?"
At 28 months she:

• Loves to sing, her favorites are: I am a child of God, and Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam,(which Gil happily "Beams" with her), You're Just Like Me,(Barbie movie song), Don't Go Breaking My Heart,(off of Ella Enchanted and Chicken Little.)
• Her favorite movie is Barbie's Nutcracker.
• Wouldn't miss her dance class for the world.
• Can sneak out of our house with out me knowing it, she can open dead bolts and anything else you put in front of her. (Thank goodness for her favorite shoes, her squeaks, I can hear her walking out the door.)
• Loves to make Gil laugh, mostly by chasing him around.
• Comforts anyone by saying "Oh, honey...."
• Uses her hands while talking. (This is new and cracks me up.)
• Will watch Barbie and Princess Movies over and over and over.
• Loves her daddy to read to her.
• Wants to play with the five and six year old girls in the neighborhood everyday.
• Like to say the prayer, but only if you are saying it, for example, if Tucker is saying the prayer she repeats it right with him, it's pretty funny.
• Loves Nursery and hasn't been able to go for a few weeks because her nose is gross. I finally took her to the Doctor and when she walked in she put her hands on her hips and said,"fix my nose I wanna go Nursery." Which he replied, "I want to eat you up."
• Already knows how to guilt her dad at work,"Daddy, come home I miss you."
• Loves to shop, and will pull out clothes and bring them to me saying "this is darling mommy" (don't mind if it 10 times to big for her.)
• Is a great eater. She likes almost everything, even salad.
• Can spell her name, but only if we sing it.
• Can count to 12 but likes to forget number 6.
• Has a great self esteem and will point out things she like in other people, for example:"I like your bracelet" or "I like your hair, it's dark" or "I like your earrings" or "I like your baby".
• Should NEVER be left alone with a marker or pen.
• Has so much spunk you can see it in her walk.
  
  

Fall Softball

Bob's fall softball season has come to an end!(I don't know why we call it fall ball when it starts in July!) On Monday they had potentially three games that night, but sad to say they lost the first game and were done for the season. (P.S. if you love High School Musical 2, this is where the baseball scene was filmed!)
Bob had a great season personally! He hit many home runs and is an AWESOME third baseman. Since it is warm most of the year down here Bob gets to play a lot of softball. So the season will be upon us again soon!
I don't know if I have mentioned Gilbert's love for balls. He will chase them around everywhere, all day. He also has a great little throw. It would be great if he would start walking so that I wouldn't have to restrict him from crawling on the ground so much.
The kids love when it's softball season because it means treats, running around, friends, foul balls and free suckers! I remember loving to go to my brothers games for these reasons too!
Some of the boys! (Braden, Tucker and Adler) Abe is nowhere to be seen because he and his buddies are at the playground or snack stand most of the time.

Fall Clothes!!!!!!

It's been cool this weekend, it was so nice to be able to see the kids in something different;) We went to the boys soccer game and of course I forgot our camera, I am a little slow still and definitely not on top of my game. Nannie bought Gwynnie this outfit before she left on Friday. I love it!

My sweet boy who is getting so big!

Nate and Paige & Swiss Days

Paige and Nate dropped by last weekend on their way to Vegas for the U game. It was soooo fun to have them stay the night and play with us for awhile. Gwynnie LOVED Nate and Paige. Paige is still a little kid sometimes and my kids find her games the most amusing thing ever. She is so sweet and fun I miss not seeing her that much. It was fun to have Nate around too, all the boys went to the local High School Homecoming game that night while Paige and I took the babies and shopped. Thanks for coming you two! Aren't they a beautiful couple?
Swiss Days was this last weekend and our ward had a booth that Bob and I were in charge of. So, Friday afternoon was spent in the heat helping 20 million little kids make beaded necklaces and showing them how the pioneers did their printing. Thank you to my friends who volunteered at the booth, it was greatly appreciated. We were suppose to set up the next day but we were rained out. This is a picture of us attempting to hit some of the booths that were still open. Gil is a perfect example of what we looked like 5 minutes out of the car! We were soaked, so no Swiss Days this year. I have to say though that the rain was a welcome change. Anyway, in all it was a great weekend. Bring on the fall!

Just a little update.....

(p.s. This is how Brooke answered the phone in college, or so she told Bob and myself one weekend we visited. LOL))Pretty huh! Four days out of surgery and this is what my leg looks like. My mom left today and I am missing her already. She has been amazing and I feel like a little kid wanting to cry not to have her mom leave. Gwyn and Tucker both shed many a tear over her departure today. She kept reassuring everyone that she will be back in a week!

*funny Gwyn story*

She had a Halloween shirt on that had a witch and a ghost and a mummy on it. She was asking my mom what they were, when they got to the mummy Gwyn said "No, that's Robyn, and Nannie you wrap her!" (My mom wrapped my leg all week, and she watched.)

*Tucker Story*

He told me today that he was "going to be sad when Nannie left because she takes such good care of us and especially you mom because when we get home from school and I want to see you she says "no let's leave her alone, she is resting" Mom, she takes really good care of you!"

*Abe story*

Abe had a birthday party today and instead of gifts they were asked to bring canned goods to give to the homeless shelter here. While Abe was explaining what will be happening he told us "that we are going down to the homeless shelter, and then we are just going to throw food at them." Yeah, we had a little explaining to do.

I seriously can't believe I am doing this again in a week!
(hope that they are less pornographic)

Ambulatory Phlebectomy..... *WARNING GRAPHIC*

So I have been laid up all week after surgery to remove some severe varicose veins on my right leg and else where on Monday. My amazing mom has taken over my life because the first 24 hours I had to be flat in bed, and I am now just getting up. Today was the first day that I actually got to look at my legs. I have 38 incisions and stitches. The surgery hurt and was pretty disgusting to be awake through. My Doctor was great and so was his staff, but it was never going to be pleasant to have an actual crochet hook pull out diseased veins. These are the better pictures, other pictures that are to graphic for this site are not pretty and kind of hurt me to look at them. I get to do this again in two weeks for my left leg so YEA!! Really I will be glad to have the pain gone and truthfully feel like I can wear anything above the ankle again. Well worth it! I am a little embarrassed of the close up of the legs. It's never good when the Doctor asked if you have lost a lot of weight because you have stretch marks on your calves.....No, just a little toxemia with my first baby! Anyway, it is documented and now you know why I have been fairly silent! Thanks to my great friends who have brought treats, called and Sarah who brought dinner! The biggest thanks to my Mom who takes great care of all of us! Bob thanks to you too for just dealing with me crazy on pain meds:)

Papa Lyle is 60!

Lyle is 60! We love our dad!
We all gathered for Papa Lyle's 60th Birthday celebration. Nick and Amy flew in from MN, we drove up from SG. Connie reserved a room at Ruby River for all of the family. I would love to say that it was really enjoyable but three girls under the age of three is a little scary!
The three boys who are all 12 months did great! Cute

Monson is walking every where:) Gil and Gage might be a little jealous.

Gil and Aunt Amy.....She is a really nice aunt, who doesn't love her?
Gilly Bear LOVED his spagehetti! He thought dinner was wonderful.
The four boys can never get enough time together. We love our Hunter and Taft.
The Birthday boy himself enjoying a little appetizer.

The Grandkids up in the pottting shed with Papa Lyle.
The darling little Beutler family.
It was really fun to see the newest Lamoreaux ......Mr. Caleb, who has grown so much and is so sweet.
T-R-O-U-B-L-E

These three girls had so much fun together, we sure wish we saw that little Ella more. Aunt Sarah bought the three girls the fun little purses and they did not part with them the rest of the day!

Lyle and his boys having a group hug?

What a nice weekend being all together. We love you Lyle and think you are the best dad, and Grandpa.