Rome, Italy... Loved it! Still glad to be an American...

I made a pretty monumental goal for myself and when I finished it, I went to Rome. It was an amazing vacation with so much to see I could have never seen it all in the week I was there. Even with all the amazing things to see, I was really glad to come home and grateful for the country that I live in. However, it did expand my world views and words can't express the difference I feel after being there. Thanks Jan!

Proof that I was there... Less anyone wonder! :)

The discus thrower.

Angels and Demons anyone? A trip to Vatican City is absolutely necessary in Rome.

The frescos painted in the Vatican are absolutely stunning. Neither words, nor pictures can do them justice. My appreciation for ancient artists has greatly increased.

Yes, this is one of THOSE pictures... one that you see all the time in books and magazines and here I am seeing it for real! Michaelangelo, DiVinci, and Raphael all pictured here.

The view from the top of the Basilica. You actually have to pay for the opportunity to climb all 551 steps to the top. The view, is totally worth it , though.

One of the buildings behind the Basillica. We didn't know who lived here, but it was sure nice. Can I move in?

In front of St. Peter's Cathedral.

Day trip down to Pompeii. AMAZING ruins. Whole city covered by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. When you know what went on there, you'll know why it was covered!

However, that aside, the excavation process is amazing and to be able to uncover an entire city with so many amenities... even though they were ancient is absolutely undescribable. Those people were brilliant. Using gravity to create water pressure for fountains... AMAZING!

Daytime view of the Colloseum. Talk about one amazing structure. Even going to a NFL football game cannot come close to the awe inspiring creation the Romans built!

The view under the floor where the gladitors trained and the animals were held for the games.

A view from farther away.

I think these are the steps where Cesear was killed. I mean, we walked right there, on those same stone streets that were built in the BC period! Can't get over it!

This guy, I think his name is Marcus Arrelius, who no one really remembers anymore, thought so much of himself that he built a monument to himself. His mustache is 5 ft long! His horse is over 42 ft long. I guess he really wanted to be remembered. What was his name again?

Went to the Borghese Art Gallery where there were some amazing paintings. We were only allowed to be there 2 hours. That's all you get. Wanna see more? Have to come back, but have to purchase your tickets early because these guys don't sell tickets at the door. They sell out too fast.

One of the excavation areas in the Jewish ghetto. Jews had to live outside the city for hundreds of years in this ghetto area, forced to see Christian churches as they would leave for work and come home each day... hoping they would convert. Got to eat a shwarma there. YUM!

And now, the weary travelers head home. Thanks for all the memories Jan! It was truly an amazing experience. It was tough to choose my favorite pictures from this trip, and I didn't want to bore anyone, so here's some highlights!

Halloween Dress up

So, I've about decided that it's time for a new camera! All my pictures are coming out blurry and I don't know why. Maybe it's been dropped a few too many times. Christmas is coming... :)

Isaac decided a LONG time ago that he was going to be a dog and I told him that would be fine. I didn't know it was THIS costume that he wanted... which was way to small, but he would not be detoured.
The night before Halloween was so cold at our ward trunk or treat that we had to dress Cassie in a warm costume. I'm glad it warmed up so she could be the little ballerina.

Cassie was off to the block party. Didn't matter if anyone else was coming or not. She is giving me a lot of gray hairs!

Here are all my kids right before heading over to the neighborhood block party for hot dogs before trick or treating.

Katie decided that she wanted to be a dice this year. It was a little inconvenient to move in, but she loved the attention she got from it!

I don't have any idea where the obsession with Vampires came from this year, but Bryce and David both decided they needed to dress up like them.

David LOVED it! He wanted to know why I didn't like the "scary" things of Halloween. Rather than explain, I gave in and let him be a vampire.

Seth was determined to be Anakin Skywalker again this year. Thanks Mary for the costume!

Anyway, this year for Halloween we had a great time trick or treating, but came home with WAY too much candy. Even giving it out at the doorstep didn't even touch the amount we had. With 6 kids trick or treating, we definitely come home with more than we give out!

Fall Break Fun

For fall break this year, we decided that it was time to go camping. So, we drove about 45 minutes from our house into the mountains to find a nice place to do it. We went with Clint's sister and her family. It was a good time.

Isaac and Lawana posing for a picture while dad tried to figure out the camera.

It was at least 75+ degrees outside at this point, but Seth was so excited to wear his hoodie that he just had to put it on.

David quickly followed suit and sat right up close to the fire to stay "warm" at 75.

Katie was a huge help in gathering firewood. We can't camp without a fire, right? I mean, what would S'mores be like anyway?

And then it was off to bed. It took a little while to settle them down, but they all just love camping and were happy to be in the outdoors.

Clint and Jeff were our official breakfast makers after enough comments on how our sheep herders stew didn't measure up to "dad's".

Jeanette was the designated dishwashe... or maybe she took the job, knowing how to do it the best.

Cassie and Jenna posing for the camera... Never a dull moment with these two!

Skylar, Katie, Cassie, Jacob, Bryce, Isaac and Seth. About half way thru the hike. It was 80 something degrees so they decided it was too hot to hike.

The hiking group. Sorry it's so blurry. Jeff and Jeanette with Jenna, Logan, Skylar, Katie, Jacob, Cassie, David, Bryce, Seth, and Isaac. Wasn't very long because of the little ones, but it gave us something to do and we even found a dead rattle snake along the trail. Good thing it wasn't alive because then I would have been dead from a heart attack!

Labor Day weekend in Eagar

We started out our fun weekend watching my little brother, Brett's game. This was a major rival game, which, lucky for me, we actually won. I only seem to get to see the losses.

Brett was pretty excited!

All the kids were so excited that they had to rush the field after it was over. They didn't know why we were so excited, but it definitely rubbed off on them! Then they all wanted to wear his helmet and take a picture with it.

David

Bryce

Seth

Isaac

And finally, Katie.

Congratulations Uncle Brett!

Seth's 7th Birthday

Seth's 7th birthday fell on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, so of course we celebrated it while we were up in Eagar.

I can't believe he is 7 already! I hope all the wishes you made on your birthday come true!

The kids all got to play musical chairs while Poppy played the piano in the other room.

He asked for breakfast for his birthday dinner, so we had bacon, sausage, hashbrowns and eggs. He loved it.

Yes, we now are the proud owners of not just one, but 2 gerbils. This was a real stretch for me... rodents in the house... gotta love it!

And then, of course, there was the ceremonial decorating of the cupcakes. This is a tradition that the kids just love! Happy Birthday Seth! Sure love you!

Labor Day fun!

My family has a tradition of hauling wood on Labor Day. Yes, this means that we cut the tree down, saw it into smaller pieces, and then load it into a truck to be chopped into smaller pieces once they get home. This is a busy job, but as you can see, everyone is expected to help out... at least for a little while.Yes, that is the oldest of the kids (Katie), supervising as the 2 youngest (Isaac and Addison) pick up the enormous piece of wood.

I would bet that each piece of wood weighs anywhere from 25-50 lbs. each. Some of the ones we did on the 2nd day were upwards of 150! Needless to say, my youngest brother with all the muscles got to load those! Katie, Bryce, Adam, and Makenli

Clint, of course, got the majority of time on the saw since this one was too big for any of the little kids to operate.

Yes, even I got into the act. I did what was called "limbing" which is where you cut the limbs of the trees to be cut. That way they are easier to load into the truck... they stack better.

This is Poppy giving each of the kids an opportunity to operate the chain saw by themselves. This is Seth... don't worry, it's a really little saw and doesn't do much damage to anything.

This was David's chance.

Then there was Bryce...

And finally there was Katie, but she really had to hurry because the hail was coming in quickly.

This was the tree that Poppy had to cut down. None of the saws that we had could handle how big it was so we ended up having to leave it for later... when the big guns could come get it. Isaac

We stopped at the look out point on our way down from the mountain. Anyway you "cut" it, that is a lot of wood for these little kids to haul!