november in review

calendar quotes:

avoiding evil is not the same as living righteously!

"time is the property which we inherit from God, along with the power to choose what we will do with it." -Henry B. Eyring

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november-what a great month...i love all the constant reminders to be thankful and i have so much to be thankful for! i was going through my pictures and i came across this one that kelsi took- i love that my kids live in such a beautiful area and that they stop and take time to appreciate it...

koy had his 5th birthday-kent and i took him to sizzler for some shrimp, he actually didn't like it-he says ours tastes way better!
he also wanted some meat, we call koy our meatasaurus...he finished off all of it!
we were all to full for ice-cream but no worries, koy found some great uses for the cones anyways...

koy is always making us smile and laugh, he just can't help but be silly...i love this about him!

he literally wakes up with a big goofy smile on his face and is usually happy all day long...i do have to remind him that there is also a time not to be sillly (FHE, scriptures, prayer, church, stores, etc.) but we are so thankful for koy in our family!

kaden just loves his teacher, mrs. inama-she is always putting together fun little events. they turned their class into a wax musuem...each student had to pick a famous person and memorize a little life sketch: then we were invited to come visit the museum. mrs. inama went around the class and when she would shine a flashlight on each student, they would come to life and give their little sketch...kaden picked Amerigo Vespucci. i had no idea who that was and i asked kaden why he was famous and kaden informed me that he was who showed chrisopher columbus how to get to america-hence america is named after him!(guess i should have known that one) kaden did a great job and i'm so glad he has enjoyable ways to keep learning, and i love that he's not afraid to get all into character...

for thanksgiving this year most of my family met in idaho falls, it was nice not to have to drive very far, especially with kent working. we always have so much fun when we're together...craziness but always fun! we had 22 out of the 25 grandkids there...

this was right before our "turkey trot"-my sister cyndi made all these cute shirts and my sister kara acquired all these very nice nike shorts from the YMCA. we lined all the kids up in ages and they ran to the club house...

then we all got wet! my kids loved all the swimming-they were usually first ones in and last ones out!

we had one sad note-kelsi got sick on thanksgiving day and spent the day with a yucky stomache...poor thing!

we had all kinds of fun activities, i was in charge of a family talent show...which everyone kept complaining about, but then typical of my family everyone still participated and did an awesome job! thank you =)

my mom and dad were a hoot as sonny and cher-singing "i got you babe!" my kids still talk about it...

kaden won the silver aunt jemima award-he played a few songs on the piano and performed some yo-yo tricks...

then we opened a time capsule that we had put together 10 years ago, i totally had forgotten about it! on the box i had written:

kent+ jaci+ kelsi+kaden = together forever!

it was so wierd not to see brooke and koy on there. it was so funny to see what everyone had put in...i put in a binky- kelsi's most prized possesion and a shovel- to remember all those holes we dug in the dirt growing up and to look forward to much more digging in the dirt!

i am so thankful for my family, i have such great memories growing up and i continue to keep having more!

and to end the month, i received my calling in our new ward-relief society secretary...not what i was expecting but what a great way to get to know people!

kaden loves corndogs!

kaden came into the house the other day and said, "do i smell corndog?"

i answered that koy just ate one.

kaden commented, "wow- a nice whiff of corndog can really uplift my spirit!"

He made me laugh as i started to envision:

corndog scented candles and air fresheners!

october in review

calendar quotes:

"i may not agree with what you say, but i will defend to the death your right to say it." -Evelyn Beatrice Hall

the path to happiness-in mortality and in eternity-is really quite simple. "simple" however, doesn't necessarily mean "easy".

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well we started the month out with a wonderful general conference, i am enjoying going back through those talks. the messages i remember most from conference were: the very first talk by Elder Richard G. Scott "to acquire spiritual guidance" about the Holy Ghost...something i am having to work on alot lately. and i also loved Elder David A. Bednar's talk "more diligent and concerned at home" i can always work on our atmosphere at home...and i loved that he said building faith is about being consistent-i don't know if i'm reaching my kids sometimes, but i am consitent in teaching. and i will never forget Elder Jeffrey R. Hollands testimony of the Book of Mormon-very powerful!

i worked 3 days for potato harvest, driving a potato truck...it wasn't too bad-i am horrible at backing up and very slow at a big rig =) i have learned something about myself though, i can work and every job i have had i get compliments on how hard and good of worker i am...but i don't want to work-i love staying home with my family! i am so thankful that i have been able to so far.(i still have my application to substitute in the schools on my counter since august-can't bring myself to fill it out yet!)

my oldest sister had her surprise baby boy-tyden. my koy just loved holding him and has asked numerous times when we will have a baby.
we missed out on picking potatoes with christy this year, but we still made our yearly potato people-my favorite was brookes...
i said, "that is the cutest potato i have ever seen!" and brooke responded, "yeah it has to be cute, it's sirri and sirri is cute!"
we made carmel apples for FHE-they were a hit...

and they helped brooke loose her tooth...

the tooth fairy gave her $5 and she wanted to go to the store to buy some gum. she bought her pack of gum and she returned very excited to me and said, "the store man gave me more money than the tooth fairy"...she got back 4 one dollar bills and some change...what a cheap tooth fairy ;)
we were so happy that the straw maze was open again this year-we went early in the day...

we went through 4 times and had to cheat through this hole all 4 times to get out...

we did go back after 9 when they haunt the maze...it went exactly as i predicted: kelsi-was mad because we had to leave before we found our way out and kaden-didn't like the dark and brooke-left in tears after the chainsaw guy chased us and i learned koy-could run fast. but it makes for some good memories and stories told later!
my brother chad and his wife, heather and their little boy, beckett came up to visit...a long drive from washington and we loved seeing them and are so excited to spend a week with them for swim camp (and so excited that they are going to have another baby).

kaden and i got to go to a very cool show up at the college...the great kaplan (or sometimes mediocre, as he joked when tricks didn't go so well) it was so fun to see kaden in awe at magic tricks and get all his very silly deadpan humor. kaden commented at the end..."i am so glad that he shares his talents with others."

kent started a new project with all his spare time (ha,ha). he is building a much needed new deck and of course it will be fabulous. kent is amazing at designing, working, and making...i'm excited to see the finished project! the kids have enjoyed playing on it at all phases: it's just like a new playground. this night craked me up-they were having races with the cats across the boards...

of course we finished out the month with lots of halloween fun-we had a carnival for pack night, carved pumpkins, went to the rexburg motor sports carnival, the school carnival, and a carnival at the rex...yes, we love lots of halloween fun! they didn't have the carnival at the nursing home this year because of the swine flu. here's 3 of the kids...

kaden's costume was quite the fiasco this year...he wanted to be sora, from the disney game-kingdom hearts. i don't even know where he comes up with his ideas sometimes, he loves being something different and seeing if people know who he is. we looked on line and actually bid on a costume on ebay for $40...alot of money i thought for a halloween costume. well we didn't win the bid and i was floored when i saw what the costume went for, $110-for a kids costume, are you kidding? well we talked about other ideas but he really wanted to be sora, so i made it and it turned out pretty close to the real thing and all for about $20 including the key blade...

it turned out pretty fun to make and i love homemade costumes! and the best part-kaden loved, loved, LOVED it-that makes it totallly worth it!
kelsi surprised me and still dressed up this year-yay! and she wasn't even a football player...

i love when the kids get home from getting all their treats and they dump them all out and sort them all into piles and trade...

at the school carnival we had talked about going to the middle school spook alley, but after the straw maze scare-koy and brooke didn't want to so i told them they could put the $5 into the raffle drawing. koy put all the tickets into the nintendo ds jar, which was the fullest-so i told him you probably won't win. well he won...

he said "i told you i would win mom!" he couldn't be happier-he wanted one for his birthday and i told him he was too young and them he told me he would ask santa for it and i told him that i would tell santa he was too young...what a lucky duck!

koys treasures

i found this rather big screw in my dryer and i had to giggle, my koy is always putting all kinds of treasures in his pockets...he always wants to keep them and i hate finding them all over my house-so i told him you put them in your pajama drawer and i won't throw them away.
well, i discovered he has quite the collection =)

kids triathlon

see kelsi get done swimming 100 yards...

see kelsi bike 3 miles...
see kelsi run 1.5 miles...

see kaden before he swims 100 yards...

see kaden bike 3 miles...

see kaden run 1.5 miles...

see brooke swim 50 yards...

see brooke bike .8 miles...

see brooke run with all her might .5 miles...

see koy swim 50 yards...

see koy bike .8 miles...

see koy run .5 miles...

i wish you could see how proud their mom and dad were of each of them!

they did AWESOME!!!

new ward

we are part of the newly created teton river ward...it is so exciting that our rexburg area is still growing and that we needed to create a new ward (and just recently a stake)-i am so excited to get to know new people and start a new ward adventure!

our garden

"yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart..." -Doctrine and Covenants 59:18

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i love this scripture because it is so true, having a garden really gladdens my heart! there are few other places i'd rather be than working in my garden-this is the beginning...

we had a very wet spring and we were so lucky to get everything in by June. but everything also loved all that water-especially my strawberries...
i usually have lots of berries, but they were ridiculous this year-i couldn't even keep up, but i'm not complaining! when we were taking out the sunflowers, i was amazed at all the lady bugs. i always have alot in my strawberries but nothing like this, i was sad to take away their home :(
i had to get a picture of my corn this year, it was so big-all that water. and i know it is actually just normal size but for idaho this is tall...

i usually am lucky to get corn to grow to my shoulders. and eventhough i am so excited to plant and work in my garden-i do have to say one of my favorite parts is actually getting it all cleaned up for the year. it's almost like clutter to me after awhile! and who doesn't love all the colors and feeling of fall coming! i just wish fall didn't turn into winter so fast here...kelsi stuck all the kitties down her shirt as she shucked the corn...

they kept her nice and warm. kent made a make shift hanging rack for all our tomatoes and there was a bunch...

I AM SO THANKFUL FOR SUCH A GREAT HARVEST:

56 sandwich bags of frozen strawberries

24 sandwich bags of strawberry freezer jam

63 quarts of green beans

12 sandwich bags of frozen peas

about 4 gallons of rasberries (we ate them all-yum)

about 4 dozen delicious honey crisp apples

60 sandwich bags of freezer corn

53 pints of delicious homemade salsa

red potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, cucumbers, (little)watermelon, and zuccinni

frozen peaches from my mother-in-law

12 quarts of bottled peaches from my mother-in-law

24 quarts of apple sauce from my mother-in-law...

my mother-in-law is so kind!

a freezer full of elk meat (from our other kind of harvest)