There's a great, big turkey down on Grandpa's Farm. . . .

One of the fun things about living in Nebraska is that there are wild turkeys about. In fact, there's a tree farm by our house and a whole flock of turkeys live there. The boys like seeing them. Sometimes I'll tease them and say, "I see a turkey!"

"Where?" they'll ask sitting up tall in their seats and looking.

"Right there," I'll reply pointing to Jacob. "Actually, there's four of them. Turkey #1 (Jacob), turkey #2 (Joshua), Turkey #3 (Brigham), and Turkey #4 (Aaron)."

When I tease them like this, Brigham always sets me straight. He is very adamant about the fact that he is not a turkey. But, I'm not so sure.

Two of my little turkey's at a "feast" Joshua's

kindergarten class invited us to:

We spent Thanksgiving Day at my parent's.

Dinner was great.

The company was even better.

We were so happy to have Shane's younger brother, Chet, and his wife, Kristy, and their son, Braden, spend the holiday with us.






After the feast, we went for a walk. It was a little colder than we had anticipated (that's Nebraska for you). So, we didn't last too long. Still, it was nice to get out.
It sure made us all remember how thankful we are for our warm homes.
How did the pioneers endure bitter-cold Nebraska? I'm so thankful for them.






Then, we had pie.

Here Brigham is enjoying his pie. Take a good look at his fork. He got a little impatient waiting for someone to get him a fork. So, he picked up an unused serving fork and helped himself.

Chet and Kristy spent the entire weekend with us. We went swimming, played lots of games, watched a few movies, ate lots of yummy leftovers, visited Winters Quaters (picture below), and watched the BYU game.

It was so fun to have them visit us!

Cancun, Mexico

When I had Aaron, instead of bringing me flowers, Shane bought me a trip for two to Cancun, Mexico. Of course, I choose him to escort me and in Novemeber we finally went. It was a wonderful trip. We enjoyed:

lots and lots of really good food . . . . .

. . . white sandy beaches and warm caribean waters . . . .

. . . being together. . . .

. . . relaxing . . . . .

. . . kayaking in the lagoon . . .

. . . a Mexican horse show. . . .



(Scarey, I know.)


. . . an awesome show celebrating the culture and history of Mexico

(if you ever go to Cancun, you can't miss this show -
give us a call and we'll give you the details) . . . . .



. . . and the Mayan ruins of . . . .


. . . Chitzen Itza and Tulum.



We had a really great time.

And so did our boys. They got to stay at grandma's house.

What could be better than that?

(We owe my parents big time. Thanks a million mom & dad!)


Here Brigham is wearing the sombrero we brought back for him (it is too small - bummer).

A year or so ago, Shane's parents went to Mexico. They brought back a tiny sombrero for Brigham (he's holding it in his right hand in the picture below). At first he tried to wear it. Then, he decided it was too small, small enough for a monkey. He started calling it his "monkey hat." So, I wanted to get that little monkey of mine a real "monkey hat."

I made applesauce today.

So, my house smells delicous.

According to Brigham, "it smells like apple pie."

Like a gigantic apple pie.

Brigham "helped" me. He took the apples out of the box and put them into the sink.

Then, he scrubbed them (mostly he just played in the water - he soaked two shirts before I

wised up and told him he could help without a shirt on).

While he washed/played, I chopped.

But, his favorite part was turning the lever on the food strainer. . . .

. . . . and smashing the apples down.

Our family loves applesauce.

This Fall we put up about 80 quarts of applesauce.

Crazy, I know.

But the real crazy part is, we'll probably run out before next Fall!

(Most of our applesauce is pink because it's made out of red apples. The batch pictured above is from a bushel of golden delicous apples.)

Happy Halloween 2009

Check out the awesome stem on Brigham's pumpkin

I think Halloween should always be on Saturday. My boys love Halloween. For them, the day is second only to their birthdays and Christmas. Actually, it seemed a little like Christmas yesterday when Jacob, who generlly has to be dragged out of bed, came bounding into mine and Shane's room, exclaiming, "Mom, Dad, wake up, it's Halloween!" So, to have an entire day to dedicate to the festivities was perfect.
Our afternoon was spent at our ward's Halloween carnival and "trunk or treat." We then did a little halloween caroling (A Walker Family Tradition where we sing some fun halloween songs and take a plate of goodies to a few Elderly couples and friends. -Shane & I actually did this for our second date -). Our final destination was Grandma & Grandpa's house where we had some delicous cinnamon rolls and chili (a Applegarth or, I suppose I should say, a Clawson family tradition). It was a super fun day.

Witch's Fingers anyone?

I didn't have time to properly drain the blood. So, it pooled a little on the platter. But, most people enjoyed it for dipping.

School has started (two months ago) and life is busy.

Jacob is now in second grade. He loves his new teacher, Mr. Rohde. I have to admit, at first I was a little apprehensive of a male second-grade teacher; but, now I don't think anyone could be a better fit for Jacob. Mr. Rohde is a retired member of the U.S. Air Force, which means he has great stories to tell his students. Mr. Rohde is a sports fanatic, which means his classroom is decorated with baseballs, footballs, and backetballs (instead of with apples and flowers) and he often plays catch with Jacob and the other boys at recess. Mr. Rohde loves to sing silly songs and from what I gather, he completely understands and uses second grade humor which is so funny. Still, as cool as Mr. Rohde is, I think the very best part of this new school year for Jacob is sharing it with his little brother. Going to school by himself for the past two years was a little lonely for Jacob. Now he's not the only one. He gets ready for school with his brother, rides to school with his brother, walks into school with his brother, sees his brother periodically throughout the day, and sits with his brother on the bus on the way home. And it has made a huge difference. Thank heaven for brothers - big and little.


First day of School - 2009

So, Joshua has started kindergarten. And he LOVES it! - which makes me so happy. He says his favorite parts of the day are recess, lunch, and coloring (kindergarten is great isn't it?). Lately they have had an apple theme going on. They've made applesauce and tasted all the different types of apples (his favortie are the "yellow ones" - golden delicious). They've done apple art and read apple stories. He likes his teacher, Mrs. Sorenson, and so do I. Most importantly, he feels good about himself and he's happy.

I can hardly believe my little boys are so big. Last week I was looking through old pictures of Jacob and Joshua, remembering when my sweet boys were little. As I looked, I wondered, "did I enjoy them enough? Did I hold them enough? Did I read to them enough? Did I sing to them enough?" I only had my articulate, two-year-old Jacob with his gorgeous brown eyes for one year. I only got to hold my playful, bumped and bruised, three-year-old Joshua for one year. Time goes by so quickly. And I need to do better. If only I can love each of my boys like I should each day, I won't have regrets.

Here of some of my favorite pictures of "Jacob and Joshua of yore" (warning: I had a hard time narrowing it down):