10.30.17 Pumpkin Carving

Yep it's the changing of the seasons marked by the annual carving of pumpkins. We enjoyed a more able evening last night as the kids are growing and at least half were able to complete the creative messy project alone. Bruce was delighted by the whole endeavor. He was also generously covered in pumpkin guts by his siblings.

John is always going for a laugh and this time he got to use knives double win!

THe kiddos really enjoy this tradition. I was musing how the simple things seem to be the most lasting here. This is a project passed on from my family. Greg had never carved a pumpkin until we married. He still doesn't get overly excited about it but doesn't stop it from occurring either. I asked the kids if they would do this when they were grown up they surmised probably but they would grow their own pumpkins. 

Aliza found these white pumpkins and immediately imagined Olaf. She is a perfectionist and we had many words about just creating the idea of Olaf not fussing over the exactness of the real character. I think we are going to fight the perfection battle a lot. I think we always had, I now recall her organizing biscuits on a cookie sheet because I had not lined them up exactly. Oh my lovely daughter life doesn't have to be exact in every area. Nonetheless her pumpkins turned out very unique just like her. 

The annual lighting. We were reminded that John is  a pyromaniac. Should have been tipped off by the matches found under his pillow. Oh well another evening in the books.

10.30.17 Holding on

This past week my oldest two have been gone on a trip. They are severely underprivileged teenagers who do not have cell phones. That's on purpose! Yet I was very limited in my ability to talk to or hear from them. That made me sad (but did not change my opinion they don't need a cell phone). However I got a surprise call from them half-way through their trip. While it was so heartwarming to hear their voices it also made me very sad. I realized again how fast they are approaching independence and how hard that is for me. I love having kids in my home. I especially love these interesting quirky teenagers. So after my much appreciated phone call I realized I needed to just love and appreciate the ones that I had here. So we sat and read, snuggled, tickled and took selfies. I am blessed to not go through the growing up stage alone. I Still have a more than full lap and I am grateful for that. 

10.26.17 Some days are sticky

The quarterly awards assembly happened this week. Because it happens right after school starts I take the kids to school that day. They were not happy about sleeping in a bit and riding with mom instead of the bus. The grumped and complained all morning long. Kids have a special way of appreciating moms. We endured the assembly Aliza is now at 8500 points in reading mark hit 1500. They both made the honor roll. 

A sidenote this past parent teacher conference session was the first time all my school kids received good reviews. It was almost fun to visit with the teachers. For that brief moment we were almost problem free on the school front. A few small hiccups we had been working through for the weeks prior but all in all doing ok. This took 10 years of school to get one all ok report. The rest have been filled with frustrations, tears, anger, and confusion about how to get through road blocks, how to make kids care, how to help, how to back off, and how to parent and not let parenting crush my self-worth. 

I returned home with very tired kids. They don't get up that early, thank goodness and while they were tired they were not giving in to sleep, just crying. So we sat and snuggled and read some stories.
Then the little guy wandered off and got into the honey bucket.
He's crying because he is sticky and tired not because I administered any kind of reproach. All I did was hold him away from me as he was literally covered in honey and took some pictures. This is equal to counting to ten in parenting finesse!!

Can you see the steps of honey? Thankfully it cleaned up pretty easily. Scraped it then dawn dish soap in hot water we were honey free! I was trying to make bread for the family and left the lid off the bucket because I was hurrying to get it done while kiddos cried. Not my best cooking. 

I have been amazed how much I was able to get done when relief society president. It is harder to get service into my schedule now that I am not under a calling mantel. It has been an interesting experience to try to go at what was my normal life alone. The bread got made the kids got held and I did go help people move for 3 hours that night. My mother in-law has taught me a lot about moving others. She is a genius at organizing people and getting large, hard projects done in a timely manner. I am so thankful for her teaching and assistance. We got at least 50% more done because she was there. I got a call toward the end relaying the information that Millie was sick at home. That was not enticement to go home. However, we finished the move and headed home in time to hold Millie while she puked, again. We (Aliza and I) got kids through the nighttime routine of scriptures, prayers, teeth brushed and in bed. And sweet Bruce took a swig of rubbing alcohol for a night cap. Flooded him with fluids, and he made it through the night peacefully as did Millie. Here's to hoping for a better more peaceful day today. Each day is a new adventure, thank goodness there aren't many firsts just repeats of things I'd rather not revisit but are part of life nonetheless. 

10.25.17 A weekend

We decided to go ahead and get Aliza's braces. She was excited until the reality of moving teeth came to her knowledge. Now she's not so sure this was a good idea. 

Because we don't get past our guard mountain that closes in our small town often we decided to make a full day of getting braces. We dropped her at the orthodontist and went shopping. We found some cute dresses and a shirt for Livy. We went back to get Aliza now full of metal and headed to the temple. She did work inside while we walked/ran/cried/ explored outside. 

The very observant grounds keeper noticed the girls and suggested they could go in the temple just to look. They were overjoyed. We very quietly went in the double doors and observed the artwork and white clothed workers. The girls were sure they were angels, as they had asked earlier if angels were in the temple. It was special moment and so generous of him to offer.
LAter that day we went to the Meridian temple open house. That was a zoo. The kids were anxious to see it all quickly and after so much time in the car they were ready to move. Meridian is a large temple so the many steps were no problem for them. Bruce was a handful and I was very thankful to hand him off after a flight of stairs. We ended the evening with a rare visit to the Golden Corral. The kids had a great time all teh gummy bears and chocolate dipped strawberries they could handle.

The next night we headed back to the city to see the BYU ballroom dancers perform. It was lovely and inspiring. Livy got to pose with two lovely ladies as she had to go to the bathroom prior to the show. My friend suggested grabbing a shot I was so thankful for her encouragement as Livy loves to show this picture. She did well sitting through an hour and a half show.

Pre-show. Harold being a teenager.

The next day was FFA auction day. Anna is an officer and leader and conscientious young lady. She took this first batch of baked goods to the car and hurried back in the house to get the next load. While gone the chickens attacked the brownies and cinnamon rolls. We had to repackage what we could salvage and be quicker closing doors and keeping them away. The auction was a success. When we got home the door was opened and we again found chickens in the house. YUCK. They had made some more messes and it was then I demanded the farm kids get them some ground corn or else! Since the return of the grains the chickens have been less apt to attack the people food.  Changing of the seasons is a wakeup call to the need to hand feed the animals again. And so the time passed and we drove hundreds of miles more and we lived and learned. It is a great experience of endurance and industry that is now marking our days. I love having big kids/young adults in my home!

10.24.17 Big help

I have never had a baby be so mechanical as Bruce is proving to be. He dismantled the handle on my vacuum very happily last week. If I wouldn't have been there I would not have believed he was so capable. He is now eyeing my dishwasher with similar curiosity. I am in for trouble as I have little mechanical desire and less organization to keep track of little parts. So far on the vacuum repair I have the spring, handle, and nut know if I could find the screw I could put it back together. Little monster/mechanic and look how pleased he is. Oh it's going to be a long toddlerhood I think.
He is also quickly outgrowing the baby stage. He is quick to push me away and refuse to look at me when dad is around. He is very sure of his masculinity and knows moms and girls are boring and dull. Poor kid. He loves his time with dad and brothers they do interesting worthwhile stuff like use tools and play with swords and drive machines. Power man stuff!

Afton is not one for sitting around either. She is insistent that she can do what the big kids do. She was eager to help greg carry the empty cooler to be put away. She too loves her dad and loves to be able to help him.

We are in a different stage now with no little baby and lots of bustling big bodies. The amount of energy in our home is overwhelming. While it may seem odd even third world the amount and kind of work we do here, it is not without some purpose. This energy left unchanneled breaks walls, beds, etc but channeled into outside endeavors creates more muscles, clear witty thinking, sense of self- confidence, and inner peace at being needed. I'm thankful we have a place and reasons to expend that youthful exuberance and thankful for the inner and outer strength they are developing as they learn to see things in reality not just imagination.

 A blessing of a big family is lots of ways to serve and learn because it takes a lot of work to keep us gong. From multiple loads of laundry a day, to piles of dishes, to lots of people to play with there are many ways to be of use and reasons to get out of bed. It makes my heart sad to help my teenagers understand why some of their peers are depressed even suicidal. Easier is not always best. When I question why life has to be hard and why we choose to live a more physical life my answer has been so we can grow as we develop more talents, faith, love, and humility.

10.23.17 Chasing cows

I mentioned the little girls sitting happily in the car playing starfall. Well they are also camera whizzes! I found these random pictures documenting their time waiting. They are so patient. 

Livy in kaleidoscope. No idea where that function is on my camera. Kinda cool.

Waiting it was still light I really naively thought it would only be half an hour. Good thing we have a big car. Afton is in the drivers seat probably Bruce is driving. Keys were out safely stowed out of reach.

I guess thank goodness for modern entertainment and containment. Love these girls. Quite possibly their day will come when they will be out running not in lounging. Glad they have each other to pass the time.

10.22.17 John

John was ordained to the office of Deacon on Sunday by Greg, Lloyd, Bruce, Bishop Paul and Uncle Bryce. It is awesome having so many teenage kids in my home. they are funny, witty, helpful, boisterous, insightful, and enjoyable. John is in the stage of giving great hugs. He truly appreciates recognition and quietly methodically works until a job is done- if he knows it will be checked. If he thinks no one will check/care then he doesn't either and pursues his own interests. He is smart and has a kind although fierce heart. He plays hard he dreams big and he thinks deep. I am excited to continue to watch and guide his growth this is another step in that process.

I get to work with John on occasion. this was one for the books. Cleaning the trailer after much use this year. Most recently holding 3 wild cows overnight while they calmed down, before releasing them into new pens. Hence the need to shovel and shovel fresh and old manure. I was sure glad to have some help even if that help accidentally slopped manure and squirted hoses on my feet. We got the trailer clean until the next time.

The night of his birthday was prepped way ahead of time (to ensure success and a peaceful evening). I had apples cooked to mush into sauce and dinner in the oven cooking when they got home. After a quick start on the applesauce GReg arrived home to get some in heat cows moved to the bull. The first animal loaded so nice I thought for sure we were in for a quick evening. Well that said cow was crazy when we got the other cows almost in the trailer. She was jumping the middle section bawling and scary to them. So off they ran in many directions quickly jumping any and all fences and getting far away from the crazy cow and the mad people. We spent the next 2.5 hours chasing those sane cows and cussing ourselves for not dumping the first looney cow at the farm.
All in all cooler heads prevailed, thanks grandma Saunders, and everything got loaded after I dumped off the in heat cow at the farm then came back to get the three other cows. We overnighted them in the trailer because cows let off in the dark don't care or know where fences are and these were so excited they needed to calm down and chill.
In that dark chilly night as my family worked together hy-ahhing and sss'ing the cows into the trailer we were together. My heart swells with love and pleasure when we all work together, and flares with anger and frustration at the short tempers and name calling that are part of the experience. The little girls were in the van happily playing starfall and driving. Bruce wandered around in there too occasionally getting out to be held for a while then getting back in while cows were chased. I love that we share life together. We came home to a done dinner and yummy birthday treat. We shared what we like about John and we got to bed. It was a typical family night for us. Ups, downs, all arounds but back together in the circle of our family working it out teasing and praying. The circle of family life is significant and real. We just keep working around and around all the while staying together through the good and bad. I'm so thankful for my family.

10.11.17 Conference Weekend

We did the traditional stuff of eating donuts and enjoying family. We were overbooked and so we only gathered on Sunday to hear the talks. I was so thankful to find that GReg could stream conference at his shop and was able to hear some of 2 of the Saturday sessions. He had a big deadline and that was a help to be able to hear and work at the same time. He is really enjoying the ability to listen to more than talk radio at his shop. I'm surprised whenever I go there and hear pleasant piano music in the background. It really makes the shop a classy place!

 We enjoyed some quality time sushing, rearranging seating arrangements, wondering why we demanded the kids listen, and mostly just filling one space with lots of restless bodies. 

Cousins came from far away to help us with some cow sorting and selling. 

Bruce enjoyed all the outside time. He loves outside and is a whiney boy when forced indoors. It may just be a really long winter. He loves that his brothers are so willing to include him in their work.

We played hooky and worked cows. MAny hands make light work... well most of these hands came
to my house to play while the older ones and uncle sorted through the herd. We made popcorn balls for the ride home, well for now as it happened. Because who can resist gooey popcorn in front of your face?

My girls. All unique, they don't all look alike and they definitely have their own personalities and blessings they bring to our family. We are so thankful for each dynamic dynamo in our home. No Millie was not driving but she sure would try if they would let her.

10.10.17 Farm bounty

Fall is an amazing time of bounty here in our valley. The onions, potatoes, apples, beets, grapes and garden produce are found in abundance. We were asked to come help with a clod problem. Or the kids were asked to come help. We were also fortunate to gather our winter storage of onions. This is big onion country and these did not disappoint. Livy showing one as big as her head!

A picture of some of the piles of clods they were battling through. Greg grew up picking clods so this a sort of right of passage to bearing the family name. The kids were willing and held their own I think. We did not bag those up.

Millie and her new picture pose the thumbs up. Love having older kids around to teach new skills. 

Our super photogenic stops to pose when he sees the camera big man Bruce. 

Picking apples and enjoying being a big boy!

Enjoying a final day of summer and water until next year!