Our Baby Girl is 7

Could it really be seven years since our little girl was born? Where has all the time gone? This little blessing to our family has brought so much joy. When I had Austin, I just figured Bill and I were destined to have only boys. I was perfectly happy with that. Then little Erin Elizabeth came along bringing with her a beloved pink (now grayish) blankie, jewelry, dolls, and make-up (for now it's only play make up..). Thank heavens this girl loves sports, fitting right in with her brothers! She is doing wonderfully in school, loves her friends, loves dance and soccer, and is always busy on some sort of project.

When I first saw this painting years ago, called "Denim and Lace" by Greg Olsen, I hoped I could have a girl just like this one. I think I got my wish!

We love you, Erin! Happy Seventh Birthday!

Fall Fun and Glasses

Last week we decided we had better head up to the mountains to see the colors before all the leaves fall. We drove to Snowbasin (ski resort) and we weren't disappointed. It was about 3 or 4 in the afternoon and the sun was on it's way down. Perfect for taking pictures. This one was taken by Ben with my iphone. Not too shabby!

Another with my iphone:

The pictures of the kids were with my Nikon:

Alex hates getting his picture taken so I had a hard time getting a good one of him - you know, where he actually smiles...

This was with my iphone as we were driving by Pineview...

...driving through Ogden canyon, again with my iphone.

Some more pretty shots with my Nikon. I believe Alex took these for his photography class at school.

On another note, this last week I have had to wear glasses. Doctors orders. So when I went in yesterday for my follow-up, I was whole-heartedly thinking I would get that contact prescription in my grubby little hands and be wearing contacts by 10:30 that morning. Not so. Apparently, my corneas are too "irritated" by dryness and allergies and other such nonsense and two more weeks (possibly more!) will do the trick. Ugh! It's about the worst sentence a girl like me could get. I don't think my eye doctor thought it was funny when I told him I would just have to find another doctor that would give me my prescription for contacts. I was sooo kidding, but he didn't think I was, hehe. My kids all keep asking when I get to wear contacts because they like me better without glasses. Kids are too honest. Oh well. So, I just remind myself to be grateful for the fact that I can see at all and glasses aren't the worst thing in the world to have to endure.

Falling for Fall

Ah, my favorite time of year. I've always loved autumn. Although summer is nice and I'm sad to see it go, I'm always happy to see fall roll around. Here in Utah the colors are especially bright and vibrant. The days becomes cooler and the nights crisper. One of my favorite things in fall is going for a run in the cool, moist air and smelling smoke from chimneys. Also, instead of the regular scentsy burner, I splurge and light candles. Hmmm, nice and cozy.

Football is finally over for my older boys. Both made it to the playoffs but played tough teams and got eliminated in the first round. It is bittersweet. Austin and Erin have one more game to play in soccer. Now we move indoors to basketball. Actually, both older boys have already had practices and Ben's first game is next week. Never a dull moment...

I've never made caramel apples with the kids and so last weekend we made some with the neighbors. It was easy and the kids loved them.

Happy fall, everyone!

Time Stand Still

The other day I was listening to "Time Stand Still" by Rush during my run and the lyrics really hit home. Time is moving too fast. My kids are growing up much too quickly and we are so busy that time is just flying by.

"Summer's going fast, nights growing colder.

Children growing up, old friends growing older.

Freeze this moment a little bit longer.

Make each sensation a little bit stronger."

Here are a couple of recent pictures that I like of each member of our family:

Ben with his cousin, Parker.

Austin saving a goal.

Alex playing Clearfield

Bill and Erin at Applebees.

Just a little word of advice today: enjoy the moment!

It's a Hard Knock Life!

This summer Austin and Erin participated in a local production of Annie Jr. directed and produced by our good friend Dana Francis. She does an amazing job every year. I'm always blown away by the incredible performance by the kids considering they only rehearsed for about a month, three hours a week. The most important part is the kids have a really good time and it's a great way for them to spend those long summer days.

Austin played an orphan and President Franklin D. Roosevelt (which by the way, was a perfect part for him!) and Erin was cast as an orphan. She had a couple little solos which she just loved. I think she will continue doing theater while Austin may or may not, depending on what his friends do. I had to do a little convincing to get him to be in this one and I know he didn't regret it. So, enjoy a few pictures from Erin and Austin's play!

Baseball, The Lake, and More Baseball

This summer was nice but it was not a relaxing one. It was a summer full of Girl's/Scout/basketball Camps, baseball, Youth Conference, trips to Bear Lake and Heber City, my 20th High School Reunion, and even a production of Annie (my next post). As I just look at our July, I can't believe we fit so many things in. Here are a few pictures of how we spent some of our July:

Ben was on a competitive baseball team that played in two leagues. The Rocky Mountain Super League and the Layton City comp league. They were a young team but managed to win the Layton City league and tournament.

Alex turned 14 this July. We celebrated at the cabin in Bear Lake. He's one of the only 14 year old's I know that would request fruit as his "birthday cake". He really is one great kid!

We spent time on the lake (very cold, I might add)!After years of saying we needed to, we rented Surries. Although the men pretended to be embarrassed, it was a blast. Check out the fun-ness below:

The weather was nice and hot and so treats were a must. Some opted for Raspberry shakes, others for sno- cones, and still others frozen yogurt. Although I didn't get a picture, my $7.00 frozen yogurt will forever be part of Bear Lake History.

Pickleville Playhouse is always fun for a night out at Bear Lake. We had a good time watching "Crazy for You".

There's nothing like a baseball game on a hot summer's eve. We caught a couple of Salt Lake Bee's games with friends and family.

A little blurry but you get the idea..

The ballpark is definitely one of our family's "happy places".