Acorns

For the past two months we have been hearing 'gun-shots' falling from our oak trees. Thousands and thousands of these monster acorns fall about 80 feet and bang, clank and crash into our car, driveway, deck and roof. Watch out, it can be very dangerous! :-)


Notice how many TALL oak trees completely surround our house. I swear each tree produces about a million acorns!


Look at the size of these things! This is why Jim's old Taurus is soo badly pocked with acorn dents. (The new cars are safely parked in the garage)


Another picture to show the gianormous size of these things. On occassion, the kids have worn their bike helmets while playing in the yard! The acorns really hurt if they hit your head!

The past month

Ahhh, I finally have my laptop back again. After 3 weeks without it, I'm glad it's home. It has a new hard drive, so it's as good as new! Here's what has been going on around here for the past little while.

August/September was a rough month, but I made it...and brighter days are still ahead. I recently went thru another late-term miscarriage. This one at 17 weeks. Not fun at all! I thought it would be easier, since I've done this before (only a year ago), but it was actually harder. Surgery went well, and physically I'm doing fine, but the emotional road to recovery is a long one. But alas, life goes on.

On a happier note, school is now in full swing. Emi loves 4th grade. She is beginning violin lessons at school along with continuing her piano. She loves soccer and girl scouts too. Clara is known as "speed-o" by her first grade friends on the playground (the boys chase the girls). Her fast running is also evident on the soccer field. She scored something like six goals at her first game last Saturday! Way to go Clara! James finally started preschool mid September, and asks at least every 30 minutes if it's time to go to school yet. He loves it!

Here are a few pics of the kids this past month.


The girls on their first day of school!


James on his first day of preschool.


Sister soccer stars!


James can now ride a two-wheeler....without training wheels! He loves it and does really well. I now have to jog on our morning 'walks' together just to keep up with him - it's nearly killing me :) On Saturday, we went about 4 miles and he just smiled and pedaled away! What a little trooper!

Aspen Grove

We enjoyed a wonderful trip to Utah and a week at Aspen Grove! Fun times!

James' Bday and Old Friends

Happy 4th Birthday James! This is James with a plate of blueberry pancakes and a candle. We sang "happy birthday" and opened gifts in the morning, because that afternoon we boarded a plane and flew to Utah. James thought it was great to fly on his b-day and it was a great surprise when a flight attendant announced his name over the plane intercom and everyone on board clapped and cheered!


In the tube slide at McDonalds. James and his two best friends Will and Andrew.


James' first official birthday party! We played fun games at home and then headed to McDonalds for lunch and cake. The party was a great success.


Flashback seven years....yes it's been that long since Emi was 2 and her cute little friends Hannah and Kalaya were 3. These three little musketeers were best of friends back in our 'early' days of livivng in CT. The Howards and the Arnes long ago moved away, but we're all still great friends.


Here is Hannah, Emi and Kalaya now! Aren't they all just beautiful? While in Utah, we got together with the Howards and the Arnes. The girls had a great time playing and us Mom's had a wonderful time catching up. We love our dear friends!

Trek and more

Jim and I participated on our stake's youth Trek this past week. We were assistant wagon masters. It was amazing!!! Honestly, I don't think it could have gotten much more authentic. From pushing handcarts for over nine straight hours (through mud and rivers, over trees and rocks) - all the while going without food for 14 hours. To shooting muskets, killing live chickens with an axe and cooking them over a fire, to sleeping on the ground under a handcart! The youth and leaders in our stake are absolutely amazing! It was a privilege to take part in trek.

In other news, Emi got her glasses. She's thrilled and since this pic was taken, she has completely covered her glasses case with stickers. The glasses are shiny purple. She only has to wear them at school for distance, but she loves them!


On Friday night, we went to our town's 4th of July concert and fireworks display. We packed a picnic dinner, played ball, play go fish and enjoyed the beautiful fireworks. What a fun night!


James getting his "summer haircut"

Little Boy Week

I took James to the doctor on Friday because he had a rash on his face....well, the doctor wasn't too concerned about the rash, but WAS pretty concerned about his raspy breathing (aka respiratory infection). So, for the next week James has to take antibiotics and wear this mask/nebulizer three times each day. The girls think it's great fun to 'help' James with his 'breathing' time.


James' last day of preschool was 'Super Hero' day!


One of James' best friends is sadly moving to CA. He lovingly gave this riding dump truck to James! We bought a new battery for it and it's as good as new. The kids like that you can drive in both forward and reverse! James is absolutely thrilled with his new toy and loves cruising around the yard and filling/dumping the truck bed with sticks, rocks etc.

In Rewind

I haven't posted in over a month.....life has been crazy. So in rewind, here's a few things that we did in May.


The kids all made wonderful gifts and cards for Mothers day, and Jim made me my favorite ice cream pie. It was great!




Emi and Clara just finished their year of dance classes with two fantastic dance recitals. Clara did tap and Emi did Jazz and Ballet. They both loved it!





We always love attending our town's annual Memorial Day Parade. It was a beautiful day and we all had a great time!