King Benjemin

This morning while eating breakfast, we read about King Benjemin and how he's commanded parents to teach their childen not to fight and argue and to teach them to be obedient. Ally's eyes grew wide. It was so funny and it brought light to her little spirit....this last week has been challenging....The girls have argued quite a bit and Ally says I'm so mean at least 3 times a day. I'm constantly telling the girls how much I love them but need to teach them the correct ways to do things! Maybe today will be different and I won't be so mean :-)

Our Little Princesses!

The girls had SO much fun! We started at Aaron and Katie's, went the church for trunk or treating, then went to Grandma and Grandpa's neighborhood. The girls trick-or-treated from 5:45pm to 8pm and not once did Kaitlyn ask us to hold her (that's a miracle). The only time she complained is when the bag got too heavy. Jer and I wanted to be done around 7pm, but after seeing how much fun the girls were having....we had to keep going! They're too darn cute!!!! We all had a blast!

Mama's gotta play a part too!

The girls and I tried and tried to get daddy to dress-up also...he just wouldn't give in!!! We're kinda surprised, since it's one of his favorite holidays! I guess us girls will have all the fun!

Kanooth Klan

We all met at Aaron and Katie's for the yearly trick or treating in their neighborhood....so glad the cousins are close to go together!

Can't forget little Tori!

Little Tori was dressed so sweet for the occassion! She was missing from the group photo.

Kids say the cutest things!

A few weeks ago Ally asked "when you have a birthday, does that mean you grow because you're older?" I told her "yes, you'll definately be taller than your last birthday". When she woke up on Saturday one of the first things she said is "mom let's go measure me!" assuming it all happens overnight.....the last time we measured Ally and Kaitlyn was at the end of June. Ally has grown 1 1/2" and Kaitlyn has grown 1". Amazing!

Birthday Celebration

Grandpa and Ally got to celebrate their birthday's together on Sunday evening. Luckily they both perfer "German Chocolate Cake" as their #1 pick.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA & ALLY!!!

We were happy to have Kevin, Heather and baby Mya come over on Sunday evening for Ally's family birthday party. It was Mya's first visit, she is such a sweet addition to the family!

Ally had her friend birthday party last night. In was a lot of fun and surprisingly I wasn't too overwhelmed (during what I thought was going to be chaos :-) Thanks to Jer and our parents!!!! Ally enjoyed her evening and today (her actual birthday) is much more low key.

A funny: Ally got a purse from Kaitlyn...today she got ready (putting her purse over her shoulder/head) for an outing with the family. She turned to Jeremy and said "don't I look like a grown woman daddy?". It was SO cute....she's so happy to be 6.

We had a lot of fun carving pumpkins...just in time for Ally's birthday/halloween party. We continue the tradition each year: carving pumpkins, eating dounuts and drinking cider (this year it was russian hot punch). The girls loved it when we had them use their bare hands to take out the pumpkin guts....complete TRAMA!!!! They were much happier when we allowed them to large spoons :)

Our Sweet Girls!

Kaitlyn

3 1/2

Ally

6

Kaitlyn Goes Fishin'

She loves to help mom clean the fish tank! Thank goodness I have someone who likes to touch the fish and gather the shells...she catches them and transfers them to another bowl while I clean the tank. Thanks for your help Sweetie!

Fall Work Begins...

Friday, we got to spend the entire afternoon in the yard (started the preparations for Fall/Winter seasons). It was an extremely nice day. I can't believe it was warm enough to work in short sleeves! Jeremy and Kaitlyn mowed the lawn and picked up many of the leaves that are beginning to fall. This time of year, he's usually outside at least twice a week mowing/gathering the leaves that fall from our large maple trees. We also started cleaning up the garden and clearing things out so Jeremy could start rototilling. I was able to trim and remove many of the plants in the flower beds with Ally's help. Ally also helped dad put up a fence around the tree that the goats are eating the bark off of (Jer was scared they were going to kill it). We love our opportunities to work together and care for our place...it brings much joy and happiness to our lives and we are indeed blessed.

Trip to Roloff Farms

Today mom & I packed up the girls and went to Roloff Farms (from the show "Little People, Big World". It was a gorgeous fall day to travel and the girls were excited go the the pumpkin patch and a chance to get away.

We were able take a town tour (on tractor ride) and see how Matt Roloff (the father) has used some of his talents for his family's enjoyment through the years. Some of the items included an old western town (a whole smaller version of a town) with a post office, resturant, jail, general store, etc. He uses wood he collects from old barns or buildings and utilizes it for other useful purposes around his place. We saw all but two members of the family (mother Amy and one of the twin sons). We were able to get our picture taken with Matt Roloff's parents, his daughter Molly, and the youngest son. As you can see from the look on Ally's face....they have no idea why we're taking pictures with them.

We had an enjoyable day and always enjoy the moments when we get to spend time with Grandparents!

Ally's Class Field Trip

The sweetest pumpkin of them all..."Our Ally!"

She took her time finding a pumpkin that had a nice stem

(a trait from her mom and Grandma White).
3 kindergarden classes were combined for this field trip, they all zoomed to the top!

Ally, Valentina and the calf...so cute!

The kids got to feed all the goats. This goat was extremely fond of Ally!

Ally and her class mates. Her best friend Kaden was sick and unable to attend. Ally thinks the third one on the top (from the right) is very handsome (check out his dimples!). They are good friends and are the tallest in their class.

Canning Season Done!

There are many things our family was able to can/store this year. We are very blessed for the bumper crop of plumes, jalapenos, bell peppers, green beans, grapes and broccoli. A few other items that we should have planted more of but enjoyed; carrots, corn, rhubarb, pumpkins (which we thought were cucumber plants...thanks Fees hahaha), celery, walla walla onions and tomatoes. We enjoy having a garden and are very grateful that it was so plentiful, especially since we hardly weeded it....the weeds got so out of control!

Items we were able to utilize for food storage:
Plums: Fruit leather approximately 16 racks=64 roll-ups, plum jelly 16 1/2 jars
Jalapenos: Jelly (12 1/2 pints), spread on crackers, yummy! Pickled jalapenos
Green peppers, Jalapenos and Tomatoes: Salsa 36 quarts with mom!!!
Grapes (about 16 lbs.): Grape juice
Corn: Froze about 30 ears worth

Other items:
Pears (from neighbors, canned with Peggy)
Applesauce (apples from the Randalls, canned with mom)
Peaches (purchased from Knuze Farm)

SO GLAD CANNING SEASON IS OVER!!! It feels good we didn't have much go to waste. Thanks for all your help mom! I couldn't have done it with out you!

Top Ten THINGS I CAN"T LIVE WITHOUT! (for Melissa)

1. My husband
2. My children
3. Being a Mother
4. My Mother
5. Family
6. Calling (chance to serve)
7. Friends
8. Warm home
9. Food
10.Prayer/Scripture study (provides guidance for my day)

QUIRKS (Here it is Becky!)

1. I too hate bridges (all because of driving off the I-5 bridge (when it's lifted), a reoccurring dream throughout my life)...comes back to me every time I cross it...now it's with me driving with the kids in the car....scares me to death!

2. Can't stand to have someone rub my shoulders (especially with scratchy hands). It sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me.

3. I'm compulsive about completing a task before I continue with the next...the worse one is when Jeremy comes home he wants a hug and kiss (I want to give him one too), but I have to finish wiping down the counter (which I'm in the middle of) before I'll put the rag down. So many times I miss the moment!

4. I hate to be late and hate it when others are late and I have to wait. Yet lately, I'm always the late one and can't seem to manage my time right. UGGG!

5. I'm a hypocrite! One example: I make the girls make their bed everyday before school, but fail to make my own a lot of the time. I'm waiting for the moment...they call me on it :{

6. I can't stand having crumbs on the floor! (I've had to let it go lately and it drives me crazy!!!) A few years back, A little girl named Ellie came over. She was about 4. I made her eat a cupcake over her plate. Weeks later she told her mom she wanted me to be her mom. Her mom reminded her that I would make her eat over her plate. Ellie changed her mind really fast!

Melissa, Arica (yes you better get started on your blog!!!)....TAG YOUR IT!!!

Anything to be Warm!

Ally has been asking for weeks "oh! when can we start fires Mom and Dad". We kept telling her pretty soon. Kaitlyn has been finding new ways to stay warm. She gets home from school, finds the sun spots in the house and gets warm. She hates it when the clouds cover and her spot is missing. Well, yesterday we finally thought it was necessary to pull out the bins and get the fire roaring. We are glad we did...it was so nice to be warm without having to hide in blankets. We'll miss summer, but are glad fall is here. Ally is especially excited since this is her season...she'll be 6 on the 25th. We can't believe how fast time flys!!!

:)

All tuckered out!

It didn't take long for Kaitlyn to pass-out after her first week of school.