THE Pumpkin Patch

So, over UEA we went to THE Pumpkin Patch in Santequin. For those of you who don't know where that is, it is about 20 miles or so south of Provo. Why would we drive all the way there for pumpkins? Don't know. Although it was fun--once we got there. Every road in Utah County is under construction--and I'm not exaggerating. Couple the construction with UEA traffic and afternoon commute, and it makes for a VERY, VERY long drive to Santequin. Fortunately, Thys had begged to bring the DVD players, and we did, so the three hour car ride was bearable for them. We had a great time getting our second batch of pumpkins and hanging out with some of the cousins, aunts and uncles, and Grandma and Grandpa.The cousins at the big read barn. We came back here for cider and doughnuts after the ride to the pumpkin patch.


We got to the barn and rode a wagon quite a ways out to the pumpkin patch.

Here's all the cousins at the patch. They had a small maze and things for the kids at the patch.
Sophie thought the pumpkins were balls and had a great time picking up and dropping them. I had a great time trying to stop her.
T with his pumpkin
Annie with her pumpkin
The kids

Thys's Fourth

Thys turned four yesterday. This kid is one-in-a-million. We love him to death. He is a mini-Mel. He looks like him and acts like him. Thys loves everything about life. He works hard, he plays hard, he sleeps well. Just looking at his big blue eyes and cute little body melts my heart. He is naughty, just like any kid, now and then, but he is so sweet you soon forget that he was naughty. Thys notices the little things. He always compliments me on my newly painted toe nails or on my new earrings. He thinks the gold on my watch is beautiful (so much so that he carried it off and lost it--but it's now found--lucky for him). He also enjoys the little things. He is a grateful child. Today I made some invitation for a birthday party for him. I showed him, and a few hours later he said, "Mama, thank you for making my birthday cards." The other day he said, "Mom, thanks for washing my Halloween shirt." He likes to have our attention, and gets it easily by his funny sense of humor. He also asks for it when he needs it. When I pick him up from pre-school at Becky's, if I don't ask him what he did or how the morning went, he will say from the back seat, "Mom, say, 'What did you do today, Thysie?'" And then we talk about it. He asks to play I Spy A LOT, and lately he wants to sing primary songs on our morning drive to school. He loves to talk and talk and talk. He is good company on a long car drive! We are so grateful to have this happy, sweet, funny little boy in our family. We couldn't live without him!We gave Thys a bike for his birthday. He has been eying it at WalMart for months. He's even test driven it around the store on almost a weekly basis. You may think it is an ordinary bike, but it is not. The best part of the bike is that when you twist the handgrip, it revs like a motorcycle. So cool!
Since we gave him his bike Monday night before his birthday (we wanted him to be able to enjoy it all day on his birthday), we gave him a Wii wheel to open on his birthday. He has become quite a master at the Wii. He legitimately beats me at most Wii games.
Thys and Sophie helped me decorate the cake, but T was anxious to get out on his bike, as you can tell.
Getting ready to sing happy birthday after basketball class.
Race track cake--thank to the internet for the idea. And T loved picking out and placing the cars!
Digging in.
Better yet, the cars needed a "mud" bath in ice cream. How fun!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR T.!

Since Summer. . . .

Well, the rest, relaxation, and some of the fun came to a halt when school started again. Anna is now in school all day, and I'm still "in" half a day. The month of September was crazy: the beginning of school, Homecoming, midterm grading, parent-teacher conferences, temple class (we teach it every Sunday night in our home), and somewhere near the end of it all we had the stomach flu--that's in addition to the every day stuff, of course. Just when it was all wrapping up, and I was feeling like we might have a "normal" schedule, and I got a new calling at church to be the activities person for the Mia Maids in the Young Women. So much for "normal." It lasted a day or two, I think. But we have managed a little fun and family time in the last month, so here's what we've been up to.

THE ZOO
On Labor Day, we went to the zoo. Anna was going to go to a movie with her friend's family, so we took Thys and Sophie. It was soooo busy, but we had fun, nevertheless.
Don't you just love this kid? Pants that are too short carrying his bear in Anna's doll backpack. He is so cute!

Pop and the kids at the zoo
Soph, T, and the bear in the wagon
Sophie and Mel have a new-found (well, about July) affection for each other. She gets just about whatever she wants from Mel. For example, we were at a carnival the other day, and he made me put her back in the stroller so he wouldn't have to make her unhappy. It's always nice to be the mean one, isn't it, moms? In this picture, Soph wanted her shoes on, but she had on PJ's with feet, but Mel obliged her, and here is what we got. Nice outfit, Pops!
Being silly in the toy box
For some reason, when Sophie wakes up from her nap, she won't let me put her down. It makes dinner prep a little difficult with a baby in your arms, so I sit her on the counter. The other day she scooted herself over behind the sink so she could play with the water and the drugs in the window, and I let her. At least she wasn't on the edge about to fall off like most days. She is very happy, as you can tell.
A nice Saturday morning shot with the squash Pops grew in the garden.
THE CANYON LEAVES
No fall is complete without a trip to the canyon. We had to drive all the way to the very end of the canyon to find any red at all, but we did find some. It was beautiful!
Soph and her best "MaPa"
Thys and Ann

My poser--but she is so cute--uncombed hair, missing teeth and all!
Soph LOVES to play in the car. It isn't our favorite thing, but it is pure enjoyment for her. Anna was the same way. . . I don't know what it is about the car.
Sophie is a real nut around the house. She wanted to wear Anna's skort the other day, and here is how it worked. She put the undershorts around her neck and arms, and let the skirt part hang down--whatever works, baby.

PEACHES
My mom was going to help us learn to can peaches, but the timing was off, and she and my dad had to go to Idaho to clean out my grandparents condo. My mom dropped off some of the peaches she canned on the way to Idaho, and we ate four jars the first few days. We decided we better get some of our own peaches and give canning a try. So by phone, my mom instructed us how to can peaches, and we did it! We canned about 14 jars, and we've already eaten some of those. The kids love them, and they make a quick breakfast on the mornings when I am running behind.
The finished product.

CORNBELLY'S
Anna had been asking for daySSSS to go to Cornbelly's, so we went as soon as it opened. We decided we may as well avoid the crowds later in the month. It was a beautiful night and the kids had so much fun. Pops, Ann, and T riding the tractor train. Soph and I rode too--we took the pic.
Playing in the corn-filled house.

Shooting paint balls.
Climbing the rock wall.
Anything to entertain Sophie and have her close by!

WITCHES AT GARDNER VILLAGE


We just went to Gardner Village this afternoon. We have UEA break for the next few days, and I know everything in the state will be packed for the next few days, so we tried to beat the crowds. Didn't work, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway.

Number 3

You are probably wondering why this is such a lovely photo I have chosen? It's the best I could get from an impatient 6-year-old who wanted out of church clothes. Anyway, Anna and I went to a wedding on Thursday night. We were sitting at the table eating, and she was biting into a chewy chocolate caramel bar. All of a sudden she says, "Mom!" I look at her, and there is blood running out of her mouth. I look in, and her bottom lateral in laying flat on her gum. I wiped up some blood and told her to pull on it, and out it came. No days of wiggling required. So, we have lost 3 teeth in 2 weeks!

At the Cemetery

My photographer cousin McKenzie sent me this photo from the funeral. I love it! Thanks, McKenzie.

Grandpa Lyle Scott

My grandpa Lyle Scott died two weeks ago. The funeral was last weekend. He was 96 years old and had lived on his own up until the last few months. My grandma died almost exactly a year ago, and he has been lonely and, I think, ready to move on. Well, he had a hard time getting out of this world, but he finally was able to go be with Grandma. He was a faithful, hard-working, and good man. We will miss him here, but he certainly led a good and long life. The funeral was in Menan, ID, and he was buried by Grandma in the Annis Cemetery. It was a beautiful service and so nice to hear things about my grandpa that I never knew. The kids had a lot of questions about living and dying, and we've had some interesting discussions over the last couple of weeks.
Annie by Grandpa and Grandma's headstone
My mom and her brother and sisters
Our family--gotta love that Idaho wind!
My family (minus Mel, Thys, and Sophie who had gone to the car to be safe from the oncoming rain).

Sophers

This little girl is such a joy!! She is trouble a lot of the time, but oh so cute that she gets away with it. I love her blond hair and her dracula smile. I love that she only talks to us at home. No one else has heard her flow of sentences and requests: I wanna a drink, wash hands, juice, get out, hi T, ride bike, read book. . . and on and on. She knows what she wants, and she usually gets it.
Soph is also way into other people's shoes. In this pic she is wearing T's crocs, but she also loves Anna's tap shoes, my shoes, Mel's shoes. . . and even her own. She has a thing for shoes. She had some pink patent leather shoes in the spring, and she couldn't wait to get them on. A girl after my own heart!