2 teeth lost! This too shall pass.....

Corey makes me laugh! His bottom 2 teeth have been loose for about 4 months, but he wouldn't let anyone wiggle them. Last weekend while our family was eating dinner at Brio with my parents, Corey announced, "I just lost my tooth!" I asked excitedly, "Where is it?" and he points into his throat! Apparently, he'd swallowed it along with his bread!  Instead of getting upset, he just asked if the tooth fairy would still come that night, and upon hearing that she would, he just shrugged and said, "Cool."  

This weekend at our ward campout Corey swallowed his second tooth! The poor tooth had been hanging on by a thread for days, and when I asked him to show my friend his loose tooth, it was nowhere to be found! Mark McCain, who's in our Bishopric laughed and told us, 

"THIS TOO SHALL PASS!"

Ward campout and Tonto National Bridge

 

  

By September, I'm always so tired of the Arizona heat! This weekend we escaped to the cooler weather and beauty of Payson for our ward campout! It was heaven to be with our family and friends from our ward. All 3 kids love being outside and really seem in their element. Despite a serious lack of sleep on Friday night, we headed for the Tonto National Bridge for a small hike on Saturday morning. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before! It was like a huge outdoor cave with a misty waterfall that cascaded over the top. Ashlyn's learning about landforms in science and was thrilled to see stalactites and lava rock for herself! 

(Below): Looking down on the Bridge from the path.

(Above): This is looking through the Bridge.  

The waterfall is in the background, just behind Corey & Ashlyn.

(Above): Worn out! The kids were exhausted and slept most of the way home:-)

I miss my parents!!!

Just when I'm so homesick for my family, I could cry...my parents came to visit for Ashlyn's baptism! We had such a nice weekend with them. I love that even though we moved away when Ashlyn was only 6 months old, my kids have such a close relationship with them. 

My Dad swam with the kids in our pool (though it may be the last time this year) and my Mom & I got an afternoon of shopping, just the 2 of us! Now, if I can just make it a few more weeks until I get to go visit them in Utah......

2 soccer games, a baptism and a brunch!

Saturday, Sept. 20th, 2008:

Ashlyn's baptism was at 11 AM, so we squeezed in Corey's 7:30 AM and Ashlyn's 8:45 AM soccer games before! It was fun to have my Mom & Dad see them play, but it was a HOT one.  I'm sure they still wonder why we live here! The kids played great, then we rushed home to get showered and dressed for the baptism.....whew!

Dan's coaching Corey's team again this year! It's fun to have a few return players so we get to know the parents and kids better. Corey enjoys playing, but isn't really competitive. 

Dan & I laugh that we teach our kids to be polite, but on the soccer field, we'd love them to be aggressive and really go for it!

 I'm excited that this year Ashlyn's team gets to play on a bigger field with goalies.  Ashlyn LOVES when she gets to be goalie.  This game she stopped 4 goal attempts and no one scored on her.  Her team rocks! We love the coaches and have 8 girls returning from last season.

ASHLYN'S BAPTISM:

 

Ashlyn was baptized by her Dad as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! She was so excited for that ordinance and has been looking forward to this special day. As parents, Dan & I couldn't be more proud of her. I think she smiled all day long!

 

(Left): Grandpa and Grandma Elggren

(Right): Nanny & Papa Miller

We had a brunch after the baptism at The Gilbert House restaurant. Ashlyn ordered French toast with strawberries. It was so nice to have family there to support us! 

What a memorable day!

Look who's getting baptized!

Last week I took these pictures of Ashlyn in her baptism dress. It was just before sunset, and Ashlyn was thrilled to be photographed. She's been looking forward to getting baptized for a long time and I'm so proud of her decision. My cute Mom took Ashlyn & her next 2 oldest girl cousins out to look for a dress when we were in Salt Lake last month with the agreement that all 3 cousins would be able to wear the dress. It will be a fun tradition! I'm looking forward to this Saturday!

An interesting way to move!

I'm so confused! Claire can walk a little, but she refuses to. She prefers to be carried by Ashlyn or to push things around, like this step stool, a chair, the laundry basket, etc! Will she ever walk willingly?  

Lots of girls= lots of giggles!

It's been 3 years since we've done a birthday party with friends for Ashlyn. That's what happens when you have family in town, I guess! On Saturday we held a pajama party for our new 8 year old with 7 friends. I'm not a big fan of sleepovers, so this was all the fun without all the not-so-fun-the-morning-after a sleepover! We had dinner and cupcakes, opened gifts and each girl got to make a bracelet in their school colors to take home. I had to laugh at the games they played: Follow the Leader, Freeze Dance (courtesy of Hannah Montana), and Musical Chairs. I grew up as the oldest of 5 girls and 1 boy, so I was used to the chatter and giggling that happens when you get a bunch of girls together, but this was silliness on a new level! After everyone left, I felt my ears were ringing, like I'd just been at a very loud concert. The best news is that Ashlyn had a great time, so I'm happy!

(Above): Ashlyn laid out patterns and we put beads into bags before the party 

so each bracelet was unique. I think they turned out very cute!

Something's fishy...

So this summer I read a fun book called "Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise" by Ruth Reichl. In her book, the NY Times food critic takes a friend who hasn't tried sushi out for dinner in an attempt to persuade her to like it. When I was reading it in Lake Powell, I told Dan that maybe I'd have to give sushi another try, but only if he wouldn't make me eat fish eyes or something really "out there."

Last weekend, I made good on that promise. Dan ADORES sushi. Me? Not so much, but for the sake of argument, it's been a while since I've tried it. Dan took me to Sushi Ave. We shared edamame and a combination plate, with 2 rolls and sashimi. I was pleasantly surprised by the salmon, but almost gagged on the tuna. Still not a big fan of wasabi or seaweed, but I think Dan was moved by my effort to re-try his favorite food!