Random thoughts and pictures

I will start with the thoughts:
1. My kids are growing. Brinlie is getting tall enough that I need her lower to do her hair. Her face is changing from "so cute," to beautiful. Aaron is getting a squeaky voice and a darker upper lip. He can wear a pair of Scott's sandals. He is almost as tall as me. Carter has big feet and wearing deodorant daily is a must. Darylyn has grow like our weeds have this year. She is shifting from a little girl to a girl. Emma's mind is so quick, it is growing. Fischer's church pants on Sunday were high waters. He surprises me with the words he knows and uses. Gracie is very close to walking and is one independent girlie.
2. Fall is coming and I love it! Sweaters, pumpkin, music, family, soup, warm bread, nippy mornings, blazing fires, leaves falling...Oh I can catch the scent of it sometimes in the air and I get excited.
3. Being a parent is the hardest and the most rewarding thing in the world.
4. Having a teenager is kind of like a bag of wonders. There are times when I wonder what is going to come out of that bag today. It could be a variety of emotions. Times when it is so much fun! Other times I wonder where in the world did that come from.

Going Riding with Friends
Aaron    Kylie(a friend)      Darylyn           Emma         Carter
 

 Gracie is so much fun right now. She is a feisty little thing. Fischer and her are the best of buddies. He cries and she hugs him and feels his sorrow. He calls her his Gracie Girlie. It is the sweetest thing to see them express their love for each other in ways other than words.

She is always busy doing something. Climbing the stairs, pulling books off the shelf, examining an electrical outlet, tipping over garbages, banging on the piano, or eating food off of the floor. Yes, I am ashamed but my floor is not always clean. She hears music and she starts rocking her body. She LOVES water and being outside. When you remove her from either one crying and arching of the back begins. We just can not get enough of her. She wants to be apart of the action. She is such a JOY!

 Our first day of school we needed to gain some perspective before beginning the new year. The day began cool and overcast it was the perfect day for a hike. Our hike took us to the back of Diamond Valley where we climbed and ascended to the top of the hill behind our house. It gave us a great view of the Valley and beyond. We found comparisions in our physical climb and the climb we had ahead of us. While up there the kids found a grundle of fossils and had a great time exploring. When we descended, the sun finally broke through and we were able to get back before the sun became too hot. On the way down Gracie fell asleep in her backpack, poor sleepy girl. It was a good morning.

Our homeschool online group met the first day that Washington County School District was in school. While everyone else was sitting in desks we were playing in the water!

 Carter's best friend Marcus' birthday was coming up. Carter wanted to throw him a party and it had to be a Harry Potter Party. So we put our heads together and came up with some great activities based on the Harry Potter books. They played quidditch ? with brooms and a soccer ball. Drank goblets of fire. Made wands and cast spells on death eaters, and watched portions of the final Harry Potter.

 Scott got his head stuck in the tire well. Just kidding, he is teaching the boys how to change brakes.

Shakespeare Revisted

Once Upon a Time the Leonard's got two kittens. They were ugly in a cute way, but our hearts felt sorry for them. They had lost their mother when they were basically still newborns. One had an eye problem. They were so tiny. We brought them home, loved them and cared for them. Watched over them and helped the yucky eye heal. One was a boy the other a girl. We decided to name them Romeo and Juliet. Everyone loved them especially Fischer and Gracie. But we cursed them. The love was not to last. Romeo was the first to leave his earthly tabernacle for his heavenly home. Shortly thereafter Juliet began to weaken, we suspect from the loss of her Romeo. She held on for about a week then died while we were away. NEVER name anything you want to live Romeo or Juliet.

Happy Birthday Scotty

 Our Daddy-O had a Birthday. It was an unusual birthday. He spent the wee hours of the morning of his B-day driving in the middle of the night through Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. Then at 5:00 in the morning we stopped in Holbrook, AZ at Denny's for his Birthday Breakfast. When we arrived in Snowflake he took a very well deserved nap. Then he went to the movies with my Dad, and our awesome bro-in-law, Matt. We were treated to a wagon ride in the evening. And then the frosting on his B-Day cupcake was he beat my Uncle Danny in a ping pong game. This was very sweet victory to him. My Uncle Danny is excellent. He went to Taiwan on his mission where ping pong is huge! But in all fairness my Uncle Danny walked into the garage, they handed him the paddle, and he had not played in years. But technically it was still a win. And then he played a game with my Dad and he had him...but then at the very end my Dad came back and beat him. "So flusterating," said Scott. It was a great day.

Just a brief word about this man of mine. He is more then I ever thought would be possible in a friend, husband, and father. As I type this he is folding my laundry so I can finish this. He loves our children and takes an active role in their life, listens to them, plays with them, yet disciplines when needed. For me he is my...Everything. I love that song by Michael Buble. It is a great foxtrot! But he is my sanity, sounding board, grounds me. He is patient, supportive, tender. Listens and respects my feelings and opinions. I am truly blessed. Thank you Treva and Steve for raising such a fine son.

Just Stopping Through

 On our way to Oklahoma and on our way back from Oklahoma we stopped in Snowflake. Brinlie

helped my Mom by touching up a sign. Jolie and Fischer were little partners in crime multiple times. They are darling together. The picture to the left is marker. Fischer thinks Jolie is wonderful.

 Rain had finally come and water had accumulated in the catch pond. Good Sticky Dirty Mud!     Mom and Dad gave us two wagon rides. The first one caught us in a lightening storm and deterred our departure back home. But the second was perfect with our cousins and we even had time to take a rest for ice cream. My Grandpa had this way when I was little but know my Dad mainly uses it. Primary children, young men, and countless others have been mesmerized but the wagon. We were able to catch the Pioneer Parade before heading home. Every year my Aunt Sandy makes crepes for anyone that wants to stop by before the parade. Her house is right along the parade route. She literally feeds over 80+ people. She is a jewel!  She is pictured below. And they are not lame crepes, they are delicious.

 My Dad pulls the  wagon with his truck.

Snowflake is a wonderful place to live with history, great people and great traditions.

           I love going home.                          

L.P. 2012

 We started off the summer at one of our favorite places, Lake Powell. We had the perfect location, weather, water temp...it was lovely. Lots of little bugs but everything can't be perfect. The kids had a ball playing with Darrell and Kendra's kids. For hours they played on our beach. It is a beautiful wonder to me how children can play. Making up games, chasing each other, wrestling, building mermaids tails, balancing in a bucket, collecting sea shells, spitting water at each other, dunking one another, having a mud ball fight, diving, swimming, sliding....and then they still keep on going.

 This was Carter's year to attempt to knee board and he conquered! He did it and caught on quickly. Several of the kids rode the tube for the first time. We went down a canyon called Navajo Canyon where the walls of the canyon rise over 200 feet above you. It is truly spectacular to say the least. We went back into a tiny canyon barely wide enough for the boat and Scott and the older kids swam back even further, then because of our cramped quarters Kendra had the brilliant idea to throw a rope to them and pull them out of the canyon instead of having them climb aboard in the narrow space. A crushed kid would have

been a possibility with the rocky water and sheer cliffs. But they had fun being pulled through the water holding fast to a rope.

 While we were there it was Jeanie's birthday. We celebrated with a Pinata and dancing. Jeanie has a gift. She can move her body in amazing carefree ways. I could see her in the jungles of Africa dancing to drums. Grandma and Grandpa always provide such great fun and are unselfish making sure everyone is having a good time. Jeanie is the life of the party and always helps girls and sometimes boys apply toenail polish. Till we meet again, Lake Powell.