Apples

Look at all these wonderful apples! Thanks to my friend Heather. These are delicious!



I decided to make apple pie filling. Kyle was my wonderful helper and cut lots of the apples for me. He really enjoyed running this apple peeler/corer.



After cutting them up we ended up with this. So much work!



I filled jars with the apples, then added the sauce. My house smelled so good!!



We had one small mishap. Dallin took his cup of ice water and dumped it into my bucket of sugar.





When he realized he had done wrong, he squeezed his eyes shut and covered them with his hands. It was actually kind of cute. It wasn't too hard to clean up, all the wet sugar just clumped together and I was able to pull it all out in one scoop.



After processing the jars, here is what I ended up with. Some good stuff for my shelf! This is great as apple pie filling, but also as apple crisp. Mmm, fall baking is here!

USU Homecoming Parade

It is officially a tradition. The boys and I go every year to the USU Homecoming Parade with my friend Heather, and her kids. My boys love Rachel who I used to babysit. She is growing up so much too!

I don't think Dallin really remembers what a parade is all about, so it was kind of fun to watch him get excited.

Here we are, waiting for it to start.



I was kind of disappointed with the pictures I took. It seems like most of them were blurry. But I still got a few good ones.






Here was my favorite part. They roasted marshmallows from this bull that shoots fire. They handed one to Blake, who at first wasn't sure he wanted one! Once I told him what it was, he got excited too. And he was sweet enough to share it with his brothers.



I still remember last year, they gave away chips and salsa. I really wanted some and didn't get any. But this year, I got chips and salsa from cafe sabor! I love chips and salsa. I just love food period. I think about food all the time. Anyway, it was delicious. And yes, I shared too.



I can just hear Dallin's voice, "Nan dee!" That is how he says candy.

A good time was had by all. Until next year!

Blake and Onyx

Blake is engaged. He may be only 5, but he has some big plans. He and Onyx are getting married.

This has been decided between the two of them for over 2 years now. For a few months there, I thought it had been called off. But it's on! Again. :)



They are really good buddies. They do some funny things, and say some funnier things.

The other day, Blake was lifting something up over his head, working out. He said, "I have to have big muscles so Onyx will love me."

Blake said to Onyx, "I will marry you. Unless I find someone prettier." To which Onyx replied, "What?! You won't ever find someone prettier. Me and my sister Alec are the prettiest girls in the whole world!" I love that her sense of self esteem wasn't even dented. :)

I walked in on a more concerning converstaion one day. This is what I heard.

Onyx: "It's ok if we see each other naked because we are going to get married."

Naturally I clarified the rules. AFTER. Not before, after. After I got more details this was just an innocent observation. It's funny how kids minds work. :)

One of the things these two love to do is play puppy game. They both just pretend they are kitties or doggies. Here they are drinking like puppies:





Some of these pictures make me sad because they both are growing up a lot. So sweet!










They are so cute! I love them!!

They have primary together and I am their teacher. A couple weeks ago when we were in singing time, Blake reached over to play with the baby on the other teachers lap. When he reached over Onyx, she grabbed him, and kissed him! It was almost like a reflex. Blake pulled back and looked at me, with that look like, euw! And Onyx was sitting there all content. :)



At night when Blake and I talk, he talks about Onyx sometimes. He says, "She is so pretty. I am going to marry her. And you know what, Onyx was sad today but I made her happy!" He just loves making her happy. I think because Onyx is so expressive. When she is happy, you know it! She lights up and Blake loves that.



They have kindergarten together this year. Here they are on the first day.



I love these pictures. And who knows, maybe some day I will be developing these as engagement photos!

Bugs

I caught a few grasshoppers for Dallin this summer. He loves them. Is that pretty much a requirement for boys?

He says, "gas - potters."





He would squeal a little, and let it go. Then find it again in the grass. I sat in the grass with him for like an hour and was perfectly entertained. What a great way to spend a warm afternoon!

Ice Cream

So sad that summer is coming to an end. It is my favorite time of year. I love how much fun stuff to do with the kids there is.
One of the things my kids love, of course is ice cream. The ice cream man is always a favorite around here. Blake's ears are tuned in. We did splurge on him a few times this summer, but most of the time, the ice cream man didn't make it down our street. He just went into the neighborhoods next to ours. So we would just indulge in some from our own freezer.










That'll cool you down!

Not Too Cold for Sprinklers

Repeats

When Kyle was 4, he got his head stuck in the slats of the gate.


Then just last week, Dallin did it too!!

No More Training Wheels

One of the great things that got accomplished this summer is that Blake doesn't need training wheels anymore. He is riding his big boy bike.



Big brother helped! I thought this was sweet.

The park is perfect for learning to ride a bike. It has grass on both sides of the sidewalk, so if you lose your balance, you have a soft landing. Plus, the grass provides a boundary between the road.

And here he is, taking off like a big kid! He loves this bike and that it is so much faster than the little tiny bike that he had before. He would peddle so hard and get no where.

One night, shortly after Blake learned, Dallin and I walked with Blake while Blake rode his bike around our street. When we got the the empty lot behind us, Blake peddled ahead of us around the corner. When Dallin and I came around, I could see Blake standing next to his bike, shoulders slumped, mouth open. He was wailing. As I got a little closer, his face was white but I could see dark, almost black under his nose around his mouth. He had fallen off his bike, face forward and landed in the white dust. His nose was gushing blood.

I got there as quick as I could. Blake would not ride his bike back so I picked him up, and called Dallin to walk behind me. Blake was bleeding, his face was all scratched up from the gravel and rocks. Dallin did pretty walking behind. Since I coudln't hold his hand, he would start to wander but I would just call him back over and he would come running to keep up.

I got Blake upstairs in the bathroom to get him cleaned up and he caught sight of his face in the mirror. Seeing the blood got him even more upset. Once he was in the warm tub, I had to dig sand and dirt out of one of the cuts on his nose. After the blood was gone, I had him look at himself in the mirror. He calmed down a little to see that he looked a bit better. I laid him back down and finished cleaning his face with a warm wet cloth.

While I was cleaning him, he kept his eyes right on my face. He was quiet, just staring at me with his big blue eyes. The rest of the time, he just watched me as he lay in that warm water. It was one of the sweetest moments with him. He knew Mom would fix it and make it all better. I will remember that forever.

Bathtime with Dallin

Dallin has been super cute in the tub these past few weeks. I have been grabbing my camera some nights. Here he is, at bathtime:

This night, as I laid him back, he kept saying, "Nice, warm." Guess the water felt nice.

Kindergarten!!

Blake started school yesterday! I like that kindergarteners start on a different day than the rest of the school. It just gives everyone some time to adjust.

Here he is going in for his kindergarten assessment. Cutie pie!

After watching his brother and the neighbor kids who he loves go off to school without him, now he is finally part of the group. And he is very happy about it!

He got some new school shoes, and has been begging to wear them. Finally the day came. I said, "Blake go get your new shoes!" He was so excited. We got his shoes on, and I said, "Ok, go get your backpack." His jaw dropped and he just stared at me for a second. I think he forgot all about his new backpack. On top of his new shoes, having his backpack too, he was just wide eyed. So much happiness all at once! After he recovered from the awe of it all, he was just squealing.

Big brother was pretty excited for him. Kyle told Blake, "You are going to love it. Kindergarten is so fun!"

He sat right down and started coloring. Oh, this back to school has been a little hard on me. First Kyle doesn't want me around to take pictures, and now my little cuddly Blake has one foot out the door! I am not usually emotional like this, but this year has been different. These milestones are big ones.

I love his teacher this year, Mrs. Kelly. She does this cute thing with the kids when they go home. They do an elbow bump, so here he is doing the elbow bump with her:

How cute are these kiddos! This is the neighborhood kindergarten group. Blake and Onyx are in the same class. They are destined to be great buddies! I love it!