Happenings and Anecdotes

I can not stay awake through a whole movie at home, and frequently can't stay awake during theater movies either.  LaBoeuf is my perfect movie companion- we weren't even through the opening credits when he rolled onto his back and started snoring. 

My dear dad delivered to Janet and me TWO HUGE coolers full of apples.  We were absolutely thrilled with our windfall and immediately started making applesauce.  It took about ten days to work our way through them, but in the end we had almost 100 quarts of applesauce. 

I just want to say a word about home canning- I LOVE IT.  It makes me feel like a pioneer.  It seems like such a miracle (albeit an extremely labor intensive one) that we can transform fresh food into food that I can stock my shelves with all winter long.  I love how my kitchen smells when I can, I think the colors of the food are beautiful, and I love seeing my shelves fill up with locally grown fruit and veggies.  Probably my very favorite part, though, is that at least one month a year, I see my friend Janet every day. 
 

My friend Jen was in town from DC and is shortly on her way to Hong Kong for the next few years, so when my sister-in-law Emilee and I had the chance to meet for lunch we jumped on it. 

Jen and Emilee are cute young moms with babies, and I'm all of a sudden that old lady whose kids are in school all day and only has regular cups and toys that are choking hazards.

My dad, the girls, and I snuck away to Pocatello for the night.  My kids love to see those Sheltons!

Hey, You.
Yeah, kid, you.
Stop growing up immediately.

Now that the Shelton's have Russell, the softest bunny ever born, Kiki has another pet on her wish list.

I think Beefy is enough mammals for one house.  He sure is a cuddly one.

We had big plans for Fall Break, but thanks to our recent government shutdown, our plans (a long weekend in Arches) were cancelled.  We decided that a good alternative would be to do fun things around town for the break.  We went swimming, and to movies, and to the dinosaur museum.  On the last day of the break, I took the girls up to the Gateway to see the planetarium. 

I also had time for some crafting on the break- LaBoeuf's Halloween costume.

LaChief.

I love his expression in this- all serious and angry.
I slept with one eye open for at least a week.

The highlight of the break was a trip to Build a Bear Workshop- when I told the girls we were going they were so cute and excited.  Kate seems so grown up sometimes that I get pretty thrilled when "little girl" things still appeal to her.

I bought this book- it's a book about how our mistakes can be turned into something beautiful.

After I read it, I said, "That is one of my favorites!"

Maggie replied, "Because you HATE IT when we waste paper."

 

Maggie came home from library day at school with "Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul:Volume III."  I've not ever felt that my children weren't properly supervised at school, but I can't help but feeling that someone in the library was laying down on the job.  "Plus I got a bookmark," she told me, "so we don't miss one single page."  I've read her inspirational tales of friendship, physical hardships, you name it, and I feel like I've been a real good sport about the whole thing, but I hit my limits last night when Kiki's bedtime request was "the one about the cheerleader."