Dejay

Hazel and I gave Dejay a bath this week, he didn't mind the water. He really loved being wrapped up and rubbed dry.

We are doing our best to love the puppy to death. The kids play with him every free moment. Last night we were playing with him, he got up walked into his kennel and went to bed for the night!

Where has my baby gone?

I decided that one of my projects (now that the house is done) should be to make Hazel a baby book. The rest of my kids all have something in theirs. Nate's is pretty sparse. But poor Hazey had nothing. So I have begun at last, and what I found was lots of memories that seem more than 3 years old. Hazel has been head strong from the moment she was supposed to be born and then refused. Then she jumped while being delivered C-section and made the mortified Doctor nick her little head with the knife. Then she hated women. When faced with the choice between my good friend who she knew well and spent many hours visiting and a gruff man (a stranger) wearing a big cowboy hat, dark glasses, and a big handlebar mustache. Yep she went to the man. She is still really opinionated and stuborn but we are really enjoying her spunk!

Meet Dejay

Here we are at our first meeting of our new pup, Dejay (pronounced DJ). He is a black lab and is only 8 weeks old. The kids and I are loving it and Kenneth is getting used to it. We will be raising him (the dog not Kenneth) for the next year and a half.

Braid Beard is Back

Kenneth has been growing his beard thing and it is unfortunately long enough to braid. So I am once again married to a pirate. Many people have commented that they can't believe that I put up with the braids. I have developed a theory: He is a really great father and husband and if this is the worst that ever happens... Bring it on. He is anxious to shave his head to complete the look. Could be worse.

Finished Product

After 2 long years of work on the kitchen, it is really finished. All the doors are on and the cutting boards are in. (and I did the dishes today) It is so beautiful!

Alma Astros Friday Flag Raising

Friday Kenneth, Hazel and I got to got to the elementary school to see the "Students of the Quarter" be honored. (Kenneth usually misses these things, but we were lucky to have him home Friday.) All our kids got the award this quarter except Nate. Luckily, he is a little oblivious and doesn't seem to have noticed.

Abby in the pink shirt.

Rebekah in blue on the right end.

Sydney in the bright blue band blouse.

Truman is just to the left for the principal. Hiding behind Jazlyn.

Astro Band for the flag raising is by audition only. Sydney was very excited for her first Saxophone performance. Truman also played well. Here is the band playing the school song.

Monkey Van Wash

Kenneth and the Monkeys washed the van yesterday!

More Doors

Kenneth finished installing doors Friday! Aren't they beautiful. Now that the kitchen is actually finished Kenneth has been looking for other things to occupy his time so he: washed the outsides of my upstairs windows, touched up the paint on the outside of the house, trimmed the dead wood out of my eucalyptus tree, washed the van with the kids and went swimming.

Soccer Stars

Christian and Truman had their first Saturday game of the season. All the other games have been on Thursday nights and taking pictures in the dark just doesn't work. It was a fun game to watch. Truman (blue jersey number 2) scored 2 goals, and ran really hard the whole game. Christian plays Keeper (in the yellow blotchy long sleeve jersey). Christian did a great job and didn't let the other team score once. It was fun to see the team working together so well.

Hazel's Teeth

Hazel had her first dentist appointment today. She was so excited, all morning she told everyone "I have a 'p'pointment this day". She was really sad that she had to leave the "movie star" sunglasses at the office. And she was most thrilled to have cookie dough flavored toothpaste.

Puppy Costume Party

We had a guide dog meeting tonight that was a costume party. We played some games and there was a costume contest for the puppies. There were some creative costumes: zorro, elmo, hula girl, and a Hot dog. My kids were excited to get to wear their costumes early. (Except Christian and Truman who were at a Youth Symphony rehearsal). Kenneth talked me into wearing a costume, so I went as Rosie the Riveter. Kenneth was Uncle Sam. It was a fun evening.

Snow White Sings Wonderfully

When I was young I made a Halloween costume for my Cabbage Patch Doll. I like making costumes, in fact we have a couple bins full of Halloween costumes. So this year, facing the up-coming Home Tour and all the work that accompanies it. I blasphemed, and bought costumes. Argg, That is hard to admit to. We went to the Goodwill and everyone found something to suit their needs. Hazel has been saying that she wants to be Snow White and I was scheming how to make the stand up collar. We found a beautiful made by Disney Snow White dress just her size for $7.00 at the Goodwill. She has been wearing it for 4 straight days. I am happy that she is pleased but feeling a little jealous of the dress made by someone else. She has also been singing this funny song about a bunny when she wears the dress.

Hop Skip and Jump

Abby got this toy for her birthday and she recently figured out how to do it. We walked to church and back today and everyone was so tired they could hardly move. Somehow they have found the energy to spend the evening trying to top each other!

Backyard Campout

The kids all slept out on the tarp in the yard the last two nights. It was so much fun that we all had naps today.

Ethereal Experience

I was out spraying cabinet doors this morning and was pleased to see heaven smiling down on my blessed doors!

The BIG competion

The kids are out of school for our "October Break". Wednesday was a half-day and then we don't have school until Monday. We decided to have a contest to see who could be the first to wear out a "Magic Eraser" sponge by washing walls. Truman was the winner. That little scrap is all that was left.


Hazel took a bite out of hers, she said that it really doesn't taste good.


Truman the master scrubber in action. With Syd close behind.

WOW. The walls really are white under all the sticky fingerprints.

Hazel was happy to find that the magic erasers really do take all the pen and marker off the walls, and she promises that she won't do it again.

Stuck

I heard a little plea for help in the kitchen only to find that Nate had somehow gotten into the frame for the garbage can and then it rolled shut and he was stuck. Everyday is an adventure with Nate!

The stats are in.

My Brother Ian was kind enough to provide real information on the Applesauce Muffins.
They're maybe not as healthy as I thought they were but not nearly as bad as they could be. Kenneth wants me to post the stats so that you will be discouraged from trying them. He has a theory that there are a finite number of good muffins on the planet and he is coveting them.

Nutritional Info
* Servings Per Recipe: 24
* Amount Per Serving
* Calories: 177.3

* Total Fat: 8.0 g
* Cholesterol: 36.7 mg
* Sodium: 242.1 mg
* Total Carbs: 24.8 g
* Dietary Fiber: 1.9 g
* Protein: 3.3 g

Be careful what you read!

I have been reading the Anne of Green Gables books. They are pleasant, light hearted reading.
I have also been listening to Eragon and Eldest on CD. I read them when they first came out but it has been a while. So I have been reviewing since the boys are still using our copy of the newly released Brisingr (the 3rd book in the series).

I had this terrible dream the other night where poor Anne in her green organdy dress was being chased throught the forest by an army of Urgals! I think I should be more careful before mixing my reading genres,

Saturday was a Special Day

Saturday we watched the morning session of General Conference then we got in the van and drove to Prescott to drop Truman off at his Symphony retreat. (He reports that he played so much at the retreat that his "lips fell off" and he had to buy another pair) The rest of us went to a museum that was having a Folk Music Festival. They had different musical groups in every building and courtyard. We went to one that was a "musical Saw workshop". It was this guy who played a saw. He was funny. Someon asked if it was a special kind of saw, he said "nope this is just an old saw that was my dads. You could go buy a cheap saw at Home Depot." A lady said "do you have to grind the teeth off so you don't get cut?" He laughed "It's not as dangerous as you think." One guy wanted to know if a cross cut saw would work. Kenneth and Abby took a try at playing the saw, too.

Then at 5pm we found a church building. Kenneth and Christian went to the Priesthood session of conference, the other kids and I went to the Relief Society room to hang out. We watched a movie and worked on our needle work.

Truman's retreat wasn't over until 8:30 and we were done at the church at 7:30 so we wandered around at some stores. Here are the kids at Big Lots trying out the recliners.

A post by Abby

On Friday after school, Sydney and Abby made a witch and named it Jenny the good witch. They were going to name it Jennifer. At first Sydney made it a surprise for Abby,but she did not have a head for it. Abby helped her find a head for it. The only thing Abby found was a balloon. So she used a marker and I drew a face on her. Then Abby helped Sydney look for some hair and a hat. Sydney and Abby found a pompom and a dress up hat. Sydney and Abby had a lot of fun!!

Here today, Gone tomorrow

Well, today is tomorrow at our house. We had the interesting opportunity to practice the art of giving up a guide dog puppy. Weber was unexpectedly returned to his other raiser yesterday. We knew he wouldn't stay forever, but our house is a bit too quiet today. The consolation is that we might be getting a new puppy (8 weeks old) at the end of the month when the "puppy truck" comes.

It's Finally Fall

The first few years we lived here, I yearned for the 4 distinct seasons we enjoyed in Utah. I spent many hours bemoaning the fact that the trees don't change color. I have in the last few years come to peace with my Arizona Native status. I have learned to love the subtlety of the spring and fall.

It is Autumn here. If you don't know what to look for you might miss it.
* I have been able to exclusively run my swamp cooler the last couple weeks and the fresh air is glorious after the summer of recirculated air-conditioning.
* I can walk outside barefooted anytime of day.
* The kids play outside without water and/or Otterpops.
* I don't have to wash the swimming towels every other day.
* The fruit lady in East Mesa has beautiful Utah peaches, apples, and berries. So we can do our fall canning.
* The flowers are all blooming and the summer grass is still green(ish).
* We can ride my bike to storytime at the library and play on the playground.
* We picked beans, cucumbers, and beets from our garden.
* I sleep with my windows wide open and get chilly.

I never thought I would love Arizona. Truly, I didn't even think that I could like Arizona. It has become home to me and now I can't imagine ever leaving her.