First I just have to say that I survived teaching Relief Society today. Whew! I've been so nervous since I was called as a Relief Society teacher and must have rewritten my lesson about 89 times the last couple weeks, but I did it! Hallelujah! I love the sisters in our Relief Society, they were so kind and gave such great comments. I also really enjoyed the General Women's Conference last night. It is always such a spiritual treat. I'm so glad to have it recorded so I can rewatch it and be fed and uplifted again.

We live in such a beautiful place that is so pretty right now with all the changing leaves. It was a gorgeous warm Fall evening tonight so we decided to spend some time out enjoying it.
The kids fed grass to some cows down the road. I've always loved black and white cows. Cows in general are just funny to me. They're so placid and mellow.
I love this picture of my boys trying to lure in the cows with these old dry weeds. They were so sad the cows weren't too interested...
The kids dipped their toes in this little pond...
And fished for seaweed, or whatever it's called when it's in a pond...
Ran up this rolling farm-hill. Wish I could keep up with them!
And we all enjoyed the crisp fresh air and just being together.
So hard to get a picture of everyone smiling and happy (Brenner was so good the whole time until I sat him on Kyler's lap for the photo). I know I take way too many pictures altogether, it's a weakness of mine. Okay everyone, say cheese...
I adore Sister Hinckley and love so many of her great quotes. Here's a good one...

"As you create a home, don't get distracted with a lot of things that have no meaning for you or your family. Don't dwell on your failures, but think about your successes. Have joy in your home. Have joy in your children. Have joy in your husband. Be grateful for the journey."

Marjorie Pay Hinckley

I love that quote. There is so much to find joy in. I just have to remember to look for it and take the time to stop and soak it in.

Has my husband has been holding out on me or what?! This morning I climbed up to find some paints for Porter on the top shelf of our pantry and saw these gigantic chocolate bars, one of them opened and half eaten. Hmmm, I did notice he was having quite the microwaved s'more last night while he watched the news. You can't just find chocolate like this that is opened and not partake! So Porter and I each had a good-sized chunk and are feelin' some chocolate happiness right now. I don't know how chocolate makes everything better but somehow it just does!

Today was Porter's turn to take snacks to Preschool. He helped me make one of our favorites (from allrecipes.com). They are true to their name! They're like pumpkin bread except they're... muffins. They're very yummy. Porter was so SO excited to take them to school today. Just thought I'd pass on a great recipe...

"Kids Favorite Chocolate Chip Muffins"

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 36 muffin cups or line with paper bake cups. Mix ingredients together. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool in pans for 5 minutes.

Do you ever feel like you're losing your mind? Some days I wonder if I am, and other days I don't wonder, I know. Yesterday morning I made orange rolls (and no, mine didn't turn out looking this beautiful, they never do but I keep trying...) I put the dough in a warm oven to rise, fed Brenner and got him to sleep, then thought it would be a good time to take a shower because I needed to get ready for my cousin's baby shower. I turned the water on, then remembered I got some new face-wash but left it in the kitchen. So I went to the kitchen to get it and noticed that the rising dough was huge and ready to shape into rolls. So, forgetting about the running water, I made 3 pans of orange rolls. Made the orange glaze that goes on top. Wrote a few cards to some friends, got the baby shower gift ready in the gift bag, did a few dishes, fed the kids, etc. After the rolls had risen and were ready to bake I put the first pan in the oven, set the timer, and then thought I better get in the shower while they were baking. I went in the bathroom to find the water was still running 2 hours later! It was frigid. I totally forgot about it. That was proof right there of what I suspect some days... I have truly lost my mind! I couldn't bear the thoughts of a freezing-cold shower so I waited 1/2 hour for the water to heat up and then we were in a big rush getting ready and out the door.

It brought to mind this story that always makes me laugh... It's hitting a lot closer to home lately as I try to survive my sometimes crazy days of motherhood. Anyway, a lady in our ward drove to the church to pick up her kids from mutual and she parked in the back parking lot. It was raining so the windshield wipers were on. She ran into the church and got to visiting, went out the front doors as she was chatting, didn't see her car in the front parking lot so she got a ride home with some neighbors. The next morning she went out to take her kids to school and her car was gone. That's when she remembered driving it to the church the night before. It was still running in the back parking lot, the gas tank was on empty, the windshield wipers were still going and had completely worn off the rubber so the metal blades were grinding back and forth over the window. Is that not hilarious? It makes me laugh everytime I think of it. She was such a funny lady. I was a teenager at the time and wondered how in the world it would be possible to forget your car? Well, now I'm a scatter-brained sleep-deprived mother of 4 and I think I now know how it's possible to forget a lot of things!

We did make it to my cousin's baby shower. My grandparents have 8 new grand/great-grand children this year. Here are 4 of them. They now have 30 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren. Quite the posterity and still counting!(I got 2 moles removed Friday on my cheek and chin. Hello huge red dots!)

Then we had dinner at the park with some of Dave's family. It was freezing but fun! The kids always have a great time playing with their cousins. Here is Brenner in his warm fuzzy bear-suit with grandma.

So it was a good day. And if I've lost my mind at least I'm happy and have a good husband and kids that love me anyway. But I'm really hoping it comes back to me someday!

We had a little cookout last Monday to enjoy the warm Fall weather before winter sets in. I had grand plans to take the kids to a fun campground but when Dave got home from work we decided it would be much easier to stay in our own backyard. We do have a great view of the mountains. It was a perfect evening, still warm with no breeze. Lexi helped me cut up the potatoes and carrots for our tin-foil dinners while Dave and the boys started the fire. We even threw some ears of corn on the fire. Yummy!

A few tricks while waiting for the tin-foil dinners to cook...
The corn-on-the-cob was done first. Dave's got a little charred on one end but no, he didn't mind.
Kyler loved the corn-on-the-cob. The left-overs on his cheeks and his big smile tell the story!
Lots of butter and seasonings made the tin-foil dinners oh-so-good.
Kyler enjoying the moment. What a cute boy.
I love their blue-eyes.
The kids are getting pretty good at roasting marshmallows so they can now toast some golden brown instead of catching every one of them on fire.
The cookout wouldn't be complete without some kung-fu (or boys wouldn't be boys without kung-fu at some point during the evening).
My four greatest blessings.
A perfect night outside!

I think if heaven had a taste it would be the taste of fresh peaches, don't you? I had that thought over and over last week everytime I ate one. I canned some but saved half a box for eating and we have seriously been in peach heaven. So sad that all the fresh ones have been gobbled up, I think they might have been the best I've ever had in my life.

And canning is one of my favorite things ever. I absolutely love it! It seems like a lot of work to get out all the supplies but once I get going I have overwhelming happiness. That's probably weird but I really do love it. And I love the feeling of accomplishment seeing the jars all lined up on the counter. I always leave them there a few extra days because I just like lookin' at 'em!
Here is a fast and easy Peach Pie recipe (from allrecipes.com) if you can stand sacrificing some of those yummy fresh peaches to make it!

No-Bake Fresh Peach Pie

1/2 cup water
2/3 cup white sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp butter
6 fresh peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced
1 (9-inch) graham cracker pie crust
whip cream for top

Stir together the water, sugar, cornstarch, and butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When the mixture has come to a boil, add a few slices of the peaches, then lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes until thick and smooth. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely. Place the remaining peach slices into the pie crust and spread the sauce over them, covering completely. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or until firm before serving. Whop a spoonful of cream on top and enjoy.

Last Saturday we went to Jackson and had such a good time. We went with no agenda and those are sometimes the types of outings I like best. I took my camera but forgot the battery was at home in the charger. I can't even tell you how sad I am that I didn't get any pictures of our day!

First we went to see if the Alpine Slide at Snow King was running. Luckily we got there on the last weekend they are open this year so we didn't miss out. It was a blast! We had to take turns (children under 6 have to go down with an adult) so Dave took Kyler first and Porter next while the rest of us waited and watched them come down. Then Lexi and I had our turn to ride the ski-lift up and come down the slide. Dave and I haven't been there since we were dating 10 years ago. It was so fun to go back with our kids. The view from the top is gorgeous. The kids loved the slide. It was just such a fun spontaneous thing, one I recommend and one we will put on our list to do again next year!

Then we ate at Merry Piglets and wandered around the shops. In one store were polished rocks that the kids were admiring so we let them each get a little bag of rocks. Then we found the Yippy-I-O Candy store, and oh my! Was that ever heaven for them! They almost walked in reverence, not believing all that candy! They got to pick a few each and ate them one at a time as we walked, then saved the rest for home. They also loved the big stuffed buffalo and bear we saw in a store. Porter thought no one was watching and snuck his hands up the buffalo nostrils. Some passersby thought it was hilarious which encouraged him to do it a few more times. The kids also thought the famous elk-antler arches on each corner of the square were pretty neat. Dave and I felt like mother and father ducks waddling everywhere with our little gaggle of gooslings following behind us. It seemed everyone stared in amazement that we had so many children. It's crazy that nowdays 4 children seems like such a huge family to some.

It was such a fun together-time. Lexi summed it up on the drive home when she mentioned, "This was the best day on earth!"

I know this is gross but I am just wondering why major blow-outs always happen during church? Seriously it never fails! Dave was holding him during this one and had orange souveniers on his white shirt to show for it. Today of all days I forgot to grab another change of clothes for the diaper bag so Brenner and I had to leave church a little early and come home to clean him up. You can't tell from the photo how it was soaking through his pants and somehow ended all up his back. Anyway I'll leave it at that.

Does anyone have any great ideas on how to publish your blogs? Have any of you found any great companies that publish them? Last year I just printed them out and stuck them all in a binder in sheet protectors, which works, but it would be fun to have higher photo quality. Any ideas? What do you all do with your blogs?

A glimpse into our sometimes crazy life...

How many kids can one crib hold? I was in the shower yesterday morning before church and got out to see all of them in Brenner's crib. Hopefully it was built to last! Brenner was thrilled with all the entertainment. Too bad sound doesn't attach to pictures... imagine every musical toy we have playing at the same time.

One afternoon last week I put Brenner down for his nap and came back into the kitchen to see a bath going on. I guess Lexi and Porter thought they would take advantage of no dishes being in the sink!

Last Saturday morning the kids rolled this bean-bag down the stairs for their landing pad. No one got hurt and boy did they have a great time jumping into it.


Sledding down the dirt hill. I for one am definitely not wishing for snow. Not so sure about them...


One day a couple weeks ago I was sitting on the couch feeding Brenner (that seems to be when a lot of trouble happens...) and I could hear the garage door going up and down. I didn't think much about it except that I hoped they wouldn't wear the garage door motor out. After feeding Brenner I walked to the door to tell them to please stop. When I saw them I understood why it kept going up and down. They were pushing the button, then running to catch a ride up. YiKeS!!!

And what did they think of yesterday? Oh, nothing much, just ridung their bikes on the trampoline! Seriously?!!! I love Sunday afternoon naps and Dave is great to watch the kids while I'm asleep. This leaves me wondering how closely he was watching them yesterday? They couldn't wait to show me their new trick when I woke up. I was in disbelief. I had to stifle a laugh (it really did look hilarious) and after riding a few circles on the trampoline we took their bikes off with a promise not to do that any more! Really, how do they think of these things? I think I could go my whole life without ever pondering that riding bikes on the trampoline was even a possiblity!

I love these pictures of Brenner. They just make me happy! He is getting better at using his hands to grab toys. It makes him so excited! And he is doing this new curl thing with his tongue. So funny! I love this baby!

Porter started Preschool last week. Hooray! He absolutely LOVES it. He is so happy it's finally his turn to go to school too.He insists on waiting out at the end of the driveway for the "Preschool Bus" to come, just like Kyler waits for the bus in the mornings. It makes me laugh! The other carpool moms get a kick out of it too. His teacher, Miss Stephanie, is fabulous and so very nice. We are carpooling with 3 other kids in our ward, Max, Sophia, and Tatum. They have so much fun at Preschool that when I go pick them up none of them want to come with me, they all want to stay and play.