Kids had a blast carving pumpkins. Jacob especially very excited about the whole process. I'm learning the difference between carved pumpkins in Utah vs. Ca. Because of our warm weather last week we are having lots of squishy, moldy pumpins. Next year I think we will carve on Halloween Eve.

I can't believe Halloween is just around the corner. We had our ward party tonight. Always a highlight for the kids. I don't like to dress up but I managed to put on this red, curly wig. Dane was the man in the yellow hat along with his Curious monkey Luke. It was perfect! It was also nice for me because Dane held Luke the whole party to complete his costume. I was surprised with how many people don't know who the man in the yellow hat is. Lindsay was a beautiful white princess. She informed me this is her last Princess year. We will see. And Jacob for the second year in a row had to be spider-man. What fun. I think we have 3 more times to dress up before this holiday is over. Luke got a kick out of wearing my wig. I love his sense of humor.

Here are some pictures of Lindsay, Jacob, and Luke all at one year. It is fun to see how much they have changed, and also how much they look alike. Oh how time flies!

I know I've said this before, but I'm so proud of my brother Ben. He is doing so well on his mission. I just have to post this picture of a couple that he will baptize. I love everything about this picture. Aren't they adorable! They are like hobbits. I don't think we realize that we are a huge.. I think we forget that most of the world is shorter than us. Ben is about 6'. Ben really loves this couple. They want him to move into their shed in the back of their home so Sonia the woman can cook and take care of them. The husband is getting baptized on Saturday. Ben said he will spend the day at the church boiling water for the font. He is 86 years old and they don't want him to go into shock from the freezing water.
Costa Rica looks like a beautiful country! I plan on visiting. Wanna come Dane?

Chico is part of our family. We inherited him from my sister Sarah's family about 2 years ago. Even though I've officially realized I'm not a dog person. I like Chico for many reasons. He is the PERFECT kid dog. He loves Luke and the abuse he dishes out. Anytime the kids want a cuddle chico is there. For me he is just there to much sometimes. He is overly affectionate, and can't stop licking me. For a mother who doesn't get much alone time, and is constantly taking care of someone else this can be annoying. But I guess I do love him, because I felt so sad today when I woke up and realized it was day 3 that he had been missing. Running away is Chico's biggest weakness. He does it often, but this time was different because he didn't have his name tag on. But nevertheless I got a phone call this morning from a lady who had Chico all weekend. She had fallen in love with him. part of me was tempted to let her keep him but Chico is part of our family and the kids love him. When he returned he smelled of incense and perfume. I think he had a really great vacation.

Well I thought I would report on Lindsay's first grade parent teacher conference. I really enjoy going to these conferences because if is sometimes difficult to talk to the teacher any-other time, especially this year. It is also nice to hear how wonderful of a daughter you have. Lindsay's teacher said she was a model student. She learns quickly, listens in class, and follows directions perfectly. She also is reading above average and is in the top reading groups. I'm so proud of her for working so hard and being a good student. It is such a relief to me, and I hope and pray school continues to be a good experience. She also has never "pulled a card" which is Kingsburg's little disciplinary system for elementary. Five other children in her class hadn't pulled a card yet either. They got to have a special lunch in the classroom with Mrs. M. I warned her teacher that if the day comes where she does have to pull a card, she would be horrified, and devastated. It is a really big deal to her. She did give up a few things to work on. That was Lindsay talks to quietly in class when she is asked to give an answer, and also she tends to have a lot of aches and pains that she complains about for example, sore throats, stomach aches, stiff neck, sore ankle, and stiff back. (I think that sums up the last 2 weeks). I think she is exaggerating some real issues that we have been having lately. Part of the problem is when Lindsay gets sick she normally doesn't get very sick. Just a stuffy nose, or a sore throat. So I still send her to school instead of keeping her home. But it's like she drags the symptoms out forever. The other issue is that she has started a gym class and keeps getting little injuries. So if any of you have any suggestions about how to deal with a hypochondriac let me know. I"m sure it is just a phase right? Lindsay is such a wonderful girl. She is our little Lovee!

There was a professional photographer at the zoo that emailed these pictures to me. How nice of him. Isn't she adorable.

On Saturday we went to the zoo to celebrate Luke's birthday. We went with our good friends Jamie, Tucker, and gang. Jamie took some pictures of our family while at the zoo. We attended a bird show where Lindsay was called up to the front to feed these huge African Cranes. She was shy, yet brave. The scary part was the bird flew at her from across the audience and landed right in front of her to get his food. I was proud of her.

My sweet little Lukey is one. How could this be? I can't imagine my life without him, but in some ways this last year has gone by so fast. He brings smiles, and laughs into our home everyday. He just belongs in our family and is such a happy, affectionate, little person. He is nothing but sweetness. I love to just stare at him, and try to imagine who he is, or will be. He is taking many steps now, but just when he wants to. He still prefers to crawl. He is very involved with LIndsay and Jacob. I'm so pleased that they still get so excited to see him in the morning, they just never get sick of him. He really is Daddy's little boy. He prefers Dane most of the time. Luke is obsessed with hair, especially mine and Jacob's. It is comforting to him, but also fun to pull. He loves to laugh and wrestle with his brother Jacob. How cute he is. Today was a very fun day. We went to the Zoo, then out for pizza to celebrate. Just another day for Luke, but Lindsay and Jacob acted like it was Christmas morning today. They were so excited to celebrate. I'm going to post some pictures of Luke eating his cake. I was surprised that he wanted nothing to do with it. He cried when I put it on his high chair. He seemed annoyed, then settled on just using the frosting as finger-paint. I was shocked because he loves chocolate. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUKE! WE LOVE YOU!

For posterity's sake yes Dane is the Scout Master. He is really starting to get into it, and I'm proud of him for the thought and effort he does render. Well last weekend was a big one. Hiking Half Dome is a really big deal around here. It is a very difficult hike, and dangerous too. It is about 18 miles round trip. Dane's youngest scout was doing really well until the last leg of climbing the actual dome. They got maybe half way up before he just couldn't do it anymore. Too scary. So poor Dane hikes 17 3/4 miles in one day and doesn't get the reward at the end. He was a very good sport about it. I think he was expecting it. I think over all everyone had a great time. It has been three day, and Dane is starting to walk normal again. I don't think I would ever be able to walk for weeks.

First of all, thank you to all of you who offered understanding and concern from my last post. I'm feeling much better. Dane made it back from his adventure. I'll post Yosemite pictures later.
Saturday night I went to the Relief Society Broadcast with my V. T.'s and Tracey. It was the night before her baptism, and it was so fun to sit by her as she listened to her first broadcast. She got her first glimpse of the Prophet, and she was overwhelmed with spiritual joy after each talk. It is so refreshing viewing the gospel through an investigator, especially if they are your friend. It has been an amazing difficult journey for her to reach this point in her life. I"m so grateful I could witness her conversion. I never thought I could top some of the feelings of joy that I had on my mission seeing someone come into the church. Someone I had taught. I have to say this was equal or greater experience for me. That can only mean one thing though, that it was hard emotionally, and spiritually. My testimony was challenged and expanded and I studied many difficult questions and concerns over the last four years. Tracey and I started out as neighbors when we lived in our 1's kingsburg house. The first time I saw her the spirit told me she would be a member one day. Many times I doubted this feeling, and thought maybe it was just my head speaking to me. We immediately had a spiritual connection, and talked about spiritually things almost daily. Over the course of our friendship the spirit often whispered to me to invite, invite, invite,. Sometimes I listened, sometimes I was chicken. I defiantly wasn't the perfect missionary. Tracey and her family attended a few activities, and loved them, but everything was too complicated. Then out of the blue she called me and told me she was ready to take the discussions. We had never even talked about the discussions. She is really good at following the promptings in her life. She had a few lessons with some fabulous sisters. She immediately recognized truth, but again things got hard and complicated. You missionaries know that satan always steps in. About a year and a half later I started feeling like I should start inviting again. She ended up attending an enrichment with me. Well that was it. The sisters embraced her. She felt so loved. The spirit was undeniably present. That was a huge turning point. I think that was about 3 months ago. Her and her husband Bruce have been taking the lessons, attending church, and making changes ever since. I got 1 more cherished phone call from her. "I think I'm ready to be baptized, what do I do?, who do I call?" Tracey did It on her own. I was blessed to be an observer in her conversion. I feel grateful I've never seen someone so happy at their baptism. Pure true joy! Their daughter Lindsey (our Lindsay's best friend) wants to be baptized too. Only a year and a half to wait. Bruce is scheduled to be baptized 3 weeks from yesterday. He is working hard. He needs your prayers.