Do ya think?

Do you think they see us on the computer too much?

But when Daddy comes home, there are camel rides for everyone! WooHoo!

Smiles and books after a bath (notice Annisia is reading the Big Machines book?!)

The kids outside for awhile one morning. I couldn't resist this pic. Annisia looks like she is so bored, thank you! They are enjoying their snack after a little bike riding.

Getting Ready to Ski...

Well, the Sports Lure had their annual Ski Sale. Michael got himself outfitted for snowboarding and we got Jonathan a helmet and goggles. He gets to learn to ski or snowboard this winter if he continues to listen well. After we spent a bunch of money at the store, they gave us some passes to the Teton National Research movie, "Under the Influence", a ski moving similar to the Warren Miller ones. (Notice I said "similar", not "as good"...) Anyways, it was fun enough. Jonathan loved it. He really enjoyed seeing the crazy guys doing jumps and all that other stuff that scares the life out of me. Here he is modeling his gear and acting like he's in the movies.

Thermopolis!

We traveled over the pass to Thermopolis one Saturday. It is the home of the "World's Largest Hot Springs". The kids had a blast. Michael did too. I could do without the smell, but it was fun to see the kids enjoying the time. It is really cool to go to the outdoor pool when there is snow on the ground and enjoy the naturally warm water. Here are a couple videos of the kids coming down the slide.

Then we went over to the playground, ate a little lunch and then the kids played on the equipment. Annisia loves to slide and is quite fearless. Jonathan discovered the really cool spiral slide thing.

Annisia sporting her "coy" look. Silly girl!

Then we went on a little walk, but Annisia was so tired by then (it was about 3:30pm and she still hadn't had a nap), she didn't want to walk anymore. So I carried her back to the car and Michael and Jonathan walked to the bridge in the top photo. Some lady was kind enough to take their photo. I love it! It's a very sweet Daddy & Son photo, isn't it?!

When we got home, we had pizza, baths, and books. Have any of you read the "Magic School Bus" books? They are fun; Jonathan loves them.

Followers...

I added a "Followers" spot here. Do you like it or is it annoying?

Mothering is an Adventure.

This is something I wrote for the MOPS newsletter in September. Our theme this year is "Adventures in Mothering". Enjoy!

MOTHERING IS AN ADVENTURE

Mothering is an adventure I think you’ll agree,
full of little kids voices saying, “Mommy may we
swing on the swing set; play in the sand;
hunt some mean gophers or antelope, and
be excavators and dig a big hole?
Hey, Mommy, can I have a snack in a bowl?”

Mothering is an adventure. We all know it’s true,
full of little kids voices saying, “Mommy will you
build me a train track going up a big hill?
Will you read me the story about, um, Jack and Jill?
Mommy, did you know my swing’s a skid steer?
Did you know I have hunted a lot of mean deer?”

Mothering is an adventure. I don’t think I’m alone
when I want to tell everyone about my little son
who uses couch cushions as ice so he can go skating
and escape or catch sharks and mean seals who are waiting.
And my daughter who wants to be just like big brother;
she loves dolls and tools, to the humor of her mother!

Mothering is an adventure and not just for the kids.
It’s daring for us to give them cups with no lids.
It’s a challenge for us to keep quiet when they hit heads or knees,
and not call 911, but just say “Whoopsie!”
It’s exhilarating for us to experience all of those firsts.
It’s plain fun to be parenting despite all of the “worsts”.

Mothering is an adventure I think you’ll agree
full of hours and hours of “Mommy and me”.
Mothering is an adventure. I don’t think I’m alone
when I say it is best when Daddy comes home!

Family time in ND

The last day in ND, remember this is taking the place of our normal trip home for Thanksgiving, we went into the town where 3 of my brothers and 1 sister live. We met Rodney and Wanda and one of their sons, Shaun, for lunch. Here is Shaun with his motorcycle. Looking pretty cool, eh?! It's a beautiful bike, and he really acts the cool part well...(heehee)

Then we went to Janice and Paul's place where we had the pleasure of spending some more time with Alan and Anthony, and later Cassie, Duane and Vicky, Jordan, Dallas, and Aaron, and Uncle Lowell. Jonathan and Annisia enjoyed the play time. Annisia really took to Aaron and Jonathan enjoys anyone who will let him be a boy, beating up on them, jumping around, you get the picture.

It was fun to see Cassie. Her mom dropped her off for a few hours. She is such a beautiful girl.

The kids, Jonathan, Annisia, Anthony, Cassie

This was taken a few days after we got home. Kayla came over to make us dinner. What a treat!

Cow Kicking and Apple Picking...

We were invited out to Joey's farm again to watch them move their cows from one pasture to a freshly harvested corn field. Again, quite a process. Here's Jonathan very excited to see all the cows. Annisia had fallen asleep on the way out to the farm.

Here they come...Heather (Joey's daughter) was in a truck behind the cows, Dean was in a truck to the right of the cows, and Joey was in a 6 wheeler to the left of the cows and Dad is in his truck on the right of the picture. This is so they would turn away from him and go to the left.

They crossed the railroad track, saw Dad, and the lead cow wagged her head and headed left, just as planned!
And all the rest followed her, right through the gate into the corn field. Voila!

The first about 7 I saw come through the gate kicked up right when they got into the field. They were either excited about new feeding grounds or the tractor parked there spooked them...

And here comes everyone after the last cow. I leaned out the door and asked Joey if he put chamomile tea in their water feeder that morning! He said, "It doesn't always go this smoothly." What a treat!

Then, on the way home, Mom took us past a neighboring farm. The young man of the farm raises bulls for rodeos. I wouldn't want to meet this guy in a dark alley, would you?!

That afternoon, we picked apples from a neighbor's tree. We got a ladder and an apple picker. I think we picked a couple bushels of apples. When we got home, Mom and I went into the basement and found this apple corer/slicer/peeler and I did up a few apples.
Jonathan really liked the spiral sliced apples, but my mom really likes the peel. "That's where all the vitamins are!" So she and Annisia were eating peel spaghetti.

Now I have lots of apples in the garage. What should I do with them all? Applesauce (any good recipes out there?), apple fritters, dried apples (hmmm, need a dryer for that...), makings to freeze for apple pie and apple crisp, pickled apples (that's Michael's request...what are they anyways?!), sliced apples for meat dishes...

My sister, Janice, also picked close to two bushels of tomatoes for me, blanched, bagged and froze them for me. So I plan to make spaghetti sauce, salsa, and stewed tomatoes with them...sometime down the road. Whew! All this is making me tired!!