School Bells Ring

School bells ring. . . are you listening? In the lane kids are whistling. It's a beautiful sight, were happy that's right. . . walking in a "first day" wonderland! Clever, huh? Just made it up (it would've been better if I had sung it back in August and watched my kids' eyes roll. Oh well, missed opportunity.) Above are the insulated lunch bags ready to go. Josh was so excited that he got one this year. He picked the blue color and airplane logo. I order them from Land's End. My kids eat school lunch most of the time, but take home lunch every so often. As you can see Maddie's has a stain, but it has lasted all of her elementary days---not bad.

Madelyn- 6th grade (Which I am permanently enrolling her in. She is not allowed to age any further and go to Jr. High. It scares me.)

Alyssa- 4th grade (She even matches her book bag---such a fashion diva!)

Joshua- 1st grade (All day now! Wow! Never seen anyone more excited about having his own pencil box.)

Josanna- Preschool (I love how the backpack is as big as she is. But really, is my baby that big?)

Josie didn't even flinch when I dropped her off. Here she is going down the stairs and then standing by the play kitchen.

For the first time since Maddie was born, I have a home without children for a few hours each week. Not sure I'm totally ready to embrace that yet, but it is a nice break.

Our 15th Anniversary

Mike surprised me with these flowers, created by my friend, Starlie. Check her floral blog out at: starliesfloral.blogspot.com. She is amazingly talented. I had never been given hydrangeas before so I was thrilled!

We take turns each year making plans for our anniversary. Most of the time we keep the plans secret and surprise the other. I love surprises! This year it was Mike's turn and he drove me to the Zermatt Resort.


We had a wonderful time. We enjoyed an extensive seafood buffet in the evening. Mahi mahi, rockfish, salmon, orange roughy, coconut shrimp, etc., etc. I got to try Oysters Rockafeller, and enjoyed my favorite---crab legs and butter! I know cruise ships create towel shapes all the time, but since we've yet to cruise, I thought these swans were worth a photo shoot.

For breakfast we left the premises and dropped in on Chick's Cafe in town. Quaint, but I really must say it was very yummy. Lots of food for the price. I enjoyed crispy hash browns, over-easy eggs, thick smoked bacon and a lovely scone with butter and honey. Speaking of honey. . . MY honey is Mike. Mike thanks for being the love of my life and for fifteen (15) fabulous years! (And for the gorgeous hydrangeas---I loved them.)

Last Glimpse of Summer

Because of the focus on our basement, I really didn't do much with our landscape this summer. Yet, if you looked up close---instead of the big picture---you could find beauty scattered here and there. My camera found these little glimpses of summer glory one morning in my son, the hostas blooming and the white-flowered transplants from Dad and Mom (thanks!)
It is starting to feel like fall now (cooler mornings and evenings, football games, and pumpkins ripening in the garden.) I look forward to the change of seasons, yet I still love the warm autumn afternoons full of sunshine that remind me of the summer past.

Lessons from the Garden

Look what our garden has been producing! This summer I have learned how to pickle cucumbers with Mrs. Wages seasoning packets, make a yummy fresh Cucumber Salsa, roast beets and make pink pancakes, make Smoked Gouda jalapeno bites, and freeze tomatoes whole. More recently I have been busy with the peach crop. Lots of fruit leather, frozen yogurt, peach slush and bottled peaches.

Mission Reunion

We went to Mike's Spain Las Palmas mission reunion in August in Park City. The children stayed busy in the park while the adults sat and talked. Our good friends, the Wardles, are sitting across from us. Mike really enjoyed the visit with everyone. As a side note, Mike's mission president (the man in the white shirt, farthest right) was the MD who delivered me as a baby.

Wedding Bells for Cousin Jessica

The kids were excited to help serve and take gifts at Jessica and Dillion's wedding.

The happy couple. Congrats!

A Friendly Farewell

I love these ladies! This is the group of gals that I have been in recipe group with for over three years now. (Kristen, we missed you that night.) We went to the Epic Restaurant together to wish Melanie goodbye as she left for Tennessee. Melanie is seated next to me. We are going to miss her so much. Many of you who follow my blog know her, or you know her recipe blog "The Sisters' Cafe." There are wonderful recipes posted there. Click on my link to check it out. Anyway, I just want to say thanks Melanie for all you have taught me and good luck down South! And for the rest of you if you go to Epic, get the White Chocolate Lemon Mousse for dessert!

Splash Pad time!

My sister Erica already posted this day on her blog back in August. I am just slow and catching up. We invited her and Caleb and Bailey to the city splash pad. Here's a few more pics from that fun afternoon.

Summer Camp for Maddie

Maddie went to a week long camp in August with her friend, Annika. This was them ready to depart.

Welcoming Maddie home---Josie gets a big hug.

They survived and had a great time. Madelyn won an award for the best decorated boondoggle (wood art). She came home and taught us some great camp songs that we have belted out in the car as a family. Gotta love camp songs! She loved pressing flowers and identifying them, but she was pretty bummed that she didn't catch any wildlife in her trap.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

We enjoyed attending the temple open house. How very lucky we are to have so many temples nearby. We went to Kneader's afterward for dinner together.