WILLCOX

We stayed at Grandpa & Grandma Wilkins' home and they treated us good!

Friday fun...

Went to Apple Annie's with Grandma. This had a big Apple Orchard, lots of pumpkins, corn maze, bakery where we bought the best apple pie and bread (the sample tray was Shelby's favorite spot in the store), sunflowers, and tractor sign where we showed off a bare belly.

Had lunch in Grandpa's Classroom. We had fun spending time with grandpa, eating pizza, and watching him make some kettle corn for the students (we had some too and it was yummmy).

Went to the Homecoming Game. We had to watch the game from the side lines (with a fence between us and the field). Someone would have loved to have front row seats, on the field with the players, but mean mommy had to intervene.

Helped Grandpa make popcorn for Concessions. Anytime Grandpa could, he would take Shelby with him. I think Grandpa got a kick out of her and she had just as much fun with him!

Rode the Homecoming Royalty wagon with Grandpa during Halftime. Shelby rode the wagon for a good 45 minutes and loved every minute. She smiled and waved (elbow-elbow-wrist-wrist) as she rode by the fans.

Horse Riding. We spent a little more time with our horse, Pistol, before the trade. Dallas has had Pistol 6 years. He was a good horse. Just had a trade we couldn't pass up (we'll post more on our good trade).

Saturday fun...

sorry no pics - I forgot my camera

We went to the parade to watch Daddy ride his class float, & Grandpa drove a wagon for the Homecoming Royalty. For most of the parade Shelby was more fascinated with pulling all of soda and water out of the ice chest and eating the ice. That is until the Big Dinosaur Float came along. Someone was operating it from inside and it came close enough for us to touch. That was a big deal and Shelby’s highlight of the parade (forget the candy, the mini Shrine cars, and other 50 floats - literally)

We also went to Dallas’ 10 yr reunion. I just have to say his class was quite entertaining. I almost choked on my pizza when they were reading the surveys because I was laughing so hard.

That was a Good Time!

Bye Bye

Going to Willcox for the weekend. Something about visiting family, Rex Allen days, Homecoming, 10 year class reunion, listening to conference, and horse trading???

Updates to follow...

Happy Birthday

Today marks 21 years since our double trouble arrived. Yep, two brothers!

Here’s a picture of when they were toddlers. They pose as sweet and innocent in this picture but they were mischief all the way.
OK, Cute mischief.

You have grown to be some awesome men! We love you Denver & Blake and hope you have a Happy 21st!

SING

Today, I was asked to come join the Ward Choir. I would like to think it was because the Director heard my voice and thought I would be a lovely addition, but I have a feeling it was because my good friend was made Choir Director and she was being a good friend.
I really haven’t had a lot of practice reading music and my voice can sound wrong at times, so I thought that I would stick out like a sore thumb. If you’re ever in this kind of predicament, it does help to sit by someone with a fabulous voice. Today, at practice, I got lucky and sat by someone who made me sound good too (she was amazing).

I will say that I loved choir. The selection of songs we sang brought the spirit so strong and I was proud to be a part of the choir that sang them.

“praise the Lord with singing, [and] with music” (D&C 136:28)

I know that the Lord is delighted as we praise him in song. I felt confirmation of this today and for this I shall sing!

A little secret about my Man

Before Sun up till after Sun Down my man is hard at work. He loves the outdoors and finds joy in his work, this is not anything new.
I just couldn’t imagine the same kind of devotion on HOT summer days, but this explains why  Daddy’s Daughter has a sad little face when she’s restrained to go out in the heat to play.
He’s a master at welding steel but limitations can’t be placed... From an encouraging wife, around the home he’s known to do plumbing, carpentry, and other various trades (you could say I’m a lucky wife who has it made).
He’s never wasteful of his energy and this I know to be true. ‘Cause aside from a long day at work he always has enough to be the BEST Husband & Father and that can be tough to do.
I am so grateful to my Man for all the work he does on our behalf. I share this secret and now you know who is the Better Half.

FALL

My most favorite childhood memory of the Fall season is when we would pack up a lunch and go on the mountain to get wood for the Winter. The leaves on the Aspen trees were all varying shades of vibrant warm colors. I remember the smells of pine trees in the crisp clean air. While dad would cut the tree, we would run around the forest. Some cousins once told us a story about finding a baby bunny in one of the trees they cut down for fire wood and had to take it home and nurse it back to health. From the point I heard that story I was on a mission to find a baby bunny of my own. This kept me quite busy until Dad would holler for us to come and help load the wood in the truck. I was a little saddened that I had to return with no bunny but of course always did what I was told. I will be honest that loading was a dreaded task. We not only had to place the wood on the bed of the truck but organize it in such a way that it could all fit. That always seemed to be impossible. However one thing that I appreciate from this task was how it taught each of us about teamwork. Our loads of wood were never small by any means, but with the work of everyone we accomplished a task that we never thought possible.

GROWING A GARDEN

Living here in Queen Creek, we have an advantage of planting crops in the spring and fall. Our spring garden produced corn, peas, bell peppers, carrots, lettuce, onions, & squash X30. Who knew that one squash plant could feed an entire family? Well, we love squash and I’ll just say that I emptied the (2) seed packets of all their content. We had enough squash to feed the entire ward plus put away for their year supply.
This season, we are trying to grow some corn, tomatoes, cucumber, peas, Watermelon, squash, Zucchini, Cantaloupe, and Pumpkin.

Growing a garden is so much easier than I remember growing up. We were in charge of the weeding. My sisters (you know the two) would tell you that I always used the excuse that I was allergic to the weeds and would get out of it. But trust me; I did my share of weedin’. In fact, I think that I may have had to weed my row and tidy up my sister’s rows of any extra weeds that they missed (it was surprisingly a lot). Yes, I was the Cinderella in my time… but I did end up with the Prince and that’s all that matters.