Up to date?

Ah, my long neglected blog.  Why have I been avoiding you?  No good reason.  I stink at writing in my journal, too.  Someday, I'll probably regret both.  Good news!  Connor made Sky View's swim team.  The best thing about this is that he set it as a goal a year ago and has been working really had at it ever since.  I was so relieved he made the team, just so he could learn that hard work pays off.  It's a big commitment. He practices every day after school, 3 mornings a week before school and often on Saturday mornings.  He loves it.  His first meet is this Thursday, just between his team, and the first real meet is in Nov.  I hope it will be a good experience for him.
The pictures of my kids are some my Dad took when we went up for the Bar-be-que and also when he and mom came to visit us here.  I think he gets some pretty great people pictures, too.
Chase is doing awesome at school.  He is also swimming with the club and he has speech therapy twice a week. All of a sudden, we've become one of those families with something every day after school.  I've tried really hard to avoid that, but speech is a must.  Since he got his tonsils and adenoids out, his soft pallet doesn't close all the way.  They are trying to help him train it to do so.

Kate also started swimming this fall.  She LOVES it.  She is also taking piano.  We also like to do crafts and we made some jars with tissue paper and modge podge.  We put lights in the and stuck them on the porch.

Kenna still thinks 1st grade is just too long.  Hopefully, she'll learn to like it.  She is participating in a singing group, called Tavaci.  I thought she might like it, because she is always singing, even her sentences to me.  She thinks the best part is that they give her candy each week.  She also crafted with Kate and I.  We made these eye balls for family night.  They are on tea lights, so we can put them in the window at night.

I got to do this new project.  A lady in our ward volunteered to teach some of us to quilt.  She came up with this project and it was soooo much fun.  I didn't think I would like it as much as I did.  I have now started a couple of other projects.  People ask me what I do with all my "Free time" now that Kenna is in school.  Let me say, I still have to do all the same things.  The only difference is now I'm alone, which makes it sometimes faster and easier, but sometimes just more lonely.  I have substituted a few times and I have one last on-line class to finish my recertification for my teaching license.  Yay.

Mike is alternating his time between work, golf, racquetball and taking care of us. He's great. He also made his first batch of rolls from scratch.  What a guy!

Happy Birthday Katelyn!

Katie turned 9 on Labor Day,  Lucky for me she choose cheesecake instead of a decorated one.  Yes, there was a rather large fault line, but it still tasted good.  Kate didn't want to have a friend party this year or even invite a friend or two to do a family activity (which is what we usually do) but she did want to go horse back riding.  About 2 years ago, she saw a brochure for a trail ride in Logan Canyon and has wanted to do it ever since.  It's a little pricey, so we didn't take the whole family, just Katie and I.

She wasn't all that happy to wear a helmet, but she had too.

This is Kate on her house Ajax.  Ajax is quite old and was very calm throughout the ride.

This is one of my many attempts to turn around while on my horse and get a good picture of Kate.  It was harder than it sounds and the picts didn't turn out all the well.  It was really pretty.

Here we are, at the end.  Kate loved it.  She is so serious, she didn't speak or even smile much during the whole hour ride.  She did talk to me in the car on the way home, and of course now wished she could have her own horse.  We love our Katelyn.

Odds and Ends

I want to post, but don't really feel like typing.  So here's to a lot a pictures.  This is Kate and Connor and Chase going off the platforms at Lava on our last fun trip before school started.  Love Kate's attitude.

Kenna is so proud of these sunflowers.  She brought the starts home from Kindergarten last spring.  They are so tall.

This is for Ally.  I make this shirt after talking to your.  Kate has one with peace signs on it.  It was very fun, thanks for the idea.  Also, I cut off a pair of Kenna's jeans and made this skirt to go with.  She loves it.

Connor got his braces off the Monday before school started.  Watch out girls!  Really watch out Connor, because I think he's still to shy to go for the girls yet.  Thank goodness.

                                                                     First Day of School

                                                         First day of school snacks.