Katelin baked her very first cake today all by herself. It turned out really good as you can see by their faces.
Sunday, September 21
My First Cake
One, Two, Three...
Ella was practicing her counting to ten. It works especially well when you have daddy's big toes to work with.
A Bountiful Harvest...
This year our garden sported some of our favorites: Carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, cantelope, watermelon, pumpkins, crook-neck squash, two types of eggplant, two types of green beans, yellow pear tomatoes, big beef tomatoes and roma (salsa) tomatoes. Mmmmm Mmmmmm Good! We had to pick veggies every 2-3 days for a while.
Saturday, September 6
The Biggest News of the Year!
Katelin got her ears pierced. Look closely and you can see them.
She told me that she couldn't believe I actually said "Yes" to her getting them pierced. After all, she has been waiting forever and all her friends already have their ears pierced and she is the last nine year old on earth to get her ears pierced. Just as she got finished her friend Ellie Putnam showed up so she was the first one to see Katelin with her new earrings. What a GREAT DAY!
Happy Birthday Katelin
We started the day out by taking the family over the mountain to play in a creek we like to go to in North Fork. On our way back we talked about BBQing our hamburgers and going to the fish park. So we did and as we were loading up we saw the Farnsworths taking all four of their kids to the park for dinner. So we had an impromptu dinner together. 
John had a hard time lighting the candles becuase of a slight breeze, but he did it and we sang really fast and out they went.
All the kids on the playground equipment
Shelby's Surprise
Katelin's friend Shelby was going out of town for Labor Day weekend and they left really late so just before they left Shelby came over and decorated Katelin's bedroom while she was sleeping. So when Katelin woke up on her real birthday it was crazy fun!
Jacob and Katelin on their First Day of School
Jacob is now a big 2nd grader and Katelin is in 4th grade. All of their teachers are really good.
Party
This was her Hannah Montana Cake
Blew out the candles!
Jumped on the trampoline with the water on.
They Played with Balloons
Presents, Presents and more Presents
She got a cute stuffed animal Dog from Katie
DVD Nim's Island from Nicole
Beads and a Summer Backpack from Ellie
Art and Shower Supplies from Rachel
Shower Radio from Shelby
The Surprise - Katelin is 9 Years Old Now
The girls had come early and decorated her bedroom so when she came in they all jumped out and surprised Katelin and Nicole. 
Instead of tearing down the T.P. they crawled under. 
The girls had toilet papered Katelin's door entrance. 
Surprise Party for Katelin - One Week Early
This is Katelin and her friend Nicole. Nicole's mom took Katelin for a couple of hours before the Surprise Party. They went and Katelin and Nicole got their hair cut together and then got Happy Meals. So this is the picture just before they came in the house. I told Katelin that Ella was in her room and trashed it and was listening to all her Hannah Montana CD's. Katelin and Nicole took off running down the stairs to her room.
17th Wedding Anniversary
I can't believe we have been married for 17 years. I love being married to my best friend. We had such a relaxing day on our Anniversary this year. We had it all planned out and we got a wonderful neighbor to watch our kids for us. We decided to just go up to the mountains and go hiking for the day. It was so peaceful and beautiful and the perfect weather. We took some snacks and water bottles and just walked and talked and spent quality time together. On our way back we took a nice scenic drive through the hills. When we got back to town went to Deseret Book and baught a book for each other. One from Spencer W Kimball and the other by Gordon B Hinckley. It was just a great day getting away together and spending time in the great outdoors.
Our First...
Our First Date: We went out and saw the movie "Ghost" There are some very suggestive adult scenes and John was cracking jokes and we laughed through those scenes. The people all around us were shushing us.
Our First Kiss: We were watching the movie "The Little Mermaid" We were at Shar's grandparents house and Sharlene was with us. She went to the kitchen to pop popcorn just before the song came on. Guess which song?
"Kiss the Girl" ha ha ha I still laugh. Kind of lame, but it worked for him. At least it was a clean movie this time.
Our First Halloween: We went to a Young Adult Dance dressed up as Mickey and Minnie
Our First New Years Eve Party: We were definitely together. A thing. A couple. We went to the Annual Fashion Fair Mall New Years Eve Dance. It is a mall in Fresno that the church used to rent after hours every year for the members of the church that were age 14-99. For both of us that was one of the first times that many of our extended families had met John and I together. I felt like I had little spies (younger cousins) all over the place watching us. It was a ton of fun going with John that year.
Our First Valentines Day: By this time I had moved in with my Grandma Boggs and she was on a vacation for a month in Europe so Sharlene came to stay with me for a month. John came over early that morning and made me breakfast in bed with a flower and a heart shaped gift box filled with candy. That night we went to the Valentine's Dance together. Everyone kept looking at us all night. I found out later that all of our friends thought for sure he would propose that day or that night at the dance. They were so disappointed. John and I had fun though.
The Proposal: March 1, 1991 It turns out that that was the same day I got baptized when I was eight years old. He had no idea. John came over to my grandma's house and I had no voice. By this time we were reading scriptures together daily and so we did that and then we read the chapter in D & C about marriage and then he proposed and wipped out the ring box. I had no voice so I just nodded my head and cried. He actually wanted me to say the words so I said YES and I sounded like a frog croaking instead. He just laughed at me and gave me a big hug. But now 17 years later we were reading his journal and found out that he had the same cold just four days earlier and gave it to me. So it's all his fault I had no voice when he proposed. Then he played a song for me that he had found called "A Long Line of Love" It is an old song by a country artist that talks about coming from parents and grandparents that loved each other and stayed together. That's what he wanted for us. It was sweet.
Married: in the Oakland, California Temple
The Dance - September 22, 1990
So yes, we met at that Young Adult Dance on September 22, 1990. John was anxiously on time and Sharlene and I were the casual thirty minutes late. When I walked in the door, John was the first person that I saw and our eyes locked. I remember thinking how cute he was and why all of a sudden was he at this dance when I had never seen him before. Within five minutes John came over and asked me to dance. We danced almost every dance the rest of the night and sat down and talked when we got tired of dancing. It was wonderful! Although, my friends thought I had deserted them. He got my number before we left that night and as they say...The Rest Is History!
Once Upon A Time...
...there was a girl who had recently started college at Fresno City College and decided it would be better to move out of her parents home in Selma, CA to be closer to school and work. So on September 22, 1990 she moved in with her friend Sharlene at Shar's grandparents house to help housesit for a month. They worked all day long getting things put away and that evening got ready and went to a Young Adult Dance.
Once Upon A Time...
...there was a boy named John who had just returned home from his mission in Holland and Belgium on September 21, 1990. It was a great homecoming and quickly got released that very night. Upon which his older brother Dave told him that there was a Young Adult Dance the next night. John was excited and told Dave he would love to go.
Friday, September 5
The Art of Cutting Up
I have successfully been able to keep scissors away from Ella and today she finally found them. She knew what they were for and quickly taught herself how to use them. Upon seeing Mom she proudly exclaimed that she was "Tutting da papaw." We had the immediate discussion that scissors are for paper only and not for hair. She agreed and I gave her a couple quick pointers for easier handling and simply asked that she please pick up every piece of paper when she was done. She gladly agreed and off she went. This was serious work. I would periodically check on her and when she was done she picked up every minute little speck of paper shred. What a good girl and a great paper cutter.
A Weekend Visitor
My friend Sharlene came to visit us for the weekend on her way up and back from Preston Idaho to visit her grandma. It was so much fun to see her again and talk and laugh and reminisce. She is so much fun and we stayed up way to late every night. My kids loved having her here and Katelin let Shar sleep in her bed. We hope she can come visit us again soon. 
Easy Bake Oven - Sara, Katelin and Ella
Today Katelin decided she wanted get those creative juices flowing and we broke out the easy bake oven. We used a regular cake mix and googled the mix to water ratio to get it just right. She invited our new neighbor Sara over for the "girls only" baking hour and they had a ton of fun. Then each girl got to frost their own cake. It was a masterpiece. Watch out Rachel Ray. It was so delicious. They made enough for half of our neighbors. Hmmmm! I wonder why all the boys were hanging around today. 
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
