Family Home Evening

Ryan made a point of asking me to make sure I blog about our past two family home evenings. So here it is.
A couple of weeks ago Jack was in charge of the lesson. So we were sitting around waiting for him to start. He went into the kitchen and got some bread and a cup of water. Ryan and I looked at each other and thought "what". Well he surprised us by saying he was giving the lesson on the Last Supper. He then went on to explain that before Jesus died he had a supper with his disciples that came to represent the sacrament. Jack didn't get all of the details correct but he did a great job talking about the sacrament and Jesus. I was surprised that he even knew about the Last Supper and could give even a few details about it. I am grateful to good primary teachers that teach him.
The next week Jay was giving the lesson and his was the string cheese and water lesson. I think he was also trying to give the lesson on the Last Supper but Jay wanted to use string cheese. Jay said that the string cheese represented the heart of Jesus and that the water represented the blood. Pretty close and creative. Just when we were finishing our lesson Jason came over with Kaden and Tessa. Jay then invited Kaden to come to church with us because on Sunday we are having a missionary day and we are suppose to invite someone to church with us. So Jay invited Kaden. That lead to another lesson on missionary work and how Kaden does goes to the same church just not the same ward.
I am so happy that my children are actually listening and trying to do what is right. I know Ryan and I have our work cut out for us in teaching and raising our children but if we keep working and praying maybe we will get it right. I love my children.

Happy Birthday Ryan

The love of my life turned 36 over the weekend. He deserves a shout out. If I was good I would write down 36 things I love about him, but I don't have the time, so I will list a few.
-He loves his children. Jay made this tie for him on Father's Day and Ryan wore it to church. If wearing it wasn't bad enough he was then asked to pass the sacrament. The ward elected him father of the year for it. I agree he is a great dad.
-He loves football. I am always amazed to listen to Ryan and his brother Randy talk football. I think I know the game and then I listen to them and I have no idea what they are talking about. It is like a different language and Ryan is in his element. I actually do enjoy listening and learning from him. Maybe someday I will learn the foreign language of football but until then I will just listen to Ryan and Randy and pretend like I know what is going on.
-He loves the gospel and honors his priesthood. I love listening to Ryan bear his testimony to our family at family home evening. I know I learn from him and I am sure our children are learning too even though it is hard to tell sometimes.
-He gets scared. We went to a haunted corn maze in Snowflake over the weekend and Ryan was so scared. He held onto Rachelle's jacket and my hand the entire time, except when he took off running which caused him to trip. I am sure the maze was scary but I was too busy laughing at Ryan to be scared. I love that he gets scared because then I have an excuse other than being scared myself to not see scary movies. I can just blame it all on Ryan.
-He works hard. I am truly blessed to stay at home with my children. Ryan is willing to support us and he does a fine job of it.
-He has many friends. He still has his friends from high school, his friends he runs with, his friends at work, his friends at church, and so many more. I love that he can make friends so easily.
There are so many more great things about my husband I am so glad I got to marry him.

Happy Birthday Ryan!!!!!

Nephew and Niece

Introducing my newest nephew and niece born on October 18, 2010

Puller Paul Goodman 5lbs, 10oz

Laina Goodman 6lbs, 12oz

Congrats to Dale and Debbie on their beautiful babies.

Fall Break

We had a great fall break. We didn't do all that we had planned because the temperature went up and it was warm. But we had fun and the zoo will have to wait until maybe winter break.

Here is our week in a nutshell.

Friday: we headed up to Show Low to watch the football game. Go Cougars!!! They beat Snowflake 48 to 16 and are now undefeated. Show Low plays Blue Ridge on the 22nd so if anyone is looking for something to do head up to Pinetop and cheer on the Cougars. It should be a great game.

Saturday: We went into Snowflake to the pumpkin patch. Brookelyn's in-laws own it and it was so much fun. We picked pumpkins, road the hayride, launched pumpkins, bungee jumped, and had a great time. We hung out a Randy and Rebecca's after that and watched ASU finally win a football game. We drove home that night and I actually saw an elk. For a while I didn't think elk existed and that they were just a made up animal.

Sunday: Nothing much different on Sunday. Went to church, took a nap, went to the Ricedorffs, played games, took a walk and enjoyed family.

Monday: Just hung around at home, did yard work, planted winter grass and got things done that should get done on Saturdays but we are always in Show Low so they don't.

Tuesday: Just hung around all day and then went to the drive-ins at night. We saw "Alpha and Omega." Not the best movie but it is all about being together as a family. Kaden, Tessa and Jackie joined us and we laughed, snacked and had a great time. I took no pictures but trust me it was fun.

Wednesday: We headed to the train park with the Platts and Goodmans. My kids love hanging out with their cousins and I love hanging out with my sister, brother and sister-in-law. We rode the train, where the kids all piled into the cattle car and then were locked in. I would have been claustrophobic but they seemed to be okay. Then we rode the carousal, with the scary horse faces, ate ice cream and played at the park. We enjoyed hanging out until the temperature rose and then it was time to head home.

Thursday: We went to my parents. Julie made the trek into town so we trekked all the way over to my parents house, all two miles of it. Again the kids all played with their cousins and I got to hang out with Karrie, Julie, and my mom and dad. I love being with my family. We talk politics, education, and nothing at all it is great. Right before Julie was going to leave, Wyatt hit his head on the elliptical machine in the basement. He cut his head open and was bleeding everywhere. Thankfully Jeremy was there and promptly took care of the head wound, which wound up being only a cut about three centimeters long. Jeremy super glued the cut and Wyatt was on his way.

Friday: We took the kids to Krazy Sub, Jack's favorite place to eat. I think he would eat it everyday if we let him. That afternoon we rented "The Karate Kid" and pop popcorn and hung out. In the evening Ryan took the kids to the park and Karrie brought me sugar cookies. Karrie makes the best sugar cookies ever. I could eat the whole plate but if I do I know I would be sick but they are that good.

Saturday: The end of the week. Ryan's family had a family reunion. The Adams family. It was fun to go to Grandpa and Grandma Adams house and hear stories of Ryan's family. Ryan's Aunt Lois read an entry from her dad's journal. It really made me think how important family history is. Hence the long post. But is was fun to get together with everyone. That night Ryan and I got a babysitter and went on a date. It was nice to shop and eat dinner with only Ryan. Our conversations were not interrupted by children only by the games on TV.

We had a great week and I can't believe it is over. It is now back to school for the boys and back to getting out of bed before seven. Yes, for the entire week I didn't get out of bed until at least seven. It was wonderful.

Fall showers bring............... cooler weather

Finally it has happened. Fall has come to Mesa, Arizona. Yes, that season between summer and winter. That time of year when the temperature drops to a cool 90 degrees and if we are lucky into the 80's. The past few days it has rained and brought much cooler weather. I love it. I love that my children want to play outside. One day after school they never even made it inside. They dropped their backpacks in the garage and stayed outside. It was great. They road scooters, bikes, met the neighbors that they haven't seen outside since May, colored with chalk, and enjoyed the fact that it was not 100 degrees. In fact while it was raining I think the temperature dropped all the way to 77. Just wonderful. I am glad that fall is finally here and I am grateful for all the rain that fell. I heard somewhere that Mesa got an inch and a half of rain one day. That is crazy but great. I hope the triple digit weather is gone until April, May if we are lucky.
Here are my kids, Karrie's kids, and the neighbor kids outside playing.