Birthday fun!

Starting with Eve's birthday on November 4th, we have 11 birthdays in our immediate family before the end of the year! It is crazy around our house. December is particularly birthday heavy! 5 of our children, a daughter in law, Scott, 2 grandson's and two of my sisters and my Mom all have birthdays! Since moving to Washington, the kids have been coming home for Christmas and so we have a big birthday party for all of the December Birthdays. It is crazy, but fun!

I posted a few pictures of various birthday celebrations! We sent Emily balloons on her birthday to commemorate her 30 year benchmark! I really find it hard to believe that she could have turned 30 since I am only 29. How do these things happen??
We traveled to Idaho for Thanksgiving and ran down to visit Emily, Patrick and the kids. We took a birthday present for Eve.She loves puppies and she got a puppy sleep over bag with a couple of shirts in the pouch. The puppy is adorable as it is really soft and actually wearing a tutu!Levi is our first December Birthday boy! He doesn't like cake so I baked him an apple pie.I had to throw this one in as it is so adorable! This is Grandpa and Miss Mila sitting at the table waiting for the Birthday dinner to be served.
Emily made a really yummy cake for the party. We wrote out the combined years of all of the birthday peeps with the candles. The total was 206. Hannah and Hilary celebrate their birthday in December but as they were unable to be with us this year, Emily ate a piece of cake in their honor.
Eli LOVED his jug of animals!
Isaac and Grandpa checking out his gifts.
The rest of the birthday peeps sporting their birthday attire. I made Sarah an apron and Scott and the boys all got sassy argyle sweaters.

December might be Birthday Central at our house which can get rather overwhelming with all of the other things the season brings, but we truly do celebrate each one! Every birthday boy or girl is an important part of our family and loved beyond comprehension! I am so thankful for my family!!

Fun picture of Hilary

The screen saver on my computer is random pictures. It is kind of fun to walk in the computer room and see unexpected pictures on the monitor. I am often surprised by pictures that I didn't even remember we had appearing on the screen. Today I got one of those surprises. I looked up and there was Hilary with her typical grin . My heart was touched and I quickly hit the back arrow when the picture changed just so that I could see her a few minutes longer.

I miss my baby girl. I know that she is right where she needs to be and wouldn't trade this time for anything, but I just miss her. So for now I will catch glimpses of her as pictures move across the screen and live for her weekly e-mails and occasional letter.

Pretty in Pink

One week ago I zoomed up to Spokane to be near when my newest Granddaughter was born. What a wonderful experience it was to be there and to see little Mila Michelle shortly after she entered this earth. There is something so wonderfully precious about these little ones who have so recently left the presence of our Heavenly Father. Their very vulnerability is a physical reminder of how precious this life is and how fragile we all are.

Just as Mila now depends on her parents to protect and nurture her and teach her all that she needs to know, we are constantly in need of succor from our loving Heavenly Parent. Even though we may be grown in earthly years, we are mere infants to him and to the vast Eternal Plan. How grateful I am for this earthy body and this opportunity to learn and to grow here on Earth.

Now, every little girl needs a pretty pink quilt from her Grandmother, but for some reason I just couldn't stick with pink. As I wandered around the fabric store, (Well, Heather and I wandered around. She was visiting me that week and helped me pick out the fabrics.) I couldn't resist mixing a little brown in there too. I think it turned out pretty well, what do you think?

The Prophet said to plant a garden, and that's what I'll do!

When we were house hunting down here, we had a short list of things that the new house HAD to have. It needed to be a ranch style house with a front porch for a swing, have a jacuzzi tub, and a place for a garden. Any of you who have been to our house know that it is a 2 story with a nice landscaped yard with no porch. It does have a big tub but no jacuzzi. 0 for 4. I am not quite sure how we ended up here.

(Scott had asked our Realtor where the Temple was and she replied that she had just shown a really nice ranch style home near the Temple and so we decided to go check it out. While we waited for the owner to leave, we noticed another house for sale and felt drawn to look inside. 5 or 6 steps past the front door and the house had me. I felt so at home. I didn't love everything about the house, but I knew it loved me. When we prayed for direction in choosing the new house, we felt that this was the correct choice, no front porch and all!)

For two years we have been trying to figure out how to have a garden without digging up the yard. Originally, we planned to get rid of the swing set and take out the rocks and put in dirt, but the grand kids came and enjoyed it so much we just couldn't get rid of it. So, our effort to follow the Prophet and plant a garden has included the use of containers, retaining walls and good ole creativity.

The first two pictures are of our tomato plants. You can also see the cucumber plants at the end of the line. We had peas earlier this year in the empty pots you see. Behind this tomato plant you can see the strawberry patch. We extended a short retaining wall and planted strawberries. They have been struggling because somebodies hairy black monster likes to lay there when it gets hot. The next 2 pictures are of our squash crop. We planted it in the front yard in the circle around a tree. It has grown like crazy, but there are only 3 squash.
Next is our awesome corn crop. Scott thought that we could plant some corn and peas in the spaces between the blocks of the retaining wall on the side. It has been interesting to see the little plants struggle to grow. The peas did pretty well but the plants were pretty spindly and only about a third of the corn survived that same hairy black beast! He has it out for corn for some reason. Out patch is really adorable. The stalks are only about 2 1/2 feet tall. Every stalk has at least one ear growing and you can see that they are very small. You can also see one of our pepper plants at the end of the corn row.

We have had fun with our little crop. Amazingly, the tomatoes have been fruitful and we are enjoying fresh picked cherry and grape tomatoes just about every day! We have also "harvested" peppers, cucumbers, peas, and squash.

So, we don't have a big garden, but have been blessed for our efforts. Now, how can we add a porch to the front?

What are parents thinking?

I took Luke to school this morning. Well, actually he drove to school with me in the passenger seat. I don't know if it was the fact that I was the passenger and so was more observant or what, but when we pulled into the parking lot I was amazed at the cars parked there. Front and center was a brand new Prius, a shiny Lexus a few cars down and late model pickups and cars everywhere!

What ever happened to the kids 'beater" car line of thinking?? Sure, when my older kids were going to high school there was the occasional really nice car, but most of the cars in the parking lot were tough, sturdy, seasoned vehicles who had graduated from the school of hard knocks and were totally qualified to transport fledgling drivers without worrying about nicks or dings. The student parking lot at Dimond High School was a daily resting place for old Subaru's and Suburbans, not an outdoor showroom for all of the shiny new models of each car company.

Having successfully nurtured and trained 6 new drivers (and just about to launch the 7th upon the roads!) I can't help but think that sometimes the old ways really are the best ways. There will be no shopping for a new car to celebrate the acquisition of Luke's drivers license if he passes the driving test tomorrow, nor will there be a car at his disposal. He will be reduced to borrowing the family car and learning to work together and share the resources we have available.

Of course, those resources do include a 68 Chevy truck Scott recently procured. Now, wouldn't it look great parked next to a shiny new Prius??

What a week!

Last weekend was the Allen Family reunion. Luke and I drove to Island Park on Thursday and Friday we were busy getting things ready and Luke made his "boat" for the Milk Bottle Regatta.
Saturday morning we had breakfast together and then headed out to the lake for the Regatta. It was cold and windy, but the die hards in the family donned their suits and jumped in! It was a lot of fun.

Luke designed a kind of body board that he propelled by his feet. You can see Katie on the Bell's entry to the right and to the left is Jared paddling his pop bottle creation. Paul made a boat out of pill bottles. You can see him paddling along in the 2nd picture below.
The pictures below are of Esther's birthday celebration. Since we missed her birthday in June, we told her that we would have a party when they came up here to visit us. They were originally supposed to come shortly after her birthday, but life happened and they didn't make it until this past week, but we still had to have a party!

Em, the kids and I went to Red Robin for lunch and then to the movies to see G-Force. When we walked into Red Robin, the kids were so excited! There were balloons everywhere of course and when we sat down, Esther asked if she could get a dessert with a cherry on top. Of course we told them that we were celebrating Esther's birthday and when we were about done eating, they brought her some balloons and a dessert with a cherry! I didn't think to grab my phone until they were about done singing, but it was so cute to see crazy Esther stand there all bashfully.

This picture is shortly after they brought the dessert. I think that she just gave Eve the cherry. The pictures below are of the cake that I made for her. We came home from the movies and the girls immediately donned their swim suits and headed to the back yard and the pool. When Grandpa got home from work, we brought out the cake and dug in.

Can you tell it is a sunflower? Emily made the bee from an extra cupcake. Isn't he cute???
I tried to get a picture of her blowing, but she was too fast for me. By the time the shutter would click, she was standing up.
Isaac decided to help her out a bit. He was anxious to try the yummy bee!Em and the kids only stayed this week. Isaac and Eve needed to get home to start school. It was great to have them here. I was really tired all week while my body tried to recover from the drive to the reunion and everything. (I am back to my daily naps. It's kind of pathetic, but I need them. ) The house is quiet with them gone and we miss them already.

Happy 4th and Bringing Home Treasures

Scott and I had a great 4th this year. We decided to head down to Idaho to visit Mom and Dad Ekstrom. We found them in excellent spirits, even though Mom is toodling around in a wheel chair and Dad is still building up his strength after his bout with pneumonia. We started the day with Dad's world famous, Awful Waffles! Thanks, Dad!! Then we headed into Inkom for the annual parade. We parked our chairs at Michelle's house and enjoyed good company and a great small town parade!

During the day, Scott loaded up some of his "treasures" that Mom and Dad have been keeping safe for him all of these years. I am not really sure what all he brought, but I know the collection includes, an engine, a couple of transmission, misc other car thingys and a motorcycle.

We headed into Pocatello for the fireworks in the evening and we met Aunt Pat and Uncle Jay in a parking lot where they had staked out a good viewing spot and enjoyed a good catching up session! We were later joined by Michelle, Kyle and Preston and his lady friend. It was a wee bit chilly, but the fireworks were awesome and we really enjoyed it.

Sunday morning we piled into the truck. Luckily, Scott had saved enough room for Fitz in the truck so he didn't have to ride in the cab with us. Unfortunately, it was at the back of the truck and Fitz complained rather loudly about not being able to stand with his nose on the window keeping an eye on us. Fun times!

Spending holidays with family is one of the things that we really missed while we lived in Alaska. It is so awesome to hit the road and be with family within a few hours. We are truly blessed!

Unfortunately, I neglected to take pictures during the parade. I was too busy dodging the crazy amount of candy that was thrown out of every vehicle. Michelle finally went inside to get us a bag to put it in! This picture is of Mom chatting with Preston and Michelle taking Scott on a tour of her yard. Most of the parade participants headed back to the staging area in front of Michelle's house so I was able to get a picture or two. Here is the motorcycle group. They were on all kinds of bikes and scooters.
This is the morning we left. Sorry not a very good picture. Too much light, I think. Mom is getting pretty good at getting around in that wheel chair!!
I knitted Dad a hat for Father's Day. I don't think he likes it too much; or maybe it is just too hot for a wool cap in July. Anyway, he did wear it on the top of his head which I just HAD to get a picture of!
"Bombs bursting in air......"
This is not the motorcycle Scott brought home with us. David rebuilt this one. Doesn't it look good? He is so adorable showing it off!
I had to take a picture of my man on the motorcycle!!Now, THIS is the motorcycle we brought back with us. Scott's from high school. Sometime since then it took on a strange transformation. I call it the motorcycle skeleton. All of the pieces were in boxes. Scott thought it would be a fun project for he and Luke to do together.
Here is the first step in the restoration process. Take the rest of the bike apart...
Check out the engine and rebuild. Scott determined that at some point someone ran it into a creek or a lake and got the engine full of water and then didn't drain it out. More parts. Gas tank and seat.
It will be fun to see a motorcycle emerge from the chaos of parts that are in the garage! The only thing missing is Luke to share in the fun!!