I Love to See the Temple . . .

So the other day our Home Teachers were over and were in the middle of giving a lesson about preparing to go to the temple. Our Home Teachers are so good at trying to involve the girls in the lessons and ask questions on their level. So when Brother Knutson said, "What are some things we need to do so we can go to the temple someday?" Kiera said, "Read the scriptures! Pray! Go to church!" And Makenna said, "Obey Heavenly Father and Jesus!" And Kasidee thought for a minute and said, "Drive! Or someone else could drive me because I don't know how to drive." Hmmm...I'm not sure that was the answer he was looking for, but it's true! We all got a kick out of that one!

Good Apples

When we bought our house almost 4 years ago, we "inherited" 9 apple trees. Not knowing how to care for apple trees, the task seemed overwhelming. Spraying every 10 to 14 days, pruning, removing the clumps of apples so only 3 would grow together, etc. etc. Well, after the first year of being diligent in "apple care," we got lazy. This is the third year that we have just pruned the trees once in the spring and that's it. We haven't sprayed them, we haven't done anything special to them - we've just basically watered them with our automatic sprinkling system and ignored them. And we've never had better apples! We still cut them to check for worms, but even by not spraying them, we haven't seen a worm yet! So...by us being lazy, we have organic, basically maintenance free apples! For the last month or so we have been picking a few here and there - some to eat, some to share. But today the 5 of us went out and picked all of the remaining apples. We were amazed how many were left! We filled up 3 grocery sacks full of apples for our neighbor's horses - they were apples that had a small bruise or bad spot on them. Then about 3 more grocery sacks full had to be thrown away - they were rotten or had fallen on the ground (maybe we'll invest in a compost next year!). But as for the "good" apples, we were surprised to find we gathered 25 gallons of apples! We were curious so we weighed them - 92 lbs.! Wow! The girls had fun picking and sorting the apples, and I felt exhilirated knowing that we grew these apples! We may not have had a garden this year, but we grew lots of apples! Yum!

'Tis the Season . . .

. . . for spring/summer-like rainstorms, glorious fall leaves, and wintery snow in the mountains. This was the view out my front window this morning.

Utah vs. BYU

Kiera hears a lot of talk from the boys in her class about which is better: Utah or BYU. Consequently, she asks lots of questions - which one IS better? Which one should she go to? Which one could she go to and still live at home? We keep stressing the point that the debate at school is more about football than education. We also talk about how there are lots of colleges to choose from, and that she should focus on learning and getting good grades - right now and in the future. Anyway, the other day she said, "Well, I guess they're both good schools unless they're BS-ing each other." My heart dropped. With quizzical looks, Quentin and I both said, "WHAT did you say?" And she repeated it - "I guess they're both good schools unless they're BS-ing each other. You know, if BYU is VS-ing Utah." Oh! VS, not BS, as in vs. (versus). Whew!

Murder Mystery Party

We hosted a Murder Mystery Party at our house Friday night. Quentin and I have heard about these but have never been to one, and for the last couple of years we've talked about doing one "someday." We finally decided around Halloween would be a good time to do one. And it was so fun! The one we did was set in 1940 in Paris, and it took place on a train. I love mysteries, and it was especially fun having everyone dress up and pretend to be their character! It was a fun night of mystery-solving and laughs! We can't wait to do another one!

Corbin and Nikki as Khover T. Ageante (a well-travelled businessman) and Belinda Screete (a dressmaker in a high fashion studio)


Eric and Mischelle as Malcolm R. Conntint (a gangster who makes his living on the black market) and Barbara Z. Enhussie (the daughter of a perfume king who is rich and very social)


Brian and Kathleen as Cpt. Weyland W. Awfcorce (a pilot of great renown) and Princess Idelle Chattre (the sole survivor of the noble Chattre family)


Quentin and I as Duke Schwazhe B.U. Klare (a noble duke, and one of the most elibible bachelors in Europe) and Mary K. Trairie (a journalist for a great metropolitan newspaper)

School Lunch

About a week ago, the first graders had a "Brown Bag Dad Lunch." They invite dads, grandpas, brothers, whoever, to bring a lunch and join their kid at lunchtime. Quentin wanted to get the day off to go, but he wasn't able to and Makenna didn't seem to really care. But after she saw that about half of the kids had someone there for them, she felt bad (and so did Quentin and I). Quentin was able to get last Friday off, and we surprised Kiera and Makenna by joining each of them for lunch. I love that they're still young enough to be in front of their friends but drop everything to run over and hug us. And hang out with us during recess. And actually want their friends to meet us. Love it!

Gardner Village

I was trying to think how many years Nikki and I have had the tradition of taking our kids out to Gardner Village in the Fall. It's fun for them to wear their costumes, scout out the witches all over the village, hang out with cousins, and enjoy yummy cookies from Nikki. Anyway, last Wednesday was our day to meet, and it was fun to have Mischelle and her kids join us! In fact, Mischelle was asked to be in a commercial they were shooting there! She had come in a cute witch costume, and they snagged her to be a part of a witch trio for a commercial!

Cast

We took Makenna to the sports medicene specialist this morning before school to get her "real" cast (as opposed to the splint the Instacare people put on Sunday). She chose an orange waterproof cast - orange for Halloween, and waterproof so she can still splash in the tub. I think she was feeling better about having this cast. It doesn't immobilize her elbow in a 90 degree angle like her splint did; she doesn't have to wear the sling; and she can begin to try to use her fingers in her right hand for writing and stuff. When we took her to her class about 20 minutes late, her teacher made a big deal about how cool it looks and had her show the whole class - I think Makenna liked the attention. Since this broken bone thing happened, Makenna has been quite embarrassed and insecure about what other people will think of her and her limitations. But as we dropped her off, her sweet, shy smile let me know that everything will be okay.

Broken Arm

So...our poor, sweet Makenna has a broken arm. We met the Johnson family at Island View Park this afternoon for a picnic to celebrate Mom's birthday. We were there only 5 or 10 minutes when Makenna biffed it on her rollerblades and started screaming. Makenna is the most dramatic one of our three girls, but we could tell something was wrong. We scooped her up, checked things out, then decided to take her to Instacare. After some Motrin, some x-rays, and a splint, she was feeling lots better. The doc said if she had to break her arm, this was the best kind of break she could have. It's a "buckle break" and cracked only one of the two bones in her forearm. She has a splint and a sling and will go to a sports medicene specialist this week to get it casted. Poor thing! Tonight she wanted to draw and was trying to do it with her left hand and got all frustrated that she couldn't draw. She said earlier that she won't be able to do her homework - Kiera said, "Well, you didn't break your EYES!"

I felt pretty calm throughout the whole day. But after she fell asleep in the car on the way home and I went to carry her in the house, I looked at her sweet, sleeping face and broke down. I hate it when my girls are sad or hurt! But she's feeling so much better now, and we'll get through it. I just love my Makenna so much!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday to my sweet mom! I've said it before and I'll say it again.... My mom is the kindest, most self-less, most thoughtful person ever. Her "grand-girls" just adore her and light up whenever they see her. They have a bond like no one else I've ever seen. And growing up, my mom has been not only the best parent ever but also my best friend. I've always felt like I can talk to her about anything and everything, and she has always made me feel so special. I remember sitting on the couch after I got home from school, and she would just sit and listen to everything about my day. I'm sure it was so boring to listen to, but she made me feel like there was nowhere else she'd rather be. We're not only mother and daughter but best friends and confidantes as well. I can't seem to start my day until I at least "check in" with my mom, and she's the first one I turn to (Quentin too!) when I need someone to talk to.

Happy Birthday Mom - we're all so blessed to have you in our lives! We love you so much!

Pumpkin Day

The girls had Thursday and Friday off for "Fall Recess." Quentin also took Friday off, and we had a "Pumpkin Day." We went to Black Island Farms in Syracuse. We had never been there before, and it was fun to check it out. We did the free things - the pumpkin bouncy thing, hay bail slides, the big corn sandbox, and the kiddie corn maze. We were thinking of doing the "real" cornmaze that takes at least an hour to go through, but after awhile in the kiddie cornmaze, I think the girls were content with that. After Black Island Farms, we met Mom at Pack's Pumpkin Patch in Farmington for our annual tradition of picking out pumpkins. Everyone picked one - Quentin was specifically looking for a big one with lots of grooves (and lots of seeds); Kiera and Makenna each picked out a white one; Kasidee got a small square one; and I picked a small green one. It was a perfect Fall day!








PACK'S

Best Friends

Last weekend during the Priesthood Session of Conference, we met our friends at Castle Park in Fruit Heights. Kiera and Makenna's friend Chloe had requested a photo shoot including her, her sister Sophie, and my girls. Their mom, Candi, is such a good photographer, and I was thrilled to get some cute pics of all 5 of the girls together!

Quotes

I've posted before that I have made little signs of what Kiera and Makenna have said when they were around 3 or 4. They have all said so many cute things, but I have tried to capture a "quote" that they have said about the day. I've been waiting and waiting to be able to add something for Kasidee, and about a month ago she said something that worked! For some reason, Kasidee woke up and was bright-eyed and ready for the day when Quentin left for his Sunday morning meetings, around 6:30 a.m. She asked me if it was morning or night. I said, "Well, I'm not sure you've been up this early for a long time. Let's look out the window." As she looked around at the dawn-streaked sky, she said, "A little bit, it is morning." So sweet! And a quote worth adding to Kiera and Makenna's on my wall!

Tea Party

Although I miss Kiera and Makenna so much when they're at school, one benefit is that Kasidee and I get lots of alone time. As soon as we come in the door from walking them to school, Kasidee says, "Well, I guess it's just you and me!" We have a lot of fun together, and she's such a good helper. The other day, she set up a little tea party in her room and invited me and her Minnie doll. So cute! I got all teary-eyed just thinking of how sweet and precious this time is - and how it goes by so quickly!

Scary Driveway

The other night we came home when the sprinklers had just turned on and had dripped onto the driveway. Kiera exclaimed, "There's a skeleton in the driveway!" Check it out: