NO PICTURES BUT YOU HAVE IMAGINATION, DON'T YOU?

I am using our new laptop, which we were going to get anyway, but my dumb accident hastened. Eventually I will get so I can get pics from the network, but I will probably be able to get downstairs easier before that happens. Soon I will post pics of my new turtle shell (back brace) and my sweet hospital bed and walker (borrowed from a generous Crae and Laurie). And even though this blog (and life in general) is all about me, I will post pics of the kids and blog some about our fun outing to Mackay. There were moments during the last three weeks (lucid ones, mind you) where I thought alot about being on the receiving end of service, about faith, and about grace. Then I'd realize that they were too personal to share yet. Mere words cannot express the gratitude I feel for everyone who's helped me. I'm still ashamed about how much some of you have helped me and I feel that I don't dare talk to you until I pay you back or figure some way to properly thank you. Or at least be able to not cry when I think about it.
I guess my plan to be humble enough without the Lord's help to avoid having trials had it's flaws....:)

Black Island Farms Fun

This is Emily enjoying the big slide.
And Tate doing the same...
Hayden waiting for the hydraulic corn gun man.
I wasn't even trying to capture this, but as I was taking it, they announced the pig races, and he was pretty excited...
"Get back in the maze so I can get a picture!" "smile. stop touching each other. scoot in"
The hay ride was missing the hay.....but it was still fun. Tate is not an adventurous soul. He kept telling the driver to slow down and be more careful. It was funny and embarrassing at the same time.
Mike and Emily picking out pumpkins.
Tate waiting for the Great Pumpkin, or the guy with the utility knife to cut his pumpkin. Either one.


We went out to Syracuse to Black Island Farms. It was a great time. Next time I'll post videos of the corn guns, the pig races and what the kids liked best. The slides were pretty cool and the pigs were pretty cute. It was a good day.
Conference was great too, wasn't it? It's good to know what exactly to work on for the next bit, even if self-improvement isn't super fun. It's more fun to improve someone else, isn't it???? Just kidding. Mostly.

Did we really have a summer? Really?

These are not exactly stellar photos. However, you can probably guess that my children were not in the mood to stand still for a photo. "I'M GOING TO BE LATE!!!", they shout.
We try to take the first day seriously, we try to leave lots of extra time, we try to make it special, but I have not gotten the hang of it. I guess I have five more tries with Hayden. YIKES. That's not long at all. Sigh. Is it better to commemorate and think too much in the process, or to slide through life and not have sad thoughts? I haven't decided. I guess I have done some of both.
Anyway, the kids are growing. Maybe on Tuesday morning, I'll pretend it's the first day and take better pics..........

Ode to our late van.

This is the side that got smashed while we were spinning around. The door no longer closes.


This is the side the at-fault driver hit. (I'm so p.c.) That is the back bumper on top of the van, and there is no glass in the sliding door window. The pictures don't do it justice. They don't show the smell of gas (still!) nor all the wasps that moved in while it sat here. THAT was fun.


so now to the ode. Oh van, we loved your eight seats, your power sliding door, your cupholders, and your huge gas tank. We loved your great gas mileage (hey, everything beats the Explorer), your trip odometer, your mileage and compass and temperature display. We loved your clean carpet and brakes. Ah, we will miss you.

A select few photos from WA

So I decided to come back to the funeral pictures later. I think we took about 500 pictures on our trip to Washington to see my family. I'm not exaggerating. It took a while to upload from our camera. So these are just a few of the delights. In a few days I'll post the before and after pics of our late, departed van.

A sad reason for a fun reunion.

On Monday, we went to Orem and Provo for the funeral of Mike's grandma, Rosalind Bandley. It was a very nice, very moving service. My favorite part was that all of Mike's siblings were together for the first time in four years. I enjoy watching them enjoy each other's company and watching cousins chase around. Outside the church, of course. Chasing inside isn't reverent. :) I have more, but that will have to wait until next time. Lots of pics to share.

The Zoo and Hayden leaves the house!

This was an accident, but it looks like Hayden has long Mike Meyers hair! (It's really Emily)

the baby giraffe we all wanted to see

Tate wanted a lot of pictures taken of himself

this is the after picture. Tate's only annoyed because this is the fourth try for a picture.

The sprinklers were on at the park.
Hayden happened to be upstairs at the moment and was persuaded to leave the house and go get wet with Tate. It was a lovely spontaneous moment. When I say "happened to be upstairs", it's because he's been in the basement, on the computer, playing some game I don't care about for so many days now. A power outage might be just the thing......

We did the Zoo very quickly on Saturday (sorry no time for visits) because the weather was so cool and pleasant. Sadly the weather will not stay that way....