Until We Meet Again

The passing of my grandfather was both a sad and happy time. It is sad that we will no longer see him in this mortal life, but I am grateful to know that I will see him again when he is not so hampered by his Earthly body.
As we were driving to the cemetery, which is surrounded by potato and sugar beet fields, the irony of the situation hit me. My grandfather, who was a world-renowned scientist, was being buried in a humble Idaho field with little fanfare. But, I also realized that this was home for him. This was a return to his boyhood roots and a return to the rest of his family. Hopefully we can all have a similar return when our lives come to a close.
Here are a few pictures from the burial in Idaho.
Cole was the oldest "man" in my mom's direct family to attend the burial, so I guess that meant he got to accompany my Mom on the front row!
The sons and their father

The sons and their mother
It was also a happy time to see so many of my family that I don't see very often.
All of the family members who came to Omaha for the funeral
All of the family members that were in Idaho for the burial.
The siblings
While we were in both places, we had time to hang out and renew those eternal family bonds by, it gave us
A chance to play Pit together (A longstanding family tradition),

These games were particularly fun because there was a representative of every family playing!

A chance to talk and reminisce (and remember Grandma and Grandpa's house and things)


A chance to play with "classic" toys (This is a Fisher-Price hospital that I remember playing with as a kid)

A chance to introduce the newest member of the family (Although she is no longer the newest, but she enjoyed it while it lasted!) to the oldest member of my family.

A chance to give Great-Grandma Watt some much deserved hugs
A chance for siblings to reunite, remember, and rejoice in the blessings of the temple
A chance for the next generation of cousins, second cousins, first cousins once removed (or whatever they are) to hang out
and Finally, a chance to remember how grateful we are for the temple and the knowledge that Families are Forever and that we will see our beloved Grandfather again!
God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again!

Conference Beauty

Over Conference weekend, in order to not beat the children as we tried to watch, we took a drive up the canyon and listened to conference on the radio as we went. While I miss the continual beauty of the Midwest, I do have to say that the mountains are beautiful this time of year.
This picture does not properly do justice to the beautiful colors of leaves that we saw.
Emily was supposed to find leaves for her class, so we managed to take care of that assignment at the same time.
Who can resist posing on a rock or two? Not my kids!!Family picture time! (This could have been our family Christmas card, except Kaitlyn was asleep in the car and we try not to mess up the infrequent, short naps that she actually takes. Oh well, maybe we can Photoshop her in!!)

What do you get...

What do you get when you cross 2 good readers with a library's summer reading program?
The chance to celebrate a summer of reading at an end of the summer party at the library!!
What do you get when you try and document Kaitlyn's first day at church?
Crying,
More Crying,
and finally a partial smile!
What do you get when you cross a nurturing 5-year-old with a matching night gown for her doll?
A bedtime where you'd always better be able to locate Emily's nightgown and her doll!
What do you get when you try to take a walk with a fussy baby and 3 other kids, including one who doesn't sit still in the stroller?
A 3-year-old who falls out of the stroller while the mom is distracted and face plants on the sidewalk
And ends up with a very fat lip!
What do you get when you cross a recently pregnant mom with Addy?
This!! (Addy putting a ball under her shirt pretending to be pregnant, all while making her Addy picture face!)
What do you get when you finally get a fussy baby to sleep?
The realization that a minor miracle has occurred,
And the chance to admire a little piece of Heaven!
Oh the joys of motherhood!

Kindergarten Time!

As I'm sure you can imagine, Emily was so excited to start school! A few weeks before school, her Grandma asked her what kind of school clothes she wanted and Emily told her skirts and dresses (Whose child is this anyway?!?!). Grandma obligingly (probably knowing that her Mom is not an expert in these types of clothes) sent her several school outfits. Then, to make Emily even happier, her aunt Katie provided some sparkly shoes for her to wear. (Really, not tennis shoes?!?!?) Emily planned outfits for her whole first week, all of which involved a skirt or dress! (Really, she's my child?!?!?)
Despite the fact that the temperature was in the 90's, Emily really, really loved this black dress and really, really, really wanted to wear it the first day of school. So, hoping she wouldn't pass out from heat stroke, I let her wear it on her first day!
Poor Addy is left home again. Good thing she has Kaitlyn! (Although Kaitlyn is not so excited about that!)
Luckily, her cousins were here visiting and she had lots of people to see her off! (I'm pretty sure we were quite the sight as we ALL walked her to school!)
Having your best friend with you every step of the way is always helpful when you start something new!
They posed outside their classroom with expressions that are questionable! Is that a smile or fear?
By the time she made it to her spot at the table, she was all smiles! (It was quite a contrast from taking Cole to school. All of the moms were reluctant to leave at that time, and the kids didn't really want them to leave. This time around, the kids sat down without any reservations and looked at us wondering why we were still standing there!)
Another sample of her choice of school clothes her first week. (Really, sparkly shoes?!?!)
And a pink and purple backpack?!?!
While Emily clearly has her own style, she is very smart and is going to do great in Kindergarten! But, she will be missed around the house while she's gone!

Singing in the Rain!

This year in Utah, we have had an unusually wet year. One day, late in the summer, the rain came down so fast and hard that the drains couldn't handle it and water flooded the streets. The kids were so excited that they came running into the house wanting to know where the umbrellas were so they could go play in the rain and water. Well, because it rains so much in Utah (not!), I knew right where the umbrellas were (not!). But thankfully between us and the neighbors, we managed to track down a few of them.
They worked their way down the street, splashing as they went!Eventually they discovered that the drain had a great suction to it if they put the umbrellas down on it.
Unfortunately, the suction was so strong that it broke the umbrellas. I guess the joy of singing in the rain was worth sacrificing a few umbrellas for! Thankfully we don't need them very often here!

Cousin Cayson

We are excited to announce that we have a new cousin named Cayson.
Emily and Addy were so excited to have another baby to hold!
Cole was well Cole. He held him and then gave him up...whatever is good with him!
Emily stares adoringly.
Addy shows that once again she is an expert at shoving the pacifier in a fussy baby's mouth!
Kaitlyn took advantage of the fact that others were holding Cayson, so Double-Grandma could hold her!
Who knew 2 months could make such a huge difference. Even our little runt looks big in comparison!
Welcome to the world Cayson! Your cousins love you!