Thursday, November 29, 2012

Birthdays, soccer games,parks and Halloween! FUN FUN!



So this post is going to have a lot of photos because my month of September and October was filled with many activities with grandchildren and trips to visit them. I always love to share the photos with you. I am always in awe of Anjanette and Liz's blogs and what great writers they are. They inspire me. I, unfortunately, do not have the talent they do at writing so I stick to  short comments and wonderful photos that tell the story. Enjoy!

 In September Benson turned 3 and he wanted me to bake his birthday cake. He liked the one I made for Taylor so he ask me to make a train cake.He was so excited and happy to get his cake... and eat it too! A few months ago I bought wedding cake pans and want to try to make more fancy cakes.
 Sarah and her beautiful family as we went to Benson's 3rd birthday party. We are so blessed to have them live only 1 hour from us.


 Jared is bonding with Hannah, who is 10 months old. She is crawling all over the house and growing up. It seems like yesterday that I was at her house helping with the kids and laundry when she was born. Where has the time gone?
 One of Benson's favorite gifts was the light up light saber and the cape and mask he received. Mckay received a light up saber last Christmas and Benson was thrilled to be able to have his own! He was so cute!

Hannah is becoming such a little lady. She is learning how to drink from water bottles and loves her daddy!
                           

Another Saturday in October we were able to go to Madera and watch Mckay play soccer, which is so fun when we live close enough to see their games. Ashley was able to come with us. . Sarah's kids love Ashley!
                                                    Maren cracks me up!

 I thought this was such a funny photo moment. Sarah was looking for Spencer. I believe there were 14 soccer games going on at the same time. Thank goodness for technology!
                       Mckay is so cute. His team won this day and he was so excited.
        Taylor and Maren wanted to be in a photo with me so Ashley took this shot!  

 Another fun thing that we do is have Sarah's kids come to spend the night. She says they would rather come here than go to Disneyland!( Maybe not the older ones now) Can you believe that? We always have so much fun. Benson loves the parks we have in Turlock and loves to swing.He was so happy to be here this weekend and we enjoyed him. He is welcome anytime!
 Mckay is quite the little monkey at the park and can climb all the aparatus. He is growing so fast. He will be baptized in 2013. He is a fantastic reader and loves books!
 Here is Benson on the swings and loving it!  I love to push this boy on the swings!
                                       I love this girl and her big smiles.
 Taylor is the best big sister any one could have. She loves to play and be with he brothers and sisters. It is hard for me to believe that she will be 10 in 2013. The years are flying by so fast and I need to enjoy all the fun things we are able to do together. She is a great example to her siblings and such a helper to me when they visit.
 Benson is my little shadow when he comes to our home. He is speaking so well and growing up so fast. He is my buddy!
 Maren is also a climber and is so athletic. Sometimes I am worried at the park that she is going to get hurt but she is tough. If she gets hurts she will say... it doesn't hurt. I am not going to cry! Way to go Maren! She will be fun to see what activities she will participate in as she gets older!

 It was such a beautiful day the weekend they were here we decided to invite Ashley to a picnic lunch in our front yard. We had washed the cars together and the kids helped me weed so this was a fun reward.... and they loved the popsicles after lunch! Sarah always says they love to come because I feed them food they like!  Isn't that part of a grandmother's job?
 In October Gracie, Clarke's daughter, turned 3. She and Benson are  only one month apart in age and really love each other. So...... Jared and I drove to Rohnert Park to spend the day with her for her birthday. She went to Chuck E. Cheese and had the time of her life. We  played games and had pizza. Everyone had a great time.

Elise is smiling and growing! She was talking up a storm and smiling at grandpa!



I think riding this horse was one of her favorite rides. If I could have, I would have got on it with her! I am still a kid at heart!!!

 While we were there they had a ward Halloween party and Andrew dressed up as a Zombie. I got to do his makeup which he thought was pretty gruesome and cool. What is it with boys when they get older that they like the more scary costumes!
 Lucy was a witch . I found this costume for 8 dollars at a sale and she loved it. Her green make-up was the finishing touch! She was quite the model and even acted like the wicked, mean, witch .....but I cannot post all the photos. I prefer the nice witch!!! She is a very crafty and talented girl. She is is kindergarten this year.
 For Gracie's birthday I gave her a Little Red Riding Hood costume. She is so beautiful. Her eyes are amazing. When I  told her the story of Little Red Riding Hood we went outside for pictures and she so played the part. She hid behind trees and acted like the wolf was coming. She loved her gift and played the character well.
                                                              SISTERS!
 I am getting better at taking photos and this was one of my best! Lucy is so funny when I take her picture. She is quite the character!
                            Look at those beautiful blue eyes. Gracie is a sweetheart!



Sunday, November 4, 2012

A Blessing and a Baptism!

 September 16th we got together as a family at Clarke and Char's house for the blessing of Elise and the baptism of Andrew. We thought it would be a great time to get a family photo in since we have not been together for a while with Allyson at BYUI.
                Four of our 5 children were present this day. Clarke, Sarah, Ashley and Allyson.
                                         Spencer Hyer did a great job taking our pictures.
            Ally and Benson bonded on this trip and he was her buddy for the weekend.
             Andrew was so excited to be baptized and he was all smiles... me too!
 Making use of a small space was fun to have a picnic lunch on the back porch area. The kids loved it. We have Mckay, Taylor Ann, Maren and Benson here.... 4 of Sarah's five children. So glad they could be with us.
     Char and Elise right before we left for church. Elise is 5 weeks old in this photo.
                                                   Ashley and Elise...precious!
                                  This is a picture of Hannah and Allyson.

                                              Ashley , Lucy, Maren and Elise.
                        Benson loves books and Aunt Ally was kind enough to read with him.

  
Jared and I are proud grandparents. Here we are with 9 of our 11 grandchildren.

     
 
 Right after sacrament meeting we went to Petaluma and had a dinner before the baptism. It was a lot of fun. Sarah and Hannah ... notice the thumb. Hannah loves her thumb.



And the end of a beautiful weekend was the main event of Andrew being baptized. It was the best weekend for all of us. We are so glad to be a part of this gospel and to have each other. This is a beautiful photo of Elise and Andrew on their special day! We are so proud of them.