It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Autumn...

I love old barns!!



Off the bridge!!



Worth it, huh?



Yep. Off the bridge was awesome!!



Rivers...


Beautiful trees just off the road...Okay we went for a little backroad adventure!!



Even the road signs match the terrain!!



Ahhh... Nature!!

Just look at these great pictures we got on our drive Saturday as we TRIED to listen to conference. Cameron and I thought we would try to get the kids to nap some of the drive so we could hear conference and enjoy the scenery, and then we could all get a square ice cream cone at the Swan Valley Commesary. Well, the road to good intentions...something about Hell...yeah, we were there. The kids didn't cooperate as well as we had hoped. I ended up feeding Drew as I turned around to the back seat and fed him upside down as he faced the back of the truck. Avery slept a little, screamed a little, threw a fit a little and then settled for gummy frogs at the commisary. Kendal, bless him, did his best not to be bored, but he was itching to get out in the mud...oh, yeah, did I mention it rained the whole day? Mud was all over the place. But he settled for some gummy tarantulas at the commisary and pretty much played his Leapster the whole ride.

Okay, maybe I exaggerate a little. It was fun watching for cows and horses. The potato farms had just dug the potatoes and little red potatoes that had been missed dotted the muddy fields. The colors of the trees were awesome!! I even made Cameron turn around so I could take this shot off the bridge. People thought I was crazy running acrossed the bridge with a camera on a rainy day. I got a good honk of disapproval, too. Either that or the guy thought I looked really attractive in my black velor track suit that is completely out of style but happens to be the most comfy thing I own. Maybe he was just trying to get my number, who knows? OR maybe it was our Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Doug!! (Thanks for the visit, and for sharing your beautiful view of Palisades Reservoir with us.)

But the scenery was beautiful and Cameron and the kids were great company. I would like to think we could start a family tradition. I would love to make that drive every fall. It was just beautiful!! I hope I absorbed enough General Conference to get me at least until the November Ensign comes out. What I heard of it was very uplifting. Nature and scripture seem to really go well together.

All-in-all, a "picture perfect" day.

Drew Is Clapping!!

Whenever a child learns a new trick and you are fortunate enough to get it on video, it calls for a blog entry. Last post I said that Drew's age is full of new things to learn almost daily. He started the clapping thing last week, and he was just cooperative enough to give us three seconds of him clapping. I still haven't gotten any footage of his mode of transportation (rolling and scooting) but it still surprises me how far he can get in just a short amount of time. Stay tuned. You never know what will happen around here.

Kendal Counts To 80 In 26 Seconds?

I guess I am just a little video happy tonight. Here is one of Kendal. He wanted to watch himself count. He is just plain silly. It must be a boy thing to just go wild sometimes. Anyway, he made me laugh. Maybe he'll make you laugh, too.

Drew Wants a Cracker...

Hope this is fun for you, too. Sometimes as a mom I think stuff like this is extraordinary and everyone else thinks it's nothing special. I am always a little nervous the first time I hand my kids a cracker. I am afraid the will choke or make a mess (USUALLY in that order...I have to admit honestly, sometimes the mess comes to mind first...I know, I am a little mess obsessed). Anyway, I think it is so cute when they figure out how cool they are for doing things for themselves. I like this stage. You can see the self esteem rise for them. They truly begin to see their abilities!! Drew gets so excited for himself when he does something new, and at this stage it is almost daily!! He is so cute!! Did you see him changing hands and holding up his foot?? Anyway, his realization of himself is worth all the crumbs. Enjoy the footage...I have already vacuumed off the child...and cleaned up the mess!!