FALL, GLORIOUS FALL

It was Saturday, conference weekend. And it was a glorious Fall day

We decided (well, I decided) to go hiking at the Ney Nature Center.

And I dragged everyone else with me.

It was 38 degrees when we left home so we bundled up a bit.

We got brave and decided to bring Lucy. Not necessarily the best call.

There were too many other dogs there for comfort.

On more than one occasion we had to wrestle her to the ground

 so as to avoid an unpleasant altercation. Yikes!

Mia said the above picture looks like Sam's a crazy, Dad's a sicko,

 I'm sleepy and Lucy is saying,"Can we go now?"

She kept going into the weeds and rubbing her face on the ground trying to

get rid of her gentle leader. She finds it really annoying.

Gorgeous Birch clump!

It was so beautful there. The trees! The sky! The leaves!

Just all of the colors were so brilliant.

Sorry about Lucy's butt. She wasn't being really

 cooperative with the picture taking...

Look at this fantastic tree! It is part of the original "Big Woods" of Minnesota.

Love it so much! I might need to get a couple of these blown up and framed.

This looks like what I picture The Sacred Grove to look like.

I really enjoy how Sam is kind of hidden in this one.

Sammy had to try out the natural bridge.

Dad hiding behind the tree, Haha.

Look at the wave pattern in the sand. It looked really cool.

Plus, it's a tiny creek. Why are there wave marks?

I almost stepped on this creepy frog. Yuck!

I screamed like a little girl and jumped to avoid him.

And he jumped to avoid me.

Which is what startled me in the first place.

Pardon the weed in our face. We were using the timer

 and didn't see it at first.

This one is better.

We picked the weed.

I know... Nature shot after nature shot.

I hope you're not too bored.

I couldn't seem to help myself...

We picked up a pile of pretty leaves too.

We're hoping to wax them.

Even the algae is pretty. Go figure.

I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing, fun, uplifting weekend.

We are so fortunate to live in a time when we can hear a prophet and

 apostles speak directly to us.

I hope you are as motivated as me to be grateful, to be better,

to do better, to let the world matter less.

I think you are all the best in the world.

And I love you to the moon and back.

Love, Mom

River Park After The Stockade

Here we are in all our glory, er, stockade costumes.

 I actually really love this from-the-back picture.

And also, there are a plethora of pictures.

Be warned.

The water is crazy high this year! Remember wading in

soft sand last year? Even Grandma went in.

Our awesomely attractive children!

And me too.

And we needed Dad in the picture.

Classic Dad.

This one makes me happy.

Look at the nice smile on Dad!

One of the swings was tangled.

Faster than I could get a picture Kerry scrambled up to fix it.

And a good time was had by all.

It's the only way to get in the pictures sometimes!

The stockade was so good this year! (Although, when is it not?)

We were approached by so many people to book engagements!

One lady works for a museum that is hosting a Smithsonian Exhibit.

And they want US to sing!!!

General silliness as usual with our family.

I'm not sure what this smirk is for.

Just happy and feeling good, I guess.

Nothing in this world makes me feel happier than time as a family.

It feels like what I imagine heaven to be.

Sammy's new hat. We teased him that it was a big-boy hat.

Haha.

Dad and I just chillin'

Mandy practicing her scary face.

Ya know, there really IS beauty all around when there's love at home.

Love, Mom

p.s. Emma, Evan and Gabe- we missed you!

Summer Supper

Beg pardon for cutting off Dad's head. I just wanted you to see what

 was left of our awesome supper.

I have been reading about making pizza on the grill and tonight was the night

 to try it. We used tomatoes and peppers from the garden. So good! I wish that I had

 documented the whole process, but we were all too excited to get to the

 eating part.  So here's what we did: I made the regular pizza crusr recipe. Then, after it

 raised, I patted it out into thin discs on waxed paper.

While I did that Mandy chopped veggies. Then I preheated the grill and

brushed it with olive oil. I put two crusts on at a time.

 I just left them until they were yummy and brown on one side.

 I took them off the grill and put sauce and the other toppings on the cooked side.

 Back to the grill they went.

We also made a dessert pizza with Nutella and sliced bananas.

 Holy Hannah was that delicious!

Sam and Mandy took the opportunity for a little water balloon/cucumber ball.

This is Sam's sad face because he just ran out of water balloons.

Mia is away at AllState Choir Camp this week.



The impatiens are the only plant truly happy this summer.

It has been such a weird weather year.

It was really tragic today: I had to throw away two ice cream buckets full of

green beans. They were weird and rubbery and had no meat inside. I was

 really bummed. That's a lot of green beans to waste. And before you ask, no,

 they were not too big. They were all like that, big and small.

At least my Zinnias are blooming. I have been having cut flowers inside,

and lots of butterflies out. Wonderful. I love to bring Summer inside.

Love Bachelor Buttons. That blue!

I just want to absorb as much summer as possible before fall comes.

I'm still not completely over last winter. I feel certain I'm not the only one...

Look at my cabbages coming. They are sure trying valiantly.

Also, I have more in another spot. But this one looked the least slug-eaten.

Promise me that you will ignore those pesky weeds, okay?

And cucumber bounty.

We are having refrigerator pickles and all the cukes we can eat on

sandwiches and with dip. Again, I say yum!

Anyway, happy summer y'all. Get out and enjoy it. It just feels good!

Miss you, love you, wish you were here...

Mom

An Interesting Weekend

Hi everybody, this is Emma!  I am a very happy girl now that I am not in the hospital, and off bedrest.  I am going to clean and pack, celebrate Independence Day tomorrow, go on walks, prepare for Gabe to come, and it will all be wonderful.  So, here's a sum up of what happened:

We were originally going down to Salt Lake to meet with the doctor to get acquainted and make a plan for delivery.  They gave me an ultrasound when I first got there, and found that my amniotic fluid was very low.  I already knew this, and it was the main reason why the specialist at EIRMC had put me on bedrest.  They wanted to check things out and do some tests though, so they admitted me to the hospital.  It was so weird.  They had me put on the hospital gown, and hooked me up to a whole bunch of stuff.  Then some research nurses came in and said they were researching the causes of Gastroschisis (which is the name of the birth defect that the baby has).  I agreed to help, so they drew some blood, and unhooked me from all of the monitoring equipment so I could give them a urine sample.  They then hooked me back up and then just asked a bunch of questions.  I felt like I was in that room hooked up to the machines for three or four hours, but apparently, it was just one.   I got a shot of steroids so the baby could grow faster (because I'll be delivering early).  It was not pleasant.  Then they had to do a test to see if I was leaking amniotic fluid, which, luckily, I was not.  Then I got a wheelchair ride over to my actual room.  They came in to check vitals every once and I while, and usually at the same time, they would listen to the baby's heartbeat.  I had a hard time getting to sleep Friday night.  The bed was hard, and the pillows were like plastic rocks.  It was one of those automatic inflatable beds, so every time I moved, it would roar at me as in inflated or deflated.  It was so loud.  I didn't get to sleep until about 2, and they woke me up to check vitals around 4:30.  I did not go back to sleep.  They did another non-stress test that morning, and the nurse was really happy with the results.  They brought me lunch, and gave me my second dose of steroids.  Then the nurse told me that they were going to let me go home. Yay!  We waited a while for them to get the paperwork all set, and told me I did not have to be on bedrest anymore.   I signed a couple of things, and got dressed, and we headed back to Rexburg.

So, I was really only in the hospital for a little over 24 hours.  It was not ideal.  We had originally planned to go visit Becky and Travis and the twins after my appointment, so we missed out on dinner.  As unpleasant as the hospital stay was, I am incredibly happy with the results.  Now I can actually enjoy a little bit of summer!  I still have a zillion doctors appointments, because they want to keep a close watch on Gabe and I, but I can do other things too, so it's happy.  As of right now, We have 2 appointments each week with our regular doctor in Rexburg.  Then we have an appointment scheduled for the 11th in Idaho Falls, then there is another appointment in a couple of weeks in Utah, so there will be a lot of doctors visits.  The doctor in Salt Lake said he wanted me in Salt Lake to stay until the baby came when I was around 33 or 34 weeks along.  That also happens to be finals week, and the week before finals.  ugh.  (I am off-track, but Evan is taking classes right now.)  I will be 33 weeks along on the 13th this month, so it's coming up fast.  They may just want me to stay in Utah when I go for my appointment in 2 weeks.  I don't know.  I will probably know more definite plans after my appointment this Tuesday.  Anyway, that's kind of what's going on in our life.  Oh I forgot, to add on to all of that we're moving!  Oh geez.  This month is going to be crazy.  I didn't forget a picture.  This is what I look like now. :)

Evan thinks Gabe grew overnight.  (It must be the steroids.)  Anyway.  I am in a great mood, and incredibly happy to be off bedrest.  Hopefully, everything will go well with Gabe this month.  Love you all!

-Emma