Goblin Valley part II

Yup, that's dirt. Not much else for Ruthie to do but eat dirt when we weren't looking.

Dancing with Grandpa

A precocious climber

A child's faith

But I'm a Little Bit Big

 I appreciate the fleeting nature of childhood. It only took me one child to realize they are small for just a very short time. I'm not going to be one of those moms who asks themselves where the time went. I'm trying to savor it right now like a fine dessert. 

For instance, I haven't actually trained Ruthie to go to sleep by herself yet because usually it only takes five minutes of me holding her close with a pacifier to send her off to dream land and who wouldn't love to do that? I know I do; I cherish it. I don't want her to learn to put herself to sleep yet. I'm enjoying it too much. 

I am also sad Mac is getting older. Next month he is going to turn three and I asked him, "Could you please just stay small for a little longer?" and he responded, "But I'm a little big." "I know Mac, you are  a little big, but I want you to be small." And he repeated, "But I'm a little big." ::Sigh:: I know you are. "Go have fun with your brothers."

 That is why it is important to get all the hugs and kisses and snuggles I can get while I can get them. I often put a price on doing kid business. Many favors I do for them cost one kiss or one hug, like putting on shoes or zipping up a jacket. You might be a little big, but you are also a little small.

Look Who Stopped by

There must just be something about those Connecticut Hutchins that my boys can sense. 'It' is interpreted as an open invitation to climb and jump on their east coast relatives whenever possible. Naomi, Hannah, Rich, and Greg inclusive. The only one they have met and haven't tried tackling is Kelly, they just lapped her up. 

Can you see my favorite Biblicle duet in the background?

Can you tell he's good with babies? He should be after 10 of his own!  Ruthie was eating him and Greg up. 

Something Fishy

I've been meaning to take the boys to the Living Planet Aquarium for a while now and having my dad here was the perfect excuse to do it. Gabe had an early-out day so we picked him up from school and headed straight to the exotic fish zone. They all said they liked the petting tank the best but I loved the penguins and all the odd smaller creatures that the aquarium had acquired. Like the lung fish that could 'walk' on land and the bony transparent fish. Not to mention the 13 foot anaconda snake. The aquarium also boasted an otter exhibit with three brothers- Otis, Oliver, and some other otter with an 'O' name. The three water/land mammals would fight and play and then loaf around napping in a bundle. I couldn't help but feel that I had brought their human counterparts along with me in my minivan and they were staring through the glass at each other. Zach wasn't able to come with us because of work but my dad got him a blinking "Zachary" key chain as a consolation prize. 

There's just Something about 'em

I love Fall! It always seems like Fall rescues me from the heat of summer. If summer were the villain  autumn would be the superhero. I love apples. I wasn't going to blog about anything but my family to save time and energy but I couldn't help it. I've canned these beauties three times already this week and I think I have one more canning session still in me. (Slices and 100% natural skin-on applesauce) Who can resist? Especially when the apples are free from two different neighbors. Just makes me want to say Thank you. Thank you to my neighbors, thank you to Heavenly Father and thank you to life. Is it silly to like something this much? I don't know and I don't care. We shall be enjoying for the rest of the year. 

Goblin Valley part 1

My Dad came to visit last week and took us on an overnight trip down to Goblin Valley. It was all fun and games till Gabe and I got food poisoning. More on that in a later post perhaps, perhaps not. Who wants to hear about that? Aside from the frequent stops on the return home, it was a fun vacation. I always take too many pictures to edit and post at once, so I'll put up some more of my favorites tomorrow. 

New Suits

 A few weeks ago I encouraged Zach to purchase some new suits at a buy one get two free sale. It was with the intent to look extra nice for his interviews in January. He will probably get some good mileage out of them during his service in the church as well. The suits are an early Christmas present since they were not exactly cheap. He got a black, a navy blue pin stripe, and a brown one. This black one is my favorite and also my vote for the interview suit. Doesn't he look dashing? Now all he has to worry about is the actual interviews! Well you know what they say, "Look good,feel good".