If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them

Okay, so you spend so much time helping your kids with their costumes that there's no time left to think of your own. Late one night as I was finishing up Hyrum's space shuttle it hit me.....
It seems that on the days I wear my glasses and my hair pulled back people say, "Hey, it's Sarah Palin....I didn't know you were a tee-ball mom....or shopped at this store....or blah blah blah".
Perfect. The easiest costume ever.

Summer Memories (It was a Great Summer!)

Who doesn't love summer? I think we all hate to see it end. I am not ready to bunker down for the winter, especially now that my garden is finally producing. As I was looking through some photos of our summer I could still feel the warmth of the sun. If you're missing summer already perhaps they will warm you too!

Youth Conference

4th of July Parade

The Girls Dance and Danced
I love being at a parade with Ben because he is the LOUDEST one there. His most famous yelling is "Thanks for Coming" to all the floats from different cities. We all end up giggling and dodging all the candy they try to throw at him.
Back yard campouts with cousins and grandparents AND a Great Grandma (she honestly says that's the best sleep she gets all year.)

Swimming at the Cousin's Pool is Cool!

Brave Dives

Trips to the cabin. (There are never enough of these!)

Zoo Mania

A trip to the Zoo

We love Grandma Charlene!

Hyrum and Jacob...best buddies

Happy Birthday Hyrum!

My Super-Hero

Ben is my super-hero. Did you know that he "saves" me all the time?! My favorite time of day is when he comes home from work. All the kids are so excited to see him. They run to him and Hyrum jumps on him. He drops his bag and wrestles with him, releasing the pent-up energy that Hyrum (and maybe Ben) stores all day. He teases the girls, which makes them feel happy and know that all is right in the world. He folds laundry, vacuums the floor, does dishes, and checks our emails regularly (a task I often get behind in).

Just last week he said, "Tiffany, it seems like YOU need a day off." I really DID need a day off. I was beginning to go crazy in the brain. He used one of his vacation days so he could stay home and be "the Mom" while I could spend the day being Tiffany.

My day-off was great! I really appreciate that Ben recognizes that I need breaks too. He made me feel pretty special by using one of his vacation days just for me. Ben is a hard and efficient worker. He is cheerful and does his duty without complaining. He makes all of our lives better. My friend, my hero! I love you Ben!

Because WE met in our high school musical!

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Hyrum and the Big Brown Boy

Hyrum loves to play at the park. As is typical of his personality, he loves to make friends. One day we were at the park and I watched him as he was following a large darker-skinned boy. When this boy realized that he was being followed he turned around to see Hyrum. Hyrum, delighted to have his attention said, "Hello big brown boy! Do you want to play with me?" The big brown boy smiled an enormous grin and away they went to play...

At first I was concerned that maybe I wasn't teaching my children appropriate things to say to those of different ethnicity, but then I realized that Hyrum hadn't said anything offensive so I just enjoyed his spunk.

We love the big brown boys in our family...Raul and Ammon...you both rock!

A Lesson on Patriotism

What does it mean to be an American?

Today, in class, Emma was exposed to the news footage of 9/11. We had talked about this before but she had never actually seen the destruction. I decided that it was important for her, and the others, to visualize just how many lives were lost because of hate.

As we walked through the memory field we could hear bagpipes playing in the distance. My children were reverent as they sensed the magnitude of just how many lost their lives that awful day. The flags, representing each person that died, seemed to go on forever. As we reached the last row of flags we found ourselves a few yards away from a line of soldiers with rifles ready to discharge. My children flinched as the rifles were fired into the air. Immediately following the echo of the rifles, a lone bugle played "Taps". We stood in reverence.

Emma and Eve felt something new today. I believe they will never forget how important it is to love all people, have courage to do what's right, and take pride in your country. I love America. I'll never forget how I felt that fateful day. I know also, that our nation will only be free if we, as a nation, remember our God and keep his commandments.

Our Dear Grandmother

What we loved about Grandma Sanders:

Her silly Swedish song she sang to the babies as she bounced them on her knee.

Her cooking: Rolls (she's the queen of rolls), Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, Halloween popcorn balls, raspberry jam, pies, cabbage/ramen noodle salad, butterfinger ice cream.....everything she made was good!

Her work ethic. Grandma loved to work. Her house was spotless, even right to the end she tried to fold her sheets and mop her floor.

Her garden was beautiful. Her raspberries were delicious and plentiful. She maintained a large garden her entire life. Many gardens now have "offspring" of her raspberry bushes planted in them.

She loved tomato soup accompanied with carrots and celery. I was always impressed how such a simple meal could bring her so much pleasure.

She loved order.

Ben has mentioned many times how he loved to sleep over at Grandma's house. He would sometimes use it as a way to get out of doing his "Green Sheet" paper route. He would arrange the sleep over and thought he was so smart for getting out of work. He forgot that Grandma would get him up at around 6:00a.m., if not sooner, to go work in the garden. They would pick raspberries, peaches, corn, etc. They would come in for breakfast and go right back out and work some more. Ben loved that Grandma and Grandpa would kiss after every prayer. It was little weird to see but he now looks back at those small experiences with appreciation. He kisses me after every prayer because of this.

We loved her "Good Kids Can". It was always filled with fun sweets.

We loved to hear about her children's stories that she wrote and hoped to have published one day.

She lovingly made hand stitched quilts for every Grandchild and Great Grandchild. Everyone loves their "Grandma Blankets". Her quilts were so beautiful and her stitches so small that we persuaded her to let us enter one in the State Fair. She reluctantly (but not really) agreed. Grandma won the blue ribbon for her beautiful quilt. She didn't know she had won until we arrived at the fair and took her to the display. I will never forget how her eyes lit up and she said, "That's my quilt!" I remember how proud she was. She was almost dancing. We took pictures of many grandkids and great grandkids with the quilts she had made. What a treasure!

The sweetest memory I have of Grandma was a few hours before her passing. She seemed so helpless. My hearts desire was to comfort her in some way. I tried to soothe her soul by playing songs on my violin that reminded me of her..."I Feel My Savior's Love", "Give Said the Little Stream", "Come, Come Ye Saints"... I played until my arms ached. My sweet daughter, Emma, sat by me as I played. Tears ran down her cheeks as she watched her Great Grandma lie there as music filled the room. She helped choose the songs I would play. I think Grandma knew those songs were for her. I think she knows we love her.

Grandmother, we will miss you. Thank you for all you have taught us. You've had a life that was hard at times. You taught us how to weather it with grace. You taught us how to love the "outdoors work". Until we meet again...we all want a ride on Old Joe.