Mmmmmm...

I just wanted to put in a plug here for one of Sara Lee's products... It may not be available everywhere, but if you can find it, this is the best toasting bread you will ever taste... I know, I know, it is not whole wheat and I usually don't eat the white stuff, but this is worth the treat!

It is actually under the label of "Master" but Sara Lee makes it... "Mater English Muffin Toasting Bread". It doesn't really need jam, in fact it is better without it unless you get a really good one... I like the blueberry one in the photo or a good strawberry freezer jam... yum!

And Life Goes On

Not much new this week, much of the same old stuff. I'll just give a little update on everyone...


Chris came home on Wednesday night this week, the house was put together enough to finally cook a real meal, so Thursday we had our first real dinner in months! We talked about the kids' days at school and it just felt so luxurious to be a family again. I feel so blessed to have Chris around again.

Ella and I have a little game we play, she always says she wants to go to "my Ally's house", but I have no clue who Ally is (imaginary friend maybe?), so I pretend to be Ally, and hide in the pantry and close the door... she comes and knocks on the door, I say "who is it?" and she replies "it's me" and comes inside "Ally's house" We then eat snacks and go play "outside". I just wish I knew who the "real" Ally was.

Taron's birthday is on Wednesday, I am bummed though because Chris will be in Chicago that day and doesn't get back till after the kids go to bed, so he will miss it. Taron has been asking for months now when his birthday will be, he is pretty excited and they sang to him in primary today so he knows it is getting close.


Caden went on a field trip this week to se a Dr. Suess musical, he said it was funny. They do a lot of fun field trips at their school, Sierra is going bowling on Halloween, and I think they are going skiing in a month or so too. I don't know how it all relates to education, but the kids love it.


Sierra had a friend over to spend the night, they came downstairs at 5 in the morning to use the bathroom and they were still awake and chatting -- they had stayed up all night. Chris went up and turned off the lights and apparently they finally fell asleep. When her mom came at 12 noon to take her home, I went in and said, "you've gotta get up, your mom is here" and she replied with a sleepy groan, "why did she come so early?" I just had to laugh.


Solei has been doing swimming for PE all week, so she has gotten to practice her strokes. Her school has a pool and every fourth week they do swimming, which is great for her.


Our driveway is half done, they prepped it on Thursday and were going to come back on Friday to pour the asphalt, but it rained, and now it is supposed to snow...

I absolutely love the built in stereo speakers in our ceilings, a year ago we didn't have anything to play music on and now it is everywhere, even in our bathroom, so you can sing along in the shower. It was really funny that the builders put something like that in, but didn't put in a disposal, or gutters, or closet rods, or driveway, or garage door opener... things that come standard with most new homes nowadays... but I do love the music. Michael Buble has been the latest fad at our house, he has such an incredible voice, right up there with Josh Groban in my book.

Whenever Ella sees a heart, she calls it a "valentines day", it's kinda funny that she uses such a big word when such a simple one will suffice.


The kids have just discovered my big box of old photos, with pictures of the girls when they were little, Kina was small enough for Solei to carry, and Caden was a newborn. I really should probably do some scrapbooking someday, we haven't seen these photos in years. There are even ones of me when I was little. Here are a few I just scanned...

Fall Days

Things are starting to settle down now...the kids are in school, most of the essentials are unpacked, etc. There are a few big things that still need doing, like the driveway and gutters, but at least we can see the end of the tunnel now.


Chris was gone all last week to the Dakotas, he said it was a barren wasteland... I am so glad they didn't locate the office there (no offense to you if you are from there)!


The little kids and I have begun a nightly tradition of turning up the tunes and dancing around, it is so fun to watch their little moves, so carefree and uninhibited. Ella gallops around and waves her arms and then stops to do a little boogie dance... so cute! We don't have furniture in the main room and it is all hardwood with a built-in sound system, so it is like a little dance studio right next to the kitchen. I even got Chris to dance with me last night, even though the kids threw quite a protest... "eeeeeew!"





The leaves are still falling, but now there are more on the ground than the trees, winter is almost here...



Caden appears to have a new best friend already, he came over to play the other day and seems like a nice kid.


We went to the ward Halloween party last night, my camera was out of juice so I didn't get photos - I will have to get some on Halloween. Solei's costume was a big hit, she was a toilet... with a real seat and all. We were looking for costumes at Target and just happened to go down the bathroom aisle...


Well, I better go get kids in bed, it will probably be a little tough tonight, with their bellies all full of trunk-or-treat candy. :)

The camera is back in business!!

I had a bit of inspiration today which led me to rummage through the diaper bag, and lo and behold, there was my camera! So I took a few pictures of the yard to show what I mean when I say there are a lot of leaves... We have never really had to rake much at any of our previous homes, but it looks like this one will more than make up for all those leaf-free years!

Note that half of the leaves are still on the trees! I am starting to feel glad that we don't have our lawn in yet!

It was too wet to play, but the front porch was dry...

Sorry, I don't know how to rotate these unless I do it in a separate program but I'm too lazy right now!

These pictures don't really do the colors justice either... they never do though, do they? It is kind of a dreary day today for pictures, too...

Last night as I was taking out the trash, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye... when I looked up, there was Bambi just a few yards in front of me, tip-toeing ever so daintily through the little creek bed that runs by the house. The deer appeared not to mind that I was there so I relished the moment until it disappeared into the trees. The neighbors mentioned we get all kinds of wildlife here, I guess they weren't kidding! We saw a bear crossing the road on our last trip back to Iowa, I just hope those don't come around here!

Moving in

We are finally in our new home...sort of. Half of our worldly goods are still in boxes but we are here. The kids are in school now so I can begin to dig out of the mess...

Leaving our home on Lakehurst was a sad day, lots of goodbyes and tears. It is always hard to know you cannot return to the memories you have made. I passed out cookies and Books of Mormon to my neighbors that week and bade them farewell, wishing I had done more to get to know some of them. I knew the girls and their friends were taking the move hard, but when I found a heartfelt goodbye note from one of Caden's friends I bawled my eyes out. I didn't realize how close they had become...

When we moved to Iowa, the kids had to work hard to catch up in school because the schools there are more advanced, but now it is the opposite... They are working on things in math that our kids did two years ago. Solei has been in band now for two years, but in Duluth they are just beginning... "Mom, all they do is play 'duh duh duh' over and over again!" Maybe it is time for private lessons. The schools they are in are rated as some of the highest in the state, but funding is low and they are even talking about shortening the school day by an hour (the kids are all for that, probably some teachers too!).

The Smith family camera has gone missing since the move so that explains why I don't have any more photos, but I'm going crazy because Duluth is so beautiful right now... color everywhere... not just on the trees, but the ground is covered in leaves too (great for kids, not so much for dads). I have never seen so many leaves! The woods are starting to show their depth, and today there was a cool fog mingling in the trees in a beautiful, eerie sort of way. I really need to find my camera, but only heaven knows where the movers put it! I did find a tiny photo on the local newspaper website... so it is not mine but it will give you a little idea of how it looks here in the fall...

We have had three weeks of conference in a row... Stake conference in Iowa the week before we moved, General conference the weekend that we moved, and now Stake conference again this weekend in Duluth... the kids are more than ready to have regular church meetings again.

"Why did the chicken cross the road?" That is Taron's favorite question right now... and the answer is always something different, like "because he was a banana" or "he wanted to scratch his foot". Even Ella thinks it is great fun and they can hold a whole conversation about adventurous chickens and the reasons for their expeditions.

Whenever Chris and I go out to dinner here, it seems like we see someone from the ward. Last weekend, we went to a little Mexican restaurant after the Saturday night session of stake conference and about 10 other members showed up! It was fun getting to know them, and I think Chris even made a new hunting buddy.

Well, that's about it for now... gotta run.