Family Fun

We had a day of snow in October, and nothing since. Lydia was so excited, she dressed herself:

Then went out to eat as much snow as I would let her. . . .

love hurts

Garrett got a little spoiled - all meals in bed, movies whenever he wanted, etc. . . .


No, I did not get lazy - he fell in the car on a cardboard box and spilt his skin open on the back of his head. I saw his skull. 25 stitches. We were on the very quiet neighborhood road between school and home when it happened. He climbed out of his seatbelt because he wanted to sit in the trunk. I of course was telling him to get back in his seatbelt, but we hit a bump, and . . . "Garrett, that is why we wear our seatbelts, now please sit back down." then I looked in the rear view mirror - blood trickling down his neck, bad looking gash on his head. So I pulled over, stopped the bleeding, and drove him to urgent care. The doctor was awesome. We were there for about two and a half hours.
Day one:

Day four:

Day eight:

Aaron was feeling left out, so on day 10, he went and did this:

Then he played a volleyball tournament (Thursday and Saturday). And all the while continued practicing with his basketball team ("I don't want my girls to think they can be weak and babied when they are injured"). So Sunday, when his entire foot and up to mid calf were puffy and swollen, toes included, I brought him all the movies in the house, a cooler full of food and ice, and plenty of ibuprofen, and told him he was not allowed to move. He did pretty well, but it is hard on one's back to stay in bed for 24 hours, so at the end of the day he walked around and sat up a tiny bit. He still is having pain, and the bruising spread to most of his foot, but I think he will be back to normal eventually.

So Daddy was getting too much attention . . .

You cannot tell, but Garrett's fourth right hand finger is purple. It got smashed in the minivan door. Hopefully we can get a break from all these great stories and go back to our boring normal lives . . .

The Before Picture (Or . . . back when I was young and innocent)

Well, I will try to get an after picture posted tomorrow. Poor Garrett is attempting to prove to us that he really does love the Doctor. 25 stitches two weeks ago and then he smooshed his fingers in the minivan door yesterday . . . will he remember any of this ?

I am thankful for . . . indoor plumbing.

And more importantly . . . the guidance of the Holy Ghost. I completely spaced my sharing time assginment for Sunday (come up with a fun, spiritual thanksgiving activity/game/message). Luckily there were some die-cut leaves in the closet and Kari found us a great scripture while I was conducting opening exercises. We read some of Amulek's message on prayer in Alma 34 and then had them memorize the part that says, "live in thanksgiving daily." Then we all wrote something we are thankful for on our leaf and taped it onto our tree on the chalkboard. It was wonderful and I know Heavenly Father wanted all of us to remember that phrase and that is why the idea came so easily and went so well. Life is beautiful.

ps i volunteered to coach jr jazz. this should be good. yes, they were desperate.

23

The Gateway

Fun, fun, fun!!!

A Day in the life of Garrett

Love this kid!!!

He drew these "ghosts" all by himself.

Caden

Admittedly, we take way more pics of the "babies."
So here is an entry starring Caden.

Last Stop

On our way home we stopped by Great Grandma Petty's for one more picture.

Sunflower

Isn't he handsome?

They really were almost 11 feet tall, possibly taller!!!

This is what we came home to after our vacation in August.

1,000?

We took this picture to convince Garrett that the Dinosaur costume

at Costco was too small. He still didn't believe us, so I guess

a picture is not worth as many words to a three year old.

Halloween 2 (Halloween 1 was not as exciting)

We pulled out the Halloween box today. I can't turn pics at the library, so you aren't getting the best ones. But I had a second to post so here it is.

Weston does not want to be a pirate, but I got him to try the costume. He prefers a pumpkin, a ghost, a cowboy, Dash Parr, a Jedi, Blue Batman, or, most of all, "something that will really scare everyone." This is new coming from my sweet 7 year old. . . .

She was really excited about trying on costumes. She refused to put on my favorite, the mouse. And I didn't get any pictures of her as Mr. Potato Head (hat and all). Her favorite costume was a diapered superhero, which I got pictures of but unfortunately will not be posting due to the sick world we live in. It doesn't matter how we dress her, she is always adorable.

The Expolratorium Rocks!!

We had a blast at the exploratorium once we found it. It is really easy get there once you've been there, so I thought we could find it fine since we went less than two years ago. After driving around for thirty minutes, we went to Round Table to regroup and refuel - yummy and cheap (for San Fransisco). And we bought a map. And asked someone for directions. But not knowing how to get there meant I got to drive down Ocean Beach like I wanted to - yes, we REALLY missed the turn.

Weston could have stayed at each exhibit for a full day. This stuff is right up his alley. Unfortunately I didn't get any great pictures of him, seeing as it was a triumph just to exit the building with the same number of children with which we entered!!

Lydia made her own piano, uncoached, and played at least one or two sonatas.

Till we Blog Again . . .

First of all, Michael Phelps is totally awesome!!!!!! He saved us in the relay tonight (yesterday). I love to be an American. And I am so amazed by Dara Torres. Go USA!

And how would it be to be the fastest man ever recorded in the world?????? And it looked like he saved something for next time. Maybe he is trying to set a record for breaking a record.

I've been taking advantage of the last few minutes I have with the blogging machine. I love it enough that I hope I will keep doing it after I don't have it in my own home. It could happen. We did so much more on this trip that I haven't had time to post, and this is a great way to look back. We hope to get a picture with Great Grandma Petty tomorrow. And the Exploratorium pictures turned out well, so maybe I will post some more . . . but not tonight (I mean this morning.) I will miss California.

Marine World Is Fun!

Where is that train???

Oh, here it is!

Every good train ride includes a prayer.

Wave to the pretty people.


Riding a train with my dad is the best!

Time for bed!

Lydia and Uncle Mike.

Garrett and Uncle Mike

Way too late for more cute comments now. The big boys had a blast. Weston cannot stop talking about the Boomerang. He of course suggested, "We should come here tomorrow." We got a video of him on Tony Hawk's Big Spin. Found amusement park food that actually felt like a good deal. Saw dolphin shows, one with Shouka, the killer whale. Got really wet on Monsoon. Long fun day. Grandma and I were the only ones snapping photos, which is why they are all of the little kids.