Christmas Tree Hunting

We have been christmas tree hunting since our oldest was one. It is so fun to carry on this tradition. Katie grew up with pictures similar to this very one. Thank you Mom and Dad!

And thank you to our Dad for helping this happen!
This is so interesting to me. Here the children are in the background as well as the beautiful mountain. But, the interesting thing is the mullen growing. Here, on the mountain side, the mullen plant (herb) has covered the open places. The other interesting aspect is the thistle plant is also growing all around. When I first started learning about plants, I learned that when God puts a good plant there will also be a plant that pesters man, a harmful plant. The plan was that there would be opposition in all things. That goes for plants also. Thistle is a plant that pokes and makes our skin swell up and sting. Mullen will help that wound by breaking up the congestion, swelling, stinging, and itching, healing the wound. It is good for many other aliments also. God has given us all that we need on this earth to live full heathly and complete lives. And more! Laus Deo! (Praise be to God.)

Ogden Dinosaur Park

This place has sound effects as you walk around the path.

They also had a robotic dinosaur. Fun place. We recommend it.

Fall Pumpkin Carving

We began gluing instead of just carving. These were gourds that came up voluntarily in our yard.


After a while, the boys had fun destroying their pumpkins.

Experiments with Dad

One day during the week of Thanksgiving, Dad brought home dry ice. The children tried all kinds of things with it. This was one of the funniest.

Autumn's Work

Here is Samuel working in the leaves. We were raking in a neighbors yard.

Our chickens had a run in with an intruder. The one on the right lost half her feathers. She has completely recovered, except she stopped laying eggs for the last month of the season. We arranged another temporary shelter for them this fall. We will be building a suite for them in the spring when the baby chicks come.
We worked to clear out vines and roots from the neighbors old bushes (now taken down). We are getting the area ready to plant rasberries in the spring.
Jacob mowed the lawn for the last time of the season.
It was a great fall clean up day.

A Revolutionary Family

We dressed up for a lunch party for the families of those in the Governor's Office. The Gov's "handler" took our picture (not this one) and said they loved our costumes. Now, about our costumes...

We decided long ago that if we were going to "dress-up" or mimic a character, we wanted that character or "play" to be one that would instill in us something of virtue. We have found that our boys now love to learn about our hero's from history. We have been reading about the childhood of George Washington. It has all come together. They can now dress like a great man and pattern their lives after his.

A Master in the Art of Living

Here is a quote that sums up Katie's feelings precisely. "The Master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both."
~Zen Buddhist Text~ (Thanks Tammy!)

...So Good! Here's another thing to think about...What is your vision of excellence? Have you made your own script as to how you pursue your life? Or do you just live letting whatever happens determine your life?