Fall of 2010

I know we have already posted our annual blog entry for 2010, but we have decided to build up some blogging credit. We figure, if we post 2 or 3 times before the close of this year, we won't have to post again until 2014. So, buckle up. This may or may not be (but definitely will be) a long-winded and random post filled with many pictures of our kids and the things they have been involved with over the last few weeks. So beware....extreme boredom ahead. Grab yourself a cold drink and/or a pillow if you intend to read the remainder of this post.

Lately we have been trying to teach our children the value of service. Our hope is that if we instill this principle in them while they are young, they will always have the desire to help others who are in need.

One day, earlier this fall, we bundled up the children and headed down to Grandpa and Grandma Holt's house to "surprise" them by raking their leaves that had recently fallen to the ground. Below are some pictures of the girls and our family as we raked up the leaves.






A blog entry about the Fall season would be incomplete without pictures of the offspring in their Halloween costumes. Milly was Sleeping Beauty and Anya was Tinkerbell.

Below are the obligatory pumpkin pictures. What would Fall be without pumpkin pictures?


And last, but not least, as we have previously mentioned in an earlier post, Amelia started pre-school this fall. She absolutely loves it, and it has been very good for her. Recently she was given a homework assignment. She had to catch an insect, create a home environment for it, learn all she could about it, and then bring it to school and teach her classmates all she could about it. She went outside and caught a grasshopper. Because it had stripes on its wings, she named him "Stripey". I know, I know...original huh? She gets her creativity/simplicity gene from her father. Below are pictures of Amelia and Anya in the back yard searching for an insect, gathering sticks and grass to create a home for it, and just "doing her homework" (a gene she did NOT get from her father.)

Below: Milly and Anya after a hard day of bug catchin'.

Oh, as for Stripey the grasshopper? After serving his/her purpose as the homework assignment, he was released back into his/her natural habitat. No grasshopper was harmed in any way during this homework assignment...unless you count the emotional distress it suffered from being locked up against its will for 2 days.

Our annual blog update

Greetings friends, family, and fellow time wasters! We have been remiss in updating our blog and we are certain that people have given up on even wondering if we will ever post again.
Actually, we are probably being too self-congratulatory to think that anyone would actually really want to read our blog, but after the numerous requests for an update, we have decided to acquiesce.
We are sorry for not updating sooner, but we tend to have a proclivity for not finishing things we start. We have had an exciting year, and if we find the time, we will post more about it. But in the interim, here are some pictures of our extremely cute children. Warning: the following photos will make you covetous of our children. Also, these are just some of the adventures upon which we embarked over the last year. They appear in no particular order.

This is Amelia and Anya on July 24, 2010 at the biggest parade of the year in Enterprise...the Pioneer Day Parade:

In September, Amelia started pre-school. So, of course, we had to take the obligatory "in the front yard by the tree wearing the backpack" first day of school picture! :)


They say you are what you eat...well, being the granddaughter of a potato farmer definitely has its perks, like free potatoes. However, look what happened to Milly:



It's always fun when grandma comes, when grandpa comes Hooray! We have been blessed to have a few visits from Grandma and Grandpa Roberts this year. The kids love them.



One of our family's favorite getaway spots is Pine Valley. This was taken at a picnic up in Pine Valley in the spring of 2010.



We have fond memories of Cedar Breaks from our college days. We decided to take the kids to see it one cold, spring Saturday.



To kick off the summer of 2010, our little family spent a cold, rainy day at Lagoon with family.



We made a spontaneous trip to Disneyland this summer. We decided at 11:00 the night before departure, and left at 6:00 the following morning. Who says you can't be spontaneous with children? You can...but prepare yourself to stay up all night doing laundry and packing, and then spending a whole week being tired and cranky. Happiest place on earth....?

Above is Amelia and daddy right before she went on her first "big kid" roller coaster-Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland!
Above: Anya sportin' her new Tinkerbell sunglasses in Disneyland.


Occasionally on Saturdays we look to do things outdoors. These things range from picnics, hiking, bike rides, walks, going to the park, etc. These pictures were taken when we went on a hike/picnic in the rolling hills behind our house.


As a family we were really blessed to be able to do some very fun things together this year. We also went camping , horseback riding, Amelia took dance lessons, and we went to the zoo. It has been a good year, and we have loved spending time together as a family...no matter where we are, no matter what we do.

Enterprise High School Service Project.

Hey guys, Enterprise High School (where Calvin works) is doing a service project. Perhaps you have seen it on the news. Calvin is the adviser to the student government at school, and they have teamed up with Soles4Souls, a non-profit organization that collects used shoes and distributes them to the underprivileged worldwide. They have set a goal to collect 5,000 pairs of shoes by May 1st.

Recently they were called upon to help the Haiti earthquake victims & they were able to send over 500 pairs directly to Haiti. They have another 500 pairs that will be going out with the next shipment.

Check out their blog & see how you can get involved and donate to this great cause!

www.giveshoes.blogspot.com

6 month update.

Here are a few things we did in the last 6 months:

We went camping.



We went to the park.


Amelia started dance class. She gets to choose what she wears. I don't know why she is on the kitchen table. So sanitary.


The kidlets went to the Halloween Carnival and went trick-or-treating. Amelia was dressed as Tinkerbell, and a witch. Anya was dressed as a pink poodle.


Calvin installed a sprinkler system for our yards. The brothers-in-law helped.

We got grass. A bunch of people helped.



Anya had and allergic reaction to amoxicillan. This was the only appropriate pic. It was worse than it looks.


Anya received enough hair to put in a tiny pony tail. She will not wear bows.


Amelia and Anya played together. They are best buddies.



Amelia played dress-up.


Anya "feasted upon the word." She literally ripped off a page and ate it.


We sent off a missionary. This is Violet. Cal met her and her family when he was on his mission.


We also went to Disneyland and Las Vegas, became addicted to many TV shows, demolished a garage, joined facebook, celebrated three new nephews, made a lot of cookies and friends, celebrated another anniversary, and saw lots of family. Maybe I will blog about those things later. Maybe.

I know this is long, but heck, it's been six months.