Thursday, November 5, 2009

October

Half a guy!!!

The other half of a guy!!!



Ashley giving the mummy a heart in a game.


This is my sisters front yard decked out "Graveyard Style".
Audreys best friend Julia. I loved taking pics of her in the graveyard. Julia looked so at home in the graveyard.

Orson and Kaleb(my great-nephew) eating chili.
Check out that honker on the witch. Wow!!!

Cleo doing the monster mash!

Cowgirl Callie. She looks like she should be in Boothill.
Arrrgggg Matie!!

This was the funniest game. The mummy wrap was a hit. Kaleb was such a good mummy. He stood frozen as they wrapped and wrapped and wrapped!
Audrey the witch was the mummy for the other team. They did great too!!!
Audrey and Julia!

Ash and Mom at the park after a leaf fight.

Callie clucking with the chickens.
Ahley rolling in the leaves.
Leaf fight with dad.


Audrey gathering for a huge leaf pile!

October has been pretty busy! I'll try to highlight the month a bit to catch us up to date. Audrey has started violin lessons and loves it!! She has lessons twice a week. She has been staying up on her practices. I'm very relieved she loves to practice so I don't have to get after her about that. She will be having a concert in Dec. I'll know more on the time and dates soon and will let those interested in coming know. Orson is busy with scouts and has been very involved with his meetings. They made him Sr. patrol leader. He has finally decided that playing football at recess was okay. He's enjoyed working drills and such with his dad on the weekend. Ashley and Callie have started basketball this month. They have both improved a great deal from last year. I love watching their games!! If anyone would like to come, give me a call and I'll tell you the times. Ashley has been scoring real good for her team this year!!!!I'll post pics of a game soon.
Family time has been a ball this month. My sis and I have our "Halloween Bash" I was very pleased this year with the whole thing. Cindy and I made headstones from Styrofoam. We spend many hours in her garage cutting, carving and painting our masterpieces. They turned out GREAT!!! Just to brag a bit! I decided to make Ashleys' costume. She was Cleopatra. I was hungry for a sewing project and thought this one would be a fun challenge. It wasn't to hard, just time consuming. Everyone looked great! Audrey made a super witch, with a HUGE nose! Orson wowed us all as a pirate and Callie pulled off the cowgirl look with flying colors! With all the parties and such...they had PLENTY of chances to dress up and flaunt there stuff!!! Although we have been pretty busy, we were able to squeeze in one of my favorite things to do in the fall. I love to find a park with oodles of leaves and let the kids run a muck in them. We found a beautiful park in North Ogden and spent a Sunday afternoon enjoying this gorgeous fall weather. I treasure days like that one! Here's a few pictures to enjoy!!!!

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Our 16th anniversary!

Married for Time & Eternity
Sept. 25th, 1993
Orson and Suzette


and then came the kids.....



Callie




Orson





Ashley






Audrey





I love this picture! Callie and dad are visiting in the exact spot the he proposed to me May 1st 1993.
















Logan Caynon








I'm posting a few pictures from last weekend. It was mine and Orson's 16Th anniversary. We were able to get away together for an overnigher in Logan. We spent Sat. in Logan canyon site seeing the spectacular leaves in all their fall splendor!! Truly a sight to behold. We spent Monday with the kids in Salt Lake at the temple grounds. This is were Orson not only proposed, but we were married, so we take the kids there at least twice a year. We enjoyed the grounds and then went to the Legacy Theater for the movie on Joseph Smiths life. We all just loved it and walked away with a deeper gratitude for him and the early saints!!! Well that's our life lately in a nutshell! Callie and Ashley will be starting basketball soon. Audrey's opting to miss the season because of her busy schedule with violin lessons and school council.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Callie as a pirate


Now that I understand how to really add pictures, I decided to add a silly one of Callie as a test run. It's pretty easy to find Callie in a silly picture. Her imagination NEVER stops. This particular day, she had a bit of help though. I had left the kids home while I did some errands. I came home to Callie as a pirate. I thought her sister Audrey had done a pretty good job on her and it kept Callie busy playing for hours!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Girls night with Audrey


I love when I get to have one on one time with my kids. I'm sooo much more relaxed and find I get to be quiet goofy with them. But more than what it does for me, they love my undivided attention!!!! Audrey and I were elated that the rest of the family had plans this past weekend and her and I had the entire night together!! We started with lots of girl talk and primping. Then out to Wingers to share a platter of sticky fingers and their yummy stuffed potatoes. We even got a piece of concrete pie! Although, I could only handle three bites. I just can't take sugar. But Audrey enjoyed it. We couldn't believe how HUGE it was. Needless to say, the darn thing came home with us and ended up being a midnight snack. We finished the night with movies and a slumber party in the front room. What fun we had!!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

The miracle of graditude

I guess I call it a miracle because of how it can change your out look on your day and really your life. Lately I have been waking up and taking a minute or two in my own head and heart. Instead of lying in bed thinking of all the things I have to do, I think of all the amazing gifts in my life. I start with just a few and then find that I have a hard time stopping. As I do this, my attitude of the day takes a new path and I feel sooooo much more joy. I like to think we are all looking for joy, most of us anyways. So in that hope, I just wanted to share what brings me joy. I do the same thing as I go to bed at night. Even on bad days when I do this, I feel a peace in my heart knowing I'll feel better by focusing on my abundance!

Friday, September 11, 2009

We went boating with Grandma and Grandpa Marks. The kids loved it!! Here's some pics of us at Willard Bay with them. They all took turns riding behind the boat on the tube. They all seem to have a need for speed, except Audrey. She couldn't decide how fast or slow she wanted to go. Orson (my hubby) even gave it a try. I was way impressed!! He has never been a boater. But I'm getting him used to the idea since the kids and I love it. As a youngster, my summers were spent dragging lakes watersking and I'd love to give that to my kids too. We hope to someday have a boat of our own to bring along on these adventures!!!
The more I learn about blogging , the more I love it. It's a great way to make a family journal to share with others. I'm tempted to recap a few of our summer highlights over the weekend. So check back occasionally for updates.
We had a very nice summer. Orson was gone a lot, so we made the best of the time we had with him. Our weekends were pretty busy with camping, fishing, hiking, swimming and any other thing we could think of that was fun. We're pretty easily entertained. Our favorite thing is being together as a family. This gives us each the strenght we need to tackel lifes challanges. Between family life, work, church, extended family, kids activities ect..we keep pretty busy. But alway make time to enjoy our life together!!!

Our "Scarecrow"

Our "Scarecrow"
We love to decor for fall, so we broke out the loot this weekend. The kids and I decided our front porch needed a scarecrow. so "Sarah" was born!

"Sarah"

"Sarah"
Orson, Audrey, Mom, Ashley

Making Sarah

Making Sarah
We love to create. I'm glad I have crafty kids to do stuff with.

"FOURTH OF JULY"

We love the 4th of July. It is probably my favorite? Maybe!!! I just love all holidays really. But the 4th is right up there. Watermellon, kids decked out in red, white and blue and tons of patriotism. Celebrating and living our independence is such a gift!!! I want my children to know this and feel this deep down in their bones, so we celebrate!!! We usually attend our small community parade, kids parade, festivities and fireworks. We also share a "bbq" with my sister and have our own firework show with her. After all this, we usually head home and end the evening by sitting on the front porch and listen to the neighbors fireworks explode in the distance. We had a great fourth this year. I added a few pictures to enjoy!!

At the parade.

At the parade.
Oh...I just want to freeze time sometimes. I just know these precious days of them being like this are slipping away. Here Callie and Ash are waving to the Sheriff durring the 4th parade.

Callie

Callie
Nice....Callie sporting her headband and dads glasses.

Callie at the parade

Callie at the parade
Yet another pic. of my Callie. She just makes me happy and laugh with her crazy personality.

Ashley at the 4th festivities.

Ashley at the 4th festivities.
Ashley teasing her dad by wearing his glasses.

Callie

Callie
We have a wonderful "small town" parade in our community for the 4th of July. Before the official parade begins, the kids get to ride their bikes on the parade route. Callie did super this year riding with her brother and sisters. Her bike was quiet a work of art.

Audrey

Audrey
Audrey at the parade, sporting her sunblock!

Orson

Orson
Orson giving us an awesome firework show.

Audrey

Audrey
Audrey at the festivities.

Callie

Callie
Here Callie is dancing on a table at the 4th of July festivities.

Mom and Callie

Mom and Callie
We live on popsiscles durring the hot summer month. Especially on the "4th"

More "Summer Highlights"

More "Summer Highlights"
Ashley, M.E., Audrey, Morgan and Jessica at our family reunion. They thought it was fun to ride the tubes down the river. We love getting together and camping. Everyone was able to make it but Seth and his family. It's quiet a crew when we are all together!

Audrey, Maggie and Maggies baby

Audrey, Maggie and Maggies baby
These two are the sweetest girls. We love Maggie!

Orson and Lexi

Orson and Lexi
Orson is such a sweet kid. He loves helping his younger cousins do things.

Orson and Lexi

Orson and Lexi

Ashley and Granparents

Ashley and Granparents
Grandma and Grandpa Whitmer watching the skits with Ashley.

Orson and Sam

Orson and Sam
These two boys love to be together. Work, play...whatever. Here they are packing the tents after the reunion.

Nate and Indy

Nate and Indy
It was so fun watching Nate walk Indy everywhere while we all cleaned up camp.

Three generations of "Orson Arza Whitmer"

Three generations of "Orson Arza Whitmer"
Three of the greatest guys I know!! We love them all a ton!

Orson and Dan

Orson and Dan
Orson wore his shorts over his pants for a very good reason! He was in such a hurry to get up to camp after work, he was not paying much attention to which pants he was grabbing. Unfortunatly, the D.I. pile was mistaken for his clean laundry pile. Being unaware of the giant rip in his backside, he threw on the pants he found and headed to the camp, stopping at a few locations along the way. The store, the gas station, ect...entering the said locations, very exposed! Still unaware of his situation he arived at camp and began to expose us. After I contained my laughter, I filled him in on the joke. Thus, his shorts over his pants. Talk about breezey!!!

Ashley

Ashley
We love the Uintas. We had a great time this year at Lost and Lilly Lake. It is so serine and beautiful. The kids fished with their dad every chance they had.

"Ashley and the icky fish"

"Ashley and the icky fish"
Ashley caught a fish, but was very funny about the whole thing. She didn't even want a picture with the "icky fish".

"Orson and the sleeping bag"

"Orson and the sleeping bag"
He's a great guy, but he can't fold a sleeping bag to save his life. We all made an assembly line to pack. Mom's such and organized freek, if it wasn't packed or folded or roled good, it got sent back down the line for him to redue.It was all quiet hilarious and fun. Dad was a real good sport about being made fun of. Oh, and we did this all in the pouring rain, which added to the fun of it all.

Callie and Orson

Callie and Orson
Orson brought his magnesium flint and taught all of us how to start a fire with it. It took some doing, but we all were able to do it!!!

"The Falls"

"The Falls"
We stopped at the falls on the way home. Mom, Ashley, Callie and Orson venturedover to the other side. the water was cold, but refreshing

Orson and his kids.

Orson and his kids.
we hiked into a beautiful secluded lake. We did fish for awhile, but no luck. It was a very relaxing afternoon enjoying the beauty all around us.

Small falls

Small falls
This is just a small fall mom and some of the kids waded over to.

Boating With Grandma and Grandpa this past summer

Boating With Grandma and Grandpa this past summer
Audrey on Granpas boat

The Twins!!!

The Twins!!!
I can't believe they are almost 12!!!

Callie

Callie
Callie could not wait to get going!!!!

Audrey

Audrey
Audrey was leary about suiting up and getting in the lake. Although she done it before...we have to convince her a bit that the last time she did it, she had fun.

Grandpa and Orson driving

Grandpa and Orson driving
Why they are looking behind them and not in front of them, we'll never know.

Grandma and Orson

Grandma and Orson
We love being with Grandma and Grandpa.

Orson in the "Captains Chair"

Orson in the "Captains Chair"

Callie Driving!!!

Callie Driving!!!
She was nuts. Grandpa was at her side of coarse.

Ashley and Grandpa

Ashley and Grandpa

Ashley and Dad

Ashley and Dad
I think they were getting ready to ride the raft.

Grandma and Audrey

Grandma and Audrey
I love this picture. Grandpa went to back the trailer down and left Grandma and Qudrey to hold the boat. Note Orson in the back ground holding the fishing poles. I think her did end up helping them. Hahaha

Audrey and Ashley

Audrey and Ashley
Just having a great time!

Callie

Callie
Her broken arm has not slowed her down at ALL!!!

Ashley

Ashley
She loves adventure!!!

Grandpa on his boat

Grandpa on his boat