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!!!!

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.

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!

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!!

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!

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!!!

Well hear we go!!!!Our family blog is up and running... I hope! I'm still learning about blogging, but very excited to be able to share pieces of our lives with those we love.