From the archives...

I was looking through some old photos and found this. This is Duane and Isaac just a few days after Isaac was born. Now my sweet boy is 5 and in school. Oh how time does fly!

Hmmm....

I have to wonder what he was dreaming about. Isaac has been so preoccupied with school and homework, that I wonder if it is affecting his sleep. What do you think?

Playing...

Isaac loves riding his bike up and down the street. I think he is almost ready to take off those training wheels.

Lucy is such a girl! Yes, she was hitting this football with a golf club. Fun times!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Olson

For 28 years, Grandpa Olson and I have shared the same birthday. I can't think of a better person to share it with. I have always thought that my birthday was extra special because I shared it with him. He is such a special person, a wonderful father, grandfather and great-grandfather. I have so many wonderful memories of him when I was a child. From "Niki-niki-tembo" to "The Pig Who Wouldn't Jump Over The Stile". He is a great story-teller. I am especially grateful to Grandpa Olson for his service in the Navy in WWII. I am only now starting to realize the sacrifices that he and so many from his generation made for our generation. So thank you Grandpa, we love you so much, and thank you for your service and love. Happy Birthday!

Lucy-ella

Since Isaac started school, I have been much more organized with my cleaning schedule. So Lucy has been helping me with all of my chores. Here she is helping me with the dishes, isn't she cute?

Happy Birthday Christine!

My sister Christine turned 30 on Sunday! This is sadly one of the most recent pictures that I have of her (she got married 9 years ago!). So everyone who knows her, please comment, and leave a happy birthday message or favorite memory.

Love you Sis!

New Back Yard!

Well, we finally did it, we got our new backyard. It is finally landscaped. No more muddy mess when it rains. We are so excited! The sod was put down yesterday, concrete work on Thursday.

Roller Skating

Last month, we celebrated my nephew Kolby's birthday at a skating rink. Prior to going, I assumed that my kids probably would not want to try, but I brought some cash just in case. Well, once again they proved me wrong. As soon as they saw their cousins skating, both Isaac and Lucy wanted a try. So we got the smallest size possible for Lucy, got some for Isaac, and yes, I rented some for myself as well. I know what you are thinking, "Jill, do you skate?". The answer to that is sadly NO. Ever since a bicycle mishap in college I prefer to stay away from anything that requires self propulsion on wheels. However, for my children, I did it. (Of course I had them tighten the wheels as much as possible). But we did it! Of course we never made it out on the rink, but we wore them and we skated (more accurately, skate-walked) quite a lot on the fancy star-carpet. But eventually, the kids got preoccupied with the video games that I did not have the money to pay for (since I just used all of my money to rent 3 pairs of skates). So they just sat there and pretended. I think they had just as much fun (even if the screen kept saying "Insert Coin to Play"). We had a great time, and thank goodness, no major injuries). Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the Birthday Boy (he was way to busy cutting it up on the rink, that boy has skills!). Anyway, here are some of the pictures that I did manage to get.

Isaac celebrating the fact that he is still on his feet.
Lucy was so proud when she got her pair and a bracelet too!

Jolie in front, then Lucy and then Hunter (all 2 years old and all very interested in the race-car video game). Very cute!

Hyrum and Laurelle, very stylish in their skates. They both did very well.

We all had a great time!

Pancakes

I got this fabulous idea from someone elses blog (you know who you are ... Kristin). So I decided to try it out this Labor Day morning.

Isaac asked for pancakes, so I surprised him with his name!

Isaac's name didn't quite fit on the plate, but he loved it all the same.
Lucy got her name next and was equally proud.

Then, I had some extra batter and got creative.

It was so much fun. If any of you have similar ideas, let me know.

I am excited to try new things. Any lunch ideas??

I hope everyone enjoys their Labor Day!