To Molly

This post is going to be very hard for me to write, but I wanted to make a tribute to our dog Molly who died today. She was hit by a car. I can't believe how short of a time we have had her in our life, but she had really made a difference. She was such a loving dog who was a wonderful friend to us and mostly to Emma. She was learning so many new things and was truly a wonderful pet. We are going to miss her so much. Looking back on these pictures I realized how many great memories we have with her in them. She has definetly left a hole in our hearts. Thanks for all your love Molly, we'll miss you!

Canning

So about a month ago I obtained about 4 bushels of Nectarines and I was bound and determined to "put them up". I have actually never canned myself before. I have helped my mom out while she has done it, but this was my first attempt. After purchasing the pot, bottles, ingredients and other equipment, I was ready to go. I first made some Nectarine pie filling. My sister in laws made a wonderful peach pie filling that we LOVED and so I thought it wouldn't be too different to use Nectarines. It turned out O.K., but not as good as with peaches. Next I made 2 different types of jam, spiced nectarine and just regular nectarine jam. I was a woman on a mission, so unfortunately my daughter and husband didn't quite get my full attention for awhile. Luckily I was forced to take a break from my obsession while we went to Utah, but my brother in law Matt brought home so Tomatoes a couple days ago and so I was on to SALSA! I've realized that this year has been one of trial and error. The salsa came out just o.k. as well. I really need to find a good recipe for bottled salsa. Emma and Mike have been pretty patient through the whole thing, but the next time I'm in the kitchen and Emma starts pushing me to move, and saying No, No, NO, I think I will listen and give us all a break. This canning business is a lot of work!
(These old poster pictures just cracked me up, doesn't it look like so much fun!)

Utah Trip-Summer 2010

We made it back from our trip to Utah last night and it is nice to be home. We always love being able to see family, and we really miss Utah, but it's always nice to sleep in your own bed, and it was amazing how happy Emma and Molly were to be home as well.

We had such a great time in Utah. We got together with the Pierce family for a fun pool party. (Thanks Dave and Cindy for hosting) We were able to spend some time with my Mom and Dad as well as my Grandparents. We got to eat some great food including: The Bluebird, Turkey Steaks, Wingers, and Joe Morleys. We stayed at my Dad's airplane hanger up in Brigham City for the first part of the trip, and it was fun having a little place to ourselves. Molly was really enjoying the open fields to run around in and chase the grasshoppers. We were nervous about bringing our dog, but she really did pretty well. Emma was the one who was REALLY sick of her car seat by the end of the trip. We had to break down and buy a portable DVD player. Sure wish we would have done that at the beginning of the trip.:) We had some great times with the Sharp family as well. We celebrated Melodee's birthday, had a tour of the Sweet's candy factory, played at McDonald's play land, and a splash park, went to the Jordan River Temple, Wheelers Farm, and watched a fabulous magician. We also were able to attend the Coomb's family reunion and it was nice for me to get to know more of Mike's family, and I know it was great for them all to get together as well. It's amazing how quickly our time went. We had so much fun seeing everyone, and wished we could have seen more of you. With the holidays coming up we'll luckily get to see you soon enough. Here are A LOT of pictures from the trip.

Wonderful Day!

Yesterday we were able to witness a very special event. A sister that has been investigating the church here in Bakersfield was baptized. It was such a beautiful service, and as she was baptized I was reminded of what a precious gift the gospel of Jesus Christ IS. We who have been members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints our whole lives may not realize what a special gift we have. There are so many restored truths and promised blessings to those who follow the Savior. As this wonderful sister took the step to follow the Lord, it helped me to understand the importance of recommitting myself to the gospel each day.

Also, Mike had the opportunity to speak in Sacrament Meeting today and he spoke on "Obtaining the Word". Before we can share the gospel with others, and especially our children or families, we need to "obtain" the "word" ourselves. He mostly focused on the importance of scripture study, and how we can improve our study of the scriptures through prayer, marking them, setting up a scripture study schedule, and applying the scriptures to ourselves. I'm grateful for Mike's example to me in these areas. I'm grateful that we have the chance to go to church and to learn. There is always something that we can strive to become better at, and thankfully through the help of our Savior, we can.
I don't normally share such moments that are so dear to my heart because they are so special, but I was so thankful for the spirit that I felt and wanted to share that with you as well. I hope we can all take a moment to think about our relationship with the Lord and how we can each strive to make it a little bit better.

Beach Day!

We have been wanting to go to the beach for quite a while now and last Saturday we finally decided to go. We had everything packed for a nice sunny day at the beach until we got there and it was 50 degrees and overcast. We had no idea that the temperatures would be so different at the coast than in Bakersfield. Just naivete for us new Californians. Luckily I had packed a hoody, and Emma had some pants and a jacket in the car. We ended up going to Morro Bay and walked around the shops, etc. We just happened upon the beach there and it turned warm and sunny so we were able to break out the swim wear and have a little fun. Emma loved walking in the sand. She had a lot of fun just running around. She had a little bit of a runny nose and so at one point she did a face plant into the sand and this was the result. Sandy boogers! We brought Molly with us as well and she had fun digging in the sand, where she made this nice cool bed for herself.
We ended our time with a TON of fish and chips. It was a long day, especially the REALLY winedy road getting home, but we had a great time.

Emma LOVES Crackers!

I just had to put this up because Emma, (and her parents) have been so proud of all the signs she is learning. She has learned to SAY cracker as well as just signing it. I think she thinks she can live on crackers because that's all she ever wants to eat. (Mostly Graham Crackers:)

A Few of My Favorite Things

This morning I was thinking about all of the things I am grateful for, so this is a gratitude post.

1. Our dog is FINALLY doing better with her potty training. Oh the joys of having her scratch at the door and actually doing her business outside instead of inside.

2. Walks to the Park- Since we've had Molly we have been truly forced to get out and go on walks more often. It has been nice to have this excuse to get outside and enjoy our mornings. (While it is still cool outside) There is a park that we will walk to and Emma loves playing on the slide. It is a fun routine for us.


3. Superman for a husband- He is such a hard worker. He is so busy at work, yet takes time to spend with us, as well as help out around the house when he can. He also is the best dad in the world. It is so much fun watching him play with Emma. She loves all the attention she gets from her Da Da.


4. Emma's Laughter- She is such a crack up, and laughs mostly at herself. (Hmm, I wonder who she gets that from?)


5. Baby Signs- We have been teaching Emma some baby signs recently, and it is so fun to see her pick them up. She can now say the signs for: Milk, More, Please, Food, Dog, and Cookie. I shouldn't have taught her the sign for cookie because now that is the ONLY thing she ever wants.:)

6. Family- We were able to visit with family in Las Vegas over the weekend. We were able to see Sara baptized, and got to watch Emma and Annadele interact. They are a funny pair of cousins. We are so excited to see all of our family in less than a month.


7. Tide and Snuggle- I love the smell of clean clothes, and especially of dryer sheets. Mmm it just makes me happy.

8. Homegrown Vegetables- Recently we have actually been able to eat the produce from our garden. It really doesn't amount to much food, but it is sure fun seeing the end product. I was able to make some zucchini bread, we've had some peas, green beans, spinach, lettuce and strawberries, and soon we will have some yummy sweet corn.

9. Nice Neighbors - Our neighbors are always so nice to help us out by watching Gracie whenever we go out of town. We also hosted an ice-cream social for our neighborhood and had an awesome turnout. It was good to get to know our neighbors better.

10. The Gospel- I'm grateful for the happiness that the principles of the gospel bring to my life and the life of my family. I'm grateful that the Lord had provided multiple ways for us to find peace, answers, help, freedom, and joy.

Just a few of my Favorite Things:)