Creative Carving

Daddy Spence was the hero of the day when it was pumpkin carving time! Emma said it was "the best day ever!"
Thane was giddy about digging in the gooey guts.
We were thrilled with the results!

Families are forever

For family night we talked about families being sealed in the temple. Dad taught the lesson and Emma seemed to soak up a lot of it. We then told Emma and Thane we had some surprises for them. They had to put together puzzles to figure it out, then we could have dessert.
We took video of the entire thing but the video is so long we are having some technical difficulties. Here are two short segments with our "surprise" for the kids.

Visit YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5RYZoYuLVo&feature=mfu_in_order&playnext=1&videos=JQKCemVVneQ

http://www.youtube.com?v=4Lx_o55MRtg

Stay tuned for more updates!

Punkin's in the Pumpkin Patch

We went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch.
Emma and Thane had a great day.

The hardest part was when Emma almost had to share with her brother at snack time...you can see the pain in her face!
She got over it. Phew.

The boys on the John Deere. Could life be any happier ?



Petting the goats

Faces of Friends


Pumpkin joy

Happy Birthday Dear Dad

For Dad's 74th birthday, I decided to surprise him and fly home to celebrate with him.
I was fortunate to have gorgeous weather and the beginning of some gorgeous leaves too.
This is my favorite maple tree just beginning the change for winter.

NY was crispy, and bright as it should be. I loved going into the woods with Dad-walking, on the tractor, and running while I was there. I loved spending time with my Dad.
Thanks to my husband and the amazing Nana and Papa, I was able to afford going to NY without my kids. The flight was cheap, and especially so without buying two other tickets. The kids had a terrific time and I rather enjoyed reading a book on the plane, from cover to cover. WOW. It was FUN to travel again. Thank you Mom and Dad!



There are always projects to work on at Dad's house. It is more a question of which ones do I do first and which ones can wait for the next sister to come visit.
We decided to get up and clean out the new gutters and put on the gutter covers since Karyn did such a great job painting all of the eaves in August. Dad doesn't like heights anymore, but he did great. I hope I am that nimble and strong when I am 74.

This is from the garage roof. Dad was going to feed his pet/wild birds. They knock on the window at him when they run out of food. Kind of like the deer that come up 10 ft from the house in winter asking for more corn...

One of my favorite places in the world is the Sacred Grove. I had the pleasure of going there and just LOVED the day. The bright blue sky, the scarlet and gold leaves, the heavenly spirit that you feel just walking towards the sacred ground. I feel a bit of euphoria every time I go. I LOVE being there and remembering how answers to my prayers have shaped and changed my life. I love feeling that God is my Father, who knows me, and still loves me. always.







Another of my favorite places is the temple. I love going to the temple in Palmyra and seeing my father there. Really, seeing him so happy is a delight of mine. He is as joyful about the temple as a kid is about his favorite toy.
I owe my father a great deal. He has taught me to love sacred things, especially the House of the Lord.

As I think of the love I have for the temple I am reminded that my love for my father has only grown the love I feel for my Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for my father and for all I know because of his example of faith in the Savior and his trust in Heavenly Father having a plan for each of us.
On the less eternal side of things...
We did have some yummy dinner out at a ritzy place for his birthday. He let me buy him a hamburger on his big day, while another night he took me to a four star dinner. So dad!
I also made some of his favorite foods-pepper steak, stir fry, tapioca, lemon blossoms, etc while Dad read to me from President Monson's biography. We laughed, cried, worked hard, and ate well together. Love you always dad. Thanks for always teaching me and loving me.

First Day of Pre-school

Emma wasn't excited at all!...ha ha ha. She wishes she could go to kindergarten.
SHE LOVES learning.
Loves social interaction.
Loves stimulation.
Loves telling us(and everyone who will listen,) all about it.

She could barely be bothered for a picture...
and Thane was already sad to leave her behind.
(He is adjusting now that he realizes
he gets more mommy time!)
He is always ready to see Emma after school. He runs into her classroom to find her and bring her back to me. They are best of friends ( and fierce competitors of course.)

Fall is for football and futebol

If you ask Daddy Spence, Fall is for football. Football games, football practices, football games on tv, football games on ESPN.com, Football for highschools around the country, football for BYU--(sad as it is this year, we are still loyal fans), football for...you get the idea. He loves football.

If you ask the rest of us we like football too, but we also love playing soccer.
We signed Emma up for soccer this year because we knew Coach Mark-a great dad and fun coach. She has been hilarious to watch! The entire time she is smiling and giggling just because she gets to run up and down after the ball. She has told us she likes practices better than games because "you get to play the whole time and no one has to sit out." She loves going and we love that she loves exercise and learning from other adults. She scored her first goal, (with a lot of luck) and has enjoyed learning more about the game. We are having fun with her every Wed and Friday night through November. It is a family date night thing.
Spence has been superdad this fall already subbing as coach for the kids on Emma's team, and playing t-ball, soccer, and golf with the kids every night he can as soon as he gets home. They tackle him as he enters and, as tired as he is, he plays with them until dinner is ready.
Thank you Spence! We love you for it!





Thane also likes going to "docch-der" with us,
though he is disappointed that he can't play with Emma.
He is convinced he is a big-kid.
We usually play along the sidelines while we watch Emma.

Thane likes using the goal while the kids are swarming the other end.
Here he is retrieving his ball from the pop-up goal.
(This is of course while the game is going on.)
He makes his own fun and enjoys it all!