Carving Pumpkins

As our tradition goes: we carve pumpkins on the Monday night before Halloween. Even though we are sharing a house with Steve and Faith, we had to continue on. Riley and I are more patient and worked hard at our masterpieces, thanks in part to some kits sent to us from Grandma Payne. Others weren't quite so patient. The pumpkins speak for them selves.

Josh's-his looked better in the light because it had pheasant feathers as the hair.

Carla's-it's a profile of a witch.

Riley worked hard and did most of it himself.

Madison was so proud of hers.

Mom helped Alaina with her skeleton portrait.

Grandpa's Last Home Football Game

Steve is retiring from teaching at the end of the school year, so this is his last season as head football coach. He has been coaching for 33 years. We had a surprise party for him after the last home game and invited all his old players. The school gave him a plaque. It was a good day.

With his assistant coach Dan Ralphs.

Mr. Woodworth thanking him for all his years of service.


Steve and Dan and some of their boys they coached.

SURPRISE!!! Actually it did remain a surprise until about half an hour before the game started. Pretty good if you ask me.

Now What???

I Guess it is Almost Official

We have finally made a decision. Yes I know miracles are rare and sometimes unfathomable, but one really did happen. We finally decided where to buy a home. We are headed to . . . . Pocatello. Yep, right back to where we came.
For those of you who don't know, we finally sold our home in Pocatello on October 2nd. We were suppose to close on September 6th, but because on incompetence and backed-up paperwork, it took an extra month. We were headed to St. George-bring on those warm winters. We even went down 3 or 4 times to look at dozens of homes and made offers on three of them. Then we started looking everywhere else: Brigham, Willard, Lehi, Saratoga Springs, and Denver. Nothing felt right. Paperwork on short sales was taking way to long (maybe it was a sign from above), but everything pointed back to Pocatello.
We wanted to stay close to family while we could. And why not stay close to wonderful grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends? So we looked in Pocatello a bit (looking at homes got to be a chore by this time) and found one that worked. It is in the same area. Different school and ward, but same stake. Everyone gets there own room (except me-I get to share with Josh :)) and we will have more space.
If we have learned anything from all of this, it is knowing that we have our plan and the Lord has his and somewhere they have to fit together-somehow.
We close the first week of November and will move in soon after. If anyone loves to strip wallpaper and paint, come on over.

Alaina's Birthday

Alaina wanted to get up with the other kids and open her presents before they went to school, so her hair is looking a bit frazzled in the pictures. She is now a big 4-year-old.

A Dora watch from Grandma, just what she had been asking for.

She had to reach clear to the bottom.

She loved her strawberry birthday cake. She even did the sprinkles all by herself if you can't tell.

Riley's first hunt

Riley shot his first birds this fall. They are ruffed grouse. He had a good time, hopefully he doesn't become as addicted as his father. . .

1st day of School

The kids started school in Rockland this year. Madison is in 3rd grade and Riley in 5th. They both like the new school and having Grandma right down the hall. The classes are smaller, but they both are being challenged and are working hard.

8 is Great!!

Madison turned 8 on July 23 and her baptism was on August 1st. She chose to be baptized by her Uncle Richard. It turned out fitting because Josh was the one who baptized Richard. Her dad did the confirmation.

It was a wonderful day with friends and family. We are glad she made this choice.

Celebrating Alaina

Alaina doesn't get a lot of face time on here because she doesn't have as many activities as the other kids so here is a few shot of her. WE LOVE OUR ALAINA!!!

Riley's WILD PIG

Josh took Riley hunting this weekend for European Wild Boar. It was on a private ranch. After shooting (and missing) a few times both father and son were frustrated. So, finally Riley found a really big one. Josh tried to help him line it up and shoot it right, but Riley got mad and told him he knew what he was doing. What else would you expect from a 10 year-old? So Josh walked away and let him do it himself. Riley finally shot and dropped it. Josh had to finish it off with the pistol, but he did it! Riley was so proud of himself. He didn't want to get close to take this picture, but they both knew that mom wanted something to scrapbook.

We got the boar butchered and will be eating bacon, sausage and ham for months.

Spring Soccer

Riley played on a very competitive team this spring. For the first time, there wasn't any girls on his team. His favorite position to play is defense-but NOT goalie. This was the first time his team had competed in a tournament that wasn't the end of season tournament. It was a different experience for them. They played against some "competitive' teams that the players had to try out for. He is working hard and do his best.

Black Stripe Kid

Riley earned his black stripe in Tae Kwon Do this week. He did awesome. This is the last step for him before he become a black belt. Now he has to keep practicing and getting stronger until he waits out the year time frame.

Copellia

Madison performed in Brindusa-Moore's production of Copellia. She was in the Wedding Bells Dance. She is on the second row on the far right next to the house. (Yes, she did mess up in the beginning and the girl behind her told her to stop.) She really likes ballet and never complains about going to classes every week. She had practices for Copellia every night the week of the performance and loved going every time. She works hard and is beauitful.

Easter Hunt in Rockland

Here are some pics from for the family from the Easter egg hunt in Rockland. I'm not sure how 4-wheelers and Easter fit together, but the kids had a blast riding Grandpa's and Josh's 4-wheelers around.

Hoppy Easter

This Easter Riley missed out on the community egg hunt because he was turkey hunting. The girls had a good time though. They got lots of goodies. We colored the eggs that night. We had a fun kit that made the eggs all shiny and shimmery. They kids even liked eating the hard boiled eggs after. They must be growing up. The girls even got some new (dearly needed) dresses for church.

WE ARE MOVING

Josh is so tired of riding the shuttle down to SLC every time he has to fly (which is about 2-4 times a month). He didn't want to live in a huge city like Salt Lake or Denver or St. Louis. So he picked 3 cities that would suit him: Rapid City, SD; Colorado Springs, CO; St. George, UT. So after much deliberating and praying and going to the temple, we have decided to move to St. George, Utah. During spring break, we were so busy. We met with the realtor here to see about putting our house on the market. That started an immediate remodel. We put in new carpet throughout, new counter tops in the kitchen, and a new stove. That took two weeks to get everything done.

So in the mean time, we went down to St. George to meet with a realtor and see our options. We found several homes that we really, like but we have to sell this one first. Here are some pictures of the family climbing on some beautiful red rock and the girls with one of their new best friends, Poncho the dog.