Fall Fun

We've been busy since the last post so here's a quick update. We've spent days at the ball park while Carter played "Fall Ball" (baseball in the fall). His team won their league tournament and they were each given a hat (the one he's sporting in the picture) instead of a trophy. Now we're watching him play basketball on Thursdays and Saturdays. 

 We've been to the Bluebell Corn Maze which is always a highlight of the season.

We've carved pumpkins and made and decorated the traditional honey cookies. Terry tells us he doesn't "do" pumpkin carving, but this year Isaac's pumpkin was huge and he and I couldn't get the lid out once it was cut so we recruited Terry and then he stayed to scoop out the insides. 

Carter and his duet partner (and cousin) Jared recently played 2 piano duets and scored a superior! They worked for months to achieve this.

USU and DOPL

Two weeks ago we were in Logan getting ready to leave Kaitlynn on a new adventure.... college at USU. Yesterday she officially became a licensed Pharmacy technician!!! Her license hasn't arrived yet, but you can find it on the Utah DOPL site.

Peaches and More

I bought a box of peaches from Grand Junction and instead of canning them I decided to just have fun. I've made two different kinds of peach ice cream, peach pie and tomorrow I think it will be peach muffins. We've also enjoyed just slicing them and eating them with cream and/ or sugar. I've also been trying new recipes like Sweet and Sour Chicken, Banana Chip Muffins and two kinds of breadsticks. Some recipes we've liked better than others, but either way it's been fun in the kitchen trying new things. Hey, anything that makes the kitchen more fun is always good.

Summer Fun

Isaac's first day of kindergarten

Brooklynn's 7th B-day

Carter's first day of 5th grade

Ann's friend Robin visited from Virginia. We haven't seen her in 6 years. She grew up in the cul-de-sac that we lived in. We had a great time sharing memories. 

Robin's cute kiddos

Isaac turned 5 in July

Carter and Terry traveled to Denver to watch a Red Sox game.

Cameron & the kids on the go-kart.

Family Pictures

While everyone was home for Cousin Camp we did family pictures. Heidi is our photographer and we always love the work she does. She did lots of individual shots and small family groups and then for the big family group pictures, she set it up and then her brother Talon clicked the camera. Thanks Heidi.... and Talon. Here's just a few of my favs. Some of them won't be going up on the walls anywhere but you can tell we had a good time.

Cousin Camp

We had our annual Caldwell "Cousin Camp" a few weeks ago. It was a lot of fun, and this year I took a lot of pictures. The carnival is always a favorite activity as well as crafts. This year we had a new "surprise" activity, and I think it was everyone's favorite. We had a huge blow up slide that even the grownups enjoyed!

  

Projects

Sometimes I have a hard time finishing projects that I start. I finally decided to paint the stair rails in our house (they're metal and unsightly). Have you ever tried spray painting in the house? I carefully masked it off and put up what I thought was plenty of tarps. But guess what? It goes EVERYWHERE. So this is one job I haven't finished. Terry tells me there's a better way to do it but so far I haven't tackled the rest of the project. So here's the before and after shot all in one. The "before" is the railing in the foreground and the "after" is in the background. The one I painted brown looks great if I do say so myself, but for now maybe I'll just consider it eclectic.

Clear back in May I started new flannel quilts for Carter and Isaac. I measured, cut, sewed and then I spent 2 full days just putting the quilts on the frames and tying them, and then I tucked them away to bind later. Well, "later" just barely got here. I don't know why I dread making bias binding and then actually binding, but I seem to. Anyway, last week I finally finished the quilts (I'm going to use them as bedspreads) and made pillow cases. Now I just need to paint their bookcase headboards (or get Terry to) and then I'm going to paint their bedroom. Carter is anxious to have the new quilts on their beds (they're very soft and he picked out the flannel) but I told him it would have to wait until everything is done. Hopefully the rest of the project won't have to wait so long.

Roommate Reunion

Thirty five years ago I was attending BYU. I was living in Heritage Halls with five other girls (only one of which I knew before). We cooked together, we cleaned together, we laughed and cried together. I haven't seen most of them in many, many years. Last Saturday all six of us got together in Vernal. It was a great day. Although our lives are very different, we still have the gospel and love for our families in common. We talked all day and could have talked longer. How blessed I am to have had such good roommates and friends.

In Full Color

The yard is in bloom and I just had to share the color. Enjoy!

What We've Been Up To

4th grade Rendezvouse and Utah Program. For the Rendezvouse everyone had to bring 10-20 items to trade. The items couldn't be store bought. Carter made safety pin jewelry, each with a different pattern. They were a big hit! 

Isaac LOVES to ride his bike! He taught himself to ride a 2-wheel bike when he was 3. He has insisted on wearing his snow boots so often that I finally put them up where he can't find the them.

Carter earned a superior rating on his solos again this year. He was really nervous and really excited because this was a trophy year. (Superior ratings earn 5 points and it takes 15 points to earn a trophy.) Carter has earned a superior rating each year since he started playing the piano

Terry took Carter and Isaac to the Fireman's Breakfast. They even got to slide down the pole.

Seminary graduation

Visits from Ava (oh yeah, her mom and dad too)!

Brooklynn's Dance Review

The traditional "last day of school" shirt signing.

Kaitlynn's graduation from high school and the UBATC. The green braid she's wearing is for completing a Health Science Pathway. For those of us on the bleachers, the weather was great. It was windy, but that certainly beat the heat I remember at the other 4 high school graduations. This last weekend she and I attended an orientation at Utah State so there are lots of new adventures ahead for her.