November 2018

On a cold Saturday, November 3rd, Brian, Celia, Maden and Annie participated in the Tater Tot Run in Blackfoot at Jensen's Grove.  Maden and Annie could have waited and run with the kids, but they decided to run with their parents.  Annie got a little tired some of the time, so Celia carried her on her back.  Brian and Maden got a little confused at the turn around spot and ended going 6 K instead of 5.  Brian and Maden came across the finish line just a little ahead of the kid runners, so they thought Maden was the 1st kid, and he got the 1st place prize.

After the race, they came and played for awhile.  They had a great time with the fast track and cars.  Maden and the kids liked playing with his Mr. Potato Head prize.

Annie lost her a tooth on top, just enough space for her tongue to poke through.  Maden lost another one on top, so he has three missing on top!

Molly got to come stay with us for three nights! Her Koala Crate was all about rainbows, she loved making a rainbow/cloud pillow.  She got to go visit Grandma Great.  Annie loves to get her face painted at Texas Roadhouse.

It snowed a little during the night, so Molly is posing in front of the window, so we can see the snow.  When she saw the Mrs. Butterworth syrup, she just hugged it and said "I love Princess Syrup!"  I had fun doing her hair, she's so good to sit still and let me do it.

Ryder came to play, then we went to Red Lobster, of course Ryder and Molly had to sit together.  Ryder used to like looking at the lobsters, but was scared this time.  Molly liked them though.  Meanwhile, at Brian's house, Clark was helping decorate their Christmas Tree. 

Molly got to go to church with us, she loved the nursery.  She wanted to wear Grandpa's glasses, she said they made things look funny.  She got to be here when Cindy and Ken arrived! They came for a Thanksgiving visit.  It was a horrible drive through Nebraska for them, we sure were glad when they arrived safely.

We had our Thanksgiving Dinner on Tuesday, due to Randy's work schedule.  We also had a mini Christmas, too.  Cindy and Ken brought presents for all the kids and Blake and I.  

My talented sister, Tricia made these digital watercolor portraits for me to give to my kids and parents.  She surprised me with one of Blake and I, and a 4x6 of each of the kids portraits.  They are so awesome!

Ken and Cindy also bought a basketball game for our house, it's so huge it has to stay in the garage.  Randy and Jared had to test it out.  So did Molly and Ryder.  Ryder loves it and wants to play almost every time he comes.

On Wednesday, we went to see Grandma Purcell.  She seems to be doing well.  In the first picture with Cindy, she told her to "act happy". 

Cindy and Ken left early in the morning on Thanksgiving to try to get ahead of some stormy weather.  So, Blake and I and Brian's family crashed Thanksgiving Dinner at my parents house.  My sister Lynne and some of her family were there, so we played a lot of games besides eating another great Thanksgiving Dinner.  Ryan and Samuel entertained Maden and Annie all afternoon, by making forts, and playing air hockey.

Brian and Celia played singles and doubles at the Turkey Tennis Tournament at Apple, in Idaho Falls.  Celia ended up winning the singles! We only made it up to one match.  It was fun to watch tennis again.  The kids were very good and quiet.

Annie was a brave girl and got her ears pierced! She looks so grown up! She took this close up selfie when se was playing with my phone at the tennis match.

Ryder got to help his mom decorate their tree, then he and Molly helped decorate my tree.  Molly liked playing with Ryder's ball game he got from Cindy and Ken.

We got all decorated for Christmas on Friday.  The top picture is 2017, the bottom one is this year with all updated pictures.

Ryder loves the basketball game, he knows which buttons to push and what music it will play and what it will say.  He had to play Quixx like Randy and I.  When he goes to A&W, he always wants to get a picture with the bear.

My niece, Michelle brought her two cute little boys, Michael and James over to play with Ryder one afternoon.  Michael and Ryder played really cute.  They are really nice boys, it was fun to have them come play.

Rabbit Hunting

Saturday, November 17. Blake and Randy went out west of Blackfoot on the desert to see if there were any rabbits this year.  Looks like there were! They had a great time.

Monday, November 19.  Ken came prepared to go out rabbit hunting too.  They were successful again!  Ken loved it too!

Wednesday, November 21.  Blake and Ken went back out for another time.  Each time they got more rabbits.

Thursday, November 22.  This time, Brian and my nephew Joseph got to go find the rabbits. They always seem to be able to find plenty.

Friday, November 23.  Finally, Jared got to go! They still found some!

The kids got Blake a new 12 gauge semi-automatic gun and gave it to him as an early Christmas present.  Courtney gave Randy one too!

Monday, November 26.  Blake and Randy went out again to try out their new guns. They love them! There must be an over abundance of rabbits this year.  They sure have had fun!

October 2018

I love it when Jared and Nikelle send pictures of visiting Brody's grave.  Such a calm peaceful place to be.

Blake and Jared had to replace the water heater at Grandma Purcell's house. It was not a fun job, but they got it done.

We celebrated my 60th birthday on the 6th, because everyone could be here. (My birthday is on the 15th)  I love having my kids and grandkids here.  I had a lot of help blowing out the candles.

We had some fun with play dough.

Blake and Maden played some pool, and the other kids had fun playing house and school.

Ryder brought us a pumpkin for our porch.  He was a little worried about the dragon at Walmart, this is as close as he would get on this day.  Clark loves to play with the pickups and trailers, he hooks them all up and then lines them up and then plays with them in the chair for hours.

We got to have Molly overnight on the 12th.  When she woke up that morning she told her parents that she wanted to play hopscotch, they told her maybe I would play with her and boy she didn't forget, it was the first thing we did when we got here.  We did her kiwi crate and she loved the little cake we made.

On my birthday, Blake and I took a little drive to the Star Valley area, we stayed overnight, then went to the temple the next morning.  Jared was working over there, so we stopped in to see him in on the job.  Molly got to go to a pumpkin patch for a field trip with preschool, she loved seeing Mickey and Minnie there.  Annie is so good to play with the little kids, she and Ryder were playing school together.

Oct. 20th - Brian and Celia were out of town, so the kids were staying with us for the weekend.  Nikelle, Courtney and I went to a baby shower in Ogden and left Blake, Randy and Jared in charge of the 5 kids.  They took them to IJump in Pocatello.  It was kind of fun, Annie, Maden and Molly loved it.  (for some reason, I didn't have a picture of Molly) Clark only liked the ball pit, Ryder liked it until he hurt his ankle.  After the jump place they took them to Pizza Pie Cafe.  They all survived!

In the evening, Jared (the hunter), Molly (the fox) and Nikelle (the deer) went to their ward party.  Such cute costumes!  Randy, Courtney, Ryder, Maden, Annie, Clark, Blake and I went to the Snake River High School to a play all about Dr. Suess.  It was a great performance with a lot of singing, the kids all loved it. Afterward, Annie got to try on the cat's hat.

Annie and Maden got to attend our ward's Primary, they were having a missionary day, and we got these cute pictures of them.  I love the one where Maden is photo bombing! Annie's hair turned out really cute that day. Ryder came over for a movie and popcorn, everyone loves to sit on grandpa's lap.

Look, Ryder got closer to the dragon.  Molly fell and hit her head at preschool, the Kleenex was to wipe her eyes and nose, but apparently it helped her head too.  Ryder got to stay overnight one night, and he and grandpa had some fun in the hot tub with the colored lights.

Ryder and Randy came to help sweep up the leaves.  Ryder loved getting in the trailer with all the leaves.  They almost covered him up! They swept up the red leaves from Anderson's yard too.

We had a family party to celebrate this cutie's 6th birthday.  I really don't know where time goes.  Annie is such a cute, bubbly, cheerful, happy girl.  She was so excited about every aspect of her party.

After the party, we all got ready to go to Boo at the Zoo.  Clark wore his Lightning McQueen jacket, Ryder was Blaze (I didn't get a picture with his eyes open) Molly was in Utah with her parents, but she went to a pumpkin patch in her cute fox costume, Annie was rainbow dash, and I can't remember the name of what Maden was.  They all looked so cute.

There were some super people at Boo at the Zoo, named Brian and Celia. There was a monster waiting to scare Blake after this picture.  Ryder spent most of the time sitting on his dads or moms shoulders, which was nice for him, but hard on them.  

Halloween turned out to be a really chilly night.  Molly told me that it was freezing. But she sure is a cute fox!  When we took Ryder to Trick or Treat at my parents, he said Trick OR Treat when she opened the door, with a huge emphasis on the OR.  We all got a good laugh at that.  Poor Annie had little accident involving the corner of a chair when she was running to answer the door for Trick or Treaters.  Thankfully, she was able to recover enough to go out and do her own trick or treating.  

September 2018

Eastern Idaho State Fair.  The wagon works well for 3 kids to get around the fairgrounds and not get lost.  Annie was a little nervous about the fair mascot, but warmed up a bit. Brian and Celia had to try their luck at pull ups. 

Jared, Nikelle, Molly, Blake and I went to the fair during the parade. It was a great time to be at the fair.  Molly was so excited to ride a horse at the fair, then she was a little scared of the white horse, but she was just fine on the brown one.

Molly loved this little exhibit with hands on fun.  She was a cute little farmer and chicken and loved sitting on the cow.

Ryder loved the fair, too.  He got to go on the Merry Go Round, ride a horse, sit on the cow and be a chicken.  He called the stroller we rented his wheelchair.

Molly got to help Grandpa mow the lawn and go see Grandma Great.  She's such a happy, fun little girl.

Maden and Celia participated in a Cornhole competition.  Maden was so excited, and was definitely the youngest competitor.  Blake, Brian, Clark, Annie and I found a shady spot to watch.

Randy took Ryder bow hunting.  Ryder loved riding the 4 Wheeler and being with his dad.  Molly started her first day of dance class.  Annie loves to get her face painted at Texas Roadhouse, then take selfies of the paint job.

Ryder had a busy day.  Blake had some business in Pocatello, so Ryder and I went to the mall, he played on the Mickey car, then we picked up Grandpa and went to Wingers for lunch, then took him back to the mall to the "Jump Place".  Then when we got home he played in the hot tub.  Lots of activities.

Blake, Randy, Courtney, Jared, Nikelle, Molly, Ryder and I went to the Parade of Homes in Idaho Falls.  We saw some really nice homes.  Ryder and Molly loved wearing the silly booties.  We are all in this picture, you can see mine and Nikelle's shadows and Blake getting into the car.  I love the daddy's holding their little ones hands.

My brother, Randy and his wife, Julie are moving into a home in Rupert. (It's actually Nikelle's childhood home!) They were borrowing our Red pickup and horse trailer. Blake, Randy, Ryder and I went over to help them unload.  Ryder had not had a nap, and so he slept almost all the way to Rupert.  While we were there, a dog suddenly came into the house.  We quickly got the dog back outside. Randy looked at the dogs tags and found out the dog's name was Molly! Julie found some toys for Ryder, he thought it was great.

September 21 ---

Bonneville Homecoming Parade - Jared used the boat for the float for the Miss Bonneville contestants.  Molly loved being in the parade. It's really fun because it goes in Brian's neighborhood.  We went with Clark and Celia and watched the parade and got some candy.  Maden and Annie got to come out of their classes and see the parade.

Sept. 21, continued.... After the parade, we headed for Bear Lake.  We were going for one last boat trip, and to hear my nephew Joseph Leifson report his mission. We took Ryder with us, he and Molly like watching movies when they travel.  We kept having roadblocks, first cows, then tractors, then a wedding party got in our way.  We celebrated Blake's 63rd birthday once we got to the resort. I bought these little dolls because I don't have very many little girl toys and Molly had a great time with them. Ryder and Molly had a bit of a hard time going to sleep in the same room, but they finally did and thought it was great fun.

Sept. 22-- Some of the guys went hunting early in the morning, so we took the triplets to the swimming pool. When the mighty hunters returned, then it was boat time.  It was a little windy, but not bad.

We got to see Joseph after two long years. So great to see his happy smiling face.  He brought his sister, Jackie and brother, Ryan for some fun on the tube.  Maden really likes Joseph and Ryan and thought he was one of the big kids to be with them.  The wind was stronger and it was really a bumpy ride. You can see their legs flying and bouncing, but they kept the smiles, so it must have been fun.  Maden thought it was fun to pull them in to the boat. Then Maden got to go with Ryan and Joseph for a little spin.  I thought Ryan's hair was very stylish after being so wind blown.

This is how Molly ended up sleeping for her nap, half hanging off the bed.  These were my two sleepy seat mates on our way home after hearing Joseph give a great mission report.

Jared drove truck for Bart for 3 days during spud harvest.  That is one of his favorite things to do.  

He certainly isn't afraid to help when there's a problem, the piler got plugged up, so he made his way clear up there to clean it out. That was after helping Bart fix some other things in the cellar.  The spuds look pretty good.

Molly enjoyed riding in the Spud Truck with Daddy.  It was a fun, dirty time.