ansel plays the guitar

Ansel really likes to get involved as dad plays the guitar. He knows that you use the pick to touch the guitar and so he tries to do it too. Then, he'll try to put it in his mouth.

playtime

I couldn't really capture the best moment of this activity....but Isabel uses our laundry hampers for dog houses quite often (she is the dog). Today she discovered that she could walk around with it on her head while laughing her head off. Ansel didn't let the fun pass him by. He followed her around, climbed up on her, and knocked her down. Sometimes when Ansel plays he gets the most serious look on his face, like he is concentrating so hard on trying to tackle his sister.

thanksgiving trip

We were feeling adventurous this Thanksgiving so when Joseph's sister Kate invited us to come have Thanksgiving with them up in Rexburg ID, we accepted. We had an INCREDIBLE Thanksgiving dinner. Kate is an amazing cook and did a good job with her first turkey and all the fixings. As we were finishing up all the food we began to realize that we had WAY TOO much food. But when it's really delicious, it doesn't matter. We had a lot of fun hanging out with them and relaxing.

On Friday we decided to stay up at the hotel where Kate works called Destinations Inn. (It's so beautiful! http://www.destinationsinn.com we stayed in the Thailand room.) Isabel was so excited to stay and have a slumber party with Kate and Jason. She got her toe nails painted, watched movies and ate a lot of snacks. She said it was one of her favorite parts of the trip. It was the first night since we had kids that one of us was not with our kids. We really appreciate Kate and Jason for letting us have a super date night.

Saturday as we were taking everyone out to dinner to thank them for hosting us for the weekend (Kate and Jason and Bekah and Scott who we stayed with Saturday night), our car kinda broke down. My uncle Ken lives in Rexburg and drove his auto-mechanic neighbor out to our car to check on a few things for us. He was hoping to find some little thing wrong, but didn't and thought it was probably something major. Bekah and Scott offered their new car for us to drive back home so Joseph could get to work. So, we had decided to leave our car at my Uncle Ken's house and they would take it to the Toyota dealership in town for us and we would drive Bekah's car home. As we were getting ready to leave we felt like we should just take our car and try to make it home to our trusted mechanic here. Well, our car broke down just outside of Pocatello at a port of entry station. The workers there were all from Pocatello and very helpful. They recommended a good towing company and also a really good mechanic. So, Bekah and Scott then drove a little over an hour to us with both their cars and let us take their new car and they drove home in their old car. So, after about a two and a half hour delay we were back on the road home.

We were sad to learn that our 2001 Toyota Corolla with almost 64K miles needed a new transmission (it's NOT an automatic). We joked that we should have taken our 1989 Corolla with 250K miles on it instead because it's so reliable. Aren't Toyota's indestructible? This is why I bought one...well, two actually! Anyway, things worked out and we feel very blessed for all those around us who are so willing to help.

So, I've noticed that my kids help me remain calm whenever there is some crisis or emergency. Isabel, Ansel and I got a flat tire about a month ago. We walked a block to my friends house then went back to change the tire. But, the whole way Isabel was skipping and making Ansel laugh like this was just a normal fun part of our life. I love to see the world through the eyes of my little daughter..... where we don't have to be in a huge hurry, we can just play and enjoy every second of life because that's really what it's for.

the big black dog

The kids and I got home from running some errands the other day and were coming in the house. Ansel and I were in the doorway holding the door open for Isabel when I saw him running toward us. Isabel was about 5 feet away from the house and I just told her, "Isabel hurry and run in the house as fast as you can, right now." Of all the times to listen to me, I'm SO glad she just did and wasn't like, "what are you talking about mom, why?" (which would not have been unusual). She got in the house just in time for me to slam the door in the dog's face. He did not look mean, but he is the BIGGEST dog I've ever seen and could easily run over Isabel (and ME). In fact, I forgot that I've been scared of dog's for my whole life.

When I was about 13 years old my friend Megan Porter (Hall) had a big dog named Winston and I was trying to not be afraid of dogs and to play with him. But, things got a little out of control and I curled up in a ball in the corner of her room and he bit me in the butt. Oh yes, Megan was there protecting...I mean laughing at me! On my mission in Costa Rica, one day a dog came running up the sidewalk we were walking on. I moved close to a fence to try to get out of his way and my companion just stood there frozen with fear and the dog went right past her and bit me in the leg and ran into it's yard. It did break the skin a little and we had to make sure the dog had be given his shots. The owners did not have any documentation, but said he had all his shots. I didn't end up getting rabis so that was nice. One more fonder dog memory....I LOVED how in Guatemala all Katrina and I had to do was pretend to pick up a rock and throw it at a dog (big, little, mean, nice, annoying ANY kind of dog) and they would run away as fast as they could. That was awesome!

ANYWAY...I pulled up the blinds and the kids and I looked out the window at this dog and watched him walk around, run away and come back to our window. He "played" with us for about 30 mins and the kids loved it.

new favorite quote

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." – Helen Keller, 1957

I saw this quote on a friend's website a few weeks ago and think of it often. I just really like it and wanted to share.

halloween

Ansel is a frog and Isabel is a jackolantern again. (this is actually the third year. poor girl....the costume still fit so I didn't even ask what she wanted to be. but next year she can choose whatever she wants.) We kept our tradition of carving pumpkins with the cousins down in Springville (Joseph's sister Emily's family). We actually got to pick our pumpkins from the Spackman's very own pumpkin patch in their backyard! It was really cool. Ansel is sitting behind Isabel's jackolantern and Isabel is behind Ansel's. The little pumpkin Isabel painted in "school" with Stephen. They loved the project.


Isabel is eating a doughnut on a string at a Halloween party. It was a lot of fun and not too messy.