Temple Trip

We celebrated Natalie's 12th birthday by doing baptisms for the dead.

Fall has arrived!!

Temple Groundbreaking

The morning of Oct. 8 in Payson, Utah was cold and rainy, but we used our precious 4 tickets anyway. We bundled up and tried to see what was going on over all the umbrellas. The kids were cold and miserable at first, but by the end they were excited to someday see the temple there - and Enoch said he wants to go that temple very first when he turns twelve. We didn't stick around long enough to have a turn with the shovel, so Enoch dug a little with his boot :)

Can you do this?

October 2011: by Bjorn

We just finished watching the Sunday morning session of conference. One more session of conference to go. It always goes by too quickly. We have Teresa and Sarah and Brenda here now and Matt and Rachel should be joining us shortly. It has been fun to become the hang out place for the college-age cousins. We sure appreciate the fact that our children have such great cousins to look up to and interact with. Enoch got a build-your-own-truck kit for his birthday and he was excited to have Matt come so Matt could help him put it together.

Congrats to Rachel on her mission call! Atlanta, Georgia – wow! We know she will be a fantastic missionary. I’m sure Chad and Jenny can give her the low-down on how things are down there. We’ll continue to enjoy her great sense of humor live and in person while we can.

Enoch had a fun birthday. He invited 18 friends to a “BYU” party where they enjoyed a yummy “Y” cake made by Becky and lots of fun soccer contests and games and tons of presents. He finished his party and then an hour later went to another party for a friend that had come to his party. Since we knew he was going to be gone, Auriana, Isaac, Natalie, and I didn’t feel too bad about going to the BYU/Utah State football game thanks to 4 tickets from Steve. We had a fun time sitting by Steve on the front row and getting to see Mikayla cheer. I was impressed with what a great job she does and how her face just beams with happiness and enthusiasm and she actually does bring cheer to others. The game, of course, was fantastic and it was fun to experience that excitement with three of my children.

Enoch and I got to go to the driving range after the afternoon session yesterday. He picked things up pretty quickly and we had a fun time. He hit to the 100 yard marker several times. Hopefully we’ll get in 9 holes before the weather turns. Isaac was nice enough to give Enoch his set of clubs that he got when he was Enoch’s age. Between sessions yesterday we went to Natalie’s soccer game. They played a very physical team and ended up losing but as always Natalie did a fantastic job despite being bumped and shoved and stepped on. I really admire her toughness and tenacity. She is a leader on the team and her teammates really look up to her.

Auriana and I will probably go out again this afternoon to a church parking lot and do some driving. She’s working towards getting her permit and learned to handle the car well in our previous session. Isaac is improving his basketball skills daily and playing every chance he can get. He continues to work at his lawn mowing business and is making some pretty good money.

Miriam and Ellie had their first official violin lesson and both are making good progress in their daily practicing. One of my favorite things to do with them is use silly voices when I read stories to them before bedtime. For some reason they have decided they can slap their dad’s face when he starts reading the story in a voice other than his normal voice. After each slap I start in with a different voice. They start giggling like crazy and I recently discovered that I can slap them back (softly of course) and that makes the fun even crazier and sillier. I can get through about 6 or 7 different voices before my cheeks tell me its time to read with a regular voice. As Becky and I have talked recently we discussed how its important to take the long view of things and think more about what the kids will remember from their childhood than what seems to be most pressing at the moment. I want my children to remember that I was there – whether that’s for soccer or football or basketball or dance or concerts or silly stories at bedtime. When they look back as older children or adults on their childhood I want to make sure I am part of those memories, that those visual images in their minds include me laughing or smiling or being silly or being a good listener or sharing my testimony or cheering for them from the sidelines.

I’m grateful for the good examples I have all around me of amazing fathers and mothers who are involved in their children’s lives and who set wonderful examples for them.

Becky was released from MiaMaids and put in as Beehive Advisor. So she got to spend some time with Auriana and now will get to be with Natalie once she turns 12 on October 19. Happy birthday to all the other October birthdays. And Happy Anniversary to Mike and Alison and Mom and Dad!