Homemade Ice Cream Spells Y-U-M!!!

Last night, we got the hankerin' for some homemade ice cream. When I was a little girl, we used to make it all the time with raspberries from our garden. I can still remember the taste - amazing!

Now, chocolate has become the favorite, not that fresh fruit isn't still great. Just take a look at that plate of chopped up candy bars we put in!

Aleah and McKenna took their turns at cranking - it wasn't quite as easy as they thought it would be but they sure appreciated the end product more.

It was scrumdeliocious (as Kaylyn would say)!

Family Tradition

Each night after family prayer we have a group hug and then put our hands together in the circle. When all the girls used to be home, we would do the "cinnamon roll", curling our fingers together and saying "Plumbs". Then when Kaylyn left, we came up with another one where we link pinky fingers and thumbs. Now that Lexi is off too, again we had to come up with something different. So now the four of us stick our fists in. Well, Cooper decided that he should be in on this family tradition so ever since we've been doing the fist thing, he's there to stick his "fist" in too!

The Cowardly Lion and the Saxophone

Okay, not a lion but almost as big as one. I'm talking about Cooper, the biggest scaredy cat in the world! McKenna is learning how to play the saxophone this year in band. It's almost as big as she is! It's amazing that she can even carry it, let alone the case. Last night, she took it out to show us that she can play her first note (she doesn't know what note it is, but she can play it - ha). Well, Cooper about jumped out of his skin and came running over to hide under the coffee table (he still thinks he can fit). Then he didn't know if he was afraid of it or wanted to attack it or both. Needless to say, he was very glad to see that "beast" go back in it's case. I can't wait until next time!

Birthday Boys!!!

Cooper and Rob both had birthdays this week! Cooper is one year old and weighs in at a hefty 145 lbs. and is 31 inches tall and still growing. I definitely feel his size at the end of the leash. It's a good thing he is well-mannered because if he wanted to take off, he'd be draggin' me all over Newman Lake! He's a good boy who loves people, his t-r-e-a-t-s and chewing on his frisbee.

Rob weighs in at... well, thankfully he's done growing. For his birthday, we met up with Kaylyn for lunch at Bajio, went Lego shopping, attended the temple with Aleah for youth baptisms and had Blizzards at DQ. Even though he had a great day, Rob wasn't too excited about this birthday. He feels at 45 that he is not only closer to 50 now, but also half dead. Hey - 90 would be a good, long life! I told him to look at the bright side: he could be 55 or 65 or even 75. You have to relish and enjoy the age you are because you can't do a darn thing about it! Here's to another year Honey!

Happy 21st Birthday Kaylyn!

Wow, a 21 year old and two off at college!!! I am really beginning to feel old. Today we celebrated Kaylyn's birthday by helping her move into her house at Whitworth and taking her out for dinner. We went to Bajio which is one of our most favorite! It's a popular restaurant in Utah and we were excited to finally see one make it up our way. Yum!

It really was quite strange tonight with only four of us in our family prayer circle (and a dog who thinks he has to be right in the middle of it). It was strange not being all together to celebrate a birthday. We realized that the next time we'll all be together will be at Christmas.

Happy Birthday Kaylyn! We love you!

Knee Surgery

On August 27, Kaylyn had knee surgery to repair a torn medial patellar ligament. Last fall at Whitworth, she injured her knee (dislocated her patella) but it took quite a while and a couple of doctors to finally diagnose what the problem was and how to correct it. Dr. Petersen was a godsend and performed the rare surgery beautifully. It will take a year for the rehabilitation and healing process but after that she should be as good as new!

No funny stories of Kaylyn coming out of the anesthesia. She just couldn't stay awake long enough to get dressed so we could leave! I never thought we'd get out of there.

Dr. Petersen removing the stitches. Notice the grin on his face! Ha!

BYU Bound

The day had finally come for Lexi to become part of the Cougar family! Why not? Her mom and dad and many, many extended family members were Cougars!

Arriving in Provo just in time for Sunday dinner at Mary's, we had a great time catching up with nieces, nephews and cousins. Mary made a fabulous dessert pizza - YUM!

The next day the work began. Boxes, boxes and more boxes to unload, pictures to hang, clothes to put away, groceries to buy, roommates to meet and tears to shed (oh, that would be on mom's part). It was exhausting but fun and Lexi's apartment was turned into a cozy, comfy, practical dorm room. She lives two blocks from campus in the Windsor Park apartment complex.

Her dad tried to put on a happy face about leaving his little girl behind but...

this is how he really felt!

Mom only cried about half the way home! But Lexi is having a great time. She's enjoying her roommates, her classes (although she can't believe how huge they are - welcome to BYU), and getting to know all the cute RMs around campus. We love you and miss you Lexi!!!

St. George Vacation

I knew it would come. I'd hoped and prayed that it wouldn't and said that it couldn't, but it still came... the time to take Lexi to BYU. Not that I wasn't excited for her new chapter in life and the fun and memories she would have in Provo, but I was being extremely selfish and didn't want to let go.

Fortunately, we were able to leave early and spend five wonderful days playing and relaxing in St. George, Utah before turning her loose. For those of you who haven't heard yet (I can't imagine the word hasn't gotten out to everyone already) we are moving to St. George! We drove through this beautiful desert oasis in April of 2008 and fell in love with it. We love the weather, the many outdoor activities and the beauty of southern Utah. So we proceeded to look for a house and eventually found one on the third trip. We bought it and are now waiting for our house here in Spokane to sell. We are very excited and anxious to embark on our new adventure but will definitely miss dear friends here.

It was great spending some "down" time with Lexi and the rest of the family (minus Kaylyn who stayed home to work :( ). We swam in our pool, played games, swam, went sightseeing, swam, rode our bikes and swam some more (what better thing to do when it's 105 degrees out?).

We toured the St. George Tabernacle and had old fashioned sodas across the street at this little store that was founded in 1901. It had every bottled soda that has ever been made and lots of candy that you just don't see anymore. It was very nostalgic for Rob and me!

While in St. George, we experienced the fury of a desert storm! One minute it was beautiful out and the next, we could see this wall of red sand heading our way. The wind kicked up to 50 mph and we could feel the windows in the house shaking! It was impressive - we had white caps in the pool!

All good things must come to an end, or so they say. We loaded up and headed for Provo, not knowing for sure when we would be back.