Because I Can!

I've been experimenting with photography quite a bit lately. There is a beautiful rustic wooden park in Oakdale that I've been wanting to take pictures at. This week I decided that I would take advantage of my one-on-one time with Sophia and take her to Storytime at the local library, but before we went, we swung by this lovely little park for some pictures. I love how they came out... so I am posting them for your enjoyment JUST BECAUSE I CAN!

A Nice Walk with the Family

Our Sunday afternoons are usually spent napping... trying to catch up on all of the sleep that we lose over the week. This particular Sunday we woke from our naps feeling energized, so we decided to go on a walk. There is a beautiful trail that runs along the river by our house. We took a different route than usual and it turned into an adventure. There were hanging vines and fallen trees to climb over and under. Fall is beginning to make it's presence known, so the fallen golden leaves added to the feeling of the evening. There are wild grapes that grow all over the ground and up the trees. The kids had fun picking and tasting them. It was a nice breezy evening... one of those days that you wish didn't have to end...

Happy Birthday September "Peeps"!

Mom (Marilyn), Mike, Laurie, and Jared W. all have birthdays in September so of course we had to gather and celebrate! (you know, a reason to eat some cake and drink more milk!) Uncle Mike brought the 4-wheeler and spent the evening giving kids rides through the orchard. There was taco salad for dinner and Brookes scrumptious cake for dessert. A day at the ranch is pure bliss. The ranch is home to all of us... it always will be no matter where life takes us and how the years age us. Home is where the heart is... well MY heart is with my family right here at this sweet little ranch!

These are a few more special moments from the birthday celebration that I wanted you all to see!

Laurie and Rachel... always bright and beautiful!

Uncle Eric takes the boys for a ride. Royce was elated to be on the 4-wheeler!

This is a picture of our beautiful orchard at dusk. I love this place!

Little Entrepreneurs...

Well... it's no secret that times have been tough this year... but that doesn't keep our kids down! We recently received a mailing for Halloween costumes. The kids were so excited to pick out their costumes of choice only to be let down by mommy's news that we would be wearing "homemade" costumes this year. So, all on their own the kids came up with the idea of opening up a store and selling Halloween crafts in an effort to raise money for their costumes. They gathered rocks and painted them as pumpkins and witches, found a paper towel tube and painted it to be a "Halloween look-a-scope", and of course, Brenden made some paper airplanes. They attached price tags to their items and hung a sign out by the road. Before too long they started to try new methods to coax the cars or "customers" as they called them into our driveway. Paris began singing jingles and Brenden began to dance and point at their "store." They put so much effort into this little Halloween shop that it broke my heart as I started to see them give up on the hope of any prospective buyers, so I called Papa to the rescue. When Papa pulled into the driveway the kid's faces lit up and they began to barter. Papa was excited to go home with a few custom made crafts, Brenden even threw in the paper plane for free. The truly funny thing is how the kids priced their items. They knew they needed $29.00 for the costume, so guess how much that rock was priced for?! Yep, Papa talked them down a bit. Thank you Papa for supporting my wonderfully creative kids. I hope they always keep that entrepreneurial spirit alive!

Happy Birthday Nana!

We invited Nana and Papa over for dinner to celebrate Nana's birthday. We had a nice dinner, then took the "doggies" for a walk. After the walk Nana blew out her candles with a little help from Brenden.

This is my favorite fallen log on the river walk behind our house; of course I made everyone stop and take a picture on it! These dogs are Nana's birthday gift from Papa. The poodle's name is "Bo" and he's a boy, the pug's name is "Ruby" and as you may have guessed... she's a girl. It was a fun experience watching the kids take them for a walk. Both dogs have little chest harnesses that attach to leashes. To be honest... I think the dogs walked the kids!

Spaghetti Feed at the Ranch!

Richard, Tammy, and their daughter Sadie were here to visit for a short time for Robert's wedding reception. Grandmother organized a spaghetti dinner so that we could all see them before they left town. Meredith whipped up a delicious homemade spaghetti sauce, and Grandmother provided lots of bread and pies to top it all off. It was great to be together. As always, the kids played till the sun went down. The food was great, the company even better. Thank you Meredith, Grandmother, Rachel, and Uncle Stan for all of your hard work to make this such a fun night!

At the end of the night Meredith threw some of the "chillins" into the tub. Those Thompson kids are just so stinkin' cute!

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Thompson

Robert and Krystal were married in Utah on August 23, 2008. The following week they held a reception at Uncle Brad and Aunt Elizabeth's house. The reception was beautiful. It was held in the evening and the decor was done in autumn colors. The cousins played on the grass for hours. Rachel helped to serve pie, Camille passed out mints to the guests, Paris and Sophia placed the gifts on the gift table, and Richard played the piano for back ground ambiance. I took some pictures of the happy couple and as you can see... they were having fun! Congratulations Robert and Krystal! Best of luck!

It's a Fancy Nancy Birthday!

August 19, 2008 Layla and Sophia turned 4 years old! The twin cousins did it again! They had a fun birthday bash that will go down in the Thompson history books. Brooke and I worked together to throw the girls a "Fancy Nancy" party. The girls got to pick out fancy outfits to wear and then decorated their "posh puppies." Afterward they had a fashion show. They strutted the catwalk with their posh puppies, then finished off the party with cookies, cakes, and punch from a fountain! At the end of the party Brookie sat the girls on a blanket and read one of the Fancy Nancy books to them. It was a day that the girls will not soon forget. Thanks Brooke for all of your hard work and imagination! Thanks Jared for the awesome super-sized signs! Happy Birthday Twin Cousins! We can't even believe that you're 4 years old already!

A Day at the Temple

August 16, 2008 Oakdale 2nd ward held their annual Ward Temple Day. For the last 3 years I have served in the primary presidency, and so each year I have helped take care of the kids while their parents serve in the temple. This year was just as fun as all of the others. At the end of the day Mike and I took the kids to see the Joseph Smith movie at the visitor's center. It is an inspirational movie, for those of you who haven't seen it, we highly recommend it. Before we left the temple, I was able to get some great pictures of the kids with the temple as the back ground. They love to visit the temple, we pray that will never change!

Water Day at the Ranch!

We set up the waterslide and let the kids play, play, play! Paris, Brenden, Sophia, Billy, Layla, Camille, and Domonick were all there. That evening Brooke and I took the kids for a walk down to Grandmother and Grandpa's house. We finished the day off with some popsicles. There's just nothing that compares to a good ol' day at the ranch with the family!