Jared Comes to Town

We couldn't believe our good luck when Jared

had a work assignment in Manila.

As our very good friend, neighbor down the street,

fellow lawyer who left big firm life, and a fellow ward member,

we much to visit about.

We somehow convinced him to spend all day Sunday with us,

and I am not sure who enjoyed him more, Pete and I, or the boys!

Thanks for coming to visit, Jared!

First Day of School

Jeffrey had his first day of school about three weeks ago.

It is a hard day for Mom, but everyone else seemed rather excited.

Laid, blanky and his sword are all ready for preschool with Mom.

He has made tremendous progress with his reading,

and also has exhibited greater self-control and empathy.

There is something special about being the "big helper" for most of the day.

Lucy misses Jeffrey when he is at school,
but she loves picking him up everyday and playing in the sandbox!

Indian Camp!

We celebrated our last week of summer by holding

INDIAN CAMP

We took this week very seriously. Our theme: Mohican warriors.

The boys before the hunt.

A special thanks to embassy for taking the day off so Pete could go hunting.

Lucy inside the tepee.

Laird looking through the tepee window.

We are so thankful to Julianne for giving us their tepee and

giving us the idea for such a fun week!

Lucy was asleep for most of the major projects.

However, Jeffrey made her a necklace and

she made this lovely sandpainting.

Laird ready for battle with his personally designed shield.

He had to remake his headdress three times as Lucy liked the feathers.

Jeffrey with his homemade bow.

(It didn't work as well as the foam ones.)

The boys with their "Indian gardens" (beans, squash and corn).

This is in our courtyard leading to our front door. Funky lighting.

Not pictured: the Indian lunches, snacks, dinners, watching Pocahantas, the animal photos all over the walls for our hunts, Lucy's outfit (she only wore it once), the homemade moccasins (phew!) and a lot of arrows flying everywhere.

All in all, we had a fantastic week. It was more work than I anticipated,

but worth every minute. We had such a great time together.

The Farm

Here at last is the final leg of our trip to the US:

visiting my aunt and uncle's farm in Cache Valley.

Their small town Preston was made famous by Napoleon Dynamite.

This was Lucy's favorite part of the farm.

Lucy would have liked to bring this car back to our house.

I didn't think it would fit on the airplane very well.

Grandpa and Grandma walk the children down to the river

with a great view of the green trees and hills in the background.

This picture is deceiving as Lucy takes after her mother and grandmother;

she found the water far too chilly for swimming!

Laird loves guns of any kind. Aunt Charity looks worried.

Grandpa Keith looks wet!



Jeffrey poised for a good shot.

Grandma Bev cheers everyone one.

Laird and Jeffrey ready to give us a tour of the organic dairy farm.

Aunt Charity showed the boys how to get in the calf pen.

About one second after the calf licked Laird. He liked it.

Cousin Karl with one of the darling kittens.

Going inside the milking area.

Laird, Jeffrey and Grandpa watch Kyle milk the cows.

Swimming Lessons

Megan, Jeffrey, Coach Rudy, Jake, and Laird (front) after the last day of swimming. We were very happy that our last week of swimming lessons was relatively sunny and warm!



Here Laird is swimming the backstroke with his teacher's hand supporting his head. This was his big accomplishment for his first round of swimming lessons.



Lucy loved going to the pool. She wasn't taking lessons at all but gained a new desire for getting wet and trying to swim.

Jeffrey looks out of breath and tired. He swam so hard and long. He usually came home from swimming lessons and ate more dinner than Pete (often twice as much). I didn't know boys could eat so much!

A Fortunate Event

While in Provo, we were fortunate enough to visit with our friends the Giles. Christine's parents were generous hosts and the children played together like no time had passed. It was a pleasure to be with our dear friends from Houston.