Introducing SCOUT

I have succor stamped across my forehead right now because we have a new puppy in the house! Since Ringo's departure (our old beagle), we've been a little lonely and completely pet less. I guess it's the natural nurturing instinct of the girls that makes an adorable puppy irresistible. We came across a new breed (for us), the West Highland Terrier, better known as Westies. After oohing and aahing over our friends Westie, we looked into an ad that was placed online for Westie puppies. Friday night with the whole family in toe, we visited the breeder's home and were introduced to the only lady of the liter which we now call Scout. I purposely left the checkbook at home so we wouldn't be overly impulsive and make a decision on the spot. We all fell in love with her but wisely decided to take the weekend to think about bringing home a new puppy. The weekend didn't last long--it is Sunday night and we are now proud owners of Scout. Thank you to the Estes family for coming over and helping us "socialize" Scout. She is eight weeks old and so let the house training and crate training begin--yikes! Wish me luck because I need it!

Girl Power

History in the making today in the Republican Party--a woman put forward for Vice President. Although I would have loved to have seen Mitt as the Veep--better yet--the President, I predicted a few weeks ago that McCain should go with a female VP pick. Why? Because it is the political savvy thing to do and better yet, why not? I'm looking forward to learning more about Sarah Palin. What a great example of a woman,a mother no less, rising from the ranks of her local PTA to being a representative of the people and for the people. I look forward to finally having a woman near the top who is a mother and a champion for things like traditional marriage and advocating a pro life platform. As for all of us girls, I don't think we could be represented any better.

I remember in the 8th grade Geraldine Ferraro being nominated as the first female VP candidate. I even chose to represent her in a debate in 8th grade social studies class. I am excited to have witnessed history today in the political party I have declared ownership in since I could vote. Go Girls!

Tomato Tornado

Thanks to this sweet daughter and all her help in the kitchen--we ended up with lots of this last night!

Provo Peak 6th Ward YW

I received a new calling a few weeks ago--working with the awesome young women in our ward. Of course, three of those awesome girls are my very own! I love this picture that was taken of some of them a few months ago. Aren't they darling!

Parlez-vous francais?

My eight year old makes me smile so much with all the things she shares with me from her school day. Most often I file the conversation in my mind somewhere, vowing to remember and then of course forgetting! No more--for example--tonight at dinner I was quizzing her about the nice boys in her class this year. Without hesitation she said that the nicest and most polite boy was Ethan, who by the way, speaks French. She was quite impressed by this fact as well as the contents of his sack lunch. Today, she declared in colorful detail, that Ethan "brought a buffet" for his lunch. I guess I need to spice up the sack lunches and perhaps polish my high school French. Notice the little Eiffel Tower fabric in the pic? I bought this skirt because of that fabric. Maybe the little one is more like me than I thought!

First Day of School 2008

Today was the first day of all the girls going back to school. I can hardly believe that summer is over! We've had so much fun being together this summer that I was sad to see it come to an end. However, I have to admit that once I got them all out the door this morning, the quiet wasn't so bad! I'm hoping they all had a great day.

Snow Family Reunion at Bryce Canyon

Last Wednesday we headed to Southern Utah for the Snow family reunion. Grandpa and Grandma made the arrangements for all 6 children and their spouses and families. We stayed at Ruby's Inn which has been in business since the early 1900's. Grandpa had worked in various capacities at Bryce Canyon as a young man and it was fun to hear about some of the well-known people he met. We even learned that the famous photographer, Ansel Adams had taken his picture at the canyon and it was included in a calendar. Sadly, his copy of the calendar was misplaced! Family came from all over the country to attend (Maryland, Washington, Idaho). It was the first time in several years that everyone has been all together because of missions and moves. Overall, it was a wonderful experience with many great memories made. The highlights included hiking in the canyon, visiting neighboring Kodachrome Park, the Anasazi Village in Boulder, Utah, Cedar Breaks and Parawon City Cemetery. Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for a fun-filled trip!

More Family Reunion Pics

Backyard Addition

We finally added the basketball standard to the backyard and the girls have been having fun ever since. It made for a fun FHE activity!

Aah...Summer

I planted these zenias several weeks ago from nothing but tiny seeds. It literally took about 30 seconds and I was done. I am shocked at the beautiful results--they're huge! I am a true believer in "Miracle Grow..."