maybe a little like fall

On Labor Day, we made a trek out to a ranch that is an hour and a half and a 4 mile dirt road away from our house.

There is an organic orchard there and my whole sweet family endulged me in some apple picking.

Cori did a lot of driving. It was pretty hot and dusty. The fallen apples were swarming with honey bees.

The kids were ready to call it a day about 50 apples in. But we kept at it and filled our wheel barrow.

And we had some fun. The pigs and mini donkeys helped. And we came home with 80 lbs. of apples.

Yesterday, a couple of friends came over with even more apples and we let our children run wild for hours while we bottled applesauce. We finally took a break to feed them real food, help them with their homework and put them in bed. Cori and I finished up the lot and a couple of hours (and a complete kitchen wipe down later) we had an army of applesauce resting for the night. 46 quarts to be exact.

not amused

Look who came to dinner last night.

It was happily living in the hot, dry garage beneath a cooler.

We made it 13 months in our AZ home before seeing even a trace of these things.

And we have been looking.

Some time ago, Cori procured a black light flashlight and he has made regular sweeps of the house and property.

The funny thing is that just Sunday night, he made a sweep and, as usual, found nothing.

Determined to find a scorpion somewhere, we set out into the neighborhood. We finally found a concrete wall that faces an unlandscaped plot and that is guarded from street and house lights. Sure enough, there was a floss fluorescent critter RIGHT THERE . And then Grace spotted a dead snake in a very nearby bush and I was officially done with scorpion hunting for the rest of my life.

I guess we are lucky that this has been our only encounter so far. None of our neighbors have pest control problems. But we do live on the edge of a community that is cornered by a nature preserve and a 40 acre city park.

Just one more reason the cooler weather can't get here fast enough. If Phoenix wants to keep our family around, it is going to have to keep its wildlife out of our garage.

blessings

Gracie took this picture of us a couple weeks ago. I rather like it. This guy is so good to me. This week, I am grateful for:

• my forever marriage Cori and I were getting ready for our date night on Friday, and Gracie said something about us "hopefully" being best friends forever. We asked her what she meant by that and she said, "you know, because maybe you will split up." Though it was heartbreaking that she would even think such a thing, it was a great opportunity to look into her eyes and assure her that this would never happen. We made a promise to each other. And we made a promise to the Lord. And then when we had her, we made that promise to her too. We made a promise that we would love and take care of each other, no matter what. We won't always agree. We may be sad sometimes. But we will be together forever. It felt so right and good to say it. And Gracie's big eyes got even bigger for a moment until her whole body was smiling. I am so grateful for the security of my relationship with Cori, and that our children can feel secure about it too. I know our success depends on both of us. My heart breaks for dear friends who have been so adversely affected by the choices of their spouses/ex-spouses.
• my time with the young women in our ward I just got called into the Stake Young Women's Presidency. Though I'll still be working in the same organization, I won't have nearly as much personal interaction with the girls- a thing which had me in tears the whole Sunday I was released. Fortunately for me, I've been helping execute the last few activities I was a part of planning. But this week will mark the official end. My time with them was so short, but I've really fallen in love with these ladies.
• our life in Phoenix This is the worst time of year here. The body feels like the weather should be turning to Fall. Sweaters. Nip in the air. Apples. Coco. But Fall just doesn't exist here. The summer intensified throughout the month of August and it is still. so. hot. Cori spent a bit of time in Utah with his family last weekend, and upon returning confirmed to me what we've talked about so often since moving here- Phoenix will not be our final destination. We miss the mountains and the seasons too much. But we are quick to count our blessings here. Cori enjoys his work. There are great opportunities nearby for our children. Our neighborhood and our Church family are the stuff of dreams. Truly. We are very happy here, and hope to call it home for a while.
• Grant's frequent good moods lately In a manner very uncharacteristic of him, he can be found giving loves and kisses at random throughout the day. He is also a happier camper in the mornings lately, getting dressed by himself (in the clothes laid out the night before) before leaving his room. I wish I knew what flipped his switch!
• a good start to the season Cougar victories = happier weekends around the L* household.

hurray!

Our baby girl had a birthday this week.

We celebrated with a small family dinner and a cake.

By the time she got out of her high chair she was glistening with home made pesto and covered in chocolate crumbs and frosting.

If we do nothing else for Eden for the rest of her life, at least we did right by her on the night she turned one.

She is enjoying all her presents, thanks to all, near and far!

Her statistics at her 1 year checkup:

weight - 21 lbs. 10 oz. - 60%

height - 30 inches - 80%

head - 18 1/4 inches - 83%

She is loosing her chunk right before our very eyes. There was plenty to spare, so we have a while yet to enjoy her baby fatness. How we all love to squish on her!

For old time's sake:

5 minutes

1 day

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months

image diary: 8.27.2011

from the archives: gracie, august 2006

i could cry

This baby girl is so big.

Her first birthday is just around the corner.

Though these particular pictures don't reflect it -she would not smile at the camera! Just me without my camera- she is such a happy, easy going kid. She rarely gets fussy or clingy. She's just good natured, through and through. (I'm so lucky, I know it!)

Bright eyes and a quick smile are typical adornments.

She is crazy for her dad.

She is my best little buddy through out the day.

She is spunky and is developing quite a sense of humor.

Things she is doing lately:

• Walking everywhere
• Climbing stairs at lightning speed
• Saying Mama and Dada, though her favorite thing to say is "Dong!" whilst hitting herself on the head. Yeah, we don't know...
• Occasionally signing 'more' and 'milk' when she feels like it which isn't often
• Singing gibberish to herself
• Taking two longish naps a day (I still have no life outside of keeping her schedule and running her siblings to and fro, I'm okay with it though)
• Finding containers, filling them, and carrying them around- reminds me of someone - see argument B.
• Eating everything
• Drinking exclusively from sippys
• Sleeping with her favorite silky pink blankie
• Emptying book shelves
• Wanting to do everything Grace and Grant are doing
• Allowing her mama to smootch on her all day long