Dinner on the Deck

Pork Chops

Potatoes

Punch

My Family

The Camera

Fun

On the Deck

Fun with tomatoes and other things....

Fall is here! And I just Love it :) I've been enjoying myself immensely, the past few weeks. There is a coolness in the air. I need a blanket to lay in the hammock these days. Walking around my neighborhood feels great! Fresh air, Football, and Fall T.V. shows are back! The grapes are getting ripe! By the end of next month, I'll be putting up Jelly. A LOT of Grape Jelly! We have 1 jar left on the shelf. Wow, I didn't think we'd make it :) I think I'll make triple the amount this year!

I just LOVE being Mom right now! My girls crack me up :) I mean, I just smile when I look at them, watch them talk and tell me things. They are so amazing!!!! I can't imagine life without them. I have fun making our home a place they love to be. I LOVE spending time with them. I love to watch them learn and grow. They are fabulous! I think these are the BEST days ever :)

This weekend, we got out the Halloween decorations. To see the excitement on Elle's face was priceless! The girls have been carrying around their Trick or Treat buckets. We already have our costumes. I'm really excited about our costumes this year. We are dressing as the Scooby Doo Crew! It was the girls Idea. Bree as Daphine, Me as Velma, Elle as Scooby, and Chris as Shaggy. I even found some lunch boxes in the form of the Mystery Machine! Super fun!! As you know, this is one of my favorite Holidays.

Tomatoes!! This year I planted 8 tomato plants. Crazy I know. But I just LOVE tomatoes! Chris told me that he can't believe I've actually used them all so far. He was afraid that we would waste so many. But I've picked and picked tomatoes, filling my counter tops a few times, and trust me, they do not go to waste! We've made tomato sandwiches, spaghetti salad, put them in green salads, on burgers, nachos, and tacos, bottled tomatoes, and my latest venture......, bottled salsa! It's been amazing.

I've been having fun at home lately. Sewing the girls dresses, bottling food from the garden, packing Bree's lunches, and walking her to the bus. Making yummy dinners, as we are trying to eat out less and less. It's amazing how much money you can save by eating at home all the time. And then I've been noticing, that those fast food dinners just don't taste like they used to. Don't get me wrong, I love a nice dinner out once in a while, but I've been trying to stop myself from buying fast food all the time. So I've posted a picture of the awesome home made Pizza we had the other night! Yum :)

Yes! Fall is here. And I have been in the creative mood lately! I'm so glad that I have these talents and can do things for my family! I am so in Love with my little family :) I love how hard Chris works for our family too! He is amazing!!! So Happy Fall Everyone!

Our latest project

Do you see that Planter thingy in the middle of the yard? Well, it's got to go! :) he..he..

Apparently, there was another huge tree in our yard that died, and they couldn't get the stump out, so they decided to cover it up. But we've decided that we'd like it to be gone. More lawn to mow, but one less thing to mow around!

What....where is it? Oh yeah, it's almost gone!

And one of these days it's going to be just as flat as the rest of the yard, and covered with grass. And you won't even know it was there :)

Grandma Helen Belnap's Funeral

Today was my grandma's Funeral. Helen Mae Faddis Belnap. She was 2 months shy of 92 years old. The cutest, happiest, social light, well traveled, loving, sharing of her wealth, and talents, threw one heck of a party, amazing Grandma Ever!!

When she was around 81 years or so, she wrote her own little life history. When my Dad read it at the funeral, I think that was one of my favorite parts of the day. Hearing her tell her story, in her own words :) The jobs she had, her schooling, courting with grandpa, etc.. What a kick. I could almost hear her talking.

My Aunts talks made me cry. And all of my cousins and myself sang a song.

Over all, it was a wonderful reunion we had today. So much family, and so many friends! It was so good to see so many familiar faces. People and family I hadn't seen in such a long time. All gathered to give my grandma a wonderful send off, to heaven to be reunited with grandpa, after 35 years. Amazing!! And she really did look so so good. I was half expecting her to just open her eyes and wake up. And to maybe even start talking to me. All the great grandkids, dropped chocolate kisses into the casket. She LOVED her chocolate :)

This first picture was taken in July. Just a couple of short months ago. Grandma was in a rest home. She wasn't sick, no tragedies, just happy little grandma, and her 3 children. Amazing to be enjoying life one minute, and then to go to sleep one night, and go to sleep for good. At 91, it was just time for her to go home. She couldn't have had it any better than that!

We just happened to be the first car in the funeral precession. So I took a picture of us entering the cemetery.
My Dad! Oh how I LOVE him :)
After the funeral, we ended up at the cemetery. It was good.

Our Eternal Family!!

Doug, Jennifer, Abigail, Nicholas, Aleigha Evans, Chris, Brighton, Bree, Elle, Jorgensen, Brent, Lorna Belnap, Cord, Adelle, Libby, Natalie, Gage, Belnap, Dax, Monica, Kayla, Belnap, Cory, Camber, and Kycen Wallberg.
Mom and Dad, and the grandkids :)
The cousins!

Nicole Metzger, CharRee Lyle, Brighton Jorgensen, John Dillon, Jennifer Evans, Natalie Martindale, Jim Dillon, Amy Napier, Dax Belnap, Dana Jones, Camber Wallberg, and Cord Belnap.
My cute girls :)
We LOVE you grandma! Till we meet again.

Last Summer Fling

This past weekend, we went on our last little camping trip for the year. It was Labor Day Weekend, and Bree had an extra day off of school. We went with my Parents to East Canyon. Our main objective was just to swim every single day. And one day, we went back to the pool a second time! Our girls LOVE to swim! I Love to swim too, so it's all good :)

I didn't take very many pictures of the weekend. Unusual for me. But I did take a whole bunch of my cute Bree swimming under water. At the beginning of the summer, she hadn't even put her face in the water. On our first trip to East Canyon this year, and at the first of the summer, Bree started putting her face in and holding her breath. I challenged her to go under the first time, with a chocolate bar for the prize. She did it, and hasn't looked back! She loves it!

We got a new pool for the girls to swim in this summer. It's bigger and holds a lot more water than their previous baby pool. The girls have been swimming at least twice a week all summer. And Bree has been swimming laps under water in her pool in the backyard for quite sometime. This was our first trip to the big pool where she really swam like a pro! She still can't swim where she can't touch, but I'm so proud of the progress she has made. She just can't get enough! So I guess we're going to have to make swimming part of our weekly ritual. There are some great pools near our house. Maybe it's time for some swim lessons. And Bree can't wait! Who knows, maybe she will join a swim team one day :)