Halloween 2010

C.J. made this amazing glitter pumpkin at pre-school a few days ago. I'm glad that project wasn't done at my house! I can only imagine the glitter mess.

C.J. was a dragon! (Yeah, I know it's a dinosaur costume--he picked it out a month or so ago, but since then has determined it is a fire breathing dragon.)
And Eli made a cute frog.

It was a windy, drizzly night for trick-or-treating, so we didn't stay out long. But the kids didn't mind, and the fewer peanut M&Ms we collect the better. (No matter how hard we keep them from Eli, he manages to stuff one or two in his mouth when we aren't looking, resulting in a chewed up peanut mess a few minutes later.) Plus, we had a birthday pumpkin pie waiting! Mmm...I think I may go finish it off right now.

It's a Jungle Out There

Last Sunday Barry and I spoke in Sacrament Meeting. Barry did an excellent job, speaking on Elder Uchtdorf's talk from conference (yup, the one with the Vince Lombardi reference.) And I spoke on President Monson's talk on charity from the general Relief Society meeting.

Once church was over, we went for a drive to see the fall leaves and give C.J. a chance to nap. We took our favorite drive--up Big Cottonwood Canyon and over Guardsman's Pass and down to Wasatch Mountain State Park in Midway. It was beautiful. I'll never tire of vibrant yellow aspen groves surrounded by deep green pines.

As we drove through the trees, C.J. asked if we could see a tiger. "A tiger?" we asked. "Yeah, we're in the jungle." We looked, but we didn't see any tigers. Bummer. But we did play at the park before we headed home.

Goodbye, Ben

We are mourning the death of our friend, Ben Jacobsen. He passed away yesterday after a fight with cancer. Although we knew this was coming, the news has been hard to take--he was just so young and good and athletic and wonderful, and now leaving behind such a beautiful family.

The last time we saw Allison and Ben, we sat with them at a wedding reception a few summers ago. We had a lovely visit, and when we left I remember commenting on what great people they are. We had no idea what the coming months would bring.

But I am deeply comforted to know that Ben is just in a different place, free from the ailments of his physical body. And that one day, his spirit will reunite with his perfect body, and he will live in happiness with his family forever. That I know to be true. In the meantime, he will be one of many angels watching over his family. And I bet he has a good view.

Summer Days at the Cabin

We haven't been to the cabin much this summer--but when we were there, it was heaven. Except from 11:00 pm - 7:00 am when Eli wouldn't sleep... Here are some long overdue photos.