Definitely not a work day

This was definitely not what I did today! It was so nice out and the kids are all gone except the two little ones. We read books, went to free lunch, played some games, worked on girls crafts and now we are off to the pool for a fun late afternoon evening swim. I love these lazy days of summer - but tomorrow I might have to get to some work around here - but then again maybe it can wait another day and we can play some more!

Zoo trip

Last week went to the zoo. It was so fun to go with the bigger kids and the little ones. Some of the bigger kids had not been in quite a while - I was surprised - I think Noah had said that he had never seen the new lion exhibit. I guess I tend to forget who does what around here. But can you believe this adorable little face - she is such a cutie! I can't believe this little one will be one this week!


These were by far the scariest animals there! Just kidding - They really had fun and it was great to see everyone getting along so well and actually enjoying each other - it has been hard this summer - I have figured out what has been so hard for me - the no sun factor! So I guess that the children have had just as hard a time with the weather not actually being a full out summery kind of season.

It was fun to have Luke around for a couple of weeks - the kids had lots of fun having all their nephews and niece around! We spent time playing chess and playing at the pool and in the backyard. These guys are so lucky to have their nephews and niece be so close to their own ages - they act like brothers and sisters most of time - I love it!

Here's most of the gang - I guess my camera skills are not so good I cut Jonathan and Noah out a little bit - oh well, Also, who knows where Autumn ran off to! Even though it was not that sunny of a day and we even got a few sprinkles on us it was a great day and memories were made. And really that is all that matters!

A special sharing time today

Today was an amazing day in primary. I had such fun doing sharing time. We were learning about the temple and being a forever family. As I searched this week for what to do with the topic I had several ideas and had a hard time narrowing it down to the 15 minutes. I really prayed hard last night that what the children needed to know would be taught. I woke up this morning around 4:00 with a song in my head. It is one of our families favorite songs "A never ending chain" - I prayed for a while on how I could incorporate that song into the sharing time. Then it all came together for me in my head. I talked about how I have a large family and they could not all be here with me at church today so I was going to use some of the children for my "pretend" family. Then we talked about some of the ordinances we need to do before we can go to the temple. "Bobbie" was getting baptized so he had to find the picture of a young boy getting baptized - "Sam" was going to be a deacon so he had to find the picture of the boy passing the sacrament - and so forth. I had the children, a mom and dad, and grandma and grandpa. Then I had them link arms as I talked about how the ordinances in the temple linked us together as forever family. Hayden sang the song for me and joined our "pretend" family. Then I taught the primary the song - the most amazing feeling was in junior sharing time. After they learned the first verse (it is short) then I had the whole primary link arms and stand together in a circle and sing to each other. I really felt the spirit testify to me of the truth of this gospel principle! Afterwards as the children were leaving a little girl about baptism age came up to me and said "Sis. Weitzel your daughter has such a pretty voice. You are so lucky to have her in your real forever family. I loved sharing time today it made me feel really good!" I almost started to cry! I told her it was the spirit testifying to her that the things she learned were true and that I was so glad she was there today. I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers. As I have thought about this all afternoon I know that he wanted that little girl to hear and feel the spirit of the temple. I know that there were others there today that needed to hear the words to that song and the one they learned in singing time "I love to see the temple". I am so lucky to have Hayden in our forever family! I am so lucky to have all my children in our forever family - I am so lucky to have the temple here on earth to bless my life!

Perfect summer day

What a perfect summer day - swimming at the pool with friends!

Oregon's wild and scenic Rogue River

David and I just got back from an amazing trip to Gold Beach. David planned it last fall as a surprise for our anniversary. We took the jet boat on the Rogue River. We spent seven hours on the river had so much fun as we toured one of the prettiest rivers in Oregon. We saw all kinds of birds and other wildlife. The only thing we didn't see was a bear - I was kind of grateful but David of course would have been thrilled to see a bear. The weather was perfect! It could not have been a nicer day on the river.

David looks good here - I on the other hand had been splashed and with wet windblown hair decided that I did not care if I took our picture. This is definitely one of my favorite trips we have taken. We ate dinner at a cute restaurant that had the most amazing clam chowder I have ever eaten. I have eaten clam chowder all over along the coast but this was by far the best! We had a fabulous couple of days and a great time together. It is nice to be home though and we did miss the kids - but it definitely was a quiet few days for us!

"Don't worry mom"

This little girl just keeps me in stitches. I mean I don't know what our family would be like without her. She is always coming up with the most interesting things. Yesterday she came bouncing in the house after school all excited. "Mom, mom I know what I want to do when I get bigger!" "What Autumn do you want to do?" "I want to be one of those people who drive people around - what's that called?" "You mean a taxi cab driver?" "Yeah, one those guys. They make a lot of money! I figure if I take someone on four or five really long trips I will get lots of money. Then I'm going to buy my very own car." "Oh, really" I said. "Then I'm going to college to be a teacher. A teacher would be so fun to be. But don't worry mom, if that doesn't work out I'll still be a veterinarian." {Something she has always said she would do when she got older} "Wow, Autumn you really have thought about this." "Oh, and by the way, you probably will be getting a call from my teacher." {Mom's do not like to hear that statement.} "Why, what did you do?" "Oh mom, I asked Mrs. Lake to be my god mother. Don't worry mom, it's OK if I have two mothers." "Autumn, do you even know what a god mother is?" "No, but I'm sure that Mrs. Lake knows and she"ll know how to do it. She is a teacher after all!" Then this happy little seven year skipped out of the room as happy as can be. She had it all figured out - I wish I was as confident as her and could have that "don't worry" attitude. I love being her mother!

A Day in the Sun-Magic Pockets

Last Saturday was beautiful! The sun was shinning and we had a day of baseball and softball. David was so excited because he finally got to see the everyone play. There were a total of five games that were played. Everyone did really good - well, Hayden struggled a bit but after a talk from dad she came back swinging (literally).

She keeps the back pockets pulled out of her pants. For some reason she thinks this gives her good luck. Having lived the last 31 years around baseball superstition it did not surprise me that she has her own little superstition. She was hit a couple of weeks ago with a pitch and since then has been a little scared up at the plate. She jumps out of the box if the pitch is even close and was not swinging at all. Needless to say she struck out her first three times up to bat. She is a good little player so this was frustrating to her dad. He told her that if she did not start swinging the bat she had to tuck her pockets in. Well, I don't know why that worked but she had a hit every time after that. She got her confidence back until she did not catch a fly ball that was over her head and behind her. She hung her dead down her "dramatic" way and I could tell was wiping away tears. Now this would have been a big deal except these girls were ahead by ten runs and really it was OK. David yelled out to her that if she did not knock it off (the drama) she had to tuck in her pockets. Well, instantly she was all smiles and back down and ready for the next play. I don't know what it is about those pockets but somehow there must be some kind of magic in pockets being turned out!

We ended the day with a barbecue and a movie. It really was a sunny fun day!