Everybody needs to be an only child sometimes!

The other day Jaxon got the chance to be an only child. All the kids were playing at friends houses and Jaxon couldn't find a friend to play with so he was just hanging out with me while I made cookies. We were just talking and I said to him "Hey, it's kind of like your an only child right now." He thought that was so cool! Then we remembered that Katie was crawling around on the floor so he wasn't "really" an only child. He said "That's OK, I love just being with my baby sister by myself." We continued to just hang out. He asked me if he could have a cookie batter beater since he was an only child. I usually don't give the beaters to kids because we have too many kids and I only have two beaters. It wouldn't be fair (I know, I'm a mean mom!). So, guess what I did. I gave him both the beaters. You should have seen his face. It was fun. I don't get one-on-one time with him much and I really enjoyed it!

Three forks hike

This weekend we went on a hike with my family up Diamond Fork Canyon. When we went camping with the Byers family a few weeks ago, we went on the same hike. I wanted to go again without my little kids so we could just enjoy the scenery. I was hoping the leaves would have changed so we could enjoy the fall leaves.

The colors were amazing! I never dreamed that they would be so pretty! Every time we saw a beautiful scene, we didn't think it could get any prettier. Then we would go around a bend and it was even prettier.

After some of the kids went swimming in the hot pots, we hiked back down. The hike down was even prettier because the sun was shining through the leaves. When you see beauty like this, you want to share it with everyone. It was a fun hike on a beautiful day.

First conference together

Jadon went to the priesthood session of conference for the first time tonight. It was neat to see him and Dale leave together, dressed in their suits. They started the tradition of going out to dinner before so they went to La Luna, of coarse. Dale said it was neat to have Jadon there with him for the session.

Butterfield canyon

Saturday evening we took a drive up Butterfield canyon to see the leaves. It was so beautiful! We go up the canyon every year to see the leaves. I have never been to a place where the fall colors are as pretty as they are there. The road gets pretty narrow in some parts and Dale loves to drive close to the edge and freak Kierra and me out, but it's worth it! If anyone wants to check it out, I would recommend doing it this week because the leaves start to fall in the beginning of October. The leaves are the prettiest around 5:00 pm because the sun is shining through them. I absolutely love fall! It's my favorite time of the year!

10 months old

Katie is 10 months old

today. She has learned so much in one month! About 2 weeks after she turned 9 months old, while we were camping, she learned to crawl. It is so cute to watch her chubby legs going. She loves her new freedom and loves to crawl down the hall to find the kids. Dale has been working on teaching her "So Big" for a while. She finally learned how to do it and likes to do it over and over while she's eating. She also learned how to clap. All we have to do is say "yay" and she claps. She likes to play with the phone. If we say "Say hi to baby" she will put the phone up to her ear with a big grin on her face. Just this week, she learned to suck from a straw. We love this because it makes eating at restaurants so much easier. She has also found a new love for baby dolls. She loves to hold them up to her face and pat them. She will play on the floor for a long time with her baby doll. It's amazing to me how loving dolls just comes with being a girl! When she wakes up from her nap, she likes to sit in her crib and play with her stuffed animals. She will play for a long time before she cries to get out. Then when we come in to get her, she gets so excited. She continues to bring a great amount of joy to our home. Everyone loves to sit by, hold, kiss and talk to Katie!

My little helper!

Before school started, I thought Kyson was going to have a really hard time without Jake being home during the day. So far, he has really enjoyed his time with me and Katie. My favorite thing is that he loves to help me do jobs. I was cleaning out the pantry and he helped me carry everything out to the table. He loves to dust and always wants to clean the mirrors in the bathroom (he likes to squirt the windex on the mirror). He loves to play with Katie and make her laugh. We've been having a great time together!

Yummy Salsa!

I always love fresh salsa but have never known how to make it. Well, we had a salsa taster's table at enrichment and I got a recipe for some really good salsa. I decided I would ask Kris to help me can it since she's the canning expert. We had such a good time! It took way way longer than we anticipated but now we both have 41 bottles of salsa and I am so excited!

We decided to make each batch a little different. We made 4 1/2 batches. We saved a little bit of each batch and had Doyle taste them to see what one was better. Unfortunately, I can't remember what one he picked. The most important thing was...he liked it!Here is some of the finished jars. My favorite part of canning is taking the jars out of the big black pot with the little tong things and lining them up on the counter. I feel so good for accomplishing something. I just like to look at them for several days after they're done. It was fun to can with Kris because she feels the same way. It's fun to share your accomplishment with someone!