Enchanted Sunrise

Balloon Fiesta 2013

Sydney loves looking at the balloons but is NOT a fan of the noise they make when they start shooting flames.  She spent most of the morning covering her ears like this.  Later that week, I asked her why she was so scared of the balloons.  She said, "Because the dragons are too loud."  It never occurred to me that she thought there were dragons blowing up the balloons, but once she said that, it all made sense.  I'd be worried too if I thought we were on a field full of dragons!

Bennett is such a mellow fellow.  He seemed mildly put out that we woke him up so early. But didn't even whine about it.  He stayed awake for awhile, and then took a little snooze.  And then woke up again and wanted to be free, so Sydney took a turn in the stroller.  (I think she felt a degree of safety from the balloon dragons once she was in the stroller.)

um, I just love this big ole' frog.

Darth Vader--always one of our favorites!

I loved this hummingbird balloon, new the the fiesta this year.

Angry Bird was also new.

Here are some of the classics:  Airabelle, the cow, Wells Fargo Wagon, and the Bees

collecting cards

almost close enough to touch!

Me and Mel

Hurray for another fun year at Albuquerque's International Balloon Fiesta!   It was such a treat having Aunt Mel here to see the balloons and watch conference together.  So glad she got to come spend the weekend with us.  We love you, Melanie!

some random stuff in October

Sydney

Just a cute picture of Sydney

Show Choir
Dallin auditioned for his middle school's Show Choir at the end of last year and made it.  So he has been waking up early each morning so he can get there by 7:10 for rehearsal before school starts.  He is really enjoying it.  He recently had his first choir concert, so here are a couple pictures of that.  We were kind of far away, so they aren't that great.

 Here is Dallin next to . . . ? some kid in show choir as they were getting ready to start.

Dallin is right in the middle of this picture. I think.  This is the show choir getting ready to sing "Circle of Life"--they had an Africa theme for this concert, and it was really fun to listen to songs from all the choirs from Africa or about Africa or even with a connection as remote as Lion King.  :)  The show choir also sang Waka Waka, a fun song by Shakira that mentions Africa.  Dallin was killin' it with his choreography. 

Melanie came to visit

My sister, Melanie, came to visit for Balloon Fiesta this year, and on Friday we went to Hobby Lobby to get a couple of things to make a Fall wreath for my door.  When we saw these gigantic flowers, we couldn't resist the chance to take some goofy pictures.

The wreath I made.  I love it.  Melanie had some great ideas about flowers and burlap choices, so she deserves credit in the creation of this wreath as well.  

Sean's Baptism Day

September 28, 2013

Sean was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on the last Saturday of the month with two beautiful little girls from our ward.  I took him to the temple that morning to get some pictures of him on his special day.  Isn't he handsome?

So excited to be baptized!  

He kept asking me all morning what time it was, and how much longer until his baptism.

Since we live far from all our family, none of them could come out for his special day.  But we have such a wonderful ward family, many of whom were there to support him and celebrate his choice. We are so thankful for our wonderful friends here in Albuquerque that we consider our family.  And we're proud of Sean for following the Savior's example to be baptized, and for his desire to choose the right.  I love baptism days.

The Dark Side, Signatures, and Ties 101

September 21

Popejoy Hall

John Williams Concert

The New Mexico Philharmonic was performing a concert of John Williams music, so we thought it would be perfect to bring the older kids, who would recognize a lot of the music.  Sean went kicking and screaming complaining that it was gonna be soooo boring!  He said, "There's nothing to look at.  All you do is sit and listen!"  Yep.  All the more reason why he DEFINITELY needed to go.  And guess what?  He made it through the whole concert and even enjoyed most of it.  

Of course, the coolest part was the Star Wars characters wandering around the lobby before, after and during intermission.  They even came on stage when the orchestra played the Star Wars music.  It's not every day you see a Storm Trooper hanging out on the balcony at Popejoy, or get a fist bump from Darth Maul.

September 26

First American Title Company

We finally sold our other house!  After a pending sale that fell through and some drama at the end of this deal, we were really happy to sign those papers and be the owners of just one home.  Hopefully we can finally put some time and resources into the house we live in, now that we aren't landlords anymore.  :)  We have so much broken stuff to fix!  Just looking at the list is exhausting.

September 28th

Ties 101

I got Sean a new dress shirt and tie for his baptism.  A real tie that doesn't clip on.  I enlisted Dallin to teach Sean how to tie his new tie, and I love remembering how patient Dallin was with Sean, and how proud Sean was of his newly learned skill.

State Fair 2013 and more catching up

Sometime in September 

When my kids do something extra good, (like get breakfast ready without being asked, or doing all their jobs without being asked) they earn a "Best Behavior Card." When they earn 3 cards, they get to choose a treat.  With just a little persuasion on my part, they all chose U-Swirl, so this is them enjoying their best behavior treat.

September 4th

State Fair Fieldtrip

Sydney's preschool had a field trip to the state fair.  I loved this picture of her sitting "side-saddle" on this horse.  She did that all on her own.  What a little lady.

September 6th

State Fair Again

So, I should have pulled the kids out of school to go to the fair with Sydney because they all wanted to go, and I ended up taking them out of school to go another day anyway.  Dallin chose not to miss school because he didn't want to fall behind in his classes.  But I went down with the other five. 

We had such a fun day.  They kids were really well behaved, and we just totally enjoyed each other.  Usually when I take lots of kids on an outing, I feel super frazzled at the end.  But they were so good, that it was just fun!  And Bennett was such a good boy.  He just hung out in his stroller eating snacks and drinking his bottle.  

They loved the petting zoo, the corn box, the "Werewolf" show (actually just a wolf show, but Sydney called them "werewolves") and McDonald's farm where they got a FREE popsicle at the end!  

I told them they could choose one treat whether it was food or face painting.  Daphne's deepest desire was to ride the ponies.  So that was the treat they chose.  They loved it.  And I love  Sydney's look of pure joy as she sat up on her pony's back.  

My treat:  Deep Fried Green Chile Cheese Curds.  

At first the kids didn't want to try any, which was just fine with me, since it was my treat anyway.  

But in the end, I think they ate more than I did.

September 15

Ceres, CA

Emma's Mission Farewell

I loved that I got to go out to be with my youngest sister, Emma, for her missionary farewell, (which was also on her 21st birthday!)  She is the only one of the Stone Sisters to go on a mission, and I'm so proud of her!  This was a really tough decision for her to make because unlike the thousands of other sister missionaries thrilled with the lower age limit and rushing to turn in their papers, Emma did not have a desire to serve a mission.  But she made it a matter of prayer and felt that a mission is what the Lord wanted her to do.  She said in her farewell talk, "I'm going because I love the Lord.  And He wants me to go."  Such a good example of turning her will over to the Father.  

She's serving the people of the Georgia, Atlanta mission and she is gonna do great!  She has a strong testimony and is a very genuine person.