u-pick pumpkin patch

saturday we took the kids to the u-pick pumpkin patch and we brought our neighbor friend, carson, with us.

the patch was pretty picked over but they were each able to find a little pumpkin they couldn't live without. looks like i will be going to walmart to get the carving pumpkins.


madalyn and her pumpkin

owen, wesley, and carson

they had a straw maze that was pretty fun. we got quite turned around with two kindergartners leading the way.
(ps brenda, every time i told them to smile carson would strike a pose against the straw. hilarious!)

our navigation crew! carson, owen, wesley, and kevin holding madalyn.

mommy maddy

madalyn is becoming quite the little mommy with her baby dolls. she loves to walk around with them and talk gibberish...pacing back and forth like she has a million things to do. i could watch her play that all day. it's so fun to see her holding her little baby doll.



but, when i try to get a cute picture she always wants me to get a close-up of the doll.

little girls can bring so much joy!

family pictures 2010

time for family pictures again! such a stressful time of year. and always such a relief when it's over.

this year i planned all our outfits around an adorable dress i found for madalyn. i made her an adorable headband and necklace to wear the day before.

the day of our pictures i realized the dress isn't as adorable on as it was on the hanger and madalyn wanted NOTHING to do with the headband or the necklace. so, we were thrilled when we were able to get a least a couple decent pictures with her wearing both. such a little turkey!

madalyn also had a nasty scab on her forehead from a run in with the cement stairs, but amber was able to clean that up with no problem.


it's not perfect(squinters and scowlers), but it's us! thanks amber for doing our pictures again this year. you do such a great job!

madalyn-15 months

wesley-3 years old

owen-5 years old

madalyn at 15 months

madalyn turns 15 months old this month. she is SO much fun! she is such a busy little thing. she loves to copy what everyone else is doing. and lately, wesley's scooter is her favorite thing.

"smile madalyn!"

she adores her brothers

she still loves unloading the dishes. she has learned where the silverware goes and has taken that job on as her own.
first thing she does every morning is finds her shoes and brings them to me. she loves to be outside with her brothers.
she loves to help with the laundry.
she has learned from her brothers where the tupperware bowls are and will grab one from the drawer and bring it to me whenever she wants a snack.
her brothers love to call her princess and tell her how cute she is. even their little friends have caught on and talk to her the same way. she loves them all!

we love this sassy little girl!

second cousins

last saturday we were able to watch my cousin's (tressa) little guy for a few hours. they live in utah but had come to idaho for the day for a funeral. it great to have them come by so we could visit for awhile. and i loved getting to know eric better. he is such a smart little man...OF COURSE!

grandma's 80th

uncle george was just begging to make it on my blog, so i here he is.

kayla

ben, me and aunt betty

it was a great day. thanks everyone for making it happen!

"this is the place"

as we left we noticed that someone had rolled up their copy of the ralph w. harding poem and placed it insdie the top of one of the stakes.



ralph w. harding

like all men he must pass away,
but the moment wasn't known,
and then one beautiful autumn day,
his horse came in alone.

even the quaking aspen stood still--
empty saddle in the sun!
bearing witness from the hill,
the teacher's work was done.

while cattle grazed the grassy slope,
and the weather was sublime,
the cowboys rode in desperate hope,
they could get to him in time.

there mist autumn leaves at an elevation,
high above the farming land,
he found god among the creations
of his almighty hand.

colen sweeten, jr.
september 1969



we made it back to the park around 2pm and enjoyed some lunch and a birthday bash! grandma was able to extinguish all 80 candles on her cake. we had a great time celebrating her!

kevin and madalyn on the swings

dad and spencer taking a nap

"this is the place"

dad, kayla, betty, and grandma on the mountain side

more climbing pictures

the crew on the mountain side



uncle tom and grandma by the stakes

"this is the place"

uncle tom assisting the climbers. payson, janice, grandma, kayla, george, betty, dad, and jarom

this hike was INTENSE! it was at such an incline and the ground was very unstable with debris and rocks. quite a task! but, we were able to make the steep climb up the mountain...including my 80 year old grandma! AMAZING!


the two brown stakes

we climbed the mountain and when tom saw the two metal stakes he said this was the place. the stakes were STILL THERE! when tom reached the place he sat down and wept and said, "this is the place. this is a blessing from the lord."

the view from the mountain side where great grandpa ralph died.

once we were able to get situated on the mountain side (not an easy task, especially since once you sat down you would end up sliding a foot or so) grandma freidenberger and great uncle tom shared memories of that day 41 years ago. aunt betty recited colen sweeten's poem titled ralph w. harding. mom had printed copies of the poem for everyone and after betty recited the poem we all read the poem together. uncle george then lead us in a family prayer and blessing. what a beautiful place and what a sacred and special experience, one that will never be forgotten. the weather was ideal, the moutains were beautiful, and the site was peaceful!

kevin and wesley

hiking oxford mountain

mom, grandma, and dad

aunt janice, grandma, and kayla (janice's daughter). they came all the way from california for this party.

aunt betty and grandma. she came all the way from washington for this party. we haven't seen her in YEARS! so it was great to see her again.

couldn't resist snatching a picture of this cowboy. melissa's youngest, micah.

once we found the weather station uncle tom instructed us to look for a clearing on a steep incline and a metal stake. tom said we should follow a northwest direction. thank heavens justin and blake went to the northeast up the mountain. we had not been hiking long when justin and blake shouted that they had found a clearing on the side of the hill. we started hiking towards them. then a few minutes later blake shouted that he found two metal stakes.

grandma freidenberger's 80th

on september 25th we celebrated my grandma joyce freidenberger's 80th birthday! my mom and her siblings wanted to make this day extra special so they planned a day full of fun and asked everyone to come to malad, idaho to celebrate.

we LOVE a party so EVERYONE was there. all my siblings (except natalie) and their families (except a few of katie's crew), a few of my cousins, and all of my grandma's children, and my great uncle tom. this was going to be no ordinary party. uncle tom had agreed to guide us to oxford mountain to find the place where my grandma's father, ralph w. harding, had died 41 years ago that day. something everyone had always wanted to do.

on my grandma's 39th birthday her father passed away in the oxford mountains while helping with a cattle round-up. he had just recently retired as a teacher and football coach from malad high school and was very loved and respected in that little city. they found his trusty horse all alone at the bottom of the mountain and knew he was hurt. the WHOLE city started a search. they even let school out so the boys could help. they were able to find his body later that evening. they aren't really sure what happened but imagine that something spooked the horse and he fell off and hit his head.

we knew that the place had been marked not long after it happened with some metal stakes but after some years they were never really able to locate it. so, our job was to locate it!

we were told to meet at "the park" in malad at 10am in our cowboy gear. for the most part that meant dressing our little ones up but there were some men sporting their flannel shirts. that's as good as you get with these city folks. yee haw!

my boys were excited to see their great, great uncle tom because he's a REAL cowboy!

once we all arrived at the park my uncle george offered a prayer for help, protection, and guidance. we jumped in our vehicles and caravaned toward the mountains. we followed dry creek road until we came to a creek and could drive no further.


owen and carter at the creek

all 35 of us hopped out of our cars and divided into two groups looking for a weather station. we found the weather station fairly quickly and took at little break for pictures and some regrouping. up to this point the hike had been a little interesting with a slew of little kids and babies but nothing we couldn't handle. but, we were ready for a breather.


aunt janice, mom, grandma, and betty

i wish george was in this picture...then it would be all my grandma's children. don't know how i missed that.

my little crew with grandma

madalyn was LOVING the sticks, dirt, and rocks.