Daddy's Big Helper

Carson loves to help Daddy. Here you see him "helping" Dad bring my choir benches upstairs for my children's chorale. It was so cute.

I put this bench in front of the TV to keep Natalie from touching it. As you can see, it only served to help her reach it!

Canning Done!

That was a lot of work, but so much fun! Perhaps next year we can do some vegetables too.

Choir Successes!

Well, I can finally report with confidence that the choir is well underway. I have 14 singers, and they are learning the music faster than I had anticipated (which is good since I picked more than I meant to). We rehearse weekly, and there will be a concert in December. For now life has slowed down for me a little. I am no longer stressed about getting more children signed up for choir, or where we'll hold rehearsal. Now I am more concerned with lesson plans. That's a piece of cake after everything else. Of course, the next round of stresses is just around the corner, with scheduling the concert, school tour, and ordering t-shirts. But who am I kidding? I love it! It is wonderful to stand in front of those kids and see them really enjoying themselves. Not to mention it allows me to use my talents, and be something more than just another mother every once in a while. I have been blessed with this opportunity, and I hope that it continues to go well the rest of this year. Thanks to everyone for all of their support and help in various ways. A special thank you to Mike. What a guy! He's been so helpful and supportive through all of this, which is wonderful as his approval means the most to me. And of course, a huge thanks to the other Michelle. Now more than ever I appreciate all you did to get this choir going. Wish me luck! It's going to be a great semester, I can tell!

Day to Day Pictures

Mike and the kids on the rocking horse he made in high school

Carson and Nattie ready for church
















Natalie so cute in her little dress and ponytails

Carson in his new Sunday shoes

Natalie loves spaghetti-her face had an orange glow all night

More Boating Pictures

Here's Mike slalom skiing. He got up his first try, even though he's only done it once since high school. It was fun to watch him, and he made everything look so easy!
Mike showing off. He kept letting go with one hand and leaning over to touch the water with his free hand.

Our little family in Grandpa and Grandma's boat (The kids didn't like wearing life jackets.)

Mike and the kids by the shore. It's the only time Carson would get into the tube.

Dan on the tube. Mike was driving, so it was a wild ride for Dan.

I tried to kneeboard, but I never got on. We think maybe we were going too fast.

Mike on the kneeboard-he made it look so easy!

Mike spinning around on the kneeboard

Catching my first fish ever-though I can't honestly take credit for this fish either.

Carson and his fish

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for sharing their boat. We had a blast!

Flaming Gorge

We had so much fun! I'll have to add more boating pictures another time.

Here's Natalie sitting on a rock while the boys went fishing.

Carson in John's canoe. He loved that boat!


Abbey in and Carson in the canoes.

Carson, Abbey, Brady, and Preston in Grandpa's boat with bird hats on.

Natalie trying on a new outfit for fall. This is the face she makes that we all love, where she scrunches up her nose.

Tigers

We took a zoo trip with Daddy this time, though he seems to have taken all the pictures lately. I'll have to be sure to get some of him sometime. The monkeys loved Carson. They kept coming right up to him at the windows. But Carson's favorite was the tigers. That's what he really wanted to see, and we spent the most time there.

Choir Update

Well, for those of you who don't know, I am the new director of the Iona Children's Chorale. Last spring I was the co-director, but the other director moved, leaving me with this sweet little group of singing children. It has been a nightmare at times, but things are looking great right now. I have 13 or 14 singers, and we are getting ready to start our rehearsals in a couple of weeks. It is a lot of work, and basically no pay, but it is so much fun! I am hoping that in years to come the money is a little better as well. I'll have to keep you posted on the choir's progress. I also now have 10 cello and piano students, so I'm definitely not bored. As for me recipe page, the link for that is at the top of my Friends list on the right side of my blog.

Reminiscing

Today Natalie turned 9 months old, and I've been thinking about how much she's changed over those months. She has started army crawling after me when I leave the room now, and she is pulling herself onto her knees on the couch, chairs, my legs, and whatever else she can find. It's amazing to see such rapid growth in both of my children! I can't believe how big they are. Carson's potty trained now (finally!) and I'm loving that. He told Mike this morning that he had to go to work at the tractor store, where he buys and sells tractors, and he is paid $2. He thinks Mike works at a tractor store, because there are a bunch of tractors next to his office building. It's cute the way he wants to be just like his dad. I'm up to 11 little singers in my choir, and I'm really hoping for about 5 more. It's taken a huge amount of faith, prayer, and work, but I think it is going to work out for me. I'll try to add pictures to my page soon, I hope. I've been busy with the choir, and now I've just set up my recipe blog, so check that out. Until next time...

Family Comes to Visit

This is Carson and Layla on the "airplane" that Carson got from some friends here recently. They had a great time. Mike and my dad are in the back with Roscoe.
This is Carson and Layla getting off on accident!
Natalie at the temple next to some plants.
Carson and Natalie at the temple. Natalie was more interested in the dirt and flowers.
Natalie, Layla, Lylli, Seryn, and Carson in the back, still in the same spot on the temple grounds.
We had a great time with everyone, so thanks to all for coming!

Yellowstone Family Reunion

Mike and Carson

Michelle and Natalie

Dad taking a picture with Mom and Dean behind him

Rachel carrying Seryn, Shane carrying Layla, and Lylli in front

My family decided to go to Yellowstone this summer in celebration of Dean coming home from his mission. I can't speak for everyone else, but we had a great time! Our favorite part was probably the animals, but that's just because Mike and Carson love them. The sights are always fun to see as well, and we enjoy camping. I was surprised at how easy it was to camp with a 2 year old and a baby. I can't wait to do it again soon on our trip to Flaming Gorge!

Animals in Yellowstone

Bull elk ( it has a huge rack, although it is hard to see through the trees)

Bison (buffalo)

Cow elk

Bull moose

Doe and Buck deer

Okay. So we saw a bunch of animals: elk, deer, bison, moose, grizzly bear, etc. Here are just a few of the pictures. Unfortunately we didn't get a good picture of the grizzly, although it was running down the road just ahead of us and then crossed the street and ran up a hill and out of sight. We were too preoccupied racing back inside our car to take any pictures that time. But we saw severl elk, which made Mike and Carson happy. And the moose was cool too. Carson was a bit disappointed because he was looking forward to seeing elephants and zebras, but no luck there. We ended up taking him to the zoo a few days after we got back home, so he could see those kinds of animals.

Belated 4th of July Pictures

So much for my plan to blog more often. I am not sure how everyone else does it. I'm still so busy. So here are a few late pictures of us on the Fourth of July.

Grandpa Gibbs after Roscoe attacked him on the grass

Natalie with red ribbon in her hair

Now Mike & I are equal as far as sleeping pictures go!

Grandma Gibbs blowing out her birthday candles

Mike & Carson fishing

More fishing

Grandpa Gibbs fishing

Mike's Grandpa