Rock Climbing Wall

These are some of the pictures of the Young Men's group building a rock climbing wall on the south side of my play toy. It turned out great and my pre-schoolers are having a fun time. I had to lay down the rule that they must climb back down instead of climbing over the bar, I was afraid one of them would fall. Ryan and his friends climb over the bar all the time and it works fine. It was really nice of them to do this project. I bought the supplies and provided brownies and rootbeer floats and they dug the post holes, poured in cement, sanded the board, stained it, and bolted everything in. It's wonderful to have church youth groups that need service projects!

Tanae came and spent the weekend with us. It was fun to see her, but time flew way too fast. It's sure nice that she's only an hour and a half away. She looks great and is loving BYU-I.

I went to my Diabetes Dr. in Idaho Falls this week and it looks like I will be able to get in a research study they're having . It will involve taking 1 shot once a week, instead of one of my medications. They've had a lot of positive results lowering blood sugars, as well as weight loss. They also cover all the diabetic expense while I'm in the study. I'm excited to get started, probably next week. I'll let you know about my progress.

Mom's update

Hi everyone, Sierra showed me how to get on the blog so I can update it. Sorry to be such a computer baby:)
The kids have been going to school for a month now and things are going pretty well. Neither Ryan nor Sierra are crazy about school, but they're both working hard and getting good grades. Tina also made it on the Dean's list for classes at ISU this summer-Great Job! We got Tanae off to college at BYU Idaho 2 weeks ago too. I did take pictures, but of course they're in Tanae's camera in Rexburg! Her apartment is in Birch Plaza. It was really nice, with 3 bedrooms, 2 girls in each room. I met 2 of the girls and they seem really nice. Tanae says all of her roommates are nice and they get along great. We miss not having her home, but I think it will be a wonderful experience for her!
I started my Pre-school on sept. 2, I have 6 little boys on Tues.,Wed, and Thurs., I also have 2 girls that come with them on Tues., and Wed., only. I am really enjoying my class so far. They have a lot of energy and really keep me on my toes!
Ryan earned his Bear badge at pack meeting this week. He is now officially a Webelos Scout. He was pretty proud and excited to earn more badges. I am currently experiencing camera problems, so hopefully we'll get pictures on future blogs.

Believe it or not we had a yard sale this Saturday! Mom hates having yard sales you say! I Do, but I let Ryan talk me into it this summer. We have been trying to downsize his old toy collection, without much progress, I must add, and getting money for his castoffs was the only thing that brought a sparkle to his eye! However procrastinator that I am, Summer is gone and Fall is here. I courageously put up my yard sale signs Fri. and warned Tina and Sierra that I needed them up at 7am. to haul tables and Stuff out to the front yard at which point they exclaimed "you're really having a yard sale!" Ryan is sooo excited he can hardley sleep Fri. nite. I am sooo exhausted I can hardley sleep Fri. nite.
We both wake up Sat. morning at 4am to the sound of lightening and thunder, of course! We haven't had a good rain here in months, today it pours. I didn't know whether to be happy or sad, but I had put way too much work into this to put it off , so we shoved things around in the garage and had a Garage sale instead. Did I mention that all of my posterboard signs were a soaking mess. Ryan put a couple of new ones out at the end of the streets and prayed for the rain to stop. The Lord really does listen to little children. The rain subsided promptly at 8am and only came on intermittently throughout the day.
Ryan sold Monster cookies, (which were a big hit) and hot chocolate. He was also able to sell his golf cart frame, which Shane had gotten to make him a go-kart. Since our best helper and fix it man has moved, the chances of getting that project done were bleak. We looked on line and found a cool Electric Razor Go-Kart for $229. Ryan is thinking he'll put his earnings in savings and try to order one.
All in all the day went pretty well, we of course had plenty of stuff left, but sold about $180. worth. I was happy to get rid of a twin bed and mattress that was taking up space and a guy is even coming to haul off Tanae's broken basketball hoop! Our yard sale was scheduled from 8-2. At precisely five to two the windows of Heaven opened up and dumped buckets on Ryan as he was picking up signs on his bike:) He had a great time riding around in the rain. (I hope he remembered to say a thank you prayer.) By the way 80% of our customers told Ryan he should be a salesman when he grows up!!

pioneer trek

Oh dont i look soooo...pioneerish?! Tina and Mom cooed and admired while sierra gagged and laughed in the background. I did feel slightly ridiculous in my outfit, not because of its appearance but because of its restrictions! Hiking and pushing a handcart in the heat of the day with a dress is no picnic. However it greatly increased my appreciation for the pioneers, particularly the pioneer women.

Last month my homeward went on a trek and again, while it had its restrictions, it was a blast! You dont realize how much you miss everyday things until they're gone. The leaders tried doing as little as possible and followed the stories of who we were representing fairly close. The "men" were sent to wahandcarts. i must admit, i secretly hoped my i would be allowed to "die" so i could walk the rest of the trail, but as the day went on you could see how greatly deprived each cart was of support. where 4 to 5 should have been there was now 2 or 3. I told you most of the challenging parts, but these r on call of the government and the prophet, leaving us, the woman to climb a treacherous hill alone representing 'Rocky Ridge'. Which was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life, and it was no where near the real thing. our second morning we were given rations...two biscuits for the whole of the day, and on the third day the burying of the dead. All of the youth were given characters and those who died along the trail were asked to walk behind the were the things that made an impression on my testimony, and that expounded my gratitude for the pioneers. I am so grateful for our ancestors who had such astounding faith.