Temple Visit after Stake Conference

Last weekend was Stake Conference in our "New" Stake. In October our ward was dissolved. Half of the ward went to the Sage Ward in the Los Lunas Stake, and the other half (where we live) went to the Haines Ward in the Albuquerque Stake. It really does make sense, but it is still a change. So we had our third Stake Conference this year. The Albuquerque Stake meets in the San Victorio Building which is up by the Temple. So after Conference on Sunday we took our kids to the Temple Grounds. It was a beautiful Day, and the kids really enjoyed seeing the Temple an the fountain. Here are some of the pictures taken there. This is Andrew and Don running down the stairs on the North side of the Temple. Kelly took this one. She is getting to be quite the photographer.

Here is Kenna on theEast side of the Temple.

This is a picture of a beautiful flower with the water droplets from the sprinklers that had just turned off. The Temple grounds are beautiful and have beautiful flowers all over.

This is a picture of the Kids sitting in front of the fountain. I don't think we could get one with Don facing forward. He just loves to make picture taking hard. Erin, Andrew, Don, Kelly with Richard, Kenna and Ian.


There was a gentleman at the Temple that agreed to take our picture. So for once I am actually in the picture. Again, Don is looking backwards. Oh well there is always one person looking away. I am sure grateful for my family. Many of the talks in Stake Conference were about taking care of our families. They are being attacked on all sides. What a responsibility it is to teach the kids to be obedient to the Gospel. So far our kids have been really good at choosing the right. Kelly and Ian are getting to the age where more and more influences are acting on them. It is fun to talk to them and see how strong they are. They really choose good friends and make wise behavioral decisions. They are really good kids.

Ian's Language Arts teacher (we called them English teachers when I was in middle school) was talking to me the other day about how great a kid Ian is. He said that he could tell that we were good parents. He also said that it was good for us to have a lot of kids because we are good parents. It is hard to be complimented like that. I just see my faults I guess. I guess we must be doing something right. All of our kids got great reviews at parent teacher conferences. They must save their bad behavior for us.

Erin Birthday Party

Here are pictures from Erin's birthday gathering. I like the one with the cousins on the banister. They were having fun. Thanks to Curtis, I have pictures. I was too busy dishing cake and ice cream to be photographer.

I found I didn't have any candles. I don't know where the box of 100 went, but it was no where to be found. I did find a "1" candle and 2 other birthday candles. Since we only had 3 candles, we had her blow them out three times to make 9.

My family would probably faint if I was actually completely prepared. Oh well the cake was good. Thanks to Ian and Erin. They baked and decorated the cake. It is nice to have independent kids.

"New" Floor

Thanks to Marlin and Kris working all day Saturday Nov. 15, we now have a new sub floor.
Now we just have to figure what we are going to do to make it look better. Ripping up tile and carpet. FUN FUN FUN.

Thanks Trisha

Trisha took me for my a pedicure for my birthday today. No, my birthday wasn't today, but our plans to go earlier this month were interrupted by illness and travel. I didn't mind waiting until today. I don't always celebrate my birthday for the entire month so it has been a treat this year.

It was only my second pedicure ever. It was fun. The hardest part was trying to control my ticklish feet as they were being scrubbed and buffed. Even my pudgy toes look good painted after a pedicure. I guess maybe I should splurge more often and keep my feet looking better.

Thanks Trisha. It was a blast to run around with you today. It is fun to remember I am a woman and not just a mom.

Erin is 9 Today!

I can't believe how fast my kids are growing up. Erin is 9 today. She has changed a lot over the years. She is still a tenderhearted and thoughtful girl. She loves to tell jokes, and has a very well developed sense of humor. It is fun to watch her grow up.

Here are some pictures of her over the years.

This is Erin as a baby. it ts a picture of a picture. (Our scanner is being flaky).

Here she is with Florian. He was our German exchange student in 2004/2005. He was visiting us in the summer of 2006 when this picture was taken.
Here she is holding Don as a baby in 2005.

Jump Rope Girl

Kenna has become quite the jump rope princess. She is on the jump rope team at school. It is really fun to watch her. I think the only thing she should work on is keeping her tongue in her mouth. I am afraid she will bite it off if she isn't careful.


This video is pretty dark and it is hard to see the rope, but it is good enough to give you idea.

Recent Pictures of the Kids

These are recent pictures of the kids. They are all growing quickly. Good thing they are so cute. We have decided to keep them all. Don is hard pressed not to make a face when his picture is taken.

Kitchen Fun

Our refrigerator has been leaking for a while. I would keep the water cleaned up, but I didn't realize what a problem it was. Last week I noticed a tile loose and when I picked it up I saw insects underneath. Well Marlin Pulled the fridge out last night and pulled up the floor. We had termites under our refrigerator. NOT FUN. We cut out the floor to where there was uninfested wood. Thank heavens they didn't get to the wall. We are pretty sure that we got them all. Now it looks like our time table on replacing our flooring has been moved up. As well as possibly getting a new refrigerator. I don't know if I should be happy or not.

Don was really excited to help. He did think the shop vac was a little loud though. Three of the pictures are in process of demolition, and the other is post demolition.

Richard

Well Richard is growing well. He truly takes after Grandpa Payne. He loves to stick out his tongue.
He is a cute and pleasant kid.

Beginning our Blog

I know that for computer people we are slow on the blogging uptake. I decided I have too many pictures to email to others and blogging might be a way to share them.

I will begin with a picture of Marlin and the kids at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. We went with our neighbor Fay Godfrey. She used to pilot a balloon. It was fun to go with her and learn inside secrets of the Fiesta from a former pilot.