11/30/16 Bustin' Out the Warm Clothes

The Mesa Arizona version of winter has arrived. Lows in the 30s are in the 7 day forecast. Today Heidi and I got out the warm clothes that have been stored in the garage since last winter. Peter has been refusing a blanket even with the cold so warm PJs will likely help him sleep better.
Another highlight for me was going on a visit with the missionaries. The Debelmar's daughter in law, now a recent convert, is having the new member lessons. We learned about the Plan of Salvation. These truths seem so self evident and yet they are largely unknown in the world. We are lucky to have the gospel.

11/29/16 It's How You Look At It

I'm not sure what it is that allows small boys to look at a trash can and see major toy potential. Peter is not the first of our boys to find this dollar store waste basket irresistibly fun. I told him it was yucky but he obviously did not agree.

This morning it was my turn to attend the Temple. I made it just in time to attend the 8 am session. It felt like the place I was supposed to be.

When I got home I found Peter and Joseph taking a nap. They'd been lulled to sleep by Peter's favorite show Team Umi Zoomi. They do exciting things like count down from ten and pick out the triangles from a bunch of other shapes. It's good for the boys to get some rest.
This afternoon I worked on a project for Gram and Papa. Papa wanted a photo border of his posterity to put around his annual Christmas letter. At the moment Gram and Papa have 25 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. Fitting them all took some doing but I finished a version to send to Papa for review. Next will be to add the text of the letter.

11/28/16 $3.05 For Recycling

Today Heidi and I get to try out something that I have never done before. We took Gram and Papa's old range to a place that recycles old appliances. They took the range and put it on a big scale and it measured in at 126 pounds. Then he put some numbers into a computer and decided that it was worth paying $3.05. The other option was taking it to the dump and paying $20 to have it thrown away. Heidi and I figured this was the better option.
Another fun thing that happened today is that we got to take Sarah to the fabric store. Sarah has been dying to get fabric so that she can make a dress like one her cousin Lauren has. She found some cute fabric and used money that she saved from working at the lemonade stand to buy it. Now comes the challenge of finding time to sew. I'm confident that she and Heidi will find a time to sew before Christmas.
For family home evening we talked about the challenge on the church website that was given to do 25 acts of service in the first 25 days of December. We first thought of some ideas and then we invited some of our neighbors to go and see the temple lights and come to our ward pancake breakfast. Hopefully some of them come.

11/26/16 Moana

Today is the day that we got to reward ourselves for all of our hard work. We went to go see the movie Moana, but first there was some more work to be done. The first thing we did was help Becca B assemble her new furnace for her room. Becca's little area in the park model isn't connected to the normal ducting so Papa got her this space heater to prepare her for the cool months ahead.

Next up Dad and I worked together gathering photos for his Christmas letter and putting them together in Photoshop. Becca B gets the photo credit.

Lastly the kids worked together to clean off Gram's cover for her scooter. It may look like it's only David and Rebecca cleaning but Sara and TJ are on the inside of that cover. Joseph appears to be making sure that Peter hasn't taken away the tennis balls off the front of Gram and Papa's car.

During all of this Heidi was helping out at stake baptisms. It was an especially busy one with an estimated 350 people in attendance. Before we all headed out to Gram and Papa's the kids and I helped set up some chairs. With all of our chores done it was time to sit down and enjoy the movie.

As it turned out the positive movie reviews we read were well earned. The movie was a hit with all of the kids. Peter even stayed in for the whole time. Heidi and I weren't sure if this is the first time that we've made it through an entire movie with all six kids but it may be.

11/25/16 Power Wash

Today was a day to work off some of that turkey and pie. Heavenly Father provided perfect weather for it, neither too hot nor too cold.

Heidi and I tagteamed the effort. Grandma and Papa's kindly neighbors Ollie and Paul graciously loaned us their power washer for the occasion.

Heidi is much more than a lovely helper. She is very talented when it comes to all things mechanical and home-improvementy.

While Heidi and Papa and I worked outside on cleaning the outside of the park model. Gram entertained all six little ones in her little theater. She said that she was impressed by how well they managed to fill such a small space kindly together. Gram said it reminded her of a basket full of puppies.
We are grateful we got to spend some time with Gram, Papa and Becca B. We are sure happy that we were able to be some help to them.

11/24/16 Thanksgiving and Visit to the Taylors

We ate our Thanksgiving "dinner" early, around 12:30, so that we could have the afternoon to relax and be grateful. I only ended up with one photo of dinner prep. Sarah was helping her Mom stir ingredients when "poof" she was covered in flour. She is a big helper, like her mother.

Around 2 pm we headed over to the Taylor home. Sharon invited us and her mother Ruth Taylor confirmed that we were welcome. This gave Heidi a chance to visit with her brother Matt and the kids a chance to run and play. Peter was immediately drawn to the trampoline. Luckily most of the other kids were playing a big ball tag game so he and cousin Alex got the tramp to themselves for a few minutes.

Here is Alex with a bulldozer. He and Peter get along well despite the small age gap.

It wasn't long before TJ and Joseph joined the fun.

Joseph in a rare moment of rest.

Sarah got some surprising height in her bounces.

The Taylors also have a zipline in their yard. Rebecca spent much time zooming down the line as well as helping littler riders get on and off. Don't worry, those boys moved out of the way in time. Made me nervous though.

David found this 3 wheeled scooter diverting. He was also all over the tag game and later played wallyball (a variation on volleyball played inside a racquetball court). I joined him and some of the boys playing and had a good time.

We are grateful to Matt and Sharon for being thoughtful and inviting us.

Heidi also had a fun time visiting with Sharon's sister Anna. Anna and her husband Greg Phelps are good friends of ours.
In short it was a fun Thanksgiving all around. We have many things to be grateful for.

11/23/16 Turkey Trot and Cleaning Prep

This morning Heidi had the chance to bike over to the school and watch Rebecca, Sara and TJ run in the turkey trot. In this first shot you see Rebecca with her friends Chrissy and Missy.

Here is Sara getting stretched out for her run. Her and Rebecca's age group ran around the whole school two times. They call it the turkey trot because one of the older kids or a teacher dresses up like a turkey. The kids get some kind of extra credit if they can catch the turkey.

Here's TJ at the starting line sporting his usual characteristic grin. If you look closely you'll notice his missing teeth. He lost another one on Monday night at the ward missionary gathering.
While Heidi was documenting the turkey trot I went with Gram, Papa and Becca B over to the motorhome. We picked up some supplies including a hose that will be helpful for cleaning the outside of the park model. By the time we made it back to 430 Heidi, David and Peter were already there getting started. Heidi took down the screens for cleaning and she and I both swept up so that when that we will be ready to power wash the sides of 430.
The challenge for today was to try to write down clear instructions for Gram and Papa to be able to use Gram's recording system. We had a successful test but the real proof will be in whether or not the instructions work when I am not there.
This evening our friend Jae Heiner brought us over some leftover taco soup from a party that their family had recently. It was delicious and some of the children were even willing to try it. Heidi kindly made some chicken nuggets for those who were less interested in experimenting.
Heidi and Sarah also worked together to make rolls for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. They made some extra ones that we used for dinner tonight. They were also delicious.

11/22/16 Smart Kids and Kind Friends

Peter found this peanut butter jar and butter knife on his own but the jar kept scooting away from him. He solved this by bringing the jar to Heidi to hold. We couldn't help but smile. The boy solves his own problems.
This morning Heidi made it to the Temple for initiatory. It is such a blessing that we've been able to have one of us go each week.
This afternoon we needed to run to the store to pick up some food. Heidi and I decided to take everybody. Now that David is old enough to watch everyone for short periods it's tempting to have just Heidi and me go. Still, this made for fun family time. The kids were a help finding items and they learn in the process.

When we got home we found this yummy pumpkin bread from Heidi's visiting teachers. Rebecca is modeling it for us along with her lovely smile. The treat made for a delicious dessert after dinner. What a blessing it is to have smart kids and kind friends.

11/21/16 Missionary FHE

This evening, just as dinner was getting ready, we got some text messages about a picnic the Ward Missionaries we're having. They'd brought food for forty but so far it was just the ward missionaries and the Elders. Heather, now a ward missionary, wanted us to come. We made a quick decision to save our meal for tomorrow and join them.
When we arrived they were playing something closely resembling Volleyball. Mainly it was modified to give the little kids in the game credit for trying and to keep it fun. It was fun. I can't remember how long it's been since I've gotten to play Volleyball.
For dinner there were two kinds of homemade chili plus hot dogs. We brought cuties, which were a hit. The Elders shared a thought on thankfullness and asked us all to share something we were grateful for. I am grateful to be part of such a fun community and to have had a chance to deepen some friendships tonight.

11/20/16 Making Things Up As We Go Along

This afternoon I looked out the window and saw Sarah, TJ, Joseph and Peter playing a game they'd made up. I didn't ask them the rules but it involved rolling hula hoops and going backwards up the slide. You could tell they were having a good time.
It made me think about how often in life we need to improvise. Today Heidi was asked to teach in Primary on relatively short notice. I was asked to help set up a projector for Sunday school. Usually I like to have at least a half hour for things like that. Since Sunday School is in the chapel immediately following Sacrament Meeting I had 5 minutes. I did what I could before Sacrament, gathering gear and partially setting up on a cart, but it still made me nervous. This was a laptop and projector I'd never used with zero chance to test before it would be expected to work. Happily it did work, the teacher's PowerPoint looked fine. He ran out of time for the video he wanted to play so I still don't know if sound would've worked right. Oh well, more fun for next time.

11/19/16 Fixin' Up and Going Out

This morning we checked out half price day at Goodwill and found this sturdy shower chair. We took it over to Gram and Papa's. Heidi lead the effort to take out the glass doors and replace them with a shower curtain. Between the two things we hope they will help Gram get in and out safely.

After lunch at Gram and Papa's we went to the Riverview park. TJ and Joseph are good buddies.

Here is TJ taking a turn on the zip line.

Matt, Alex and Lucy as well as Heather, Doug, Anthony, Lauren and Bradley met us at the park.

Peter enjoyed playing on the equipment.

After the park Heidi and I went on a double date with Heather and Doug. Lauren babysat at our house. David went over and played with Anthony and Bradley. The movie we saw is called Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It was a fun ride film with plenty of cool special effects. The story didn't feel especially deep but the characters were fun to spend some time with. It's a Harry Potter spin off and had some fun elements in common. Overall I'm glad we went. The kids did well at home. No major crying or new murals on the walls by Peter so we count that a success too.

11/18/16 Making Lemonade

This morning armed with some snacks, tool boxes and a couple of office chairs Heidi, David, Peter, Joseph and I headed to Gram and Papa's. Heidi worked on gathering materials to swap out Gram and Papa's shower door for a curtain. I worked with Papa on gathering photos of his posterity to use for a Christmas letter. David helped clean one of the outside walls as well as helping supervise the two little boys. We made good progress on the projects (and a big dent in the snacks) but there is still much to do.
On the way home we stopped at the fruit store. Happily we are big fruit eaters at our house.
This afternoon David helped Heidi and I set up the lemonade stand. The girls sold lemonade to the kids on their way home from school. Afterwards Rebecca and Sarah counted up the coins from the last several times we've run the stand and put them in sleeves. After taking out some money to replace cups and ingredients there is enough left over to buy each child a $10 gift. That has been one of our goals with the lemonade stand. We wanted the kids to be able to earn their own money to spend on each other for Christmas. We, of course, also plan to get the gifts but we hope that the gifts the kids by with money they worked for will have more meaning for them.
This evening Elder Davis and Elder Ojkler (sp? Pronounced Oaker) came over for dinner. Heidi, with help from Rebecca and Sarah, made homemade pizza. The Hallsted family kindly shared some of Amy's birthday cup cakes. They were given 24 cup cakes for the 5 of them by Amy's primary teacher. We are grateful they chose to share with us.

11/17/16 Tech Support Team

This evening Heidi and I went our friend's mom's house to resolve an email issue. Heidi gets the credit for finding the solution. I noticed that the settings were correct and yet it still wasn't working. Heidi asked if they had tried turning the computer off and then back on. We tried it and the emails started flowing in again. Still not sure why that worked but it was a relief to find a fix.

Upon our return we learned that there is still room for David to grow in his babysitting skills. Peter had found a permanent marker. Luckily he only colored on the back yard side walk and his toes. Peter seemed to think it was hilarious. It could've been a lot worse and hopefully there was a lesson learned.

11/17/16 Tech Support Team

This evening Heidi and I went our friend's mom's house to resolve an email issue. Heidi gets the credit for finding the solution. I noticed that the settings were correct and yet it still wasn't working. Heidi asked if they had tried turning the computer off and then back on. We tried it and the emails started flowing in again. Still not sure why that worked but it was a relief to find a fix.

Upon our return we learned that there is still room for David to grow in his babysitting skills. Peter had found a permanent marker. Luckily he only colored on the back yard side walk and his toes. Peter seemed to think it was hilarious. It could've been a lot worse and hopefully there was a lesson learned.

11/16/16 Rebecca The Gold Medal Reader

Today Rebecca brought home her third Millionaire Reader medal. She was one of only 2 children at Entz Elementary to read 1 million plus words this quarter.
This evening Heidi and I were grateful that 12 year old David is up to watching his siblings for short periods. Heidi taught a class on Scoutbook and I helped with the projector and music playback at Young Women in Excellence. In and around that time Sarah had Activity Days and David earned the Disability Awareness merit badge. It was a busy evening.

11/15/16 Temple Visit

This morning I got to do initiatory at the Temple. As I walked up I noticed that the Christmas decorations are going up.

Heidi shared this picture with me today. While riding in Heather and Doug's car Sarah asked how to roll down the window. It's funny sometimes the things that were common when I was a kid but rare today.

11/14/16 Internet Safety

     Today was relatively quiet. I worked on fixing a payroll issue this morning. Heidi met with the new Val Vista Primary Presidency. It was our turn for carpool pick up. Just some basic stuff. 

     This evening Heidi suggested that we combine a requirement David has for Scouting and Family Home Evening. The Scouting organization has put out several videos about Internet safety aimed at kids. They are well done and teach some basic things like don't give out your address or phone number unless a trusted adult says it's ok. The videos teach kids never to meet with someone they meet online and tell one of us if they see things that make them scared or uncomfortable. So far only David has an email address and none do social media. Still, we watch YouTube videos online and you have to be careful. Many of the suggested videos are questionable if not inappropriate. We reminded the kids not to be using devices behind closed doors. We feel that we'll all be safer that way. The kids seemed to respond well to the videos. Hopefully this lesson will help us enjoy the educational and uplifting parts of the Net and avoid the scary parts. 

11/13/16 Tithing Settlement

      Once a year each family has a chance to meet with the Bishop and declare whether or not they are a full tithe payer. We believe in paying a full tithe in our family. The promised blessing is that the windows of Heaven will be open that there will not be room enough to receive the blessing. We have been blessed our whole lives by paying tithing. Heavenly Father certainly provides what we need and more. 

      Above is a picture I took of the kids while they were still in their Sunday clothes. We are blessed to have such a loving happy family. 

11/12/16 Riverview Park

     This morning we told the kids that if we could get the house cleaned up we could go to the park and invite a friend. As it turned out only Rebecca's friends, Missy (in white) and Krissy (in peach) were available on short notice. We'll have to plan better for next time but at least two friends came. On the other hand the park was packed and it made it tough to keep the kids in sight at all times. Perhaps it was for the best. Notice that Joseph loves being in photos. Sarah was glad Rebecca's friends visited with her as well. 

     Can you spot TJ and Joseph on the rope climber?

     Here is a close up of Joseph. 

     Here is Peter doing a rock climb. 

     I didn't get any shots of David. As far as I can tell he spent the whole time running or on his scooter. The kids all seemed to have a good time. 

     This shot is actually from earlier in the day after Peter finished off the black berries but I think it describes how Heidi and I felt after watching 8 kids at the park. Thankfully they are all good kids. When it was time to go nobody fought us. Krissy and Missy were polite and said thank you when we took them home. 

     Heidi and I have been talking about how memories of experiences seem to last much longer than memories of things. We hope we created some memories today.