Apples! Apples! Apples!

What a great way to spend a beautiful September day. . . making APPLESAUCE!

Earlier in the week, we picked apples from a friend's orchard, then gathered at my house to wash, peel, slice, cook, and can those apples.

Our little kids played in the garden, the backyard, and the playroom while we worked ALL DAY. Thank goodness it was such a nice day. We set the camp stove up outside on the patio, so we could have two extra burners going. It was quite the production! The kids did really well playing together, and seemed to have fun while the moms worked and talked. I thought it was FUN -- much better than doing it all alone in my kitchen. It was quite the mess to clean up afterward, but very satisfying to look at all those jars of applesauce and know that we had accomplished something good!

A Soccer Saturday in September

Tiffani scored three goals in today's game!!!

She is playing soccer this season on a Tri-Cities Youth Soccer Association team. Her coach is Nate Kraus, and HER DAD is assistant coach. Tiffani is in heaven playing soccer! She practices every spare minute she has after school. The team is made up of friends from Tiffani's school. They are a fun group!

Waiting on the sidelines for the game to start - Tiffani and her teammates

Coach Nate is so crazy!

Tiffani's Uncle Brent and cousins, Elijah and Samuel, came for a visit from Spokane on a Saturday afternoon. We played at the park, and they had dinner with us. It's always fun to have the Child Family come and visit!

BYU game at UW

We kicked off September with a weekend trip to Seattle to watch the Cougars beat the Huskies! What a great time we had! We met up with my parents and some siblings and their families, and sat together among a bunch of noisy Mormons:) and lots of purple shirts, too. The weather was so beautiful, and we had a great view of Lake Washington from our stadium seats.

My sister, Jennifer, and her husband, Jericho, and their 4-year-old son, McKay, drove all the way from Pocatello, Idaho, for the weekend!

David and I cheering the Cougars on to victory!

Our family after the game.

My youngest sister, Darci, and Tiffani. Darci flew in from southern California.

Tiffani was a great little cheerleader for the Cougars!

My brother, Brannen, drove from Lehi, Utah for the weekend, along with his wife, Tiffany, and their three boys, Austin, Isaac, and Dylan.

Trent loved watching the football players, but he got sleepy and took a snooze during the game for a while on my lap. When he woke up, he was ready to watch the Cougars win the game!

After the game, we returned to the hotel in Bellevue, where we enjoyed the pool and jacuzzi.
Friday night, we met up with Trina and Brett at their beautiful new home in Issaquah. They cooked a delicious meal for us, then we all went swimming at the hotel pool.
Trina with her youngest son, Tanner, and me with my youngest son, Trent, in the pool.

Boys! Boys! Boys! Trina and I have 8 boys between the two of us, including our husbands!

Trina and Brett and family at home

Sunday picnic at the park

Our trip to Seattle for the BYU- U of W football game ended with a Sunday picnic at the park. We all went to church at the Stake Center next to the Bellevue LDS Temple Sunday morning, then enjoyed some good food and visiting at the park. It was another perfect day.

Do we look like sisters at all?

Trent was cracking me up with his funny faces and hand gestures. All these pictures are mostly the same, except for Trent's expressions. I love this crazy kid!

The little boys couldn't resist this tree -- they were beating it with sticks almost the entire time we were at the park.