End of season...

I have been wanting to experiment with the macro setting on the digital camera ever since I saw some of the beautiful pictures that my friend, Barb O'Connell had taken. However, I forgot about it until I saw the pictures Brent had taken with his new digital camera and posted on their blog. So...here is my first attempt. I call these pictures "the end of the season," since these were taken after several frosts and the first dusting of snow not long ago. Since then, we have had beautiful fall weather...in the 70's...but we know that the cold and snow of the winter are just around the corner. Click on the pictures to enlarge them to get the full effect.

Trading cakes for haircuts...

One of my visiting teachers is a hairdresser, and now I can get my hair cut when I need to because I trade her for birthday cakes and baked goods. It's a win-win situation. I'm so excited! So, anyway, here is a picture of the cake I did for her daughter Megan's 3rd birthday today. She was very excited to see her "pink princess" and I had fun decorating it.

Also, Paula told me about this great blog yesterday. It is called "Cake Wrecks" and it is one of the funniest things I've seen. I just laughed and laughed as I viewed it. It has pictures of so-called professional cakes that have gone wrong, along with humorous commentary. So, if you would like a good laugh, visit http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com. Let me know what you think.

Fall Colors at the Broadmoor

The Broadmoor area of Colorado Springs is one of the prettiest parts of the city. It has beautiful homes with large beautifully kept yards, and streets lined with very large old trees of every kind. It is where you might want to live if money were no object. Since the fall colors seem to be more vivid and beautiful this year than we've seen since we've been here, we knew the Broadmoor would be beautiful. We had an errand to run not far from the area, so we took the camera and just enjoyed the beauty. We love this time of year. We know it won't last, as there is a possibility of snow later this week.

My thoughts on motherhood...

Paula called Bruce tonight, and she was telling him about how Lexi was learning to sing the "ABC song." She is at that age now where every day she is learning something new. How grateful I am that we have a daughter and daughters in law who know the importance of being at home with their children instead of dropping them off at a day care center and making their careers more important than their families. How terrible it would be to miss all those important little "firsts." While our kids were small, I chose to stay at home and bake cakes so I could stay at home with the kids. Sure, there were things we sacrificed by mom not having a full time job to bring in more money, but I believe with all my heart that it was worth it. As I was able to sit in the temple for the first time with all 3 of my children when Paula got married, I knew it was worth it. All three have grown up to be wonderful adults and parents, try very hard to do what's right, and love their mother and father. Thank you Brent, Tom, and Paula for being all a mother could ask for. . . and Happy Birthday Paula!

Halloween 1984
Christmas 1984
Brent's BYU graduation
Paula's NAU graduation
Tom's wedding June 2006
Paula's wedding September 2006

Paula's Birthday Dinner

Tomorrow our baby has her 25th birthday. Boy, does that make me feel old! So tonight we had Paula's birthday dinner. Her request was Chicken Fettuni Alfredo, breadsticks, and fruit pizza (remember, most of the family is tired of cakes). I also added a Caesar salad for something green. We sent leftovers home with Paula and Bruce cleaned up the kitchen. :)

Yummm! Fruit Pizza

Saturday at Linda and Dave's

Today was a good day. Five of us from our Family Home Evening Group went to a session at the temple and then afterwards we took lunch over to Linda and Dave Deming's in Parker and visited with them. Linda and Dave were in our group when they lived in Colorado Springs. Then, last December, Linda was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease. So, they moved to Parker to be closer to their daughter. Even though Linda's health has gone downhill very quickly, she remains an inspiration to us all with a positive attitude and happy countenance.

Happy Birthday Linda!
The group...Front row: Dave and Linda; Back row: Alene, Rex, Cathy, Bruce, and Bev

Lexi helping Grandpa rake the leaves...

While Paula and I went shopping for a few groceries tonight, Lexi helped Grandpa rake up the leaves in the front yard, and then of course, had to spend some time playing in them. So Grandpa took some pictures (at Grandma's request).

Red Hat Social Baby

So, I made this hat for Paula to wear to our Relief Society Red Hat Social. We went for dinner, and stayed for a little while, but then Paula started feeling kinda sick, so we left early and came home. Since we didn't get any pictures there, I decided to come home and put the hats on Lexi (who was having fun with Grandpa at home) and take pictures. . .

Pretty in Pink. . .

Baby in red. . .

New desktop picture with Paula...

OK, Paula. Is this better? We now have a picture of you on the desktop, too . . . just so you don't feel left out :)

Grandchildren

I changed the wallpaper on my computer desktop today to update pictures of our grandchildren. Grandchildren are your reward for not killing your children when they were young. Don't think I'm awful...you've all had those times when they weren't the most delightful little cherubs around. As I have been trying to write my life history, some of those memories have come flooding back. Anyway, we love each of our seven grandchildren, and we try to be as much a part of their lives as possible, even though it's difficult with the ones that live far away. We love it when our kids send us pictures. It has also been fun to see Lucy on the web cam, and we are excited to spend time with her at Thanksgiving.

Fall Colors in Colorado

Today when we went on our magazine route up to Woodland Park, I took the camera in hopes of capturing some of the colors of the changing leaves. It was a little difficult taking pictures through the window of the truck as we were driving, but I gave it my best shot. I also took a couple of pictures as we were stopped to get gas. Notice the price of the gas in Woodland Park. It is usually at least 15 cents less in Woodland Park than in the Springs, and the temperature is normally several degrees cooler also. Notice the snow on the back side of Pikes Peak. I love the fall...it is my favorite time of year.