One last update for today...Chase

I promised an update on Chases's eyes, well, a picture says a thousand words, right?





Here it is:

What a cute kid! He got glasses too. He has the same problem that Oakli has, but the other eye. He has a slight lazy eye, but we didn't even know it. The family Dr. saw it right away when Doug was in getting his knee checked out. He likes them so far, but it has only been a few hours.

Too cool for words ~ BRYCE

What more do I say? (Oh wait... I know... He's 10!)

A mother caves... but for good reasons!

(Click on the picture if you want to see it closer up)...


Ok, so I took Ambri to get her ears pierced. No big deal (it was to her). I told her that we'd do it when she turned 8, so she was totally surprised when we went to the mall yesterday. (Her birthday isn't until the end of April.) We arrived at the same time as her best friend, Ceanne and her mother, so they could be there with us while Ambri got it done. It was a lot of fun for her. We had to wait quite a while so they roamed the store together and wanted to buy all the make-up. I decided to go ahead and do it now because if we wait until she turns 8 in April, it is right when spring soccer is starting up again and that conflicts with earings because they make you take earings out for soccer games, no exceptions. This way they will be all healed up in time for the games in the spring.

Burton family happenings for 2008:

Alpine Slide ~ Ambri lost her first 4 teeth, 2 in the same day because she needed money for the book order, and 2 more because her crazy mom promised her a pedicure and manicure if she’d just pull them out (not thinking she’d really do it)! ~ Ambri turned 7 ~ Australia ~ Blueberries, blueberries, blueberries ~ Bryce turned 10 ~ Bryce plays on a competitive soccer team (2 teams at the same time this year) ~ Bryce’s new favorite smell (not) is sulfur at Yellowstone ~ Buffalo ~ California ~ “California cousins” ~ Chase turned 4 ~ Chickens ~ County fair ~ Disneyland ~ Disneyland recovery ~ Doug had knee surgery 2 days before Easter ~ Doug serves on the high council in the stake (still) ~ Family Search Indexing ~ First dentist trips for Chase and Oakli ~ Glasses for Oakli ~ Gonzalo from Chile came and stayed with us for a while, we toured Oregon with him. He saw the snow and the ocean in the same week. ~ Halloween brought a runner, sumo wrestler, wonder woman, a knight and Cinderella ~ Harry Potter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 (what next, Bryce?) ~ Hawaii ~ http://burton-family-blog.blogspot.com/ ~ Idaho ~ It’s “Princess Oakli” to you… ~ jewelry making ~ jump rope team at school ~ Keeping clothes on Chase… oh wait… I mean no clothes… ~ Lots of exercise ~ Marathon for Doug ~ Marathon for Kari (2 half marathons) ~ Mexico (again – Doug, how can you say “again”? I can go back “again” and “again”!) ~ Migraines ~ Montana ~ More Soccer ~ More soccer (yeah, I did say that 2x in a row) ~ New blueberry harvester ~ New boat, lots of camping and playing at the lake ~ Oakli turned 14 (3) ~ Oakli wants to know when it’s her turn to get on the school bus ~ OSU football season tickets ~ Our family has a testimony of Jesus Christ and of his sacrifice for us. We are deeply grateful to Him and we love Him. ~ Piano Lessons ~ Pinewood Derby cars ~ Playing at our river ~ Reading ~ Redwood forest ~ Rexburg ~ Riding on Thomas the Tank Engine on the 4th of July ~ Scouts ~ Scrapbook catch-up ~ Sea World ~ Snow days because there is 2” of snow outside (hey, it’s Oregon!) ~ Soccer, soccer, soccer ~ St. Anthony Sand Dunes ~ Tahiti ~ Tennis ~ Timpanogos Cave – all 6 of us made it up with aunt Charisse too! ~ Trains, trains, and more trains for Chase ~ Uncle Bart gets married (that means a trip to Utah) ~ We got to take an airplane ride over the valley and flew over our house ~ Weight Loss ~ Wheat was planted on 17 acres of land this year ~ Wyoming ~ Yellowstone ~

Ambri’s hi-light of the year was visiting the Koala bears at the Taranga Zoo in Australia
Bryce’s hi-light of the year was visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii
Chase’s hi-light for the year was driving Trixie (the back-hoe) while she dug a new pond in our forest… okay, so Chase only helped Charlie drive Trixie. ~
Doug’s hi-light of the year, “it was all good” and eating at the Best Little Roadhouse.
Oakli just loves to be I charge of Chase every day (or think she is in charge). She is totally the baby of the family.
Kari’s hi-light of the year was just being warm in the sun in Tahiti and everywhere else we went that was warm.

It sounds like we have had a busy year. We really have, but we have had a great time doing it as a family and we have enjoyed every minute of it. We wish you all a happy holiday season and a wonderful coming new year.

What's the opposite of a Alaskan Dog Sled?

I don't really need to explain more I think.

The kids are home for ANOTHER snow day, and now we are going in to Christmas break. Here's one picture from what they did today.

Another thing we've been busy with: (take a look at his eyes - more to come next week)

We're home.

Our trip was so great! We went to Hawaii, Australia and Tahiti. I'll touch on a few highes. Ambri's favorite part of the trip was breakfast (more than once) at the Hukilau Café, in Laie. Bryce loved it all. I loved being warm.

• November 7 - we traveled to Hawaii and visited the Dole pineapple plantation. We love that pineapple!
• November 8 - we went to the Hukilau Café for breakfast and then went to Diamond Head for a hike, which was closed when we got there. Got us out of exercise that day!
• November 9 - we went to church, and then we visited the Laie temple and visitors center.
• November 10 - we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Our favorite part was visiting Samoa and watching the Chief.
• November 11 (Vetran's Day) - we once again had breakfast at the Hukilau Café (they are closed on Mondays, or we'd have eaten there yesterday) and then we went to Pearl Harbor. It was amazing seeing it again. The devastation reeked on our military is amazing to behold. This was my 2nd trip to Pearl Harbor on Vetran's Day.
• November 12 - we spent the day on another airplane, to Australia. It was November 13 when we arrived in Sydney.
• November 14 - we exercised in Hyde Park (Doug and I, at different times) and then we visited the Taranga Zoo. Our high for the zoo was being able to take pictures right next to the Koala bears. One thing I noticed was how rude the many school children were, sadly. We got to fairy right in front of the Sydney Opera House. We also went to the Sydney Tower (and we even got in for free - score!)
• November 15 - we toured the Sydney Opera House and saw a cute show called How To Read Tea Leaves, in the famous Spiegel Tent.
• November 16 - we went to church. It was a YSA branch, so we only stayed for sacrament meeting. The chapel and classrooms were on the 2nd story of a high rise building.
• November 17 - we visited the Sydney Aquarium, and then McDonald's for lunch (for the kids, Doug and I found Subway). We wandered around downtown Sydney for a bit and then walked back to our condo. We got to go swimming that night at the community pool.
• November 18 - we exercised again this morning, each of us going all the way to the Sydney Opera House and then back. We made the train trip out to the Sydney Temple. It took us 2 hours to get to the temple, that was 15 miles away from our condo. We didn't get lost, it just took us a long time to get there, and we had to walk a long ways as well. Bryce and Ambri came along and waited for Doug and I while we did a session.
• November 19 - we visited the Powerhouse Museum. It is kind of like OMSI. It was a nice relaxing day, but our last day in Sydney.
• November 20 - we left Sydney. Everything went fine at the airport. The thing the kids liked thte best was the individual TV screens that they had on the flight. They could watch their own movie or play video games. We crossed back over the international date line and arrived in Tahiti on the 19th.
• November 20 (again) - we slept in. The first thing we noticed in Tahiti is that people can smoke anywhere (starting with inside the airport). We spent the day at the pool. The beach at the hotel is BLACK SAND (just what I wanted to see in Tahiti - yea!). The shocker in Tahiti was the lady at the pool that didn't wear a top. Doug said he expected it (at the beach) but we forgot to warn the kids in advance. Oops! Picture is of Ambri and Flat Stanley. She got to bring him along on our trip, he is from school.
• November 21 - we started the day by exercising. It was so difficult to exercise in Tahiti because it was so humid and hot. It was another day at the pool, and we ventured out to the beach to do some snorkeling. Later that afternoon we went to the temple. We waited in the (HOT) sun for the bus, but after 20 minutes, it never came. They said the busses stop coming after 5pm. We made it to the temple, and Doug and I did a session. It was in French, so we got to use the headphones. Bryce and Ambri waited for us in the waiting room and they got to watch a movie and talk with the Temple president. Some members took us back to the hotel.
• November 22 - was our last day in Tahiti. We had to check out of our room at 11am, and our filght wasn't until 11:30pm. I started the day by exercising and then we had breakfast. We checked out of our room and then spent the rest of the day by the pool (they stowed our bags for us). It rained a bit later that afternoon, but it was warm and refreshing. We headed to the airport early and got on an earlier flight (10pm). It was a red-eye and we made it to LAX to find that another passenger took one of our suitcases. Good thing it was on the way home. We continued onto Seattle and then Eugene. We made it home by about 6:30 and we were very happy to see Chase and Oakli. We finally got our suitcase back by Tuesday afternoon. It was a great trip! Tahiti was so warm, it was wonderful!

Need I say more?

Give the Aussies another chance... and they failed!

Well, I figured I'd give 'em another chance, maybe it was just a bad zoo day (see the post before last). We headed to the Sydney Aquarium today, hoping for a relaxing day. We walked over to the Aquarium today, rather than taking the subway. The Aquarium is in Darling Harbour. Of coarse, we took the long way because we really didn't know where we were going, but we found it, nevertheless. We got in and everything was fine. We were admiring the Platyapus', the HUGE Croc, and many other exotic fish that I had never seen before... and then we heard it. The stampede of school children, AGAIN. I think Bryce was as dissappointed as I was, but I was determined to give them another chance, knowing that these couldn't possibly be the same school children that mobbed the zoo just days earlier. I was dissappointed though, they were just as rude as all the others. They were pushing (not just nudging... all out pushing total strangers)! Poor Ambri was trying to take her turn at the touching pool and she got totally squeezed out of the way from all directions. They even had their teacher telling them "manners...manners", but nothing. She could see how rude they were being (I made eye contact with her, with a question on my face) but nothing was done. So, we had to quickly finish our tour and then move on. They failed.

We continued out to find lunch and Doug saw the sign for McDonalds. The kids were thrilled! On our way we also saw a Subway, so we stopped in there for some "healthy" food for Doug and I. Bryce even got a sandwich, his new fettish is ham, cheese, and lettuce. The cheese here is a little different, but we are managing. The cheddar cheese is not "yellow" or "orange" (pick your descriptive color, I think it is still up for debate) but rather it is a white color. We bought sliced and shredded at the grocery store, and the shredded tastes the same. The sliced is a close 2nd. Anyway, we got some lunch and then headed to McDonalds for chicken nuggets for Ambri. We all sat down to eat at an outdoor McDonalds. The birds were mobbing us and Bryce and Ambri had a wonderful time chasing the birds. No one was even annoyed about them making so much noise, because the birds were that much MORE annoying. We stopped for a few minutes in Darling Harbour because Ambri asked to play on the play set. As they were playing, that same pesky group of school kids came walking through the area. At least they couldn't stop and play, only watch Bryce and Ambri longingly. Some redemption, maybe.

We walked over to the "Cinema" to see if we could see High School Musical 3. First they were "closed". What kind of movie theater closes? Well, I'll tell you. The kind that has Daniel Craig there on Friday night for the premier of the new James Bond movie, and then Nicole Kidman coming tomorrow for the premier of the new movie "Australia". Who wants to see stupid movie stars anyway? I guess it doesn't matter much anyway, because Sydney doesn't even get HSM3 until "Early December 2008". I had 2 mighty dissappointed kids. We came back to the condo and watched a pay-per-view. It was a comedy and they soon forgot their woes.

NOTE on the time stamp: It is actually 11:00 pm here on Monday night. I believe it is 4:00 am at home.

A picture from the past.

I'm working on sorting pictures and I came across this one. I thought I'd post it for all to see. This is Ambri eating ice cream (or something like that) in 2003.

Taronga Zoo ~ I thought Americans were rude...

Well, first I'll get the bitterness out of my post, then I'll get on with it. We went to the Tagonga Zoo in Sydney, Australia. The Zoo was mobbed with school groups. When I say mobbed, I mean MOBBED! It was difficult to see a display without getting pushed (that would include any school age child of various ages that runs into you because they are not paying a whit of attention) or having toes stepped on by a school child. I can say definately that it is a school child because the kids in each group would all be wearing the same uniform. Some group even had the same backpack for each child with the name of a school on it. AND I THOUGHT AMERICANS WERE RUDE, I DON'T FEEL QUITE SO BAD ANY LONGER. I mean, I came to Australia expecting a little more hospitible behavior than what you typically expect from Americans... I was dissappointed.

With that said, the Zoo was amazing. After disembarking from the "Subway" (which is really the train I guess, sometimes it goes under the ground and sometimes you can see it at street level), we headed to the warf and took a fairy over to the Zoo. On the fairy we went right by the Sydney Opera House. It is the most recognizeable building in the world, so they say. We'll tour that tomorrow... or is it today? I'm not sure, but it will be SATURDAY.
We took a really cool sky bus ride up the side of the mountain and then we were at the top of the Zoo. The Zoo is on a hill, similar to the Portland Zoo. Nice exercise. Anyway, we got off right by the Koala encounter, and we got to have our picture taken with the Koala bears (that really aren't bears). Here's Ambri with her photo:

The kids were amazed at "how cute" they are. We weren't allowed to touch them, although we obviously could, it is against the law. They sleep for 20 hours a day because they eat eucalpytus leaves, and they don't have much energy in them.
We saw many other native Australian animals while at the Zoo, and then the "regular" zoo animals as well. The giraffe habitat was really nice, and many of the exhibits had a great backdrop of the Sydney Harbour, Sydney Bridge, and Sydney Opera House in the background.
Later that night we went grocery shopping with the kids. The reason I mention it, is because the grocery store is in the basement of the mall. The mall is smack in the center of Sydney, amidst the office buildings and residential apartments. Doug and I have experienced it before in Chile, but the kids were in awe of it. Of coarse everything was different, but many things were the same in a wierd kind of way. For example: Rice Krispies are called Rice Bubbles, but they are exactally the same, even made by Kellogg's. Pringles are the same though, and we can't forget the wonderful Cadbury Chocolate. It still tastes as good as at home.

Just a note on the time stamp, it is 9 pm here on Saturday, 2 am Saturday at home.

Do we get to go "Charc-ling" today?

That is the question that I have been asked more than once today by Ambri (7 yr). What she really means is snorkeling (for those of you that didn't know that we are on vacation right now). She's interested in that, and going to "Smashers" beach. She really meant "Pounders Beach" (which is where we are actually staying) but the cute things she says still get me.

We had breakfast at the Hukilau Cafe. We ordered way more food than we could eat, and just as always, it was wonderful food. Bryce said he wants to come back on Tuesday (they are closed on Sunday and Mondays) and he wants to order a whole plate of just bacon. We were also supposed to hike Diamond Head today. When we got to the parking lot, the lady at the pay booth said "Didn't you see the big sign at the bottom of the hill? The trail is closed." We weren't the only ones that didn't see the "Big Sign" because there were many cars behind us as we turned around and pulled out. So we went in search of the "Big Sign", which for your information, Lady, it was NOT at the bottom of the hill. I think that Bryce and Ambri were releived that we didn't have to go on "another hike". He just wanted to stay in the car and play the DS. He's milking this trip for all it's worth. Instead of going "Charc-ling" (which we will do later on in the trip) we just went to the beach and played in the "Smasher" waves. So far we've done that both days and Bryce and Ambri just love playing in the water the best. That is surprising to me because they get the chance to play in the ocean in Oregon many times each year. I guess it really doesn't surprise me once I think about it, the water is much warmer. Heck, I even got in!

It's time for vacation... ALREADY?

Well, that is how I'm feeling. I can't wait (we're heading to Hawaii on Friday, then Australia after that, and Tahiti on the way home), but there is so much to do.

I guess I'll go start doing something.

I SAID ALL THE CANDY WRAPPERS GO IN THE GARBAGE!

Yeah, whatever, Mom.


So another Halloween has come and gone.

Here's how they rank: Bryce was a sumo wresteler, Ambri was Wonder Woman, Chase was a knight and Oakli was Cinderella.

The kitchen is a disaster with halloween candy and wrappers everywhere. I guess when I threatened the kids with disposing of all the candy if they didn't take care of their wrappers was a hollow threat. The good news (sort of...) is that the candy is almost gone. It hasn't even been 24 hours yet. Is that a good thing?

Ambri came home last night from the Trunk-or-Treat and told me that she didn't know why all the grown-ups knew who she was, but the little kids didn't. Go figure. We've definately watched our share of Wonder Woman on YouTube. She's also go the moves down to block the bullets on her wrist bands.

Chase was very sweet with his costume choice this year. He realized that Oakli was going to be Cinderella and he wanted to be a knight so he could protect all the princesses from the dragons. He will tell you first thing that "trains, cars, and firefighters are my favorite" so I don't know why he didn't pick one of those. We found a cheap costume at Wal-Mart, so I wasn't going to challenge him on it. I spent a good amount of time looking for a Thomas the Tank costume, but couldn't find one anywhere. Don't press your luck, eh?

Our trip is drawing ever closer and I can't wait! I'm starting into panic mode, realizing how much I still need to do. I havn't planned our days out for the Australia portion of the trip yet, so maybe I should go think about that now!

TTFN!

The abuse of the !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy smokes, am I guilty of this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have just decided that I am going to try really hard, not to use an "!" mark, unless it is totally warranted.

Another 1/2 marathon ~ in the bag!

This past weekend Doug and I did another half-marathon. Actually it was Doug's first (the last one he did was a full marathon). I'd have to say, this one was much easier than the first, despite the huge hills and elevation changes. I was hoping to shave quite a bit of time off my personal best, but those hills really cut into my time. I did get under 3 hours, which is what my goal was, so I am proud of myself for that. I am not nearly as sore as I was the first go-around. I did my training a little different for the 2nd and I think it really made a difference. On our way back to pick up our kids from Grandma's house, we stopped at the running store to get me a new pair of shoes. I was shocked to see how worn out this pair was, and I've only had them a few months. I got the exact same pair as before, and the new ones are so much more comfortable than the worn out pair. I'll start back into walking again tomorrow. See you all on the road.

Another 12 bites the dust!

In preparation for my 2nd upcoming half-marathon, I did a 12 mile walk today. That is the longest I have ever walked in one stretch (that I actually know of - there's no way we went that far at girls camp, is there?) without actually doing the half-marathon. That brings us to "why" you might ask? I ask myself the same thing. After doing the first half-marathon, I was seriously wondering if I would do another because it was very difficult for me to do the first one. I decided that it was a really good way to keep me exercising (because I would prefer not to) so I kept up the training. It definately has been easier this time around. I now walk even faster than I did 2 months ago. I finished my first half marathon in 3 hrs and 1 minute. (Remember, I was just walking.) I should definately be able to shave off at least 5 minutes this go around. That marathon comes up this weekend, so it will be a relief to get another behind me.

I think I forgot to tell this part, which is why I started the post in the first place... it was a very hard walk. Not just because it was so long, but the weather sucked! Last week it was raining for my 11 mile walk, so I did it on the treadmill, (that sucked too...) and it took me almost 3 hours for the 11 miles. Today I was lucky that it didn't start raining until I hit my 3 mile mark, but the wind was blowing too. I knew that potentially it would start to rain, so I did the walking into the wind at the beginning, hoping to get it past me before the rain started. No such luck. At the half-way mark, Doug was going to bring me water and a granola bar, but by the time he got there, I was "running" behind because of the wind and rain. He picked me up and took me to the next spot in the road where it turns, and I would be walking with the wind for the rest of the way home, luckily it was under a mile that I "cheated" on. It was much easier walking with the wind and the rain didn't even bother me. I guess it's all perspective. At about mile 9 I was trying to figure out if I was going to go the full 12 miles (add more onto the end for my cheating bout) or just cut it at 11 and call it a day. I decided I'd made all that effort (taking the first step out the front door was the hardest - oh wait, until it started raining.) I may as well add 1 more mile on the end and actually do my 12. It wasn't too bad and I probably could have gone another 1.1 miles, but I'll save that for this weekend.

As we have been talking with Bryce and Ambri about our upcoming trip to Australia, Ambri asked if we could surf. I told her that we should learn to snorkle first (Doug and I have done it before) and she proceded to list off the things we will do while we are on vacation.

Snorkle
Surf
No ice in our drinks

I laughed really hard.

Forvigeness is a gift you give to yourself.

A great Celine Dion show!

Well, it was another fun show. Celine always does a great job.

Her opening act was Gordie Brown. He was really funny, but a little crude for kids or "tweens". I hope that Kaeli (my niece that I heard was going to the contert who is 11) didn't get any of his really funny jokes. We were with our friends, Matt and Beth Newell, and I told her that Brian Regan is an awesome comedian, and he is clean! Anyway, back to the concert, it was great! We loved this show as much as when we saw her in Las Vegas, considering what they can do on the road, versus a show that is at the same place night after night.

I'm off to work on more Christmas cards. I'd post a picture, but then I'd have to kill you all, so you'll just have to wait until you get your card in the mail!

Celine Dion

Well... today is the day. We've had our tickets for... well, I don't even know how long, but we got them the day they went on sale. We've seen Celine Dion in Las Vegas and it was a great show. We are going to this show with our friends, Matt and Beth Newell. It should be fun, they are great fun to hang out with. I'll up date later if anything exciting happens at the show!


Those are some shoes, eh?

"Put my stuff in the bag, Please!"

Oakli came to me with a grocery bag and asked me to put her stuff in the bag. The first thing that popped into my mind was that she was the stuff. Here's the proof!

Soccer Season Is Upon Us!

I've decided to start from here and move forward, or I'll be lost in the past! I do have a lot to catch up on, but maybe later on if I have time.

Ambri and Bryce are playing soccer again this year. Ambri plays on the Marigolds team and Bryce plays on the Chefs and the Renegades. It has been a very busy and interesting season so far. I'll start with Ambri because her goings on are much easier to write about so far. She is on a team with her friend Ceanne. They are doing really great. Ambri has a really good coach that just pushes the girls in a fun way and they are learning so much. Ambri has had 3 games so far this season and she has scored 5 goals. She is very proud about that, because she didn't score any goals last year. Ambri is a little shorter than Ceanne so she can't run as fast, but she sure knows how to make sure all the other girls stay out of her space! She isn't afraid to touch the other players, like she was when she first started playing soccer.

Bryce started the season off kind of continuing from last season. His coach las year asked him to try out for a new competitive team. After talking about it for a bit, we decided to have him go ahead and try out. They told us that the games would be on Saturdays and would most likely conflict with the regular AYSO games. So they made sure that they divided up all the boys to be on different AYSO teams so it wouldn't make one team suffer more than another, if there were a Saturday that they needed to be away at the Renegade game. (The competitive team is through AYSO and so they are playing on a regular team, and the "progressive" team.) As it turned out, so far all of the games have been on Sundays. They have had 3 weeks of tournaments with at least 2 games each day. Bryce told his coaches that he wouldn't be playing with the team when they play on Sundays (man, I love that kid!). So he has missed all those games so far, but he still goes to practice each week with that team. He has soccer 4 times a week between practice with 2 teams and games on Saturdays. I think that they may have a tournament this coming Saturday for the Renegade team, so Bryce may get a chance to play with them. It should be pretty exciting, the boys are very good. They basically took the best players out of the league and made a team with them. It is kind of sad watching when they have to go back to the regular AYSO team (just for fun team... everyone is a winner, blah, blah, blah...) because it is just like taking 5 steps backward each week. What do you do, though?

Ambri is now in 2nd grade and Bryce is in 4th. They are both loving every minute of it. Ambri finished her first chapter book today, and yesterday Bryce finished the 6th book of Harry Potter. He very quickly went and found the last book and dove right in. I asked him what was next after Harry Potter, and he told me without a skip, “The Book of Mormon”. I can’t wait for him to start that one! After that, he said he was going to start “The Work and the Glory” books.

Ambri finally lost her 2 front teeth on the top. She is very excited. All the other kids have already lost their teeth, so she is on the slower end a bit.

Chase and Oakli are home with me each day. Oakli is right there with Chase trying to learn and do everything that Chase does. Oakli loves to dance, and Chases loves to shake his “booty”.

I’ve been really busy with canning, drying, and walking. (Strange combination.) I did a few tomatoes this year, we still had a lot from last year. Doug helped with everything else that we did. We got 180 quarts of green beans done, 200 cobs of corn cut and stowed for the winter, and A LOT of applesauce. We did 140 pints and 130 quarts. Hope everyone likes applesauce! (We go through lots of it, but probably not that much – we went a bit overboard.)

I decided to dry apple slices this year. We have lots of apples and I definitely don’t want to make more applesauce. It has been really fun to do, and super yummy as well. I’ve been dipping them in cinnamon and sugar before I dry them, so they are even more delicious.

Walking… well, I do a lot of it. I have been doing about 30 miles a week. It has really been great for me. I enjoy my time out on the road just moving along. In August I did my first half-marathon. I have 2 more coming up that I am continuing to train for. The first one was a bit harder than I thought, even though I finished in pretty good time. I was the first walker to finish, but it was very hard. A few things to change for the next one and hopefully I’ll be good to go.

Doug will be doing the next half-marathon with me. He won’t be walking though. He did his first marathon in May, and he finished. He decided that the time he got wasn’t good enough, so he wants to do more. He was going to do the Pocatello Marathon with me in August, but about 2 weeks before the marathon, he pulled his hamstring. He is still trying to recover from that. If all goes well, he’ll do a full marathon in January.

We have more soccer, and OSU football games to keep up with. After Halloween we have a trip coming up, so I’ll try to post often and post some pictures as well!