Where's Lucas

Do you remember those books called "Where's Waldo?" Well today Lucas and I were raking leaves and he kept saying "mom come find me" and I would go over to see him covered in leaves. He absolutely loved doing this. Isn't it so nice to see such little things keep kids happy.

Family Prayer

I usually don't blog so close but I thought this was definitely blog worthy. Last night after family home evening we all knelt down for family prayer. Jesson usually sits on one of our laps or just roams the room until we are done, but last night was definitely something new. After Lucas was done saying the prayer we looked over to see Jesson laying by us. So I had everybody stay in their spots so I could take a picture but by the time I got back Jesson had moved, so I said " lets have prayer" and immediately he went back to his spot and laid down. It was so cute to see him actually trying to be part of us during prayer and not squirming and fighting us when we try to make him sit and be still. As you can see in the picture he has two older siblings and a dad who are great examples for him.... At least in kneeling during family prayer:)

Our little Gobblins

Okay so we had no little goblins this year for Halloween but we did have a Sports Dude (Jake Roberts) Pig (Parker Sandstrom) Witch (Gracie) Devil (Jesson) and Alligator (Lucas.) We had a great time this year with the Sandstrom family for Halloween. We spent Halloween with them last year also, during a very sad time with the funeral of our 16 year old niece Lindsay Sandstrom the day before Halloween in 2008. The kids remembered Halloween as a good memory during that hard time so we decided it was good to keep that happy memory going. So we ate soup and made homemade spudnuts (doughnuts) and watched a great video of John and Jude Sandstrom (who are in Nauvoo on their mission) singing and dancing. The kids stayed warm and came home with buckets full of candy. What else could you ask for?

The Newest West Jordan High Cheerleader

This last week Gracie was able to participate in a cheer leading camp at West Jordan High. On Thursday we went to the High School for Gracie to learn cheers and a dance, which they would perform the next night at half time during the football game. From the moment we got to the school Gracie was in tears scared. She did not want to go with the "big girls" she said they scared her and made her nervous. So, she cried for the first half hour attached to my arm until a friend from the ward came. Then she popped up ready to go out with not a single tear. Funny how that happens. When game time came she was pretty excited to go out onto the field to perform her cheers and dance. It was great to see her out there strutting her stuff and acting like a real cheerleader, with her jumps and rallying. The next day she asked when the next game was so she knew when she would need to be ready to cheer West Jordan High on again. Thank goodness we have until basketball season to do it again.

A lot has happened since our last post, I've just been to lazy to post. In August Gracie started school again. She is now officially a first grader. Going to school all day was really hard, but now she really enjoys it. On September 28 Lucas turned four. Yes we have a 4 year old. He was so excited to get his Bumble Bee Transformer, money from both sets of grandparent and a sword and gun from our friends the Browns. Yes, I attempted to make a transformer cake it looks more like a weird guy with sunglasses but Lucas figured it out right off so I guess it was okay. Life is good and we are all healthy and happy. What more can you ask for?

Bear Lake 2009

The Miles clan all together


Jesson and Alec playing in the sand

Lucas trying to surf

Leslie enjoying sun

Jakob and Alec

Hallie and Crystal

Jakob and Anglee

Jesson loving the sand

Looking for more sand to eat

Looking for tadpoles and fish (Lucas, Lilly, Gracie)

The week after Lake Powell we went to Bear Lake with the Miles Family. We had a great time playing in the sand and spending time together as a family. The kids really enjoyed finding tadpoles and little fish in the marsh area. We also enjoyed going to get the famous raspberry shakes every night. Thanks to Dustin and Lauren for helping us get the cabin. It makes Bear Lake so much more enjoyable. Thanks to all the family who came and helped with meals and stayed to help clean up the cabin. To those who were not able to come, you were greatly missed.

Lake Powell 2009

Uncle Mike with Jesson

Best Cousins!!! Parker and Gracie

Lucas climbing the rocks


Gracie Bobbing in the water

Lucas and Ciel playing in sand


The Sandstrom clan in their Ti Died shirts

Just a family bobbing around in Lake Powell

The Month of July has been really busy for us. We started out the month with the Sandstrom family to Lake Powell. Though a few members were missing this year we had a great time. Lots of fun in the sun, food and ti died shirts. That makes any trip wonderful. Thank you John and Jude for giving us such a great way to spend time as a family. You were really missed.