Flake Fun

First off a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to come to the blessing. It was great to have you all here. We can't wait to see you all over Thanksgiving.

The weather has turned cold in Snowflake and we have had our first freeze. No snow but our garden is toast.  The days have been quite pleasant which is nice.

I went into the office a couple of days this week and the kids didn't like it very much so we are figuring out the next move as far as that is concerned.

The twins are doing really well and growing like weeds!  We haven't weighed them yet this week but I anticipate that Robin is over 10 pounds.  Rand cleared that mark a couple of weeks ago.

There are a couple of apple trees at Scott's office and he was bringing home a few every day so yesterday he made a batch of applesauce and canned it.  It looks really good!

Hope that you all have a great week!

Smithfield Scoop

Yes! Welcome home to you, Thomas and Torie!! Glad you had such a delightful time. You were both sorely missed at our recent gathering in Snowflake, but hope to see you in a few weeks in Cache Valley!

We had a wonderful time with Jenn and Scott and are very grateful for their hospitality and willingness to put up with us for so many days. Thanks, also, to the Hart family, Joseph, Ruth, Lauren, Wesley and Chet for making the long trek to Arizona, some by car and others by plane and then by car. Hopefully, you all found that it was very worth your while to come down. It was fun to be at the rental house together and have room for everyone to eat, play and sleep. Wesley was quite enamored with his newest cousins and wanted to hold and help feed them as often as he could.
And going to church and participating in the blessings of Rand and Robin was a sweet blessing that brought such deep, profound feelings of gratitude for the Lord's mercies to our family. Thanks for making the effort to share in that experience.

On Sunday afternoon, we decided to go for a walk. When we stepped out onto the porch, there was a snake, sunning itself. Dad caught the little bull snake and Wesley tried to touch it, but the snake was a bit feisty by then. We got a video of it, but it is too long so I can't import it. You can see it on my phone sometime :)

On the way to and from Arizona, Dad and I kept looking around for fall colors, but didn't see much. We returned in the dark, so we couldn't see if the leaves were changing in Sardine Canyon. However, the next morning, I got up and what did I see in our own backyard?!!! I dragged Dad out of bed and made him stand in front of the window! Then we went on a long walk up the canyon by our house. Exquisite! Wish the pictures did it justice.

From our livingroom window  

 On our canyon walk...

Conference was spectacular and we feel renewed, inspired and ready to press forward! How blessed we are to live in a time with prophets sharing the Lord's will with us! And to have so many temples! And the blessing of covenants! And family! Oh, my, we are so very blessed. Hope to see all of you again, sooner than later.

Welcome Home To Us

We're back Tokyo! 

It was super fun, and definitely a place we'll go back to!  Imagine Manhattan, and then imagine 7 more Manhattan's encircling that Manhattan and you'll have a small Tokyo.  It is MASSIVE. There's around 14 million people in the city, and it's crazy because like 6 of them speak english..... We jus toured all the big touristy spots and ate a whole bunch of food!  The sushi we had was yummy but the best food was definitely ramen, and the treats and sweets. 

I could try and describe everything, but it's a little easier to just show you. 

Flake Fun

This past week was a blur but that seems to be the norm now.  I don't know how it can go by so fast when I feel like all I do is feed babies!  Speaking of whom; they are getting so big and Rand now outweighs Robin!  Who would have imagined! For those of you who have met them, they will look so big to you.  For those of you who haven't, they will look like normal sized newborns who are just very advanced!  They love sticking their tongues out at anyone who will play along and Robin is becoming a little chatterbox.  Rand is still a bit more reserved than his sister but also has his chatty moments.

We went on an overnight trip to Mesa to see how they would do on a short trip. It went fairly well but we learned that Robin isn't timid about letting us know when she is tired of being in her car seat!

Our tomatoes are finally starting to ripen which is fun.  I think that may be all of the harvest that we'll get this year.

We are trying out a new sleep routine and schedule that seems to be going really well so hopefully that will continue.

We are excited to see some of you this weekend! Can't wait to see the rest of you in a couple of months.

 All dolled up on a Sunday afternoon

Looking suave

Hart Happenings

So, so, so fun to see all the pictures being posted!  I'm with Mom; I think this was such a good idea Jenn, all those years ago to get this blog up and running.  I know we've gone back and looked through years past and were so grateful to have those memories.

Fun to hear from Thomas and Victoria also.  We got a picture from them in a Pokemon restaurant this week.  Looks like fun in Tokyo!  Hard to keep track of all their adventures but nice to know they are living life to the fullest!

And the Flake babies are still the cutest ever!  Glad their first week of church was such a success.  Can't wait to see them soon!

The past couple of weeks have been a blur at the Hart house.  We're back into our more academic season and the kids are loving it.  It is amazing to watch how quickly they are able to learn new concepts when they tackle it a few minutes a day.  It's an invigorating environment to be in as their mom.  We are loving our homeschool group and the kids are having a good time in all their classes there.

Ruth alluded to the Harvest Fest that wrapped up our gardening classes.  It was a huge success and I think everyone had a good time.  Dad came up which was a really nice gesture and I appreciated having him there even though I was a little distracted by all the goings-on.  It is nice to have that over for another season.

Jack and Peter both scored 3 goals at their respective soccer games yesterday.  It was COLD!  The boys who are playing don't seem to mind, but the poor parents standing on the sidelines just shiver for an hour or so.  Not my favorite, but I love watching them play, so the price must be paid.  Jack actually sprained his ankle pretty badly during half time at his game and has been on crutches (thanks to Emma) for the past day and a half.  Hopefully, we can get it healed up so he can play before the season is over.

I attended a homeschool moms conference on Thursday and Friday this week.  It was quite the eclectic gathering of people.  My eyes were opened a little better to what it is to me a minority among and vocal majority.  Rather uncomfortable at times.  But also, interesting to note how little we need to have in common to enjoy one another's company.  It was a lovely getaway.

The boys are loving their parkour class and are quite agile and good at scrambling over all kinds of obstacles that are put in their way.  They got trained at their last class by a guy who know Mark Petersen (of Joe's podcast) and has done Agoge events with him.  It was rigorous and left the boys pretty wiped out.

Alex and I decided that we want to start sleeping without our phones by our beds and so we ordered this alarm clock that mimics the sun and slowly starts emitting more and more light as it approaches the time you set as the time you want to wake up.  When it reaches, say, 6:30 it is full-on bright and you can choose if you want to hear birds, the ocean, or any other nature sound, even music as the alarm part.  This morning was the first time we had used it and it was a lovely way to wake up.  It kind of wakes you up gradually instead of so abruptly.  I really enjoyed it.

Ian is still practicing intensely for Matilda.  It is fun to see him engage in it so enthusiastically, but then, that's Ian.  Engaged enthusiastically.

The Parade of Homes was this weekend.  Ruth, Addy, Ian, and I got to see a couple of houses together and then had to squeeze the rest into our individual schedules.  It's always so inspiring!  Some people are so creative and some have such great taste and still others are nuts.  But it's all inspiring!

That's about it for the Harts.  Love y'all!  Hope to see you soon!

Smithfield Scoop

Thanks for posting the darling pictures of babies, school, chicks, gardens and all of the adventures you are having! I LOVE having this history that we are making as we post the daily goings-on of our lives. I think it will become ever more precious as time passes.

Last Sunday, toward the end of Sunday School, I got a text from a mom to the effect that "something might be happening..." She had a very short labor two years ago, that I nearly missed (30 minutes from first contraction to birth), so I left immediately and headed over to her house. Fortunately, things progressed a little more slowly this time so I had time to get there and set up before baby came about 4 hours later. As usual, we stayed for a while to make sure all was well with mom and baby before leaving. I drove in the driveway and as soon as the garage door was up, I got another call... "something might be happening..." So, out I went again. That baby came more quickly, within a couple of hours, but had a few issues so we ended up staying quite a while. I got home about 2:00 in the morning. Needless to say, our blog post didn't happen last week....

But, we did have a good week. Dad spoiled me on my birthday with a shopping spree and temple session and dinner at the temple. This week, we enjoyed Dad's birthday with a long hike up the Highline Trail that goes along the face of the mountain where the canal runs out of Logan Canyon. I think some of you may have floated the canal there, just above First Dam. Anyway, it's been covered now and there is a trail that is very fun to hike. We'll take you on it if you'd like, sometime!

We have been spending our time planning temple and family history activities for the youth in our ward. Our next big effort will be to meet with the youth and their families at their homes to discuss what they've already done on Family Search and in family history. We think it will be a wonderful opportunity to get acquainted with people in the ward and to encourage them to seek the "Spirit of Elijah" and the "Spirit of the Temple." We were set apart for our callings today, so hopefully we'll experience some increased inspiration for what we should be doing!

Here are some photos that highlight a few activities at the very delightful surprise birthday party you all so kindly planned and participated in. We loved it and would gladly grow another year older just to have you come again!!

For your viewing enjoyment, here are some of Dad's favorite recent photo selections...

Chet and his dinner.

A sweet ride....

Well, I tried.

Perplexed Millie

Ready to rock and roll!

Nilsson News

Mom's birthday surprise was definitely a highlight of the past week and we wished that the Texas T's and the Flakes could have been there.  It was a great time and we sure have a great family!
Yesterday, we enjoyed going to the annual harvestfest that Elise is in charge of.  All the food that is served is from the produce that the kids grew throughout the summer.  Delicious veggie soup, bread made with wheat they grew and ground, pizza made in the clay pizza oven they built, and of course an array of fresh melons and vegetables.  It was tasty! 
We started school and canning and yard projects all at the same time!  Fall is such a busy time but it is a good time.  It has been nice to start a school routine again and the kids have been excited about learning.  They've also started back up with clogging, piano and gumnastics.  This year Eliza is taking fiddle lessons and the three older kids are all doing choir.  I can't pin-point where I know the director from but he is so familiar; Ben Watson.  If you recognize the name, please let me know!  The choir will be making a couple music videos and Jenny Oaks Baker and family four will be performing with them for their Christmas concert.  We are really excited about it!
The chicks keep hatching.  We added number nine to the little flock this morning.  Cute as can be!

 The first day of school is like Christmas!

 Poetry tea time!

Hope all is well with everyone and we can't wait to hang out with all of you again!