Autumn Leaves...

Playing human scarecrow couldn't be more fun, especially with friends!

Front Left - Right
Ana, Lisa, Hugh, Amy, Julia, Abby
(at the McDaniel's)

Our 1st family picture in 2 years!

Eric suggested we have a family picture taken over Labor Day weekend. Shocker!!!! My sister-in-law, Veronica Young, and owner of Pixel Magic was in town. She graciously took time on Labor Day to take some fun photos of us at the Mt Timpanogos Temple.
Eric 35 1/2, Stephanie 32 1/2, Nicholas 10, Julia 8, Ana 5, Hugh 2 1/2.
September 6th, 2010

Annual Halliday Halloween Block Party!

L to R
Ian Clark - Darth Vader, Amy McDaniel - cowgirl, Julia - lady pirate, Jacob Clark - Batman, Nicholas - BYU football player, Jacob Dutton - caveman, Jonas Clark - Jack Sparrow, Conner Madsen - firefighter, Kylee Cahoon - princess, Macie Gray - Cinderella, Camri Cahoon - witch, Hallie Cahoon- princess, Anna Dutton - witch, Ana - monkey, Lilli Gray - princess, Hugh - Sorcerer, Ethan Clark - Spider-man, Lisa McDaniel - witch. Not pictured: Justin Gray, Devin Thompson, McKenzie Thompson

Our Halloween Party was a huge hit as always with bobbing for apples, to the donut eating contest, to playing "Ya Monster", and watching Icabod Crane. So, fun!

Southridge Farms 2010

It's our annual fall trip to Southridge Farms in Santaquin, UT. We went with our good friends, the Duttons! Our kids enjoy riding the trailer, picking out pumpkins, going through the farm maze, being silly, etc... And we can't leave without having some yummy Aggie ice cream! I sure wish there was Aggie ice cream closer to home...

Pregnancy #6 - Due Date Dec. 29th

I almost forgot to write about this, perhaps, I was hoping to forget completely...

June 25th - ultrasound - 1 baby, looks healthy
July - ultrasound - "it's a girl!" - measuring a little small
July - meeting with Perinatalogist revealed nothing unusual, though baby's growth was a little behind,but within guidelines.
August - feeling pretty yucky...
Sept 7th, 24 week check-up - no heartbeat
Sept. 8th - Admitted to Orem Community hospital @ 5:30am, delivered baby girl around 5:10pm without epidural, (not fun!) Stats: 11" long, 15 oz. with the tiniest fingers and toes. Baby's death determined by twisted umbilical cord. Home by 9:30pm.

Days to follow included -
physically feeling so much better,
having my friends homemade dinners and visits,
sympathy cards and phone calls,
having more flowers than ever throughout our home,
getting out of speaking at Stake Conference Adult Session,
being asked to be a "ma" on the Stake Youth Conference Trek next June,
given a book written by Elder Uchtdorf "The Remarkable Woman",
being visited by the entire Stake Presidency,
discovering 2 kidney stones,
being upset when someone thought I'd miscarried!!! - My mind would scream out, "No I had a stillborn!" "My body still thought it was pregnant. There's nothing wrong with how my body functions in pregnancy!" - not sure why I cared about this technicality,
enveloping myself in our Relief Society's Thrifty Thursday,
having tearful moments each time I was asked about the baby and each time I heard our ward choir sing in sacrament meeting: "Come Unto Him" and Consider the Lilies",
getting past the tearful parts and moving on... despite Ana repeatedly bringing her up to me and her friends that her baby died and playing with her dolls, where all the mom's die, etc... (at least she's dealing with her emotions),
finding out Aflac won't cover it because they see this as just a hospitalization and Humana won't cover it because it's considered maternity... Is it any wonder why insurances are such a pain to work with??
Glad to be on the mend - mentally and physically.

Cascade Springs

Early one evening, we took the kids up to Cascade Springs,which is up American Fork Canyon, about 45 min East of our home. The outing was fun! The kids enjoyed hiking around, seeing fish, playing in the water, searching for "stuff", etc... BTW it was buggy!!!

Does this picture give you cause for reflection of anything? I sometimes feel like that green spot...solitary and seemingly strong, but with life churning around me like that swift moving water, I wonder if I should just jump in and move with it! It certainly would be a bit easier...

Here is the bridge over which we all walked safely across.
(Grateful for the bridges in our lives that help us in times of need.)

A Bee or Hornet Hive!!!

We ended up making a huge subway sandwich from a large loaf of french bread, turkey, cucumbers, lettuce, cheese, olives, pickles, miracle whip, and mustard. It was delish!

Eric decided to go home over the mountain into Heber and what a ride that was! The road/gravel road was horrendous, at times we thought we should return, but "how" as the road was too narrow to maneuver 360 degrees!!! Arrrr! So, without further ado, we safely made it to Heber's Dairy Keen for dessert! I was grumpy and just wanted to go home. I don't care much for impromptu adventures, but the kids enjoyed themselves, so I suppose that's the best part!

Happy Birthday Eric!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Hugh!

Hugh enjoying his time in the "special" chair after unwrapping his gifts! His gifts included a soccer ball just his size, shin guards, ball and Velcro pads, and a fun sugar chute toy.

The only sort of non-blurry cake eating photo. Our camera is on the fritz!!!

Hugh enjoyed his waffle sundae/pumpkin cookie in the "special" cupcake birthday plate!!! We forgot this for the other kids birthdays this year. Oh, well! It was certainly a fun evening for Hugh!
Earlier in the day, Hugh and I, visited the Red Balloon store where Hugh spent 2 hours searching for "his" perfect gift. He had so much fun playing with all the toys on display before finally deciding on a set of Thomas the Tank Engine Wavy Tracks to add to the box of wooden train tracks at home. I was so surprised considering the amount of toy choices.
It was a sweet "mom and son" outing!

Ana's 1st day of Kindergarten

Ana, ready to walk to school!

Cedar Ridge Elementary
Monday - 10:58am-1:15pm, Tuesday -Friday - 11:23am-2:15pm

Ana in class and ready to have fun learning in Mrs. Jennifer Terry's Kinder - Garden!

Summer Skills Group

This summer a friend in the ward organized a "Skills Group" for 7-8 yr old girls in our ward/area. Each mom took 1 Monday from 2-4pm during the summer to teach this group of girls something. These are a few of the rag dolls that some of the girls made at our home. Yes, they are made out of fabric scraps, ribbon, yarn, buttons, etc... all handmade!

A few other things the girls learned: caramel pretzels, giant pixie stick wands, painting art, scrunchies, homemade wheat bread and freezer jam, homemade diaries, decorated pens, and more. What a fun summer!

Ana and Hugh with Miss Audrey Kramer

These little people had fun at the dinosaur museum while all the older siblings attended school!! Thanksgiving Point can be so fun!!! : ) Thanks Emily for inviting us to go! August, 2010
Afterward, we had lunch at Kneaders in Lehi! The kids played outside there in the
rocks/trees/shrubs for an hour without complaint leaving Emily and I to chat! It was so nice! The kids were so protective of their "rock spot" that no other children around could even come near it. Kids are so funny!

Julia Turns 8!

Julia requested ice cream bar cake! It's delish!

Julia celebrated her birthday with her cousin, Caleb, who shares the same birthday! He turned 5 yrs old.

I unfortunately don't have any baptism day pictures of her. So, if any family member has some, please send my way!!!! : )

Our Trip to Oklahoma in July!

On the Arkansas Riverwalk! July 2010

I honestly can't remember this Train Station Diner in Tulsa, but it was a fun place for the kids!

My 1st rag jean quilt!

Our ward makes jean quilts for all graduating young women in the ward and this is one of the quilts I had a fun time making! Sure wish I could keep it! : )

Ana's 5 yr old Dress-up Birthday Party

It was such a fun day for Ana! Dress-up was a must! They played musical chairs, decorated mini fairy cakes, played in bubbles, and opened gifts!

Ana & Lilli Gray

Ana & Hallie Cahoon

Conner Madsen & Ana

Ana & Libby Templeton

Lisa McDaniel & Ana

Lilli enjoying mini cupcakes she decorated!

Ana turns 5!

Happy Birthday Ana! June 1, 2010 -

I only posted that date b/c my camera shows 5-31-10 on the picture. Weird!


Love what lipstick can do! " )

Gifts: Pink scooter, Taylor Swift Karaoke CD/DVD plus CD karaoke player with microphone. Her gifts were a huge hit especially since she looooves Taylor Swift music.

Brownie Birthday Cake!
(Hugh fell asleep otherwise he would have been in the picture too.)

Julia is quite the chalk artist!

Julia spent a little time drawing Ana! I just had to take a picture!

Nicholas' 4th grade Dance Festival May 2010

Ana Graduates from Preschool

What a beautiful day to graduate! Ana was loving it! Sunshine Preschool Graduates at Sunset Park in Cedar Hills, Utah. May 19, 2010. Ana is less than 2 wks from turning 5 yrs. old.

House Party for Kraft Foods

We were selected by House Party to share Kraft Food Products and Kraft goody bags with our friends. It was a fun night of tasting new Kraft Food items and of course, a fun evening of hanging out with friends. All the adults stayed out way after dark and we had to get out blankets as it was a little chilly. So fun!