Knott's Really Farm

Ok guys I'm getting really excited for our trip! I just wanted to send out a little note to see about vehicle situations, when you're leaving, and if you have any extra seats??? We are either leaving out on Thursday afternoon or early, early Fri. morning we'll know better tomorrow. We have two extra seats and I had already told Mom that she could ride w/ us but I believe Matt and Elara and Dad will also need rides. So, we might need to do some arranging. Please let us know what your needs are...thanks!

Ain't life grand?

Here are some pictures from our recent trip to the Grand Canyon. We had a great time hiking along the rim and enjoying some spectacular views.














Sunrise? Sunset?
















Reach for the sky!






















Dramatic smoke settles in.













Is there something in this tree?

Grand Canyon October 2007

These two were inseparable
Pictures just dont do it justiceTwo cousins just hanging out
A beautiful sunrise
Alex wanted a Han Solo in Carbonite Pancake and what Alex wants Alex gets!

We love you & prayed for you

Congrats Becky!!!!"Thine adversity & afflictions shall be but a small moment.And then if though endure it well......" I'm so glad that you made it through. Elara, Mom, & I were talking about Mr. unbeatable spirit "Burgy". Five minutes later, I check the blog on mom's laptop and there's your post about Leah and yellow. How ironic!!!I can't say congrats enough.

My brother...the celebrity!

Dustin and I were watching the game last night (yea, the one where the Red Sox won the world series, WOO HOO!) and I changed it to county TV during a commercial and there was ANDY! Shmoozing with some older gentlemen. No doubt, they were talking about some very serious water district issues (you could just tell). I got such a kick out of it. How fun to see our very own Andrew on TV. He's so famous, I'm getting his autograph right when he gets home!!!

Leah and Yellow

Today at our visit I was asking Gregory if he remembered Elara and that she called him Burgy and he said yes, I asked him about all his cousins. I continued down the line until I got to Leah and he said "Yeah, I love Leah...and yellow!" It was super cute!

Billy's Nursery

Little Billy's nursery is finally complete with the addition of the rocking chair we got from Walmart. It's really not as small as it looks...it's a little 10x10 room. Perfect for the buddy

Nelson's Landing and the Old Mine

This post is not near as exciting as Billy with a muskrat on his head.



The old burned out mine.
A gas station?? and restaurant.
Beautiful mountain formations.
Old Navy aircraft all lined up and rusting.
Nelson's Landing What a fun outing to Nelson's Landing and the old mining operation at Eldorado Canyon. (Apparently Eldorado Canyon is where most of the gold and silver was mined in Nevada's younger days.) There is also an area where they have horse back riding. We stopped at the gas station and restaurant and looked around at all the old artifacts. Had lunch in Searchlight (whoo hoo!!) and home again.

I'm the best. Don't hate the hair.

Home means Nevada

I'm sure Joey will tell you all about the Maker Faire when he has a chance to get his pics in order, but I wanted to share our new tradition. Nevada Day! Ha ha. We have friends here who grew up in Sparks and mentioned getting together as a joke. Well, a theme party is no joke to these Belanger's, am I right? So we took it and ran. We racked our brains between the four of us of something to eat that was Nevadan enough for a celebration of this caliber. Finally, the answer was clear- a buffet! What says Nevada more than a buffet? So we had a pared down version of a buffet, threw around some trivia, and played a mining game called "Boomtown". I thought it was funny that us ex-patriates probably got more involved in celebrating than those of you who got the day off of school and work. We ended the evening with a rousing chorus of "Home means Nevada". Just the chorus, who knew there were actual verses? It was fun to talk about the differences between growing up in the North and South ends of the state and made us all a bit homesick. This morning I went to the donut shop with Rhiannon and there was a hot air balloon prepaing for flight on the grounds of the high school. The balloon itself was red and white with a blue field on top and a star in the middle of it- the Texas flag. Nevada will always be home, but my heart has a special place for this place, too.


Here's some recent pics I thought you'd enjoy!

The adventures of Paige... 5 year-old run-away!

Paige learned to ride a two-wheeler bike a couple of months ago and after a rocky start she's completely confident and loves it! Every time she hears the garage open she runs outside for her bike. I've been sitting outside with her in the afternoons lately since the weather is so nice and she gets a chance to get out while Scott's napping. Yesterday Dustin and I went over and did some yard work at Darrington East(our other location) and since the older girls were at their rehearsal for their upcoming play and Scott was snoozing Paige grabbed her bike and rode up and down the street a gazillion times. Matt came out and gave us a hand pulling weeds and offered some good company while Dustin mowed and weeded the backyard. When it was time to go get the other girls we looked for Paige but she was nowhere to be found and neither was her BIKE! I yelled up and down the street and still nothing. For a split second I almost got scared that she had just gone exploring on her bike since she has no fear of such things. Dustin kept cool and just calmly walked over to Darris and Patty's house where Paige had rode to and rang the doorbell and gone inside to play. Patty DID ask her if I knew she was over there and Paige probably put on her most charming smile and said Yes. I gave Paige the same lecture that I'm sure I've given all the kids so far. TELL me WHERE YOU ARE GOING!! At least. Well after we got home from our daily adventure the girls went out to play and Paige did it AGAIN!! She went to Dawson's but this time Patty called and asked if it was OK. Alright, we do watch our children most of the time but every once in a while one escapes. ha ha. I'm scared that there will be a day when Paige will just hop on her bike and head to Grandma's or something crazy like that since she wants to ride everywhere. Love that girl but she's gonna need a tracking device!

"I hate it, I hate it. No, I don't hate it I just dont like it at all, it's terrible"

No just playing but I guess I would have had to watch The Office from the beginning
to really appreciate it. I was bored waiting for Billy to come home
from school. I saw it on and decided to give it a shot....I'm lost
though. Maybe my kind brother will send me the seasons to catch up!?

Things I've Learned

1. My baby loves to Fly!

2. Chinese Food + Little Buddy = Big Screamy/Pukey on Leah face.
3. The "chefs" at Pizza Hut must not have as much training as old Wolfgang....yummy.
4. Del Taco tastes so much sweeter when shared with the ones you love.
5. Daniel can sing...who knew

6. All these years I have been singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to the wrong tune. Thank heavens for Elara who showed me how it goes.
7. Walmart has great 49er gear.

I miss you all ALREADY!!

Happy Birthday Lizard

Hope you have a happy Birthday!

Hey RO-RO!

Can you list Dustin as a contributor to our family blog!? I guess he wants to chime in every once in a while with his smart-@#* remarks! ha ha. He also would like to have a profile cause he REALLY, REALLY wants everyone to know what he's up to. If I were all of you I'd be very worried... I think he's got some tricks up his sleeves. UH-OH! We'd tried to figure it out a couple of night ago but I think it's something you might have to do. Thanks... and BEWARE!

Posers

Hannah, this ones for you!!

The rest of the story

Paige and her friend playing soccer.
They wanted to make scary faces.
The beautiful gardens.
Having fun with the balls and tractor.
The scariest face.

Todays Trip to the Preserve

Lunch at Wolfgang Puck's. Delicious!!
On the trail in the beautiful gardens.
Leah riding home from the Preserve.
Watching the kids play. Or not.

More sleeping at the Preserve.

sorry that my pics. are everywhere I guess I've been having a hard time lately getting it right.

trunk-or-treat

Our trunk-or-treat was on Sat. Our ward did a chili cook off and a carnival for the kids. They even had pony rides! The kids loved it but it got a bit windy towards the end of the night. I'm kinda relieved that this weekend is over, it was a pretty busy one. I made funnel cakes for my family this evening and they turned out pretty good. My girls have never had them so it was a real treat!!!

There's a Tigger in My House!!

The cutest Tigger. Where's Pooh?

Growing up

At the birthday party today, Asher received the same gift from from two guests, so we went to the store this evening to return one of the items. Asher looked at books, video games, toys and other things before he decided what to buy with his gift card. To my great surprise, he chose to buy a pair of shorts, new pajamas, and socks. He told me that he needed new pjs and that he is always running out of socks (he raids his brother's dresser). I didn't realize how fast Asher was really growing up until tonight. He's turning into a pretty practical guy (when we asked him what he wanted for his birthday he said a watch and a wallet).


Asher a week ago - proof that he needed new pjs (and a shave).

Asher tonight - in his new pjs.

Asher in his scout shirt.

Asher's Birthday Party

Emma helping Mom frost the cake. (This picture brought to you by our friends at Crisco.)

The finished "cup"cake (it's a magic tree house).

Asher blows.

The family picnics.

Opening presents.

We celebrated Asher's birthday today with a Magic Tree House Party at the little park in our neighborhood. It was so much fun. The kids played a series of games, ate hot dogs and hamburgers and had pumpkin pie (Asher's favorite) or cupcakes for dessert. Leah decorated the cupcakes to look like a treehouse. Matt and Elara brought Asher a baseball and bat, so we all engaged in a game of baseball. It was a lot of fun!