Logan

This weekend we headed up to Logan for Rob's dad's 60th birthday, but that was only a brief part of the weekend--it was jam packed with fun!

Rob's baby brother, Matt, had his Eagle Scout Court of Honor. I was in the hall the whole time with my loud, active little boys (mostly Ty). All of a sudden, an older man comes out of his office and says, in a totally serious voice, "Looks like your children have a streak of independence."

"That's an understatement," I said with a smile.

"It is your fault, you know." Again--totally serious. By this point I was getting uncomfortable, but who gets mad at an old man? I just bit my lip. He started telling me about his 17 grandchildren.... He stopped only when Robbie ran down the hall to get a drink.

"That one is going to have to go to obedience school."

The NERVE! I was so mad. I went to the Stake President, a family friend, and told him what had happened. Turns out, the man is the Stake Patriarch! (And he has a very dry sense of humor.) Well, let's hope it was that sense of humor and not some kind of revelation that brought on our little "conversation."

Every two minutes, Robbie would say, "I have an idea! Let's go jump on the trampoline!" After so many exhausting hours, no one was too excited to go with him (as you can see from the picture with Aunt Kristen, it wasn't exactly a relaxing experience) so we got out an archery target to serve as his stepping block to get on the tramp himself--whenever he wanted.

Ty loves animals--all animals. Bandit is the Haas family mutt; he's hugely overweight, arthritic, and 100 years old (in dog years). He has been known to snap at the kids if they pet him on his side, but Ty just smacks him on the head all day, and both seem to be content.

Rob isn't the only gun fanatic in the family; he gets it from his father, Robert. Robert's gun case just couldn't fit the ever-growing family collection of firearms, so for his birthday, we got him a Liberty gun safe. We were so proud. We got it on sale and successfully brought it home; we only overlooked one thing: STAIRS! the safe had to go up two flights of stairs in order to fit him Robert's bedroom. After over an hour of thoughtfully maneuvering the 600 lb. beast, it was successfully installed! This picture is of Matt and Kane lifting it into the bedroom.

Ty loved feeding the ducks at the Willow Park Zoo. Robbie was done with it after getting bit by a greedy duck, but Ty couldn't get enough of it.

Wheelbarrow rides after church.

Robbie's tramp hair

We went to the most amazing pumpkin patch where you can go and pick your own pumpkin off the vine; all pumpkins are $2--big, small, green, orange. We, of course, picked the biggest ones we could find. There was also an apple orchard there, too, so Robbie helped himself while we lugged around the massive pumpkins. Aren't these great?

Grandpa and Robbie at the Pumpkin Wash.

Robbie's pick.

Up in the Mountains

Robbie has begun to dress himself, and I must say, I am proud of his creative combinations--not just anyone could throw that together!

I can't believe Ty smiled for this picture--I think it's a first!

This doesn't begin to capture how radiant the trees are right now. The whole mountainside is bright red and orange--its brilliant!

We live next to so many beautiful waterfalls, springs, mountains, and parks, but have only visited a handful of them. Last week, we decided to take the kids to Cascade Springs--it's only 7 miles from our house and supposedly just gorgeous. We all piled into my brother's old truck, Buddy, and braved our way up the rocky road, only to find out that it was closed for road work that day (of course!!). Still, it was so lovely outside and we couldn't help but get out and explore the mountain anyway. The boys had a blast hopping the little spring; Robbie loved all the fallen leaves and a make-shift bridge he found (Daddy fell trying to go across it), and Ty was in heaven finding all the little sticks, leaves, and bugs on the ground. Hopefully we'll get to the springs at some point, but as it is supposed to snow tomorrow (yes, already!) it looks like it may be a few months.

THREE!!!

Robbie is three! We love him so much. He is such an amazing big brother and a perfect helper to Mommy. I interviewed him on his birthday, and though half of these favorites are probably just the first thing that came to his mind, it was cute to get a glimpse.

List of Favorites

Movie: "Lighning Queen" (Cars)
Color: "You mean of markers? Um...green."
Best Friend: "Caden." (They met two weeks ago--he's a new neighbor)
Food: "Noodles."
Treat: "Black ones [Riesens] and Nemenems [M&Ms]."
Thing to do: "My bike."
Toy: "My bat."
Drink: "Water and milk."
Animal: "Um...elephants...and tigers."
Song: "Teach me all that I must do" [I Am a Child of God].
Thing to do with Grandma & Grandpa: "Um...that they give me presents and cake."
Thing to do with Daddy: "Um, just play with him football."
Thing to do with Ty: "Just football."
Thing to do with Mommy: "My bat [baseball]"

End of interview

We love you, Robbie!

No, this is not one of his birthday presents; we were at some friends' house and they had a child ATV and Robbie just loved it, but it reminds me of the type of boy Robbie is--so full of fun and adventure.

Grandma Haas filled a pinata with candy, balloons, bubbles, and toys! What a treat!

Robbie trying to somehow crack the thing open. We ended up just pulling the strings and letting the goods spill to the ground.

Robbie and Grandpa Wilde (their birthdays are only one day apart) and their birthday cake.

Robbie wanted eggs and bacon for breakfast, peanut butter and honey for lunch, and noodles for dinner (it doesn't so much matter what kind of noodles, as long as there is some kind of pasta involved). In the evening he went up to Wasatch State Park and got to fish on his new fishing pole--so exciting!

Swiss Days

Our sweet little town of Midway is home to Swiss Days--a cute little fair of great crafts and food. Half of the proceeds go to the General Missionary Fund, the other half go toward the city boosters, so it is a great cause and so much fun! I decided that I really wanted to embrace the whole experience this year, so I volunteered to make the famous Swiss Bread for a few hours one day, and I also volunteered at the Knochwurst & Sourkraut booth. My parents were in town, so I volunteered them too, and we had a total blast! I can't wait to do it next year.

Mom and me manning the front of the booth--one of us put a cookie on the plate and the other put the utensils on.

My Dad was the Kraut Man--having served a mission in Germany he couldn't have been more thrilled. The kraut fermented at room temperature for 59 days!!!