Happy Birthday Dad!!

Well you would never guess my Dad has just reached finished his 50th year of life. He seems so much younger! Last Friday my siblings and I put on a fabulous little shindig so as to make all his friends and family aware of his age. And the best part of it was that he was totally surprised! As you can see from his expression in the above picture. (Actually I think "confused" fits a little better there. And they were shopping at Costco, which is why he's holding all that stuff.) My mom and my sister, Kim, even worked on putting together a really great little movie of his life, which meant my mom had to dig through boxes of photos and scan pictures of him while he was working from home. It was pretty impressive that she managed to keep such a big secret from him. Anyways, it was a great party and lot of people showed up due to my dad being such a great guy and all. I didn't get many pictures of all the guests because it got a little busy at that point. I was a little worried that the twins would freak out when we all yelled "Surprise!", but they did fine. Sydney freaked out instead. She really hates the dark so I guess standing in the dark for several minutes and then everyone yelling at once was a bit stunning. She really tried to hold it in, but broke into sobs a couple minutes after the big yell. It was so fun decorating and getting ready that it makes me want to throw surprise parties for people more often!

Fall Fun

Fall is my favorite season for so many reasons. There are just so many fun things to do! Our beautiful little pumpkin patch has allowed us all to explore our artistic sides a little bit. I didn't take many pictures of the pumpkin painting because I was too busy painting them. It was funny though because every time Josh or I would paint a pumpkin, Sydney would try to duplicate our masterpieces on her own pumpkins. We've been trying to decide if we want to do more pumpkins next year's garden or use the space for something more edible. Tough decision.

Last week we headed down to Thanksgiving Point for the Scarecrow Festival. We had so much fun doing this last year. It was a bit colder this year but we still had tons of fun. For those who haven't been there, they have about 20 bouncy houses and slides, carnival games, face painting, and pony and train rides. Tanner and Natalie loved going down the slide with Josh and I. It is incredibly difficult to carry a small toddler up those things! I can't believe how many times Josh did it.

Remembrance

I was reading in Ether 7 this morning and thought I'd share a thought. The Lord has just brought the Jaredites across the sea, the children and grandchildren cause wars and contentions, and finally, one side repents of their ways and returns his portion of the kingdom to the rightful heir. Right after this, it's mentioned that the prophets come to warn of idolatry and wickedness. The king executes judgment of those who revile against the prophets, and gives the prophets power to go wherever they please, teaching repentance. No more wars were had in the days of Shule, and here's the thought invoking line: "and he remembered the great things that the Lord had done for his fathers...wherefore he did execute judgment in righteousness all his days."

Assuming the financial crisis is almost over and we continue to get better over the next year and prosperity resumes, it makes me wonder if we'll remember how the Lord blessed us through this hard time, as well as remembering what the Lord did for our parents and grandparents.

Remember to write in your journal how the Lord has blessed your family, that your children may see your love for the Lord and how he has always blessed you.

Daddy daughter time

Well...this time it was something I wanted to do. The leaves were turning and I wanted to get one last hike in before Big Cottonwood was too cold or snowy. It turned out to be really nice, although the best colored leaves we saw were from the street. Sydney told me all about her day at preschool. She gets this *great* trait from me where she assumes you know what she's talking about or what Lisa calls it: starting two sentences in. Anyway, it was fun to find out Sydney talked about trees, leaves and their veins today at preschool. She said look - the tree's "bock". I was like...uh...bock....bock....oh bark! Anyway, here are some pictures from our hike up Willow Heights:

I love the lighting on these.

I love the red bushes. The accents were awesome. But my favorite are the trees and the reflection on the water. We had lunch at the same spot we did a few weeks ago.

In true Wende fashion, we needed a good self-portrait.

One of my favorite shots up by the lake.

Sydney just loves to find new poses.

The only real color changes on the hike.

Me and my friend Sydney.

See - more colors from the street :)

Our family

Sometimes when taking the pictures off the camera I wonder why I've been so blessed. Here are a few pictures that show why.

Lisa's always ready with that beautiful smile. She lights up any room.

Tanner has the funniest faces. I think he's learning from his sisters to give funny looks, then a big grin when you can't hold the funny face anymore.

Such a silly bug. She goes from side to side of the deck, right to the stairs, just testing us to see if we'll rush to her aide, as she gets that big grin implying she's in control.

But the best pictures you'll find are the ones Sydney's taken. They'll bring smiles and laughter to everyone.

Going over the top for your kids

You know those odd grownups that look so funny when people are trying to take your picture? They just make you stare in awe at what they'd do to get you to smile, forgetting that the blank look of befuddlement on your face is not exactly what they're going for? Now 20 years later, you're on the other side of the camera. You want your kids to smile for the pictures to go on the mantle, etc. For pictures, it's almost selfish to want your kids to look their best to show off. What I was thinking about a lot this morning instead was the things we go over the top on for their benefit.

A few ideas have come to mind, especially with recent events are taken into account. When I took the kids to the park last night, the kids probably didn't enjoy getting out as much as I did because they're not cleaning the house, running errands, or working behind a desk all day. But there's something special about using your silly voice, acting like an ape, resurrecting the tickle machine, and other apparently childish things to do to make your kids laugh.

It never ceases to make me ponder (as most things do), that when you're being silly and having a blast with the kids, there inevitably is a stranger walking past either giving you an odd look (like what planet are you from?) or a knowing grin that only parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles will know: Nothing is as important as loving your kids and spending quantity and quality time, giving up sports, scrapbooking, relaxation, a good book or movie for the happiest times you'll ever have.

The Economy

Thanks to Okie for this video: