10th Annual Pumpkin Carving Party

"May your day be touched

by a bit of Irish luck,
brightened by a song in your heart,

and warmed by the smiles
of the people you love."
~An Old Irish Blessing

Ray, Hunter, Ethan, Ashton, Charlie, James and Arianne

 Our 10th annual pumpkin  carving contest was held Saturday, October 20th.  

Ashton, Charlie and Arianne

The pumpkins were perfect for carving this year ~ and soft enough that the older children carved their own, much to their delight and ours!  We grew lots of small pumpkins in our garden, (an unknown stowaway seed that was prolific!) And Cory picked up some great big ones that were fun to carve.

Charlie, Arianne, James, Nathanial and Hunter

 Papa Ray is the Super Scooper ~ he gets all those seeds out pretty quickly, but the kids worked on their own this year as well. . .   

Hunter, Joshua and Nathanial

These three cute little cousins are just a few months apart and they loved the slide.  They would play so cute together~ but they aren't old enough to have the "sharing thing" down yet ~ so we had to dry a few tears over the week-end.

James and Grammie Sandy

  

Arianne, James, Sandy, Cory, Ashton

Charlie, pinpointing his pattern

 Charlie did his own pumpkin this year ~  "A Smirk" ~ it looked just like Joe Biden!

Our  Skeleton Vege Tray ~ 

Ashton, Hunter, Nathanial, MaCaleb, James and Charlie

 Grammie Sandy's favorite spot!

 Some choose patterns, some artistic ones go free form and draw their own . . . either way, we get some really great looking jack o'lanterns!

Charlie, Ashton, Brittany, MaCaleb, Hunter, Cory, Arianne, Nathanial, Ray, James, Megan and Ethan

Our pumpkin carving crew!

Sandy and Ray 

Catching a Little St George Sunshine 3

"The family is one of nature's masterpieces." George Santayana

 Well, it's about time you got me out of this trunk!  Joshua getting his hiking shoes on

Megan, Ethan and Grant

 St George has so many fun places to explore ~ this is Red Cliffs.  It has some great hikes for families with small children, a campground, picnic tables and a few puddles to splash in!

Joshua~ 

Give a boy a puddle and he'll be happy for hours, but of course this little guy is a pretty happy camper most of the time!

Grace amd Jacob

 There were some fun tree trunks to explore as well as some caves . . .

Papa Ray, Jacob, Cori, Grace, Grant, Jesse

Brett, Grace and Tiffany

 Brett and Tiffany were the safety guides on the rope course ~ that leads to the upper pools

I love the striking contrasts found everywhere down here in the St George area.

 Grammie Sandy did a bit of exploring with Grant, Grace and Jacob

Brett & Tiffany

Tiffany, Grace, Cori & Eden, Brett

 Going back down was a little more tricky than coming up ~ why is that?

Grace

Grant, Papa Ray, Grace, Grammie Sandy, Sydni, & Jacob

The end of a great day found us at Tuacahn to see Aladdin - we are all ready with our 3-D shades on!  It was a great production and they incorporated a bit of new technology, a few new songs and a couple of new characters - we loved it!

Catching a Little St George Sunshine 2

"Learn from the Past ~ Each of us has a heritage—whether from pioneer forebears, later converts, or others who helped shape our lives. This heritage provides a foundation built of sacrifice and faith. Ours is the privilege and responsibility to build on such firm and stable footings." Thomas S Monson

Grant, Sydni, Grace, Eden and Jacob

We went to visit the Brigham Young home Sunday afternoon after church. The original section of the home, was designed by Miles Romney and the addition was designed by his son.

Megan, Jacob, Grant, Sydni, Tiffany, Jesse, Grace, Ray, Eden

This two story home is lovely and has so many lovely architectural features ~ these are a few of my favorites.

This beautiful fireplace was painted to look like marble.

Many meals for many guests were cooked in this tiny kitchen.

This bookcase/secretary is where Brigham Young wrote many sermons and letters.

The canopy over Brigham's bed

Jacob and Grandpa Ray  in the split tree ~ 

Grace & Grant trying to catch a high five

View from the side yard

 A cotton boll

Eden loves playing with Uncle Brett and Aunt Tiff

Joshua ~ dancing on the lawn at the Jacob Hamblin ' home

Next we went out to the Jacob Hamblin home in Santa Clara

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When we arrived at the Jacob Hamblin home, I saw these lovely rose hollyhocks alongside some purple ones and  thought in my mind how I would love to have some seeds to start some at home.  After our tour, one of the guides, reached down into the flowers and then turned to me and said, "Would you like some seeds from these hollyhocks?"  I was just filled with joy and thought, "another tender mercy!"  I love how Heavenly Father shows his love in so many ways.

Ethan, Megan, Cori and Grant

Beautiful quilts on every bed

One of my favorite areas, this great room was where the children gathered for school, the women  would spin, weave and sew and the family gathered to read scriptures..

Ray, Sandy, Ethan, Joshua, Megan, Grace, Brett, Jacob, Tiffany, Sydni, Cori, Grant, Jesse & Eden

Danielle, Damien & Mason

Eden

Tiffany & Ernie - - -