The Cutest Grandkids in the Whole World!

I just couldn't resist sharing a photo of each of the grandkids with each of you. All of these photos were taken this week. Courtney and Kyler came up to the hospital to see Aden and they were both so cute. Courtney of course is big enough to hold him and she was very tender and cute with Aden. Kyler was VERY excited and kept saying "hold baby" "carry baby". He loved seeing his new cousin. Kyla came up to the hospital to see Aden too, but I thought that this photo of her sitting in Aden's chair was cuter so decided to use this one instead. All four of my grandkids are the sweetest, cutest, smartest little people in the world. We LOVE being Grandpa and Grandma!!

My Favorite Photo of Aden so Far

Aden Tyler Kowallis - 2 days old

I took this photo of Aden when Wednesday morning. Heidi was getting ready for the day and Aden was awake because he was hungry but he is a VERY patient baby and as long as I talked with him and entertained him, he was happy to wait. So we took lots of photos but I think this is the best one. He is a very calm, patient baby who is willing to wait and be pacified. It was an absolute joy and pleasure to be able to help mommy, daddy and baby for several days when he was born. All are doing well - they are a cute little family happy to have baby here. This short video is the same day while he is still waiting for Mommy to finish getting ready for the day. He was getting hungrier and hungrier - but still SO cute! I just couldn't resist. :)

Kyla & Grandma make Homemade Noodles

Kyla, do you want to crack the egg? Yes! The first one she smashed and then squeezed with her hand and it took a while to pick out all the shells (smile). The next one I showed her how to smash it to crack it and then pull the two sides apart - it went much better. Then we stirred until grandma had to take over. Next she loved using the rolling pin. After it was all cooked I asked her if she wanted to try it. At first she wasn't sure then once she tried a bite she ate a whole bowl full. It was such a fun event for us both:).

Aden Comes Home!

Day two - baby Aden comes home. He is doing really good - eating well, sleeping well, mostly happy and adjusting to this wonderful world. Heidi and Eric are cute parents. The bottom photo is Heidi teaching Eric how to change a diaper. He did a great job!

Our New Grandson Aden Tyler Kowallis

This morning at 5:00 a.m. our 4th grandchild was born. His name is Aden Tyler Kowallis. He is the beautiful baby of Heidi and Eric. He was 5 lbs 14 oz, 18 1/2" long. He has beautiful dark hair and dimples! He is very sleepy so far. We spent a wonderful day holding, kissing and playing with him as he was introduced to many from the family. Mommy and Daddy are doing fine. Grandpa (Kerry) and Grandma (Brenda) are pretty excited too!

Family & Football

We just spent a perfect weekend. Great Family, Great Food, Great Fun, Great Football. Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m. Kerry, Nathan, Hyrum, Amiee, Kyla and I left Rexburg for Provo, Utah. We were planning to go to Mike & Betsy's house to attend Sacrament Meeting with them when Travis gave his farewell talk and Blake gave his return talk. We decided that it would be fun if we could attend a BYU football game with the family. So we purchased 15 tickets and headed to Provo. Mike's family had 7 there, Kerry's other brother Bruce came, Kerry's parents Don and Sharlene were there and then our group of 6. BYU are 5 wins 0 losses so it was a sold out crowd. On the way in to the stadium we were able to say hello to President Uchdorf and take his photo. Then we watched an exciting game against Wyoming. Of course BYU won 44 to 0!!

After the game, we went to Mike & Betsy's house for dinner, and to spend Sunday with them. It was a wonderful Sacrament. Both boys gave great talks and it was really fun to see the two brothers, Blake coming home from Florida and Travis leaving for Minnesota, speak together in church. After church we had lunch with their family and had wonderful food and fun. Nathan always enjoys spending time with the cousins and Mike and Betsy always make us feel so welcome in their home. We got free t-shirts and footballs at the game and even more fun that that - We completely enjoyed spending so much time with Hyrum, Amiee and our beautiful granddaughter Kyla. We are so greatful for all that we have.

Harvest Time

Today was a beautiful Fall day. The perfect day to can applesauce. My mind went back to many years ago when I would be in the kitchen helping my mom can the fruits and vegetables from our garden. My mom almost always canned corn, pickles, applesauce, tomatoes. . . the list could go on and on. I well remember making creamed corn until our kitchen was covered from top to bottom with sweet, sticky, corn! One year we even made ketchup - now that takes way more time and effort than it is worth, but it was always fun to see the finished bottles lined up on the counter. Not to mention how yummy in the winter. Today, Amiee and Kyla came over and we peeled, cooked, and canned applesauce. We added a bit of sugar and gave Kyla a taste. When she made a funny face, we added more sugar :)! It was so fun to spend part of the day working together in the kitchen, tasting our efforts, laughing together and watching Kyla play under the table. I wish I had thought to get out my camera and take her picture. I'm glad I understand that it isn't always about apples. . . sometimes is just about spending time together! [Hey, we could be a Mormon Ad:)]

Hurricane Ike hits Texas!

More than 4 MILLION people without power. 10's of Billions of Dollars in damages and Elder Worthen is among them. Hurricane Ike strikes as Elder Worthen is evacuated North East of Houston. Kenne is staying with a wonderful family - the Meng family - for several days. They have taken precautions even in their area and are expecting power outages. They said that Elder Worthen has helped neighbors and friends board up their houses, he has climbed trees to cut limbs and helped prepare their home and family for the upcoming storm. The two areas where he has been located and was located a transfer ago are both considered to be dangerous areas right now. All missionaries have been taken out of harms way. It has been really fun today to hear from the Meng's. I have had two e-mails from the mission president, two phone calls and one e-mail from Kristin Meng. I am very grateful for their assistance to Kenne and his companion. What a wonderful thing for them to open their home and kitchen :) to the elders. Sister Meng told me tonight that they have been trying to cook most of the items in their freezer and they were planning to eat the food over the next several days but she said every time she cooks something they eat it - ALL! Here are a few photos I found on the internet just to help us remember the storm. I guess Kenne has been taking movies and photos and I'll add some of those as I get them. Now that the storm has passed, Elder Worthen is helping with clean up. He has plenty of food and water and we understand from his mission office that all missionaries and fine and working hard.

Grandson Kyler turns 2!

I am SO grateful for Irene Christensen who handed me these wonderful photos at church today. It seems that I can't, under the best of efforts, keep track of my camera. I have never lost my keys, my purse, or my shoes on a regular basis but I sure make up for that by how often I loose my camera. So thanks to Irene, I have these cute photos of Kyler turning two. We spent a wonderful afternoon singing and celebrating with Kyler. He found his gifts and immediately decided that he was going to open them with no waiting. He was so cute as he tore through the gifts and then tore through the house playing. What a wonderful blessing to be a part of this day of celebration!

Baby Shower for Heidi!

Christina, and Amiee planned a fun baby shower for Heidi and today was the day! About 5:30 a.m. this morning we got a phone call from Heidi and they were on their way to the hospital. We wondered if we were going to have a baby come to the shower!! However, that was not to be and so at 2:00 p.m. friends began to arrive. Christina made yummy brownies, ice cream and raspberries. Amiee came up with a couple of fun games and I cleaned the house to prepare for guests. I was able to make a hand quilted blanket for Aden, I made a couple of large receiving blankets, and bought some really cute outfits. Kerry and I had also been to a yard sale where we found several really cute baby outfits for $1.00 each and they were brand new. We bought a snow suit, several onesies, a couple of really cute outfits. I also made a diaper cake for the shower. Friends and family were very generous and Heidi received some really cute, fun things for Aden Tyler Kowallis. The top photo is the diaper cake and the bottom photo is the quilted blanket I made for them. It is Noah's Ark.