Sweet, Sweeter, Sweetest

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One of the SWEET things about living next door to my wonderful grandma is that she teaches me a lot of new things (usually involving the taste buds!!). This past weekend we bought two boxes of very yummy peaches and spent a few hours doing this:

Peaches are one of my favorite fruits and these ones did not disappoint. They were so juicy, and extremely flavorful. Wow! All the kids love them, which doesn't happen a lot. I wish they would stay fresh for weeks, but home canning really captures that amazing peach yumminess. Thanks Grandma!!

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The next, even SWEETER news of the week is that TJ accomplished the incredible goal of reading the entire Book of Mormon in 45 days. He actually finished it a day early. This boy really loves to read, so Travis decided to challenge him to read all 531 pages of The Book of Mormon before 45 days were over. What a great thing to do at age 9. It was a great experience for me as I had the opportunity to answer a multitude of questions as he read and wondered what things meant and as he tried to understand better. He underlined many passages that were powerful and touching and I could tell that he was thinking about what the words meant. I am proud of him for wanting to know the Savior and understand the gospel.

Maybe we will challenge him to read the New Testament next. I suppose someday we should do the Old Testament together, I could use all the help I can get!!

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The SWEETEST part about this week, so far, was going outside for foot races and football! The weather isn't exactly cool yet, but I think we are getting closer. Travis took the kids out front to challenge them to a race. The reason he did this is because they like to race him as he drives by every morning on his way to work. Well last week, I happened to have my running shoes on, so I raced Travis with the kids. I gave them a head start, of course, BUT I couldn't pull ahead of TJ. I think I barely squeeked out a win at the very last second, but I was so surprised. Did I mention that TJ was barefoot??? Well, Travis wanted his turn, so they took things outside. I figured I would need to stay inside with Lydia because she was getting fussy. Then Travis poked his head in and invited me to come out.
I am so glad I did. I had a great time watching the races and the football. Grandma came out, the neighbors came over, and a good friend stopped by. What a nice night! Travis has a great time with the kids and they love playing with him.
This video was pretty cute. Natalie said it was embarassing, but I thought it was great:



This was a fun shot. Please don't notice that Elaina is way behind. She is very sensitive and doesn't lose happily : )





This picture doesn't have anything to do with my post today except that she is my SWEETIE!