The Tree Hunt 2009

Every year we go to the mountains (a tree farm) in search of our Christmas tree. This is always a fun tradition, but this year I especially enjoyed watching Syler try to understand what the heck we were doing! We always bring hot chocolate and doughnuts to celebrate our find.






This year our friends came with us.






We always enjoy watching them decide which tree they're going to cut down.

This year they had to start cutting quick before another family took the one Alisha had her mind set on!

My First Pie--EVER!

So, Wednesday night I made a pie for Thanksgiving--from SCRATCH. My mother assigned me a cherry pie and I didn't want to just buy one. I found a great recipe online and, after several attempts to find the cherries, finally made my pie. It turned out beautiful and tasted even better! I must thank the lady who put her recipe online.

Thanks, Mari Anne Warren Milton from Wisconsin! It was delicious!!

Big Night for Scouts

Wahoo!! Tonight both Baxter and Zander received major scouting awards. Baxter earned his Outdoorsman, which was the final step to earning his Webelos badge--so he received that too! Zander earned his Wolf badge and 3 arrowpoints--1 gold, 2 silver! What a big night for them both. I'm so proud of my two scouts. They worked so hard to get here. Good job boys!

Let's Give Thanks

This past week has been quite overwhelming with news of both extremes. It's definitely led me to contemplate both our mortal and our eternal existence. I hope this coming holiday we all remember to give thanks to our Heavenly Father for his amazing gift of life.





Temporality

It's difficult and troubling
And wonderful and rich.
It's heartbreaking and uplifting
This grand and worldly gift.

Through laughter and through sorrow,
'Midst realms of this abyss,
Indeed we must remember
How beautiful life is.

I wrote this poem today for my sister. I love you, Noel!

Halloween: Here and Gone

What a fun Halloween we had this year! So many things happened I decided to post a slideshow for your viewing pleasure. Parties, Witches' night out, Trunk-or-Treat. It's all here!

How is it almost October?

Okay, so I slacked off in the blog department for the past, oh, 4 months! Quick recap--summer happened, now it's fall.

We celebrated a few birthdays, including Syler's 1st!!!











We squeezed in one great vacation in August. Disneyland, plus the beach, plus Palm Springs equals good times.







Syler had surgery on his neck as soon as we got back from vacation. The surgery went extremely well. Sy is doing great, but developed a strong aversion to doctors. We hope he'll grow out of that quickly. ;)

Finally, the kids made it back to school and we marked the occasion with family photos.




And that ends our exciting summer recap.

Stay tuned for (what I hope to be more frequent) updates coming soon...

The Amazing Gift of Music

A couple of my friends posted this on their blogs, so I listened/watched. While doing so, I realized how grateful I am for the gift of music. There is no surer way of capturing such a myriad of emotions than through music. This video encompasses all of that. My favorite part about it is the passion each man shows for their part in the compilation and for the absolutely beautiful end result. Thanks to Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson for their amazing display of the wonder that is music.

Some "Things" in the garden.

It's been forever since last I updated this blog. The boys were off track practically all of April so finding time to blog wasn't on the top of my list. Here's a quick update:

Baxter got his braces off and now has 2 retainers! One glued to the back of his front teeth, and an awesome pirate retainer--which has so far only ended up in the garbage once. (Knock on wood.)

Zander managed to lose his shoes at the park. (His cousin found them a few days later, but forgot to bring them home.)

Syler got another haircut--which his Daddy wanted, but then decided it changed Sy's look a little too much.
Also, his clogged tear duct FINALLY cleared up!!! (Can you feel my excitement?!?!?)

We took a family vacation up to Midway. It was great! Baxter took us around the museum at the Olympic park and we saw Aliens vs. Monsters--except Mommy 'cause she fell asleep.)

And finally, while exploring the jungles of the backyard, we came upon a couple of "Things" taking refuge before a storm. Aren't they cute?

The Continuation

Well, for the first snowfall of the winter, we showed you Syler holding his first snowball. I promised snow angels were next.

The wait is over.








For what was hopefully the last snowfall of the winter, Syler enjoyed himself in the snow making a snow angel--with a little help from Mommy.


He could have taken a nap out there it was so peaceful.

Chess Tournament

Baxter played in his first chess tournament yesterday. He won 2 out of 5 rounds. He made some good friends and even won an award. Congratulations, Baxter.
You did great!

The school they played at had a huge chess set they could play with while waiting for the next round. We let Syler have a turn at playing.



I think he likes it.

Listen to Your Mother

So yesterday was Sunday. Spencer had finally gotten around to fixing the boys' bikes the day before. (You can see where this is going can't you?)

Zander asks if he can ride his bike. I give in.



The moral of the story? Listen to your mother. I knew I should have said no. The whole time he was out there I was thinking--Mom said never ride bikes on Sunday. New rule at Goble house--NO BIKES ON SUNDAY!

Busy Busy Busy

Last week was super busy what with 3 birthdays, the Blue and Gold Banquet, and a baptism.

The boys' new cousin was born on Sunday the 22nd. Then Granny Goon's birthday was the 23rd.

Baxter had his 10th birthday on Wednesday. We celebrated with a special dinner and his favorite brownies. Then he got to make a cake for scouts with his Dad.

Saturday was a special day for the boys' cousin Nikkolas--he got baptized! We enjoyed spending the afternoon with him and delicious sandwiches, drinks, and brownies.

That night we celebrated Baxter's birthday a little more with dinner and a movie. I felt bad that both Baxter's original picks for dinner and movie weren't an option. He finally decided on Inkheart and loved it. Dinner at Tepanyaki was a fun treat for all 3 boys--though Zander made sure to inform us he'll be choosing differently on his birthday.

Well, February went out with a flair! Bring on March's lion!!

Another Level Under Their Belts

So, they did it. The boys are moving up to level 3 in swimming lessons!



This year they both took level 2 back-to-back classes. (I like it this way so they get more water time.) Last year I was told it takes a few times to pass the second level. I'm very proud of my boys for getting there this time! They sure enjoy jumping off the diving board--much to the hidden terror of their mother.

Big Events

Last night was a big night for my older boys. At pack meeting, Baxter received a golden arrow point along with a couple more belt loops. He's worked hard all year and will move up to webelos next month.

Zander experienced his first pack meeting as a scout. He received his bobcat badge and a belt loop.

For the activity they became NASA agents working to save an egg from re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. That was a fun experience. What a big day for both of them! Good job boys.

Today the boys visited the dentist. Good news, no cavities!! Exciting news, Baxter got braces on his two front teeth! In three weeks he'll return to have the chain put on, which will bring them together. That should only take about 4 weeks! When asked to pick a color for the brackets, Baxter first chose his favorite color---YELLOW! The dental assistant and I worked together to convince him yellow might not be the way to go on teeth. His second choice was a great one, and perfect for the upcoming holiday--RED for Valentine's Day! Don't they look great?!

Zander's Big Day

We started out 2009 with a splash! Zander decided to be baptized on Saturday, January 3rd. Zander was so excited! It was a great day.

Zander chose not to plug his nose while being baptized. (You don't plug your nose when you swim.) His Grandpa Goble had to dunk him twice. Then his Grandpa Taylor confirmed him. Zander behaved wonderfully--for Zander.



Thanks to all the friends and family who supported Zander's big day.

I'm so proud of Zander for choosing to make this covenant with his Heavenly Father. I hope he'll always live up to it.