Where's the Monkey?

Can you spot the Ethan monkey in the tree? He was bored during Courtney's soccer practice so he decided to climb the trees. 

Garbage Disposal

Our garbage disposal died last week. I am tired of getting disposals that die quickly so we bought a good one. It "eats" everything!! And it has horsepower!

Bryan took our old one out and put in the new one - which is quite a bit larger than our old one. We tested it and it was so quiet that we weren't sure it was working. So we put noodles down it, ran the disposal, unplugged it, and checked to see if it had worked.  It worked! Bryan doesn't trust it because it is "too quiet" but it's pretty cool. I even out a drumstick bone down it and it ate it easily.

Our new disposal all shiny and new:

The old disposal (upside down):

Website

After months of working on things and trying to get all the wording and pictures correct, the law firm has a website!!

Check them out at www.packgraff.com

Wasps

In case you didn't know, I hate all flying insects!! So when I noticed wasps nests in our house during the summer, I called an extermination service to get rid of them. They charged way too much money and didn't do much.

The other week we noticed wasps climbing into our rain gutter in back. I didn't want a rip off company to come this time so I went to HomeDepot and bought a $3.00 can of wasp spray. Last night Ethan got to spray them and it was amazing. I think Bryan counted 18 wasps that fell out onto the ground. We are going to spray again but that was a lot more economical than the company we had help last time!! And Ethan had a lot of fun.

Here are just a few wasp corpses.

Flag Football

Ethan is playing Ivins flag football again this year. He is kind of bummed because he is the oldest in the team (along with Carter) and the other kids are 9 years old. But he is excited that Bryan is his coach. 

They had their first game this week and they did really well. I think their team name is the Screaming Banshees. 

FHE Treat

I saw an article on the interment about 101 things to do with your waffle iron. So for our FHE treat this week, I decided to try one idea. I bought some cinnamon rolls, the ones that come in the tubes, and we cooked them on the waffle iron. It was really simple and turned out great. The only problem was that the kids wanted more and we didn't have more. They want to experiment next time with cooking my overnight cinnamon rolls on the waffle iron. We will have to see.

Ethan scarfed them down!

Parade

We had the annual Lions Club Rodeo Parade last Saturday. It was nice because it is usually so hot during the parade, but it was wonderful weather this year.

There is always an entry for Pizazz and this year Courtney decided to ride her bike with the other girls,,,but they went so slow that it drove her nuts. And her pedal cut up the back of her leg because she kept stopping and starting. She says that next year she will walk!

We had her bike decorated and watched for her to come by. Ethan did his best to get candy but the people in the parade weren't throwing candy to older kids so Ethan felt it was age discrimination!!

When Courtney passed by, the boys walked to the end of the parade to get her and bring her back by us. 

Courtney spent the rest of the parade grabbing candy (she is much more aggressive than Ethan is) and they ended up with a nice hail of sugar. It was fun but really long!!

The Sky

We had a day last week when we had a beautiful sunset. My camera doesn't do it justice but it was so pretty! Everything was purple.

Braces

Ethan had his first appointment to change his wires on his braces. He was a bit nervous and thought it was going to take a long time. We were in and out in 15 minutes!! His bands are purple and green...his school colors.

He was a bit sore the next day but nothing like when he had them put on so he was a happy guy!

Soccer Girl

Courtney had her first soccer game last Saturday. I thought they might cancel it because of the rain but they played on. It was sprinkling during part of her game but it wasn't bad. 

Their team name is the Tigers.

They are a good little team. Courtney has played with a few of the girls before but some are new to soccer. We tried to have them play her up so she would play with kids in her grade but they didn't do it. That's ok because she is having fun.

Crazy Weather

The weather has been wonderful...wet, but wonderful!! We have had our doors and windows open all week and it has been a steady rain. One day we didn't even get into the 70s. 

Ethan and his buddies ride to school on their bikes through a field. Last month when it rained, we took turns driving them. Because of some miscommunications the boys ended up riding this week in the mud. It wasn't bad. They had a lot of fun on the way home in the mud. Ethan got splashed accidentally by another boy's bike tire and looked pretty messy when he got home.

Can you see the mud on his rear end, legs and back? He took a shower to clean up and his bike needs a washing but he had a lot of fun!!

Activity Days

Now that Courtney is 8 years old, she is invited to attend Activity Days. They hold it twice per month and they learn new things and work on their Faith in God goals. 

Courtney was SUPER excited and yesterday was her first meeting. She and Lia, from across the street, went together because it was the first time for both of them. They loved it!!

Jr. All-Stars

In Pizazz this year they were going to have a Jr. All-Star team. Courtney wanted to try out so we decided to let her. Last week she had a 2 hour tryout camp. There were only 5 girls who were going to try out so I was afraid it wouldn't work out. I got a phone call on Monday afternoon from her coach to tell me that 2 girls had dropped out and so there wouldn't be enough girls to have a team.

Courtney was pretty upset but it certainly freed up some of our nights. Maybe they will have enough girls next year.

The Sock Game

We have a great FHE game called the "Sock Game."  Everyone crawls around trying to pull each others socks off. The last one with socks on wins!!

It was brother against brother!

The kids had a great time!!

The Narrows in Zion

Monday was a holiday and we decided to go to Zion and hike up into the Narrows. I was nervous because I didn't know how the kids would handle it but we all had a blast!!

The water wasn't too high and there weren't a ton of people so it was really a great time!

Ethan kept saying it was the "best hike ever!" Courtney was a bit too adventurous for her own good and wanted to get in the deep water. But we stopped her.

We went back to St. George and ate dinner at Golden Corral. Ethan went nuts on shrimp and clam chowder, as usual!

Sunday Fun & Three Generations

Ethan had a hilarious morning rolling up in a blanket and playing around. Here he is as a human burrito.

Later in the morning Ethan had the great idea to take a picture of the boys. He called it a 4 generation picture but it was only 3 generations. 

I have a better one on the other camera. What awesome Pack men!!

Courtney's Baptism

Last Saturday was Courtney's baptism. She was so excited!!! Grandma and Grandpa Pack and Andrew came on Friday night to stay at our house and the party began. 

Courtney needed to be at the Stake Center by 9:30 am on Saturday morning and she was up and ready long before that!!

She got to wear her pretty baptism dress and we did her hair in a fancy bun so it wouldn't float up.

Ethan wanted to come up early with us so he got ready too. He has been working on tying his own tie but he was in a hurry that morning so Bryan helped.

Then we walked up to the Stake Center to get ready. There were only 2 girls being baptized that day so it was really relaxed. Courtney and Bryan got dressed in their white jumpsuits and then the Stake Primary leaders took their picture.

And then the wait began. Because we were on time and ready to go, we had a while to wait before it was time to begin. We watched our family and friends slowly trickle in. It was great to see everyone who came!!

Our services are really simple. We have an opening song and prayer (which I was asked to give) and then President Leydsman (from the Stake Presidency) gave a short talk. The other ward was then excused for their baptism while we listened to piano music and waited. Then it was Courtney's turn!!

We all walked to the baptismal room and Brother Jones from our ward, who is one of the Stake Baptism Coordinators, had Courtney go up front so she could see everyone who was there to support her. I was amazed at how many people were there!! She had over 50 people there to support her and show her they love her.

Then it was finally time for her to be baptized. All the kids went up front so they could see and Bryan took Courtney into the water. It only took one time and she was baptized!! Lia Galvin, Courtney's friend said, "Good job Courtney!" as Courtney came up out of the water. It was cute!!

I went to the bathroom with her to change her clothes and she was so happy. Her little face was split by a huge smile and she said, "I did it mom!!" I was so happy for her.

We changed her back into her dress and I wanted to redo her hair because it was all wet but she just wanted to be confirmed and didn't want to spend time on her hair. But when we went out of the bathroom we had to wait for Bryan!!

When he was changed the Bishop presided over the confirmation. Bryan invited anyone up who would like to help. It was a large circle!! And Bryan gave her a beautiful blessing. Then she shook hands/hugged everyone and the Bishop concluded the service. I love how our baptisms focus on the ordinances and not on fluff.

We spent the next while saying hi to everyone who had come and charting with friends. Ethan kept asking if we could "finally" leave but I kept talking. Then, showing that he is wise beyond his years, he came up with "woman minutes." Apparently you get 5 real minutes for every 1 woman minute.  Bryan and Mark got a kick out of that!!

When we were finally finished talking we went home for a luncheon. We had sandwiches, salads and cookies. It was great and a lot of fun to talk with everyone.

We missed those who weren't able to come but we appreciated all the effort people went to just to support Courtney. Bryan's parents came from Colorado, I had 2 cousins (with their families) come from California, 1 cousin and her familywho had  just moved the day before from Virginia to Spanish Fork, and my sister came from Phoenix, and we appreciated every one!!

Courtney had a great day and I am so proud of her decision!!