We're Whovians!

Yes, I know this makes us a little nerdy, but our family loves the PBS series, Doctor Who!  Becky's family got us started on it several years ago, and now we excitedly stay up to watch each new episode on Saturdays.  We cried (well, I did, anyway) when David Tennant left the show but were happy to find that Matt Smith is a likable doctor, too.  We have loved each of the Doctor's traveling companions, and we all love the Blink episode best.  It's a family addiction.  

For Devin's birthday, we decided to get him Doctor Who themed gifts, and boy was he excited!  If I had more time this week I would have made him a Tardis cake (that's the flying phone box they travel through time in), but I decided he was probably a little too old for that anyway. 

He got a Doctor Who t-shirt, mug, vinyl stickers for his car and laptop, and a sonic screwdriver (the Doctor's cool tool) key chain.  He also got the nice blue shirt he's wearing in the picture, but it wasn't quite as exciting since it didn't have a Tardis on it.

Recently, we've discovered that there are quite a few fellow nerds among our acquaintance.  Our bishop's family loves the show and several of the kids' friends do, too.  Del and I are planning Halloween costumes that go along with the show, so we should be able to spot any other closet nerds at our next Trunk-or-Treat because they'll be the only ones who recognize us!

Happy Birthday, Devin!

BYU-I Mindy Gledhill Concert

Emma's obsession with Mindy Gledhill led us to Rexburg for her Pocketful of Poetry concert. We took Jessica Tolman with us, and she really livened up the car ride!  She's a funny girl, and Maren and Emma love to spend time with her.

 

  The music was terrific, and we loved hearing old favorites as well as new ones.

 Afterward, the girls were able to get their cd signed.  Emma made a point of telling Mindy how much she loved her boots!

Family Photo Shoot

We were in desperate need of some updated family pictures, so Becky came to the rescue!  

We took them at the Symons farm so we could have some memories and meaning attached to them, and I love the way they turned out. The old truck is the one that Del's uncle would load the cousins in to float the river.

Becky took some great individual shots of the kids.  Del's grandma loved hollyhocks and planted them all along the side of her home.  Her granddaughters live there now, but the flowers are a fun reminder of her and were full of blooms while we were there.

 

 

 She posed the boys in front of the tiny cabin Del's grandfather grew up in.  It's so great to be able to see it on the farm still, although it's just used for storage now.

 

 

 We tried to pose by their old car, but the goats in the field wouldn't quit photobombing, so we moved to the old barn.

 It was pretty windy, and some of us had a hard time keeping our hair down!

 It's been quite a while since Del and I had a good picture together, so I was happy to get this one.

 My favorite guys!

 My favorite girls!

 We love having a street named after our family.

 The railroad tracks run right past the farm, so we decided we needed a picture there.

Thanks for the great pictures, Becky!  Now I just need to get them printed and on my wall.  The ones there now are at least 6 years old and the kids have been begging me to replace them.

The Symons Farm

  

As a teenager I always thought Lava Hot Springs was a fun place to swim or soak in the hot pools, but until I married Del and visited the Symons family farm and the surrounding countryside, I didn't realize just how beautiful it was.

In July we had a Symons family reunion, and it was so fun that it is destined to become a yearly event! We played games, had water fights, did a little target shooting, and visited with relatives. Del's cousin Amanda planted rows of peas so the kids could pick all they wanted and eat them during the reunion.  Emma was great and picked bowl after bowl for us, while the adults ate bowl after bowl!  I'm amazed that some of us (Del!) didn't get sick, but they were delicious. There's nothing better than fresh peas!  

The kids had fun with the horses and we were very impressed with the fancy chicken coop Del's cousins recently built. It's like a 5 star chicken hotel!

While we were in Lava I decided that we should have family pictures taken at the farm this year, so we took a few pictures to show Becky what she could work with.

 Del's grandmother, Margaret Symons, loved hollyhocks and pansies and always had them planted on the side of her house.  They still come up every year and remind everyone of her.  

  This tiny log house is the original homestead where Del's grandfather, George Symons, was born.  It's amazing how small it was and how little our ancestors used to need!  Now we live in houses at least five times larger and still feel we need more space to store our junk!

Mug shots

   When Becky came to Lava with us the following week to take our family pictures, we wanted to take a picture in front of the sign for Symons Road but had to wait for a train to pass, so I got this fun shot while we waited. The real family pictures will probably debut in early December, just in time for Christmas cards!

My kids think it's pretty cool to have a street named after them!

Antiques Roadshow!

My family has loved Antiques Roadshow for as long as it has been on the air.  We love to guess the values before they state them and we're usually pretty close. My mom has arranged many estate sales (in which she often buys almost as much as she sells), and she has a good eye for antiques. 

 

When it was announced that there would be a show in Boise, we all entered the drawing for tickets and waited to hear that we had been chosen.  Weeks later my mom's name was picked!  She had two tickets to attend the event, but now the problem was who she would take.  Dad didn't want to go because of the crowds, and all 5 daughters were dying to have the other ticket!  Finally, they put our names in a hat and drew......my name!  Hurray for me!

The day of the event was pretty exciting!  It was fun watching everyone haul their junk through the parking lot with hopeful faces. 

Of course, my mother immediately made friends with the people in line with us!  That's just who she is, and it has always made my life more interesting.  The woman was from Canada and had brought a jade (?) statue.  We found out later that it wasn't really jade, but it was pretty.

As a consolation prize for Karen, who really wanted to go, I took her painting, which ended up being worth about $200.  It was awkward and a little heavy, and I sure wished I had brought my art deco ring instead! Our stuff wasn't worth much, but it was interesting.  Mom brought some linen bedsheets from the mid-1800s.  She had been told they were hand-loomed in Denmark from plants grown by the family who made them.  The expert verified that they were definitely hand-loomed and the rest of the story could very well be true, too.  They were worth $75-$100 each.

My only wish in going to Antiques Roadshow was to be able to see the Keno twins, and I did!  One of them walked past me on the way to the bathroom and bumped my shoulder!  I was so excited!  I have touched a Keno brother!  Not sure which one, though.

I entered to win a Subaru Forester, but they haven't called me, yet, so I'm guessing I didn't win.  Oh, well.  Going to Antiques Roadshow was a fabulous experience, and I can't wait to see it air on TV, even if I don't have a priceless antique that I found in my attic!

My Teeny Tiny Mother

When I was a young woman we had a mother-daughter activity where we were supposed to model our mothers' wedding dresses for a lesson on marriage and temples.  I still remember how embarrassed I was that I couldn't zip my mom's dress up all the way. It was just too tiny! 

 Sitting around chatting last night, my sisters and I got talking about how tiny my mom's wedding dress was and decided to see if it would fit Maren, since she's so little.  Sure enough, it fits her beautifully (although my mom definitely filled the chest out more)! We talked about how maybe she could wear it if it still fits her when she gets married.  Later, Emma and Maren asked if they could see pictures of my wedding dress.  I showed them a picture, complete with the puffiest sleeves they'd ever seen.  Emma looked at it quietly, and then with a worried face said, "Mom, will it hurt your feelings if I don't wear your wedding dress?"   Ouch!  I had a good laugh over that one!

April Birthdays

 

    Happy 19th Birthday, Chris!  

 He wanted a lemon meringue cake, and it looks like Olive wanted it, too.  Poor dog got shut outside.

Liam was pretty impressed with Chris's candle blowing skills.

I didn't take any pictures of Emma's 13th birthday, so I'm putting in pictures of the two plays she was in during the week of her birthday.  Busy time! They're terrible pictures because they were taken in the dark without a flash, but at least she'll remember them. 

She decided to be in drama at school this year.  They did Seussical the Musical, and she was a jungle animal. A professional makeup artist did the makeup for the jungle animals, and she thought that was pretty cool.      

Her play through Children's Music Theatre (CMT) was Gershwin's Crazy For You, and she had a big solo, which she did a fantastic job in.

She loves theater, and I think it has been great for building her confidence and public speaking skills.  She's not too shy about performing and that's fantastic!