A few pictures of the weekend...

Come What May, And Love It

General Conference for our church was last weekend. It was so great as usual. It's hard to pick a favorite talk but I have to say Joseph B. Worthlin's talk, entitled "Come What May, And Love It", was my favorite. To read the full transcript go to LDS.org, click on General Conference 178th Session, scroll down until you find it. So worth reading! Here are a few quotes from it...

"If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness....Over the years I have learned a few things that have helped me through times of testing and trial. I would like to share them with you...Learn to laugh...The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable...Seek for the Eternal...Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others...The Principal of Compensation...The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss...Trust in the Father and the Son...The Lord Jesus Christ is our partner, helper, and advocate. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to be successful. If we do our part, He will step in. He who descended below all things will come to our aid. He will comfort and uphold us. He will strengthen us in our weakness and fortify us in our distress. He will make weak things become strong."

Ok, so that is half of the talk, but the rest is just as good.

Pillow addiction...

I may have a few too many pillows in our family room...what do you think? I have to say, it is an inherited disorder. My mom has about 50 pillows in her house and so does my older sister. Much too tempting for a 3 year old.

First day of Preschool

This handsome boy went to preschool for the first time yesterday and loved it. He got out of the car and didn't even look back (where's the love?).

Happy Birthday ETHAN!

Ethan is 6 years old today! He is the sweetest kid ever! We love him to pieces! He is easy going and so lovable! He is so smart and tenderhearted. Love you Ethan!

Ethan just after he was born. He was a handsome kid from the start.

Little Santa...Ethan at 1 year old.

Little cowboy--1 1/2 years old

Ethan at 2 years old, Ireland (4)

Little eskimo boy. Ethan at 4 years old.

The Pirate Ethan--4 years old

Ethan at 5 years old (Ryan, 2)

A picture of Ethan today--6 years old!

First Day of School

I can hardly believe that Ireland is in 3rd grade now and Ethan is in Kindergarten.

Pretty dang cute!

Ryan had to get in on the picture taking--he starts preschool next week

Looks like he knows what he's doing

And here's me and Ryan. I wish I could say the house will be nice and quiet now with Ireland and Ethan off to school, but I have the two wild monkeys left at home.

Labor Day Weekend...

We had a great weekend with Chad and Bren. They came up from Maryland to visit. Here are a few (ok, lots) of pictures from last weekend. The first bunch of pictures are from a park on Lake Ontario.



Caleb, Aden, Ryan, Bren and Addy in the back


Ryan. He and Aden threw rocks in the lake for a solid hour.

Good-looking Hacking boys

Here is a picture of us before Scott hams it up for the camera...

And after.

Ryan, Scott and Caleb

Bren, Addy, Chad and Aden

We also went to a state park called Stony Brook. It was beautiful!

Scott with Ryan and Caleb. Caleb kept biting Ryan's bum. What else would you do with a bum in your face?

Ethan before he got all wet

Aden, not so happy...Ryan, so happy

Beautiful waterfalls were all along the hiking trails

Family photo...Caleb had just taken another bite out of Ryan's bum.

Cute little family!

Thanks for coming to visit us Chad and Bren!

Ron the Mayor

This cute old man (83 years old) lives across the street from us and is the self-appointed mayor of our street. All the neighbors call him Ron the Mayor. He keeps an eye on what is going on at all times in the neighborhood. We don't need a neighborhood watch program, we have Ron.

I was outside talking to him today and he asked where we will be moving next year when Scott is all done with training. I told him we were looking at a few places and named Utah as one of them. He said, "Yeah, you guys would probably like to go back to where your people are." At first I thought "your people" meant our extended family, and then I realized "your people" meant other Mormons. I got a good laugh from that one. Maybe we will head out to our UFO and return to our planet to be with our fellow martians. I will miss him next year when we leave planet earth.

Summer's End...

The end of the summer is almost here and although I love the summer, I am happily relinquishing my "entertainment" chairperson duties! I have exhausted myself entertaining kids all day. We've been to the park many times, swimming lessons, vacations, riding bikes, playing outside, playing with friends, soccer camps, movies, and today we went to the zoo. We'll get in a few more times at the pool, Chad and Bren are coming for Labor Day weekend, and then school starts up again.



Ethan, Ireland and friends Kate and Stratton

Kate, Ireland, Stratton, Ethan, Erica, Nathan and Ryan

Pretty good shot of the zoo polar bear (if I do say so myself)

Ethan and Ireland on the climbing apparatus

Ry Ry

Ethan's got talent--upside down with hat staying on

Cale loves to swing

A few pictures at the park...