We Bleed Orange

To live in the great state of Tennessee, you have to "bleed orange". This statement means that you are not afraid to where bright hunter orange at any place or anytime. It is crazy around here. Everyone, whether they like football or not, can be seen wearing orange at any given time and there is not one thought about it. Orange is not really my color, and I think style magazines you would shun anyone who wears bright orange for fashion, but around here it is the way of life. The Tennessee Volunteers football team has a following like nothing I have ever seen. I thought BYU football was big, but it doesn't even compare. It is so ingrained in everyday life that the radio station will play the cheer song, "Rocky Top" on the radio all the time. Brielle knows every word of the chorus of that song and I will catch her singing it as she plays. It is pretty darn cute. Tennessee is a wonderful place. I love living here. It is beautiful (especially with the leaves changing for fall) and life is good. If anyone would like to come for a visit, you are welcome anytime, just don't forget to bring an orange shirt or two so you can fit in the crowd!

Like Father, Like Son

This picture was taken when we went to Utah at the end of August this year. Doug was in the backyard practicing his fly fishing cast and Benson was fascinated. He watched Doug so intently and was so excited when he finally got his turn to cast a few times. He absolutely loved it. He was grinning from ear to ear the whole time and would just giggle every time Doug put his arm back and forth. It was so cute. There is just something special about a dad bonding with his son. Doug can't wait for the day that he gets to take both Brielle and Benson fly fishing for real. I think it will be his dream come true!

The Digital World

I have decided that digital cameras are a great wonder and a great pain. Granted that Doug and I have had our digital camera for 5 years, but you think that the batteries would last for more than two pictures right? Well, our camera finally died the other day and I am heartbroken. I would always get so frustrated with that camera, but now that I don't have it I feel like I need it all the time. Especially now that I have this wonderful blog to actually post the pictures I take. So regretfully, unless I get pictures from some other source, this blog will be picture less. I know what you are thinking, pretty boring right? Well maybe it will be, but I will try to find pictures on the web in the mean time. Like this one of the wonderful invention, the digital camera.

Mr. Gobble

You are probably wondering why I put a picture of garbage bags on our blog. Well, I wanted to introduce all of you to our little friend Mr. Gobble. Mr. Gobble is an ordinary kitchen garbage bag with extraordinary powers! He has made life at our house much better. Mr. Gobble has come to live at our house to help clean up the mess at the end of the day. Instead of me threatening Brielle that I will take away all of her toys if she doesn't clean them up, we tell her that Mr. Gobble is going to come and eat them and she wont be able to play with them for a week. It is amazing. A simple little garbage bag gets her cleaning at top speed and she has even heard Mr. Gobble crying because he was so hungry for her toys. ( That is her imagination of course.) She loves it and clean up time goes so much better. I suggest this "special" garbage bag to all mothers out there that need a little extra help and you will find there is less nagging and much more fun! the cost is great and the benefits are better. I just hand up Mr. Gobble in the closet and every time I need him I pull him out. It only took the first two times for her to realize Mr. Gobble wasn't giving the toys back, and I have to say he has been going hungry for quite a while.

Family Home Evening

On Monday night we decided that we would have Family Home Evening at the park. So we loaded up the kids, brought a soccer ball along, and had a blast. Doug spent most of the time teaching Brielle how to play soccer, and I played with Benson and snapped all the pictures. Brielle was so cute. She really wanted to learn how to play, and listened to everything that her dad told her to do. After we were done playing she told me that she was a super soccer player! We also took some time to swing on the swings and watch the dogs play at the doggie park nearby. It was a great night as a family.