Michelle tagged me, so here are the 10 reasons I love my house.

!. I love that all my children have been raised here and we have shared many wonderful times together as a family.

2. I love that my house payment is affordable and our house is almost paid for.

3. We are surrounded by fabulous neighbors and friends who have blessed our lives immensely.

4. We have made many improvements over the years, including custom kitchen cabinets, tile
floors in the kitchen & laundry rooms, central air conditioning, to name a few.

5. I love the location of our home here in the Salt Lake Valley, close to family and friends.

6. I love the beauties that surround us, the mountains that I see when I drive to our home and the valley I see when I drive away from our home.

7. Our home provides us with a safe, comfortable shelter and haven from the weather and world.

8. I love that I can care for my home the way I want: Organize, clean, decorate & furnish.

9. I love my bedroom, especially my big soft king size bed, and my rocking chair where I read, ponder & study.

10. I love our stake and ward families and I'm grateful for the opportunity we have had to serve in various callings in our church.

So here's my offer, If you'd like me to help you with an organizing project or mending I would be willing to trade dinner or cookies. Let me know!

Oh yea, I guess now I tag some other people. So I'm tagging Lisa, Michelle, Natalie & Jeana.

Wendy tagged me. I guess I'm suppose to tell 6 insignificant things about myself. What, only 6?

So my bedtime ritual in to put mentholatum on my nose and lips. Very soothing!

I love pink grapefruit juice. The new 'Simply Juice' is a staple in our fridge now.

I'm selfish when it comes to homemade baked cookies. If you bring me some, I'll hide them and eat them all myself. Shame on me!

I have become a Sudoku addict. I was afraid of this and didn't take it up until receintly, now I'm hooked.

I love autumn! The colors, temperature & leaves especially. I've given up on trying to keep my floors clean.

I don't like moths. I inherited this phobia from my mom, though mine is not as severe.

Ok, I have become a true soccer mom. Saturday I sat bundled up watching Lindsey play while it snowed. Yes, snow on October 11th. Way too early! I did use my new soccer umbrella and stand so I had some cover from the snow. Lindsey wouldn't wear any extra clothing under her uniform to keep warm, but after Saturday, she has now agreed to wear more. I crochetted her a beanie to match her uniform, while I watched two football games. I guess I better remember my camera next time so you all can see what I'm talking about. I am thankful for our new furnace that is keeping us warm and cozy.

Last week our neice Rebecca was married in the Salt Lake Temple. She and her husband are 38, and it is the first marriage for both. They had a very nice wedding dinner/reception at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Ron and I were happy to be able to see them sealed and celebrate with them. It was a beautiful day!

So, I made two batches of raspberry jam last week. On the first batch I made a big mistake and had to throw it away. I know I'm suppose to read the directions through carefully, but darn, I didn't and I put too much sugar in. I hate it when I made dumb mistakes like this. GRRR! The second batch was a success! Chalk this up to another lesson of many in humility.

Yesterday we celebrated Lindsey's birthday. She was born on Conference Sunday 11 years ago. She didn't feel very well, but perked up when it was time to open presents. The Bowmans and Stamms came over for dinner. We had chicken, baked potatoes, salad, rolls, and chocolate cake. It is a joy to have our family together. Lindsey was very happy with her presents. I forgot to take any pictures, oops! Lindsey is excited to attend the grand opening of the new olympic sized ice skating rink at Cottonwood Heights Rec. Center tonight. We are very happy Lindsey is part of our family. We are amazed at her athletic abilities. She does very well in soccer, ice skating and tennis.

We missed Scotty, he is on a vacation with his buddies in Southern Utah. They are attending the Red Bull Rampage. It is an extreme biking competition. They are having a great time. The trip was extended an extra day because of rainy weather on Saturday that caused the competition to be postponed.

General Conference was inspiring and wonderful as usual. Wow 5 new temples and one in Rome, Italy! I made good progress on the afgan I am knitting for Chandler while I listened. I took very simple notes this time too, that helped me focus my attention.

I have so many blessing to be grateful for! Today I am grateful for truth, love, peace, relationships with family and friends, sunshine, physical comforts, healthy body, knowledge, my home, electricity, clean cold & hot water, seasons.

Well obviously I have a hard time keeping this thing up-to-date! Life is just so crazy sometimes. I do enjoy seeing your blogs. I guess I have a hard time deciding what to share.

I want to say how incredibly grateful I feel for terrific friends and for their enormous love and support and your great examples. I often wonder why I have been so richly blessed in this way. Thanks to you all!

I love being a mother and grandmother. Sometimes more than other times. There are definately some highs and lows. For example, yesterday morning I got a text message from Scotty that he 'loves me so much.' It made me feel so happy! Grandchildren are a definite high, I love playing with them and watching their growth and development. As far a lows go, one of my children told me, 'I'd been kind a lazy lately'. another one said, 'I was the worst mom in the world.' Watching my children make good choices gives me great joy, but when they make bad ones my heart aches. From being a mom, I think I have gained a small understanding of how Heavenly Father loves us even when we fall short of our potential, when we sin or are ungrateful.

I love this time of year! The beauties of this world thrill me and show me how much Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us. I love the variety of Heavenly Father and Jesus' creations. The variety of plants, animals, scenery, food (taste, texture, color), music and art, etc. all amaze me and fill me with gratitude.

Well that's all for now. I'm going to my mom's now to make a fresh peach pie, yum!

Our Grandsons

Update on family activities and events

Scotty graduated from Brighton High School. Congratulations Scott! He participated in an all night graduation party with many of the other graduates at a local recreation center. He was very grateful for the generous gifts of family and friends and used the money he received to purchase bike parts and repairs.

In June Lindsey participated in three soccer tournaments with an AYSO Summer Select Team. Ron, Lindsey and I traveled to Brigham City for her first tournament. We stayed at the Sherwood Hills Resort in Logan Canyon. Her team played exceptionally well. They went undefeated into the finals where they had a heartbreaking loss to a local team. While there we went to see the movie "Kung Fu Panda" with her teammates. We also ate lunch at Maddox restaurant. The weather was cool and cloudy, not very summerlike.

Lindsey was sick for several days after Brigham City and missed most of her team soccer camp, but she made if for the last day. The next tournament was here in Cottonwood Heights. her team won 1st place. The girls had a team swimming party at her teammate Maddie's home.

The last tournament was at Eden, Utah. We stayed in a condominium at Moose Hollow. It was very nice and comfortable. Grandma Osborn came with us for the first night so she could see Lindsey play. We took her to our niece (her granddaughter) Holly's home in Morgan and they took her home the next day. On Friday the rest of our family all came up to stay. We had three bedrooms so there was plenty of room for everyone. Lindsey had a very large fan section for the semis and finals games. Our whole family of 11 and our friends and neighbors the Gygis all stayed to watch her play. Lindsey's team played very well and won 1st place again, beating the same team they beat at Cottonwood Heights.

After Lindsey's game on Saturday afternoon we went to Pineview Reservoir to swim and play. We rented 2 jet skis and also used our kayaks. We also celebrated Natalie's 24 1/2 birthday and Scotty's 19th birthday. We had a very yummy breakfast cooked by Jared and Michelle on Sunday morning.

Lindsey's team scored a total of 90 goals in the three tournaments and only lost one game. Her coach Scott Hyland is fabulous and we are very grateful for the positive experience he provided for all the girls. Lindsey made many fun friends with her teammates. We had a great time associating with everyone. We already miss the girls and their families and look forward to next year.

Natalie and Scott bought their first home and are getting it ready to move in. They are replacing some carpet and painting. It will be a great home for them and we are very happy they will have a nice home and neighborhood to live in. Chandler started crawling last week. Ron enjoys having Chandler at the office two days a week while Natalie is working. He is enjoying being a grandpa.

Michelle, Jared and Brandon are enjoying a vacation at their cabin in Idaho. Brandon got his first tooth with there. They celebrated the 4th in West Yellowstone with a parade and fireworks.

We had a very fun 4th of July. Taylor, Lindsey and I went to the East Mill Creek celebration for breakfast, the parade and to sell drinks. Natalie, Scott and Chandler joined us at the parade and Ron rode his bike over to meet us. Natalie sang in the Karaoke contest. Scotty helped cook breakfast at Brighton with the young adults in our stake. We had a nice family lunch of taco salad at dad and mom's. In the afternoon we went to see the movie, "Horton hears a Who" with the Stephenson family. After, we ate dinner together at our house. Then we joined some other friends and neighbors at Murray Park for games and fireworks.

On the 5th, Taylor celebrated his 17th birthday. He used his birthday money to purchase a new cell phone. We took him to lunch at Panda Express. He had to work, but after he hung out with his friends. Ron, Lindsey and I went to a family dinner at Jeff and Martha's home in Kamas.

Introduction

So I thought I'd give this blogging a try. I am still somewhat challenged when it comes to this stuff, but I love looking at others blogs, so let's see if I can figure this out.

Let me introduce you to our family. Ron and I (Julie) are the dad and mom. We have 5 children, 2 son-in-laws and 2 grandsons. Our oldest daughter Michelle is married to Jared and they have a son Brandon. Our next daughter Natalie is married to Scott and their son is Chandler. At home are our sons Scott and Taylor and daughter Lindsey. We live in Cottonwood Heights, Utah.

Ron owns a small business that sells, installs and services commercial automatic doors, parking gates, card access control. His hobbies include computer photo journaling, playing the guitar and singing, sports spectating, bike riding, and reading. He is a super dad and husband.

I am a full time mom and homemaker. Some of the things I enjoy are reading, knitting & crocheting, organizing, singing, camping, traveling, chocolate, sports spectating. I love being a wife, mom, homemaker and grandma!

Michelle, Jared and Brandon live in Heber City. They have a very nice home there and we are so grateful to have them closer to us. Jared is an atorney and works in Park City. Michelle is a mommy and homemaker. She also teaches piano in her home. Brandon is a beautiful, happy, healthy boy who brings us all great joy.

Natalie, Scott and Chandler live in Murray. Their appartment is very nice and comfortable. Scott works for a manufacturing company. He is very gifted mechanically. Natalie works part time for her dad and also cleans homes part time. Chandler is also darling, happy and healthy and a joy to us. I enjoy tending him one day a week while Natalie works.

Scott is a senior in High School. He will be graduating soon. He loves extreme biking and hanging out with friends. He likes to design houses.

Taylor is a sophomore in High School. He also loves extreme biking and hanging out with his friends. He is our animal expert.

Lindsey is in 4th grade. She loves playing soccer, ice skating, singing in her school chorus, and playing with friends.

Well that's a start anyway. This takes alot of time!