Random pictures of this past week.

Last Sunday (08/23/09) we had a wonderful rainstorm. Aubrey grabbed an umbrella and played in the backyard during the rain.

She is just like her dad. She loves the rain, thunder, and lighting. More than anything, she loves to play in the rain.

The other night we found some marshmallows that we had from our camping trip in Utah. Dad decided to roast a mallow right from his recliner. I have to keep an eye on him. Sometimes he is very naughty.

On Friday, Anson had his first football game. They played in the new football field that they built right by the high school. He plays offensive and defensive line.

Anson is the first one on the line. He is #56

The new stadium is beautiful. We also get the bleachers on the west side, so the sun is not glaring at our face like at the old stadium.

Aubrey went to find Bree and brought her to us.

Our Bree joined us for the last quarter.

The boys won their first game!

Can you see the score at the end of the game. Go big green!!!

Dad and Anson getting back from our ward camp out today. Aubrey and I decided to stay behind and keep Bree some company. Travis worked night shift last night so we had a "girls" night!

Everyone had a great first week of school. I guess Dick is doing Dracula for the first high school play.

Richie III, you are four today!

We love you and we miss you so much little man!

 Can't wait to see you again.

 Have a great day.

Richie III and Sayda (Grandma Call)

Richie III and Dick (Papa)

My grandson is going to Pre school and I still feel like I'm 20 years old!

As if it's not hard enough to know that our youngest boy is in high school and starting driver's ed this semester, I also discovered our grandson (Richie III) is starting pre-school! Oh... where have the years gone?

The kids started school on Monday. We set the alarm for 6:30 am, but Anson decided to wake up at 6:00 and was ready to go by 6:30. He kept popping in to our room to tell us, "I'm going to high school, and I'm taking a class from Dad! Hurry Dad, let's go!" He is happy and has a big smile on his face 99.9% of the time, but I've never seen him quite so happy. He is such a blessing! He always inspires me to be a better person. Anson is staying after school everyday for football practice and already has his first game tomorrow.He is loving high school. He also loves that teachers and students know that Mr. Call is his dad.

Aubrey loves her teacher. On the first day of school, her dad gave her a hug and a kiss as he wished her a good "first day of school." She held on tight to him and started crying. (She reminds me so much of our Giselle (Sissy). She is so sensitive and cries so easily when something is worrying her, but yet she is the strongest little girl I know and so mature for her age.) We reassured her that she would love her teacher and that she was going to have a great year just like always. She then replied, "It's just that I love staying home and spending every minute with my family." I love that at such an early age, she has so much appreciation for her family. She is always concerned about us. When we are going to bed, she will ask if I need anything like a glass of water or anything else. Oh how I love her! For the past two days, she constantly shares with us stories about Brother Heward. Mr. Heward is her teacher. He is such a kind man and we know him well. He is soft spoken, just like Aubrey. He also has this cute laugh that she absolutely loves. This morning as I was driving her to school, she said, "You know, I think Mr. Heward will be the best teacher I've ever had and my very favorite." What's funny is that she tells me this about all her past teachers.

I think our kids will have a great school year! I pray that their teachers will see how special my children are on the inside. Their teachers are so lucky to share their life's with two great souls.

Memories

I found this picture the other day. I remember this day as if it was yesterday. We were living in Twin Falls, ID in the Falls apartments while I went to nursing school. Dick, Kellan Hatch, and Richie II went fishing. I'll never forget Richie's excitement when they knocked on the door and showed me all the fish they caught.
Oh... the memories!

Richie... 1985 (Kellan is standing right behind him.)

THE PUMPKINS AND THE SQUASH MADE BIG BABIES!!!

There are some pretty normal looking pumpkins in our garden this year...


... but then there are these HUGE things.


They are funny shaped, and a very pale orange color. Not to mention, they have gotten huge! Dad knows he didn't plant anything that looks like these monsters.

He searched the Internet to see what he could be growing and asked a lot of people. Nobody knew!!! During fair, he went to the 4-H building and visited with a cute, little lady who was judging the vegetables. No, we didn't enter any veges this year. The little lady asked Dad that if he had planted his pumpkins close to his squash. Dad told her that he did plant them closer this year. She then told him that the pumpkins and the squash had pollinated. She instructed him not to pick them until after the first freeze, and to treat them just like pumpkins. I'm excited to try a new recipe for pumpkin butter this year! She also told him that they might get as big as our house! So look for Dad's squashkins in the Guinness book of world records!!! Tehehe ;)

DAD'S FIRST THREE MONTH CHECK UP FOLLOWING SURGERY

Yesterday was a super, long day! We woke up at 4:00am to leave to SLC by 5:00am. We took Claudia and Joseph to the airport so that they could return to Texas. Their flight left at 10:00 am. We will miss them so much. It was great having them here.

Dad had a 2:00 appointment at Huntsman. Since we had a lot of time we parked the car at the hospital and took an hour nap, then we had lunch. His first appointment consisted of a CT scan of the chest, then he had some lab done, an x-ray, and an MRI of his leg. It was a long wait. Finally the surgeon visited with us after reviewing the scan and the MRI. He shared with us some pretty terrific news. He told us that the lungs looked clear and that his leg was doing great. I have been worried about the tumor growing back because if it would, they would have to amputate. The surgeon told us he wasn't too worried about the leg because it only happens to 1 in 20. He said to worry about it coming back in the lungs because that is the first place it spreads to. The risk of that is 1 in 4. Also, this type of cancer responds really good to radiation but not to chemotherapy, which is the treatment of choice if it goes to the lungs. Dr Jones told us to focus on the good news for now. Every time he checks out clear is closer to the 10 year mark. Dad will have to return to Huntsman in 3 months. He will get checked every three months for two years, then every 6 months for three more years, and then every year for 5 years. It was so good to hear the good news. We were so happy that it was hard not to smile from ear to ear.

Dad started working this Monday and the kids start school next Monday (08/24/09). He takes a little nap during his lunch hour and right after school. The doctor did tell us that the fatigue from the radiation might last for up to 2 years or it might never go away... so I think I will be seeing a lot of this.

Mama Mia! That was good pizza!

Travis and Bree announced that they were making homemade pizza for dinner last night, so the little girls wanted to make pizza for dinner too. I have the easiest recipe for pizza. You bake the homemade crust 3 minutes, decorate the crust, bake it 10 more minutes, and it's done.


The girls helped me knead the dough. They rolled it out too.


Aubrey and I made a pepperoni pizza, and Claudia made a canadian bacon (deep dish).


The girls were such big help.


We used mozzarella and monterrey cheese.


Here is Claudia's canadian bacon before she baked it.


My pizza and Claudia's. We also had a salad filled with Dad's cucumbers and Dad's tomatoes.


Aubrey's pizza.


It must be the Italian in my mother's blood, but I think we made delicious pizza. At least... the kids thought so.


The kids had one more night on the trampoline, even though it was probably in the 40's.

Summer vacation is quickly leaving us.

The kids are ready to go back to school, but I don't know if I'm ready. I love summer days when the kids can just hang out in the back yard, hours of endless jumping on the trampoline, go to bed late, sleep in, play, bare feet out on the grass, tons of veges in the garden, play some more, fruit trees sharing their fruit with us, naps, and so much more. I love summer!

I can't believe Anson is starting high school this year. He is my baby boy! Man, when did he get old enough to go to high school? Today I even signed him up for driver's ed! What???? Driver's Ed! That means our baby boy will be licensed to legally drive soon!

My sister's grandchildren, Joseph and Claudia will be returning to Texas this week. We sure will miss them.

Last night the kids decided to roast starburst and marshmallows. Yummy!!!!