November: Big Dates

Erika and I celebrated our birthday's together in Utah.

At 11:17 on 11/17 my Erika Jo is now 24 years old. On Friday evening we went to Zupa's for dinner, then spent the night chatting in our over-sized hotel suite, slept in Saturday morning, and went to see Grandma Fullmer to surprise her for her belated birthday.

Also on Saturday morning we went to the Smith Marketplace near Oquirrh mountain. They gave us the largest (and free) birthday ice cream sundae served up by the sweetest gentleman manager we've ever met.

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Kimberly Edwards is with Graford LeRoy Edwards.

November 23, 2017 · 

LeRoy, our marriage is 27 years young! Eternity, here we come.

"What does tamed mean?"
"To create ties. If you tame me, we'll need each other. You'll be the only boy in the world for me. I'll be the only fox in the world for you . . ."

As I recently re-read The Little Prince, I thought of this taming that we call marriage. It takes patience and persistence (just as the fox taught) but is so worth it! For truly, "one sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes."

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Our second annual Thankful Tree filled the pantry door with heart shaped leaves labeled with our gratitude for a variety of blessings in our lives: spiritual, physical, emotional, friends, family, stuff, struggles, and the simplest of things that all make up a big beautiful life!

Hyrum had a school assignment to disguise a turkey so that he wouldn't get eaten for Thanksgiving Dinner. With a bit of scrapbook paper, scissors and glue, his baseball playing turkey was created. No one would eat a sports legend!

Thanksgiving happened to fall on our Anniversary. It worked out perfect so that LeRoy and I could stop by "our temple" on our way to Thanksgiving Lunch at Kate and Mike's house.

Also on the way there we passed our boys while they were joy-riding in Derek's fancy new car. 

What a handsome crew!

A highlight for the kids was playing Nine Square in the back yard with Grandpa Fullmer. 

He is such a wonderful grandpa to all these hooligans!

Evan and Trudy Fullmer with nine of their eleven children.

Cami, Josh, Kimber, John, Kara, James, Joe, Jake, Jared 

Mom and Dad

HaPpY Halloween

It's good to have Levi, Daymia, and Brooke to take our Jedi and Cowboy trick-or-treating. Charlie and I manned our own front door.

But a couple of weeks before Halloween, we carved pumpkins.

In Edwards' fashion, LeRoy pulled out the serious tools. Most of us stuck with our puny, flimsy, "knives".

They could pull out all the tough tools in the world but the guts of a pumpkin weaken these boys to the core.

Weakened stomachs or not, the concentration is real and these boys look like twins!

When I drew up my extra large kitchen on the floor plans of this house, these were the moments I imagined. All of us together; making messes; making memories.

This is the stuff that memories are made of.

Halloween BooBoos '17

 Our annual Ghoul Fest of Confection transformed the kitchen into an assembly line of fingers, faces, dirt, and worms.

In the name of friendly service we plated chopped fingers for a nutty crunch of delicious grossness.

With frosting and sprinkles, cake and gummy worms, we crafted our best Halloween creations to begin the sharing of holiday Boo's . . . not to be confused with holiday booze. Though, once we went out, we did get some looks from strangers wondering if we had been boozing.

Under the cover of darkness, tradition came alive as our self-named BooBoos secretly placed our plated goodies on doorsteps, knocked and ran. {Daymia and I went along as drivers and plate protectors.}

As we were driving into town to doorbell ditch some friends, we saw a couple of cars at the entrance of Maverik that looked to be in trouble. We weren't sure if it had been an accident or just had a dead vehicle. Against LeRoy's complaining to stick with our initial plan of going to our friends house, the boys voted to take our treats to those who seemed to be having a rough night.

We pulled up next to the two vehicles and Levi hopped out of the van, complete with face mask and dark hooded hat, and proceeded to gangster walk over to the families. They initially looked shocked and immediately on guard as he approached and the first words out of his mouth were, "I'm not here to rob you".

The others jumped out of the van, except LeRoy who was at this point pouting and ornery that his troop went against his wishes, and I watched my boys hand over goodies, make the kids smile, and brighten two families lives with a bit of silliness. Later, I learned that it was the best Booing experience they've ever had. I was so proud of them for seeing a need (not that the families needed sugar but they needed a lift) and not hesitating to change their plans to fill that need.

It might seem that I'm giving LeRoy a hard time but he also learned a lesson. He can tell all of us as many times as he wants (and he does!) that "life is all about being flexible" but he was not happy when his children quoted it right back to him. Later that evening we talked and he realized that they are great at being flexible and at serving. We were both proud of them and taught by them.

We've been Booing with our kids for at least 15 years. I look at this couple and suddenly see us as the grandparents that we are. We are no longer those young chickens with chicks following behind. We are the old hen and rooster who have been in a few scraps. Though we don't leave our position as parents, we do tend to stand back and watch our own chicks spread their wings. Fly my little ones. You've got this!

Octoberfest

October blew in with a vengeance. The boys found the windy silver lining when their blankets blew out behind them, igniting the superhero flame in their imaginations.

They stuffed that superhero power into huge rubber flexiballs and bounced their energy off of each other with hysterical tears of laughter echoing through the shed-turned-playhouse.

The insanity of soccer being played in October in Idaho is almost more than I can support, but I support Hyrum so here I sit bundled for a blizzard. These boys keep me young whether (and weather) I want it or not.

Take grocery shopping as an example. I never have to worry about taking myself seriously when these two are my cart companions.

Levi, Daymia and Derek joined us for our second Weber State football game, which was rainy, cold and full of fun. The next morning we enjoyed an IHOP breakfast and rides in Derek's new car . . . with the top up. October is no time for convertible rides.

I'm grateful that Nathan isn't taking the puberty driven onslaught of acne with too much seriousness. Puberty discussions have become a daily dinner topic and many times, comedic relief.

With Nathan reaching preteen, I find myself watching my baby Hyrum, wishing for time to slow while also enjoying the journey of his progression and growth. He took me on a date and I caught a glimpse of my little boy growing into a gentleman. He sweetly held the door, asked what I would like to eat, ordered for me, and provided delightful conversation without even a hint of the slightest social (aka: bodily function) faux pas.

During the church sponsored family history event we had a visit from our professional family history consultants, Grandpa and Grandma Fullmer. It was wonderful to have them sit around the table with us and coach us through cursive handwriting and confusing forms.

The next day we went to Bear World where the boys saw the playful side of Grandpa and Grandma. What a joy to see some of God's big fluffy creatures and to share in nature with some of our favorite people.

Boys and Apples

The joy of seeing all five of my boys together is that they are all friends. They watch out for and defend each other, even with all the arguments of youth.

Tech time, where they learn from each other and banter over who has the best computer, phone, apps, programs and skills.

Nathan and Hyrum were thrilled to learn that Derek and Justin had a pool at their apartment complex. Though the late September weather left the water rather cool, they had a great time trying to outdo each other in flips, dives, and tan lines.

Though it's still a year away, Hyrum has been contemplating his upcoming orchestra decision. Cello or violin? He talked Justin into giving him some pointers on the violin which solidified his decision. Violin for 5th grade orchestra next fall.

Speaking of 5th grade, where did my baby go? When he came into my room to talk I was surprised at how grown up he was in his athletic wear. I was happy to still see the little boy who wanted to snuggle with his momma.

As part of Nathan's 6th grade class, he had to come up with something for the class to sell as a fundraiser for the classroom. He whipped up a small batch of Edible Cookie Dough and took it for the class to sample to see if it would make the cut.

The class gave an emphatic thumbs up and after a double batch was put together, he filled 32 small cups and sold them at lunch (with the help of his class) during the first week of fundraising.

Rumor got around and we made up 50 cups for the second week...which nearly sold out! He handed out the remaining cups on the bus with complete satisfaction.

Three years after planting, and one transplant later, Nathan finally had apples grow to full ripened size on his apple tree. Most of Hyrum's blew away in the dramatic winds of spring but Nathan's held on through the whole season.

We loved the fresh, organic taste of Nathan's apples but they weren't enough to bottle for the winter season. I was so excited when a friend asked me to join her in picking from another neighbor's tree. As the boys climbed ladders and picked from full grown, established, overbearing trees, they day-dreamed about the potential of their own trees at home.

We picked enough to bottle a year's worth of apple crisp filling and juiced some for immediate drinking. They were the most delicious apples I think I've ever had. Worm free, large, sweet, and heavenly.

Weber State Great

Our first Weber State game was a blast!! The boys were treated like royalty by the Wildcat, the cheerleaders, and the announcers.

They were chosen to go on the field for a time-out kick off where they had to each kick a football down the field and into a kayak. They got to be on the big jumbo tron and were rewarded with a gift card towards a kayak.

The main highlight was watching Justin cheer at his first college football game. Though his role was to be a tumbler and vocal support, his teammate let him do the stunts while we were there to watch.

It's amazing to see where his hard work, skill and talent have taken him.

He was great and we were proud.

Kailee Jo

Erika Jo went to Ohio with LeRoy for a Legal Shield conference and I got to spend a few days with Miss Kailee Jo. She is such a pleasant, entertaining little girl.

She and Charlie get along so well, especially because she is constantly giving him treats, both his and hers. She also loves to dress up in anything around her with multiple layers of clothes or, in this case (top left), the boys soccer shin guards. Nathan and Hyrum loved the nighttime routine of reading to her and I loved watching them dote on her!

As we waited for Erika to get home, we played Cover Your Assets. She and Levi were a great team and quite adorable too.

This was a game to document because I won! That doesn't happen often and I won in a grand way. I love Sundays when Levi and Daymia come over. We don't always play games but we always enjoy their company.

After Erika got home, Kailee and the boys joined her for a little play time and music study. The relationship that the boys have with Erika is so rewarding! They adore her!

Bear World with LeRoy

Though I have had a season pass to Bear World, LeRoy has never gone with us. We decided it was time to change that so we made a family trip with Levi and Daymia, which always makes an experience more fun and memorable.

LeRoy acted all tough guy at the entrance but he was a gushy pushover for those big cuddly bears.

As usual, we all loved the petting zoo. LeRoy was particularly fond of the wart hog and the chubby goat while Nathan and I loved on the dear and new baby fawns.

New to all of us was the curator tour where we got to ride on a truck and feed the bears. It was SO AMAZING! We called out and they came; we held food out to them and they stood tall to receive it; they caught the food we tossed down to them. They looked so fluffy and soft and adorable!

I must say that Bear World is better with Daymia on the ride. She takes in all that nature and animal goodness with glee and it makes me appreciate it even more.

Homecoming and a Hot Date

I admit it's a bit strange to party for Homecoming without a kid in high school but these two did enough to make up for it.

Nathan was invited by his friend, Rhett, to ride the spirit bus in the parade and to the game. They had fun running Chinese fire drills on main street and doing cheers with the football players at each stop.

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LeRoy and I cashed in his birthday tickets and went to the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concert in Utah.

LeRoy was very excited to get a concert shirt and to be surrounded by so many country music fans.
We had great seats that allowed us to see Tim and Faith both on the large screen and on stage.

Some of the reasons we like Tim and Faith is their long-lasting relationship, their faith in God, and many of their songs have great messages.