Eight is Great!

Is there anyone who doesn't remember how great it was to be eight years old?  We have two special young men in our family who are turning eight years old this month--born only 12 days apart.

This was the day of their blessing held in Utah.  Don't they almost look like twins at the time? 

Ethan Kent Copeland

Garrett James Barlow

They are both looking forward to their baptisms.  Ethan will be baptized in Utah, while Garrett will be baptized in Florida.  They both will now get to start Cub Scouts on their way to becoming Eagle Scouts just like both of their daddies. 

We are so proud of them and love them so much!

Things That Make Me Smile

Today I was just thinking of some things that have made me smile lately. 

Lola being so proud of what she did at her school . . .

Garrett, wanting to take a picture with the Clay High Blue Devil . . . but the picture that really makes me smile can't be taken--Isaac hiding as far away as he can from this scary monster!  Hah!

Watching the kids have fun on their bicycles . . .

(Notice the training wheels . . .)

But even more smiles by those who see a child ride without training wheels for the very first time!  (Isaac--only four years old!)

Watching tortoises crawling on the roads . . .sometimes even having to move them to the side of the road so they won't get run over!

(Grandpa and Lola see tortoise . . . tortoise sees Grandpa and Lola)

Tortoise takes off through the grass . . .

"Bye-bye, tortoise!"

Back into the woods . . .

Heading towards his home . . .

And plop!  Down he goes!  Tortoises truly make everyone smile!

And finally, another day, we were going down the street, only to see a poor tortoise who had caught himself inside a plastic bag going slowly across the street.  We stopped the car so that "George the Rescuer" could help the poor little tortoise out of his predicament. 

George walks up slowly not to frighten him, slowly takes off the plastic bag . . .

Only to find an empty plastic bag that had been moving because of a small breeze.

This didn't make me just smile . . . I was laughing so hard I didn't even get the picture of the surprise on George's face!

Yes, thank goodness, there are still things that can put a smile on my face!

Brr!!! It's Cold Outside!

Not too many times of the year can I say that, but it really is cold outside! Am I ready to move back to the cold permanently when George and I retire? Sometimes I wonder, but I'm not going to let a little cold get the best of me yet! Friday night, we all bundled up and went to the Clay High - Nease Football game. Clay played so well and won 42-21. Yeh!

Garrett, Isaac, and Lola all bundled up.

Does Jeff remind you of George--no coat?!  That's crazy!

I brought some blankets--and George even used one.  That and a funnel cake made him feel much warmer!

This picture reminded me of myself when I was feeding my little ones.  George always told me my mouth was moving the whole time I was getting them to eat!  Hah!

MMMMMMM . . . Lola loves it, too.

And so that Isaac can get his share, he just sticks the whole piece in at once!

Saturday was a fantastic day of football!  If only every Saturday could be that way!

Here's a rundown:

B.Y.U. killed San Diego State - Love it!

Utah was killed by T.C.U. - Love, love, love it!!!!!!  Hopefully that humbles them a bit!

L.S.U. beat Alabama - Yeh, for Cassie and her team!

And, of course, Florida demolished Vanderbilt

Yes, it was a great football day.  Prior to the games, George took me shopping for some new clothes and shoes.  I have been pinning my pants since I have none that fit me anymore.  That's a good thing, too!  

Oh, yes, and Saturday was a special day because it is Alison's birthday.  With her living in China, it's a little difficult to celebrate it with her, but we are going to make up for it when we see her and her family in December in sunny Hawaii!  Happy Birthday, Alison!  We love you and are so proud of the wonderful daughter, wife, and mother that you are!

Happy Big Birthday, George!

For such a mile-stone birthday, we kept the celebration to a minimum, but still had a great time.  On November 1st, the day before George's actual birthday, we met George's brother and sister-in-law, Dwayne and Sandy, who live in Gainesville, to meet at our favorite Sonny's in Starke.  It was so great seeing them and visiting.  We haven't seen them for ages!

Dwayne and Sandy are leaving for China tomorrow with his daughter and her husband, so we sent a few small items to Alison.  They had already loaded up on 14 boxes of cereal to take them.  The Wilde kids will think it's Christmas early--American cereals are the ultimate treat in China!

We really wish Malcolm and Elda, George's brother-in-law and sister could have been there, but they were having a huge family home evening at their home that night. 

The next day, November 2nd, on George's real birthday, 15 of George's office workers took him to lunch which was so thoughtful.  That evening, we had Amy and the kids over for birthday brownie and ice cream--can you tell that's George's favorite?  Forget the birthday cake! 

Amy is the only one who lives close by, but all of our kids, in-law kids, and many grand kids called George for his big day.  Kevin even called from Korea at 3:00 a.m. Korean time so he wouldn't miss George's birthday. 

This is hysterical!  I wanted to take Amy's family with George (Jeff was at class, but called during his break to wish George, "Happy Birthday!)  Anyway, after I took the picture, I said, "Oh, no, Isaac wasn't smiling very nicely in the picture.  It looked like he was sticking his tongue out."

So, Amy gives a little talk about how we act when we take pictures.

And, ta da, it totally worked.  Look at that happy face now!  That's some good mothering skills!

Happy Birthday, George!  You still don't look a day over 50--and, yes, you still don't put a bit of dye on that black hair--even if a girl at our church who is a hair dresser told Amy out of love, I'm sure, "Tell your dad not to dye his hair so black.  At his age, it doesn't look natural!"  She about died when Amy told her he didn't put a thing on it but hair spray to hold it in place!  Hah!