Kids Pictures

Not sure if you have noticed but it has been awhile since Kristin has blogged.... Well, I (Mindi) just happen to remember her password (I set up the account for her), so I am going to post her kids pictures because they are so cute!!

Nora - 17months

Grant 4 years

Mya 9 years old

Anna - 7 years

ART CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!! by Mya

After the track meet mom and Aunt Mindi went to vote for the school budget, we were looking for my piece of art work. Finally Aunt Mindi found my piece and got a few good pictures!!!

Memorial Day

Memorial Day

There is a famous cemetery in Buffalo New York called Forest Lawn. Thousand of men and women that died in wars and afterward are buried in this cemetery. Every Memorial Day people can come and help put flags on the tombstones of the veterans. For the past four years we have participated in this event and it has become a family tradition. We wake up early and drive for about 30 minutes. It starts at 8:00 and you can not be late or you miss the fun part of putting up the flags. It is an amazing site to see all the flags and realize the price for freedom.

Jeff's sister Ginger and her family come every year too. It is fun to share this day with them. Someday we hope Mindi and Shannon's family will come too. Ralph would come if we told him it was a BBQ and we needed a cook.

Jeff with his two helpers Clara and Grant.

All ready to go.
Just Cute!!!!

Most of the graves of the veterans are located in one area the Veteran's Field. Putting flags on their graves takes only about 15 minutes. There are so many people and the graves are in one spot. After that most people leave. We like to look for graves of veterans that are not buried in the Veterans Field. Here is Anna looking to see it the grave is a person who fought in a war. We really enjoy serving the veterans and spending time together.

Sunday Best

Sunday Best

A picture before church. Doesn't happen often as we are always running late. Behold last Sunday we were a little ahead of schedule so I took some time to snap pictures. Of course the pictures made us right, and I mean right on time for church. With every child I seem to lose 5 minutes. Before Mya I arrived everywhere 15 minutes early. Now on my fourth, I am 5 minutes late to everything. Maybe we should stop with four.

This is a little dress I sewed for Mya. It originally had a chicken hat to go with it, but I can no longer find it. Surprising what makes you sad sometimes.

Mirror image of his Dad at this age. I love it. Unfortunately he inherited his mothers neck. He can't have anything even slightly constricting on it. Usually a tie lasts 10 minutes. I hope they relax the dress standard when he is ready for a mission.


Anna has the best smile. It carries even to her eyes.

Made the mistake of commenting on Mya's brace smile. Now we are not getting real smiles, just fake brace covered smiles. Ophs.

Cutie Face and a Performance

CUTIE FACE

This is the face Nora uses when she thinks she is being cute or wants attention. We love it. We say,"Show us your cutie face." This is what we get.

This is not her cutie face. This is her, "Yes, I just fed myself yogurt and no, I am not bleeding."
Nora has been such a joy in our lives. Her only flaw if you can call it that, is she likes to scream. Jeff turned to me one day and said, "Can't you make her stop." I didn't have the heart to tell him in maybe two years.

Violin Recital

Unfortunately I opted out on this one. I didn't get to see the performance. I stayed home with Grant and Nora. Taking Nora the screamer to a recital in a small home didn't seem all that wise. I think the violin teacher was relieved as she sees our circus act every week. Jeff went with the girls. It was their second recital. Mya and Anna both had a solo piece, and then they played a duet together. It is really fun to see them being able to perform together.

The Cute Faces of Grant Stonewall

His latest pose for all pictures - tongue out. I thought that was cool once too, until I saw pictures with my tongue out and decided it wasn't so cool.

Here is his tongue again. Looks a lot cuter on him that it did on me so long ago.

One day I was making dinner. Grant came over and was crying that he was hungry. I told him to go sit down at the table. I was going to serve dinner in about five minutes. I was busy scooping food onto plates and rushing around for the last few things before we eat, as I sat his plate in front of him I heard a snore. When I looked at him, he had fallen asleep. I had a good laugh and snapped a few pictures.

Yes, the tongue again. It is quite catchy.

A face of pure bliss. Grant loves Sage. A face of pure terror. Sage does not love Grant. With good reason.

The Cute Faces of Nora Read

No words needed!

Sleep-Over with Sophie and Clara

Anna just loves playing with Sophie. She thinks that Sophie is so funny. She is always laughing at Sophie's jokes. When I ask her why she loves Sophie so much she replies, "She is so funny."

I love this picture. Grant loves Clara so much. He always tells me, "Mom, I love Clara." He always wants to play with her. Clara is so kind and fun to be around and so kind to Grant.



I have these kids over for a sleep-over every night, because they are so fun to be around. They are funny and lovable. Life would be boring without sleep-overs.

The Many Uses of Trash Bags

Here in Buffalo we have many practical uses for garbage sacks.
1. Anna is going to design a whole new children's clothing line with them.
2. Extra layer of protection beneath the snow clothes to fight the extreme weather conditions of Buffalo New York.
3. Our way of sucking weight before the annual Showalter Wrestle-Athon.
4. Going Green baby!! We reuse, recycle . . . . can't remember the rest.
5. Proof that Jeff does not supervise well. I don't care that he was at work at the time.
6. Just a waste of garbage sacks, but don't worry I sewed them up and we used them as trash liners. So to finish number 4 - RENEW. Exactly what I did.

Basketball Stars

Mya and Anna are awesome at basketball. Their strength is definitely their defense. Anna sometimes plays defense on offense she is so good at it. There is no doubt about it, no one is getting pass us!


We ain't no white Trash!!!

Spiritual Moment

Every night we gather in Grant's and Nora's room to read scriptures and have family prayer. Jeff is teaching Grant all the tricks of the trade when it comes to spiritual moments.Usually he doesn't make it through scriptures. To tell the truth we are all a little jealous.

Nora getting ready for the ball, but Jeff won't play dress-up so Grant has to be the Prince.

Science Muesum was a REAL BLAST of a SIREN!

We went to the Science museum. Grant found a "computer" he thought was so cool. Mya and Anna went to town on the magnet building stuff. Nora as usual with a big smile on her face. The day was fun and all went without a hitch, until Anna told Grant not to pull a fire alarm. Of course there was a bench underneath it and by climbing on the bench the alarm was in arms length. Grant is really good at not listening to Anna and proceeded to pull the alarm. Grant didn't even know what it was, just that it need to be pulled, because Anna told him not to. I was just turning towards him when the sirens started to blare. Jeff was outside, bringing the van around to load to go home. As he entered the building, I watched his expression as he entered the building, heard the sirens, and came to the conclusion of what had happened all in about 5 seconds. The fire department responded within one minute and the girls and I got a up close look at two very shiny fire engines. The good part about it, as Jeff and Grant waited to talk to Museum personnel and firemen, Jeff struck up a conversation with a man who's battery was dead. We we able to help him jump his truck and save him time and money. All in a days work, that is all I have to say. Oh and they shouldn't put benches under fire alarms.

Fun at the Strong Children's museum

Before Christmas we went to a fun children's museum. They had a photo opp. where you could take the photo and then email them to yourself. Here are a few. I think they are funny.