September 2012

Oh, the beautiful days of September! We have had more warm, sunny days in September than we did in August! And not as many hot ones...figure that out, if you can. Of course, if you were here and lived it, you know what I am talking about.  We are still swimming without having to heat the pool, which is nice, not looking forward to the time we will have to turn on the heater. 

September is when we can get out our fall decorations, and

September has seen us gain a new driver, a new boyfriend or two, and a new walker. It has also been a time of storing up for the winter, serving in the Temple, blessing a baby and celebrating birthdays.

 Some pretty great people celebrate their birthdays this month: Lillian, Rebecca, Shadrach, Tony, Jared and Docker.

Lillian turned 16 on the 3rd...definitely sweet 16

Rebecca's birthday was on the 8th. What a cute baby she was. It has been fun making her "Childhood Memories" book. I'm now working on Mary's and Joel's and Rachel's, then I'm done with this year's book project.  Actually, I finished Mary's and already gave it to her!

Shadrach turned 15 on the 12th

Tony's birthday was the 19th

Jared had his first birthday on the 21st. Look at those eyes.

Docker turned 13...a teenager...on the 30th

Almost as soon as DeWitt received his call...not quite, but almost...like the next day...he came over to pin his mission on the family missionary board. If we get any more missionaries to Argentina, we're going to have to come up with either smaller pins or one pin to Argentina with several strings attached.

His adoring sisters, watching the pinning ceremony

Allison left the next day to go to BYU Idaho.  And, yes, she drove the whole way all by herself!!! I guess I didn't realize that she was doing that until she actually got there safely.

Lillian celebrated her birthday on the 3rd with a swimming party and cookout.  She had two birthday cakes instead of the traditional pumpkin pie. I have to say I was a little disappointed, but the cakes were delicious.

Even Henry enjoyed the festivities

DeWitt went to the Gila Valley Temple the next week, to receive his own endowments. His session was full of aunts, uncles and grandparents, as well as parents, of course, who love him and are so proud of him.

When we came out of the Temple we were met with the blessing of rain.

Later, that week he and his family went to the Temple to do baptisms.  As an endowed member, he was able to perform baptisms and confirmations.  He has been called as a baptizer on Tuesdays, and I worked in the baptistry one Tuesday when I was substituting for someone on that shift. He really did a good job, pronouncing almost unpronounceable names.

Levi has come on my shift on Wednesdays, a couple of times, bringing a friend, to do baptisms. One time I was able to give him six of your family members' names from the 1800's to be baptized for.  Of course, I couldn't get a picture of him, but he was there nevertheless, and those family members appreciate his service.

Lillian passed her test and received her drivers' license.

September was truly a harvest month for us.  We were all like little squirrels, storing away nuts for the winter.  Thomas and Jenn bottled some chicken,

Rebecca and her family bottled beans and split pea soup, which she shared with us,

And Dad and Jenn and I helped Rachel bottle green chiles and peaches.  We made peach jam, as well, and also made some delicious applesauce. We had ordered fruit, through Rebecca, from Utah, so we had a lot, and Rachel brought the chiles from New Mexico.

Right near the first of the month we had a freak hail storm. Here are Hyrum and Maya getting pelted by the hail.

When we made masa, we used fresh ground masa from the tortilla factory, so Thomas insisted we get out the tortilla press we bought in Mexico and make real tortillas. They were so delicious that way. He even made grilled chicken sandwiches with the masa cakes as the bread.  Yummy! 

Can you believe this picture? Dad riding Thomas' scooter! Just wait until you get further down the blog!

Bethany and Henry...she is really good with the kids. She says she's not, but she is.

I have earplugs in self-defense, and one time, Maya came in and wanted to know what they were for. She tried them on and I just had to get a picture because I thought it was funny that the noisiest kid was wearing the earplugs.

Jared began taking his first steps this month...actually he started in August, but got serious about it in September.

The weather has been so wonderful, warm, not hot, and we enjoyed just sitting around on Sunday evening and watching the kids play

Tony's birthday party...chicken fajitas

Joel came to speak at the scholarship banquet at EAC, as the president of the Alumni board, and they stayed after and came by to visit the next day and stayed for Jared's birthday party and Mexican buffet.  DeWitt, who was at the banquet, receiving a scholarship, said Joel did a great job with his talk...of course, he did, he's a great speaker.

Bethany, Stephanie holding Henry, Rebecca holding Maya.

Dad and Crew checking out the stars on the iPad, the only way to see the stars in broad daylight. Crew is also interested in astronomy, so Dad pulled up the star charts.

Jared's first birthday party, Sept 21...it was a Dr. Seuss party.  Jared was "Thing 1."

Our stake realigned all the wards this month...yes, we are still in 5th Ward...but we lost the Smiths and others on the west side of 8th Ave.  We gained back the people across 20th Ave., such as the Jacobsens and the Allens, and some others that used to be in our ward but went to 4th ward for a while.  We also got Jeff and Lawynn Brown and the Davids on that side of the neighborhood. Rachel and Tony are now in the new 9th Ward, and Rebecca and Scott are still in the 3rd Ward. They had us all gather at once to hear about the boundaries.  Here are the Biggs kids on the stage of the Stake Center after the meeting on Sunday.

Thomas subbed for the Seminary teacher in Thatcher for a whole week. He really enjoyed doing that and is actually considering becoming a seminary teacher, along with considering nursing and PA school. He has a lot of irons in the fire. We'll see which one gets the hottest!

Levi has had some car trouble this month, so has switched between driving his car that is ours and Stetson's car that is his.

Jenn has been teaching water aerobics to Bethany and Thomas.  They swim every night and limp around all day. They are sure it is doing them a lot of good. Jenn used to teach water aerobics, so she knows what she is doing to them...I mean for them.

We had a two-week break from the Temple in September, so we spent a few days in Mesa.  We got to eat lunch with Joel, Stephanie and Docker, and to do Docker a favor, I didn't take any pictures.  We also ate with Esther and Shad and their family and with Jeremy and Erika.  I realized I didn't have any pictures on this month's blog of Jeremy and Erika's kids (although I do have some of the parents) so when we went over there to take Hayden his scorpion trophy, I took some pics of the kids so they can be on the famous Biggs Bunch Blog.

Eating crab legs...we didn't join the fun, just took pics of it.

Reygan and Ellie showing off Reygan's "Anglophile-ness." Zoom in on her drawing of Big Ben. Very good.

Hayden with his scorpion trophy.  

Crew with his scorpion trophy. The scorpion club is one club you do not want to be a member of.

While we were in Mesa, we attended the wedding of Amy Sabin and Thanner Darien. Amy looked so beautiful and happy.

Erika loaned her dark glasses to Grandma because it was sooo bright!

Lisa and Esther

Karen

Susan and parents...notice I was not as thoughtful as Erika.  Of course, mine are prescription glasses.

The reception set up that afternoon, while I was there cutting up fruit.

Emily made this gorgeous cake.  Actually, the bottom is styrofoam, with only the top being real cake. But she decorated it. Those roses all over it are frosting.  I thought at first that they were silk ribbons.

Jan, putting out the afghan I gave Amy and Thanner because it matched the colors of her reception and looked "vintage."

The happy couple

Jan and Kent in line. Throughout the day, I got pictures of all my sisters except...and this is a big "except"...Nancy...the star of the show. She looked so beautiful that morning and again that night, and I didn't get one picture of her! I didn't even see my brothers, so I didn't get them either, but I should have taken a picture of Nancy.

Dad with Aunt Donna Le Baron, Grandma Hiatt's baby sister.

Aunts Donna and Ruth Brinton and Ruth's daughter Kathy

Jeremy and Erika with the grandparents

Susan and cousin Sandy Risley

Joel with the grandparents.  Stephanie was there too, but I didn't get her in the picture.

While we were in Mesa, the Safford families, plus the Browns, went to the Safford Salsa Fest.

We came home from Mesa on Saturday. These kids are all waiting patiently, and not so, for their turn to ride on Thomas' scooter.

Lindsay's turn

Esther was really brave and drove others not so brave around the block

I was not so brave.  I just sat on it and when I gave it a little gas, I got scared and got right off. I didn't want to wreck Thomas' machine and I didn't want anyone to have to pick me up off the pavement.

Later that afternoon, we had Mary's birthday lunch.  She has her birthday in October, but as has been the custom for the last few birthdays, she celebrated it early.  She is going to be gone on her birthday and she also wanted to do it while Esther was in town. She wanted to do a craft, but her sisters told her there wasn't enough time, with the Relief Society Broadcast, so she wasn't expecting it. They surprised her and did a darling Halloween craft. P.S. we watched the broadcast while we ate.

She was thrilled with her "childhood memories" book.

The last day of the month was Henry's blessing day.

The newly enlarged Thomas and Jenn Biggs family

The happy parents. Thomas gave him a beautiful blessing in our ward. This is the last Sunday for our ward to be as it is now. Next Sunday is General Conference, then the following Sunday is the day we all switch and 5th Ward will have new people and be losing some of our favorite friends.

Thomas and Henry

Jenn and Henry

The proud grandparents

Henry slept through it all

Some of our young adults. Lillian had not arrived yet, so we had to take this pic without her.

When she got there we had to take it again, this time without DeWitt and Josh. There's no winning.

Thomas and Rachel and Esther. The girls said they appreciated Thomas because he made them look good! 

Thomas and Jenn, with the help of their sisters, put on a fabulous luncheon in Henry's honor.

We are so glad that Grandma Sherry came

And Grandma Anna, along with Jenn's brother Jeff and his wife and Jenn's sister Trish, all came too. Here they are with Thomas and Jenn, Grandma Sherry, Rebecca and Scott and Dad

Notice Levi's mustache

Josh was here without Nicole!  She was in Mesa. He really felt one-sided without her.

The kids and little kids ate outside because the weather was so perfect.

Lindsay and Maya and Brody on the gator.  Maya and Brody had quite a lot of fun together. Brody was quick to tell me that he's not a baby any more because he's potty trained and wears underwear instead of diapers now.

Jared loves playing outside with the kids. Mary was a little dismayed to find yellow flowers in his diapers.

The big kids

I sent Lillian out to take some pictures and she, professional-quality photographer that she is, took some really great shots...actually more than these.

Brynlie (or is it Camille?) and Marlie and Lindsay in the Brazilian hammock Tony gave us when he got home from Brazil.

Soren demonstrating his amazing muscles.

Brynlie in the hammock

Lillian took this, one of the best pictures I have ever seen of Maya. She usually scrunches up her face...see the last picture.

Dad and I slipped away for a few minutes to go to the Church for the "Linger Longer" party for those who are leaving 5th Ward and those who are joining us.  We are going to be sorry to lose some dear friends like the Crandells, the Smiths, the O'Neals, the Thomases and others. 

Finally, at the end of Henry's big day, he just zonked! He looks as if he's a little tipsy.

Now, with all the great food at the blessing, you have to consider how relative food is.  For example, would you rather have homemade chocolate ice cream or Lipton soup?

If you are sick to your stomach, as Camille is here, Lipton soup sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

OUR MISSIONARIES

Dallin and Stetson are both doing great...having opportunities to teach and even some baptisms. They both have words of advice to share with DeWitt from time to time, and are looking forward to his arrival in Argentina.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE FAMILY

September found several family members enjoying campfires.  Scott and Polly went on a ward Fathers' and Daughters' campout, making foil dinners,

Thomas' and Mary's families had a cookout in the desert near Mary and Tyson's house,

And Daniel's family enjoyed their newly constructed backyard addition with a campfire cookout.

Rachel gave Tony tickets to an ASU football game for his birthday. Shad went with him.

Joel, Jeremy, Bert and Chris went to a Diamondback's game and were even on TV. They were right behind the batter, so we were able to see them every once in a while. We took this picture with my phone from the TV, so it isn't great, but you can see them and recognize our boys right away, can't you?

The Brown family spent FHE at the Gilbert Temple site.

Bridger, practicing his skateboard skills

Marlie is playing soccer this month, along with the other kids I mentioned last month.  I just didn't know about Marlie then.

The Alders went to their mountain cabin for Labor Day. Here are Rylie and Luke with their Alder cousins.

Ok.  What is it about the Alder girls picking on the men in their family?  Actually, Tony made up this game, I think. Whoever lands on the floor gets attacked with pillows.

Harrison face timing with Isabel

This is Hannah's "solid group of friends."  This is a get-together before the homecoming dance.  She and her date, the boy on her left (our right) stayed home and had a movie night, though.  Bethany says it is because it is embarrassing to watch how the kids dance, evidently not in a modest way. Good for you, Hannah, for staying away from it.

This stretch  SUV took Docker and his friends for his birthday party.

It's a good thing Docker will let other people take his picture.

~Birthday picture~

Erika has been beautifying her home with her sewing machine.  She made covers for this chair and ottoman, as well as cushions for her huge sofa. 

COLLEGE KIDS

Great news!!! Erika got accepted into PA school...out of about 200 applicants. Of course, I don't think I ever doubted that they would accept her. She'll be great! Of course, she looks, here, a little like a mad scientist.

It's a good thing Josh and Nicole receive wedding presents by mail at our house once in a while so we get to see them.  Actually, they have been to dinner a couple of times too.  They seem so happy and so absolutely wrapped up in each other that they don't even notice that they don't see us very often. They're busy with school and work and each other.

Devynne, is still LOVING Disney World, and the friends she has made there.  The real princess and the fairy tale princess.

Notice the smiling returned missionary? They're just friends, she assures me.

It has been so much fun having Levi going to school at EAC so that we get to see him sometimes.  And I think he really enjoys going to school there.  He has come to eat a couple of times, and, of course,  I see him at the Temple. He even came over to borrow some black garbage bags so he could put stems of cotton bolls (sp?) for us to take to his mom who is going to use them for decorations for Relief Society. He picked them right out of his Grandpa Layton's cotton fields.  Everyone is so glad that Stephanie's dad is doing so much better after his cancer treatments.

Allison is enjoying BYU Idaho.  She is rooming with her friend Tessa Smith from Safford, and they are having a great time.  I don't know who the other girl is, but judging from her shirt, she must be from Arizona too.

I love looking around the pics of Idaho and trying to find genetic memories of the area in my brain. I really want to go there and see where my family lived.  Grandma Brinton went to Ricks before it was even Ricks College, much less BYU Idaho.  It was just a secondary school, Ricks Academy, and she and her brother had to "batch" it, as she called it, and live on their own while they went to high school away from home.

This young man, with his arm around our Allison, is Dane Evans...yes, Evans.  He is Allison's boyfriend.  They did some genealogy research and couldn't find any relatives in common for several generations.  So, if they are related farther back than that, they are at least no closer related than Mary and Tyson who share a set of great-great-great grandparents. Dane is from Michigan, served a mission in SLC and is an Eagle Scout, ya'll.

Bethany has been having a great time at EAC, and has made a lot of friends of both the male and female persuasion. I think she likes being where the Church is strong and has enjoyed going to the Temple and the Institute and devotionals and the Singles Branch.

She has been bonding with her Arizona cousins, here, with Rylie, Lillian and Levi, also Allison and DeWitt, of course...

and with Jeremy and Erika's kids...here they are, watching a movie on Labor Day, which she spent with them.

Here, she and her friends at the Temple to do baptisms

She and some of her friends at a flour throwing free-for-all single adult party.

One Saturday night, she and some friends were up late, watching a movie and got hungry. When they realized it was "midnight 30" as Bethany said, they didn't want to break the Sabbath, so they made mashed potatoes for a snack.  That was all they could find at her friend's house, but it worked, and they felt good about themselves.

Finally, a picture to make you smile.