Halloween

Brock and Riley were pilots for Halloween this year and "Grossman Brother's Aviation" flew around the neighborhood for trick-or-treating.

Riley went to five or six houses this year. Riley had a screaming fit at each house. He wanted his "canny now." He didn't want his candy in his bucket to eat latter. He wanted to eat it as soon as he got it.

Brock realized this year the more houses he went to the more candy he would get. I think he would have trick-or-treated all night if we would have let him.

We asked Brock what he wanted to wear as a pilot and he said, "a white shirt, a tie, and stripes on my shoulders."

The Hideout

There are several blueberry bushes in our backyard. We all enjoyed them this summer. The boys would eat blueberries by the hand full. At some point this summer, they discovered the back side of the bushes. This became Riley's favorite place in the yard. He would go outside and disappear. Eventually you would see two little feet behind the bushes. Before we realized this was the "new" hideout, Riley disappeared. Shannon looked all over the yard, yelling for Riley. She looked in the house and still could not find him. She made one last check of the yard before complete panic set in. Then she saw those two little feet and Riley said,"Momma I found you."

The Oregon Coast

My brother Jess and his family (his wife Kelly and children Kaitlin, Kourtney, and Keegan) came to visit us last week. It was so nice to have family here. We went to Newport, OR on the coast to play in the sand for a few days. My brother's oldest daughter Kaitlin, has said all summer that she "wanted to fly a kite on the Oregon coast."

Brock really had fun with his cousins. He and Kourtney became good pals. She was willing to play firefighter with him without complaint. She tried to get him to play house. Kourntey told Brock, "you can be the boy and I will be the girl." Brock responded with a firm "No, but we can play firefighter."

Riley is in absolute heaven on the beach. After getting wiped out by a wave last spring he has no desire to go in the water. But, there is an unlimited amount of sand. You could stick him in a pile of dirt or rocks and he would be happy. He has always been that way. I don't think his love of dirt will change any time soon.

Max

Our family spent ten days dog-sitting for some of our friends while they were on vacation. The great "Max" was a well loved guest during those ten days, especially by Riley. He had a new friend and at times a new resting place. We are not sure who spent more time in the dog bed Max of Riley.

Splash and Dash

We have enjoyed the differences between Brock and Riley from day one. Riley is our daredevil, no conscious child, while Brock is our cautious one, "wait until I am ready" child. This summer water has brought a change of roles which has left smiles on our faces. Riley loves to splash in the water. He would stand by the red wagon, filled with water, all day with his toy tractors and splash if we would let him. However, he will not run through the sprinklers. The sidewalk is as close as he will come. You never see him on the lawn if the sprinklers are on.

Brock on the other hand, becomes a maniac once the sprinkles are on. It doesn't matter how cold the water is, he is there running from sprinkler to sprinkler. Every night he asks, "can I run through the sprinklers." This is the same boy who will shed tears if he has to get his hair wet before combing his hair.

Can you spot the classic?

We took the boys to the park the other day and when we got there we took the first available parking space. Thirty minutes later we were in the middle of a car show.

For my Mom and Sister

My mom and sister have asked for my powerpoint presentation on "Time Management in the Lords way." I had to do a 5 side presentation for a class. It isn't that great, but i love the video! The representation of what the Lord can do for us if we use our time wisely is perfect. I am sure you have seen the visual before, but it still speaks for itself. I hope this works Mom and Jen.

Slide #1

Time ManagementIn the Lords Way

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” (3 Ne. 13:33).

Slide #2

God can multiply the effectiveness of our time

“When we put God’s purposes first, He will give us miracles. If we pray to know what He would have us do next, He will multiply the effects of what we do in such a way that time seems to be expanded. He may do it in different ways for each individual, but I know from long experience that He is faithful to His word.
-President Henry B. Eyring (Education for Real Life,” Ensign, Oct 2002, 14)

•Jar - amount of time in a day
•Rice - all the “things “ we have to do in a day. (Cook dinner, change diapers, be a taxi service, etc…)
•Golf balls -“Gods purposes” (scripture study, prayer, service, etc…)

Slide #3

When we put the “things” of the world first

We will find we don’t have time to do “Gods Purposes.” If we try to Squeeze in our scripture study, and prayer and church service, we will find our time diminished. At the end of the day we will have to work very hard to work in “Gods Purposes.”

•Jar -amount of time in a day.
•Rice -all the “things” we have to do in a day. (Cook dinner, change diapers, be a taxi service, etc…)
•Golf balls-“Gods purposes” (prayer, scripture study, FHE, church callings, etc…)

Slide #4

Prayer and Scripture study are good time management tools.

“Feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do” (2 Ne. 32:3).

•President Henry B. Eyring makes a few points about using prayer and scripture study to help us in our day.
•A morning prayer and an early search in the scriptures to know what we should do for the Lord can set the course of a day.
We can know which task, of all those we might choose matters most to God and therefore to us.
(May 2007 General conference)

Slide #5
All things in Wisdom and Order

And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. Mosiah 4:27

•“As mortals , we simply cannot do everything at once. Therefore we must do all things in “wisdom and order” (Mosiah 4:27).

•“Often that will mean temporarily postponing attention to one priority in order to take care of another. Sometimes family demands will require your full attention. Other times professional responsibilities will come first. And there will be times when Church callings will come first.”

•“Good balance comes in doing things in a timely way and in not procrastinating our preparation or waiting to fulfill our responsibilities until the last minute.”

•“To innovate does not necessarily mean to expand; very often in means to simplify.”
-Elder M. Russell Ballard (November 2006 Conference. pp17)

Aunt Jessie

Aunt Jessica has been after me to update the blog "more often." She says she misses her nephew's too much and needs to see more pictures. So in honor of my beautiful sister...
This is Jessica with her favorite dog. Lucy or as my kids call her " Lu, Lu."

Riley especially loves Lu Lu.

Okay Riley especially loves Aunt "Desie." No one else but Jessica could cuddle like this with Riley. (except Mom and Dad)

Throwing rocks off of the bridge. I was in a panic the whole time because there is no railing on the bridge. Jessica and I used to jump off of this bridge when we were kids and then "Body float" to where we could touch. (With Kim Konan too :) I just didn't feel like jumping in after Brock and Riley in the middle of April. Call me crazy, but it is Montana.

Aunt Jessie was Brock's hero... she hooked him up with a trip to the fire station in Dillon. He got to ride on a firetruck and meet some real firefighters. He even got to "drive" one too. Aunt Jessie ROCKS! I miss her so much I think my heart will break, she is my twin, just born 4 years later. Love you Jessie!

Down on Grandpa's Farm

We have made two trips to Montana during the past month. The first was planned and the second was not. We went to my parent's house for Easter and then Shannon and the boys went to her parents house. Shannon and the boys were gone for 20 days. They were barely home for a week, and then we went back for my grandfather's funeral. These are a few pictures from our trips.

Brock and Aunt Megan

Riley, where he is most happy, sitting in the rocks.

Riley throwing rocks in the pond. He would still be there if we would have let him.

Brock at the bottom of Lost Lake.

3's A Charm

Brock turned the big three years old today. He had a few simple requests for his big day. He wanted a "chocolate chip cake with a lolly-pop, a sucker, and a candy cane." When we sang happy birthday to him he wanted us to call him, "fire fighter Rickley." Last but not least, he wanted to go to the "ocean and see Mia (the octopus) at the aquarium." The only downer for the day was when we got to the aquarium we found Mia had been replaced by Amigo, and she (Mia)didn't come out to say "Hi" when we were at the beach.

Wipe Out

Riley managed to break loose while at the coast on Brock's birthday and the next thing we knew, he was up to his knees in salt water. It didn't take long before a wave got the best of him and he was totally submerged. Luckily for us Mom was right there to rescue him. These are the initial tears of shock. The tears moments later when he realized his fun in the sand was over aren't shown.

"Six Head"

A couple of nights ago while Gage was helping Brock get his jamies on, Brock had
Gage and I lauging hard. Gage was teasing Brock, and they started joking about his forehead, and Brock said, "Dad its not my forehead its my six head." It took us a minute to catch on, but when we did we laughed hard, then marvled at the way those little brains work.