The Bandit

Aaron found a new way to release his school stress.

He drives his Traxxas Bandit VXL remote control car in the backyard or an empty parking lot.

It's fast!

Float Fly

Aaron's club held a float fly at Utah Lake on September 13. It was held in memory of Stu, a club member who died earlier this year. Stu built Aaron's Super Sportster, and he also built the Coast Guard plane below.

We really liked this foamy mini Seawind.

Aaron doesn't have a float plane yet, but Zeke does!

One Year Here in Midway

We moved to Midway one year ago. Moving day was September 22, 2007.

We love it here. It's fun to be back in our hometown and to be so close to our parents. We've gained a lot since we moved back home. I appreciate Aaron's parents, who let us interrupt their empty-nest years to try and save our money for tuition.

Aaron is back in school and working hard; we couldn't have done that on our own. My life is tremendously better balanced than it was while we were still in Salt Lake; I couldn't have done that without the extra hands to help us with Zeke, especially when we first got here.

We've got a few more years here and then we'll see where life takes us - or if it keeps us here!

Welcoming Autumn

Happy first day of autumn! And what a great day it is! It's the 22nd, it's raining, and the fall colors are beautiful in the mountains. There is still green mixed in with the red, orange, and yellow, which is perfect. If you have the chance, go drive Provo Canyon to see the fall scenery. If you can't, here is a sample from last week. It was breathtaking.

In honor of the first day of fall, look for an autumn recipe on the recipe blog later today. And I have a few more to come later. Tastes of the season are just one of the wonderful autumn things we enjoy. I'm looking forward to taking Zeke out into the crunchy leaves soon, to birthdays for me and my siblings, and to spending a great Halloween and then the fun holiday season with our family. But for today, we will stay cozy and warm at home, listening to the rain.

In Our Own Backyard

Zeke loves going outside. There is so much to do in the backyard! Usually we head out after lunch on the days I work from home.

He can play on the little slide - all by himself from start to finish.

The big slide is the next challenge to tackle.

Pool season is over now, but it was sure fun when the weather was hot!

Zeke also loves the dirt and rocks that abound thanks to the sprinkler system Grandpa Loertscher is putting in.

The other day, the neighbor's chickens came over for a surprise visit.

And the little Cozy Coupe car is just Zeke's size and just his style.

Hungry for Recipes?

We have started a recipe blog! It's our way to share our family favorites and the Loertscher and Carlile favorites with you. Check it out at aaronmanndirecipes.blogspot.com (there is a link on the sidebar too).

Let us know what you think. And we do take requests - if there is something you don't see, or a recipe you have that you would like us to try, just let us know.

There are a few there now to get you started, and we're adding more recipes a few times a week.

Happy cooking and even happier eating!

An Airplane Anniversary

Many of you have seen Aaron's awesome picture of Zeke lying in the grass by the NexStar. The plane was brand new and Zeke was 6 weeks old.

Back in June, we thought it would be fun to do an anniversary picture because Zeke has changed so much. However, our plans were changed a bit when our 13-month-old didn't want to lay on the grass.

So Zeke stood next to plane instead. He really has grown up, hasn't he?

A Collection of Words

Zeke says lots of words these days. More and more all the time - this list is probably obsolete by now. He says the ones below consistently. There are several more coming but not quite ready to say often. And everything with a 'k' sound sounds similar. Gradually we are learning to speak the same language!

yes/no (fortunately more yes than no)
mama/dad
cheese
truck
cat / kitty cat
touch / touch it / don't touch
turtle
duck
fish
shark (he loves his bath toys)
book
pancake
cookie
brush
teeth
out / outside
ship
socks
shoes
dance
rock
Texas (the Texas armadillo Draper gave to him)
dog
up
downstairs / stairs (meaning 'go downstairs')
frog
cereal / Cheerios (this is brand new)

Zeke hasn't said airplane yet (can you believe that?) but he is super fast at finding and pointing to the big ones he sees and hears in the sky. For the RC planes he points to them and says 'touch.'

Little Goldfish are So Delicious!

Saturday night we were sitting in Stake Conference and Zeke was looking at his Brainy Baby ABCs book. Each letter of the alphabet has a photograph next to it of something that starts with that letter. The letter F has two goldfish. Zeke knows what a fish is and even says 'fish' sometimes, so we pointed to the fish and asked him what it was. Zeke's instant response was 'Cracker.'

I guess Zeke has seen more Pepperidge Farm goldfish than real goldfish.

Yay For Corner Brackets

Shortly after we moved the desk drawer on my computer desk broke off the front piece and was barely holding together. Lately Zeke has taken to opening that drawer (among the many that we try to teach him are off-limits). Yesterday we picked up some metal corner braces from Smith's Marketplace and I got them installed in the drawer today. So far my bloody knuckle, scraped it against another screw in the drawer, seems to be worth it and it doesn't look too bad either (knuckle and the drawer) :).

Swiss Days Parade Report

Talk about being involved with Swiss Days. Saturday morning we put on our vibrant yellow parade committee shirts and went to the parade lineup to be put to work. Our job at the parade was to direct traffic - get the parade participants to the right spot and make sure they start rolling at the right time. And direct all the spectators who asked where and when the parade started. The sad part of being on the committee is that we didn't get to watch. But we did get to be in the parade at the very end. In a 1963 red Ford convertible.

Zeke went to the parade with Grandma and Grandpa Carlile. They had a great time watching the parade together. There were plenty of big trucks and loud tractors, not to mention clapping - all things Zeke loves. One of his favorites was a little RC car that our friends from HobbyTownUSA drove up and down the street.

Way Up in the Mountains

The Heber Valley Camp was the site of our summer ward party. The last time Aaron and I went up there was about 5 years ago - and we were helping build some of the first campsites with our singles ward. Now there are several campsites and many more homes next door in Timberlakes. It is so beautiful up there. Quiet and peaceful and green.

Zeke loves being outdoors so he had the time of his life. He ran up and down the trail and played in the rocks and the wood chips.

There was an organized nature bingo game for the kids, so we took Zeke on a nature walk. We only had to go a short distance up the trail before we had crossed almost everything off his list. Zeke even hugged a tree!

Aaron volunteered to be the fire master, much to his pyro-pleasure and much to the relief of our activities committee (they were thrilled to have one less thing to worry about). Aaron built a fantastic marshmallow-roasting fire - all with just one match and dry wood (absolutely no cheating with Fire Starters). The smores were great and we got to know several people as we sat and talked around the fire.

This evening was one of the highlights of the summer. A simple, fun event that turned out to be even better than anticipated.

Just Plane Fun

The UTE RC Expo and Warbirds event was held August 16 and 17. We went on Saturday and had plenty of fun in the sun. One of the highlights was bringing Draper with us and showing him what our model airplane hobby is all about. And Draper is now thinking about getting a model helicopter.

The saddest part of the day is when the NexStar met a tree. And the tree won the battle. It probably could be fixed, with lots of time and TLC. But Aaron decided to retire the NexStar. It served us faithfully for over a year. Although Aaron will miss having it to fly, he's moved up to the Super Sportster.

These are some of the planes we saw flying around: a foam Boeing 777 passenger jet, a giant PT-17 Stearman biplane, an electric helicopter, and yes that is a flying lawnmower.

And then, to complete the day, when Zeke and I took Draper home, Zeke found Dynna's stuffed cat, picked it up, and I wondered if he would ever put it down. Zeke just loves cats. He is so precious.

My Kingdom for a Plane

Well this is really old news but I have one plane left that flies now. it is the Super Sportster. We got the plane from an estate sale for one of my club (UTE RC Association) members that moved on to what comes after death. Anyway it is really a fun plane to fly and he did an excellent build; Thanks Stu. With out further delay here it is.

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Wingspan	55 in (1400 mm)
Wing Area	550 in² (36 dm²)
Length	46 in (1170 mm)
Weight	5-6 lbs (2270-2720 g)
Engine	2-stroke 46 (7.5 cc)

Isn't Life Fun :)