Apple Pie Time

We had a wonderful crop of fruit this year and Jacob and grandpa loved going out and picking a pear and sharing it before bedtime.

Jessica, Lynne and great grandma made a lot of applesauce and dried apples.
Jessica decided that we also needed to make homemade apple pie! We had a blast making it and even more fun eating it. Jessica, you are an amazing cook--you take after your Great Grandma G, not me in that category!

Halloween Time

Fall is in the air which means it is time for Halloween fun and costumes and carving pumpkins. I am so glad that Jessica and Dan are living here or we may not have even enjoyed Halloween this year. We have been really busy at school working, soccer games and volleyball games but every time we would come home,
Jessica would have Jacob running around in his costume or
she would be carving up cute pumpkins to decorate our home.
Rich, Grandpa and Richie grew all our pumpkins this year and Jacob loves touching, hitting and playing with them. Our largest pumpkin weighed in at just over 90 pounds and three other were about 70 pounds. Next year we hope to break the 150 pound mark!!

Saying Goodbye to Grandma & Grandpa

With the fall leaves turning colors, also comes the time when Grandma and Grandpa Glassford head back to Las Vegas to live for the winter. We love having them here and will miss them terribly! They are such an important part of our family!

Their bedroom is upstairs. down the hall from the front room where Little Jacob loves to play. He has been in the habit of going down the hall and knocking on their door until they open it and let him in. Jacob still runs down the hall and knocks and can't figure out why he can't find Great Grandma and Great Grandpa. He has loved playing with them. Thanks for spending so much time with him!
We had Dave and Gina's family over for Sunday dinner to celebrate our last night with them.
We were all excited to see little Luke walking around with a cast. He is doing amazing and our prayers are still with him that he will make a full recovery! You are one brave little boy!!
One of the last things Grandma and Grandpa did before they left was buying our dog Boe a huge bone for a good bye gift. I think they got him one large enough to last til they move back in May, what do you think?
Thanks for all you do for our family Grandma and Grandpa, We really miss you!

Baby Jacob's 1st Birthday

We got to celebrate Jacobs 1st birthday. He didn't jump into the cake and destroy it like Jessica did when she was a baby, but once he got a taste of the frosting, that's all he wanted. We all had fun watching him play with his presents.

Happy Birthday Jacob - - - We love you!!!

Chili Cook Off

Chili Cook Off
Wow! pass around the gas X and grab a second helping of some lip smacking, intestinal rumbling chili. We had six different family members and friends share their unique take on a wonderful western dish. When I think of the American West I think of chili around an open fire. Here Jessica is measuring up her secret spices to add to her chili at just the right moment! Jessica had some mouth watering Chili.

Grandma is so excited to make her chili--Bring on the competition! Beware of my sausage chunks, they will be my secret weapon. We had a fun time watching grandma and grandpa create their culinary masterpiece.

Grandpa is a real trooper! Helping Grandma when ever needed. Working with the tomatoes was one of his many jobs throughout the day.

Rich and I made ours in the Dutch Oven. Everything always tastes better when cooked this way! Rich had a fun time playing with his dutch oven. Here is a close up of the secret mixture. We combined about three different secret recipes to pull of our dish. It was good but not as good as Jessica and Grandmas chili.
All the chili dishes were very good.
While the chili was cooking the kids played strange ping pong games.
All had fun and enjoyed lots of good food.Jim and Richie were dumfounded...... the zesty chili over powered them.
Wow Rachel your hot..... I mean the chili is hot.
We invited many of our freinds to share good times and food.
We were excited to have Dan's mom Noreen come and spend some time with us. Can't beat candy corn...... defently one of my favorite candies.
Father and Son share a moment with little Jacob. Three generations of Astins enjoy the evening.After eating about six bowls of chili we had an interesting ice cream eating contest.
Rachel is really enjoying this contest. Jim what big muscles your have.
Richie had a slight challenge working with Lynne. I am surprised Richie was able to pull of a 4.0 this term with the massive brain freeze he experienced!
Ok Jessica you cannot eat the ice cream you are to feed Dan. A good strategy but..... you got caught. OPPS ! Disqualified !!! You guys are so funny.
A big thanks to all who came and shared this evening with us. We hope to have another get together soon. Next time lets celebrate the cookie.

Heather's Homecoming

Mountain View Homecoming 2008

Heather went to Homecoming a few weeks ago with a young gentleman named Paul Schonfeld. Jessica helped with the makeup and cousin Stephanie came up to help with the hair. Dad said, "Heather, to bad Paul will not have a ride like this.

Oh well not everyone can have a Mustang Cobra, OOOchewowa"
After she was all ready to go it became a waiting game. Heather, Stephanie, Jessica, and Daniel sat and waited for and HOUR AND FIFTEEN minutes after he was supposed to pick her up... just waiting for this guy to come and get her.

Now on his defense it wasn't his fault. There were four couples in their group and they took one car, one of the guys decided to sprain his ankle, and one of the girls wasn't ready. After the long wait Paul came to the door and rang the door bell, which doesn't work. Dan pretended that we where not stalking the door and that he heard the imaginary doorbell ring.

They exchanged flowers and ...

Off they went!!

Once they got on their date, they had a wonderful night.

Rachel's Volleyball Season

Last August Rachel moved out and traveled all the way down to Ephraim, Utah to go to Snow College and play volleyball. She loves her teammates and is enjoying playing with them. They come from Hawaii, Arizona, and Utah. She was recruited as a setter, but as the coach told her, she can play all positions well and that she needs to be ready to play all positions on the court. I love to watch her on the court, but I must admit that I love to watch her set the most!!! She is an amazing athlete and brings such a wonderful excitement on the court! We are so proud of her work ethic and positive approach to the game. This attitude will help her be a great coach someday.


She shares an apartment with 5 other girls, and has her own room. She spends most of her time going to class, playing volleyball, thinking of Jimmy, and going to study sessions with her teammates. Throughout her season she will play volleyball in Las Vegas, Idaho, Arizona, Salt Lake City and Colorado. She has been able to come home a couple of times to visit and just hang out with friends and family.We miss her sweet and helpful spirit around the house, but we are so proud of her and excited that she is attaining her goal to go to college and continue playing volleyball. We need people like Rachel in coaching to help young people have a positive experience. Rachel continue to learn as much as you can !!!!

Below Rachel is introduced to the home crowd. Her signature wave will be known around the conference. She really is waving to Jimmy.

Rachel and her team get ready to play some v-ball. Their little pow wow is very loud. I bring ear plugs to protect my precious cochlear reception. Really, I bring ear plugs. They are very loud girls. It is a good thing but when you have the kind of sensory capabilities that I have...... protection is needed.

We went to watch Rachel play Friday and Saturday this weekend. She did an awesome job. Her passing was exemplary !

Rachel and Jordan are ready to pass the ball. They both swing their arms back and forth in preparation to focus on the serve.

Rachel has played all the positions on the volleyball court. This makes her so valuable to her team. Below are some more images we took this weekend. Keep up the good work Rachel commonly known on the Snow campus as Ray Ray.

Enjoy your Volleyball and continue to stay positive and uplifting to your team!!!