October 2019
We started the month off in grand fashion, with a Sister's Retreat! This time we went to Wolf Creek. I am so glad that we started the tradition of our sister's retreats, it has been so good for us to stay connected and appreciate each other. Our personalities are so much the same, but yet we have many, many differences, I feel that it is vitally important to foster our family relationships. Julie was not able to join us this time as she had an assignment in Hawaii. She was able to take her family, so we forgave her for missing our weekend.
The weekend once again was filled with lots of goodies, games, and laughter. For some reason when I am with these ladies I can't seem to stop laughing, often so hard that I start to cry! Once again Rox was in charge of the craft. I loved it! It was a Halloween wall hanging that we colored and then hand-stitched the outlines. It was really cute. We took Rox out for her birthday at the cutest, little restaurant in Eden that was really good! Rox got me hooked on a show on Netflix called Poldark and we watched several episodes together. I sure love these ladies and our fun retreats.
Feeding the missionaries
One day I got a desperate plea from my relief society president asking if we could feed the missionaries. My lack of cooking skills, as well as time constraints, usually keep me from volunteering, but I relented this time. After speaking with Kim we decided that we would just pick up a frozen lasagna from the store and call it good. That day Kim's brother, David, needed some help, so Kim left to help with instructions to be sure and pick up the lasagna and have it home so that it could cook the required two hours. Unfortunately, things don't always work out as planned. David had a stroke a couple of years ago that affected the "executive suite" of his brain. One of the most notable side effects of this was that David no longer feels any sense of urgency. He never is in a hurry, and no matter what you do, you can NOT get him to move any faster. Kim doesn't mind helping him at all, but this day David was not in a hurry and Kim didn't quite get the lasagna in time. We popped it into the oven and inched the temperature up. The missionaries arrived, the lasagna was not cooked. We visited, they told us about their homes and their missionary experiences. The lasagna was still not done. We visited some more, they talked to Kalel about the blessings of a mission. The lasagna was still not done. Finally, we panicked and ordered pizza. We visited some more. The lasagna was not done and the pizza didn't arrive. More talking (more racking our brains for conversation topics), more growling stomachs. Finally, 45 minutes later the doorbell rang - the pizza arrived - at the very same moment Kim said, "the lasagna is done!" Those poor boys had waited 1 1/2 hours for their dinner, but now there was plenty of food! Lasagna, breadsticks, AND pizza! They certainly didn't go hungry that night! We sent all of the pizza with them so they could eat leftovers. It turned out to be a good evening albeit very stressful! I'm not sure how I feel about feeding them again!
Maddox dinner; Games with Tammy, Cyn, April
Cyn's sister April has never eaten at Maddox and really wanted to, so we planned a day to have a late lunch and then head to my house for games. Dinner was fabulous, of course, but the games were the best part of the day in my opinion. April and Cyn are the world's funnest game players. Tammy doesn't like to play much, so she usually just watches and laughs at us.
Sheep
The newspaper said: Sardine Canyon commuters beware. Friday morning you can expect delays between 8 to 8:30 a.m. due to thousands of sheep being herded by area ranchers from Mantua to Brigham City.
I haven't had the opportunity to watch the sheep be moved for several years, but luckily this year I didn't have to work so Kim and I gathered Little Miss up and headed out to experience it first hand. We met up with Tammy and her crew and also Jodi and family. It is quite the occasion to literally see thousands of sheep being herded by only a few cowboys, a couple on horseback, and some well-trained dogs.
I finally started my classes at Liberty. This semester is going to be a killer since I registered too late to start in September, so I'm going to have to take two classes at a time in order to finish the semester by December. Doing two classes at a time doesn't sound like much, but it is really draining! I literally work on homework for at least 2 hours a night plus 20-25 hours on the weekends. It is hard and I feel so bad for my family because I am constantly locked in my office, but I am really enjoying the things that I am learning. One of the interesting things I didn't realize when I enrolled in Liberty University is that they are a church-owned Christian university. Thus, both of the classes I am taking have biblical or Christian requirements attached to every assignment. For example, in one class I am studying prominent educators in history. The assignments required that I compare the educators' philosophies with Christian Worldviews. It has been very interesting and I admit I like it. Liberty is a nondenominational Christian school and so they are continuously promoting the values and attributes of Christ. Although there are several points of doctrine that I don't agree with, the concept of focusing everything we do around Christ's teachings is something that I enjoy. Every email or comment we get from the instructors includes scripture passages and positive words of encouragement.
Chilli Cookoff
Kim was off work this year and was excited to attend the annual Halloween Chilli Cookoff at the ward. We dressed Little Miss in her cute ladybug costume and headed to the party. Kalel invited Corbin and his cousin to go with us. We sat next to Janessa May who recently moved into the ward, it was nice to get to know her. Kalel and gang were all to busy to sit and eat, they volunteered to help out in the spook alley. I was glad to see him get involved. I was going to continue the tradition of going through the spook alley with Jodi - she loves the fact that I am a screamer, I think! However, as time progressed I started freaking out about how much homework I had and bailed. I heard it wasn't very good this year so I didn't miss much. I hate that I get so focused on school that I can't enjoy times like this. Oh well. It is what it is.
Living trust
Kim and I have been thinking for a long time about getting our affairs in order and setting up a trust so things will be easier when we die. We finally set up an appointment with a representative to get the ball rolling. It is an expense upfront, but I believe it will be better in the long run, besides it will force us to gather all our information in one place and have it organized. Hopefully, it will not be used for a very long time, but it will be a relief to not have to worry about it.
Dad's birthday balloons
Robin, Ash, their boys and I got some balloons to celebrate dad's birthday. We took different colored markers and wrote birthday messages on them and let them go at the cemetery. It never ceases to amaze me how emotional it is to send messages to a loved one in heaven this way. I know that the balloons don't really ever make it to heaven, but seeing them go up and up and up makes it seem like they will reach heaven. Strange to think dad has been gone almost a year already.
Pumpkin Carvings
The annual pumpkin carving night was very successful, even with the "help" of Little Miss. Kim bought HUGE pumpkins this year! I wasn't feeling particularly festive this year (probably due to my focus on homework problem) so I choose a fairly simple tree carving. Kalel did the Green Arrow, Kim did a scary Jack-O-Lantern, and Shandra did Malificent. It was fun, and I'm so glad that we carve them every year.
The school where I work offered some incentives for the students to wear Halloween attire all during the week, so I decided to join in the fun. One day I wore a red wig and painted a spiderweb on my cheek. Other days I wore headbands, chokers, and funky glasses. On Halloween I dress as a leopard. The other faculty and staff also got into the act. It was pretty fun!
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| Randy, Nichole, Audrey, Amber |
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| Carmen, Meredith, Christina, Audrey, Tiffany, Amy, Erica |
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| Latoya, Kanyon, Jessica, Krista, Ashley, Millisa, Taylor |
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| Tonee, Kaitlin, Ashley, Shyla, Marissa, Shayla, Danielle L., Danielle M., Shelby, Kira, Audrey |
Tasha's cookie business is really booming! She just completed a huge, corporate order for this box of cookies. She made 50 boxes with eight cookies each! (That is 400 cookies!)
MISC Pictures
Kim's Memes
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