Autumn

There is not much to write about. Our last fishing trip to Hyrum Dam was a joke. Evidently a bunch of planters had just been dumped. I couldn't even get my line out before the little fish would bite. Within 20 minutes I had to reel in and remove five fish from my lure. Within an hour I had thrown back about ten and after that I quit counting. We decided it was more an aggravation than fun. That is one reason we'd like to move to Franklin County. There are about 10 nearby reservoirs. Around here there aren't many options. We think we are about ready to put an offer on another home in Preston. Maybe the third time is the charm.

I had a nice visit on the phone with our HVC next-door missionary friend, Pauleen. Another missionary couple, the Souths, came over to see us one evening. They are now home from their mission.

Dale and Susan invited us over for dessert. (There are about 5 couples in this ward who lived in Millville) Ty was released from the bishopric. He is now YM President. Jill was released from the Stake YW Presidency. She still has her calling as a primary worker.

We went to see "Contagion" and enjoyed it. The movie reminds me of "Andromeda Strain" of the early '70's and a book titled, "Eleven Blue Men," which I read about 40 years ago. Epidemiology is interesting.

We went on a weekend jaunt to see the VanWagenen and Burkhardt families. We drove up Weber Canyon, turned off at Morgan and went through East Canyon to Parley's. From there we drove up I-80 to Park City and shopped at the outlets. In one of the stores we bought three pairs of pants and three shirts. With the discounted sales prices we 'saved' $319.67 from their 'regular' prices. We had never been up East Canyon and to the reservoir before. The ride was beautiful with all the colored leaves and the temperatures have been absolutely wonderful! We hadn't seen Candace and family since the end of May. Mason and Tanner are playing football. Mason is big but is a gentle giant. Tanner is small but can be aggressive and mean on the football field. Practices and games keep the family very busy.

Here we are with our 'little' 200 lb. 12 year old grandson


We stayed at the Residence Inn in Sandy. Robin and Andrew prepared a delicious meal on Sunday and had invited us and Candace's family over to eat. Katelyn has been sick for over a week with abdominal pain and associated problems. She has missed many days of Kindergarten already. Doctors have been unable to figure out what is causing her illness and discomfort, which is very frustrating to them. I felt so badly for her. Ashlyn is getting ready for another Irish dance competition and entertained us with her dancing.

Here is a 'white elephant' gift the Burkhardts had received.

Courtney and her Homecoming Dance date

Mountain Crest High School, Logan High School and Utah State University all had their Homecoming weeks last week. I don't know when Sky View is having theirs. That means lots of activities, pep rallies, powder puff football, parades, exciting football games, Homecoming dances etc. I graduated from Logan High and attended Utah State. Our daughters all graduated from Mountain Crest and our two oldest grandkids go there now. Reed got both his bachelor's and master's degrees at USU. I remember taking Jill to her first parade, USU's Homecoming parade, when she was a couple of weeks old. It was a brisk day and she was bundled in a pink and white fleece zip-up suit. We put her in the stroller. To me, homecoming seems to usher in the beginning of fall, cool night time temperatures, shorter days, colored leaves, football games, pumpkins, apple cider, chili, soups etc. The main intersection in Hyrum before the high school (8th East and Main) was been painted by the cheerleaders.
The Center and Main Street intersection in Logan had the red and gold painted "L."
And Logan's busy 4th North and Main intersection sported the blue block "A" for the Utah State Aggies.

It seems like 'mud races' are becoming very popular all over the country. There was one here locally a few weeks back. There are lots of obstacles and mud pits to get through. Jodi ran one in August in Oklahoma. Robin ran one on September 17th. They both report they had a great time and would definitely like to do it again.

Robin and friend, Ben, following a 'Dirty Dash' Mud run


Owen with Jodi after her 'Dirty 30' race

September

We've been looking at a lot of houses. We spend hours and hours on utahrealestate.com. We drive around and around to see if we can find something. We've decided we were spoiled with our last house and 5 car garage plus workshop. It is tough to find a place with all of the requisite items that has been cared for as we cared for our home and yard. We'll have to lower our expectations. We made an offer on this one:

But we don't hold out much hope. We've put so many miles on the car we had to get new tires. Prior to an appointment to see a home in Paradise, we went up Blacksmith Fork Canyon. We stopped and talked to Reed's cousin, Bob, who was building a new pump house on the Adams Homestead. One home in Preston is in the same neighborhood as another of Reed's cousins, Lynn. Before checking out another Preston home we drove up Emigration Canyon to kill some time. We stopped and picked wild huckleberries. I conned Jill and Natalie into making fruit pizza. It was really yummy. Reed and Courtney made huckleberry pancakes which were also very tasty. Natalie gets extra credit at school for preparing food. All three girls are helpful in the kitchen.

Courtney now has her drivers license and a car. She is very busy from early morning to late at night...cheer practices, school, games, homework, maintaining a 4.0, friends, dates, piano practice, piano lessons, Young Women, YW activities, babysitting etc. She received her Patriarchal Blessing last Sunday. She just bought a pretty dress and accessories for the upcoming Homecoming Dance.

On a float at Founder's Day in Wellsville

(3rd from left)

Because she is one of the smallest cheerleaders

she does stunts and gets lifted and thrown a lot.

( Courtney is in the middle)

Hailey in only one of two in her seminary class who can play the piano. Because she feels inadequate accompanying her class, she spends a lot of time practicing hymns. Not only do the 4 kids attend 4 different schools, they have 4 different piano teachers as well.

We went to see "The Help." We still read lots of books, snack way too much and unfortunately we're packing on more weight.

I went to Ally's bridal shower at Holly's home. Ally and Ben are getting married on Oct. 15th in the Logan Temple.

Today is Candace's birthday. Jill's birthday is on Saturday and Brooklyn will be three on Saturday. Yikes! On Jill's third birthday I came home from the hospital with Candace and Robin was between the two of them!

As of today there is a teeny, tiny patch of snow on the Wellsvilles that can be seen by the naked eye. You have to have the right lighting and know where it is to find it. I think it is remarkable that it has lasted to the middle of September.

I have been doing some very tedious painting downstairs...fixing masking mistakes and mishaps. It has put a permanent kink in my neck.