Venting

Thanks for the wonderful comments about my last blog about friends. I was definately venting and probably saying some things that shouldn't be put on a blog for everyone to read - they could lead to hurt feelings or harm rather than good! So the dirty laundry is going back in the house to be cleaned. Thanks again for the support and the comments.

Spinning

It's time to grab my water bottle, towel, cycling shoes, and Cecily, and head to my favorite kind of abuse - spinning class. I have become hooked on this sport for over a year now, and especially like my instructors, Julie & Kim. Julie is a marine spouse, does triathalons, and hails from Texas, and has four young chidren to boot. She always has a smile while her legs spin a mile and mintue, and now she is helping us set goals for fitness, and will become a personal trainer/fitness mentor for those who want it.

Today's class is Kim. I have her picture too. She is a little 50 something fireball that calls out the spinning changes like all our lives depend on getting up that hill, and she really rocks out. Her class is always full, so I have to get going! So here is the end of my work out above - about 20 something miles but got to get those watts higher. I think spinning has saved my sanity and my health on more than one occasion.

Extra news

Garrett in his Navy JROTC uniform.

Cecily found Garrett's hat in his room and put it on and it was so cute.

Sorry, about the video being sideways.

Fashion Show

Today, I signed up for a fashion show at Macy's for a charity. No one I knew was there and everyone that said they were coming didn't come. So I was the oldest one there and of course...first to go. We got to pick out our dress and I picked out one that was red and black and I picked out a black jacket to go over it to be modest. We walked down the hall in Macy's, posed, and turned around. There was a boy who was really into it, dressed up, took his vest off and slung it over his shoulder.

Me in my outfit.

Walking down the isle.

Pumpkin Patch (Livi's other blog)

We went to Sneed's Farm and picked out some pumpkins. We brought some friends with us too. There was a fun zip line, a barn swing, animals to pet, a hay ride and a corn & sunflower maze. It's like the pumpkin disney world.

Also my mom and Cecily went on a field trip to the Belvedere Pumpkin Patch and they picked out a huge pumpkin for our porch.

Cecily finally picked out her best pumpkin.

Becca having fun playing in the hay.

Me and my friend, Cooper. The llama sniffed me while we were taking the picture.

Cecily posing in a pile of hay

Ralphie's Birthday

We've been trying to catch up on all of the news that's happened for a while but my mom doesn't know how to download the pictures from the camera, so I have to do it for her. (yes, Livi is doing the blogging for this and a couple more blogs.) Anyway, Ralphie's birthday was on September 28th, we gave him a few bags of treats and some new toys. Dad wasn't too excited for it and Becca put every present in bags for him to "pick out" (Becca says). Ralphie just looked at everything and was hyper when he saw it coming out of the bag. I think he's tired of the rain now and a little depressed.

Ralphie sniffing a donut treat.

Ralphie saying "Hello"

Meeting an Apostle & other highlights

Elder Neil Anderson, the newest of the Twelve Apostles, same to town this past weekend. Since it's a chance of a lifetime to meet and speak with an Apostle, The Stake Officers and their families were invited to a light dinner between sessions on Saturday. Since I was feeling sick and I didn't think Elder Anderson needed to watch an energetic three year old dive off the table, Livi and Becca went to meet him. He talked with them about his own grandchildren, who live in Baltimore, and that they would have to keep them awake while he was speaking in Stake Conference. Rhett said his approach is very kind, and very laid back. When asked the question about what it is like to meet with the Brethren and be with them, he became very emotional and told of his love for them, and how some of the older Apostles were in their positions when he was growing up. He said sometimes he thinks they are going to turn to him and ask him to leave! Anyway, Becca was very shy and wasn't able to answer his questions, but Livi was a little more ready to speak. I wish I was able to meet him too!

Garrett was "asked" to do his part to help with the deck, and he wasn't in the best mood that day, but he helped. We stained the deck a pretty color called "weathered barn" - a pricey way to make the deck look old and weathered. We also power washed the house because we were the target of an egging. The house looks so much better now! Just in case we have to move, we are getting these projects check off one at a time, and if we don't have to move, all the better!

First day of school for Livi - our camera is a little blurry

Becca in her new digs and backpack.

Last lemonade stand of the season, Becca loves to make money!

Sundays

I'm in love with Sundays and don't care who knows it! I can't however wear a dress more more than three hours at a time without going completely nuts. I'm in my jeans now - happy once more. Panty hose? The equivalent of human bondage. Our kids are so hungry when they get home from church, today they opened two cans of mini ravioli, saving me the time to cook dinner. Cecily spread her ravioli to Garrett's white shirt and all the other kids before we caught her. She's running around in her underwear.
Last week I started out to church with my dress on the correct way, and came home with it on backwards. Want to know details? Guess. Rhett had a hoot with that one. I can't wait to call Madison today and ask her how her first day as her new freshman ward Relief Society President went. We all got a pretty good laugh at that one, because the first Sunday everyone was there, the High Counsilors running the meeting (no bishop called yet) asked everyone to go around and share what their past experience in the church was. Madison said they got everything from "I was beehive class president." to "I was in my honor society at school.". Madison being herself said "I don't recall any of my past callings or experience" thinking this would get her out of a calling or heavy responsiblity. I guess the Lord has a good sense of humor and wants Madison to learn a lot, plus I think she'll do a really good job. I enjoy listening to her stories and the fun she's going to have. She had a meeting with her counselors and said one of them would be the "perfect" R.S. president: blonde, beautiful, bubbly, with an outward love of the Gospel. But I just said "Nope baby, it's you"!
I think that's why I love to nap and have a long walk with Ralphie on Sunday. I can already feel the intensity building in the living room as the kids are shooting each other with metal music stands and pretend swords. Next week is Stake Conference, and Elder Neil Anderson is visiting. Garrett and Livi are in the choir for a Youth Fireside. Lots of Fun! Our Stake is so big, we are meeting in a huge high school auditorium. It should be great to have an apostle here.

Reading List

Tonight our Book Group met in the basement of one of our members - we are loud and laugh a lot so she didn't want to wake the family and wanted us to enjoy ourselves in the process. I love our Book Group - we don't agree on really anything - some are more outspoken than others, but we respect each other and hopefully nobody goes home with hurt feelings. Everyone was in agreement that we liked, even LOVED this month's book -

The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society by Schaffer &
Barrows.

I thought I'd jot down our list for this year - we voted on selections, old and new, popular and classics, fiction and non-fiction. I look forward to reading! Is anyone reading a great book they want to share?

1. October - "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
2. Nov. - "Mrs Mike" by Benedict Freedman
3. Dec. - Bring favorite poem or children's book
4. Holiday Party - Reading of a one-act or partial play (last year was "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde)
5. Jan. "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser (to help us with our dieting)
6. Feb. "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton
7. Mar. " The Last Lecture" and "Man's Search For Meaning" - invite men
8. April "Timeline" by Michael Crichton
9. May "Suite Francaise" by Irene Nemirovsky
10. June Selection from Mark Twain - Fieldtrip to Stanton Shakespeare Festival
11. July "The Art of Happiness" by Dalai Lama & Howard Cutler

Last Travel Blog

For the two of you who are hanging in there and reading the blog - the travel portion is almost finished! Starting with Trent & Sandy's home in South Jordan, we spent a day with them hunting for geodes in the deserts outside of Tooelle ( hope I spelled that right Jen)! After getting lost and driving around in the desert for three hours on a dirt road, followed by a flat,tire followed by listening to some loud disagreements between the Jefferies' brothers, I was in deep breathing mode, but finally lost it and cried most of the way home to Trent's house. I know they felt bad and didn't mean for the trip to go like it did, and amazingly enough, the kids loved every minute of it. We have dozens of geodes now - I think we'll give them out as Christmas gifts. So we'll just "kumbaya" now and move on to Colorado, where we had a fun evening with Dad, Susan, Eric, and Hannah. Susan let me borrow her cool roadster bike, and Dad & I biked through Prospect and some other beautiful neighborhoods! I loved biking with dad. Dad and Susan's house is so pretty, and I gathered some decorating ideas again. We went to visit Eric at Dairy Queen, and left for Oklahoma the next morning!
We spent two days with Rhett Dad Chris and his wife Betty in their beautiful home off of a golf course. Rhett, Garrett, Livi and Chris golfed the next morning, and we went to visit the Chisholm Trail Education Center, where Chris was the first director to get the museum started. He is a very talented man, writing all the scripts for the movies and films at the center, and raising the millions needed to build such a tribute to the Chisholm Trail! After some authentic Mexican food at "La Fiesta", we hit a park for the kids to get all the juice out before our big drive the next day.
Next day - 22 hours in the car made it to Blacksburg, VA and a tropical storm. Rhett wanted to go the rest of the four hours home, but I begged to stop at a hotel, so we stopped, slept in our clothes, and made it the rest of the way home Saturday. So..... it's quieter at home, and I am holding Madison close to my heart, and life is going on. Rhett is looking for jobs, and lots of change is coming.

This is it for the travel blog folks (or the three people who read the blog). I'm making a blog book so am forging on!

Logan & Bear Lake

Attending Todd & Kimiko's sealing was really great, and making it even better was that Don Wood officiated as the Sealer. Todd and Kimi looked about has happy as two people can possibly look! Going to the Olive Garden for lunch afterward was a great idea - thanks Dad and Susan!

Later in the Day, we walked up to the Old Main building at Utah State and saw the campus - the first time for Rhett and I , and we were impressed! The Aggie members of the family gave us a tour, and we stopped to play frisbee on the Quad. We also had some wonderful ice cream.

I don't have many pictures of Bear Lake, mostly because I was swimming most of the time, or cooking, or dancing, or playing a pirate for Dad's Birthday skit. I thought the time we spent together was really wonderful. Rhett and I took Madison down to Logan on Saturday to check into the dorms. Most of her roommates were moving in Saturday morning, and we met most of the parents. Parents from India, Brazil, New Jersey, Australia, and Nebraska. We were all pretty surprised that only one small bathroom will service six girls, but at least they have a big common area with a vanity, and someone brought a microwave and fridge. Madison and I went to Wal-mart to get all the things she would need - laundry detergent, animal crackers, etc. Her room is very pink!

Oh yes, we rented Surrey bikes the last day! The kids and I biked while Rhett golfed, and we literally biked into the Oldroyd family - good friends from Colorado. These bikes are pretty fun!

Leaving Madison on Sunday was hard - we went to a family ward in the morning, and then left Madison at the dorm with lots of kisses and hugs. It felt like the first day of kindergarten all over again, only ten times worse. As we drove away headed for Salt Lake and all day, my eyes felt like they were stinging. We stopped for a few hours to visit Don and Wanda, and then drove to South Jordan to spend the night with Rhett's brother Trent.

The Parks

We hiked the south rim of the upper and lower falls at Yellowstone. Madison's best friend since childhood happened to be vacationing at the same time, and we were able to kidnap her for a day (another Jennay). She will be a freshman at BYU. Cecily led the way most of the hike, and we'll never forget those hundreds of stairs to get to the bottom of the falls and back.

The streets up to Mt Rushmore monument were lined on both sides with bikes.

Okay, Mt. Rushmore is smaller than we thought (at first).

Much better! Each person had their favorite face. Most of us liked Lincoln's best. One thing I didn't know about why they chose each president is to signify the birth (Washington), formation (Jefferson), expansion (Roosevelt), and preservation (Lincoln) of our nation. We also heard rumors that there is room for another face, and president Obama's is being considered. I always wondered why they chose those particular presidents for the monument.

I am seriously a Yellowstone freak, I could look at geysers and hot pools for days. I think my dream job would be to be a park ranger at Yellowstone. I didn't get near enough time seeing what I wanted to see, but the kids were amazingly patient.

Old Faithful, then Upper Falls view

Lower falls, I think...

Mesa falls is very close to Ashton, and incredibly scenic - less crowds. I was really tempted to see if I could dive in the bottom of this one, but only for a minute.

New Junior Rangers Livi and Becca take the oath of the Junior Ranger in both parks, and get a patch at each location. The rangers made it a really big deal, and the second ranger at Yellowstone asked it they would like to help with his ranger duty of taking down the flag. I thought this second ranger had such a cute sense of humor, and wanted to set him up with Madison - bad idea - I think he was about thirty.

The ribbon cutting ceremony christening "Gramberger Blvd" was the last thing we did before we gave mom hugs and headed for Logan. Mom and Jim cleared and paved a beautiful pathway through aspen trees and forest all the way down the hill. So much work, and very fun for us to use!

Headin down that dusty trail!