September always brings the beauty of Fall - the leaves turning red, orange and yellow thus the distant mountains becoming ablaze with color. There's a crispness in the air that lets us know summer is over and the snows will soon follow. This September, for us, also brought with it the canning of peaches, our annual trip to St. George, a visit with Dad and Mom, a mission reunion, and much more. A busy but an incredible
month.
Our month started with the canning of peaches. We bought 5 boxes and immediately started canning and freezing them. We ended up with 24 quarts and 12 pints along with 12 bags of both frozen fruit cocktail and slush. (We had 12 pints and 10 quarts left from last year's canning.) When we finished our boxes of peaches, we joined Todd and Kailee to help them process their 2 boxes. Kailee wanted to know how to make freezer jam so we went down to show her how. We did two batches of jam and froze the rest of their peaches in slices for slushies. Corn harvest followed quickly and that meant freezing about 12 bags of corn.
Also at the first of the month, we attended the premier of our neighbor Mitch's new movie called "Struck. It was about his family's adventure with a dog who eventually saved Mitch's life. When the tent Mitch and some boys and the dog were in was struck by lighting, the lightning went through Mitch and into the dog who was laying at Mitch's side. Because the dog grounded the bolt of lightning, Mitch's life was spared but it killed the dog. The movie was a rough cut and our suggestions were solicited after the movie. Based on the comments, Mitch made the necessary changes before it went into final production. We loved the movie. It was tender and captivating and very heart wrenching in the end with the death of the dog. We hope it will be a good one for Mitch and make him some good money.
A couple of month ago we ordered recliners for our great room and they arrived at the first of the month. We gave our old chairs to the Davis' children and spent most of one day setting up our new chairs. It entailed moving all the furniture off the area rug so we could move the Turkish rug, centering it with the new arrangement. We love how cozy our room is now that we could bring everything in closer to form a tighter conversation grouping. The ottomans that were in front of the original chairs are now at the foot of our bed in our master suite. We found a new comforter set and a couple of small quilts to lay across the ottomans. We love the new look of both our great room and our bedroom. Another change was made when we took the area rugs from the hallways, exposing more of the wood floors. After 10 years it's nice to have things a little updated.
 |
Watching the game
before while eating before the movie
|
The next thing happening in September was a neighborhood potluck and movie in the park night. It was well attended despite it being on the same night as the Utah/BYU football game. To appease the avid fans of both teams, a big screen television was set up so we could all watch the game as we ate. It was fun to rub shoulders with neighbors and meet the new one that have or will be moving in. The movie, Zootopia, was shown on a blow up screen. Since we had seen the movie, and it was getting cold, we decided to go home and watch the finish of the game. BYU lost a heart breaker.
 |
| Fun for the children |
 |
| Lots of yummy food |
 |
| Finally dark enough for the movie |
 |
| Back into peaches |
By the second week of September, we were back into peaches when Deon and Gary came up early for our St. George trip to can peaches for themselves. We did 2 dozen quarts for them and 2 dozen pints to take to Dad and Mom. Our canning session brought back so many wonderful memories of several years ago when we canned peaches at our home with Mom and Dad before heading out on a trip to explore southern Utah.
 |
Lunch at a new restaurant in Heber
The Back 40 Grill |
Don and Dana joined us on that Wednesday, followed by Ed and Debbie on Saturday. We all had ticket to attend the BYU/UCLA game in Provo. Before the game some of us went to a cousin's reunion held at our Uncle Elliot's home on the avenues in Salt Lake City. Cousins we hadn't seen for 30 years were in attendance and it was so fun to reconnect. The best part was watching Elliot on Skype with Dad. So grateful for modern technology that make the miles between us disappear. Gary and Paul met us afterwards at Zuppas for dinner and then we went to the BYU creamery for some delicious ice cream before the game.
 |
| Elliot with Dad on Skype |
Brent's family (upper left) Joel's family (upper right)
Wayne's family (lower left)
Elliot's family (lower right)
 |
| At the BYU Creamery before the BYU game |
 |
| Before the disastrous game |
Everyone stayed the night at our home Saturday and on Sunday morning, after a late breakfast, we traveled to Draper to attend Kathy and Kurt Morgan's farewell. They were leaving on a mission to Washington DC and, it just so happened, we were all in Utah to listen to their talks. We really surprised them when we all walked into the chapel before church. Kathy and Kurt gave incredible talks and it was great to be able to visit with them briefly afterwards. It was then time to change clothes and start our journey to St. George.
The eight of us were traveling together to St. George and all staying at the World Mark condo for three day. We were there to relax, visit and watch the three plays at the Tuachan theater. (This was a trip we planned last year when Dad was so sick and we were all together.)
We met in St. George at In 'N Out for a quick burger before checking in to our condo and beginning our three days of fun. Monday was spent lounging at the pool most of the day and then watching Tarzan that night at the Tuachan.
 |
Dave and his new wife, Suzette
|
 |
Enjoying sub sandwiches for lunch
|
On Tuesday, Dave and Suzette joined us for a picnic lunch at a lake in Hurricane. It was a beach of red sand and, though, a little breezy we had a wonderful time just being all together. Quite a feat to get 5 of the 7 Richards siblings together in one place. That night, we were captivated by the production of Hunchback of Notre Dame. It is amazing what can be done on that outdoor stage with the red rock mountains in the background.
 |
A stop at Dairy Queen for a treat before going
home to get ready for the show. |
Wednesday, we only left the condo to go to lunch at Red Robin and then went back to just relax. Dave and Suzette joined us for a couple of hours at the condo where we snacked and visited. The production of Peter Pan started out wonderfully but after the first 45 minutes the rains came and, for the second year in a row, the show was canceled. We were sad but stopped at Dairy Queen for a quick bite to soothe our disappointment. It was then to the condo for fresh peach sundaes. The following morning, we all left - Ed and Debbie and Deon and Gary to return to their homes, Don and Dana to spend some time with Whitney and Paul and I to drive to Bakersfield to spend a couple of days with Dad and Mom.
 |
Debbie's notorious back rubs during our third
stop at Dairy Queen in as many days. |
 |
| Waiting outside Ron's RV to begin experiencing the fair |
Our visit with Dad and Mom was wonderful. They are amazing at 99 and almost 96, respectively. We arrived mid afternoon on Thursday and visited for a couple of hours. Since they had already eaten, we called Dennis and Clarene Hayes and met them for dinner at a great Mexican place. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with them. Friday was a fun day as we went with Dad and Mom to the county fair. Sam and Kathy picked them up, along with Cristella, their caretaker. We followed and met them at Ron and Patty's plush motor home. They were staying at the fair to help with the sheep competitions. With both Mom and Dad in wheelchairs, we covered most of the displays in the pavilions and even checked out the cows and sheep. We had lunch there and probably wished we hadn't but it was an experience watching Mom and Dad eat a giant turkey leg. Paul and I each ordered a chicken kebab and should have only ordered one between us as they were also very big. Live and learn. By 3:00, it was time to head back home. Mom and Dad enjoyed getting out of the house and experiencing something different. It was then a night of watching BYU football, eating Subway sandwiches, and visiting. We left the next morning early and arrived back in Heber before dark. A fun week.
 |
That's Dad in the wheelchair under the most appropriate sign for him
'100 YEARS OF FUN' |
 |
Another great picture - 'Best of the West for 100 year.'
Love that man!! |
 |
| The giant turkey leg for lunch |
 |
| It made for a good picture but not a great lunch |
 |
| Then there was our kebabs!!!! |
 |
| President and Sister Borders |
We got back home just in time to make some last minute preparations for our Russia Moscow Mission reunion to be held in our home the next Friday night.It meant ordering cakes from Costco and coordinating with the Borders to make sure everything was covered. The Borders came up on Thursday to visit with us and bring the food they had purchased at Costco. We went to lunch at Cafe Galleria in Midway and totally enjoyed our visit with them. They are such dear people and so dedicated to serving the Lord.
 |
Ice cream for breakfast
|
 |
| Ice cream as Dairy Keen |
That afternoon, we drove to Provo to pick up Lily, one of our special young singles from Russia. She was in town for her mission reunion (She served on Temple Square.) as well as for conference. We were so glad she could make time to spend the night with us. We brought her back to Heber where we enjoyed a home cooked meal and then ice cream at Dairy Keen. Lily loves ice cream so much that she had it for breakfast, too.
 |
The spread of food minus all the sweet treats brought
later by the senior couples |
The next morning, Paul and I took two cars to the temple. I dropped off Lily at her friends home then drove to the temple. I left the temple around 2:15 so I would have time to pick up the cakes from Costco and get home before the Borders and a couple of former missionaries came help set out the food. We had crackers and cheese, chips and dips, vegetables and fruit, along with the cakes. Many of the senior couples brought other sweets and I make a lime sherbet frappe to drink. The reunion started at the church with an hour long meeting. We heard from a couple a recently returned missionaries who updated us on the changes in the Russian missions. A law was recently passed which makes it illegal to proselyte outside of a registered church building. The missionaries are now called volunteers and try to find ways to serve in the community. They work closely with the members in strengthening them so they will feel comfortable bringing investigators to the church to share the gospel. It was said by a general authority, who visited that area lately, that this is a time to strengthen the church instead of growing the church in Russia. We all could see the hand of the Lord in this as it brings missionaries and members together more often to do missionary work - a much more effective way to do missionary work. The law will not stop the missionary effort but, in the long run, will actually help it.
President and Sister Borders both gave talks, songs were sung, and pictures taken before everyone came to our home for visiting and eating. At the church there was probably 115 or so in attendance and at least 100 of them came to our home. Everyone loved being together again, even being a bit squished in our great room area. Everyone seemed to want to stay upstairs even though the downstairs was set up with lots of chairs. It was so wonderful to reunite with all the dear missionaries, both the young ones and the seniors, that we came to love so much as we all served together in Moscow, Russia. Paul left the reunion before the meeting at the church was over to go the the BYU/Toledo game in Provo. He was sad to miss the visiting but glad he went to the game as it was a barn burner in which BYU won in the last seconds of the game.
 |
| Sisters Hunter, Chantry and Taylor |
 |
| Sister Shepherd |
 |
| Elders Bass, Braun and Knight |
 |
| Elder Beals and Sister Hawkins |
 |
| Sister Peacock and her fiance |
 |
| Sisters Taylor and Hunter again |
 |
Sisters Miller and King
with the Pollards n the middle |
 |
| The Milestrups and Hansens |
 |
| Elder Hoffman with his girl friend |
 |
| Elders Hermansen and Steel |
So fun to see so many dear friends
We had some other visitors that last week of the month. Paul's brother Derrill and his wife Irene came up Wednesday to say hello and go to lunch with us. They were up here to enter the MTC, Monday, October 3. They will be serving in New York for 6 months. So glad they decided to go on a mission and experience, first hand, the blessings that come from that type of service and sacrifice. It was great to be with them again.
.....And then there is Aria. She is crawling now and as cute as ever.
September always brings the beauty of Fall - the leaves turning red, orange and yellow thus the distant mountains becoming ablaze with color. There's a crispness in the air that lets us know summer is over and the snows will soon follow. This September, for us, also brought with it the canning of peaches, our annual trip to St. George, a visit with Dad and Mom, a mission reunion, and much more. A busy but an incredible 
A couple of month ago we ordered recliners for our great room and they arrived at the first of the month. We gave our old chairs to the Davis' children and spent most of one day setting up our new chairs. It entailed moving all the furniture off the area rug so we could move the Turkish rug, centering it with the new arrangement. We love how cozy our room is now that we could bring everything in closer to form a tighter conversation grouping. The ottomans that were in front of the original chairs are now at the foot of our bed in our master suite. We found a new comforter set and a couple of small quilts to lay across the ottomans. We love the new look of both our great room and our bedroom. Another change was made when we took the area rugs from the hallways, exposing more of the wood floors. After 10 years it's nice to have things a little updated.
Wednesday, we only left the condo to go to lunch at Red Robin and then went back to just relax. Dave and Suzette joined us for a couple of hours at the condo where we snacked and visited. The production of Peter Pan started out wonderfully but after the first 45 minutes the rains came and, for the second year in a row, the show was canceled. We were sad but stopped at Dairy Queen for a quick bite to soothe our disappointment. It was then to the condo for fresh peach sundaes. The following morning, we all left - Ed and Debbie and Deon and Gary to return to their homes, Don and Dana to spend some time with Whitney and Paul and I to drive to Bakersfield to spend a couple of days with Dad and Mom.
