NOVEMBER BRINGS LOTS OF FAMILY FOR THANKSGIVING

 The highlight of November is always Thanksgiving, especially when family comes to Heber. This year we were excited that both Andrea's and Jon's families came to join us. Andrea, Casey, Jillian, and Lydia came in on Wednesday evening while the BYU students came up on Tuesday night. Wednesday was spent baking rolls and pies. Allison headed the effort of making four pies - sour cream lemon, key lime, chocolate mint, and chocolate French silk. I had already made a pumpkin and apple pie so we had enough pies to even take to our neighbors who were home alone for the holiday. They were all good except for the key lime which was a little tart because of the amount of lime zest added. 

Thanksgiving day brought Jon and Mindi to Heber along with Clark, Olivia, Carly, and Jaron. Of course, the turkey dinner was wonderful except for the underdone extra turkey breast. I had bought it because I could only find  a 17 pound turkey for 16 people. I had stuffed the turkey breast but didn't add additional baking time to account for that, hence, it was underdone. Every bit of the 17 pound turkey was eaten as were most of the potatoes and stuffing. I cooked the turkey breast another hour and saved it for turkey and rolls on Friday evening. We loved the chance to visit with everyone.

Two tables set

Before dinner fun with a puzzle.....

......and playing Ticket to Ride

Because Todd and Kailee and family couldn't join us for Thanksgiving, (Kailee's family was in town) we had everyone up for a sourdough waffle breakfast on Saturday. This time Jon brought Braydon and Jaiden along with Olivia and Clark. It was wonderful to catch up with a couple of Jon's boys. Lincoln was a big hit as most everyone hadn't seen him for months. The breakfast of waffles, bacon, and scrambled eggs was a hit and every thing was devoured. We were glad everyone stayed around for a couple of hours to visit as the holidays always go by so fast and, all too soon, family leaves for home. This year we were grateful the Westovers stayed a full week. There was a read through of Charlotte's musical on December 1 so everyone, except for Jillian, stayed till after that performance.

The girl's special way to say good bye, waving
to us all the way up the driveway.

Other family news includes an update on Aubrey. She completed her time at the MTC in Mexico, which she loved. She, then, flew to her mission in Argentina where she met her mission president and her companion. So far her emails have been very upbeat even though she has found that the language learned in the MTC doesn't match the local dialects spoken in Argentina. That'll all come soon enough.

Aubrey with her mission president and his wife

Aubrey's companion and trainer

In front of the temple where they were able to
spend some time this month

The scariest family news was when we got a call from Todd to tell us that Lincoln was in the hospital on his one year old birthday. He was having a hard time breathing, even turning blue as Todd was putting him in his car seat to take him to urgent care. When that happened, Kailee held him while Todd drove straight to the emergency room of the Provo hospital. He tested positive for COVID and also had croup. The doctors reassured Todd and Kailee that this was all treatable but it was hard to see him so listless. He was given breathing treatments and had to remain in the hospital for a couple of days.  We were glad when we were told he was doing better and able to come home.

So sick

Feeling better at times

Because it was his birthday, he woke up to
these gifts from the medical staff.

I want out of here!!!!

Going home finally

We were able to celebrate Lincoln's birthday the following Sunday at our home. He was especially excited to eat, or should I say demolish, the homemade hostess cupcake. 

BYU football officially ended this month. We attended the final home game on a Saturday where the temperature didn't get much above 30 degrees. We won the game which made sitting in the freezing cold somewhat worth it. The season ended with 7 wins and 5 losses. Not the best season they've ever had. We worry about what the win loss record will be next year when they join the Big 12 league. We may not even buy season tickets. It's too hard to see them lose.

After sitting in the freezing cold, we went to dinner at 5 Guys and then attended a basketball game in the Marriot center. Thankfully it was inside and warmer. We won that game but the team doesn't look that great this year. There's lots of new players so hopefully they will begin to gel together and play better with less turnovers.

A BLUE Santa - Cougar style

And then there's our responsibilities as Ward Activity Chairs. The Sunday after our Halloween activity, we had a fireside featuring Nate and Nicole Sargent. They recently returned from South Korea where Nate was the mission president. They spoke about their experiences and the joys of missionary work. It was a great fireside and we all left totally inspired to spread the good news of the gospel.

Nate and Nicole with the son of a senior couple
that served with them. Nicole is wearing a
Korean wedding dress.

As soon as this fireside was over, we had a meeting to begin planning our ward Christmas party, with only about 3 weeks to pull it off. We called an adhoc committee and they were very helpful in coming up with ideas. Before our meeting, we did a lot of running around to have some ideas for the dinner. This included going to lunch at Goochy Goos to sample their barbecue pork and mac and cheese. We were glad we did because it was not good and very expensive. We checked with Lee's to see what they could do for us and found they only has pressed ham available. We then called Jake Edwards who had done ham for a Christmas party that Todd and Kailee were in charge of a few years back. We wanted to find out what ham he used. He told us he bought Carver ham which is ham cut from the bone but not pressed. We found these types of hams at Costco for a reasonable price. At the meeting, it was decided the theme would be a birthday party for Jesus complete with balloons and birthday cakes. It was decided the dinner would be ham, baked potatoes, green salad, and rolls with birthday cake and hot chocolate for dessert. Everyone took an assignment, leaving us to order all the dinner items. All month since that meeting we have been running around securing what would be needed to pull off a wonderful party. 

The delicious Master Carve hams from Costco

Amid all this craziness, Paul and I were asked to give talks on the second Sunday. We were asked to use Elder Uchtdorf's conference talk. 'Jesus Christ is the Strength of Youth,' which outlined the new For the Strength of Youth pamphlet available to the youth. I concentrated on his talk and Paul talked more about the new emphasis of the 'For the Strength Youth' pamphlet. Paul told some personal stories that I'm sure will be remembered for a long time, especially his 'rooster' story. We got lots of good comments afterwards. The problem is that we were both sick. Paul had been struggling with a cough and I had a fever and cold. With the Lord's help anything is possible.

This is one of the quotes I used in my talk.
Amazing that this was given in 1982. What
was going on back then was nothing like what our
young people are facing today.

The last item to talk about this month would be the elections. What was promised to be a big red wave with conservative Republicans sweeping the House and the Senate, turned out to be hardly a ripple. We did manage to take back the House by a small margin but we didn't make any gains to take the Senate. The Democrats are just better at cheating than the Republicans. Anywhere there was a close race, the Democrats seemed to come up with more votes to count. So reminiscent of the 2020 elections where votes were still being counted a week after election night and the Democrats finding more and more votes to count that were almost 100% Democrat votes. We may never have an honest election again in this country. The same states were in play as in 2020 - Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. Too sad.

NOT!!!!
It was barely a red trickle

This is good news. 

Loved this. 
Wish the politicians in Washington DC
would abide by the constitution.

An now for a couple of memes to end this month's epistle.....

AND THAT'S A WRAP FOR NOVEMBER

A BUSY OCTOBER SPEEDS BY

 October always starts off with General Conference. Of course, we watched it in the comfort of our home. Except for Allison, our college grandchildren came up Saturday afternoon and spent the night. We had dinner and watched the Saturday evening session together. Sunday morning, I had cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs for them before we settled in to watch the next two conference sessions. Of course, everyone stayed for Sunday dinner. Allison didn't come to Heber because she and her roommates were able to get ticket to attend the Saturday afternoon session in the Conference Center. What a fun experience for her. Conference was incredible as almost every talk reminded us to center our lives on Christ. I was comforted when President Nelson said, "In the coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior's power that the world has ever seen." Wow!!! We need His hand in our world today, especially here in our own country,

Allison at the conference center with her roommates

The next week, the Fullers and ourselves wanted to see the Fall leaves over Guardsman pass, so we took a little day trip. The colors of the trees were incredible as was the walk around the lake at Brighton ski resort. We had never seen the little lake nor walked around it. We ended up in Salt Lake Valley were we had a lunch/dinner at Costa Vida. It was a fun way to spend a day and a good break from our weekly routines.

We stopped to watch this parasailer 
make his landing.

A couple of days later, we left for Las Vegas. BYU was playing Notre Dame at the Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, the 8th.  Because Grace couldn't go to the game as originally planned, Ryan had an extra ticket which Paul quickly bought. Ryan brought Nathan to Las Vegas on Friday night and joined us at the World Mark condo we had reserved. After dinner, Ryan and Nathan decided to float the lazy river at the resort. The next morning, Todd joined us. We went to In n Out for a quick lunch before Paul, with his two sons and a grandson, left for the game. I spent the afternoon and evening relaxing at the condo reading a good book and checking the score of the game occasionally. BYU lost, much to everyone's dismay but Paul said it was a great experience despite the loss. He loved being with two of his sons and his grandson.

On Sunday morning, we left Las Vegas to go to St. George for our annual outing to see the productions at the Tuacahn Theater. We went to Ryan's ward for Sacrament meeting before checking into our World Mark Estancia resort. Once we unloaded the car, we drove to Don and Dana's home where we had dinner with Deon and Gary, Ed and Debbie, Sam and Kathy, and Dave and Suzette. Deon and I had brought tri tips to cook on the grill. Ed brought potatoes for baking. Suzette brought a green salad, and Dana made some delicious rolls. It was a wonderful dinner. Afterwards, we sat out on their covered patio and laughed and talked and laughed some more. I love being with my family for this annual event.

The whole gang at Don and Dana's beautiful home

On Monday night, before the play, we barbecued hamburgers at Don and Dana's home and, the next night, we made individual pizzas which Don cooked in his outdoor pizza oven. They were really good.

The three productions, Mary Poppins, Wonderland, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat were amazing, almost jaw dropping. The talent displayed was incredible and we loved the use of LED screens for the backdrops of each musical. Wonderland was a little weird during the first act but came together in the 2nd act, leaving us with a wonderful message - 'Find your inner self and don't let the demands of life change you.'

The colors in the background are an example of the 
LED screens that were so effectively used.

This sweet couple are from New Hampshire.
They sat in front of us for Mary Poppins on Monday
where we had some great conversations with them.
They came to see Joseph for the third time
and stopped to say hi to us.

On Wednesday morning, the Fullers and ourselves went to the Red Hills Desert Garden. Ryan had told us about it a while back and I've wanted to go ever since. We were glad we had waited to see it until now as it was all decorated for Halloween. Different businesses and individual families had set up Halloween displays all along the walking paths. It was fun to walk through the gardens with all the different varieties of dessert plants but even more fun because of all the Halloween displays. We, then, met the whole group at the Alumni Creamery for some wonderful ice cream from the BYU Creamery in Provo. It was a fun morning and afternoon.

At the creamery.
Dave and Suzette had never been here 
even though they have lived in St. George for several years.

We left St. George on Thursday for home.  By late afternoon, Ryan and his family came to Heber. They needed to do some shopping for furniture for their new home in St. George and had tickets for the BYU vs Arkansas game in Provo. They were successful finding coaches and chairs and an end table or two so the trip was worth it for them even though the game was a bust. BYU's defense was horrible so the quarterback could connect with his receivers with no pressure, not to mention the running game they could not stop. We left during the 4th quarter.  

At the game, Ryan's family bought cougar tails.
One maple and one chocolate. The chocolate
cougar tail was a new addition for this game.

So yummy until the chocolate icing melted in the bag

After the game, Ryan and family waited to
high five the players as they circled the field.
One of Nathan's favorite players stopped and took
selfie with Nathan and Ryan. So fun!!!

At the end of the month, on the Monday 24th, the Fullers and ourselves took off for Flagstaff, Arizona. We drove the 8 hours and arrived at the Marriot Courtyard hotel in the early evening. After dinner at a local Italian restaurant, we retired early at the hotel. The next morning, we explored Flagstaff's old town and the University of Northern Arizona. We, then, tried to find the Grand Falls. We drove about a 45 minutes only to find that the turn off for the falls was a dirt road. We opted not to see the falls so instead ended up at the movies to see Ticket To Paradise.

A church in Old Town Flagstaff

The dome at UNA where they play both football and basketball

UNA's mascot is a lumberjack

At the movies

A picture of what we would have seen
at the Grand Falls.

That afternoon, we moved into the Club Wyndham resort where we stayed for the next three nights.  It was located among Ponderosa Pines which gave us the feeling of being in a cabin in the forest. The decor of the condo very much had a cabin feel to it because of it being an older resort which hadn't been updated in recent years. It was comfortable enough, though. The next day, we got up early and drove to William, about 35 minutes from Flagstaff. There we watched a very simple Wild West Show and then boarded a train that took us to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. The train ride was two and an half hours long. When we arrived at the Grand Canyon, we boarded a bus that took us to two different overlooks of this magnificent canyon. We had seen it at the northern rim years ago, but the southern rim was so amazingly beautiful. We came to appreciate God's handiwork once again. 

The rather silly Wild West show staged
before the train departed

During our ride, we were entertained by this singer who had
to keep singing longer than he has planned due to a
mechanical problem with the train.

After being stopped on the tracks for more than a half an hour,
we were glad to see these railroad workers arrive.
We cheered when we saw them leaving
once they finished the repairs on the train.

On the train ride home, we were again entertained by a singer with his guitar. Our train ride was interrupted by a train robbery when three bandits boarded our train to rob us. We had been warned that the gang had escaped and would not harm us if we willing gave them a dollar or two.

The sheriff was right on their trail but not before they took the dollar bills from Paul and Gary. A fun enactment, for sure.

Hands up everyone!!!!

The Sheriff - Better late than never

The next day. we drove to the darling town of Sedona. It was about an hour away but we saw some beautiful sights along the way. We tried to drive the Red Rock scenic drive but it too ended up at a dirt road. I guess Arizona expects everyone to have an off road vehicle to see their sights. We walked the town a bit, went to lunch as a Mexican restaurant and, of course, found a place for a  yummy ice cream cone. 

Some  of the amazing red rock formations seen along the way

At the town of Sedona

Sedona is an artist community surrounded by
these beautiful red rocks

Ice cream eaten on the patio overlooking some 
more red rock formations.

On Friday it was time to leave for home. We got up very early so we could be on the road around 7 am. We wanted to get back to Provo for a 6 o'clock BYU football game against Eastern Carolina. We made it to the game on time after eating a quick dinner at Costco, of all places. Sadly, the Cougars lost in a close game that was tied until a last second field goal by the opposing team.

Saturday, was our ward Halloween party at the Crossing's park. Paul and I were in charge because of our calling as activity chairs. We set up food tables under the cover bridge and everyone brought soups or chili. The ward supplied the rolls, water, and donuts. Our young men and young women set up activities for the children to play until it was time to eat. After eating, it was time for the ward's annual trunk or treat. The party was very well attended and all seemed to have a great time, especially the children who were all decked out in their costumes. The weather even cooperated, too, with only a light weight jacket being needed to stay comfortable. It had been blustery and had even snowed during the week of Saturday's festivities. So grateful!!!

Our truck all loaded with items to take to the park

The food tables, waiting for the food to arrive

Try your hand at knocking these
cans down with a baseball

Toss the rings onto the bottles for this game

This game was to throw golf balls into these pumpkins.
Not as easy as it sounds as some of the holes in the pumpkins
were very small.

Sunday was not a day of rest for Paul and I, as we were asked to take part in the 5th Sunday discussion about preparedness. We talked about financial preparedness. Paul took the majority of our 10 minutes talking about the need for a budget. I talked about helping our children and grandchildren understand the value of work and money. We were talking to an audience of mostly retired and quite well to do members so we felt like we were talking to the choir. I was also asked to say the closing prayer in Sacrament meeting which prompted a member of our ward to ask us if we felt like we had been asked to do all the callings this weekend. 

After church, our granddaughters and grandson-in-law came for dinner and to celebrate Maggie's birthday. We had planned to do that the weekend before but the weather turned bad and we were concerned that the canyon might be icy. Maggie had requested cream puffs for her birthday so that's what she got.

And the last thing in October, of course, was Halloween. We had planned to go down to Todd and Kailee's and help hand out candy so they could go trick or treating with their children but we got a call on Sunday to tell us that they had Covid and the flu infecting their home. Todd had it first, then Kailee, and then Kailee's Mom. We opted to go down in the late afternoon to give them some cream puffs and to see their Halloween decorations. Every year Todd and Kailee add new things to their yard. This year was two giant skeletons and a witch that jumps out at you. We didn't even venture inside as we didn't want to take the chance of getting sick. We went to Costa Vida for dinner and home to watch a movie. We only had about 25 trick or treaters.

A darling unicorn

A character out of a Disney movie we haven't seen

And that's all folks......except for a couple of memes

Praying for a big RED WAVE come November 8th as America goes to the polls to vote.