Thursday, November 13, 2014

October

Cam received his endowment in the Logan temple on the 2nd.  It was great to have the support of Jess and Brad, Mom, the Skeens and Bundy's. It was a very special experience.  We had dinner at our house afterwards.

Between sessions of Sunday general conference, we took advantage of the amazing fall weather and went on a walk in Logan Canyon.  It was so much fun and great to spend time with each other.

This month has been overflowing with apples.  We had soooo many on our tree.  We gave a lot away to neighbors, and I spent hours and hours cutting some up to dry them.  They're good to eat no matter how you slice them.
We were also lucky to be asked again by our neighbors the Larsens to help them pick apples from their 4 trees and take them to Paradise to the apple place for juicing, and to share in the juice.  104 gallons were juiced, so we got to buy 52 of them (for only $77!).  We quickly found a home for them  as I sold 20 to Ann,  gave 15 away to neighbors and friends (early Christmas gift....), and put the rest in our fridge and freezer.
This sweet boy continues to delight me.  I'm always so happy when Kylee or Brody send a picture or video of him. I always watch or look at it dozens of times until the next one comes.  I was counting the days until I got to hold him again.
I was able to get out in the canyon many times for walks/hikes and that made me so happy.  Here are some pictures from a hike I went on with Mike. I can't get enough of fall weather and scenery.
During fall break, me, Mike and Cam rode to Ogden for a temple session, stopping in Logan along the way to get a few more pictures in front of that temple.  The Ogden temple is gorgeous, and I'm happy we made the effort to get there.  Enjoyed dinner at Five Guys before heading home.
Jake continues to do well in Bellevue.  He's been there since August with Elder Boyd, and he loves the area and his companion.  He has definitely lucked out with great companions (for the most part).  The top left picture is him and an old companion with a member they taught and baptized- Zheng.  He's such an awesome member missionary to other Chinese people in the area.  The bottom left picture is Jakes view from when some ward members live.  So pretty!
Cam's farewell weekend finally arrived. When he got his call in June, it seemed like this day would never come!  The Hatch's arrived on Thursday night, (23rd) and it was wonderful to have them there.  I hope Ky and Brody didn't feel too bad that all the attention from everyone went to Evan.  I think they were just happy to be out of the car so didn't even notice...Friday morning we all (except for Brody and Evan) went on a hike to the windcaves. It was a beautiful day and we had a fun time.
Look how happy Evan is to be in Utah!  He's saying "hurray!  I'm so happy to be here!"
On Saturday all of us spent most of the day getting ready for the next day (except for Brody who went to Cancun for a work conference for 6 days).  Cam was supposed to be working on his talk when he was actually sleeping (he did get up at 7:00 to go to work for the last time) but he didn't sleep long, and finally got it done around 6:00.  Just in time to go hang out with his friends. 
That night the Densleys joined us for dinner and visiting. It was great, as always to spend time with them and see their adorable boys. It was extra fun to have Evan and Shep- who are less than 2 weeks apart- play together.

Sunday-Cam did such an awesome job on his farewell talk. It was very touching and heartfelt. I was very proud of him.  We served a lunch of pulled pork sandwiches, salads, chips and various desserts to about 100 family and friends afterwards!  The temps were a little cooler than they had been, but we were still able to have some people eat outside.  I so appreciated all the help with the meal from family and friends, and the support of those who came to be with Cam on this special day. 






To say that we all could not get enough of Evan while he was here would be an understatement. I hope we met our goal of making Ky and Brody feel like they didn't have a child for 10 days!  He's so loveable and sweet and cute and I'm just so happy that he's in our family.  He's the best!
This was Cam's throw together Halloween costume.  His Ram's poncho he got in Mexico, and a mexi-stache.  A lot more thought went into making Evan into Charlie Brown.  Isn't he adorable, so so big looking?
And the most effort went into Jess and Brad's old people costume (worn at their annual Halloween party).  I just love it. I think they look fantastic and have nothing to fear about old age if they'll look as good as this!

Misc- Stacey and Brody Lake surprised Jake on general conference weekend by popping in to the church where they thought he would be watching conference.  They were in Bellevue for Kennedy's soccer tournament. I was happy Jake got to see another familiar face and get spoiled with some flowers and fruit.  Stacey came the following weekend to run a half marathon with her sisters, and she, Ann and I went on a walk in the canyon one morning.  This is the only picture I have from her weekend visit... Cam joined me for a bike ride up the canyon one afternoon.We had a great time together.



2 comments:

Jessica said...

I love how blue Cam and Brad's eyes look in the picture from our General conference hike. Man oh man, your apples are so good! I'm so sad that our stash is almost gone! And those pictures from the hike you went on with dad are absolutely beautiful!! Jake's area really is so pretty- lucky boy! Everything we did while the Hatch's were here was so fun! I'm happy we don't have to go very long before seeing them again. Evan's Charlie Brown costume was my favorite- and he did look so big sitting up on that couch. Part of what made our costumes so great was all thanks to you! I didn't even think about giving Brad a gut until Dad said something- and that was the best part! I love that dad made that bean face, he is so funny. What a fun month you had!

Kylee said...

I'm sad I missed Cam's endowment, especially since I was there for Jake's. But I'm glad I at least got to go to the temple with him. I love your pretty fall pictures from all your hikes! My very favorites are the ones from the hike you did with dad. Those apples are soooo yummy! Thanks for sharing. You definitely met your goal of making it feel like I didn't have a child for 10 days. Thank you so much for all your help! Cam is such a cute kid and he did a great job on his talk. I miss him.