Sunday, November 29, 2009

Thanksgiving Week

We spent the week of Thanksgiving up at the land. It was a good time for us to be quiet and contemplate how blessed our lives are. We have so very, very much to be grateful for, including our families, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the freedoms and privileges we enjoy as citizens of this nation. It was a beautiful setting in which to reflect.

The first night was cold. When we awoke in the morning, it was only 10 degrees F. We aren't used to that kind of cold, but enjoyed the change in climate nevertheless. Here we are the first morning. Funny, it doesn't look cold in the picture.



This is the little stove in the corner of the cabin that kept me warm all week.


I love this little stove!!!

We had a couple of days to do some exploring, which we enjoyed.



We met three of our neighbors. The one lives about 5 miles to the east of us, and another is less than 1 mile to the south (their house is the only one we can see from our property). We also met a neighbors who lives about 4 miles south of us.

The dogs were very content for the week, and didn't want to come home yesterday when it was time to leave. I don't blame them!

















When we left yesterday morning, it began to sprinkle. We could see heavy rain clouds for miles. It was beautiful, and the air smelled so clean and crisp. I love it when it rains up there.





We had a safe trip and found all well when we got home. We are thankful for the many friendships we have, and hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, too.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Just a Note...

I don't have any pictures for this past week...sorry. For the most part, we did things around the house in preparation for our trip this coming week. The headline for the week would be that Jennifer turned 21 yesterday! It's hard to believe, as I can clearly remember when she was born...happy birthday, baby girl!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Catching Up!

What a delightful 9 days we had while Nathan, Sarah, and their kids were here visiting from Germany!

In the few days before they arrived, Makayle had her 8th birthday and Carter had his 3rd birthday. So naturally, we had to start with presents!
















































It was fun waking up to the sound of little ones in the morning..








...and having them help me make breakfast...










...and watch them wrestle with Grandpa.

We had a family picnic for my side of the family.











Grandma with her first-born grandchild, Nathan.












Makayle learning to hit a badminton birdie.












Cousins talking...










...and taking.










Aunt Carol watching Carter and Aden (both 3 years old) play football.










Great-grandma talking with her first-born great-grand child, Makayle.










And more cousins talking.



It was a fun day, even if the burgers were served a lot later than anticipated (my fault).









Paige lost her first tooth while they were here!
















We went to Funtastics to play for a day. The girls drove cars...











...and we all soaked each other with water on the bumper boats.











We played miniature golf and arcade games...











...and had a fun day.











The kids eventually decided that they liked the dogs...especially Mia.









We had a birthday dinner for Aunt Jennifer who is turning 21 this week.





We had an on-going job this week removing rock squirrels from an old ranch that the city of Oro Valley has decided to renovate. Some of the structures still have the original adobe bricks (from the 1800's) visible.







Paige went with us on all of our calls. Her dad calls her Ranger Pager.











Paige baiting a trap with grapes.


















Grandpa releasing a rock squirrel into its new home.






One night we had a bonfire, roasted marshmallows, and sang as many campfire songs as we could remember



Paige's perfectly roasted marshmallow...









...and Carter roasting his marshmallow.


We also drove down to Sahuarita for an extended family gathering in honor of Makayle's baptism. It was a wonderful occasion for her...so many loving relatives there to witness the ordinance and to support her in her decision to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.












Makayle was baptized by her dad.

















Makayle with her parents, Sarah and Nathan.






The only difficulty of the whole week was that almost everyone came down with stomach flu the last day. Don, Jennifer, and I are still recovering...it doesn't seem to want to leave us very quickly. We hope that Nathan and Sarah's family recover more quickly than us, as they have to fly back to Germany in a couple of days. Good-bye, sweet family! We love you more than you know! Thanks for coming to visit us!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Good Riddance, October!

October has been an expensive month, and we are glad it is over! All in all, we are very grateful for our insurance companies. The medical bills at the beginning of the month were HUGE, but the insurance covered almost 90% (for which we are SOOO grateful!). Then, last week Don forgot that the trailer was on the back of the truck. He backed up, jackknifed the trailer, and smashed the back of the passenger's side of our 2008 Toyota 4x4 ...UGH!!! That one is going to cost us both time and money (5-6 days in the auto body shop plus our deductible). But again, we are grateful for good insurance which will cover most of the cost of the repairs and provide a rental car to us if we need one. WHAT A MONTH! Good-bye, October...and good riddance!