A look at September

As so often happens, I get behind on my blog, and have to settle for a few favorite pictures to document exactly what has been taking up my time that I intend to use for blogging.  

This month has been no exception, and I give you a condensed version of September, 2015...

What would Autumn be like without soccer?  I really couldn't tell you, as I have been going to soccer games in the Fall for longer than I can remember!!  Sadly, the light at the end of that tunnel is growing brighter by the year!  The LHS girl's soccer team just celebrated the Seniors as part of their last home game on Saturday.  Seven girls who have played together for at least 4 years, and in the case of a few of them, most of their young lives.  

Ashley, Kristin, Allison and Miranda, Soccer Storm - circa 2004
(Be still my heart!!  How cute are these little girls?)  This year, these girls played teams consisting of several of their current LHS teammates.  How fun would it be to have taken pictures of all of them back then??  One more note - Kristin loved this blue uniform and wore it A LOT!!  She was such a funny duck back then about clothes!!

Kristin, Rylee and Ashley, LHS Soccer Team - 2015
A trio of beautiful girls

Michael, Kian, Ashley and Kristin, Soccer Storm - circa 2008
Hard to believe these kids are all graduating this year!!

Just one of this girl's many talents!!

Beautiful!!

They can't wait to graduate!!!

 More on soccer in a minute, but let's take a break to catch up on more September happenings...

Ashley and Chelsie came to visit and brought their 4 little guys with them!  It was great, and although it went by really fast, it was an unexpected treat to have them come!!  

We...

...went to the park and played...

...rode scooters on the pump track...

...rode scooters on the walking path...

(Carter even got in on that action)

...cheered on Trev at his soccer game...

...felt protected by our resident Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle... 

...and spent a rainy afternoon indoors, which included playing in the teepee the girls played with as children.  I couldn't help snapping a photo of the kids doing the exact thing their moms used to do...

I know I am missing T2 but he chose not to participate

We didn't do too many exciting things, but also managed to have a pizza night, watch the real-life Cinderella movie, find a house for next summer's vacation, and have a few nice chats to boot.  The girls also took advantage of a little nap here and there.  An added perk when Nonna is around. :)  The only bad part about the trip was the fact that Trevor and Kristin were both so busy with soccer, they didn't get to spend much time with our visitors.  Kristin actually skipped school one morning because she had two away games while they were here, and literally only got to spend a few hours with them.  There wasn't much we could do about that, just the way it was.  :(

Elder Dallin H. Oaks came to our Stake Conference this month!  Kristin had the opportunity to help give him his lunch for the trip back up to Spokane!  She came in the house after she got home and said..."Best. Day. Ever!".  That is music to this mama's ear!!  I'm grateful she knows the importance of modern day apostles and prophets, and what a blessing it is to have been in the presence of Elder Oaks!!

Of course, there are a few other things that have been going on this month, unfortunately, no pictures are available, but they are happening nonetheless...

Seminary is in full swing.  I'm getting to know my class, and loving it!  We are studying the Old Testament this year!!  Yikes!  I'm just taking it one day at a time.  And yes, it is still relentless, but I'm also grateful for the calling!!  It is amazing!!

Yoga is still happening, although I took an unintended break in August!  Too much going on.  It feels so good to be back at it!!

And just life in general has been moving along at a pretty fast clip!  I thought it would slow down a bit after school started, but I should have known better!  Silly me.

Kristin had a great final home game.  She assisted on both goals scored by LHS!  She has loved her time as a Lady Bengal!!

Trevor in his game against Moscow.

Another stroll down memory lane...Hayden, Cassidy, Kristin and Alyssa.  Boys and Girls Club soccer, 2006
Especially poignant as Hayden was involved in a fatal helicopter crash this summer.  A tragedy too great for words.

I made posters for each of the Senior girls.  There is glitter from one end of my house to the other, and much in between!  :)

So there is the Reader's Digest version of September.  As you can see, it was a great month!!

My trip in pictures

Last month, Allison and Ryan graduated from BYU!  Woo Hoo!!  Allison got a Bachelor's in Interdisciplinary Humanities and Ryan in Advertising.  They are still waiting to hear about final offers on jobs and internships, so we are staying tuned for that.    (This is my 2nd time in Utah this month.  The visit I DID NOT trip over my suitcase and get a gnarly black eye!  Doing that once is quite enough, thank you!) This is where I got to go to 2 graduation parties; see my daughters' in-laws; help Ashley and Brandon with a little yard work, and have dinner with John's sisters, Valerie and Joni and Joni's daughter, Kami at Olive Garden.  (No pictures available for any of that fun stuff.) 

Here is a photo journal of the rest of the stuff I captured on my phone...

While I was staying at Alli and Ryan's, we packed up most of her kitchen on Friday morning. Since the kitchen was packed by lunch time, we had to make an alternate plan.  Luckily, Costa Vida isn't far away, and they take orders over the internet, so we were able to go to the front of the very long line and pick up our yummy food!   

Right after graduation, there was a huge rain storm, but we managed to snap a picture or two before the downpour.   I'm so proud of these two for working hard to achieve this goal!  (I know this picture is a little blurry, but it is really good of the 3 of us.  Just overlook the fuzziness)

Since Allison and Ryan are married, they got to walk in the same commencement in the DeJong Concert Hall.  Much smaller than the Marriot Center where Allison was originally going to walk.  The size of the room got the better of us though.  We didn't get there soon enough to get into the actual room, so we had to go to an overflow hall.  We watched graduation on a video screen.  It was all good until right before Allison's name was called.  Carter filled his pants, and needed to be taken out very badly.  While Chelsie was taking care of that, it was Alli's turn.  Just as they called her name and she started across the stage, the woman directly in front of me stood up to leave, totally blocking my view!  I couldn't believe it!!!  I darted back and forth, trying to see, and wasn't very successful.  Luckily, one of their friend's family member caught a good picture of her receiving her diploma!  What luck I seem to have!!  And poor Chelsie missed the whole thing.

On Thursday, Carter and Chelsie picked me up from the airport, and before we headed down to Provo, we hung out in Salt Lake for a few hours until Dallin got off work.  We spent a little of that time at the park around the corner from Chelsie's house.  How cool is it that they have trucks in the sandpit just waiting for little ones to come play with them.  Carter, of course, loves it.

After graduation, we went back to Alli's and met up with the Peay boys.  Ashley and Brandon went to a wedding dinner south of Provo, so instead of putting the boys through the torture of sitting through that, we kept them and fed them dinner and had a movie party.  We watched UP, which had the very same effect on me the 2nd time as the first time I watched it - tears.  Tears for Carl and Ellie and their sweet relationship, and tears for Russell, who just wants to find a place to belong, and someone to belong to.  It is very fun to have all 4 boys together!  They have a good time with each other.  I love Carter's expression in this picture!!  He looks a little bewildered with the whole photo process and the cheesey smiles it brings out in the other boys.  His day will come, to be sure!

It was purely coincidental, but we were the denim girls at graduation.  I'm sure one of us would have changed into something different, but we were both dressing out of our suitcases, and didn't have a lot of choices.

I played a game of basketball with T2 and then T1.  T2 doesn't dribble and wouldn't let me block him.  T1 practices a LOT and also tends to make up a rule or two as the game progresses.  Suffice to say, this grandma didn't have a chance.   I am CC in both pictures, which stands for Cleveland Caveliers.   Just to be sure I knew that, they both were quick to tell me I was not very good at this game! Don't you worry, though,  I got my revenge at Chutes and Ladders.

Between him not feeling well as my black eye on my last visit, this guy didn't have much to do with me.  This trip told a different story, and we were great buds.   But I didn't have to tell you that, you can see it in the picture!  He even called me "grandma"!

It is VERY difficult to get just a regular picture with these boys.  As you can see, they have a few tricks up their sleeves when the camera comes out.

I don't think I got one picture of Ashley last trip, so I warned her that I wanted at least one this time.  We almost didn't get it done, but risked getting in trouble at the airport curb to snap this selfie.  (John asked me if I wore anything else on the trip but my jean jacket and gold sweater.  I assured him I did, despite zero pictures to back up my claim.  I do tend to pack a little lightly most of the time.)


This was a crazy, busy trip, but I loved every minute of it!  I'm so glad I got to be at graduation, despite the malfunction at the ceremony, and love that I got to spend time with all 3 girls and their families.  There is never enough time to get it all done, but I gave it my best shot!  I am not disappointed with the way it turned out!  Can't wait for the next one!!!

Each life that touches ours for good.

Last Saturday, I received a phone call that I wished wasn't true.  Our Relief Society President called to say Bryce Winterbottom had been killed in a car accident.  (It turns out it was a plane crash, but initially a car crash was the info people had.)  I truly thought that it couldn't be true, and that he was really just very badly injured but would be okay.  Sadly, it was true.

Bryce was a young husband and dad.  Just 29, his ultra-light airplane stalled and crashed in a field south of town.  He married his Jr. High sweetheart, Mandy, shortly after he got home from his mission.  They lived up north while he worked at his Bachelors and then Masters degrees in Engineering.  John and I were able to attend their sealing in the Spokane Temple.  They have lived in our ward for 2 maybe 3 years.  Bryce was the Teacher's Quorum advisor, and Trevor would have been in his class in just a few weeks.  Actually, just 2 weeks ago, Trevor went on a 10 mile bike ride with the Teachers and Bryce was the leader in charge.

Mandy, his wife, is one of Ashley's good friends.  I was heartbroken to hear the news, but even more so to have to call Ashley and let her know what happened.  Due to the time difference, I had to wait until about 4 pm, and I reached her before she went to church.  Australia is too far away to come home for the funeral, but she would have come if it was possible.  Bryce was her friend also.  Brandon and I had a conversation later in the week, and I mentioned that I was sad even though I know what the Plan of Salvation is, that it is true, and that Bryce is in a better place.  He mentioned that he and Ashley have talked about that, and that there are still things like agency, that sometimes make it a bit harder to swallow.  Did the Lord really need Bryce more in heaven than Mandy needed him here to help raise their family?  He was the provider, the Priesthood leader, the dad, the husband!!  Sometimes it doesn't make sense.

All week, as I thought about his death, and the new life that Mandy will be leading as a single mom of four young children, the song, "Each Life that Touches ours for Good" ran through my head.  There is a fundraiser going on via the Internet, www.gofundme.com/brycewinterbottom.  It started 5 days ago and the goal was 10,000.00  They reached that before 2 days were up and now, 5 days later, there is over $25,000 in it, and the goal has been raised to $50,000!  Seeing the outpouring of support for Mandy and her family, confirms what I couldn't get out of my head - that Bryce had touched a lot of lives in his short lifetime.  (Not to discount Mandy at all.  She is no sloucher, and done her fair share of life-touching.)  It also confirms that when we, the friends and family are confronted with such tragedy, we don't know what to do but give the family food and money.  What else can we do at such a time??  (Today, as I was talking with Bryce's mom before the funeral, she told me that several things have happened over the past week that have let them know that it is okay, and that there is a reason.  I'm grateful they have had that confirmed to them.  What a comfort that must be as they deal with this awfully hard thing.  Maybe some day, some of the rest of us will be able to sort through and understand why it happened when it did.)

Today, after the funeral, there is no doubt in my mind that Bryce had a lot of influence for good on a lot of people!  The overflowing chapel was the first sign, but the talks that were given were the icing on the cake.
One man spoke of our grief, and how we have to cry and mourn and grieve before we can get to a place where we are okay.  He also spoke of Bryce's service to his son when he taught the son to ride a bike, and then fixed it after his mom accidentally ran over it.

Three men stood and declared that Bryce was their best friend.  They each shared remembrances of him, and the ways he touched their lives.  (I know for sure that one of those friends gained confidence in himself because of his interaction with Bryce.  I think his life would have been very different had he not know Bryce.)  I think being considered a best friend by at least 3 people is about the highest compliment anyone can garner.

Bryce's siblings took turns sharing thoughts and memories about Bryce.  Honestly, it was such a great thing to be able to laugh about the things he did.  I think everyone felt better after that.  Bryce never lacked for adventure, to be sure!!  But he also never lacked for service and love.  It was apparent that he knew what life was really all about.

An uncle shared a few experiences he and Bryce had together, and then his dad spoke.  Ed's talk was full of humor, but also the spiritual side of Bryce, and one thing in particular that happened and enriched both of their lives as a result.

So, as I said my suspicions were confirmed, Bryce had touched people and it had been for the good. No wonder I couldn't get that song out of my head.

Each life that touches ours for good
Reflects thine own great mercy, Lord;
Thou sendest blessings from above
Thru words and deeds of those we love.

What greater gift dost thou bestow,
What greater goodness can we know
Than Christlike friends, whose gentle ways
Strengthen our faith, enrich our days.

When such a friend from us departs,
We hold forever in our hearts
A sweet and hallowed memory,
Bringing us nearer, Lord, to thee.

For worthy friends whose lives proclaim
Devotion to the Savior's name,
Who bless our days with peace and love,
We praise they goodness, Lord, above.
(Hymns, 293)

Top Ten from Texas

 I am back from my trip to Dallas.  Here are ten favorites (ok, 13) to share.

The purpose for the trip was to help Ashley and Brandon get ready for their big move to Australia.  There was a lot of packing, a lot of cleaning and a lot of baby holding.  All good things.

Amidst all that work, we did take one day to have some fun at the Dallas Zoo.  Ashley planned to take us to the Botanical Gardens where they had a pumpkin village set up and all kinds of beautiful autumn displays made with pumpkins, squash, and gourds, but the weather didn't cooperate and we decided walking around in the rain without much protection didn't sound like fun. The zoo on the other hand, had places we could get out of the rain.

Several weeks ago, I heard there was a male gorilla at the Dallas Zoo that was a chauvinist to the female gorillas.  I have no way of knowing if this gorilla is the culprit, but I'd say chances are pretty good this is him.  That made me laugh.

This is Mapua, one of the baby cheetahs born earlier this summer.  We were at the right place at the right time and got to see him being led around and playing with the Lab puppy, Amani.  

Tanner high atop one of the bronze elephants.

A very nice man offered to snap a picture of all of us while we were waiting for the baby cheetah to come out.

Talmage played chase with a monitor lizard, pacing back and forth.  This particular breed is found in Western Australia.  A fact which is of high interest to this clan.

We ended our rainy day at the zoo with a ride on the carousel.  

Halloween also happened while I was there.  It seems that super heroes were the costume of choice for many Trick-or-Treaters, including this cute little bunch.  If you are wondering how Captain America was able to navigate the streets with his mask halfway covering his eyes, you are not alone!  I for one was amazed he didn't fall once because his mask was truly in the same spot all night long!  :)

 There was also time for Talmage's last T-ball game.  He was Johnny-on-the-spot when he played pitcher, and got the ball to first the majority of the time.  This was great fun to watch...much less painful than when we did it with our own kids.  Maybe there is a Grandparent Spell that makes things like this seem different.  :)

Moving to Australia is not easy.  This is the final Dallas packing of the suitcases that will go on the plane with them.  There were 5 packing boxes shipped earlier that day that should have gotten there at the end of last week.  Each suitcase and box has to be itemized and of course, not weigh too much.

Tanner had to eat his last dinner on a makeshift table.  There was not a stick of furniture to be found on the main floor by Monday night.

My first impulse was to throw this picture out because of the blurry image on the left hand side, which is really the cutest baby around, but it captures him perfectly.  He is forever moving and scanning the premises.  He does not want to miss a thing!!!

 Tuesday morning, we finished the last of the packing and cleaning, and loaded up for the airport.  We flew to Salt Lake and spent the rest of the day at the Clegg's, and then drove down to Mapleton to visit Alli and Ryan.  Time was too short, but we did get to eat yummy Italian food with them, and spend a little time catching up and checking out their apartment.

The next morning, I got up, and headed home to Idaho.  It was a long, but not gruesome trip, and I made it in good time.  I drove John's "new" car, and it was good.  Since it was new to me, I didn't know when to plan my pit stops, and so ended up stopping in Bliss, Idaho.  While the gas was pumping, I had to snap this picture of the Amber Inn.  Here is why...

Every time we drive to Utah, if we go the McCall way, we pass the Ashley Inn and two Amber Inns.  One, as I said, is in Bliss, and the other is in Eden, Idaho.  (By the way, Eden, Idaho is also the home of a crazy place called The Garden of Eden, which is a truck stop Ashley and I stopped at when we were road-tripping from Dallas to Seattle.  Funny, funny place!)

As you can see from my comparison photos, there is quite a difference between the two.  It has been a fun little tradition to make a comment or two about the style of each place of lodging.  You may imagine that Amber would love to have the names of the Inns switched and is so disappointed whenever we drive past the one she shares her name with.  Ahh, memories...

And now I am home, back to my regular life...already missing 3 little boys and their mom and dad, who will be ex-pats in Perth for the next year, at least.  Sigh!!!

And to follow up - I had my interview with the school board tonight.  I can only think of one comment I made that I wished I could retract, but overall, I thought it went pretty well.  I did receive a call a little over an hour after I got home and was informed that another name has been chosen to bring to the board meeting later this month.  Easy come, easy go.  If nothing else, I feel very courageous for even turning in my application.  That was a quick, scary decision, and I really can't believe I actually did it! Yay for me!

Off I go...

A long anticipated trip is on my horizon.  Bright and early tomorrow morning, I head off to spend about 10 days with these three little cuties and their mom and dad.  I get to help them with final preparations for their big move down under!  I am over the moon to spend Halloween with them.  I may have already mentioned that!! :)  Man, I will miss them while they are gone!!

 I will spend a day or so in Utah and the back end of my trip and will hopefully get take these two big cuties out to dinner at the very least.  (I hope they have caught up on their rest!  :)

Here is a quick update on other happenings around our parts...

- Kristin got her driver's permit on Tuesday.  She is happy to drive anywhere, anytime.  She is at your service.

- Trevor tries out for the 8th Grade Basketball team this week.

- John continues his battle to create a paperless office.

- I put in an application to be on the local school board.  It is an appointment, so no campaigning is involved!  Yes!!  There are 4 other people who have also applied.  We'll see how it all plays out.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

April in Review (and a Smidge of May)

Amber and Kristin were paired up as doubles partners for the match against Moscow.  They won the first set, lost the second and were tied 9-9 in a tie-breaker when the match was called for snow!!  Sleety, hail-y, snow!!

Trev's soccer season ended today.  They lost to Grangeville 4 - 2.  It really could have gone either way.

Thanks to this little guy, born 49 minutes before Grandpa's birthday...

I got to go hang out and play Grandma with these two...

And I got to make this very cute airplane quilt.  Notice the minky backing.  I love it!!

The whole Dallas family.

And the end of the school year means end of the year dances.  Amber came out of Seminary to find her car completely filled with balloons.  She said yes!!

Forrest, Mikayla, Amber and Aaron.

A little better shot of Amber's dress and yours truly, seamstress of said dress.  It was brutal toward the end, but it all turned out.

Of course, Freshman year wouldn't be complete without Freshman Dance.  Miranda,  Kristin, Riley, Ashley and Nikki - all fancied up.  (I made Kristin's dress also)  Hopefully her slip wasn't hanging out all night!  :)

And because they are Freshman, (well, really just girls who like to have a bit of fun) they had to jump on the tramp in their fancy dresses.  This is not a quality shot, but I think it conveys the feeling of the moment.