Back to Utah

We traveled back to Utah the second weekend in September to attend an open house for Gordy and Jen in honor of their wedding the previous week. We enjoyed visiting with lots of family members at that event. The next morning, I had the honor of trying to keep Matthew, Maggie and Becca out of trouble while Elly and Nathan attended a friend's baptism. I actually succeeded! We did make a huge mess, though. Luckily, we were able to clean it up before Mom got home.:) In the afternoon we watched Matthew play soccer. He seemed a little intimidated by the girls on his team but he took charge of that ball every chance he got.

Maggie practiced kicking the soccer ball during the game. She can't wait until she's big enough to play soccer like Matthew.

Matthew's team won!
Maggie said, "Good goal, Matthew!"
Matthew answered, " I didn't make a goal."
"Oh!" Maggie replied and while patting him on the back said, "Good game, Matthew. Good game."

We returned to Utah a couple of weeks later to attend a conference and listen to Jacob sing "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" in his sacrament meeting. His musical number was incredible! I'm so glad we got to witness it.

Empty Nesters

We are now, officially, empty nesters. Actually, we practiced all summer and came to the conclusion back then that we quite like it. It gets kind of quiet sometimes but we've enjoyed having the flexibility to do crazy things like going camping, riding bikes, running a river or taking a spontaneous trip somewhere. Our favorite summer outings included a bike ride on the Greenbelt in July and two kayaking adventures on the Payette River in August. We floated a section of the river from Sweet to Montour and another through Garden Valley. Both sections have gorgeous scenery and fast moving water but no rapids. We had a grand time in our individual inflatable kayaks! On Labor Day, we climbed More's Mountain near Bogus Basin. The weather was perfect and the scenery fantastic.

We climbed all the way to the top!

It's not a tall mountain and so our climb was no spectacular feat but we sure had a great time!

New Adventures for Cami

Cami enjoyed spending as much time as possible with her friends over the summer. She wasn't looking forward to the time when they would all be heading off in different directions to attend college. One such event was creating these bat brownies with her friend, Emily, which they delivered to a friend.

Finally on Aug. 26, after weeks of packing and preparation, we took Cami to college. She was very nervous. We were a little anxious. It was hard to leave her there but she has flourished. Cami has made many new friends and has had lots of dates. She gave a talk in church where she serves as a visiting teaching supervisor, volunteers in an after school program at a local elementary school, and diligently strives to get all that homework done for her 16 credits of classes in spite of the many social activities. We're hoping she gets some sleep once in a while.:) Whenever we call and ask how she is doing she says, "Great! But stressed." We love you, Cami! We know you will survive and will look back on this year with mostly fond memories. Good luck!

Sariah in Pando, Uruguay

Here are some photos of Sariah and her companion with the people they helped baptize in Pando, Uruguay. She has served as a missionary in Pando since her arrival in the country last May. She's had some great experiences.

Here's how Sariah looks when she goes out on cold rainy days. Isn't she cute!

Check out those boots.

Exploring City of Rocks

We started off the second day of the family reunion with a family photo shoot. Nathan and Matthew really got into it.

Then we traveled back country roads to Almo and the City of Rocks. We stopped at the visitors center to learn more about the national reserve. We discovered that beginning in 1843, it was a landmark for emigrants on the California Trail.

We couldn't believe our eyes when we first encountered City of Rocks. It was like something out of Lord of the Rings, an ancient city made of rocks. As we traveled through the area and stopped to take in the sights, our imaginations ran wild.

We stopped at the Bread Loaves for a picnic. The rocks were perfect for climbing on.

Pat, Taylor, Cami, Ryan and Jim went mountain biking. They had a great time and saw some amazing sights.



They met up with the rest of us near Bath Rock where we had stopped to do a little exploring and some more rock climbing.

Unfortunately the bathtubs were dry.:)

As we continued our explorations, we saw Treasure Rock,

some fascinating balancing rocks,

Register Rock where pioneers had signed their names,

and Pinnacle Pass.

Exploring City of Rocks with my family was an adventure that I won't soon forget. I loved every minute of it!

Before we all left for home, Owen provided some last minute entertainment.
What a memorable family reunion!