Happy Holidays!
Hopefully this finds you all enjoying life and loving those in it. Our blessings are being counted and we are truly grateful that you are one of them.
Mayflower (13) is in 8th grade at Orion Junior High School. Her choir teacher chose her as student of the month last spring. Her braces came off and she flashes that smile around all the time! She continues her voice lessons, YW activities and babysitting jobs. She hiked 17.5 miles with me, Rock and Uncle JT up and down the infamous Half Dome in Yosemite with what appeared to be a smile on her face and a skip in her step. Upon further questioning by myself and the benefit of hindsight, she just wanted it to be over:) We then headed to St. George and hiked through the breathtaking Subway canyon with sisters, cousins and friends.
Michex (19) just finished her 3rd semester at Weber State. She has become a valuable employee in our office at Wasatch ENT & Allergy and it was hard filling her shoes as she took the summer off to go to Camp Sugar Pine in California with Scout as a camp counselor. We also nicknamed her “the Destroyer” as she took a sledge hammer to the side yard fence I wanted taken out and basically took the whole thing down herself!
Scout (21) has just finished her 5th semester and has completed her Associates Degree at Dixie State College. She took on the challenge this summer of accepting the position as ART Director at Camp Sugar Pine and had to assess, order supplies, clean, stock and then manage and teach all the art classes in the Art Barn at the camp. She was maid of honor for her best friend, Karli (technically our daughter #5) so we were all able to celebrate that day in September with the new Mr. and Mrs. Nick Brophy in Panguitch. Scout is now heading out on a new adventure as a nanny for a family in Glenview, Illinois. She leaves January 6.
Shematite ~(23) has kept herself either on the stage or in the garden this year. Both of which are her passions. She played one of the stepsisters in Into the Woods, was a chorus member in Curtains and now has a small role in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum which opens New Year’s Eve. I have given her free reign in my flower gardens and they are always beautiful and well cared for. Moving into a small house in Washington Terrace with some dear friends/roommates in September took her closer to her Terrace Playhouse and her job as Dr. Major’s nanny.
Rock ~ has finally given in and told the girls that boys are still yucky, but that they have to date them anyway in order for some grand babies to eventually show up. It was an interesting conversation:) Just to let him know that they were all on board with it, the 3 eligible ones had a group date at our house last weekend complete with spaghetti dinner and gingerbread houses.
We enjoyed our nephew Bid D staying with us for the summer, helping us with the “honey do” list. Many hours were spent with the chainsaw taking down the much too tall maple tree in our yard this summer. It’s a good thing we took it down on our schedule rather than having the BIG WIND Storm take it down for us. Rock loves being the Teacher’s Quorum advisor and was able to take the 14 & 15 year old young men in our ward on a canyon adventure I am sure they will never forget. Best. Hike. EVER. He and I also got to sneak in a quick trip to Mesa, AZ to visit his parents and their new house.
Desertbound ~ I love my calling in the Relief Society and being able to serve the sisters in my ward in some small way. After meeting a sweet, beautiful lady coming down the trail of Half Dome in Yosemite who had just completed the Lake Tahoe Ultra marathon (yep - 100 miles) and watching her stride, my goals as a runner shifted a little bit. I will take endurance over speed any day. But for my stage of life right now, I do what I can. That includes running a 15k on July 4th with my brother-in-law Wildman, several 5k’s and the funnest one of all so far...The Dirty Dash 10k! Rock, Michex, nephew Kyle and several friends from work joined our “GOT SNOT ENT” team in September and had a great time playing/running in the mud at Soldier Hollow. I am looking forward to many more happy miles!
It was probably not a good thing that all my preparation for Half Dome was physical rather than mental, because it was the toughest mental challenge I have faced in a long time. Go ahead and google some images of the Half Dome cables. You’ll know what I am talking about:) Thanks JT for going ahead of me and being my inspiration.
Our hands and heads may be busy with work and school but our hearts are always full as we count our blessings, renew our faith, grow our testimonies and serve others in the Gospel.
Our Savior lives. We joyously celebrate His birth and life.
