Seth is still working hard in the Haven and Serene wards outside of Las Vegas. If you are reading his emails, you know how much he is loving his mission. If you aren't, you should be. :)
The biggest event of the month was our Stake trek, which took place at the beginning of the month in the mountains above Manti. We have been planning this trek for a year and it was AMAZING to see it all come together in miraculous ways. The location was stunning and the first day, we trekked along Skyline trail high in the mountains (between 11,000 and 12,000 feet above sea level). The weather was perfect and the trail for the first day wasn't difficult at all. We got to camp that evening happy and feeling great. The youth enjoyed a stick pull tournament and square dancing that evening and then we all slept in tents beneath the most beautiful starry sky I have ever seen. Just amazing!!
Our Stake trek theme
Me with my counselors Connie and Sara at the trailhead - I love these women!
Bryce and I ready to trek. Bryce helped with nearly every aspect of trek - food prep, trail support, logistics, trekking - you name it, he did it. What an awesome support!
Autumn and her trek family, who she LOVED!!
Autumn's family trekking
I mean - wow!!
Day two was still beautiful, but so so hard! The trail was rocky and extremely hilly and we trekked more than 13 miles that day, up and down mountains and through several river crossings. To say that we asked hard things of the trekkers that day is a major understatement. The youth and adults were amazing and worked hard to help each other without complaint. That day was like watching the gospel in action for me and is something I will never forget. We got to our second camp that evening exhausted, depleted and still happy.
All of the handcarts lined up at the base of the women's pull hill
Autumn's family coming up the women's pull - Autumn was pushing in the back. Getting up this hill was TOUGH and they did it!
Just a small look at some of the obstacles our youth and carts conquered that day
The 3rd day was easier again, but still 6 miles of trekking before we reached our final destination - an amphitheater across the street from the Manti temple. As the carts got to where we could see the temple, all talking stopped and the only sound you could hear was the sound of the handcart wheels against the pavement. It was a cool experience. We had our closing devotional looking towards the temple before we loaded in cars and headed back home full of appreciation for our pioneer ancestors and determination to live lives of faith like they did.
Autumn and her family on the final stretch
Getting to the temple
Autumn and her trek brother Ryan
Besides trek, I also threw a baby shower for my niece Bethani, who is expecting a baby boy in September. It was a fun event! :)
On August 18, Mitch and Devin flew to Washington DC where they spent a couple of days touristing around with Megan before road tripping back across the country via Chicago (where Mitch served his mission) and Nauvoo (where they did a session in the Nauvoo temple before continuing their road trip) and finally back home. It was good to see Megan again for about 12 hours before she headed back to Logan to start her final 2 semesters of her master's program. Luckily for me, those 12 hours were on my birthday and it was great to go to dinner with all 3 of our available children that evening. :) I forgot to take pictures, but here's a snapchat Megan and Mitch sent me. :)
Autumn headed back to school and began her Junior year of high school! She had many mixed emotions about going back to school, as evidenced by her first day of school pics:
We ended the month of August with a rather exciting event when my only 4 year old Ford Fusion, Flo (which has had zero mechanical problems before and been a great car) started on fire when I was driving it. Luckily no one was hurt and the fire was quickly extinguished by police men who were there in less than 2 minutes and then all fears of the fire restarting were quickly doused by the firemen who dumped about 8 million gallons of water on the engine. Let's just say that Flo died a very premature death, which is both sad and super aggravating.
I didn't get any pics of the fire because I was too busy getting out of the car and calling 911...
That's it for our August. :)
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