October 2021

 October is always one of my favorite months here in Utah and this year October did not disappoint.  Here's a look at some of the things we did:

I went to Springdale for a few days with my friend Michelle and we enjoyed the warm weather and of course, some sewing.  It was a fun and relaxing few days, but I didn't take any pictures to share, which is a theme of most of the things we did this month, I'm afraid. :(

We threw a bridal shower for Delaney and had some of her friends, plus local family (those that could come) and Delaney's Granny and aunt come.  Plus Megan was in town visiting with her besties from college, so they all came too, which was super fun! Again, forgot to take pictures, but it was a fun time for all!  We also did our final walkthrough of the wedding venue and Delaney and I went shopping for center piece items and took her dress to the alterations lady for a few final alterations.  We are getting so excited for the big day!! Only 3 weeks to go!

Autumn had her fall break from UVU and she and I decided what better way to spend a fall break than with a trip to Hawaii to visit Autumn's friends, Jacee and Hannah, who are going to school at BYU-H? We boarded a plane on her 19th birthday and headed to Oahu.  We spent the week in Laie and did lots of fun things!  Well, to be completely honest, I did a few fun things with Autumn and her friends and then had a great time reading an entire book on the beach and enjoying some of my favorite spots from when I was a student at BYU-H. It was a really fun trip down memory lane for me. :) I did take a few pics of this week. :)

We went to the Dole pineapple plantation on our way from Honolulu to Laie:

We also spent a day together at the Polynesian Cultural center and had all kinds of fun there:

Unfortunately, Autumn smashed her toe using the rhythm sticks in Fiji (as only Autumn can), so we also got to have First Aid patch her up.  They were super nice about it and even commented on how it was nice to have something else to do besides treat burns on the fire dancers. ;)

Autumn, Jacee, Hannah and I went to visit the Byodo temple, which was super cool:

We also had fun exploring BYU-H campus and the Laie temple:

And Autumn, Jacee and Hannah had a lot of fun exploring the island while I enjoyed some of my most favorite beaches close to Laie when I was a student.  It was really so much fun!

And of course we enjoyed some shave ice and other really yummy food!

While Autumn and I were enjoying some tropical sunshine, Utah had its first pretty significant snow storm.  Logan got so much wind and snow that Devin and Levi were without power for about a day.  It has since warmed back up and we are enjoying some beautiful fall weather.  Devin says he and Levi worked and went to school.  They also went to a corn maze, but didn't take any pictures.

Bryce helped Seth carve this jack o lantern

So that he and Delaney could take this super fun pic

Seth and Delaney also went to a Bleachers concert in Salt Lake City and did a ton of homework and worked in between all of that.  Seth also went with Beth to an art exhibit in Salt Lake City called Beyond Van Gogh, which was a super cool immersive art exhibit that let you feel like you were part of Van Gogh's paintings.  Bryce and I went a week later and we all really enjoyed it a lot and learned a lot of things about Van Gogh and his art that we didn't know.  Seth and Beth took way better pictures than Bryce and I did, for sure:

Megan and Mitch went for a hike in McCall that ended up being just a little longer than they planned, but still fun. :) They are always game for an adventure.  They also celebrated Mitch's birthday with a sushi dinner.  

Bryce and I went to a couple of plays this month - Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap" at Hale Center Theater (so good!) and a very small production of "The Frankenstein Story" which is a new musical written and directed and produced by friends that Seth had in high school.  It tells the story of Frankenstein as told in Mary Shelley's original book and the story and play were actually really good. We enjoyed it more than we expected to.

Autumn continues to perfect her "living away from home" skills.  She is getting better at cooking for herself and I love it when she FaceTimes me with questions about cooking or to show off her dinner creations.  She is also serving in her ward as a family home evening group leader and is being diligent despite the obstacles. :) She is loving her classes at UVU and is thriving in Provo.

Oh, and Frankie got us in the spirit of Halloween :)

September 2021

 Bryce and I decided to drown our sorrows at becoming empty nesters by spending the first 2 weeks of September in Hawaii.  It was an excellent way to focus on the positive and we had the best time!  We started our trip with a week on Maui just the two of us.  We drove up to the top of Mt. Haleakala at 3 am to watch the sun rise and it was pretty spectacular to watch the sky go from pitch black loaded with stars to a gorgeous sunrise.

We also went hiking once the sun was up, which was also fun.

We went snorkeling at Molokini, a crescent shaped rock a few miles from shore with super clear water and tons and tons of tropical fish.  We also snorkeled in other areas where we saw lots of large sea turtles.  All in all, this was our best snorkeling trip ever.

We spent plenty of time relaxing on the beach and playing in the waves.  I enjoyed some sunshine and Bryce did this:

We took an evening and drove to Laihana for a dinner and magic show that a friend of mine recommended.  It was AMAZING and so much fun!  If you ever go to Maui, ask us about it - you should definitely go!

We drove the road to Hana and hiked through the bamboo forest, which was so surreal because the wind was blowing and the bamboo was knocking and it literally sounded like some creature was chasing us through the forest.  It was beautiful and fun and only a little creepy.

Also on that side of the island, we stopped at a State park with a black sand beach that had some fun hiking and high rocky cliffs.  I told Bryce to go stand on the edge of the cliff by the ocean so I could get a picture of him with the wave breaking over the rocks.  Here's what happened next:

Let's just say that I was super grateful Bryce wasn't swept off the rocks since we were about 30 feet above the ocean. But it all ended okay, and the pictures are pretty awesome. :)

After our week on Maui, we flew to the Big Island where we met up with my brother Bill and his wife Mia and my sister Kim and her husband Tim.  We had another fun week in paradise.  We played at the beach some more:

There were lots of people who took pictures of our sand dolphin, but the funniest was a woman who asked if she could take a picture with it and then proceeded to pose as if she was riding the dolphin. :):)

We took a snorkeling at night tour to see manta rays.  Easily one of the coolest things we have ever done.  The mantas are 10-16 feet across and you go into the water and hold on to a surfboard like platform that is shining lights on to the ocean floor below.  The lights attract plankton which attract the mantas who feed on the plankton.  We saw at least a dozen huge mantas and they would swim right under us, then glide on to their backs with their bellies skimming the surfboard we were holding on to, literally brushing us as they swam by.  It was majestic and awesome!!

We took a super fun ziplining tour that was so scenic - amazing!!

We hiked through the jungle to a few waterfalls

We spent a couple of days at Volcano National Park.  The volcano wasn't erupting while we were there, so no lava, but we did have fun exploring lava tubes, steam vents and old dormant craters.

It was sad to head back to Utah and reality, but there were also good things that happened here as well.

We went to the Remembrance garden in Sandy with Seth, Delaney, Devin, Beth and Levi on 9/11 and spent some time among the flags that commemorate each life lost that day before going to "The Secret Garden" at Hale Center Theater that evening.

Devin got together with some neighborhood friends to celebrate one of his friend's mission homecomings.  These guys have been friends since high school. :)

Seth participated in a Lone Peak highschool alumni choir to commemorate the school's 25th anniversary and the retirement of their beloved choir director, Mama J.  The choir had members from all of the years since Lone Peak opened and they sounded AMAZING!!

Bryce and I celebrated his birthday with a hike through the mountains above our home.  It was so beautiful and a perfect way to celebrate his birthday since we both love hiking and LOVE the fall in our mountains!

young moose

We attended my nephew Hayden's wedding to his long time girlfriend, Tasia and were happy to welcome her as an official member of the family. :)

Megan and Mitch continue to do well in Boise. Megan is enjoying her new job and was just called to serve as a counselor in the RS presidency in her ward. Mitch is serving as a Priests quorum advisor.  Autumn got a new calling as an FHE group coordinator, too.  She is loving her ward, her roommates and her classes at UVU.  Seth and Delaney are literally counting the days until they get married next month and both are staying busy with school and work.  Levi is enjoying his master's program at USU and Devin is still searching for a good job at a lab in Cache valley and has taken a job at Walmart as he continues his search.