Rexburg-The Work of a Child is Play

Monday morning mom and I drove up to Rexburg, ID to babysit the grandkids for a couple of days. It was an adventure from day one! We left in the morning under the Logan haze. I guess Logan is known for its terrible inversions and we experienced it first hand for the first time. It was worse than a heavy fog but as we were crossing the valley on Hwy. 30 things begin to clear and turned into a beautiful morning for a drive. 

We got to Rexburg and relieved the neighbor who had been watching the children. Then the games began! It is always a wonderful adventure with Grandma. She knows all the good games and how to be creative with just a piece of paper. The kids were entertained all morning making "creatures" out of pipe cleaner and crowns out of squares of paper. In no 

time at all, Rachel became the "Queen of Egypt" with her impressive headdress. We also went out back and harvested the last of the garden vegtables. Most of them had been ruined for eating by the weekend frost but they were perfect for fall decorations and we had fun adorning the front door. The kids were so proud of their achievement.

Next was the park of course. I was glad I kept my camera ready to catch some of these candid shots. I love my niece and nephews! Mikael was especially photogenic and 

these shots just make me smile! This one taken through the play set floor is currently the desktop 

picture on my computer and brings 

a smile to my face every time I open my computer! 

It turns out Grant is an amazing soccer player in the making. He

kicks left and loves running after the ball. His current most valuable possessions are his cleated tennis shoes which he must wear everywhere. When we were all tired from running around we played the laughing game and the kids all attacked Aunt Jenn. I must admit defeat as I was most often found on the bottom of the pig pile. 

Day two brought cold weather but nothing that would keep us indoors. We all took a dip in the hot tub before the morning frost melted and then after some reading headed back outside and

 to the famous Porter Park. The ice on the trees bore witness to the temperature but we were not deterred. We had a lot of fun playing tag and enjoying the play ground. I just liked 

following the kids around listening to their stories of how this play set was a castle or a jet or a boat. There are no limits to a child creativity and it was refreshing to be around that again. I think too often I get caught up in the worries of adults. We stress about so many things, especially now, with all the currents events effecting our nation. But two days with these children reminded me that there is joy to be found in color paper and pipe cleaners and that dreams are for everyone. Lets learn a lesson from the children, who the Savior commanded us all to be more like, and learn to find joy in the small things and play hard everyday.

Fast Week and First Snow

This week went super fast! I worked half days all week leaving my afternoons open to get other things done. I got to go to the temple several times and that was definitely a highlight of the week. On Friday, I played soccer with my brothers. Up to this point I have avoided playing with them because they are really good and I don't really play soccer...yet. But they are kind souls and invited me to play with them. It turned out to be super fun and I even made a goal! I'm excited to get better under their tutelage. Will in an amazing goalie and Joe knows every rule of the game. The other boys always ask him about the ref calls when we watch soccer games. And we are always watching soccer games. :) Will and Joe come home from school every day and spend at least an hour outside practicing soccer. They have targets, cones and everything but the real fun is when the boys get some friends together and go play. I hope I can get better and actually contribute some to these team events. I also attended a pretty fun Paul Simon tribute concert on Friday. Just a bunch of local fans and musicians who know how to jam it on the guitar. It was some really good music and tons of fun.

Saturday there was more soccer and the first snow of the season! I really love the snow and I am excited to play in it with my brothers. Joe and I ran out to capture a few shots just moments ago. I can already tell this is going to be a fun winter!

General Conference Weekend #2

After the morning session today and Pres. Monson's advice that we take pictures twice a year, we ran to the Logan temple to take family pictures. It was wet but a beautiful day for pictures. Here's some of the good ones:

The Family

My Handsome Brothers and the valley

The boys again, minus Sam.

Rachel in her beautiful red dress. She loves this dress like nothing else! It is her formal dress and she wears all her sparkling jewlery with it!

Jon and Deb playing around

Christine had to try it out too!

Then Joe got comfortable as well!

Later after the afternoon session the little nephews were admiring Ben's amazing strength. A few weeks ago Ben and the boys started climbing the back side of the stairs. Ben is the only one who can get up to the top. When asked why the stairs Ben said it was the only thing he could find to climb! My little monkey brothers!

Conference was great. It was great to be with family, it was great to hear the inspiring talks, it was great to discuss them with family and plan for change. I'm excited to get my quarterly planning done and implement what I've heard this weekend. It has been a feast. 

General Conference Weekend #1

Friday night the David Weiss family drove down for the weekend. David and Launna were able to join us for the last half of the football game and then Christine drove up with a friend from Provo. We all went out to dinner after the game and then went to bed full. Saturday morning Conference began. It was a great weekend and the children made it especially fun. We watched a session and then we played! Little David was especially photogenic. He loved the big screen tv and found other things to entertain as well. At one point we found him stuck in the crockpot that had been stored on the floor. The other kids loved the ping pong table and the bouncy couches in the rec. room. After the afternoon session we took off up the

 canyon for a walk with the kids while the boys drove down to Salt Lake for priesthood session. They had managed to get tickets for all the boys. It had been raining all morning so the trail was wet but the kids loved it! They ran hard and were super tired when we got back, which was the point. :) 

I found some pretty fun shots up the canyon this time. The rain put a different haze on the mountain walls and that was fun to see. I miss the rain of WA. There is something about the clean, fresh smell of rain that is so energizing. I have to admit I am falling in love with this place. I told someone just Friday that it was a different beautiful than the green of WA but I am beginning to feel that it is a beautiful that I will come to love just as much as the emerald state. 

Little Grant is super aggressive and loves to be active. Rachel is always asking questions and learning with Grandma.

David is just cute! His waterproof space suit made him the perfect candidate for the wet bench.

Sporting the BYU gear!

Mikael is always the caring one. Here he is trying to feed the bird of course.

And at the water. Nothing beats throwing rocks into a stream!

When we got back the kids were all tired so we watched "Little Women." Never thought that a movie like that would need so much explanation for a little child's mind. I love being around these little ones. They remind me of everything that is good and pure. 

"Suffer the little ones, to come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven"

BYU v. USU/Mission Reunion

A week and a half ago I got hired for a temporary job helping out with the BYU tailgate party for the BYU vs. USU game 10/3/08. It has been fun to be event planning but there was a lot to do and it took more time then I anticipated. Friday, all the plans came together. We had the BYU Cheerleaders and Cosmo there along with the BYU Bookstore and Tom Holmoe, the Athletic Director of BYU. We had a big blow up for the football toss and a great DJ who was a big BYU fan. The whole thing was catered by Hamilton's Steak and Seafood. The only thing that didn't really word was the cotton candy machine. We were going to sell the cotton candy and drinks. I'm not sure how that turned out in the end because I left to go to my mission reunion. 

It was so much fun to see everyone again. I thought it would be a quick stop-by visit but once I got there it was hard to leave. It was great catching up with friends. It was especially fun to see some of the missionaries I taught in the MTC back from their missions as well. Time goes fast and missionary work has been a big part of my life for the last five years. I hope that will never change. I had to leave just as some of my sister friends were coming but I was already late for the game.

I got there right at half time and the rivalry was on. I sat with mom and dad in their Aggie gear while I was decked out in BYU blue. BYU had come out strong in the first quarter that I missed. The rest of the game was a surprising rally for USU. They got two touchdowns and would have had another two more were it not for penalties. In the end BYU won as expected but it was fun to have the rivalry right there in the family. I forgot how much I love watching football!

Hike #2-Mt. Naomi

Friday, 9/26, Ben, Joseph and I took off up the canyon. William wanted to come but he had his Homecoming Dance and Date. I got back from work and grabbed some meat at Walmart. Mom helped us with our foil dinners and we packed the car. We decided it wasn't the best time for back packing because Joseph didn't have his pack (at Grandma's in Perry, UT) and we hadn't had the time to really plan it out together. So this time it was car camping and that turned out to be an adventure of its own. Logan canyon is pretty cool for a lot of reasons. One, is that the walls of the canyon are covered in rock climbing spots. We packed the climbing gear and started by finding an empty wall. We pulled off the highway and started climbing. It was a fun climb. Ben got up once to set our anchor and then when coming down discovered the rope was 5-10 feet short! So he had to go up again with the longer rope. It was a good climb for him even. Joseph and I both did pretty well. I'm getting better the more I climb and I love it. I think swimming has strengthened my upper body. We were climbing until it was dark and then we headed off to make camp.

The other reason Logan Canyon is cool is because there are very few camping restrictions. I called the ranger and there were only two small spots that had a fire ban and you can pull off and camp anywhere. So we went up Right Fork Canyon Rd and 

found a spot we liked. It was right near a 

creek and it wasn't until the morning when we realized just how beautiful a spot it was. We had the most amazing foil dinners (thanks to mom) and then we decided to watch a move in the car. Yup, this is car camping at its 

very best! We can plug in a converter that allows us to run my computer and then we plug the sound into the car stereo and we have surround 

sound! Pretty sweet. But there was a problem. The back window on the Expedition wasn't closing and so the interior lights wouldn't go off. We worried about it at first, thinking we might drain the battery but then we decided that dad runs his sleep machine off the car all night, it should be able to handle this right? Well with about 30 minutes left in 'Italian Job' the car lights began turning on and off. I checked the gage and sure enough, we had drained the battery. We tried to start the car and nothing. We quickly turned off the movie, rigged the 

back window so the lights would go off 

and then did the only thing we could do...we went to bed. I had a fitful sleep worrying about how we were going to get the car to start in the morning. We were in the middle of nowhere and better yet, the car was parked in such a way to make it very difficult for another car to get close enough to help. I had dreams all night about different solutions and it was never helpful. In the morning I woke up to Ben starting the car and said a prayer of thanks. 

I then finally slept for a few minutes before we had to get up and make breakfast and break camp.

Next we were off to Tony Grove and the trail head for Naomi Peak. It is 3.3 miles to the top with just under a 2000 feet elevation gain. It was a pretty good hike. The boys are in much better shape than I and would have scrabbled up the 

mountain were it not for my need of occasional rest and water. We got up in 2 hours and back down in just over an hour. The views were beautiful but we discovered something about being from the NW. 

As beautiful as the grays and browns may be, it is hard to find beauty in them when you are used to continual green. But there was some amazing color up there this time of year and that was fun to capture. 

We made it back down without incident and we were hungry! Mom had met us up at Tony Grove but we were ready to be off 

down the canyon to get home. I'm sure the hike barely phased the boys but I paid for it on Sunday with a little soreness. I'm sure it didn't help that I had ran every day last week. 

Anyway, it was a great first big hike. I'm excited to get out into that wilderness and experience more of it! Be expecting more of this! And when winter comes it will just change to snow shoeing and cross country skiing! I'm excited, can you tell?

From the top Logan is right behind Ben's head :) Look hard and you can see it!

View of Mt. Magog from the top of Naomi

You can see Tony Grove Lake in the right hand corner.