Fall Time

I've been enjoying the Fall colors more than ever this autumn.  Usually, fall makes me sad because I know winter is coming on.  But this season I am choosing more to enjoy the warmth and beauty of the colors, instead of the bare branches when the leaves fall off.

I got a surprise call from my brother Cedric on Wednesday to come and pick him up at the airport that night.  Yeah!  He stayed for four days, and it was so great to have him.  Before I tell you how our ping-pong game turned out, I must report that Cedric loaded the dishwasher every day he was here, and deep-cleaned the kitchen on Saturday.  He steam-cleaned the wood floor too.  He worked really hard while he was here!

And now, let it be know that I beat my brother in ping-pong for the first time since I was six or so.  He won the first game, and I won the next two.  I warned him from the beginning that all that spinny stuff wouldn't work on me.  Ha ha  He said Julianne and I play exactly the same way.  I had a laugh about that.

We went to two last soccer games on Saturday - one each of Peter's and Mary's.  They both lost, but they played well, and it was fun to watch their games.

Halloween came and went with out too much trouble on our part.  Libby was a musician.  She found the dress at Walmart, and then added the other stuff from home, including the home-made guitar.  Peter was a Knight, and Mary was a clown.  We went over to the trunk-or-treat at the Church in the afternoon, and then took the kids around to some neighborhoods later in the evening.  We only went to members' homes, since we didn't know if others would be celebrating Halloween on the 30th instead of Sunday.

Bruce has been preparing for the last two weeks to go hunting.  He bought a wall tent this year off of craigslist, and he worked hard getting it patched up and waterproofed.  He bought new boots, tarps, and all sorts of gear.  Elk meat is the most expensive meat on the planet!  He took Joseph along with him.  I'm not sure how much hiking Joseph can do with his hip still healing up, but he wanted to go, no matter what.  Six llamas went along also - Achacachi, Achumani, La Paz, Cusco, Ruffneck and Huacuyo.

Oh, and we have an announcement!  Buttercup had a calf today!  It was born during church today.  I haven't been out to look closely at it, so I'll give more details later.

We got to hold Mazey today in Church.  She is only a few months old, and so adorable.  I was holding her during the sacrmaent today, and I felt that the reason that Christ did everything for us in the Atonement is easily understood if one holds a baby.  It was such a treat to hold her and think about who she will become someday.  If she's like her parents, well, she has a bright future.

Our friends Wade and Holli and their five children are moving in with us this week!  They will stay about two months until the rental house they are moving into becomes available.  They are staying in the Entertainment Room and Peter/Josh's room.  It will be fun to have them here.  I hope everything works out and they are comfortable while they're here.  I'm VERY grateful that we can use this large house and be of service to someone.  We kind of had that in mind all along when we added it on, so this will be the second time we'll have used it that way.  Our friends Aaron and DaraDee also stayed with us for awhile before they moved.

Josh's intramural soccer team is playing in the Final of the Tournament!  They show the Final game on Web-cam, so I'll let you know when that will be and where you can watch it.  I'm so excited about that because I've not been liking it that Josh is playing and I'm not there to see him play.  :)  Now if I can just get a recording of his choir concerts...

Jesse played for one of the local university piano professors this week!  Her teacher arranged the lesson with his former teacher, the professor, whom he still has a close relationship with.  Jesse got some good tips and played really well for him!  She has been working towards this goal for months, so it was exciting to see her accomplish it and do it well.