October

Picking & canning apples

Aunt Layna had a bunch of apples on her trees just waiting to be picked. We decided that this year we would try our hand at canning. A big thanks to Jenn for letting us use her canning equipment and take over her kitchen for an entire day. We canned 15 bottles of apple pie filling and 14 bottles of apple sauce - sorry, no pictures. While we were there the kids broke out their book that teaches all about apples. They are very good teachers!

Painting bedrooms

My brother and sister-in-law bought their first home in September, so we spent some time there painting their bedrooms. Kristen chose some wonderful colors and we had a great time taking the rooms from drab to fab!

Nick's volunteering

Nick started volunteering 4 days a week at Utah Legal Services. He does mostly paper work, copying and deliveries on cases dealing with domestic violence, divorces and other family law issues. It has been good for him to be busy and he's learning a lot about family law and working with a different type of client.

Sewing blankets

I learned how to make a quick and easy baby blanket (thanks Mom and Aunt Layna) and was in charge of a Relief Society activity teaching how to make them. I got to get back into "teacher gear" for a while and possibly got a little too into making it organized and easy to understand. I had the girls come in shifts so that I wouldn't be running around trying to help everyone at once, and that worked out really well. About 15 girls came and made blankets.

New roof

Grandpa's roof has been leaking for a while, so Nick and I finally took some initiative to get it fixed. We have been waiting for it to rain/snow so that we could test it out. It has finally snowed, and there are no leaks. Hooray!!!

Yard Sale

After mom and I cleaned out her basement, we had a large pile of things to take to DI. I suggested that we have a yard sale in the hopes of raising some money that could go toward new blinds for a couple of windows. Mom wasn't able to be there, so Matt & Kristen helped out SO much in getting everything set up and priced. We ended up making about $180. Two more windows down, only three more to go!

Gardner Village/Making Books

My good friend Diane made me a little scrapbook once and gave me the idea to have one for each of my nieces and nephews to keep their school pictures in. I have been needing to make more, so we got together and she taught me. While the glue was drying, we went to Gardner Village and looked around. It was fun to see all of the witches they have around doing silly things like riding a bike through the sky, or playing softball. I can't wait to fill the books with pictures!

Mini-Golfing with Lyss

As ridiculous as it is, Lyss and I haven't hung out for about three years, even though we only live 30 minutes apart and were inseparable at CEU. Lyss, it was so good to see you and play, and eat, and talk. Let's not wait so long next time :)

Baptist Draw slot canyon

Our good friends Nicole and Tristan took us to hike through a slot canyon in the San Rafael Swell. We had such a great time! The scenery was beautiful! It was Nick's first time seeing a slot canyon, and he was amazed (as I think everyone is, whether they've seen one before or not) at how amazing the canyons are. We did two rappels, one of which was about 80 feet. I'll admit to being a little nervous when I got about half-way down, but once I started to figure out how to maneuver better on the rope it was fun. These pictures aren't the most amazing, but I plan on doing another post with better pictures and possibly a video that Nicole's making. There were just too many to cram into an already long post.

Spring Canyon

Grandpa is always telling us stories at dinner about growing up in various mining towns near Helper. We had some extra time when we were driving down to Price, so we thought we'd drive up Spring Canyon to see some of the ruins of ghost towns like Standardville. There isn't much there, but it was interesting to see how small the towns would have been, and how they were built up along the side of the narrow canyon. Some of the stone walls were still standing. We loved the way they used the rock. It is so beautiful.

Emily's Baby

Diane and I made a trip up to see our friend Emily after she had her little baby girl. I always forget how tiny newborns are. The baby was beautiful and let me hold her for quite a while without fussing. Emily looked great, and it was fun to visit with her mom who I haven't seen in a long time. Congratulations Em & Jeff!

Tending the Zs

Jenn won a free hair cut and color, but had to come down to Provo for the appointment. Nick and I tended the kids while she went. We had a great time. Ryan helped me cut out sugar cookies and it went something like this:
Me: "Okay Ryan, you'll have to wash your hands before you can cut out the cookies since we don't want germs."
Ryan:"Look, I cut out a ghost. I love eating cookie dough."
Me: "Ah-oh Ryan, now you have to go wash your hands again before you can cut out another cookie. Remember, we can only eat the cookie dough after all of the cookies are cut out. If you put your fingers in your mouth, you'll have to keep washing them and will miss out on the fun."
Ryan: "Okay."
Ryan: "Look, I cut out a pumpkin. Mmm, I love eating cookie dough."

You get the idea!

We frosted cookies, ate cookies and played games. Another big thanks to Nick and Aunt Layna for watching the kids so Jenn and I could go see a movie together. We've never done that before, and it was nice to have some rare sister time.

Now that I'm caught up to November, hopefully I can start posting things in the actual month that they happen!