October 2013

The Tuttles came for a surprise visit! Amy and the kids came, and Robby joined up on Friday. It is always so much fun when they make the trip from Colorado. I didn’t get to see them as much as I would have liked since it was the same week as my training at Pinnacle Quality Insight, but I did get to participate in a few things. While I was training, Jason was able to take Charlie to meet up with the gang as they visited Karl’s classroom. Karl always does an awesome job decorating his classroom and making it fun for the students. They also took a visit to BYU campus, always a treat. One of the days, I was able to meet up with the gang and go to Gardner Village. I had always wanted to go during Witch Fest! It was really fun to see all of the creative and unique witches all around. It was kind of rainy and windy, so it was a little cold to really stay too long and walk around. To warm up, we had a yummy lunch at the restaurant, Archibalds. It was toasty in there, just what we needed. Beyond that, there were a couple other get togethers, including fun dinners, fun pizza parties, and General Conference.

Karl's classroom

Gardner Village

For General Conference, we spent the morning with the Grubers and Tuttles. We had a delicious cinnamon roll breakfast (thanks, Karl!) and watched the first session. It turned out to be such a beautiful day that during the break we couldn’t resist taking a visit to the park. Everyone in Alpine had the same idea. The place was packed with families. It was really fun. We played a quick, friendly game of soccer on the grass. Ah, good times. Before we knew it, it was time to head to the Arbons for the afternoon session. We said goodbye to the Tuttles and wished them a safe drive home.

Outside between Conference sessions

Once at the Arbons, we relaxed in the basement on the comfy recliners and watched the afternoon session on the projector. After Conference, we had a celebration feast for Dad’s birthday. Mom always outdoes herself for birthdays! I’m glad our family is so big that we get to enjoy so many each year.

Writing letters to Kim after Dad's birthday dinner

October brought the end of our garden harvest. It was sad to see the tomato plants go. It still had tons of green tomatoes on them, but the temperature just wouldn’t allow them to develop anymore. We gave them plenty of time, but it came to the point that we finally realized it just wasn’t going to happen and it was time to let them go. We had a great harvest season! Our total tomato count came to about 70 super fantastic tomatoes and 210 roma tomatoes. That’s a lot of salsa, people! So, out with the old and in with the new. I really wanted to plant some tulips this year to enjoy in the spring. So although it was sad to pull out the garden, I was excited to plant a few tulip bulbs. We will see how they grow next year.

Last looks at the garden:

Those tomato plants sure take over everything!

As I mentioned before, my brother Bryan joined the mountain biking team at Corner Canyon High School. We went to his Corner Canyon race and also made it to his Midway race at Soldier Hollow. My parents, Bryan, and a couple of his friends spent the night at the WorldMark in Midway before the race. We met up with them that morning at the race track. It was a gorgeous day with a beautiful track. I was jealous, wishing I could ride a nice bike along the track. After the race, we got to partake from the team’s lunch of yummy soups, chilis, and other things (thanks to my mom being a team mom). Next, we headed back to the WorldMark room, in hopes of putting Charlie down for a nap. That didn’t quite work as planned, but we spent the afternoon talking with Camry and Felicia, playing 007 on the Nintendo 64, taking a walk around the Zermatt and Homestead, and swimming at the WorldMark pool. Oh, and who can forget about a good Arbon dinner and freshly baked cookies? We had a great day, and got home really late.

 

Bryan coming around on the left

Finally catching his breath

The scarecrow display at Zermatt: