a very hot springs birthday

Josh wrote this in an email he sent to our boys on Sunday, November 12:

"It has been a pretty superb birthday week for me.  I had Monday and Tuesday off work while mom treated me to a b-day retreat at Quinn's Hot Springs, I worked for only 2 days on Wed. and Thurs. then had Friday off for the observation of Veteran's Day which was actually on Saturday. So since mom was working Friday and Saturday, I took off on a little camping/motorbike excursion back up the East Fork. But the VERY best part of my week was Tuesday night when all of you called at the same time.  It was so nice to have our family all together again, even if it was only virtually! I loved that you all took time out of your busy schedule to make a grumpy old man feel not so bad about getting older.  That was better than any physical gift I could have received, although Kanyon did come through with some pretty tasty beef jerky for my gift. But seriously, I felt so loved and appreciated, and it makes my heart happy to see what fine and successful young men you all are despite the failings of your parents. I truly enjoy seeing how you all use your talents in different ways to make a difference in the world around you!"

We drove up to Quinn's on Sunday and stayed at the River Lodge again.

We love these private suites, and the use of these
plush bath robes while at the hot springs!

Soaking on Sunday night.

Soaking on Monday morning--thankfully it wasn't very busy!

We had dinner reservations at the
Harwood House Restaurant on Monday night.

Josh got their prime rib, and I ordered the buffalo meatloaf.

The views were so pretty on our drive home on Tuesday!
We pulled over at one spot to take photos of the low clouds
and the changing colors in the trees, and right after we stopped,
a train came driving by. It was such a cool moment!

We ate lunch on Josh's birthday at the Naps Grill
in Hamilton, Montana on the way home from Quinn's.

Seeing all our kids at the same
time on the night of Josh's birthday
was the absolute BEST part of the day!!

October 2023 Randoms

It was such a gorgeous fall! We loved the beautiful foliage and how everything stayed green for so long. Even my late-blooming raspberries were happy with the weather! I picked a half-gallon worth at the beginning of the month, and picked some more again on October 23, which may just be the latest I've ever picked raspberries into October!

Oct. 1

Oct. 23

Oct. 23

Saturday, Oct. 28th was the first free day that Josh, Kanyon, and I all had together since Labor Day, so that's when we'd planned to go get our last load of wood. What we didn't plan on, though, was a foot of freshly fallen snow in the mountains! It was a little tricky to maneuver around in, and we didn't get as much wood as we would've liked, but at least we felt more prepared for winter. I think this was a first for us--getting firewood amidst wintery conditions!

Got some wood cut & stacked already in the carport for the winter.

Halloween week was also Drug Free week at school, so there were dress-up days every day as a result. Kanyon wore PJ's to school for perhaps the first time ever to go along with the daily theme on Monday, which I was so impressed by! He's never dressed up for that day before; I didn't even know he owned pajama pants, but I guess he found some in his drawer that the twins left behind. On Tuesday, it was Halloween and he dressed up as a "construction cone". He wore bright orange clothes and socks, and then wrapped a layer of duck tape around his torso to represent the reflective lines on the construction cone. I thought it was pretty ingenious of him! Wednesday was wear red day, and he did that too. He just didn't dress up on Thursday: each grade level was supposed to dress up as an assigned decade, and the juniors were assigned to 80's apparel, but he said he didn't have anything.

On Halloween, Kanyon went to the merchant's trick or treating on Main Street after school with his friends for a little while, then they went to Brother Beyeler's house to get a candy bar, and finally they went to the Lemhi Ward party that night. In one week's time, he went to all 3 ward Halloween parties in Salmon with his friends; whereas Josh and I didn't even go to our own one! He gave us a rundown of them all and rated them as follows: he thought the Lemhi Ward had the best food (a variety of soups), the River Ward had the best party (they had organized games), and the Salmon Ward had the best dessert (cheesecake from Saveway). 

Kanyon dressed as a construction cone for Halloween.

Do you see the resemblance?!

I thought it was a pretty original idea!

His & Hers Quests

In mid-October, I had a very stressful, upsetting, degrading experience. It changed me, and I'm still not ready to discuss it openly on this blog. After we returned from our trip to Las Vegas earlier in the month, I felt a resolve to change my mindset in order to rise above the circumstances that were weighing me down. But once this unnamed experience happened on Monday, October 16th, I was completely set back--I felt like I dropped to rock bottom. I knew I needed an escape. I'd already planned a 3-day trip to Utah with my friend Amanda to visit temples and see a play in October, but I had to take a day off work for the event on the 16th, and then my PTO (paid time off) was shortened, so my 4-day, 3-night planned trip turned into just one full day and 2 nights on the 3rd weekend of October. I stayed with my parents one night, and stayed with Amanda the next night, and in between, Amanda and I went to one Temple and one play and we even walked around IKEA a little bit (another place I love!). We talked, we laughed, I cried, and I felt renewed from just being with my friend and doing things I love.

A few weeks ago, Josh and I were evaluating our present situations and discussing our future options. I asked my husband what we need more of in our life. His immediate response was "peace". We have both felt so much turmoil in our life this year, but it's been increasing exponentially recently due to health concerns, work stress, and toxic people. After his response, I was reflecting on the last time I felt real peace. It was a month ago, within the walls of the Saratoga Springs Temple, alongside my forever friend Amanda. I love going to the temple. Even though I have felt lost and broken and hopeless for most of this year, I felt God's love for me within the temple. And that filled me with calm and hope and peace, feelings that I am craving a thousandfold in the moment. 

I loved seeing the fall foliage on my drive to Utah

The beautiful sunset on Friday night was lovely to see unfold. I
got off the freeway & went down a side street so I could watch it.

The majesty of Utah's Wasatch mountains
were a happy sight for me on Saturday morning.

On our way to Saratoga Springs, Amanda & I did some shopping at
Trader Joe's in SLC. We missed the exit to head south, & accidentally
found ourselves driving by the newly built Taylorsville by accident!

We stopped again at IKEA and got a few things,
and also ate their meatballs for the first time!
They were just okay...but we had a fun lunch!

Saratoga Springs was the newest dedicated Temple in Utah at
the time. It was so pretty! We loved the dark spire, the stained glass
in the windows, and the bold color choices throughout the interior.

Neither of us had seen this play before. My 
favorite parts were the giant elephant and the 
beautiful hot air balloon.

While I was gone to Utah, Josh went on a trip of his own. He took the camper van to East Fork and went camping, motorbiking, and hiking for 2 nights. On Saturday, he went into the White Clouds Wilderness again (we'd gone camping together at the same location last year in October). This time, his adventure led him to the Big Boulder Lakes (last year it was to the Boulder Chain Lakes). On Sunday, he tried to ride over a backcountry trail in the East Fork that he thought would lead to West Bowery Hot Springs, but the trail proved to be extremely challenging, and after it got to be extremely dangerous, he turned around. He stopped by Cronk's Canyon Hot Springs on the drive home instead. He had a wonderful solo trip--he always feels rejuvenated after being alone in the mountains!

He bought a new motorbike rack to hitch onto the 
back of the van. It worked great!

He experienced a gorgeous sunset on Saturday night!

Cronk's Canyon Hot Springs--our favorite!

He stopped to take photos of the pretty fall foliage along
the Salmon River on his drive back home.