September 2019 Randoms

Salmon schools started on Tuesday, September 3. Jonah and Micah are now sophomores! In addition to their core classes, their electives include seminary, choir (Micah), band (Jonah), and weightlifting (Jonah). They don't have to share lockers this year, and each get their own, which is nice!

Their doors are rarely shut, so I didn't realize until just now

 that both doors have almost identical holes in them! haha!

A pretty sunset that Josh captured behind part of his parents' ranch. 

I'm on several committees at school this year, and am the head of the elementary's PBIS committee. This is our second year going with the theme RISE UP, an idea that came from our PTO. It's an acronym and each letter represents a trait that we would like the students to learn and exemplify at school: Reach out, Improve, Smile, Enjoy, Unite, and Praise. Our kick-off assembly was in September, and each of the junior high classes picked one trait, and created a skit to act out in front of the elementary school. Kanyon's class did the attribute Improve. It was a stressful start to the year getting everything coordinated and communicated with both the staff at the elementary and the junior high levels and the PTO prior to the assembly, but the assembly was a HUGE hit and it definitely set the tone for our future RISE UP assemblies this year!

I went to the East Idaho State Fair twice this year: once with my friends Rosalba and Tanis to see Brett Young in concert, and once with Josh to see Gabriel Iglesias' comedy show. When Josh and I went, we also took the 3 younger boys to celebrate the twins' upcoming birthday. We walked around the fairgrounds, everyone picked what they wanted to eat (fair food is SO good!), and I got them wristbands for the carnival and rides that they used when Josh and I went to the comedy show. He was a hilarious performer, and we laughed so hard! It was a really fun family night!

One of my fair favorites: Tortadoes

Josh and I always get a funnel cake to share when we go to the state fair!

Our seats were at the top of the stands--further from the 

stage, but the back rest was nice!

There was a pre-show comedian that came out before Squeaky.

I only have this one picture of Gabriel Iglesias coming on to the stage

because they asked that no photos or videos be taken during his show. 

There was a beautiful moon that night...it's so hard capturing just how big and

bright and beautiful the sun and moon are with cameras!

One of my 40 Things to Do List items this year was to create a wall of our family pictures printed on canvas. I had an idea earlier this summer that I wanted to put our wedding picture in the center and have family pictures spiraling out from there. At the end of August, I decided what pictures I wanted to print, I edited them all by adding the year they were taken onto the actual photo, and then I ordered them through a canvas company. Because I'm so anal about clean lines and symmetry and such, I created a map of how I was going to hang the photos, and edited it a few times on paper to make sure I got all the measurements right (what's the saying: measure twice, hang once?!). I love the way the finished product looks on the wall above the piano in the entry. It makes me so happy to see it every time I walk through the front door!

BEFORE (there was some canvas music prints above the piano before,

but I took them down and sold them)

AFTER (I changed the pictures on some other walls in the house at the same

 time, too, thus the wall between the wardrobe and piano changed as well)

A straight-on view from the front door entrance.

Can you tell it's supposed to be spiraling out from the center?

While I was working on my wall décor project inside, Josh was outside completing one of my honey-do projects in the area south of our home. Ever since we've moved in 20 years ago, an old taken-apart bulldozer has been parked in two different spots of this area: the bulldozer was by the ditchbank and the seat was by our wood storage piles. We moved the main bulldozer last month to an area where it looked like more of a focal point, and he finally moved this seat-piece, with the help of his dad's tractor, to sit on top of the bulldozer. It made me so happy to have it put together and out of the way of areas we use!

All together at last, and in its new spot.

I'm planning on planting vine plants like clematis around it's base, to make it

more of a pretty yard-art piece.

Instead of planting corn in our garden this year, we bought some from the Cherry farm in Mud Lake--about a hundred head. The boys helped me shuck it all one Saturday, and I processed it all the same way I did last year--in the cooler. I got it all done in 2 rounds, and it only took about a half day to complete. I love this newer, quicker way!!

Josh cracks me up!!!

31 quarts of frozen corn, and 8 frozen corn on the cobs

Red Ribbon week was in October. Kanyon actually dressed up with me on Crazy Hair Day in Mud Lake! Micah was a good sport and dressed up most of the days in Salmon, too. He sent me pictures of their trash day (weird theme--do things using trash? He just taped a trash can to him--pretty genius, I thought!) and mustache day.

I ran into my friend Alex at the Tiger Grizz XC meet in Idaho Falls. It was such a fun surprise! She drove up from Utah to see her brothers race. I met her new boyfriend Tyler, too! She looked so good! I hadn't seen her since she moved to Utah from the Rigby/Rexburg area last spring after her chemo treatments were done.

I love picking raspberries in our patch, and from July to October, they come on strong. I even gave an analogy in a church talk this fall about raspberries in a patch and how they apply to us as people in our ward. However, nobody likes to help me pick them due to getting scratched or being surrounded by bees. The bees were particularly bad on this day... (thankfully I didn't get stung, though). This image is one of Josh's worst nightmares (other than snakes, of course), because he's allergic to bee stings!

The weekend in September that Amanda and Ryan came to Salmon for a visit, we went on some adventures. On Saturday, we drove over to Hamilton Montana to eat lunch at Naps Grill with them and John. The food there is always outstanding! Josh drove Ryan's van, and Amanda, John, and I were all in the backseat and discussed all our ideas for the upcoming Salmon Idol in October that Amanda & I would be the MC's for. We had a great drive! On Sunday afternoon, Josh & I took Ryan and Amanda on a jeeping adventure for the first time! Josh lifted Ryan out of his wheelchair, and he sat up front while Josh drove and Amanda & I were in the backseat. We drove up to Williams Lake, and then over the South Fork back to Williams Creek Road. We had so much fun, especially Ryan! He was on cloud 9! The weather was perfect for it, too. Josh even got Amanda & I to squeal once when he took a super steep detour. We all made it back home safely, much to Josh's relief. ;)

It was a little bit trickier getting Ryan out of the jeep, than

it had been getting him in to it! But Josh is the man!

Ryan even wanted him to kiss him as he was lifting him,

but sadly for Ryan, that didn't happen! haha! Funny guy!

On the weekend that the twins had a XC meet at Eagle Island State Park, I drove down and stayed in the hotel with Josh on Friday night. On Saturday morning, I finally got to go to the Meridian Temple! I've wanted to go the last two years, but it hasn't worked out. It was such a pretty temple! Now, I've been to every one in Idaho (until the Pocatello one has been built), which has been a goal of mine for quite some time. After the temple, I drove over to see Micah's race. Jonah unfortunately didn't run at the Bob Firman Meet this year due to tendonitis in his knee. The Salmon Varsity team chose to run in the Elite race, which is the first time they've ever done that, and they raced against teams from big schools that came from Oregon, Utah, and Idaho. They didn't win any medals, but they ran their hardest and I'm proud of them for making the tough choice to do it as a team to support the wishes of the upperclassmen who wanted to do it. Ammon came to Boise that weekend, and came to the race as well so it was fun to see him. We also ran into Josh's best friend Ryan when we were there, as he was supporting his niece from Salmon who runs as well.

After Micah's race, I drove back to Mud Lake and picked up Kanyon. We went to my principal's daughter's outdoor wedding reception in Hamer. We got there just as it was getting dark, and the dancing was picking up. It was a fun party! I'm glad we got to go--originally I didn't think we would be able to with the busy schedule I had that weekend! My principal's daughter Jorie is the same age as Ammon, and she's substituted for me in my class before, and I really wanted to support them. The decorations were so cute, and the food was delicious! Jorie's mom Merilee is an incredible baker and baked like 12 different kinds of cookies, and every single one (that I tried) was outstanding! While we were there, Josh texted me pictures of his and the twins' dinner at Black Bear Café, where the team stopped to eat on the way home. They'd never eaten there before, and they were all impressed with the giant portion sizes! After the reception, Kanyon and I drove home to Salmon, and made it a couple of hours ahead of Josh and the boys who were on the bus.

On weekends when I was home this fall, I really loved spending time relaxing in the new Triple S area we created. Several times, I would see deer hanging out in the cover of the trees over the nearby creek bend. I never wanted to alert them or scare them off because I wanted to be comfortable enough around our property that when the time came in October, they would be an easier target for my boys to shoot! This may sound mean--but the deer eat our apples, the hay from my father-in-law's fields, the flowers in our yard, and the raspberries from our garden. So it's only fair that I get to eat the deer that I'm essentially raising and feeding!!

On this particular day, I watched three bucks hanging out

in the same area (only 2 are visible here). Such a peaceful sight!

One of my 40 Things to Do list items was to beat Josh at a game of scrabble. When we were newlyweds, we used to play the game all the time! I would keep track of our game scores, and I usually one only about once every ten games or so. We haven't played this game for years, and I wanted to start practicing--so on the night of the twins' birthday, I pulled it out, and we taught the boys how to play. We hadn't played since they were little, and had never played it with them! Surprisingly, I won that first round, but I was determined to beat him in a 2-player game, so I didn't count that. After that night, though, Kanyon was interested in playing it, and he played with me for several nights in West J as well as with us in Salmon. I love playing games, and it was so fun to involve my kids in a game that Josh and I have had our entire marriage!

My 2-week spud harvest break from school started the last week of September, and continued the first week of October. I got a lot of work done the first week, cleaning the house and harvesting our garden. I also spent time relaxing, too, which I needed because the start of the schoolyear was a rough one for me this year: I was mentoring a new teacher, was in charge of a committee, was on several other committees, and had a more challenging class with predominantly boys and a high amount of students with ADD or ADHD. I needed the break and welcomed it happily!

Our crop of pumpkins we grew this year...just the right amount! Enough big ones

for us to carve, and enough little ones to give to my students at school. 

I hung out with Josh on his golf course one afternoon.

I liked driving around with him, watching him golf,

and checking out the beautiful course that he maintains. 

Sitting in the Triple S became my favorite pastime this fall!!

Emmy Jackson's wedding was the last weekend in September, at an outdoor facility on the Salmon River known as Sweetwater. Unfortunately, a big storm blew through town that afternoon just as her wedding was starting. There was a torrential downpour right after the ceremony was done, and the celebration had to be moved indoors to the small. They had so many cute decorations that added to the occasion, but didn't get appreciated as much because everything got moved indoors. However, even with the downpour, and the wind, and the fact that we were freezing, it was one of the most beautiful weddings we've ever been to. The love was evident, happiness was abound, and it was an incredible joyful celebration. It was a memorable wedding, and we were so glad that we were able to go and that Ammon and Gabbie could come home to Salmon for it, too. Darcy and Phil are one of our best friends, and Emmy has always been so good to Ammon (her brother Eli is one of Ammon's best friends). We are blessed to know them!

The food that was catered was so beautifully laid out, not to mention delicious!

The soups especially were a big hit on that cold day (and the beer, but I

didn't happen to take a photo of the cute beer truck nor the crowds around

the fire pits nor the rainfall, because I was too cold to think at the time!)

After the rain, it snowed that night and into the next morning. It's such an unusual sight to see snow covering green trees and ground:

Josh and I left the snow and headed south to go to Moab, for my #1 bucket list item: ride a hot air balloon (which I will post more about later). On the way, we stopped by Tabbi's home in SLC to wish her a happy birthday. Her friends were there, helping her decorate her walls and baking cookies for a birthday party she was having the next day. We only stayed for about an hour, but it was fun to see her and meet some of her friends!

This was my Grandpa Perkins' leather couch that Tabbi inherited.

Josh looks right at home on it, don't you think?!