November 2021 Randoms

Jonah participated in the regional chorale event at the beginning of November in Driggs. Josh was able to drive the bus for it, so he got to see him sing in the concert that night. 

I took Josh out for Prime Rib, his favorite meal, at the Ranch Steakhouse the Wednesday Night before his birthday weekend. His coworker Donny unexpectedly also showed up that night. It was his actual birthdate, which I had no idea! We invited him to sit with us, and then we found out it was his birthday, so I paid for his meal, too. It was his first birthday since his fiancée passed away, and he was so grateful to not have to dine alone and to celebrate it with others, and I'm so thankful we were there at the same time and the same place that night to make it happen!

Birthday Boys!

Josh captured this beautiful sunrise at the golf course at the beginning of November. It was one of the last ones of the year that he took photos of. These are the moments he treasured the most: experiencing solitude in the morning hours, feeling the peaceful calm and quiet before everyone started golfing, and witnessing the gloriousness of the world around him. 

Amanda and Ryan, and my sister Tabbi, came to visit Salmon the weekend of Josh's birthday. We invited the Berube's out to come play games with us after Josh and I got home from Josh's birthday retreat to Burgdorf (see earlier post). We played Codenames and ate snacks and had a good time together!

Tabbi also came to do a presentation for my class about National Parks. She gave the presentation on Monday on her way back to Utah. My students had been researching individual National Parks in the West, and were preparing to give their own presentations to the school that week, and since Tabbi is an expert about National Parks, I invited her to come talk to the class about places she's visited. She's on a quest to visit ALL the National Parks in the U.S., and only has a handful left! It's been a fun journey for me to follow. She showed them pictures and videos and gave them facts about each of the parks they were researching, and then she shared additional experiences, photos, and videos about some of her favorite National Parks. It was very inspiring, and they loved it! She also brought them National Park postcards they could keep, and gave our class a National Park book to reference in the future. I loved having her visit! 

We went out to dinner with the Berube's and our friend John to celebrate Josh's birthday before the Berube's returned to Utah. We ate at Last Chance. I love hanging out with our friends!

On Veteran's Day, we had a flag raising ceremony at school, and I sang the National Anthem as a solo. I love volunteering to sing that song: it's one of my favorites! Also, my dad was featured as one of 11 Veterans from the State of Utah honored by the Governor in a special program, which was so cool!

I took my class on a half-day field trip to visit a nearby historical site after we finished our unit on researching National Parks. We visited the Charcoal Kilns between Leadore and Mud Lake. Although it was cold, it was a fun trip, and I was grateful we were able to squeeze it in the schedule before the snow fell!

My Terreton friends celebrated Tanis' 40th birthday with a surprise dinner at Rosalba's house one weekday evening in November. Tanis was so surprised, and began crying as soon as she realized what was happening! It was a lovely evening being together to celebrate her!

I made this sucker bouquet with a poem
I wrote a few years ago when other friends
also turned 40!

Lidia made a beautiful chocolate cake for the
occasion, which is Tanis' favorite.

Rosalba's daughters put hemp designs on the 
thumbs of Angie, Rosalba, and me! I loved it!

Josh and I took evening walks down the lane several evenings in November. One day around dusk, he took this picture of the tree silhouette below Ed & Kathy's house. Josh has developed a good eye for landscape photography!

a cool moon shot I captured from our driveway

Josh and I took a last minute exploration trip to the Hailey area. We stopped and soaked at the Wild Rose natural hot springs outside of Carey just as the sun was setting, which was so beautiful! We stayed at a little hotel in Bellevue and ate dinner that night at a nice little Mexican Restaurant in Bellevue called Mama Inez. The next day, we had planned to hike around the Black Magic Canyon between Bellevue and Shoshone, near the Magic Reservoir, but in the night, Josh got acid reflux SUPER BAD and he was throwing up a lot, and by the next day, we both knew he couldn't hike. I drove us along highways towards Idaho Falls, got some shopping done, and drove home to Salmon. It didn't end up being the trip we thought we'd take, but we were glad we went, and I was SO grateful that Josh was okay. It was a scary night!

November had such mild weather! It was nice to take evening strolls with Josh after work in the mild temperatures! More evidence (taken by Josh) of our nightly neighborhood walks: