Ammon's Visit
After Ammon graduated from U of I in May, he continued to live in Moscow throughout the summer, working at the University golf course and finishing the lease on the home he was renting. In order to become a golf professional, he had one more requirement to complete post-graduation: a 7-month internship at a golf course. He signed on to complete this internship at the Fire Rock Country Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, but he knew he wanted to be there during the winter months, so he didn't plan on starting the job until October. He moved out of his Moscow apartment at the end of September, and he came home to Salmon for a few days before leaving for Arizona. While he was here, he did some packing and unpacking of his long-term storage boxes, had some dental and eye doctor appointments, he took Kanyon golfing, and on his last night, we had a "Last Supper" for him. His dinner request was steak and cream corn. He packed up his car after dinner, and it was pretty full to the brim! He left early in the morning of Thursday, October 9th, in order to make the 15-hour drive to Phoenix all in one day. Thankfully, he and his car arrived safely! It was nice to have him home for a few days!
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| We were all together for the twins' weekly call on Mon, Oct. 3. |
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| Ammon's requested "Last Supper" meal (since he wouldn't be home for his upcoming bday meal). |
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| His jam-packed car! |
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| He left in the dark at 6:30am. I had a sad face to see him go! |
One afternoon mid-October, Josh and I went for a drive and a soak at Cronk's Canyon Hot Springs (a natural hot springs about a half hour's drive from our home). As we were sitting and soaking, we noticed a line of bighorn sheep walking across the steep hillside of rocks across the river from where we were. It was fascinating! We counted over 15 sheep altogether. There were rams, ewes, and even some younger lambs. It made our soak even more enjoyable!
Jaxson's Birthday
Kanyon's friend Jaxson from West J came to stay with us at our house for a few days one weekend in mid-October. On Friday night, the Salmon football team hosted the West J football team for Senior Night. Jaxson played in the game while Kanyon played in the band. Josh and I watched the game on the West J side, sitting with the VanEps and Williams families. It was the first home football game we'd been to all season, and we had fun! After the game, Kanyon picked up Jaxson and brought him to our home. It was Jaxson's birthday that weekend, and he'd told his mom all he wanted was to spend a few days at our house! On Saturday, we were going to take the boys bowling, but there was a tournament going on, so we couldn't. Kanyon and Jaxson played several video games, and then we took them out for dinner at the Savage Grill. On Sunday, Jaxson came to church with us. It was Aiden Hobbs' missionary homecoming, so after church we went to their house and ate with their family and friends, and Jaxson joined us for that too. I took him back home to Mud Lake on Sunday afternoon. He's a great kid, and it was nice to have him here for a few days!
Moose Fire
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| Kanyon playing the tuba at the football game. |
Tree Trimming
On the last weekend of the month, we decided to do some tree-trimming. Along our driveway, there are several Box Elder and Ash trees behind Edward's shop. The trees had gotten overgrown, and Josh and I had discussed for a couple of months which trees needed to be taken out and how we would trim them all up. Since the weather was nice, and we didn't have any plans for the day, it was finally time to put our plans into action. Josh brought a pole saw home from work, and he climbed on top of the shop's roof to do most of the trimming. I forgot to take a "before" shot, but I included one I found from last year that shows the overgrowth of the bottom portion of the trees. Josh removed 2 whole trees, and trimmed a ton off the rest of them. It was a major trimming job, but we got it done in two hours. Josh even raked off all the years' worth of leaves from the rooftop. Then Kanyon and Edward helped us carry off all the downed branches to our burn pile. It looked SO much nicer when it was all done!
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| AFTER |
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| A "BEFORE" shot I found from last January. |
Moose Fire
The fire that started burning north/west of Salmon in mid-July continued to burn into October, although it wasn't as severe anymore. The cooler nights and mornings slowed its growth, so many of the firefighters left the valley at the beginning of October. However, some winds kicked up and spread it visibly in the mountains above Salmon on October 14. As we were watching the home football game that night, we could see flames up on the mountain above the town once again. Thankfully, within a few weeks, it was completely out after snow fell upon the mountains.
People and Food
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| Afternoon of Oct. 14, as seen from town |
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| Evening of Oct. 14, as seen from Main Street. I wish I'd taken a photo of the view of the flames from the high school football field that night! |
People and Food
I ordered a canvas picture of our most recent family photo taken in July, and added it to our family picture wall in October. I love walking in the front door and seeing this wall of photos. There's still room for 3 more family portraits before it's completely full.
Halloween
I was going to be a hot dog for Halloween, but I couldn't find my costume anywhere! I don't know if I borrowed it to someone and never got it back or if I put it somewhere other than the costume box. The night before Halloween, I decided to be a witch instead. I was happily surprised after I showed up at school to find that one of my students had dressed very similarly to me! I love Halloween! This year, it was pretty low-key. We'd gone to the Ward Halloween Party the week before, but we didn't dress up for it. In fact, Josh and Kanyon only made it to the end of the party because of a winter sports meeting that started at the same time the ward party began. We didn't have any trick-or-treaters come to our house this year, Kanyon didn't dress up in a costume for school, and we didn't even carve jack-o-lanterns (which is a first). It was the first major holiday since the twins left for their missions, and it was just the start of how our traditions have changed with just having one kid home now (who doesn't really care if we celebrate or not).
After I dropped off Jaxson at his home in Mud Lake on October 16, I continued my drive to Ogden, Utah. I stayed with Amanda and Ryan on Sunday night. She fed me dinner and we talked late that night. On Monday morning, Amanda cut and colored my hair, and then I went to a trailer dealership and purchased a flatbed car-hauling trailer. I pulled it behind my Acadia back home to Salmon that afternoon (it was the same trailer we used to haul the camper van home from Oregon).
One evening, I randomly decided to eat dinner at Dave's Pizza in town. I texted Kanyon and Josh, and they both met me there: Kanyon went to the library after school until it was time to come over to the restaurant, and Josh joined us when he was done driving school bus. Right after our food got delivered, John was walking by on his way home from school, and we knocked on the window so he could see us as he was walking past, and we motioned for him to come in and join us, which surprisingly, he did! It was a delightful dinner!
Kanyon's new favorite food is BBQ ribs. They take a little longer to make, so we don't eat them very often. However, the last Sunday of the month, Edward and Kathy were gone (we usually eat at their house on Sundays after church), so Josh made ribs for dinner. He puts them in the crock pot, and slowly cooks them for hours, then transfers them to the broiler right before we eat them to crisp up the outside. They were delicious! Kanyon rarely puts his clothes on to eat dinner with us; he instantly dresses down whenever he comes home from school or church. He's always hated feeling hot and how textures feel against his skin, and as he's aged, he's become more comfortable as a "clothing minimalist" at home!
The raspberries grew incredibly this fall--I was still picking them into October!
Fall Foliage
The weather this past October was absolutely glorious! It was warm in the afternoons and cool in the evenings and mornings, but the temperatures never dropped too drastically, so the leaves had a chance to slowly change. I loved watching the evolution of the colors change daily. Josh and I took photos of the trees all month long, because it was such a beautiful October (my favorite month!).
I was going to be a hot dog for Halloween, but I couldn't find my costume anywhere! I don't know if I borrowed it to someone and never got it back or if I put it somewhere other than the costume box. The night before Halloween, I decided to be a witch instead. I was happily surprised after I showed up at school to find that one of my students had dressed very similarly to me! I love Halloween! This year, it was pretty low-key. We'd gone to the Ward Halloween Party the week before, but we didn't dress up for it. In fact, Josh and Kanyon only made it to the end of the party because of a winter sports meeting that started at the same time the ward party began. We didn't have any trick-or-treaters come to our house this year, Kanyon didn't dress up in a costume for school, and we didn't even carve jack-o-lanterns (which is a first). It was the first major holiday since the twins left for their missions, and it was just the start of how our traditions have changed with just having one kid home now (who doesn't really care if we celebrate or not).
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