September 2022 Randoms

Labor Day

Josh and I decided to get away for Labor Day this year--usually our fall schedule is dictated by XC, and there's always a meet on Labor Day weekend, so we don't have Labor Day plans. But since none of our kids were in XC this year, our whole fall opened up! We stayed for 2 nights over Labor Day weekend at Elkhorn Hot Springs in Montana; this was our 3rd time there. The weather was nice, and we relaxed in our cabin for the majority of the time, reading books in our room and on the porch. It wasn't super busy, which was nice. We soaked several times in the hot pool, and ate dinner and breakfast there each day. We also ran into some acquaintances from Salmon there, too, which was a fun surprise. Unfortunately, though, the power went out one day while we were there for several hours, and our bed frame broke while we were reading in bed one afternoon, so we might not stay there again, because every time we stay there, something goes wrong--although this was definitely less traumatic than getting locked out of our cabin in negative-degree weather like last time! 

Moose Fire

The Moose Fire that started down river from North Fork in July continued to spread, and in September, it got dangerously too close to home. There was a major windstorm that blew through one evening, and the fire spread quickly towards town. It burned part of the City of Salmon's watershed area and continued burning along the mountains above the bar hill in town. The area to the north and south of the fairgrounds was evacuated. We've never witnessed a wildfire from our home before, and it was scary to have it get so close. Josh and I watched it outside our home that night for quite a while. We could see whenever a new tree was engulfed in flame and it would burst into a fiery ball; it was a terrifying, yet incredible, sight. The fire became so strong that it created its own weather with an electrical charge that sparked thunderstorms as it blew through eastern Montana. Thankfully, the dedicated firefighters were able to stop it from spreading to the houses on the edge of town, and none of the houses near the fairgrounds or on the bar hill burned. 

There were days that the smoke was so thick
that the moon looked a blood orange color.

The thick smoke also altered the sun's appearance, 
giving it a more subdued glow, like in this sunrise photo. 

The Moose Fire burned all through September, and the smoke plumes coming from nearby mountains were a daily reminder of its closeness. It didn't stop until snow fell on the mountains in October. 

Missionaries

The rest of the twins' 6-pack of friends had their farewells in September. Jonah and Micah's mission dates started in July, Tyler began in August, and Boaz, Nathan, and Erik all started their missions in September. Unfortunately, we were out of town the week that Tyler had his farewell, but we went to the other 3 boys' mission farewells in September, and the get-together meals afterwards at the city park. Nathan and Erik were the last two to go, and since their missions started on the same date, they had a combined mission farewell and celebratory meal, which was fun! Our friend Hailey Linger and her kids were here for it, too, which was a fun surprise! They moved to Missouri in June, but she came back to visit her parents in September because her mom was really sick, and she surprised everyone with her week-long visit. This was the final outdoor BBQ of the season, and we enjoyed our time at the park with our friends, celebrating our sons' friends and their new ventures. 

After Micah arrived in Chile when his time at the Mexico MTC ended, the twins finally both had the same P-days, and we were able to see both of them at the same time on their weekly phone calls, which was SO COOL! These coordinated phone calls continued until November, when Daylight Savings changed things, due to the boys being in different hemispheres. They call home using the Facebook Messenger App, which is SO handy! I like that we get to see them as we talk to them! 

Garden Produce

My raspberries produced more this year than any other year, which was unexpected, because they didn't even start really producing until mid-August! I picked multiple gallons every week from late August to early October. I made more jars of raspberry freezer jam than I ever have before, and I also froze a few quarts of raspberries and I made several raspberry desserts, too. Once the plants really started producing, I felt like I couldn't stay on top of the picking, baking, and canning! 

The entire freezer door was full of jam!

Tanis, my friend in Mud Lake, said I could come pick some of their (Cherry Farms) sweet corn again this year. I didn't make it down there until the end of September, and most of the corn in the corner of their field was already picked over, but I still got around 6 bags' full. The next day, Kanyon helped me shuck the 100+ ears of corn, and I processed it into 20 quarts. We also ate it for dinner a couple of times. Their corn is SO good!

I use the "cooler" method now to blanche the corn, and it
is such a time saver! I pour the boiling water into the cooler
full of corn & shut the lid for 20 minutes, and it's ready to 
be processed!

Kanyon's a Driver!

Kanyon took Driver's Ed training in Idaho Falls for 3 days in March, and after 6 months of having his permit, and having supervised driving with me and Josh, he FINALLY got his Driver's License in September! Until he got his license, I drove him to school and dropped him off early on my way to Leadore. During the summer, he'd gotten rides to work with Josh, and he got a motorized scooter to ride the 7 miles home after work. He likes having the freedom of having his own ride. Now he drives the truck that used to belong to Great Grandpa Parsons, the same truck Micah drove his last 2 years of high school, since Jonah drove the silver Scion. 

TTFN, Toyhauler Trailer

We decided to sell our toyhauler trailer in September. We hadn't used it much in the last 2 years, and we thought it would be better to sell it than keep storing it only to use it a couple times each year. Additionally, since the boys have all left home except Kanyon, and he doesn't really care for camping, we didn't need something as big anymore. It was a good trailer for us: it was very versatile, and we loaded up kayaks & paddle boards in it, motorcycles & 4-wheelers, and the street bike all on different trips. It was also the easiest trailer we've ever had to set up and level, and we liked how open it was and how it fit all of us comfortably. A cute, younger family from Montana bought it in October; it was their first trailer, and I hope they enjoy it as much as we did!

Date Nights 

I went to Mud Lake in September to play Dominoes with my West J friends. I love these ladies so much! We had a wonderful time chatting about our summer experiences and the new school year, eating food, and playing our beloved Dominoes game.

Josh was my Special Guest during my Star Student week at school; I love this tradition that he does every fall to come meet my students. They like meeting him, too! We left from Leadore together to a doctor appointment in Idaho Falls, and then I took him out to dinner at the Longhorn Steakhouse. It was his first time there, but I'd been there with my Dominoes friends in August, and I'd loved it so much I wanted him to go there with me. 

Beautiful Skies

One sunrise on my commute to Leadore.

Fall vibes on my Friday morning soak

A pretty shot of the fresh snow-tipped Bitterroots from the cemetery

I witnessed this awe-inspiring rainbow at the end of September
in Mud Lake after I'd finished picking corn at the Cherry Farm.
It started as one partial rainbow and grew into a full double rainbow!

It was so big, bold, and vivid! I was so grateful
that I was in the right time and place to see it! 

The sun's rays on some freshly cut hay fields near Terreton.

Our Missionaries' Farewell

It was a whirlwind spring getting ready for high school graduation and doing all the preparations to submit their mission papers, and a crazy June and July completing all the shopping, doctor appointments, and necessary mission paperwork requirements before their missions started on Monday, July 18. The weekend before their short-term home MTC started, we celebrated them and their willingness to serve the Lord. It was a glorious weekend with so many good moments, which I was so grateful for, especially after all the stress of the previous months leading up to it!

Jonah and Micah both went through the temple on Friday afternoon the 15th for their first time. It was such a neat experience to do an endowment session with my children! Josh was their escort, which was an honor for him. We were able to reserve 20 spots for our group, and Jonah and Micah gave me a list of who they wanted to invite. Several family members and ward family come to support the boys that day, and several members of our ward were also serving in the temple that day too, which made it even more special for us! Family that came were: Grandma & Grandpa Tolman, Aunt Tiffany & Uncle Scott, cousins Joel & Aysha, Aunt Linette & Uncle John, and Aunt Janet & Uncle Ben. Members of our ward who joined us were: Ted & BJ Shinderling, Jordan & Cheyenne Hansen, and Bishop & Cindy Clark. Amanda and Ryan Berube drove up from Ogden to support the boys as well. I loved being able to see Shirley Anderson and LaRae Birch who were serving in the temple at that time, and was tickled that they got to be mine and Amanda's helpers. It was such a neat experience and I really treasure my memories of it! 

After we got out of the temple on Friday, we went to Reed's Dairy to have a quick meal and some shakes, since it was such a hot day and the cool ice cream sounded good. Amanda and Ryan were the only ones who joined us from our temple group; everyone else left after the ceremony. After we ate and were walking back to our car, Hyrum Spencer and his parents showed up! They were just heading to the temple, too! Hyrum got set apart as a missionary at the beginning of July, and Jonah and Micah drove down to Monteview to his farewell, but they hadn't seen him since. It was such a fun surprise to run into him! We invited them to join us at the twins' farewell on Sunday, too. 

Their mission farewell program at church was on Sunday, July 17th. They each got to speak, and Amanda and I sang the song "Go in Peace" between their talks. The program was broadcasted on Zoom, so family and friends who couldn't join us in person could still hear them speak, which was great. It was the largest attendance on Zoom that our ward has had since COVID! There were a lot of visitors to our ward that day, too, which I was so grateful for! Jonah and Micah both did a fantastic job speaking: they gave spiritual insight, made the audience laugh, spoke of our Savior Jesus Christ, and were honest about their feelings. It was an absolutely wonderful program! My only complaint is that there was a family whose kids were screaming throughout the talk, and they happened to sit right behind me, which was very distracting! Thankfully, I was still able to feel the spirit and my heart was bursting with pride to see and hear my sons. 

We held a gathering at the city park afterwards for family and friends to come join us for a meal. It was a great decision to hold the meal at the park, which has a covered pavilion, rather than at our house because: 1. we were able to host more people, 2. we didn't have to clean our house, 3. we didn't have to set out picnic tables, and 4. we didn't have to worry about the weather (when we hosted the Linger family farewell party outside our home in May, it rained, and we had to move everything!). However, what I didn't anticipate was the wind. It was SO windy that afternoon! Everyone who came was a good sport about it, but I felt like we were 0-2 for hosting summer BBQ's (I felt like the weather got the best of us both times!). To prepare for the feast, Josh rearranged the picnic tables and took in a few banquet tables to set the food on. The day before, I'd made 2 giant crockpots of homemade sloppy joe meat and shredded BBQ chicken meat. We served both choices with buns, and I also made 2 large bowls of salad and 2 pans of O'Henry bars, and brought chips and drinks to share. Some of our friends and family also brought salads, sides, and desserts, which made for a great feast. We had a pretty good turnout, and it was so fun to hang out with our loved ones to celebrate the special occasion. 

The Boyz piled into Tyler's truck to come to the get-together
after they were done with their mission prep class after church.
It was so funny to see them all squished in together!

Towards the end of the party, after most everyone had left but a few of our closest friends, a family celebrating their child's birthday started encroaching into our space, which was a little annoying since we had paid for the space, but people from the other pavilion sent them our way because they had more people and a smaller outdoor building, and our party was dying down. As their family celebration grew, our group gathered around just 2 tables and we were still having a good time talking and laughing, and then we noticed a giant smoke pillar in the distance to the northwest. We all knew what it meant: a wildfire had begun. At that time, we had no idea the extent of the damage or the exact location, but due to the strong winds, we knew the outlook wasn't good. The party dissipated after that...a fun party where lots of laughs were had and good food was eaten!

The fire grew so much in such a short time: this picture was taken on
our drive home, just 45 minutes after spotting the initial smoke clouds. 

On Sunday evening, we drove back into town and met with President Stokes to set apart the twins as missionaries. Their 6-pack of friends came, too (minus Nathan who was on vacation). Grandpa Tolman and Uncle Tim joined in the circle along with Josh and President Stokes to set them apart, which was neat. It was another wonderful experience, listening to President Stokes as he gave them individual advice and spiritual enlightenment to help them in the next 2 years as they embark on their missions to serve the Lord. 

Erik, Elder Jonah Tolman, Boaz, Elder Micah Tolman, Tyler

It was a great farewell weekend for our boys, whose missions started the next morning. There were so many moments during that weekend when I overwhelmingly felt God's love, through the people who surrounded us at the temple, during the church farewell program, and at the feast in the park. We are so grateful to have raised our children alongside such good people, and we recognize that it truly does take a village to raise a child. We are blessed for our "village" who have helped these boys become the wonderful men that they are!