Road trip to CA

My mom celebrated her 54th birthday the day before our big road trip to California to visit the Carpenters. That day my sister Karli also received her mission call. She is going to serve in Tucson Arizona and leaves in January. We were all very happy for her and it was wonderful we were all together for both the birthday and the call.


That was October 19th. The next morning my sisters Holly, Karli, and Kynsie, my mom, and I all woke up bright and early so we could drive over 800 miles to visit our sister Heidi and her family in California. Holly suggested we take a road trip and fall break was the best time for us all to go, so we just grabbed the opportunity and did it! We made it there without any incidents other than bathroom breaks and had a lot of fun laughing and quoting movies. Heidi and Gabe live in a Army housing unit and graciously let us take over their living room as our sleeping quarters so we didn't have to stay in a hotel. Heidi made mom a nice birthday cake and everyone had some even though they had junk food all the way over in the car! (I became the obstacle of ridicule for my constantly griping about how much thrice blasted sugar everyone was eating.)



Mom, Kynsie, Karli, Heather, Holly Heidi, and Lucy
The next day we got up and exercised, and then Heidi managed to find member passes from all her friends and got us all into the Monteray Bay Museum for FREE. We spent an enjoyable few hours browsing all the aquatic displays and seeing a huge sun fish being fed.

We were all starving by the time we walked out of the museum so we stopped at a conveniently located Johny Rockets and had lunch and jammed to the music with all the servers. Heidi accidently was given my hamburger and took three bites before she realized it wasn't hers, so I switched her hamburgers and she tried to pry off some of hers to make up for eating mine, but it just ended up making a huge mess and I only got a gram of meat, and Heidi and I were laughing so hard our sides hurt.


That evening we drove to the beach by Carmel, there were all kinds of gorgeous and unique houses and trees on this drive. It was gorgeous! We got to watch the sun dip into the ocean and ate salad on the beach. The kelp was really odorous, but we found a spot that wasn't too smelly and just enjoyed the evening.





We went home and made sister bracelets out of beads Heidi got us. We played balderdash and laughed more and were all exhausted by the time we found our beds.

The next day we again exercised, walking about 3 miles to the closest beach to Heidi's house. It was SUNNY, Friday was so overcast I wasn't sure if the sun came out in Monteray, but we lucked out and had a very beautiful sunny day. We then went to the Fisherman's Wharf and enjoyed clam chowder in bread bowls and music and fun shops.




Karli loves lighthouses, she collects them. So we had to stop by the Monteray Light house that was built in 1853. Those lighthouses on the poster Karli is holding are all located on the West coast.
Sunday morning we said good bye bright and early and hit the road again. Thanks to the Carpenters for their food and hospitality and fun! We made it home without incident as well, the Lord was with us. I am amazed at how far we can travel in relative comfort and with such speed. It was a wonderful trip with my mom and sisters and I am so glad I took the time to do it, and that Jared and the kids were so supportive of me going as well. The kids slept over at grandmas the first night and spent the day there. But Friday Jared took most of the day off, and they went to the movies, to Trafalga, to Cabelas, they went fishing, they had dinner with the Schauers, and Sunday they all made it to church. He is a great Dad!

Autumn time

We have been so blessed with a mild and pleasant autumn in Utah County. Its just now starting to feel jacket-worthy outside, and the changing leaves in the mountains have been beautiful. Here are this week's autumn happenings.


Savanna didn't pass the eye exam at Lindon Elementary this year and I was required by the school nurse to get her a professional eye exam to see if she needed corrective lenses. She was -.5 in one eye and -1.0 in the other, barely nearsighted, but we went ahead and got her the glasses. She picked the lenses herself, and she looks very cute! The same week we took her in for an orthodontic consultation. Her smile is nice, but her bottom teeth are really crooked. Come to find out she has crowding on both top and bottom and two of her teeth are 90 degrees turned the wrong way. She has all her permanent teeth already so the Orthodontist recommended we start the process of getting her braces. Lucky Savanna. Interestingly enough, she wanted the braces but not the glasses.




We enjoyed a drive up the mountains to see the changing leaves on Sunday, and Mondy had family night at South Fork. It was so pleasant my mom and I decided to go back up the next day and hike down the river from South Fork trail head. It was a very nice morning and a beatuiful hike! I'm so glad we took the time to enjoy it, for two days later it snowed in the mountains.



Jared took his cub scouts to a Fire Department Safety Fair/Demonstration and took Weston with him. They had a lot of fun learning about fires and what fire fighters do, and there was free cotton candy and weston ate an entire bag himself! Weston brought that red hat home and filled it full of water in the bathroom and left it there, and I not knowing it was full of water, did my rounds to pick up the house today and dumped the water all over the place. You got me Weston.



Fiora has a lot of fun at her Activity Day functions. They went to the BYU Art museum and had a real actual tour of the art there. This past week they went to Sarah Allred's and she taught them how to make bread. Sarah (pictured) has been a good friend for me here, she lives just a few houses away and runs with me in the morning when its good weather, and sometimes I get to watch her babies while she runs errands. I'm grateful for her, and all the good people and good leaders and good friends around here!

My son Weston has an infatuation twitterpation love-afair with Ninjagos. He got two mini kits for his birthday this year and has been nuts about them since. Ever since his uncle Joseph got quite a few more at his birthday, Weston's eyes have been opened to the Ninjago possibilities. He is constantly asking me to buy him the Ninjago white dragon, and when I tell him to do chores to earn the $20 required to buy it he moans and hangs his head saying its "sooo hard." He comes up with every angle, "But mom, Joseph got all the Ninjago stuff for his birthday and I only got two little things." "But mom, Xander has the dragons and he didn't have to do anything." I try giving him the lecture about having to work for things in life, but I think he simply hears "no." When the book fair came to Lindon Elementary, Weston found a Ninjago guide book, complete with a blue Ninja attached tot he cover. He was beside himself! "Please mom go to the book fair and get me the ninjago book with the blue ninja!" I told him my appointment with his teacher was Wednesday at 5:00, and if he had been a good student I would consider it. He could barely wait for 5:00 to come around. He made me get in the car 15 minutes early and when we got to school said, "hurry run, we have to get it before it runs out!" So we ran into the school. There it still was to Weston's relief, and of course his teacher had nothing but great things to say about Weston, even his reading is spot-on grade level, so I rewarded him with his Ninjago guide and blue warrior. He was so happy he carried it carefully and begged me to hurry and go home so he could open it, and read the descriptions of all the ninjas and skeletons and dragons in the book. I couldn't believe a 2 inch plastic toy could make someone so happy. That night when he went to bed he thanked me repeatedly for his blue Ninja, "I'm just so grateful mom. I love you more, most, never ending no matter what you do or what you say!" I felt so happy as I tucked him in. It made me think how joyful Heavenly Father must be when we are that grateful for the blessings he give us. Today I'm thankful for Weston!