A Canyon Drive

We've been noticing reds and oranges popping up on the mountains, so we had to go check them out this evening!

It was so gorgeous!  We didn't have any particular hike in mind, so we just kind of drove around and stopped to walk around wherever we wanted.

 I love autumn!

September So Far

Nothing notable ever happens in September.  Have I mentioned that before?  Is it the same for you?  September always kind of just comes and goes without ever leaving proof that it was actually there.  Maybe it just gets lost in the stress of adjusting to school life.  Anyway, even though we are in such an unimportant month, we've done some fun things so far!

I took a day off work so Chanel and I could go up to the Salt Lake City temple!  It was an awesome day full of (other than the temple) shopping, eating, and getting kicked out of the Legacy Theater in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building because of an emergency alarm(?)

Don't worry, she always carries around her Russian Book of Mormon.  Even when it was hidden in her bag, people still thought we were sister missionaries.  Nothing wrong with that - in fact sometimes we wanted to pretend we were!  Then always follows the discussion of how Chanel will be going to the MTC next week for her Baltic Region assignment.  Then they ask me, "are you going on a mission?" and I say, "I was going to...but then I got married!"  Haha we seriously had this exact conversation with at least four different people.

My dad invested in one of those virtual reality things!  I had tried my uncle Matt's a few days earlier, and played a haunted house game that I swear gave me PTSD even though I couldn't finish it, haha.  It's been fun watching everyone else freak out while playing it!

My daddy is so funny but so ingenious.  The headset kept overheating, so he just slapped on a couple of computer fans!  There hasn't been a problem since!

People have been so generous with their bounteous harvests!  We have been showered with fruits and vegetables, we can't even keep up with it all!  We have made some good recipes though, like habanero hot sauce and peach pie.

My dad had been playing with the laser Ethan got me for the past couple of months.  It ran out of batteries, so he returned it for a recharge, but now Bailey can't stop playing with it!  Haha, what's with people and lasers?!

Chanel and I attended the wedding of her close friend and were delighted to discover that there was an assortment of cake up for the eating!  Four pieces between the two of us?  Obviously!

Bailey is getting pretty good at this campaign thing, haha.  But really - I'm super proud of him how he's taking action and getting involved in campaigns and politics in general.  He's volunteered for a couple of candidates he supports, which I think is invaluable experience.

And... Chanel is off.  I had to say goodbye to her this weekend during our last temple trip and her farewell.  It's actually been a really long wait for her mission, so I'm happy for her that the time has come.  But I sure will miss her!

A Quick Trip to Huntington

We just love weekends in Huntington!  Grandpa Bud and his cute wife are always so hospitable, and the slow way of life in that little town is such a nice break from normal life.  Especially with school just starting - we already needed a break!

It was raining like crazy on our way up, so we drove slow and careful.  Because of the rain, it wasn't a good weekend for fishing.  So grandpa took us to see the sights!

I had no idea there were so many cool things to see in their desert!  From far away it doesn't look like much, but Grandpa knows where to find the good stuff and drove us right up to a waterfall that I couldn't resist climbing up to.

So pretty!  Grandpa took us to a couple of places with petroglyphs, and it was fun trying to decide which ones were real or not.  We drove around for a while, but I don't actually know how long because I apparently fell asleep.  I woke up during a flash flood and we practically had to drive through a river of water.  But it dried up quick and Grandpa took us to the final destination - for sure real life petroglyphs that were being preserved.  It was cool because they had plaques and stuff for us to read about what might be going on.

The next morning we got up early so we could make it in home for primary.  Rush and Huntington don't go together, so we spent a little longer than we planned just enjoying our time there.  And receiving a bounteous harvest!  Grandpa Bud is a pro gardener, and he sent us home with SO much food!  It was awesome, I mean, look at this giant onion!  He really saved us money on groceries this week, and nothing can compare to those home grown tomatoes.

Tasty.