November

Our missionary girl finished up her MTC at home and left for Houston on November 16th.  We are so very proud of her and miss her already.  

Piper and her mom and dad spent hours raking the beautiful yellow leaves from their lawn in Michigan this month.  Looks like she had loads of fun!

My two favorite things I did this month was...

#1 made these delicious big guys

#2 read two Thanksgiving books to Piper via Marco Polo

Here she is saying "Thanks Grammie! New book, please!"  So in December, she'll get her wish of a Christmas book read to her.

My mom had her 75th birthday.  we (the siblings) got her a huge yard sign to let the whole world know.  We visited with her while wearing masks and ate a little cake.  I also gave her a fun detective book.

Thanksgiving Day 2020 was a new experience for me and Matt.  We spent it all by ourselves.  We cooked a traditional meal (substituting a turkey breast for a whole turkey because two people don't need 20 pounds of turkey!)  It was a quiet day, and we missed our kids and extended family, but it was also nice to be with each other.  I'm thankful for Matt!  We were able to join in on two Zoom meetings with both of our families.  It was fun to connect with them and talk about good things that happened to us this past year, to play silly games, and to learn about our lineage connection to people on the Mayflower.    

During the Thanksgiving week, President Nelson taught us in a social media message that gratitude and prayer can heal and bring true happiness.  We were encouraged to use social media to share what we are thankful for and flood the earth with gratitude.  I am truly blessed, and I need to remember that each and every day.

October

October started out with a hike up to Timpanogos Cave with my friend, Rebecca, from my old neighborhood.  I have missed walking and talking with her like we did several times a week for nearly two years.  So we arranged to meet in Lehi, and then we drove up American Fork Canyon to the trailhead.  It's a steep but short one and a half mile paved trail with an elevation gain of just over a thousand feet.  The leaves on many of the trees had turned colors and was gorgeous.  We had a great time catching up on all that had gone on in the two months since we had been together.  We decided to meet up once a month for a walk or hike.  

Here's Piper at her first pumpkin patch.  She is so cute and looks so grown up.  She had a great time in Oregon with her other grandparents.  Misty beach days, sunny pumpkin patches, and smoky sky park days.  She had it all!  

We got Emma's home MTC office painted and all ready for her to begin her service.  She was set apart on October 6th.  She was given a beautiful blessing by our new stake president, and the next morning, she began online training with her MTC district and companion, Hermana Flake.  She has been working hard from morning until night.  Her spanish has improved so much.  We love to hear her speak it with her brother and sister.  She is going to be a wonderful missionary for Jesus Christ!  

On October 18th, late at night, Chelsea and family arrived back at our house after spending six weeks in Oregon.  It was so fun to have them here for a week as they prepared for their big move to Michigan.  They closed on their new house while sitting at our kitchen table.  We are so excited for them to begin this new adventure of home ownership and grow as a family in a new place.  During the week, they packed up all their belongings into a semi truck and then watched it drive away hoping to see it again the next week.  It's a little unnerving to trust strangers with all the things you own.  I enjoyed playing with Piper here at home and at the park.  I love to hear her say "Gra-me".  She is learning and growing so fast.  She's quite independent and strong willed.  A couple times she told me to go away, but I didn't take it personally.  I'm really gonna miss her.  All of them.  

The evening before they left for Michigan, Emma was able to go to the Provo temple to receive her endowment.  It was a beautiful experience to have all three of our children together with us in the temple.  I wish I could have taken a picture of all of us outside of it, but it was already dark when we arrived at 7:00 pm.  My parents, Megan, and one of Emma's roommates also attended.  It was an extra special thing to know that the temple was open that night especially for Emma.  Nobody else was there.  Such an unusual time we live in right now.  But how grateful we are that temples are open on a limited basis.  

September

We gave away all of our boxes and paper.  Somebody got a good deal.  It was nice to get our garage cleared out so we could start getting organized. 

We started hanging artwork on the walls.  It's beginning to feel like home.

Check out this gorgeous evening view of Rock Canyon!

I got Piper to put on the Pooh Bear costume that Chelsea wore 24 years ago.  So cute!  

Lucile and Eric came over to see our new house and had sacrament meeting with us.  Piper wouldn't smile for the picture she had with her great grandparents, but she really was in a good mood.  Later that day, we gave her a Fisher Price house and an adorable book about Band Aids for her early birthday presents.  

Matt and I took the grand baby to the park for a little while so her mom and dad could get some things done in preparation for their trip to Portland.  

My sister Kristen has been without grass at her home due to broken sprinklers when she moved in.  She got those fixed and finally was able to buy sod.  I went to help lay it one Friday in September.  Thankfully, it was a cool, overcast day and lots of people came to pitch in.  Neighbors, missionaries, and family members.  We got the front and back finished within about four hours!  The sod for the backyard was wet and we all got super dirty.  I had lots of fun and learned about sod laying.  

September was preparation month for Emma's mission.  Lots of shopping and checking things off the list.  She had her roommate take some pre-mission pictures of her. She's gonna be one cute and smart missionary!

This house came with an already planted garden.  We've been able to enjoy lots of tomatoes.  Had to give many away to neighbors because we couldn't keep up.  

Let's end this post with little Piper's 2nd birthday at her other grandparents' house in Oregon.  Chelsea FaceTimed us and we got to watch her get sung HB to.  She reached out and touched the candle flame.  She got the saddest frown on her face after quickly pulling her little hand away.  She didn't get burned thankfully.  They distracted her with yummy chocolate frosting.