Gone but not forgotten...

One of the best aspects about serving up to BYU-I is the many friends we made. Each semester many moved away from Rexburg, but our friendship never ended. They are eternal. We have made trips to Utah, California, Texas and even Boise just to check on them. This week some former 67th Warders Jared and Cait (he was in the bishopric) were visiting parents in Boise. We couldn't resist after all we had yet to meet their newest little one. We had a wonderful time. It was so nice to visit with them.

Bishop, Jace, Sister Beazer, Cait, Cole

Almost got the bishop to smile for this one.

Jared and Cole

We also visited with the Brysons. We took a group picture but not with our camera so you will have to wait until they email it to us so it can be posted.

Don't be surprised it sometime you get a phone call with a pending visit from us.

Just like old times

Tonight there was a baby shower for Lise and I was invited. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to hang with some of the sisters from the ward. Of course, the camera came with me. I was only able to take a few pictures before the power went out all over Rexburg. Jenna and Abbie
Katie and Rachel

Audra, Allie(trying to look nonchalant), and Krista

Lise, the star of the night

FYI: Lise's mother and I were roommates a few many years ago up at Ricks College. Small world.

The Bishop was so excited to see the pictures, he could hardly wait for me to down load them. We so miss everyone. There is something special about serving up to BYU-I. We feel so blessed to have had this privilege.

Now to go through withdrawal symptoms again.

'We'll have a blue Christmas without you"

We got adventurous this year, and used all LED lights on the tree. Let's just say it's BLUE.
It makes a statement for sure. We are the talk of the neighborhood. Next year we will tone it down with some white mixed in. It's blue for sure but I love it, (except for needing to wear shades to protect the eyes when in the room).

This weekend our son had drill (Air Force Reserves). We didn't want him to drive down and back by himself and since we are without callings still, we tagged along. Some of the things we did were to attend the Primary Children's Festival of Trees, participate in a session at the Draper temple, hangout with computer geeks (not on the agenda, last minute pick up of a computer for someone, an adventure in itself), attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir 'Spoken Word' broadcast and enjoy the lights on temple square.

Believe it or not we actually posed for a picture. It was bitter cold, but we toughed it out Idaho style, lots of layers.

We will miss sharing the Christmas season with our BYU-I 67th friends and hope it is a wonderful one for each of you.

Have a MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Thanksgiving 2009

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had so many blessings to be thankful for. One of those blessings is the opportunity we had to work with and serve the members of the BYU-I 67th Ward. Even though we are sad to not be up there anymore, we are so thankful for the time we were able to spend up there. We loved every minute of it and feel as if so many of you are our eternal friends. Thank-you for your kindness, your patience and especially your love.
Thought I should let you know how the bishop spent his Thanksgiving, after we had eaten and done the dishes. Yup, he turned the counter into a work bench. So amidst the cheers of game playing (sorry no football, haven't learned to appreciate it yet) and laughing he did homework. No he's not going to school, he just brought his work home. That's just the way he is .

Hope your Thanksgiving was great, because ours was.

I love to see the temple

Tonight we went to the Idaho Falls Temple to do sealings with our home ward. One of the perks of the IF Temple is the cafeteria and Friday night Prime Rib. It's not as good as at 'The Pines' in Island Park but the price is right and usually there is tasty pie to go with it. We try to take advantage of it when we can and tonight was no different. The only problem or two was that it just wasn't the same as going with the 67th Ward. We went with the high priests, yes the old fogeys in the ward. We never felt that way up to the college. You kept us young. Part of being an old fogey is your eyesight goes and with it your taste in clothes. Not really, it just seemed that way. The bishop dashed home from work with just enough time to take a quick shower and shave and dress. He can do it in 15 minutes, only because he has low maintenance hair. When we arrived at the temple, who was standing their but Brother (now Bishop of the 79th ward) Stallings. We chatted briefly and then turned to head downstairs to enjoy our dinner when I noticed (and hoped Bro. Stallings hadn't noticed) what the Bishop was wearing. He had thoughtfully picked out socks, shoes and a belt, then hurriedly donned the first pair of suit pants, grabbing a coat as he went out the door. Blue pin stripped pants and a charcoal jacket, hmmmm, a bit nerdy. We immediately decided to change into our white clothes before anyone noticed. Dinner was tasty as usual. Later, as we sat waiting to start the sealings a wave of homesickness for the 67th ward hit. What were doing in a room with so much gray hair and wrinkles? It just didn't seem right. Interestingly most of the priesthood there had also been bishops of student wards. They could feel our pain and just encouraged us that it gets better with time. We luckily have a great home ward, but it just isn't the BYU-I 67th Ward. You are embedded deep in our hearts and are greatly missed. The church is still true, even in Rigby and the IF Temple is a place of great peace and love.

Halloween at our house

Halloween is a big thing at our house, not because we are in love with it but because we get so many trick or treaters. One year we got over 600. Tonight was typical of most, about 400. That's a lot of Candy. The little ones are so cute we love it. Even the dog likes it. It's hard to tell from this picture but you've seen the shows on TV that have mobs walking the street. That's our street.

I grow my own pumpkins and they always turn out unusually shaped. It makes them more original to carve. This year we decided to try something new. Cookie cutter to make most of the cut outs. It was super easy, fast and they turned out very unique. We will do it again next year.

Hope your Halloween was as nice as ours.

What to do with all the spare time?

So what does one do with all their spare time now that they have Tuesday nights free. After 7 1/2 years of wearing a white shirt and tie (he only wore one this week)and being in Rexburg it's time to find out what goes on our house. This week was rather nice. We had a cooler full of apples to take care of. What else could he do, the bishop helped out. He peeled enough apples to make 10 quarts of apple pie filling and a dehydrator full of slices. He even cleaned up. He's an alright kind of guy, and I think I will hang on to him.

The next night he tackled sewing, yes sewing. Each year he does the set for the Bar J Wranglers. It takes some real thought, and work. We have used scrims in to past and he wanted to extend them out. I ironed and he sewed and did a great job. A real Suzy Homemaker. Who knows what else he will take up. Maybe now instead of just looking up recipes on the Internet he will actually start cooking them. He tried making rice krispie treats the other day. Don't ask, they didn't turn out.

Hopefully you will all have a great Halloween. We will be open for Trick or Treaters until we run out of candy.