Driving Home!

We left around 11 for home and stopped once for a light lunch. It has been an uneventful drive with no snow and barely any traffic!  Thank goodness!!

Targhee and Tetons!

It was a fun day of skiing the Tetons. Kyle and I out skied everyone and even stayed until the lifts were closed. The kids all enjoyed the terrain, but took things a little too seriously and wore themselves out. It was such a clear day that we were able to see the Tetons!

Die Hards!

With Jack’s ankle being in question he was not able to snowboard all day while Norah had a bad fall and did not want to continue after a hot chocolate break. Ben crushed the trees with Jack, but wasn’t sure about heading back out with a couple of old folks, so Kyle and I did a couple more alone that were actually my favorite-we even found some powder!!

Thanksgiving Feast!

Being in an Airbnb for Thanksgiving is super fun, planning a giant meal that needs to be cooked there is a challenge!  Somehow we prevailed better than ever and had ALL our favorites on hand and even a new one-homemade cranberry sauce. We missed Ava’s sweet spirit and appetite, there was so much food!!  We spent the day cooking, eating, chatting with Ava, playing Jackbox Tv games, watching movies and hot tubbing!

Thanksgiving Call!

 We found out this morning that Ava would be able to call home, but waited until 1pm for a confirmation on the time!  So fun to see her face again, she is glowing!!  Kyle and I talked to her most of the hour and a half, but Ben jumped on for the last 10 minutes. She was able to have a Thanksgiving feast for her zone and seemed to be having a great day!

Week 27

Our favorite missionary called today and I loved talking to her!  It was a crazy morning dealing with snow and Jack injuring himself after a fall while snow blowing. Nothing was broken miraculously, but a trip to the urgent care and Morgan High was not originally in the plans!  Norah was home for Ava’s call and talked for the last 5 minutes too!

Ready For Christmas!

With the house decorated and Ulli nice and clean-we are ready for the holidays to begin!!  Now we just need the boys to get back before the 2 feet of snow predicted starts flying!

Cold/Tired!

Norah has been so cold and tired these last few days where the sun has been hiding and has found solace on a vent!

Cole to the Rescue!

 I tried to move Ava’s car into the garage to avoid the snow, but when I tried to start it the battery was dead. Our resident service missionary was on hand Monday morning to jump start/diagnose the problem. Turns out the battery is dead, but Cole volunteered to take the old one down to Sam’s Club and swap it for a new one while I picked up Norah and then rendezvous at the house for the install!  Started up like a champ!!  Thank you Cole!!

Volleyballers!

While Kyle and the boys were in Arizona they set up a vball session with Jacob and his old setter. It was the first time Jacob had played in 2 years and he was pretty rusty, but the boys still had fun and Kyle got some touches too!

Christmas Cheer!

Norah and I were nervous to tackle the Christmas tree and decorations without the boys’ help, but we took care of business in under 2 hours and were so pleased with the outcome we made some hot cocoa and cider to celebrate!

First Snow!

We got 2.5 inches of snow last night that mostly stuck to the grass and left ice on the driveway. The views were breathtaking before we left for church and all the trees were flocked in white!

ASU VS BYU

Kyle and the boys wanted to take a trip to AZ this weekend to see the byu vs asu game as well as spend time with family at the Pre-Thanksgiving dinner and check out a car to trade the Tahoe in for.  The 26 hours of driving was not fun and neither was poorly the first half of the game was, but the rest of the game and the weekend were top notch!

The 90’s Called…

Ben sewed these baggy shorts in his CCA class at school. They fit his waist and are a super fun pattern, but the length is all wrong!  Ben’s expression says it all!

Missing Kyle

 Kyle planned a trip to California for today and tomorrow, and Ulli has noticed his absence. Although the trip seemed important when it was planned, so many setbacks with client meetings and flight delays that Kyle cancelled his trip and is heading home from the airport instead. 

Week 26!

This cutie will have been a missionary for 6 months this next week!  We are so happy she is pursing this worthwhile endeavor, but really miss her, especially as the holidays approach and she is not with us. 

So Dirty!

This pup has gotten so dirty somehow.  He is an indoor dog, but has somehow gotten smelly and greasy in a few short weeks.  It is too cold to bathe him outside so we are heading to PetSmart this week for a bath, brush and sanitary trim!  Ulli is not excited!

 

Unpossible

This picture was taking after Jack’s second ankle surgery on his left ankle in February. Clean as a whistle.

This picture was taken today, showing another bone spur has grown in on his left ankle. Jack has been complaining about an annoying feeling in his ankle and we went to the dr today to set his mind at ease only to find out there was another bone protruding from his ankle!

Predator!

Ulli was at attention almost immediately after hearing the Ermine in the window well. He was panting and pacing and eventually he started whimpering and barking!  Ulli wanted an Ermine for lunch and he wasn’t shy about it!  Honestly, Ulli was as cute the Ermine!

Cuteness Overload!

I went downstairs to workout this morning and heard a little scraping coming from the window well.  Then this little face popped up!  I almost cried it was so adorable!!

We knew we needed to save this little Ermine, so Kyle propped a long piece of wood in the well. The wood was too slick for this little guy to claw on to and he kept slipping. Kyle came up with a plan, wrap the wood in a beach towel!  We thought for sure the Ermine could grab onto the towel!

It took him a minute once the towel was wrapped on the board, but eventually he started sniffing and biting it. After a minute or so of that the Ermine leapt up the bottom of the board and grabbed the towel and shimmied himself upside down up the board and out of a tiny opening in the towel at the top. We never saw it, but knew it had escaped when the towel stopped moving!

Sister Elgan!!

We haven’t been able to talk to Ava or get a thumbs up about her new companion, but today Ava moved over to Hannover to join Sister Elgan as a sister training leader. 

Vball Banquet!

Last year Kyle took Norah to the Morgan Vball banquet, but this year I was able to go since Kyle was at practice with the boys. It was a nice steak dinner and the coaches all said nice things about the players and the seniors got to stand up and say nice things about the coaches. It was an uplifting night, so glad I was able to go with the beauty; and she drove through the canyon for the first time to get to the Timbermine Restaurant!

Winning!

Norah had been in pj-mode all night and after a few hours finally discovered that her pants were on inside out!  So funny!!

 

Veterans Day!

A city we drive through sometimes has an incredible flag display at their city hall. I always love taking random pictures and sending them to Ava, this one of all the flags with all the clouds in the background turned out pretty awesome!

High School Musical!

I’ve always loved going with the girls, and sometimes the boys, to plays. We’ve seen many high school and community productions over the years. Tonight it was just Norah and I. We missed everyone else, but enjoyed the intermission candy and some of the play!  I loved spending time with Norah even if the play wasn’t my favorite!

German Club!

Norah and I attended a play at Weber High tonight while the boys were at practice. We parked and started walking up to the school and ran across this painted design on the ground. Ava and Jack were both part of the Deutsche Club when they attended this school!  Norah played a great Vannah White!

Sister Kimball!

Ava has had such a blast with Sister Kimball; she is a hardworker and also clean and kind!  What more could you ask for in a companion!  These guys also both played volleyball in high school and were the oldest in their families!  Needless to say, Ava is sad to say bye to her, but she knew if she wanted to go to another city she would have to!  These guys parted ways this morning when sister Kimball rode the train from Hamm to Hamburg to pick up her new companion who had just flown in. 

National Park Puzzle!

So many people worked on this puzzle over the last week and today we wanted to start our Hannover puzzle so Ben snapped this picture right before dinner!  We caught the sunset in the background-perfect!  Ben took about 10 pictures to be funny and exactly 2 of them didn’t have Norah’s head cut off!  

Family Movie!

We started watching the Venom movies last week in hopes of catching the newest one while it was still in the theatres. We reserved tickets yesterday, but when we got to the theatre tonight that seemed a little unnecessary!  By the time the movie started other people showed up, but we enjoyed the pre show in the theatre all by ourselves!

Delicious!

For November Jack decided to make pumpkin cookies for the third year in a row. The batch is huge and doesn’t need to be frozen, but needs to be baked the same day. He made 100 cookies with my help and Ulli stood by and drooled over all the pumpkin!

Date night!

Kyle  and I spent some time in the temple tonight and it felt good to take a break from the world and try to remember what this life is really about!

Shocking Transfer News!

Ava wasn’t supposed to find out until Friday about whether she or sister kimball would be transferring out of Hamm, but tonight these two got a call from the Mission President’s wife informing them that Ava was transferring and becoming a Sister Training Leader while Sister Kimball would be training!  They didn’t know where they would be doing these things, but just the fact that the youngest companionship in the mission was being given these responsibilities was shocking enough to take this photo and video record their reactions to the news!

We of course got this video Friday morning and then spent the day sending texts to Ava and waiting for cryptic emojis to find out what city the girls would be doing all of this in!

Around lunchtime for us, bedtime for them, we found out Ava would be transferring to Hannover, the last place Kyle spent Christmas while on his mission. I immediately found some photos of our trip to Hannover back in 2018 and sent them to Ava. Kyle was pretty emotional over the connection he had to the same city at the same time of year. The Lord is in the details!

Jack’s Pants!

Ben rolled upstairs today wearing Jack’s pants. They were obviously bigger on Ben, but the fact that they weren’t falling off of him was pretty momentous!  Growing!! 

Weekly Call!

I can’t help but smile and laugh and sometimes cry when I talk to Ava, she is a magnificent example of faith and effort!  What a special missionary!

Crazy Dog!

I was walking across the room and noticed Ulli in the most peculiar position. I stopped and took a picture to send to Ava and Norah. We all love seeing Ulli in his contortionist positions with the beautiful mountains as a backdrop!

Double Champs!!

Same day different venue, Jack won gold as well!  His team went defeated all day and then lost the first set in the finals.  Jack started the second set and stayed in for the third after his team won.  It was a tight match, but Jack and his team came out on top!

Ben finished early and was able to get to Jack’s tournament in time for the end, so fun to see these two champions together!

It’s Gold!

Kyle and Ben were able to lead their team to an undefeated day and win Gold in the finals against a team they struggled against earlier in the season.

 

All Saints Day!

Kyle made a temple appointment for the day after Halloween that is celebrated throughout Europe.  Norah was at the State Tournament with her Morgan team, but the rest of us enjoyed our time thinking of and serving our ancestors!

Ava and Sister Kimball went to the Hamm cemetery and had their own memorable night with many people lighting candles and celebrating their family. 

Ben’s Haul!

166 pieces of candy organized by flavors looks pretty cool!  Ben had no school today and spent the morning sleeping in and creating this masterpiece.

Somehow Ulli managed to restrain himself and just laid on the floor next to his favorite food!