Cruising down Balsam Street

This weekend Ridgecrest hosted the first annual Petroglyph and Heritage Festival.  It was a smash hit--they're estimating over 10,000 people came through all the different events!

It was a busy day for us and so we didn't make it down until the evening, when most of the street vendors were closing up.  Thankfully the USO building was still open, so we checked out their photography contest winners there and just had a good time soaking up the beautiful weather.  Love these guys!

If this doesn't get you in the holiday spirit, I don't know what will!

Rhiannon and Wade practicing their Carol of the Bells duet--lovely!

My Snowmen craft that I made at our ward's Super Saturday--I love how they turned out, and, yes, I did make those hats! :)

On Veteran's Day, Rhiannon and I drove friends down to the Los Angeles Temple day.  It was a quick, busy, fun, exhausting day, and I'm glad we went and came back safely.  I love this picture of Rhiannon with her friend JenAi and our sweet friend and new ward member Sister Vignault.

This picture above is worth a thousand words.  Shortly after Grandma Sue got to Texas to spend time with my mom and dad, she had to be admitted to the hospital and then spend a week in an acute rehab facility.  This picture was taken during a FaceTime chat after Grandma had gotten out of that facility and was back with my parents.  So happy that she's feeling better!

On Friday Wade's school had their monthly Super Star assembly but went ALL OUT for Veteran's Day.  This was just one of the neat things they did during that assembly.  I was so glad I was there!

My chocolate order came in! :)

Caught the kids one night as they were quizzing each other.  They'd ring a bell every time they asked a question--too cute!

Wade's fall piano recital

On November 1st, Wade participated in a piano recital for elementary grades.  He did a fantastic job on his piece "The Race Car."  Well done, Wade!

Wade's "Blue Steel" pose--hate the movie Zoolander, but Wade's impression is on point, haha!

We love Sister McDonald!  She is a terrific teacher!

Lost in Pace

November 6-8 was another Ragnar weekend for Jason!  He was in charge of it this time around and did a good job keeping it low-key and still covering all the bases.  Despite a major hiccup (their teammate Jon couldn't finish two of his long runs for medical reasons, so teammates Carol and Nate ran an extra leg each...), the team finished spectacularly well!  Out of 423 teams, they finished 34th with a time of 28:30:52!!!!  They were 16th out of 300 in the Regular Open Mixed division.

Their team, called "Lost in Pace," also had the youngest member--Leah Tomlinson is 10 years old and was a cute "celebrity" that weekend.  People were so impressed!

This race was a big deal for Jason because he wanted to win the coveted "Saints and Sinners" medal.  Here's what he said about that on Facebook:

"After completing the Wasatch Back Ragnar earlier this year, I earned the coveted "Saints and Sinners" double medal for also finishing the Las Vegas Ragnar. It was exhausting, but I had a great time with great people once again."

Here are some fun pics from the weekend!

Nate Kimbler, Carol Astle, Kate Winder, Jeff, Andrus, Jason, Karen Coy, Gavin and Emily MacGregor, Jon Meikle, and Rob, Crystal, and Leah Tomlinson!

So happy for Jason's hard-working team and thankful everyone got home safely!  Way to go, babe!

I "got my hair did"

Yesterday I was ready to CUT ALL MY HAIR OFF.  It felt unhealthy, crunchy, and dull.  I stopped in at a hair salon and set up an appointment for today with Kaitlin, and she worked some miracles!

My hair feels super soft and I love how it looks.  Kaitlin chopped maybe 3 inches off or more.  I probably won't be able to duplicate her styling job, but, man, I'll enjoy the look today!  (I also loved how low-key and nice Kaitlin was--no pressure to buy products or comments about my unhealthy hair, etc.  It was lovely.)

This was really fun for me because I usually just go to a quick walk-in place next to the grocery store for occasional trims.  They do a good job, too, but I just felt super pampered at the other place today, and it cost just a little bit more.  Gold!

Our family mission plan

Our congregation puts a lot of emphasis on sharing the joy of the gospel with others.  We had a meeting a couple weeks ago and were encouraged to make our own family  mission plans.  Wade headed this one up, using the letters of our last name, and then we tweeked it during our family night last night.  Looks good!

Count your blessings

Use scriptures and Preach My Gospel book

Share testimony with others

Host friends and neighbors in our home

 Invite friends to church and activities

Never lose faith

Give service happily

List of exclamation marks

Halloween feels like a lifetime ago!

Since then,

Wade performed in a fall elementary piano recital and did a phenomenal job!

Grandma Sue got checked into a hospital while visiting my parents down in Texas (she's doing much better now and staying with my parents until she goes back to Idaho!)

Jason traveled to St. Louis for work!

Rhiannon picked up a semi-regular babysitting gig!

New gate installation started...and stalled.  Gates were the wrong color and holes were dug in the wrong place.  (BUT when they're all finished it will be major exclamation marks!!!)

I made some cool crafts at a Super Saturday event!  I also got a jump-start on our family Christmas cards!

Wade played flag football and got a cool interception at his last game!

Jason completed ANOTHER Ragnar relay race! In Las Vegas!  They placed 34th out of 423 teams, which is crazy good, and even crazier when you hear the story about their team!  (post and pics to come!)

Rhiannon went to the dentist and had no cavities!

Rhiannon and I drove friends down to the Los Angeles temple and did some service there!

And I got the "precious cargo" there and back safely!

I worked on Battle of the Books and institute lessons, plus one sub job!

Rhiannon played the piano beautifully and did two value presentations at YW in Excellence last night!

Jason taught a fantastic lesson on eternal marriage for our Gospel Principles class last Sunday!

The kids are working on a Carol of the Bells duet and sound awesome!

We are getting new leadership for our stake, or group of wards here in Ridgecrest, this weekend!  Since our stake center hasn't even begun to be repaired, we'll be meeting at the local fairgrounds!

I love exclamation marks.  Can you tell?  I was pretty cranky yesterday (translation:  beat-down tired), so I'm happy to be back in tip-top exclamation mark form today.  !!!

I stepped back in time today

This afternoon several members of Jason's "Lost in Pace" Ragnar team came over to decorate the mini-vans they'll be using during the race in Las Vegas this weekend.  Some of them brought their cute kids, so I got a few toys out and invited them to stay with me inside.  

It was a really fast hour because the kids entertained themselves with the cutest ideas.  They were happy, happy, happy just being together and loved the few toys that I brought out for them--the Playmobil pirate ship, lots of Bakugans and Disney cars, and a couple of semi-flat recess balls that they kicked around in the backyard.  Graham crackers were appreciated so they could recharge, and then they made their own game of climbing up and down the stairs, "rescuing polar bears" from the lake at the bottom of the stairs.

I was mesmerized.  I could not keep up with their imagination, but I was definitely entertained by it!

I did very little besides keeping an eye on them around the dogs (I only let Oscar out of his crate once) and let each kid give them a small treat--that was a hit, too.  "Can I give him another one?" over and over, haha!

Kids are cute.

Life is good.

Pictures of the latest Ragnar to come!  Jason is pretty excited to get the "Saints and Sinners" medal--a unique Ragnar award for those who run the Wasatch and Vegas Ragnars in the same year.  Get it?  Saints and Sinners? :)