Some may not know about the heated rivalry Brigham Young University has with University of Utah. This month was the Big Game! I think I am one of 4 people within our department that supports BYU while the majority are UofU fans, and the rest are Utah State fans. The Friday before the game I was at training. This is what my workspace looked like when I came in Monday morning. If you can't tell what's taped everywhere, it is 270 UofU logos! Yep….that made for a good week.
Connor update:
Connor continues to learn new signs everyday. I now only have to show him the sign a few time and he picks it up. Now if only he would catch on to talking as fast. I love that he is a sweet boy and loves to give kisses and now can't go to bed without his lamby and blanket. He will drag them around the house and give lamby kisses.
Connor's second cousin, Alaina, is exactly a year older than Connor. When I saw she needed to be watched for a few hours I volunteered my service since I knew they would have so much fun together. They were so sweet with each other and enjoyed each others company.
Lately I have been dreading the inevitable from happening…WINTER; which brings the dreaded cold, short daylight, snow, and inversions. I decided to keep the bright happiness of summer alive by dying my hair a cheerful red/violet color. Very different than I have ever done but I love it even if no one else does.
Photography class still continues and I am loving it. I realized the reason I love photography is because it is adventure art. I am able to capture the beauty that surrounds us without having to sit down and paint it. I love having a night out every week to work on my passion.
Labor Day Hike at Mueller Park
Grandma (Sherri) Visits
We all enjoyed having Grandma (Sherri) stay with us for a few days. We did not take nearly enough pictures (maybe I just have a picture obsession).
We started our visit with a visit to the Utah State Fair. It was fun looking at the art exhibits, shows, and of coarse funnel cake. Connor especially loved watching everything for the first time. I was a little disappointed since Utah's fair are nothing compared to Georgia's National Fair that take place in Perry, GA. i sure do wish I could teleport for one evening and enjoy the epic Georgia Fair.
Like I said earlier, we did not take nearly enough pictures. While Logan was off working, the rest of us went on tours of the Humanitarian Center, Welfare Square, and Brigham Young's house. I loved discovering all the wonderful things the LDS Church does to help the world. Makes me think of what Jesus taught about doing kind things in secret, not for the vain praise of men. Of coarse, while we were in Downtown Salt Lake we stopped and ate lunch with Logan (the best BBQ we've had in Utah)!
We have really been into hiking the beautiful mountains. While Grandma (Sherri) was here we wanted her to experience the beauty of nature. We headed up to Big Cottonwood Canyon to a popular hike called Cecrent Lake. We aren't experienced Utahans and did not think about the drastic temperature decrease from the valley. Luckily Jake's winter jackets were in the trunk that Grandma (Sherri) used. Poor Connor was a trooper and toughed out the cold weather with all smiles, and bright red nose. The hike was little harder than expected with the change in altitude affecting all our abilities to catch our breathe, or at least that was our excuse. By the time we returned to the car it was dark and once again we weren't prepared with flashlights. We had a great time on a mini adventure and are blessed to have such beauty basically in our backyard.
The Harris family had a mini reunion for Zachary's Baptism. Saturday morning, Zach had a room full of loving family members to watch and participate in the sacred ceremony. It was so adorable to watch Zach filled with the spirit, he had a huge smile across his face.
While we all were together we had to get a new family picture of all of us:
I attempted to edited the below two photos:
I did not like the cabinet opened in back, right of the picture. Fix is covering it up with a hay bell. However, I think it looks fake. Tell me your honest opinion!
All the cute cousins:
The loving Papa and Grandma:
My favorite my very own family, of coarse:
We all were very excited to meet the love of Jake's life. Meet Heidi! She is a very sweet young lady and I can't wait to call her sister.
When I was younger I always wished I had a big family. I am so thankful to have my dreams become a reality and have a big family.
While just spending time together is enough, Jenee and Scott decided to share/teach us all a new skill of how to make home-made apple sauce. This year they had tons of fresh apples in their orchard. Fresh apples are far better than any apples you can find at the store.
As always we enjoy the company of the Haslem Family and hate to say goodbye.
Bell Canyon Hike:
Inorder to get to the hikes I pick Logan right up at work and head out on a mini adventure in the middle of the week. Makes the work week more enjoyable. We drove over to the Sandy area, jumped out and started the hike. Unlike previous hikes that were up in the mountain crevices, this hike was on the side of the mountain that over looked the salt lake valley. We were prepared this time with jackets, and headlamps, flashlights, and snacks. We did not make it all the way to the waterfall before the sun began setting so we will have to attempt it again. The beautiful fall leaves are beginning to chance up in the mountains.
We worked up an appetite and treated ourselves with a gift card won by Logan from a golf tournament to Texas Roadhouse. Steak and potatoes always reminds me of home and of Meme since that's her favorite restaurant.
Meme's 99th Birthday
Can you believe Meme turned 99? She looks great and it's good to know I inherited these youthful genes. I wish I could have been in Georgia to help celebrate her birthday. Since I wasn't there, I racked my brain for what I could possible get her since she has everything she needs and is known to return things to the store. I decided to make her something. I mailed out home-made goodies: bread, chocolate-chip cooks, and applesauce. I am eternally grateful to Jenee for teaching me these skills and happy that I can share my talent with others. I am grateful for all Meme has ever done for me. She has been a big part of my life by helping raise me and my brother. I will always remember her picking us up for school and sitting down and doing homework with us. She was passionate about education because she was only able to go to school till the 8th grade and then had to help work on the farm. She may not have known all the answers to homework problems but she was patient and huge supporter of giving us her time and energy.