For Amy

CLICK TO ENLARGE, AFTER ALL,

THIS IS A CHIHUAHUA

The Harvest

Between the produce we raised and the fruit we were given by friends, we had a good harvest this year. The two of us did another marathon canning session: 59 quarts of pears, 50 quarts of peaches, and 22 quarts of tomatoes. And our neighbors also got to help themselves, as you can see by the picture!

Ingraham Reunion

KR enjoyed catching up with old friends from high school at the Nile Country Club. It was their 40th Reunion. She doesn't look a day older than the night she invited me to a tolo dance at THE VERY SAME BUILDING in December 1970 when I was home from my freshman year at BYU.

Being Thankful

We need to be thankful people. I am thankful for many things. I am thankful for 5 good men in the families of our children that work hard to support their families. I am thankful for 5 good women in those families that also help where needed to financially support their families and our grandchildren. I am thankful for the good new jobs that three of them found over the past 12 months that were their first jobs out of school or significant upgrades over their previous employment. Well done!

DAR and More Birthdays

KR and Eunice had a huge DAR activity in Wenatchee called the State Board of Management Meeting. It was the first time in 15 years that it had been held in Wenatchee and everyone thought it was the best BOM2 ever! Way to go ladies! You girls are TNDARM (top notch DAR members). And I am also a pretty good HODAR (husband of DAR member).

The twins had their third birthday party later in the day and, needless to say, there was never a dull moment. Isaac was especially enthralled by the garbage truck.

The Runaway Vehicle

Clark Dice is a young man of 18 in one of my home teaching families. Some months ago, he managed to run his car into the stairway leading up to the front door of his family home. I arrived home teaching not too long after it happened and as I pulled into the Dice driveway, I noticed a support beam lodged in the windshield of his car. Hhhmmmm! Well, they did get it fixed and painted, so I thought it needed a memorial plaque. Notice the small black object right under the handrail. I had it made at the local trophy store and we held a short christening ceremony for the unveiling. It reads, "Clark Dice Memorial Stairway".

Garage Sales and Birthdays

We had a full day with the annual Dental Office Garage Sale and Emmett's 8th birthday party. It seems that people are watching out for our sale - KR does such a good job with the items and they are of good quality. We get quite a crowd. I am the accounting manager and Eunice does the change. KR, Marianne, and the other exhibitors keep the goods flowing. What we don't sell we load up in the car and immediately haul it to the Goodwill. Emmett is growing up TOO fast. He will be baptized in a few weeks. Hard to believe. He wanted a Candyland cake and, well, you know Laurel. She figured it out. It was quite clever.

North to Alaska

Kristi and I enjoyed a wonderful week (September 3rd-10th) cruising with the Merrill clan for Monte & Eunice's 60th anniversary\80th birthday celebration - kind of an all-in-one trip. The weather didn't always cooperate, but we had a great time enjoying good company, good scenery, and good food. This Alaska cruise was unique, in that it went up and back, so you were able to skip that expensive air leg. KR got a new hat (she is so cute), got to meet Sara Palin (she is taller than we thought), play game after game of something (KR was in heaven), try on some foxy underwear (Tom), and, thanks to Tom, join the world of major league geocaching. That is Tom hunting for the stash on the Juneau waterfront. We will definitely have to do that again!