Ring of Fire

This past weekend Larry and I had an adventure. Larry offered to take me to Central Utah to gaze at the Ring of Fire eclipse that happened on Oct 14th. It was the first big trip for Larry's newest plane. Both the plane, and Larry, did an excellent job. It was thrilling to have such a large visual display of the surrounding landscape.  My favorite part was snuggling up together and looking like nerds in our solar glasses. It was absolutely delightful! I also really loved driving into Fillmore to get chicken sandwiches' and onion rings for lunch. Larry and I both LOVE onion rings!

I did something

 

Finally, up to the mountains I go

I've been longing to get up into the mountains for a few weeks now. Larry and I managed to sneak in a hike up Rock Canyon this past Tuesday while the kids were in school. It did not disappoint. The leaves were so vibrant and beautiful! Having the rocky cliffs along the train didn't disappoint either. I'm so thankful I was able to enjoy the fall colors up close and personal this year. 

Out with the old at the temple

This past week was a lot of work at the temple. It's always a lot of work so I don't know why I just said that. Anyway, this happened:

It was so depressing to see all the flowers gone that we planted just four short months ago. I will admit that the smell of dirt was amazing! Elder Kennedy thought I was crazy for sticking my nose right into the dirt. I couldn't help myself. Freshly turned dirt is one of my favorite smells. If I would have arrived sooner I bet I could have convinced Tokie to let me take a turn with the tillers. They looked so cute and fun. 

We had the BYU 250th ward helping out today. There were about 18 of them. There was a lot of flirting and socializing going on. I tried to keep them busy the entire time, but we got through things really fast and they left at 10:30. It was extra fun for them because they were able to plant one of the beds on the outside of the gates to the east. I was a little jealous. It will all be finished by the time I get there next week.

Tokie had all the pansies in the 'shop' area ready to go. She purchased 10,000+ pansies in all different colors. I think part of them are for Payson temple too, but still. That's a lot. They plant bulbs first, and then the pansies go right on top. I wish I had that kind of gardening budget. LOL.

These are all the flats of pansies. Each section is a different color. Amazing, right?

I'm getting old

...and my hair is really starting to show signs of it. It's been particularly glaring the past three years as I've stopped coloring it. Also, I've been losing a lot of hair. This is about the amount that falls out every time I dry my hair. Good thing I had plenty to begin with......getting old stinks!!!

The end of Justin

This past week at the temple we started pulling out the flowers from the area known as the family circle. It was a little sad to rip out what we had planted in May. This was the first year the temple planted zinnias. Justin said it was a bad idea, and he was right. By the end of September they were a powdery mildew mess. I hope they have learned their lesson, and won't ever plant them again.

In a different, yet related way, Tuesday was the end of an era. Justin has been working at the temple for the past 5 years and he has decided it is time for him to do something different. Therefore, it was the last time that Elder Rencher, Kennedy, and I were able to work as a group with Justin. It makes my heart sad to say goodbye to such a fabulous mentor, but I still have his phone number and I will pester him with my gardening questions forever.

On this day we had two fabulous stake volunteers. They are both freshman at BYU. Funny enough they were both from Holiday Utah. They even went to the same high school, but didn't know each other. They both knew how to work hard, plus joke around which is important when doing this tedious work. While we were pulling out the flowers we found this ladybug and also a mouse. I tried to get a picture of the mouse, but Elder Rencher started swatting at it with a broom. Ah well.

Since it was Justin's last day, and out of the goodness of my heart, I made Justin a candy poster. I thought he would get a good laugh out of it. Instead, he said it felt like he was being asked to a girls choice dance. What a big dork!!!

The Elders and I made an afternoon of it, and we went to the ice cream shop after lunch. We were hoping Justin would be able to join us, but he got stuck in a meeting. Oh well, we had a great time anyway. 

I know that going forward, the dynamic at the temple will be complexly different, but different isn't always bad. 

The haircut

Brandon and Peter have both been growing out their hair for a few years. Peter's is getting quite long, Brandon could only get so far with his. After getting back from Europe, he decided he was done with long hair. I think it looks a ton better gone. 

Also, when Bran stopped by the other day to drop off the kids he had on this funny shirt. He seriously finds the most hilarious shirts ever. I'm still laughing about this one because I totally read it as: Keep Calm and Proof Read.

Grandma Mary

For about a month I have been reading this autobiography of my x3 step-great grandmother. It has been so inspirational!!! Here are a few of the pages that I thought were most amazing.

Also, this month during our Daughters of the Utah Pioneers meeting, my ancestor, on my paternal side, was mentioned. His name is Artemis Millet Sr. He was the primary architect for the Kirtland temple. It was so fun to hear someone else talk about him.

Luke's turn to go flying

It was a beautiful day to go flying! Luke said he wanted to go, and on this day Larry made it happen. It was absolutely spectacular. The leaves are just beginning to change on the mountain. Luke's favorite part was spinning (not literally) around the middle school. Larry also flew us around our house, The Y on the mountain, up to Lindon (we spotted the temple), and up near the mouth of Provo canyon. It was breathtaking. I didn't even mind sitting in the back with a perfect view of these two amazing guys!

When rummaging in the back of the seats I found these. LOL. You just never know what you will find in the back of an airplane seat. 

The Lindon temple. Larry got us a lot closer, but I was too busy looking to take a picture.

This is the view of Luke's school from the air.

The view I had from the backseat.

More Temple adventures

I have such wonderful adventures when I go and work in the temple gardens. This past week, Elder Kennedy and I decided we should work on repairing sprinklers. This automatically means you are going to get soaking wet. I found out that the sprinklers at the temple have an app that controls them. At least that's what Justin had on his phone. It was super convenient. It's not so convenient when the sprinklers turn on when patrons on sitting right next to a sprinkler head. Whoopsie. Justin even told us he accidently ruined someone having a picnic once while he was doing repair work. I bet that couple will never forget their very wet picnic. 

This week the BYU 43rd ward sent volunteers. I was lucky enough to hear the musical talents of one of the guys that came. His name is Mataya and he's in a singing group at BYU. He was kind enough to grant my request of hearing a song. He chose: The Spirit of God. It was such a beautiful song and I stood in awe and humility and he gave all of thevolunteers a mini concert right there on the sidewalk in the north park. 

Elder Kennedy got a little silly today and used the rolling wheels of the garbage can to go for a little ride back to the shop. He is super hilarious and he keeps me always laughing. 

I also took baby girl on a random trip to the temple to show her all the beautiful flowers. She loved running around. I got these few pictures that I really love. I hope she will eventually love this temple as much as I do.