August Abundance

This month was a full one. 

We started it off by having Amie and the kids here for a visit. They wanted to spend some time with Danica  before she headed off for Texas. 
We put on out cowboy hats and went to the Famous Preston Night Rodeo!

 We also did some boating and fishing while they were here. The kids were catching fish left and right. Dale was busy baiting the hooks and taking off fish. All had a good time. It was a beautiful evening.

I did a lot more ushering for the Festival of Opera season and even took Dale to see Les Miserables on closing night. I've enjoyed ushering, seeing the shows and meeting new people.

Danica quit her job at Kathy Kaye foods and took a little trip to Ephraim, UT to see her friend before packing up her room and her bags to head out to Texas for college. Dale and I took her to her new home away from home. 

We stopped in Albuquerque, New Mexico after being on the road for 12 hours. That part of the drive went pretty good and wasn't bad scenery wise, but from Albuquerque to Odessa it seemed like forever. Not much to look at for 8 hours. We were a bit intrigued by all the oil fields, just not the oily smell that comes with them.

I do have to say that when we drove into Odessa we were all pleasantly surprised!

It was green and looked nice. Our hotel was just across the street from the college and the college campus is fairly new with room to grow. We got settled in our hotel room and then drove around the campus. Not bad! Danica was pretty excited and we were relieved it was a lot better than what we thought it would be like.

Danica will be studying Art and look what we found by the Art building....

a replica of Stonehedge! Pretty cool!

The next day she got checked in her housing and found out that it's brand new. She'll be breaking it in! It's pretty nice. We helped get her room cleaned and put together and met her room-mates and toured the city a bit. 

We left a happy camper and headed back staying in Gallup, New Mexico before hitting the home turf. It wasn't as bad of a drive as I thought it would be, just real long. I'm thinking next time we go out we'll fly though.

We had all the Mallory's come for a few days and I went to Seven Peaks with them. It was a bit chilly and we got rained on some, but it was fun. We also went to The Hollywood Connection Fun Center. 

Amie had a YW overnight activity and Matt had work so we kept the kids for the night and met up with Amie and her Young Women group in Odgen and went to the Ogden Temple Open House with them.  What a beautiful, peaceful building.  

Dale and I took the trailer out again to Bear Lake and the Mallory's joined us. Dale took Jaxson fishing twice and they caught a lot of fish. Jaxson got his fishing badge for scouts.

We went to the Minnetonka Cave and took the tour.

 We played on the beach, flew kites on the beach and kayaked.

We danced at the group activity Blue Water Beach hosted and the kids played in the bounce house.  Grandpa was a good sport and went  swimming in the pool with the kids. The water was too cold for me! We went to church, played games, and watched movies . Ate and ate and soaked in the sun. Fun times!! A great way to end summer.

Nate celebrated his 32nd birthday and has been busy, busy! 

He's been doing surgeries and did his first bunion surgery. 

They had some friends come for a short visit and they got to spend some time exploring the great outdoors of Washington state.

 Kim's been gone a lot traveling and doing photo shoots.

Amie's the manager for The Haight Home Bed & Breakfast in Oakley, ID and they did their first wedding on the grounds. It was a lot of work, but it paid off and looked real nice. 

Kennlyn had her 6th birthday and got a puppy that she named "Oreo" for one of her gifts. She loves animals and we love Kennlyn!

Andrew and Lindsay had visitors again. Garrett and Zandra spent a few days with them. 

Andrew took Garrett and Zandra up for a helicopter ride and even let Garrett handle the control stick and do a little flying. Titan loves being in the helicopter. They all had a fun time bonding. The kids won't be forgetting Uncle Garrett and Aunt Zandra anytime soon with three visits to see them over the summer.

Garrett took the boys he works with to Jackson Hole and did some river runs and then quit his job with Catalyst because of college at USU starting up. He needed time to travel as well. He met up with Zandra in Los Angeles, CA and Atlanta, GA.

Zandra made the most of her travel time and hooked up with friends while on a layover in San Francisco and visited family while in Seattle. Her dog, Toby, was put to sleep while she was visiting. A big part of her life.

Garrett and Zandra went to Scotland to visit a missionary companion of Garrett's. Jordan Puri, his wife and their little boy. They saw a lot of the sights and had a wonderful time!

Danica passed her fitness tests for soccer and said it felt good to be back on the field. 

She's connecting with her room-mates by hanging out.

They went to a show at the fair and she ran into the movie star, Damon Wayans,  while sitting on the front row. So she got her picture with him!

She's also connecting with  he team and learning a new position, left full-back defender.

  

She started her classes in style sporting her new glasses she got before she left so she can tell what the teacher is writing on the board! Maybe she'll do better in her classes this year?

August definitely has been abundant.