Sunday Bliss

Homecoming last night was a success!  Both Palmer and Emma had a good fun time.  Here is a picture of Palmer and his date Saydria Russell:

Palmer made the breadsticks and the pizza and it was a hit!

It was fast Sunday for our stake today because of General Conference.  I decided to bear my testimony which I don't do in sacrament meeting very often.  I felt very happy to be a member of the church and to see the blessings that have come to me because of that membership.  After I sat down Palmer got up and said how he was grateful he was here even though he didn't want to come at first.  He said it has helped him prepare to be a missionary as he explains the gospel to his nonmember friends at school.  Then Lucy wanted to get up so she ran up and gave her short sweet testimony.  It was an Edholm testimony meeting that was totally not planned!

I taught Relief Society today for the regular teacher who was out of town.  It went really well and I had great participation.  I left church feeling filled and happy and grateful.

Eventful day.

Andy's team played a small middle school in Manderson.  A town of under 1000 people.  They won handily.  Meanwhile everyone else was busily getting the house cleaned for the Homecoming dance festivities.

Palmer was in charge of making breadsticks and pizza dough.  He then took that over to his friends house to cook it.  I went and picked up his corsage for the girl he asked.  Her name is Sadria (I know I'm spelling that wrong) and her dad is in the bishopric.  His group ate at his friends house.  He then came home and changed into his new suit for the dance.  I didn't get to see his date all dressed up, but I'm hoping pictures are being taken at the dance.

Emma went over to her friends house so she could help her do her hair and then took her dress and makeup to another friends house to finish getting ready.  Her group was doing a progressive dinner and we were dessert.  Lucy and I left for the General Women's Meeting with instructions for Brian to cook the brownies while we were gone. We came home and I set up the table and got everything ready.  They came and I got introduced to everyone.  Emma's date was someone she has never met.  He is from Otto, a VERY small town by Burlington which is another small town that is 97% LDS.  He seemed very nice.  There were three couples in her group.  The one girl used to live in Burlington, which is about an hour from here, and she knew all the guys.  Here as some pictures of them eating dessert:

Brianna and her date

Emma and Courtney and Emma's date on the left.

And here is a group picture.  My phone does not take high quality photos!

They all were talking and seemed like things were going well.  My little Emma is really growing up and looked so pretty tonight.

I had a wonderful time with Lucy at the General Women's Meeting tonight.  It was her first one to attend and she was very excited.  She took notes and said she really liked it.  She loved seeing all the children her age and really paid attention.  I felt the spirit strongly during the talks and the music.  What a wonderful blessing to be in Wyoming and be able to participate with the rest of the world in listening to inspired sisters speak, sing, and an apostle speak the words of God.  I was truly filled.

My mom sent me lots of Halloween decor and I put it up for the Homecoming group.  Here is a picture of it on the bookshelf all lit up!

I'm settling in for a few hours of reading as I wait up for Palmer and Emma.  It's been a fun day!

Homecoming

Emma the flag twirler

more twirling

The drumline.  Palmer is on the far side

1st grade minions.  Peter is on the front row, third from left

Andy's 8th grade football team.  He is in the truck with his back toward me

Worland High School Marching Band

The Homecoming parade was cute.  It was just about 20 minutes long, the kids threw candy, Palmer, Emma, Andy, and Peter were in the parade.  Lucy and Eric were sitting across the street from Brian and me with their school classes.  All the elementary schools bring their kids to the parade.  It was short and sweet and I loved it!  We are all hoping the football team wins tonight!

Worland lost to Jackson tonight 32-16.  Palmer saw more playing time than he normally does so that was a bright spot.  The marching band performed at half time and Emma did great!  It was a beautiful evening with perfect weather and there was a bunch of people around us that we knew.  The younger kids sat with some of their friends and we all had a very nice time.  There were so many people at the game, the community really supports the high school teams.  I'm looking forward to this weekend and being with my family!

Billings Temple

Tuesday I got to go to the Billings Temple.  It's really pretty.  As you walk in the entire ceiling is a giant skylight.  You can see the Angel Moroni from inside the temple as you are in the foyer.  Everything is very light, especially the celestial room.  One of the sister's from my ward, whose name is also Julie, invited me to go with her.  She had a doctor's appointment in Billings and wanted to go to the temple and do some shopping.  We left at 6:30am and got home at 6:30pm.  It was a wonderful trip.  I got to know this sister better and really enjoyed the time at the temple and got a little shopping in.  The temple is really pretty set up against the red cliffs.  It's small like the Draper temple, about 50 seats in the endowment rooms.  It's pretty busy since it serves a large area.  Most of the people drive  many hours to get there.  They have an outside dressing room with lockers across from the temple so people can change from their street clothes to their Sunday clothes since they have to travel for such long periods.  Saturdays are really busy if you don't get there early enough. 

Andy's team won again today.  He made a 75 yard touchdown run!  Homecoming is tomorrow, I really hope our team wins!

Brian took some pictures of Peter and Lucy and me on the Ferris Wheel when we were in Billings last week. 

You can't see Lucy's terrified face very well!

We are in for a busy weekend with the Homecoming parade and football game tomorrow and then Homecoming Dance on Saturday.  I'll take lots of pictures!

Sports update:

Lucy played her second volleyball game.  She is so cute and determined as she plays.  Here are some action shots:

practicing her serve before the game, she is right in the center of the picture

hitting the ball

It's fun to watch the games.  They only last about 30 minutes since they play each team twice, the perfect amount of time.

On Friday Palmer traveled to Buffalo and beat them 22-6.  He was pretty happy about that.  On Saturday Andy played Cody and lost 22-0.  It was their first loss.  Brian normally would have seen both games, but was in Thermopolis with Eric and Peter at a scout campout.  Peter was pretty excited that he got to go with them.  They had a good time with each other.

The weather has warmed up considerably.  It's been in the beautiful 80's all week.  I'm trying to soak up every warm minute because everyone keeps saying they fear this will be a bad winter.

Emma and her two other friends are getting everything ready for Homecoming this week.  Here is Emma's dress that we bought last week.  It's simple enough that she can wear it to church and fancy enough to go to the dance!  She looks very nice in it.  I'm hoping to get lots of pictures that night.  They are having a progressive dinner and dessert is at our house.  Palmer and his friend haven't solidified exactly what they are doing quite yet.  Homecoming is a pretty big deal.  They have a parade that all the kids participate in.  Even the elementary kids are involved.  I'm glad the weather will be good this weekend.

I really excited to be able to go to the temple in Billings on Tuesday.  A sister in the ward is going and invited me to come along.  We are leaving at 6:30 am so we can make it to the 10:00 session.  It seems like a long time since I've been to the temple so I'm very happy to be going.  I only wish Brian could come with me this time.

BILLINGS!

We made the trek to Billings today!  We left at the wonderful hour of 6:10am.  We drove through lots of mist coming off the rivers and saw deer in the road and entered a new state for all of us--Montana! 

We had a pretty tight schedule.  It takes about 2 hours and 45 minutes to get there and we needed to be back before 5:00 for Palmer's football practice.  We had a plan.  We pulled into Walmart's parking lot around 8:50.  Joy of joys, I never thought I would be happy to see a Walmart!  We made it out a little before 10:00.  The mall was next.  We got there right as it opened and split up, girls and boys.  Emma found a really nice dress for Homecoming (and it was only $49) and Palmer found a suit and shirt and tie.  I also scored on some $5 pants!  This was all at JC Penney.  On the way out of the mall Emma, Lucy, Peter, and Eric hit the photo booth for a quick silly picture.  We went to Scheel's next.  It was like an amusement park!  While Palmer and Andy and Brian looked for the specific football pants they needed for the cold weather, Lucy and Peter and I went on the ferris wheel!  We took pictures around the store in the little photo op stations and they played in the little bounce house.  After that we hit Cafe Rio.  Brian had three free meal cards.  They employees at this location were SOOOOO slow compared to Orem, but we finally got our food and inhaled it.  Costco was next.  Again we divided and conquered with two carts overflowing!  We left Costco and packed the van up and stopped for gas and we left Billings around 1:45!  WHEW, we made it back to Worland by 4:40.  Palmer went to his practice and at 6:00 Lucy had her first volleyball game, a double header.  She did great, scored three points when she was serving and hit it over the net several times! 

The trip went very well and hardly anyone complained.  We spent a lot, but hopefully we are stocked for a good month.  Plus it helps that Billings has no sales tax. 

Here are some pictures from the day:

Scheel's riding the jeep

They love to ham it up

Sleeping on the way home

Who knew Abe hangs out in Billings

Can't resist sitting on Abe's lap!

Emma and Palmer spoke today in church.  All the junior and senior seminary students were asked to speak about how seminary helps them put on the full armor of God.  They also sang a musical number together.  There were 5 girls and 3 boys  that spoke.  There are actually 5 more of them who were out of town because there isn't school tomorrow.  They both did very well.  Emma talked about how she received her first testimony that the church was true during seminary and expressed she liked how it started her day off.  Palmer started out saying that he liked to get up early, all of the previous speakers had said that was a hard thing.  He then said something that has become a classic statement.  He said that many of his friends at school can't believe how he can get up so early and not have any coffee.  He told them that Heavenly Father is his coffee and is much better at helping him be awake and alert that a cup full of liquid!  Everyone loved it.  The young women leaders talked about it during their class today and one of the mom's said it was the perfect answer as she gets the same question from people she works with.  She want's to frame it!  He gave a very solid talk about how seminary helps him answer people's questions about the church.  It was amazing to see his growth since he's come here.  I really saw what kind of missionary he will be.  It was inspiring.

I got to substitute in primary again today.  This time it was the class a year older than Lucy.  There were only 3 of them and it went really well.  We talked about Elijah and the prophets of Baal.  They listened well and participated.  It was fun!

I'm so proud of myself for cooking so many meals since I'm not working and have more time.  Many neighbors have given us their produce.  Today we had roasted red potatoes and carrots, a beef stew with fresh tomatoes, butternut squash, and carrots in it and freshly sliced tomatoes and cucumbers.  It was awesome!

Brian, Palmer, Emma, and Andy have left to go to the stake standards night.  I get to spend time with Eric, Lucy, and Peter a lot now that Brian is at all the youth activities.  Fun for me!

Every time I walk passed Eric and Peter's room and see their toys all spread out on the floor from their hours of playing it makes me happy for them.

I don't ask them to come and clean up their mess because it's just so nice for them to have a regular room with a closet and nice carpet and room to set up their lincoln log houses and train sets and whatever their imagination leads them to do.  I enjoy my house more and more each day.  Brian mentions the same thing.  This Wednesday all the young men are meeting at our house for mutual.  How cool is that?!  These things just would never have happened at our home in Utah, there just wasn't enough room.  In the word's of Brian's niece Danielle, "we are fancy and popular!"  Actually, we are just my definition of normal.  Normal is nice.

Last night Palmer's team played in Torrington.  It's about 5 hours away on the other side of the state.  Brian and another dad drove to watch him play.  They lost 21-6, their first lost of the season.  Brian came back home after the game and arrived around 2:30am.  The team stayed overnight at a hotel and Palmer got home this morning.  Andy also had a game today in Lovell.  It's a short hour and 15 minute drive, so both Brian and I went.  They won 42-0!

Lovell High School Stadium

Andy's team went out to lunch after the game to the only restaurant in town.  Brian and I drove back and stopped in Greybull at Lisa's Diner.  The hamburgers there were the best I've ever eaten, but the service was EXTREMELY slow.  But, hey, we are in Wyoming and we aren't in a hurry!

Here is an awesome picture of our organized garage:

It's my pride and joy!  I actually had time this week to sit down and play the piano for a little while, so much nicer than unpacking!

We are all very excited to be going to Billings on Monday since there isn't school that day.  I'm disappointed that the temple is closed, but we have lots of things to do there.  Our shopping list keeps getting longer and longer!  We will be looking for a dress for Emma for Homecoming.  Palmer asked a girl to Homecoming as well.  Her dad is in the bishopric and they live right around the corner from us.  Homecoming is September 26th.

Today is so much warmer than last week.  We had our first snow on Thursday and I wasn't really happy about that!  Today we are in the low 60's and it seems wonderfully warm!

Lucy has her first volleyball game next week, she is VERY excited about it!  She told me she is really good at volleyball!  Gotta love her confidence!

The garage is clear and organized!  Now all we have to do is get some bookshelves to put my 12 boxes of books on and Brian needs to put all his tools in his trailer away!  Of course the inside of the house still needs some work.  The only furniture in the living room is the piano and the harp and I haven't hung any pictures up.  My bedroom is still a little disorganized as well.  But all of that seems easy compared to going through 280 or so boxes and deciding where everything will be going.  It's very comforting to see we have empty shelves in some of the storage spaces and closets.  I don't want to feel cramped and crowded in my house. 

With the bulk of things put away, I can focus on some things that are more enjoyable.  Playing the piano and harp, reading, putting together a schedule for my kids piano lessons and Lucy's harp lessons (she's been begging me to teach her for months now).  I can put together a menu for meals, pull some weeds from our flower beds, and hang out with some of my new friends!  I may even volunteer at the library every now and again. 

I spent some time at the library here this afternoon.  I want to pick a book to read to my kids.  It's been too long since I've done that.  I checked out 6 books that I want to look over before I decide which one to read out loud. 

Tomorrow is the ward harvest dinner.  I'm bringing breadsticks, one of the few things I can cook well! 

I only have 8 more boxes to go through in the garage!!!!  There is an end in sight.  So happy.

Today was a very exciting day for little Lucy.  She had her first volleyball practice.  She is part of a recreation 3rd grade team.  Her team is called the Pink Panthers.

She has been wanting to play volleyball for about a year and today her dream came true!  She practices twice a week and her elementary school secretary is her coach.  She is really nice and Lucy likes her a lot. 

I baked bread today.  I haven't had the time to do that for years.  The kids were very excited and it tasted great. 

I'm pooped, going to bed early tonight!

Recap of the last few days:

Friday:
Palmer played in the football game against Lander High School (about 3 hours south).  We won.  Palmer got a solo tackle in as well.  Emma played with the pep band and then at half time performed with the flag corp.  Peter, Lucy, and Eric sat with Peter's friend Sharise again.  They were crazy during the game!  Andrew sat with his new 8th grade football home boys.

Saturday:
Andy had his first football game.  It was a scrimmage against two teams: Lander and Powell.  They would just go four downs and then switch teams.  Powell was really good.  They had some kid that was 6 feet tall!  Andy did really well.
I completely wore myself out unpacking and organizing the garage.  The sad thing is you can't even really tell what I did!!  There is still so much to go through.
We had one of the boys from the ward over to watch the BYU game against Texas, awesome game!  Lucy and Peter played with the across the street neighbors a bunch, Fiona and Miles.

Sunday:
Whew, glad it's Sunday today, I'm pretty worn out.  I think I lifted one too many boxes yesterday.  Brian got called as the Young Men's President today.  He will do a great job!  I don't have a calling yet, which is kind of nice!

It's starting to get cooler already.  I have to admit I'm a little scared about the winter.  I've heard all the horror stories about 40 below temps.  I do like the cold, but I'd rather not have my saliva freeze if I open my mouth for a breath!

Here's to another week ahead of me!

I tackled Eric and Peter's room today!  Here are some pictures of the results!

Thanks to Andy this bookshelf got a new coat of paint and a new life

With such a bigger room I realized they have empty shelves!  

Eric's top bunk

Our deck is a collector of empty boxes.  We try to not overload the dumpster everyday!

Yesterday Brian got a few of the guys that work for him to help him bring the piano to our house.  It has been in his office since the movers came since I didn't want it stored in the storage unit and getting overheated.  Guess what that means--practicing starts soon!

Palmer texted me today asking if I would bring his jersey to school because they are having pictures taken.  He said it was on his dresser.  I walked into his room (which is organized and spotless) and found it carefully folded on top of his dresser.

I love how he takes care of his things that are important to him.

The school nurse called me today and Peter is missing one of his chicken pox shots.  So today after school we get to go take care of that.  He will be so excited to find out where we are going when he gets home!  I think I better have ice cream on hand for afterwards!

 It's amazing the talented and educated people that live here in Worland that are members of the church.  For example here are some of the job titles of the people in the two wards:
President of ANB bank
President of State Security Bank
Doctor at the clinic
Physical Therapist at the clinic
Director of the hospital
Optomitrist
Dentist
Chiropractor
Pharmacist
Owner of Blair's grocery story
Multiple teachers in the elementary and high schools

In addition it seems that nearly every person I meet played a sport on the college level.  There are several volleyball, basketball, and football former college players.  Because of this, their children are all very athletically talented and they share their talents through coaching on many different levels. 

It's interesting to see all these people drawn to live in this town.  Most of them are not from Worland, although many of them are from different parts of Wyoming or Montana. 

I got Lucy signed up to do volleyball.  They can start sports when they are in 3rd grade.  She is really excited!  Andy's first football game is this Saturday and Palmer has another football game this Friday. 

It looks like Emma and I are going to go on a trip to either Cody or Sheridan.  She is going to Homecoming and doesn't have a dress to wear.  We've looked online, but it's hard to shop for a formal dress and know what it will look like when you try it on.  We were all going to try and go to Billings Montana, which is 3 hours away, and go to Costco and the mall and the temple, but all of our Saturdays are booked with football until October. 

I've had multiple families ask if I am going to teach piano lessons.  I am going to teach Emma, Andy, Eric, Lucy, and Peter.  I would like to have a few other students so they could play duets together, but I definitely don't want a lot of students, 10 would be my max.  My piano is still in Brian's office so the first thing is to get it here at the house. 

I made some headway in the garage today. This is the time when I wish I was Samantha Stevens and I could twitch my nose and have everything magically put away!  I'm also working out at the gym here.  I'm starting some weight training exercises which I'm excited about.  The guy who owns the gym gave me some exercises to do and spent some time with me showing me the right form.  It was like having a personal trainer-really cool.  Hopefully I will be in awesome shape by Thanksgiving! 

Labor Day

I can't get over the HUGE skies.  This was what I passed on my run this afternoon.  It's so pretty and inspiring it helps get me out to run even when I don't feel like it. And if you wondered the crop is sugar beets.

Lazy Labor Day which was definitely called for after our work on Saturday.  Palmer and Emma have a ton of homework, so I guess it hasn't been as relaxing for them!

We had an enjoyable Labor Day barbecue with a few members of the ward.  It was great to get to know them better.

Here's to a great week!