Photos

We finally got Lorna's Wedding photos.  Brad has posted them on our Photoshop site. View them and others by going to: www.reedfmly.photoshop.com

Las Vegas Weekend

Brad had a class in Las Vegas this week.  We got to go a few days early and spend the weekend with Kirsten, Brandon and Jonas.  Brandon competed in a triathalon on Saturday and did a great job.  He beat his previous time by about 15 minutes.

We then went to the Hoover Dam and drove and walked across the newly opened bridge that was built up from the bridge so the traffic now doesn't have to cross the dam. Pictures just can't do justice to the size of this bridge!  It is 900 feet high, and 1900 feet long and 88 feet wide!  We got an amazing view of the Hoover Dam from the bridge.

Jonas loves to slide and climb.

 Kirsten, Jonas, Brad and I went for a brisk walk at the Wetlands Park for some exersize.  They had some fun things for Jonas to climb on.

Here is a picture of Sunrise Mountain that is prominently seen in Las Vegas.  The temple is built at the foot of the mountain.  Brad got an awesome shot of it as the sun was setting.

Pressing Apples

You may remember that I got Brad a apple press kit for his birthday (instead of an Apple I-pad that he wanted).  Grandpa Reed has been building the apple press this summer and just got it completed.  We tried it out this week.  First we picked the apples from his trees and ground them with a special grinder that we bought and then pressed them.  The juice is delicious!
We got 3 gallons out of a bushel of apples.

Kemmerer, Wyoming

Brad, Jared and I enjoyed a trip to Justin and Becca's home in Kemmerer, Wyoming this weekend. The fall colors were beautiful especially along the Palisade Reservoir.

Jana's family made the 2 hour trip from South Jordan to join us. The cousin's had a great time playing together. They did a Halloween craft and played at the park in town. We also went shopping at the very first JC Penney store ever.

I should of got more pictures of Justin and Becca's new home. It is beautiful and roomy. They have done a lot of work on it, taking off wall paper, painting, new windows, and putting in new flooring etc.

By the looks of their storage basement they have also been very busy preserving food for the winter. We loved spending time with Justin's family and Jana's family too.

Harvest Time

Even though our Rexburg growing season was much shorter than normal, we still enjoyed a bounteous harvest. Tomatoes, beets, beans, cabbage, carrots, squash, broccoli, cauliflower, raspberries, strawberries, apples etc. are all harvested and either frozen, bottled, dried or stored for our enjoyment.

The Rexburg Temple

What a wonderful opportunity I have to play the organ in the Rexburg Temple. It is my turn every Tuesday evening for one hour. That hour is like Heaven to me, playing beautiful hymns in the House of the Lord.

(Brad took this picture on a beautiful stormy evening)

Arg! Home Repairs

This has definitely been our month of home repairs. First we discovered that the frig was leaking when the ceiling in the family room was dripping on Krystle. We had to replace the water hose to the ice and water.

Next, I thought it would be an easy fix to repair the toilet downstairs. I was just going to replace the shims that I put under it a few years ago to help make it level since the cement floor isn't level. Not a simple fix. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong! The inside of the toilet had to be replaced, the seat was broken, the bracket was rusted and broken, the tank leaked, the bolts were rusted so we couldn't get them out....After several trips to the plumbing supply store and many nights working on it, I ended up breaking the whole toilet and had to buy a new one which I installed carefully with shims to make it level!

Next, the kitchen sink was clogged. We used the "snake" several times down about 20 feet and Liquid Plumber to no avail. In the meantime, the bracket that hooked to the drain was corroded and had to be replaced. I finally called the plumber who said, "If the snake didn't work for you, we can't fix it either." I had to call Roto Rooter, who came in with their BIG snake. They had to go down 45 feet and cleared the clog and charged $125 to do it! It works now and I am grateful for indoor plumbing that works!

October 2010 Conference

I loved conference this October. I spend my Sunday's listening to the talks over and over again. What inspiring and timely instruction for the turbulent world that we live in.

My favorite talk was President Monson's on Gratitute:

"A grateful heart . . . comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. My sincere, heartfelt prayer is that we may in our individual lives reflect that marvelous virtue of gratitude. May it permeate our very souls, now and evermore."

This talk was very strong and to the point. When I listened to it the first time I thought, "there is no question what virtue our prophet is advising us to work on." When I read the talk again I counted...he used the words grateful and gratitude 37 times!

We will not soon forget President Packer's talk and his story about the elementary student who thought they could just vote to decide if a kitten was a girl or a boy.

Another favorite:

President Uchtdorf - "We don’t discover humility by thinking less of ourselves; we discover humility by thinking less about ourselves. It comes as we go about our work with an attitude of serving God and our fellowman."

Jana's family

Jana's family joined us for conference weekend. Here is a family picture of them that we took: Ella, Steve, Brigham, Sophia, David, and little Josette. Also a picture of Josette who is so cute she could seriously be on ads for baby products.

McCall Idaho

We took a weekend break on Labor day and spent it with Jason and Pam and family. We stayed at their beautiful cabin in McCall. We enjoyed the Payette Lake while boating and jet skiing and just playing in the white sand.

We also spend Sunday after church walking along the shore in McCall.

It was exciting to see a deer come within feet of the big picture window of the cabin.

Last is a picture of the handsome family, Jason, Pam, Dillon, Payton, and Isabelle.

Trinidad California

I just had to share this picture that Brad took in Trinidad. It is where we stayed in northern California, which is a sleepy little coastal town with fishing boats galore and a really good seafood restaurant

Redwood Forest

The Redwood Forests have become one of my favorite places to visit in the whole world! They were spectacular in their size and beauty. One author describes the place as "Hush Lush." I felt the same way as we walked many trails through these giants. The large trees and thick undergrowth filtered out any outside noise. It was like we were in a whole different and sacred world. These trees are called ancient giants because some of them are over 1600 years old and many are over 370 feet tall. That is two feet taller than Niagara Falls and the same as a 30 story building. Many trees were over 17 feet in diameter, 52 feet in circumference and weigh well over 1,000,000 pounds. Of course, I couldn't leave until we found the tree that we could drive through.

I now can see why Jason spent most of is P-days while on his mission in that area "visiting the giants."

Sacramento Reception

We traveled to Sacramento California on September 18 to attend Lorna and Ben's reception in his home town. It was a great party featuring a feast of Chinese food and entertainment from a string quartet. The reception was very well attended. The couple and their parents all wore traditional Chinese clothing. We haven't received the pictures from the photographer yet, but we will be sure to share them when we do.