Happy Halloween!

Welcome Back (for a few days only!) Elder DeMordaunt

 

 

Hey! 

Mesa All-City Meet

Freestyle Action!

 

 

 

At the Mesa All-City Meet...see next post.

Jim's Mission Call

 

When the day finally came for Jim's mission call, we were able to watch him open it on Skype. He called at the appointed time and we just had to wait for 15 minutes or so for Wade to get home from work. He really has a long commute. 

There were some nice members with a slow internet connection willing to have 4 elders in their home while Jim opened then read his call (back) to the Utah Salt Lake City West mission. He was so glad for the real mission call, and is happy to be going back to the mission that gave him the opportunity for the short term mission assignment, though he would have been excited for anywhere, he said. He also would be glad to learn Spanish, but is also happy to teach the gospel in English. 

His report to the MTC date is November 14. He will be home on October 30 (in time for Halloween?!), go through the temple to receive his endowments on November 10, then back to Utah on a plane with mom on November 11, 2012. Everything with his mission happens FAST! Family and friends have all been so supportive during this year as his call was delayed, then the short-term mission came and now the real mission call. 

Jim's attitude has been so positive about serving a mission and he continues to be enthusiastic about learning and sharing the gospel. This is an amazing stage of his life and has required some careful planning to have everything needed in place. We love watching Jim's progress in life. He has made some great choices. He continues to surprise and impress us :)

Trevor Accepts!!!

Mallery asks Trevor to the Winter Formal

Owen is 12!

Owen knows how to dramatize life. He is a light and a joy. He has his moments of anxiety and insecurity, but he has a great family with siblings who 'get him' and help (when they aren't the aggravating factor!).  The party with the fam was fun. Dad happily made the vanilla sheet cake and Owen was pleased. 

Trevor, the Mesa Swimmer!

 

High School Swim meets are a blast! Real easy going with dual meets every other week or so. Trevor is doing well. Getting his times down. Being a happy, encouraging senior leader of his team. Of course he's had colds and been down some this season, but with less than 2 weeks until state, the tapering begins! Good luck, Trevor and everyone!!!

Trevor's Trek

Trevor's trek "parents" took a ton of photos, so we were able to witness the man of action/pioneer dude he was. Trevor was asked by the Stake Presidency to conduct the trek introduction fireside after only living here for a few weeks. We think he did a great job of leading and inspiring interest in the trek as he even convinced Mae to come along (as if she could get out of it!), though grudgingly.

When we met the Stake President later on, he said how much he enjoyed Mae, though she seemed to look at him when he spoke to her like "Who are you? and how do you know me?" (in his words!).

So Trevor fared well on the trek, as he does in life. He would have made a great pioneer. I think he is a great pioneer (see below).

 

To Be A Pioneer 

You don’t have to push a handcart, 

Leave your fam’ly dear, 

Or walk a thousand miles or more 

To be a pioneer! 

You do need to have great courage, 

Faith to conquer fear, 

And work with might for a cause that’s right 

To be a pioneer!

words from Primary Children's Songbook page 218
images from sugardoodle pioneer songbook

Early Morning Trek Departure...Au Revoir

Youth Conference was at the end of Fall Break, so Trevor sacrificed some swim practice days and Mae sacrificed her precious time off from school, and they headed out to the desert/prairie in "families" with other kids and leaders from our stake.

I love these photos because: 1)Trevor and Mae are together 2)they are dressed as pioneers 3)this was the only day Mae wore the skirt and 4)these are the only trek photos we have of Mae!

The not-so-long ride home

 

The ride from St. George to Phoenix is not exactly as the arrow flies. The Grand Canyon is in the way! We followed the Ettinger's advice and took the northern route back and it was a BEAUTIFUL drive.
 

Eating and Farewells

For my Dad's birthday we ate at George's Corner Restaurant. It was delicious and they honored all our special requests and changes to our orders. We were all full and happy (see above!).

Then Trevor and Wade left for the St. George Rec Center so Trevor could do a swim workout before the drive home. Mae, Owen and I, and my parents, stayed until the following morning and enjoyed a pumpkin steamer and cinnamon rolls from Kneader's Bakery (Mom and Dad brought the surprise back to the hotel for breakfast). Owen took a quick dip in the pool and we all got our things together to go our separate ways. What a nice couple of days in a beautiful place with family for a milestone birthday! Happy 70th Dad!

Oh! our first night there, we stopped at Locke and Carol Sue Ettinger's to visit. We just chatted about the latest with all the kids and caught up a bit, and forgot to take photos. Some great friends, though. It was good to see them.

The St. George Tabernacle Tour

 

 

 

The best part of this tour was at the end when the guide invited anyone to speak from the pulpit where all of our prophets from Brigham Young on, have spoken. Wade bore his testimony. Then my dad got up and shared an experience about how our family has always faithfully paid tithing and my parents were really struggling one year to make ends meet and were hoping and praying for enough money to do just a little something for Christmas. They were going to the temple and my dad was looking through his wallet for his temple recommend and he found a check he hadn't cashed. He thought that was a pretty good deal, so he kept looking through his wallet and found 2 more checks they could cash that would be just the amount they were hoping for. A blessing for always paying tithing and for attending the temple!

Downtown St. George with Grandpa and Grandma Price

The kids at the park

The carousel

The statue by Jack Morford

Owen and a statue boy...

 With my Dad in his Hat

With Mom and Dad in the park

High School Musical 2

Just outside the fence from the Golf Course used as the setting for HSM2 the summer musical and Troy's solo "Bet On It."  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_School_Musical_2 or http://high-school-musical.wikia.com/wiki/Troy_Bolton for more information...

Trevor's Snow Canyon Adventure

Family Snow Canyon Adventure

Look at these happy kids, playing in the sand, hanging out in the sagebrush. What a blast!

Back to Snow Canyon State Park where we visited on our first trip to St. George for a job interview in 1998. What a colorful, beautiful desert place.

Wade in the Desert.

Colorful cliffs.

We drove from Mesa to St. George while listening to General Conference on Sunday, then went on a morning hike in Snow Canyon State Park while my mom and dad drove down from North Salt Lake. We came for Dad's 70th birthday and had such a nice time visiting and celebrating his wonderful life so far.