OCTOBER and NOVEMBER!!

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 A lot has changed since all of our kids moved away....for one thing

I have to make jack-o-lanters by myself. Pretty sad. But for the first time in years I actually wore a costume. For the ward carnival. Good thing Ben came through town on a business trip to help me in my booth.

 We can probably give Dayna the credit for Ben being such an amazing musician. She was his first piano teacher.

 And we got to have breakfast together at Mimi's.

And Caleb and Hannah helped me make Halloween eggs when they came to see me.

Also this month: Sara and Bryan came through town on their way home from Honeymoon Part II

 But the Big News is.....
We have a new baby!!

Afton Beth Randall - November 7 - 8 lbs, 11 oz

Aren't they the sweetest!

More.

On the way home from the wedding we got to spend a couple of days in St. George. Our other home. We swam at the great Rec Center,

 and Cory and Caleb went to Zion to hike. 

 They looked tired when they got home but said it was worth it.

So the next wedding:

Dan and Whitney (my niece) got married in a lovely meadow in American Fork Canyon.

We road the party bus,

 Oh happy day!

 I hope my mom and dad were able to be with us.

 I got to stay with Sara and Bryan. Sara and I went kitchen shopping:

 And we had craft night:

 Bryan couldn't participate because he had to do homework. :(

AND! I got to have lunch with two of my best growing up friends!!

 They are two of the 'noble and great' people in my life.

 I have to say a word about these two young women. Jerry is still the California State Distinguished Young Women Board President. So each July we get to host two girls who compete in this program. Kelli Chen is a pianist and Maddy Hawkins plays the chello. They had never met until they stayed in our home. They practice their talents while they are with us and one night they both sat in our living room for over an hour playing the most amazing piano/cello duets I have ever heard. Most without music. Remember I said they had never met until this week. I know they will achieve great things.

 Have I told you that Caleb loves the story of the Titanic? Well he does. And he can draw, and build replicas that amaze me. I have lost count of the number of lego versions he has made - each one a little different - and the pictures he has drawn. He also knows lots of the facts about what happened when it sunk in 1912. He can dramatize it using a pretty good British accent.

And then there's Hannah!

 

FLORIDA - JULY 2012

Jerry had a conference in Miami Beach. So we went to Florida in July.... 

It's very hot there - and muggy, very muggy. I didn't love Miami Beach but we took a trip to Key West. Key West is the last Key (island) in the Florida Keys. It was a fascinating drive on a two lane highway with bridges connecting island after island. One bridge was 7 miles long. Our hotel was the furthest point south. I think I could see Cuba from the beach. The reason we went there was to see a U. S. Coast Guard Ship - the most decorated Naval vessel serving in the United States. It is now a restored museum and I was almost as

 excited about seeing it as Jerry was. 

The ship, the town, the drive there - I loved it all. 

The USCGC INGRAM

Walking through it was a very calm, quiet experience. I couldn't imagine serving on it in the middle of a war - with waves and chaos and enemy fire. The sailors still had to do their jobs. What kind of men does it take to do that? I think it takes men who understand what happens if they don't.

 I would go back there again.

The Wedding - August 14th, 2012

Good morning! The girls worked while Jerry and I ate fresh blueberry pancakes and omlets... inside the Silver Fork Lodge.

First we decorated the tables and the arch,

then Sara...

 Then the rest of us.

Then we went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.

The Bryan Luke's

Yea!

The Ring Ceremony, Dinner and reception. 

Helen makes some finishing touches.

Elena and Kristina hang up the name tags. 

Ann and Sarah's cake.

The Ring Ceremony. Jerry's best I think.

Cory and Stephanie's song. I wish you could have heard it.

Best DJ in the country.

So the party is over and I wish we could repeat it again and again.