Maple Grove Hot Springs in the fall...again...

We met Scott and April 

for a quick little hot springs soak a few weeks ago.

Most of the twigs and a few friends made it there too. 

(Missed you, Hunter!)

The little trailer we rented worked great

for everyone except Joseph 

who is so tall the only place he could stand up straight 

was under the roof vent!

It was such a good time 

that I find my mind returning there over and over.

Mmmm...loved the red maple leaves covering the ground,

the warm water, 

great conversations 

and game playing into the early morning.

(The sun had set by the time we got in the hot pools 

so this great picture by @nataliegildersleeve 

was copied from the Maple Grove Hot Springs instragram page.)

Rascal loved the ride!

Spring break in the nighttime...

This week was the twigs' spring break from school. 

Zac needed to work so we couldn't go south to our beloved redrock.

We decided to make the best of it and play in the evenings.

(photo credit - Jason Carlton) 

We went to the temple 

(all except our poor Paul who had phlebitis 

and was stuck on the couch at home with his leg elevated). 

I went in to do initiatory work 

while the twigs and Meg'n went to do baptisms and confirmations. 

When I came out they looked surprisingly dry...

yup, the baptistry was super packed 

so they hadn't been able to get in. Oops! 

Another night, Paul and I were going to the Layton High School production 

of the Wizard of Oz for the Stake Single Adult group activity 

so we got tickets for the twigs and Meg'n to come along. 

It was a treat to see so many kids we know perform!

In between these activities, 

there was some board game playing and video watching. 

Another evening, our local missionaries came by for a visit.

Sister Christensen is an artist 

and painted this beautiful picture 

that they've made into a card with Elder Eyring's great quote. 

The week's activities ended with 4 hours of laser tag 

and some very sore thighs haha!

We'd like to do it all again tomorrow! 

So grateful for this precious little family.

<3

Fryday...

At work this week, Debbie told us about their young womens french fry activity. 

The leaders got fries from several places, 

 the girls put on blindfolds

and they had a taste test to see which fries they liked best 

and guess where the fries were from.

When I told the fam about Debbie's activity they wanted to have a go at it!

Can you tell where these fries are from just by looking at them???

The choices are...

Burger Bar

5 Guys

Red Robin

In & Out

Craft Burger

It's pretty hard to go wrong

when you're making something with potatoes - yum!

The twigs think we should do this again

 but

with chocolate.

Let's do it!  

;)

(Left to right - the fries are from Craft Burger, Burger Bar, 5 Guys, In & Out, Red Robin)

Gone to Carolina, Segway tour of Historic Corolla...

When planning this Carolinas trip, 

we found lots of fun options for our 
"let's try something new" bucket list activity. 

We narrowed it down to hang gliding, surfing, or riding Segways. 

A Segway Tour of Historic Corolla on the Outer Banks won. 

The morning of the Segway tour came and I was a little nervous 

but our guide, Justin, was terrific. 

He had Hunter hop right up and show us how it was done. 
The twigs were total naturals. 
We all practiced in the parking lot behind the Segway shop 

before we were turned loose on Corolla. 

We had to be able to get on and off the Segway without help
(which was harder for some of us than you might imagine), 

make the contraption go forward, stop, and do a zero point turn.

We also had to be able to line up the chubby Segway wheels 

so we could go through spaces barely larger than them. 

It really wasn't long and we were on our way. 

Justin told us the history of the Outer Banks 

and showed us the Whalehead Club

and the Currituck Lighthouse. 

The history was interesting but mostly, 
we just loved zipping around on the segways!! haha

Sign us up - we're ready and raring to ride Segways anytime!

Gone to Carolina, Mt. Airy or Mayberry...

Have you ever heard of the Andy Griffith show? 

Don't you just love it!?!

We totally do and have watched every episode many times. 

One of the first things you hear as a missionary when you get a call 

to the North Carolina Charlotte Mission 

is that Mt. Airy is in the mission. 

Mt. Airy is the town where Andy Griffith grew up 

and the town his show was based on. 

Zac never got to serve in Mt. Airy but we had to go visit. 

It was different than I'd imagined as they didn't actually film the show

 in Mt. Airy 

so the courthouse wasn't there and Andy's house wasn't there. 

However, the town has made a little tourist area

with some mock buildings, 

cars, 

and a museum. 

We love Mayberry!

A visit from our down-unders...

Our nephew, David, went on a mission down-under to Australia. 

He returned from that mission and before long 

was on a plane back down-under and there he has lived for the last 20ish years.

(photo by Elaine)

 We love it when he and his family come for a visit

like they did just a few weeks ago!

(Thanks for taking the picture, David!)

His oldest daughter is the same age as the twigs 

so it's always a good time when they're together.   :)

We had so much fun 

playing games, laughing, and 

even got in a tad bit of tree climbing.

Australia is so lucky to have you!

Much love  <3

Elaine, we promise to remember it's "put our rubbish in the wheelie bin".  ;)

Creepy stalker cat...

Our Mr. is allergic to cats so we've never had one.

That is, until two weeks ago 
when we got a hypoallergenic cat (is that really a thing) 
and it was even free!!

We couldn't wait to write to Zac, our missionary, about our super cute cat.

I wrote this to him:

Dear Zac, You won't believe this but it's totally true and so fun!! 

We got a CAT!!!!! :)

Yup, you read that right, a cat. 

He's a chubby yellow tabby cat, super sweet, 
so soft, and pretty low energy. 

Once in a while the dog likes him too much 

so the cat sits on the back of the couch in the family room 

where we can all see if Rascal starts to get too close.

Hunter took a "catnap" before his night class tonight 

and it was the cutest sight.

Hunter laying on the couch, the dog laying on the floor at his feet, 

and the cat laying on the back of the couch at Hunter's head. 

I should have snapped a picture! Sorry...

You need to help us pick a name!!

Hunky Hank?

Cat?

Mellow Yellow?

Dog?

Gus?

Butterball?

Sprinkle cakes?

We'd love to hear any others you've got! :)

The Mr. wrote this to Zac:

You won't believe the next sentence. We actually got a cat. 

A big yellow cat that sits around all day 

up on the back of the sectional sofa near the piano. 

Luckily I haven't had any allergies yet. 

We still haven't decided on a name, I don't think. 

It reminds me of the creepy stalker cat in Pres. Uchtdorf's talk

"Summer with Great Aunt Rose." 

video here

Creepy Stalker Cat

I can't believe I caved!! That thing better keep its distance.

So...do you think Zac believed for even one second we got a cat? 

He reads our emails early in the day on Monday's 

(p-days - the day they do laundry, grocery shopping, wash the car etc.)

and writes his emails back to us during the day. 

We usually receive his email about 4:00pm.

At 8:13am he wrote "Do you have a picture of the cat?"

Hahahah...I don't think he believed us but we did have him wondering! :) 

So we sent him a picture of our kitty. 

That night we got this from Zac. :)

Haha, y'all are jokers. 

Nice cat.

I think "sunshine" is a good name.

Thanksgiving with Alex and a thorough beating...

The Thanksgiving break was too short for our University attending nephew 

to make the long trip home so he came and celebrated with us instead - win win.

The twigs worked hard to get homework done so we could play

and play we did!  :)

We played Carcassonne till the cows came home. 

This guy beat us over and over and over. 

How did he do that? 

He didn't know - beginners luck he said?

My beautiful little blue-eyed Mother loved to play games too. 

She was clever and quick and thought it was good 

for kids to lose - pretty wise of her.

Here

Alex played the Mr.'s game with him too. 

Did you know the Mr. invented a game?

It's called Black Box +.

It's a hexagonal version of an old favorite game called Black Box

 that he played with his buddy, Brad, in High School. 

The Mr. contacted the original game inventor, Eric Solomon, years ago and told him 

about this hexagonal version. 

Mr. Solomon said it had been tried dozens of times 

but he would take a look at the Mr.'s idea. 

Next thing we knew it was in production and royalty checks started coming in. 

How neat is that?

This guy played lots of fetch when he wasn't watching us play games. 

I'm thankful for family and friends and furry creatures.

Especially I'm grateful for my God. 

God bless you all.

:)