Fall, my favorite time of the year!

I love autumn! It is by far the best time of the year. I actually enjoy every season, and look forward to the changes that each one brings, however none of them compare to fall. I love the cool crispness in the air and the crunch of the leaves that have fallen from the trees. I love the sense of excitment with the start of the football season and the anticipation of spending time with family during Halloween and Thanksgiving. I love going on hayrides, picking pumkins, and eating homemade chillie around a campfire, but most of all, I love the colors!! They are simply breathtaking. I could spend all day hiking up the canyons admiring the beauties of the changing leaves. Here are some shots I took during our ride up the canyon this past weekend.

Welcome Home Elder

Chad's youngest brother, Kyle, just got home from his mission to Honduras this past Thursday. We were both able to take Friday off, so we had few days to play catch up with him. We had some pretty late nights, either talking or watching movies, but it was worth it. Kyle had decided that there were three things he really wanted to do; go to the temple, go water skiing, and ride his motorcycle. We had taken down our moto and four wheeler, so we spent all day Friday riding up in the mountains with Chad's dad, Kyle and his brother Craig. It was so much fun to get out and go riding again, especially with a larger group. We're hoping that we can start convincing more of the family to start buying some toys so they can come riding with us. Until then, we'll settle with adding Kyle to the group!!

My Present

On Saturday Chad volunteered, at the last minute, to help cut down trees at our girls camp. So, as you can imagine, he was gone from 6:00 in the morning until 5:30 that night. The poor guy was exhausted when he got home, so instead of letting him sleep I made him go with me to our neighborhood BBQ. He was a good sport and was great about not complaining! After the BBQ he quickly got dressed for his flag football game. As tired as he was, he wouldn't miss out on a game for the world. As we were getting ready to leave he came and gave me a big hug and told me that he had a present for me. The problem was that he needed me to go and buy the present myself. I was a little amused, and confused, so I told him that I didn't need a present. He told me that he had planned on having it all wrapped up, ready to give to me, but that he had been unable to get to the store since he had been gone all day. (Isn't he the greatest!) I was so overwhelmed with his thoughtfulness that I didn't even think to ask what it was he wanted to give me.
I don't know how many of you are familiar with the Inheritance series, but this past week the third book Brisingr came out. And as you guessed- this was my present.
Chad and I started reading the series together a couple of years ago. We usually switch off reading to each other, or sometimes we'll sit next to each other and silently read a few chapters at the same time. I love to read and can easily get lost in a book for a few days, however I've come to realize that I enjoy reading a book with Chad more than anything else. I enjoy talking about the book and characters with him and wondering how the plot will unfold. I'm sure that Chad meant for the book to be the gift, but I think the time spent reading together is the actual gift. Thanks Fred! You're the best and I couldn't ask for anyone better.

In case you were wondering, the series is great! I really enjoy reading a wide variety of books, anything from Jane Austen classics to John Grisham's suspense novels, and this one has been such a fun one to read. If you're not into fantasy, and The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter isn't something you would consider a good read, then I would not recommend the series. But, if you're anything like me you'll enjoy them.

Be Ye Prepared

Most of you know that I've been on a huge food storage kick for awhile. I've been slowly building up our 1 year supply of food and just recently finished putting our 72 hr. kits together. YEAH!!!!
We had most of the stuff for our kits, the problem was that all the stuff was scattered in various areas instead of being centrally located. So, I finally buckled down and focused on getting our 72 hr. kits put together in one spot. That way it's easy to grab and run out the door, if need be. I found a couple of itemized lists online and started checking things off as they went in the bag. At this point our kits are done and feature everything from clothing, food and essential hygiene supplies, to games, scriptures, and a small tent. It was exciting for me to check off the last item, zip it all up and throw it in the nearest closet. Now all I have to do is update it in 6 months.

Our dehydrated dinners. Yummy!

Then, to help get me even more motivated about being prepared, I went to a preparedness fair that our ward put together. It was pretty much like a job fair, with different booths. Except the booths for this activity focused on a different aspect of what we can do to be prepared. Our bishop has been really concerned with our ward being better prepared and following the counsel that the prophets have given us. He's set a goal for every member in the ward to have at least a 3 month supply of food, so to help get the ball rolling we had the preparedness fair. They talked about storing water, cooking with your food storage (lots of yummy samples), working on a financial reserve, methods of cooking and tons of other things. They even had a booth set up for families to make identification cards for their kids. It was really informative and gave me some really great ideas on what I need to be working on.

I FORGOT TO MENTION: I decided to throw all of my handouts, flyers, lists, and anything else that deals with food storage and emergency preparedness, into a three ringed binder that will go with our 72 hr. kits. That way I have easy access to any information that I may need. I also made sure to throw in recipes that deal with cooking with your food storage and a cookbook that I got at the church mill for $1.50.

Saturday's Activies: Bottle Butter and Flag Football

A few months ago I was talking to a friend of mine about food storage, and I asked her what I could do to store butter. I had seen powdered butter canned, but didn't know if that was my only option. I was surprised when she told me that you can actually bottle butter! I was really intrigued by that! So, what did I do? I never got the recipe from her, that's what I did. Lucky for me I have a cousin who just posted the recipe and instructions for bottled butter. So, she gets all the credit for this one. (Thanks Connie) In fact, if you want to know how to make it you're going to have to go to her blog at

http://www.greenappleorchard.blogspot.com/

I'm simply posting the pictures of my butter to show you how easy it is. I highly recommend you give it a try! It doesn't take very long and it doesn't require lots of extra hands. Like I said, go to my cousins blog, get the directions (she gives step-by-step directions), and start adding onto your food storage! (I don't know why it looks so orange in the pictures?)

After the butter was all bottled we headed out for a ward flag football game. It's been hard for Chad to get involved with sports, the way he used, due to his calling. He hasn't been able to play basketball, softball, and volleyball because games are week nights, and that's usually when he's at the Stake Center. However, flag football is a little different. Those games are usually on a Friday or Saturday night. So, he's been able to get out and actually play a little. It's been about a year since he's been able to really get out with the guys and play some ball, so I think he's pretty excited about it. And I have fun too. I forgot to bring a blanket and jacket, so I was ready to go home once the game was done, but it was nice to watch him play again.

Blake's CANCER CRUSHERS!!

I'd like you to meet Blake. (Chad serves with Blake's dad in his calling and we've been able to learn more about their amazing family through their service together.) At the beginning of the year Blake was diagnosed with Leukemia. He's undergone the normal kemo treatments, and like most cancer patients, he's had his good days and bad days. In spite of the pain his little body has been put through, the times that I've seen him he's been full of life and energy, and has always had a smile on his face. Blake is a fighter and has faced this disease with faith in his Father in Heaven and strength and courage. And most importantly....Blake has chosen to fight back.
In an effort to help raise money for research, Blake set a goal to collect and donate $300 by collecting aluminum cans. He was able to collect over 250 pounds of cans and exceeded the $300 with the help of members from his ward, his dad's co-workers, and family members. Blake also put together a team for the American Cancer Society Relay For Life.
Relay For Life is a fun-filled overnight event designed to celebrate survivorship and raise money for research and programs of the American Cancer Society. During the event, teams of people gather at schools, fairgrounds, or parks and take turns walking or running laps. Each team tries to keep at least one team member on the track at all times. We were privileged enough to be members of Blake's team: Blake's Cancer Crushers. Chad and I signed up to walk from 11:00-12:00 p.m. We arrived early and walked around all the different booths that each team had set up. Each booth was selling different things and all the proceeds were going to the American Cancer Society. There were raffles for cakes, ipods, and a Nintendo Wii, good music and tons of food. We had such a great time and enjoyed the feelings that came in supporting a good cause.

At some point in our lives we will either known someone who has had cancer, and survived, or someone who has lost their life because of it. To learn more about this disease and what you can do to help fight back visit the American Cancer Society website. And if you're interested in donating just click here.