My sisters (Amy, Maggie, Diane) and my mom came to visit this week! Diane moved to St. Charles, MO a little over a year ago and then had a baby! Mom flew out after the baby was born but the rest of us wanted a chance to hold little Jocelyn. So, we planned this weekend so we could all visit. I just happened to be the lucky sister who got to host! It was tons of fun. I drove to the airport late Thursday night to pick Diane and her cute little baby from the airport. Mom, Amy, and Maggie arrived at the house that night too.

On Friday, we talked and took turns holding Jocelyn. We went out for lunch and came back and talked and held the baby more. That night our ward had a chili cook-off and trunk or treat so Mom and Maggie came with us to that. (It's been exactly a year since we moved into our house and it warmed my heart to see the friends we've created in our new ward and the progress we've made!) Back at home, those still awake watched Hocus Pocus.

On Saturday, Kevin made everyone a big breakfast and then Mom, Amy, and Maggie went to do a session in the new Provo Temple. Diane and I drove to the church bookstore (since there aren't many of those in Missouri!) and I got to hold Jocelyn some more! We met for a late lunch and fine dining at McDonald's. That evening, after pizza and more visiting and picture taking, Amy treated us all to facials! We even fancied-up Savannah, Chey, and Cali, and then sent Chey and Cali off to their first church dance! (They had a much better time than they thought they would!)

On Sunday morning, Mom and I drove Diane and Jocelyn back to the airport. When we got back, Mom and Maggie and Amy left to drive back to Las Vegas. I'm so glad they came! It was so fun to be with all of them and catch up on each other's lives. Love those people.

My kids really loved Jocelyn, too!!

 

I don't know who these people are.

Before the dance!

 

Tuesday was Ben's last flag-football game. He really had a fun time with this. He had a great coach who was kind and soft-spoken and with two practices each week, in addition to the game, he really got those kids playing well! Ben made friends with all the boys and they cheered each other on. Not everyone needs to be able to throw or catch to participate. In Ben's last game, he got five "tackles" (stripped the flags off the boy with the ball)! He did great!

Ben's number 12.

On Wednesday, Mariah ran in the state cross country meet! First of all, its an honor to even go, but Mariah has been lucky enough to go every year of high school with her team. This year, though, they did it and actually won! They are officially the state champions for girls' cross country 5A! Mariah wanted it so badly and was so happy when it finally happened. She has been training super hard and it is neat to see her hard work pay off. She even got to ride on the fire truck as their buses were escorted back victoriously into Springville! As JV members of the team, Cali and Chey got to spend the day with the team at the meet although they didn't run. They were great support and had a blast.

On Thursday morning, we packed up the car and everybody at home and drove to Jacob Lake Inn to spend our fall break with Sarah Kristen Skinner! She's been working and living there since the end of August. She's really grown to love the people there and the scenery and the fun things to do. We got to see why! It is gorgeous there and the people are really nice, though we were just thrilled to be able to spend time with Sarah. When we first got there, we browsed her gift shop and then hiked to Jacob's Lake which Sarah assured us was just "a glorified puddle." But the hike was beautiful through the lodge pole pines.

That night we drove into Kanab to try the pizza at Lotsa Motsa. It was good! But Cali didn't get to try it because she got the stomach flu and worried us all for the next several hours. Poor girl really suffered. We put her to bed early at the Inn where we had two rooms, and Sarah, Kevin, Ben, and I played Settlers of Zarahemla. Sarah won!

The next day Cali was feeling tentatively better so after taking our time in the morning, we drove out to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Lovely drive and stunning views of the canyon! We had a great time walking around the rim then we had a very COLD picnic as the wind was fierce that day!

When we got back to the Inn, we played Pit. Cali and Mariah beat the rest of us by a lot! After eating sandwiches in our room, we drove over to Sarah's fire tower which she tries to walk up and down everyday to get ready to hike the Grand Canyon rim to rim. It is very tall! Those are a lot of stairs! The sun had just set and we got a beautiful view above the trees. When we got back, we watched Star Wars before going to bed.

The next morning, we started the day with a family basketball game! Mariah's team won! But everyone had a good showing. If we'd just had Megan, we could have had 5 on 5! Afterward, we went to the little museum that taught us about the plateau and sinkholes. Then Sarah navigated us to a humongous sinkhole where the employees sometimes have bonfires at the bottom. It was too steep for me and Cali and Beth but the others made it down . . . and back up!

Team 1

Team 2

See that little circle down there? That's their fire pit!

Fire pit up close.

We had to leave about 12:30 so Sarah could get back to work and we could see my brother, Dave, before he moves to Florida. We had a great time enjoying the pines and being with Sarah. It was a great Fall Break!