CAMPIN' AND CUTTIN'

    

Sister Ledingham gave her report on serving in Armenia.  It was so full of the Spirit.  She really did a great job.  She talked about standing in holy places and saying it is not always a place but an experience.  It was very thought provoking.

Scott and Beth had us over for dinner cooking pineapple, chicken, baked potatoes, rolls, veggies and ice cream and brownies for desert.  It was all yummy.

Tuesday we went to the temple and then went to SLC to visit Milt on our way to Kamas to see Hailey play soccer.  We took veggies from the garden and slop for Roscoe.  (Haylie calls him Bacon).Went to dinner after at Clark’s and Dianne made the most delicious enchiladas; lime chicken.  The missionaries were there also.  It’s always good to be around missionaries.  We took the tent trailer to Erik’s so they could use it over the weekend.  We picked up our trailer at Erik’s so we could use it over Labor Day.

The 28^th was Erik’s birthday.  He is such a joy to be around.  He is a wonderful husband, dedicated father and great son.  He is an honorable priesthood holder.  We surely do love him.  We just can’t believe he’s our 4^th child and 38.

We pulled our trailer up to the mountain and spent a wonderful evening enjoying the beauty and the stars. 

 We woke up to a spike in the truck tire so we pumped it up with Dad’s little pump and headed back to town.  It had a huge nail it in and Discount Tire gave us a new tire.  We headed back up and Scott and Beth joined us that evening.  They pitched their tent for the family and dogs.

Surprise!!!  Our new shower curtain.

I offered Bethany some of the lotion we have been using for some time and after she looked at it she asked how I liked it.  I told her it made our legs stick to our pants so we didn’t really care for it.  She looked at me and mentioned that it was body wash, not lotion.  Dad and I are just a little scary.

We worked on that big tree we had partially finished two weeks ago.  It was a bugger.  Scott and Dad finally got it taken care of and we used our new splitter and loaded the hauling trailer.  The little ones are such good help.

After our hard work we went to Scofield and did some fishing.  Didn’t catch anything but still had fun. 

 After we went to town to get a grill so Scott could get a grill for his salmon.  Bethany saw the cemetery and that was it.  We walked through this amazing place.  There was a mine explosion in 1900 that killed over 200 men.  Their wooded markers are there along with the people who died at that period.  One woman lost her husband and 6 sons.  It was a tragic time.  Many were children under 2 years old.  It was a very sacred place. 

We roasted hot dogs when we got back to camp.

Sunday was a very relaxed day.  The 4 wheeler was a favorite of the kids.  That evening Scott cooked his salmon with mangoes, peppers, onions, brown sugar and spices.  I even liked it. 

 Bethany and I had tasty chicken.  Dad cooked his famous Dutch oven spuds.  I think they were his best.  We ate ‘till we couldn’t take another bite and then Scott dished out his Dutch oven peach cobbler.  We rolled into bed.

We woke up to find mice had gotten into our trailer.  It was gross.  They ate the towels in the bathroom cabinet.

eating in the trailer

We got another load of wood.  Ava helped load the pickup the entire time.  

We then went back to the lake to fish and get some d-con. 

The only fish pulled in was on Dad's pole but he let Ava reel it in.  Nixon was so fascinated by it that it soon finished its time o this earth.  When we got back to camp they buried it.

 The lady there (by the way, there is only one store in Scofield and it is just a gas station with a few groceries) said everyone is complaining about the mice this year.  Yeah.  We bought 3 boxes of d-con.  The little buggers feasted on all 3 boxes and asked for more.

We found a school built in 1928, where the children of the mine went to school.  We went on to a monument to study more about that time.  A truck pulled up at the same time and after a few minutes one of the men asked Dad, “Aren’t you a Bayles?”  It turned out his grandmother and Dad’s grandfather were brother and sister.  What a small world.  I had on my Bayles/Hurst reunion shirt and he saw the Hurst, second cousins.

The man in the middle is Blaine Miksell from Blanding (Dad went to school with his brother Andy)
The man on the right is from Fairview and is Dad's second cousin.

waiting in a culvert while people chatted

Bethany wanted to go home early but she just had too much fun seeing the sites and a tiny mining town just 5 miles from the marker.

We got back, packed up and headed home.  The traffic was bumper to bumper the whole way.

The next day we bought 3 more boxes of d-con and 3 plug-ins that are supposed to chase mice out.  Kristin said it was not good.  True.

We made reservations to go to North Carolina for a very special temple sealing in the Atlanta Temple.  We will leave on Sept. 16^th for South Carolina and Kristin’s.  We will spend some time visiting our NC families.

We spent the day disinfecting the trailer and putting everything possible in the dishwasher and washing machine.  

The next morning we found the feast had continued and all containers once again were devoured.  We cleaned again and bought 4 giant boxes of d-con and 4 traps.  Dad got the garden taken care of.  Shanelle called and asked for Dad to come to the hospital to give Erik a blessing.  He has had a 6 mm stone for 5 weeks, two emergency stays, 2 cat scans and they have done nothing about the stone.  They sent him home.  His urologist is doing surgery if it hasn’t passed by Thursday.

That afternoon we went to Riley’s game.  Dad had picked several boxes of tomatoes, a huge box of Romas, peppers, nectarines, and a 30 pound winter squash.  We think they’ll have to cut it with a chain saw.

Riley played very well and they won. 

 After the game Dianne treated us to dinner at PF Chang’s.  Ashley and Tyler were there too.  We had a feast of every dish you can imagine.  It was for Clark’s birthday.  It was just so good to be with that family.   It was so fun.  We left very full.

Minnie giving Clark a pinch

Clark is such a good man.  He enjoys about everything as long as his family is involved.  He loves being a dad and husband.  He chose the perfect wife for him. They are a great team and have such a strong good spirit in their home.  He is a man of no guile and lives by faith and service to others.  He is 45 today.  Along with his family he loves his chickens and Roscoe the pig.

Lauryn Dora Jennings is 7 today.  She brightens any room she walks into.  Her smile just makes people happy.  Her killer eyes display every emotion.  Now, her hair is something else.  She loves her swimming class and doing anything with her family.  She is very kind to others.  she has a twin sister.

Lauryn and Clara

Her sister, Clara Camille Jennings is her twin and 7 today.  She loves horses, especially Curly.  If she created her own world she said it would have unicorns.  She is on a soccer team and loves to play.  She loves doing anything that is a challenge and wants to try everything.  She has no fear.  She loves her family and the fun things they do together.

I called Stewarts and they informed me there are no other mice.  We are so relieved.  We went to Erik’s varsity game and sat on the hill with his family.  They lost but by only 3 points.  The game didn’t get over until 10:30.
The next day Dad went fishing, or swimming.  You know how his fishing trips are.  Well, Cliff couldn't get the boat out of the water so Dad jumped in to help him; phone, wallet, temple recommend and all.  Shocker.  When they got home, after a breakfast at Chicks, in Heber, he put it in rice.  He left it there until Sunday morning; no luck.  When we got back from church he tried it again and it worked like a charm.  Another one of our Father's tender mercies.  We were so relieved we didn't have to buy a new one.

We got up the next morning and went to Yuba Lake for Scott’s tri.  It was a fun time because he came in 3^rd.  We were so happy and proud. 

before the swim

finish

Ooh, you're so sweaty.

We stopped at One Man Band for lunch.  Scott thinks that’s part of the tri.  It’s a fun place to eat.  We came home and took a nap to wake up and watch BYU beat Texas 41-7.  YaHoo!

We love all the activities we are involved in with our family.  They are so supportive of each other.  We love to read the message they send to one another.  They’re crazy.  The restored gospel is so true and we are so thankful it is such an important part of our lives.  We love that families are forever.