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.

SUMMER IS ENDING

Katie took this picture of Mesa Verde from the ranch.  We love it.

Visited with Uncle Leonard this week.  He is not doing very well and can no longer go to the temple.  We miss him.
While running errands I passed the Nordgrens' and saw this deer.  She is there often.  Who would think a deer would be on such a busy street in our neighborhood?

We have had such yummy nectarines this year but had to put a net over the tree to keep the birds out.  Dad got very tired from getting a bird out that was caught i the netting and from working in the garden.  

We went to Whitney Wilcox’s reception.  It was amazing.  We’re not sure we’ve ever been to one quite like it.  She deserved the very best and got it.  Her groom is a treasure and they will add much to where ever they live.  It rained and lightning shot down but didn’t put a damper on anything.

August 22 was Nixon’s "fird" birthday and he turned "free" because he had a party.  Nixon has been a delightful little boy.  He loves doing anything with his dad and teases the heck out of his mom.  He and Ava have so much fun together.  He is always full of smiles.  

new shin guards

They rented a huge water slide/trampoline for the party and all had a great time; even Grandpa Olsen got wet.  

All the Olsen grandchildren were there.  Some of them even called me Grammy.  They’re a fun family.

Saturday we woke up to snow on Timp and Squaw Peak. 

We do believe it is August but the snow on the mountain was so beautiful and we certainly didn’t mind the cooler weather for the morning.   It rained torrents all night for which we have been praying all summer.

We went to Kolton’s game at 11 

and Parker’s at 2. 

Erik is on the chains and Parker is #11

It was a day of just watching ball games.  Both boys won their games and played very well.  Shanelle’s parents are here so we saw them at the game.  
We are in great health and finally feeling like we are home and not in North Carolina.  We love the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and the blessing we receive because of it.  We love that our whole family is sealed in the temple for time and all eternity; we love them so much.  The gospel is true.  Conference is only a few weeks away.  yeah!

AUGUST FUN

We left some pictures out of the last blog.  Tiffani had some good pictures of the Reed E. Bayles reunion so we added a few more.  If you want to see us do the jitter-bug you can look into that.

This is our August garden.  Notice the tobacco bell we brought home.  They used this to call the workers in for meals.  We love working in the yard and garden.  It keeps us busy.  The boys come to mow the lawns and others come to play.  We love it.

love that corn

Erik and Scott both had wedding anniversaries at the end of July.  We are so blessed to have such happily married people in our family.  They couldn’t have chosen better spouses. 

Erik was the only one to do the Morgan tri.  It was a fun time.

To the finish line.  Lost 3rh by 30 sec.

My brother Milt is doing as well as can be expected.  His birthday was the 3^rd and he turned 68.

Dad and I painted the shutters all by ourselves and didn’t even get too much paint on the bricks.  They look great. (Dad really worked hard to remove my splotches.)

On the 9^th we went to Silver Lake with Erik’s family.  It is in the American Fork Canyon.  The ride was beautiful and we had a great time. 

 We hauled out all our food for a picnic when lightning struck.  It made Shanelle and me nervous but Erik and Dad seemed just fine when all of a sudden the rain came pouring.  We closed a tarp in the doors of the two trucks and had a great lunch. 

After lunch we did a little fishing with no luck but a lot of fun.

playing on the rocks

Sunday was such a special Sabbath.  Tyler Rife gave his farewell and LaTasha Nordgren gave her homecoming.  They spoke like masters.  It was a meeting filled with such a strong Spirit.  It left us so filled.  We love meetings like that.

We love Tuesday’s because we go to the temple.  What a sweet Spirit we feel the rest of the day.  We were especially thrilled to see Elder Frost, one of our missionaries from our mission.  He was known for his never ending smile.  A great elder.

On Wednesday, we went to SLC to see Milt.  He is always so encouraging.  He gets better each time we visit.  His amputation looks really good.  He still is not able to have a prosthesis fitted for him.  It will happen.

Thursday we left at 3:00 to take the tent trailer and some garden veggies to Clark

 and go to a football fund raising dinner for Riley.  They had a cake auction with the cakes made by the seniors.  There were around 10 of them.  The cakes sold from $200.00-$700+.  It was amazing.  One went for $580.00.  Those 2 really added the money.  They made $3200.00 with the money going to spirit packs and equipment for the team.  It was amazing.  They had a bar-b-q dinner after the auction.  They buried some cows, pigs, sheep and even turkeys.   It was so good and they loaded the plates with meat.  Dad was in heaven.

 #6

mom and player

Right in the middle of the game a beautiful rainbow appeared.

We left there to watch Haylie play soccer.  She was incredible.  She played her position, sweeper, so well.  A great defensive player.  It’s her senior year and she is good.  

kissing squash

Saturday we decided to go to the mountain to get some wood.  I'm not comfortable going alone so Scott and family came with us.  They were the only ones who could because the others were doing things with their families.  It was a great day.  We left at one with all hungry so we stopped at Gandolfo's for sandwiches etc.  We love going to our land.  It's so peaceful and refreshing.

 Hulk

 Keeping my arms safe.

Queen of the Bunker Hill

The woodsmen chose a tree that was huge and fell against a firm Quakie.  After over an hour they gave up and decided they would get it down over Labor Day, when we go up with our trailer.  I'm just praying it doesn't decide to come down before then.  It will fall right across the road.  Oh well; a test of faith.
The kids and dogs played the whole time.  Dad decided to try another tree.  Scott started to cut while Dad sharpened his chain.  

The tree was leaning downhill.  It fell uphill.  Go figure.  It was just not our day to get wood.  They cut it into logs and rolled it down to the truck. 

 Bethany loaded the trailer and also got many logs to roll down.  I watched the kids and dogs.  

 I let the kids go up a FEW steps of the tree stand at the  the 

"bear waller"

After the work was done, seven o'clock, Scott took the kids to the bear waller and up the ladder. 

 Ava 5 up 

 Nixon 2, in front of Scott, climbing

 up

Hopefully they never want to go up alone.
We love doing things with family and hope many will want to come with us over the Labor Day weekend.  I'm certain we will get more wood and find a place for a zip line.
When we were all loaded, 8 o'clock, we headed down the mountain and to The Little Acorn for dinner.  We were starved.

The restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is so true and we love that we are an eternal family.  We so love how you are all working on teaching your children the joys of following the commandments.  We love you and each other.