Happy Halloween

It's that time of year, Fall is here...

Just sharing...

Lots of new posts

I've fallen behind in posting...so there are several to view today.

New seasonal items

I've added two new items to my Halloween decor.  Witchie boots and a stuffed black cat.  The Relief Society had some freebie items one Sunday and I picked up a string of lights in Halloween colors.  I've never  put up lights for Halloween before.  I lit up the cyprus tree at the front door and put some white lights in my ceramic jack-o-lantern.  This year Woody will only wear a hat, it's been a bit  too warm to dress up....

Marsha and Me

A couple of weeks ago we made a visit to the LIsters.  Gary and I have not been to the temple for a long time and we decided to take the whole weekend and visit family too.   Marsha and i just happen to wear a similar color and recently both had our hair colored.  So I wanted it documented.
We finally got to see the "new" member of the Lister family, Jessica's new car... BONUS

                                                      Marsha and Verda new hair color

                                                     Brooke offered to model for us

                                                                     the inside

                                                                     the outside

National Service Day 2012

Each year my ward participates in the National Service Day.  This year we painted a house.  I refused to believe that we could paint the whole house in one day. I was certain we would be spending the three weekends working on this home.  Well, we not only did it in one day, we did it in less than 4 hours.  I'm a believer.  Young and old scrapped, taped and painted and we only had one mishap...a bee sting.  It's amazing what can be done when people come together to help others.

Halloween with the Howards

Just want to share the pictures Kim sent me of my darling grandchildren getting ready to celebrate Halloween...

                                                             Nate AKA Optimus Prime

                                                              Mason AKA Bumblebee

                                                               Lilian AKA Rapunsel

"The Best Fest" Arizona is gonna be !00

Arizona will be 100 next year.  The state is sponsoring events all over the state until February 2012.  The kick-off celebration was held in downtown Prescott.  Prescott was the first capital of Arizona.  All kind of things were going on during this three day fun fest.  i only had my telephone to take pictures because this was the same weekend Gary was in Alaska.  There were a lot of displays  ' that were set up to showcase the state.  I especially enjoyed the 'old west" town that was set up on "Whiskey Row." There were people dressed in periond appropriate clothing teaching how to make a horse shoes, pan for gold, telling the story of the people who lived here at the time of statehood.  .  There is a charity group here in Prescott that  dedicate themselves to re-enacting the old west. They dress in the coolest clothes and do shows.  The one I watched while I was there was the "shoot out at the OK Corral" which is a true story that happened in the Tombstone area in Tucson, Arizona.  The Indiana village had on-going demonstrations everything from grinding corn to building hogans made from the brush gathered from desert. They showed how they made pottery, weaved baskets, carved bows and arrows, really cool painting and carving the way it was done back then with the tools they used in the late 1800's. I tease Gary  when we watch hunting videos and see all the new fan-dangled equipment hunters use today to bag their game.  I say to him....hmmm, i wonder how the Indians hunted all those years without out all this special stuff. It's a wonder they were able to keep themselves alive.  And they hunted for the whole tribe, that was their meat for the season.  They didn't just hunt for the trophy and bragging rights. I felt like a little kid on a school field trip while I went from one demo to the other.  i learned a lot and have a new appreciation for the people who founded this state.  If the BEST FEST comes to your area, you really should go check it out.

Conferemce Weekend

I always look forward to Conference.  Today I wrote down some phrases and key words that will help me to remember what was shared in the Saturday Sessions.  I'll be using them to quiz my class on Monday to see if they really listened or not.  Some of them are as follows:

The right thing to do at the right time        Jose L. Alonzo   (service)

Young crow, Old crow   IF                     Boyd K Packer  (message to the youth)

You Matter To HIM                               Dieter F. Uchtodorf   (self worth)

It's better to Look Up                             Carl B. Cook

The Joy of Forgiveness                           D. Todd Christofferson  (repentance)

Speak up about the Church                     L. Tom Perry

Of course I will mostly refer to talks given on Sunday.   I have  come to learn that most members do not watch all four sessions.  That's really too bad.  I know the talks are recorded and we can listen to them at a later time, but I feel you miss something special when you don't hear them as they are presented on the given day.  And if you only read the Ensign you miss all the inflections in the person's voice.  For example, today President Monson spoke briefly in the morning session and his greeting was so cute and his smile radiated.  You don't see or hear that when you read the magazine.  Sometimes a speaker will tell a joke and it's impromptu. those are little gems of personality  are not included in the magazine version.

I know people are very busy these days and there is only so much time to get everything done that is required of us.  I'm grateful I have generally been able to take the time to listen to all of conference.  I like the Relief Society meeting the week prior.  I have never listened to conference and not received an answer to my prayers.  I know the leaders of the church are inspired and thank goodness for their valiant service.  I appreciate all they do for us.