Happy Thanksgiving Week

It has been a fun and busy week filled with the normal "suspects" (that would be housecleaning, too much food and game playing) and some other highlights.  We will start with Monday and move forward:

Monday:  I headed to Salt Lake and spent the day with my dad starting on some family history and genealogy projects.  It was awesome and I hope to make it a monthly tradition.  All Gibersons are certainly invited to join with us.  I will let you know the dates.  :)

Monday evening Jena and I went with some friends to see the "Wizard Of Oz" which was being presented by a high school in Ogden (Gary had to help with another Special Olympics Bowling league at the bowling alley).  It was good and Jena and Kaitlyn really enjoyed it.  I was amazed by the dog that played Toto.  He was darling.

Tuesday:  My run around and doing projects day which I can't disclose on the blog since it isn't Christmas yet.  I am actually doing a project or two for Christmas.  It has been a long time since I have really done that.

Wednesday:  The "pick up pies and get ready for Thanksgiving Day"--The weather has been beautiful so we spent some time getting our yard ready for winter.  In many ways it is the best we have done for a long time (I think that we have mentioned that yard work and me have a love-hate relationship---I love it when I want to do it but it can be a burden when I don't.)

However the big news for Wednesday was that Jena had her first day of work at her job at the Syracuse bowling alley.  They approached us in the summer to see if we were interested in a job for her.  Some of the teenager staff had talked to the management and suggested it as Jena would often help them put away balls and clean up when she was there with Gary.  We said we were but she wasn't 16 yet.  She went through the process of application and interview and started Wednesday.  To start with she will work one day a week for 2 hours.  Gary or I will stay in the building to coach her if needed but the staff and management know her so well that it went great the first day.  Here she is heading in for her first day of work.

Heading in to work...
One of her jobs is cleaning and putting
away the bowling shoes....



Again, my apologies to Jessica (Lagoon), Scott (Painter's helper), Ben (Lagoon)
and Tosha (Jamba Juice)--if I had been blogging back then
and photos had been so available I would have totally
posted about your first jobs and taken pictures.

Thursday:   "Happy Thanksgiving"

I headed to Journey House in the morning to serve Thanksgiving Dinner to clients and their families of Davis Behavioral Health. 

We had a later dinner to accommodate our kids and even then Tosha and her boyfriend, Roark, only made it for a brief stop around 9 as she worked until 8 at Cracker Barrel.  Otherwise we had everyone else for dinner at 5 and also Gary's sister Vonette, her husband, Gary, and three of their children.

I saw lots of face book posts of beautiful tables of dishes and food.  Here is what I took a picture of:

After dinner was cleaned up, it was time for the real order of business:  Game playing.  Here we are playing Telestrations.  Jessica took a "cool" panoramic picture of all of us playing but I don't know how to get it from my text messages to my computer.

Brother bonding time away from the
crazy game players.  Scott did play for awhile
but it is not always his "cup of tea".

Roark and Tosha

No group shots but as a mom it is just fun to have all of your children in your house at the same time even if it is just for a brief moment.  I love all of these "peoples"  and so glad to have them in my life.

Friday: After a busy couple of days, I fell right to sleep on Thursday night only to wake up at three in the morning and couldn't get back to sleep.  I did laundry, worked on genealogy stuff, and emergency prep. stuff until about 8:30 a.m..  Then after breakfast, I headed back to bed for a couple of hours.  That doesn't happen to me very often.  It made Friday somewhat wasted day but I was grateful that I got so much stuff ready for emergency prep. because I am giving a presentation next week in Ward Counsel and my PowerPoint is mostly prepared. Nice!

We helped a neighbor move in the afternoon and then finally Gary and I watched a bit of football and took naps--another holiday classic.  We played games with Mom Hall that night after a taco dinner at Taco Time where we got a 10% discount and treats because they knew Jena.

Saturday:  Special Olympics bowling for Jena and Gary.  I worked on some computer projects for Church and for an activity we are doing for Special Olympics.  Then I headed over to the bowling alley for our Saturday post-bowling.  My new bowling shoes had arrived so I needed to try them out.  I am now official with my own locker at the bowling alley (at three dollars a season--Gary said it was worth the cost.)

Still wearing my other shoe when I took this picture...so corny I know.

Gary and Jena headed over to help with Christmas lights at Grandma's house while I ran a few errands.   After an unexpected trip to the ER to check on our brother-in-law who had to make a visit there (turned out to only be a urine infection but they were worried about other things.), Gary and I headed down to BYU with our dear friends, Hal and Jolynn Beckstrand to attend a BYU basketball game.  It was a very fun game which BYU won.  It was great to catch up with them.  It always makes me wonder why we don't get together more often.  They have been friends for over 30 years.  And of course, no pictures.  I am going to make it a goal to get pictures of these sweet friends(and all of the rest of you) which have been such a blessing in our lives throughout the years and will continue to be in the eternities.

And that is a wrap for the week!!! Hope yours was great as well.



I can't think of a good title week

Perhaps I shouldn't be writing a post tonight.  I must be tired or something because I usually like naming my posts...it is part of the fun of it all and sometimes I even think my titles are quite good. 

We had a fun week but I guess there was no theme for the events, just life as we know it with four young adult children and a sophomore at home.

First a beautiful sunset shot at the end of my street.  It was so stunning that I stop to take a picture.  Real life was much better than this...

Down the street about 5 minutes later
as the sun sets beyond the Great Salt Lake.

The beginning of the week was filled with normal things and some shopping for Christmas supplies for the upcoming holiday (I haven't bought the turkey yet for Thanksgiving yet I have started Christmas shopping.  It seems a bit backwards.  Of course, I don't need to clean my refrigerator to fit in the Christmas stuff.)  I actually attended a quilt making class given by some ladies in my ward.  Some people are just very talented.  Somehow I missed some of those talents that my mom had.

Wednesday evening we ran a pinewood derby for a ward in north Syracuse.  It was actually one of the smoothest ones yet.  It was good that we had discovered some problems during our high priest derby last month and Gary was able to get some computer fixes from the company and some other little hints that helped make this one run smoothly.  This is the first time that all three of us wore our Pinewood Derby shirts that I gave Gary for Father's day.

As usual, Gary commented that if your wife
gives you a shirt that says boss on it,
then you know you are really not!!
He thinks he is so funny.

Jena and I were running errands after school with me and she commented that we both were wearing grey.  I hadn't noticed but we were.  Then she added that Gary had a grey polo on as well.  We decided we wanted a picture of us all wearing grey (the craziness of cell phone cameras) but she was disappointed that Gary had changed his shirt by the time we got home.  However he was still wearing a light grey shirt so we took the picture anyway.

I can remember thinking it was so odd
that my kids would take pictures of themselves...
now we all do it.

Thursday we spent the evening at Pack Meeting where the Scouts showed their talents.  It was a very fun night as boys love skits (especially when they have crazy leaders like Gary.)

The submarine skit!!

This is the first pack meeting that I have attended since being released from Primary.  I had been invited to attend so they could thank me for helping the Cubs.  It was very sad to put on my scout uniform and think that I might not ever have a chance to wear it again (I know I could call the council and volunteer to do Roundtables or something like that, but I am not THAT sad.  Anyway it is the boys that I miss not really wearing the Scout uniform.)  Scouting has been a big part of my adult life through Gary's callings and then having two boys in Scouts and having a chance to do lots of fun things.  For my thank you cheer I chose the BACON cheer (you lay on the floor and act like a piece of bacon cooking on a grill and then flip over and cook on the other side.)  This is one of our Cubmaster's unfavorite cheers but the boys love it.  When I chose it, she said dramatically, "Why did you have to pick bacon/"  A cub piped up, "Because she likes us."  It was so perfect and exactly true.  Boys ages 8-12 are great.  (Not to imply that they aren't great at other ages as well, I just like that age.)

This is the pack and their families trying to arrange
a picture to give to me.  The boys are holding
signs that are the words to a scripture.
They took a picture with a good camera
so I am excited to see the completed framed picture.



Read below.......

Friday and Saturday Gary and I ended up with back to back date nights.  Often we go places and just take Jena but we were invited to friends for a salmon dinner on Friday night (it was amazing.  Scott and Kathy definitely got the cooking talent that I missed out on when they were being passed out in heaven).  and then our stake had a adult dance on Saturday night. 

The theme was Dancing through the Decades and we were supposed to dress up in the decade that we graduated from high school.  I actually had to look it up on the computer because I could only remember mini-skirts and long hair for guys, neither of which were going to work for a Stake dance.  Tye-dyed shirts had a brief comeback during the early 1970's so using my Cub scout skills I made Gary and I matching shirts.  Fine for the dance but we went out to dinner with four other couples before dinner at Olive Garden and we got some comments.  However we weren't nearly as flashy as our neighbors who did the whole hippie thing.  During dinner a man and his little daughter approached her (she was decked in flashing gold shirt with a headband around her forehead, beads hanging down, you can imagine).  The man said that his daughter wanted to talk to her because she was sure she must be a princess because she was so beautiful.  It was so sweet.  We had fun and Gary is a fun person to go to a dance with because he can dance.  (And yes, we are a bit sore today.  We are not quite as young as we were before---go figure!)

And seen on some one's front yard tonight---the thought for the week:

(And just what would you title this post????   Have an awesome week and a great Thanksgiving Day.)

Richland Memories (con't.)

Last Wednesday evening, I got an email from my friend, Kathy (my "longest running friend") from childhood who I talked about during my trip to Richland in August.  She told me that her mother had passed away and that a funeral was being held in Sandy, Utah, where she had lived many years in their retirement years.  So I was able to attend sweet Bernice Nelson's funeral on Friday.

It was such a privilege and reminded me of her influence in my life as a welcomed friend of her youngest daughter.  I was so lucky to be raised in such an area with great people like the Nelsons and many others who showed by their actions how to love and to serve in the Church and in our community.

As a bonus, Kathy lead the music and also sang a solo that her mom had requested.  Kathy and I learned how to lead music together in a small "conducting" class that was held for young women in our ward when we were Beehives.  We had to go early for 6 or 8 weeks and we were taught how to conduct.  Then we each had to conduct in Sacrament Meeting for real life practice.  To watch her conduct the music was such a sweet memory.  And to hear her sing was a pleasure.

Happy November

 

 

On Facebook, many people are listing daily different things

that they are grateful for in their life.  It is interesting to

see what people list.

 

 

The list I could make would fill more than could be contained
 by facebook or the blog or where ever.  I try to think of those things

all of the time and to remember to count my many blessings

along the way of life.

 

It is GREAT to have a month to remind us to all take a breath

and be grateful for all we have been given and
are continually

given each and every day.

 

So start counting---on facebook, in your blogs and journals,
but most of all,

to the faces of those who you love and to your Heavenly Father!

 



Girls like to swing, boys like to....

climb trees (and houses) and use power equipment.  At least Gary and Scott do.  They started a small tree trimming project to help a neighbor and it grew into a major tree chopping project lasting a number of days and involving several others in the effort.



Yes, that is Scott on the roof to trim a branch
so that it won't hurt the house when they cut it
down.  It was amazing to watch and listen to
Gary and Scott as they discussed how to
cut each limb safely.  I couldn't watch very much
as it made me nervous for both of them.
The neighbors all think they are both awesome...
of course I already knew that.

A view of the tree after a few days of trimming
This tree was actually planted by Gary's youngest sister
when they owned the house, so he has been blaming her
about it's uncontrolled growth.

Although I didn't watch much, I loved the yummy cookies that we got as a result of the project.  I learned to love to swing from my mom (and many other things) and Gary learned to cut trees and help those around him.  That whole circle of life thing....................

The ending of Fall

In between the busyness of October, Gary and Scott fit in constructing our new swing set.  Since our old one had died, I have been wanting to replace it with a good swing that would be tall enough for adults (that would be me) to enjoying swinging on it.  After years of searching, I found what I wanted...then I waited another year to make sure I wanted to spend that much on a swing set.  But here it is, complete and ready for use.

When the Webelos headed to the back yard to practice their skits around the camp fire (to put them in the mood Gary said---I know the truth-- any reason to build a fire is good enough for Scouts and their leaders!), one of the Scouts said, "Look what grew in the Hall's sandbox".  Unfortunately for Gary and Scott it didn't just grow on its own.  It required a small cement mixer and several yards of cement to fill the holes that Scott dug for support.  We appreciated Scott's willingness to help with this project.

Then maiden "swing" trip!!!!

 After Jena had a chance to take the first swing, I joined her and we swung back and forth for several minutes to try to swing next to each other so Gary could get the picture he wanted.  I love to swing.  I learned that from my mom who also loved to swing.

By the time we were finally swing "together", Jena and I were laughing so hard it was hard to keep swinging.

After that, each night for several nights in a row, we would see the backyard lights on and there would be Jena swinging back and forth in her pajamas with the biggest smile on her face.  That has stopped for the moment since Saturday we woke up to this......

View out of our front window where the heaviness of the snow
weighed down the bushes.

Winter looks like it is really here.  I didn't get all of my yard work completed for the fall and I have some bulbs I still want to plant so I hope I get one more window of opportunity to do that.  If not, there is always next year.  :)

Halloweening.....

On Monday, the 29th Jena and I headed to Salt Lake to enjoy the dinner and Halloween production at Gardner Village.  We went with a number of moms and daughters from our Special Olympics Team.  We had a great time and the production was very funny.  We loved it and I plan to take Gary next year.

Jena the Good witch of course.
We all dressed up as witches.

Watching the play

Three of the "bacholers" on the dating game

Some of our group with the actors and actresses after the play

 The Hall Chili and Scones was at our house.  Of our kids, everyone was there except for Scott who had to work.  Ben avoid the picture taking howerever.

Some More Cool Pictures Taken in St. George

I am very proud of these pictures so needed to add them.  I forgot when I was actually posting about the trip that I had planned to have a separate post with these pictures.

Looking in the window of the old school house...
you can see the reflections of Gary and Jena and the home
behind them.

I took lots of pictures of gates and fences, too.
It goes along with my interest in bridges.

The benefits of digital cameras.  I took 10-12 shots to get one of the bee
on this flower, swaying in the wind, to be focused correctly.

Gary saw this lizard posing in the window sill.

Reflections again of the nearby cliffs.

Snow Day

And then on Wednesday the 24th we woke up to snow on the ground....crazy...

Early for us and it cleared up by the next day.  It makes you very grateful for heaters and houses and power when you watch the news and see the terrible results of the "Super Storm Sandy" in the days since then.  I have watched the aftermath even more intently now that I have responsibilities for Emergency Preparation within my ward and my neighborhood.  It is hard to know what is the first best things to prepare for when you don't know what is ahead.  It was crazy to see people buying tarps, flashlights and water on the Saturday before the storm hit.  They live on the eastern coast and how many times are they hit with these type of storms.  You think they should have that stuff already.

However, I am sure when an earthquake hits Utah people will say the same thing about us living near fault lines and not being ready......Hopefully we can be a bit more ready in the future than we are today.

Advice for the day:  Make sure you have enough water for 3 weeks.  :)

The Medallion

We headed back on Sunday so that Jena could make it to her interview with the Bishop for her Young Women's Award.  On the following Tuesday she received it along with three other young women in our Ward.  The bishop asked them to take a couple of minutes to talk about Personal Progress.  I wish that you could have all heard Jena's comments.  It was very sweet.  She said the program was great.  That everyone should do it.  She bore a brief testimony of the Church and then showed her quilt with the help of the YW President.  I cried, but I wasn't the only one.

She has worked hard to achieve this award.  She wanted to work on it and she was proud of her accomplishments.  It was great to see her so happy about it.

A camel and Snow Canyon

Saturday was another great weather day.  After a slow quiet morning, we headed west of St. George back to Tuachan for their Saturday Flea Market.  I am not much for flea markets but we did get Gary a nice hat.  The reason we went was so that Jena could ride on the camel which was used in Aladdin.  I don't think this was really Jena's idea of fun, but I have a favorite picture of the older four kids sitting on a camel at the Ft. Worth zoo and I thought it would be fun to have a camel picture with Jena.  Gary voted that he was the camera man for this adventure so I got a ride as well.  Now have ridden on both a camel and an elephant, I would choose an elephant. 

That's Gary's new hat on my head

 

Entering Snow Canyon State Park
This is a very fun place with some very interesting scenes and hikes.

Sand dunes

Rock Climbing-
this is not one of us by the way.

Heading up the trail to the Petrified Sandy Dunes!!

The top---at least for as far as we went--
these dunes covered a lot of ground and
you could hike on them
for a long time.

What they looked liked under our feet.

View from the top.

I would definitely go again to Snow Canyon.  There were lots of trails to take and things to do.  The sand dunes were fun.  Just a few inches under the surface the sand gets wet and it molds just like the sand at the beach.  Families made huge sand castles on the hills.  It is strictly a walking sand dune...no motorized vehicles allowed.

And actually, we are planning to go again next year over UEA weekend.  Tuachan is doing "Mary Poppins" and "Camelot" two of my favorite plays.  Make a plan to join us.

Zion National Park--2012

I had never been to Zion's in the fall and it was even more beautiful to see the changing leaves against the amazing backdrop of the canyons and the river beds.  It was also the first time that I remember seeing mule deer within the canyons.

We took the shuttle bus through the park which gives you the option of getting on and off at each of the stopping areas.  This time we only got off at the end of the road at "The Narrows."  There we took the mile hike into the area where the Virgin River comes into the Zion area.

Gary and Jena had to take a
little "power nap" along the way!

View from the side window

View out the front window

View out of the overhead windows.....
beauty everywhere.

The red and the green look so great together...
God did a good job!

Jena and Gary along the Virgin River

 

We saw three deer on the way to the Narrows
and when we headed back there were six grazing along the river.

The Narrows: People can hike through here much of it
in the water itself.  The picture above and below are
from about the same spot but because of the light and
the way the camera focused I could not get all
of the cliffs to show in the same picture.
Interesting!

Checking out the hallow tree
beside the path....Jena is laughing
but she can't reach it so that
I could take her picture through
the whole.
Nature is full of little fun things
like hallow tress.

The setting sun as we left the National Park

Some of the interesting things you see on the trip are man-made.

We saw this on the way out to Zions and stopped to get pictures

on the way back.  It is a Shoe Tree.  Why anyone would start something

like this is beyond me, but there it is and judging from the

amount of shoes on it and falling down the hill behind it

many people have dropped their shoes to be a part of this display.

Crazy!

That ended Friday.  We all went to bed early that night after the late night before and lots of hiking .