This week I have spent a lot of time working on a digital scrapbook about our California trip in June. I felt frustrated that I couldn't fit the stories about each photo into the book format so I put some of the photos and stories here. I think there are ways that I could have put the stories into the book but that would take extra time to figure it out and I didn't have extra time this week and I wanted to get it done in time to get a special deal. So.... these are old photos but that is how I spent a lot of my time so I am blogging about it this week.
We did have an awesome "Make it and give it" stake humanitarian activity before the general Relif Society broadcast. I helped put hair on little doll heads. I loved Elder Uchdorf's talk.

Debbie's with her dad Ken. Some of my favorite memories that I will always treasure are of walking on the beach with my dad. When I was little he would be such a great sport to go into the COLD water with me. I loved running into the waves. I say "loved" because at my age now I am happy to stay out of the numbing cold water and enjoy walking beside the waves not in them.

My mom Marlene and I love sitting and watching the waves. I have fun memories of my mom and I cheering if we found that our motel was close enough to any beach we visited so we could hear the ocean waves. Sometimes I think I should have been born closer to a beach than Utah. We sure love the ocean.

Terry talked Eric, Drew, Chris and I into taking a 5 mile hike into the Big Tree State park so we could see Aquizzes Tree the biggest tree in the US. I didn't want to leave my parents sitting in the car that long and it was getting late so I used a bit of nervous energy to walk very fast. Eric, Drew and Chris really didn't want to hike again but they were such great sports so they came with us and ran with Debbie. Terry did not want to hurry. He wanted to stop enough to take readings on his hand held GPS devise and read his little tour book about each of the trees. We kept running so Terry grumbled and kept his book in his back pack and we made the 5 mile hike in 70 minutes. The tree was awesome. Eric said that in 5 years when we look back at the pictures we will probably all agree that the hike was worth it. We grumbled a bit at Terry but it was cool to see the biggest tree and get this photo. The Drew, Chris and Eric were really great sports. They didn't complain about being squished in the back of the van with stuff all around their feet, or about the long drives and they were really fun to have as part of our family for the California adventure. They did complain just a tiny bit that Terry, my mom and I made them pose too often for photos.

digital scrapbook

Drew, Chris and Eric riding through Cannery Row, California on a four man surrey bike. The bike rental place made me sign my credit card with the promise to pay quite a bit if the bike pedals got damaged while we tried to drive through the bollards ( the poles that block cars from going from the streets onto the bike paths) Chris drove quite cautiously because the poles left little room to maneuver. Eric drove like a speed racer always trying to beat the other surrey that Terry drove with my mom and dad and I pedaling as passengers. Drew had fun driving crazy close to the poles steering wacky back and forth. We all laughed so hard we could barely pedal. Debbie had a steering wheel that didn't control the direction of the bike. Every time Terry steered us close to the bollards Debbie turned her wheel like crazy and tried to slow down. Slowing down didn't work because Debbie's dad Ken's pedals worked with Debbie's and that made him work twice as hard. Terry loved Debbie having a wheel to keep her thinking she had some control. Terry and Ken both teased Debbie for her nervous concern about the bollards being too close. We didn't get a lot of exercise on the surrey but it sure was fun.

Tree huggers! These old trees survive many fires that make them hollow so we had fun at Big Tree State park climbing inside, on top of and around. We evern walked through a fallen tree. Terry and I couldn't believe would could stand up and walk normal inside a tree. They really are incredibly huge!

Marina Dunes Beach, California

Since Becca put my birthday photo on my blog I thought I better add Terry and Jana's. Jana shares Kyle's birthday Sept. 17 and Terry's birthday is Sept. 19th so we celebrated at dinner at the On the Border restaurant. The waitress put these hats on them and took this photo and gave them each a birthday brownie. MMMMM

This is a photo of Chris after a football game. He won the shoes during a Littlefield Christmas party white elephant gift exchange. I have no idea where the Afro wig came from or why he wanted to wear it but I had to take a photo because we all laughed quite a bit.

I came home from Ogden Wednesday in time to take Chris to the doctors. He had a virus with sore throat and fever but nothing that medicine could treat. Unfortunately he missed 2 soccer games. ( his soccer team is still undefeated! )

Chris plays soccer for the Mountain Home High School JV Team. They are 6 and 0 so far! Hooray!

On Sunday September 14 I drove to Utah to visit family. My parents celebrated 52 years of Marriage on the 13th. I enjoy visiting Ogden by myself every now and then. It is fun to be spoiled by my mom and dad and visit them. I got to Ogden just in time to join the monthly family dinner. It was fun because the Sips gave a Chinese party. Payden just had his last interview for his mission call which should come in a couple weeks. We all guessed the country he might go to. I guessed Brazil but I also think Thailand where both his parents served is a good guess. Any mission call is exciting.

Hyrum and Ethan were both Bobing winners. Hyrum had his pants pulled way up to protect himself from his Uncle Scott who would tug on the kids pants threatening to pull them down every time they walked by him!

Brad plays Vanna to display level 4 prizes. He displayed all the prizes that were available for the Chinese game Bobing. There are levels of prizes which in China usually included dish soap, tooth paste or many other useful and fun things. The Littlefield celebration just used candy. Tiny pieces were the prize for rolling one four, a candy bar for 2 and so on. The grand prize a big bag of gummy worms for rolling many fours. Hyrum was the grand winner.

My brother Brad's son Hyrum rolls the dice and cheers his results while his sister Millie and cousins Rayanne and Mallary look on. Teresa's sister Paulette and husband Travis lived in Xiamen, China for a few years. Each year Xiamen celebrates the autumn full moon with big parties where they play this dice game called Bobing.

Aiden and Becca Driving Ms. Debbie from Mountain Home to Boise and around and around!

Life in a small town

Saturday, Terry and I rode our bikes into town to the annual Air Force appreciation Day Parade and festivities. There are a few floats in the parade but many trucks full of groups that throw candy. It is a little like an inverted Halloween. The kids all bring bags and wait to gather the candy thrown from the 200 parade participants. Lots of old guys ride in the parade on little bitty motor bikes and cars like these. Chris rode on a truck with the Mountain Home high school soccer team "float". The
weather felt September perfect and we enjoyed seeing lots of friends from town.

I spent much of the rest of the week in the van going to and from Boise.
Monday*** we enjoyed meeting Terry's Mom and Dad, Becca, Jacob and Aiden for lunch and some Labor Day Sales shopping.
Tuesday ***I drove to Emmett to attend Chris's soccer game. The only problem was Chris's game was in Middleton!!!???!!! I should maybe put something in the personal blogger profile about this blogger being a bit scatter brained or unorganized or something I haven't figured out yet.
Wed.*** Home hooray. Another day of our builder being here to remodel. Our outside doors were finished. Hooray they are beautiful.
Thurs.*** Boise to get new tires on the van. boo hoo!!!
Friday*** Boise to the temple with Terry. Hooray!

So I included a photo of Becca driving me and Aiden with headphones on watching a movie in the back of the van. His favorite DVDs are Cars, Shrek and Shark Tales

Ben, Jalen, Chris, Ryan Soccer Team Float June 6, 2008

Becca took me out to celebrate my birthday. It was quite the FIESTA!!!

Kyle in Eberswalde, Germany

Here is Kyle's weekly letter. Even though it I wanted to sleep in for Labor Day Holiday, I woke up at 6:00 AM and couldn't go back to sleep so I could hurry down to the computer to find Kyle's letter. He sounds great. I'm so pleased that it sounds like he working hard to serve. (They said in Sunday school we should say we are "pleased with our kids" so that we don't let pride enter in but letters like this make it a bit hard not to feel pride. I also feel worry... and missing... and... all kinds of emotions!


Hallo Familie! How are things going? I am doing good. Transfer time ist coming up again. This Saturday night we get the call. I dont have a clue what will happen but odds are good that i will be leaving, maybe. We all want to stay together but that probably wont happen. I want to stay with elder Coray too. Hes awesome. he is a wrestler and reminds me a lot of matt. He has wrestled me a few times but i just play dead. It works everytime. He is a great missionary too. This week a lot happened. Car Trouble- To start off with last P day we had an appointment with a lady to teach her english and the other 2 went to buy groceries. We get there and start teaching her and we get a phone call from the other 2 and they tell us that they accidentally locked the keys in the trunk of the car with the groceries. So we had to go rescue them. We finally got there and i guess they called around and it would be real expensive to have a locksmith dude do it or whatever so i was like ok were gonna brake in. One of the 2 back doors wasnt closed all the way so there was a little space to work with. So i said we should buy a hanger and bend it and fish the keys out through the tiny space between the door. It worked. Then on the way to zonekonferenz in Neu Brandenburg we were driving and we were almost there and its 2 hours away when elder Cummings told us the clutch wasnt working and he couldnt shift gears at all so we pulled over. Luckily president drove by and took elder coray and me with him. the car is in Neu brandenkjh still getting repaired so we have been car-los. We should be getting it back soon. We also drove to a little dorf and worked for a little bit there and it is so beautiful there. It is what you think of when you think of germany. It is called Bad freiwalder or something i dunno. Zone ko was good. President will probably be a general authority so watch out. He has a power when he talks and his voice and his german is like perfect. I have heard that he has really cleaned up the mission too and he stresses baptisms. We are one of the best in Europe now from what i hear. Elder Kutscka told us that when he was in the MTC in Preston because hes german that they told them that the missionaries in south america and stuff where fishers and bring the people in like crazy and the missionaries in europe are like hunters who wait and wait and then take the perfect shot for the kill like that. So he said he was taught that and then he got here and he said that president told him to have 10 baptismal dates set by the end of the transfer and he was like what? President is so cool. I always get nervous when he talks to me but he always just tells me elder hall youre a good man do you know that. and i say uhh yea i guess. Our interviews are so short haha. Its like hello how ya doin...ok whos turn is it to pray. Its funny. I have a feeling though that i am leaving and elder coray will get a golden there or something because all of my companions so far have become zone leader or AP as soon as they have left me. I dont know what that means. The other day we had the day of the open door for our new church rooms here so some other missionaries came and stuff and we had a stand. It was good but these 2 missionaries talked to this guy and i guess he was mean and like cussed them out and then i came up to talk to him and we talked and then we made out an appointment for a Bom and he bought me a drink of fanta. But afterwards we kind of found out that he is a drug dealer but oh well. Yea things are going good here. We had a couple baptismal dates but they are not looking to good cause one of them is a dude who is not dependable at all and doesnt always show up. We are working with a couple families and one of them will eventually get baptised so that is cool. Also for some reason a few good looking young ladies have said they will come to english class so that will be hard work. There are also 2 members and i dont know how they got baptized because they dont know anything about the gospel really but we have reactivated them and they are my favorite members. I think they both are a little slow but they are so funny. One of them is jobless, 51 and he lives in one of the messiest appts ever. Its gross. But he is pretty funny and he has add or something really bad. We gave him finding faith in Christ and he watches it like 3 times a day. Well i will tell you more about him later. Tell chris to take an art class and chill with mrs raub. They are fun classes. Have a good week and hopefully i will have good news about transfers next monday.

Elder Hall