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How the mail from GNC came addressed
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It looks like Mondays will be our sending day for the Blog/Email. Sundays seem to get more and more busy and there’s always my lesson in Seminary on Monday to prepare. I will start where I stopped on the last email; about the middle of Monday.
Everything went great with our new tires. Between the wheel baring getting replaced and the new tires - it’s amazing how quiet our car is now. I think riders in the back seat might even be able to hear us talking. By the end of the day on Monday, we were quite happy that we had new tires.
Our missionary meeting was at 6:30 pm. We bought some pizza at Walmart and cooked it at the church. My pizza decided to be crazy and melted cheese got all over the bottom of the oven. What a mess!! It started snowing about 5:30 pm. We weren’t expecting that. The weather never cooperates with the weather app on my phone. By the time we got out of our meeting at 7:30, there was 2-3 inches. For some reason, Gillette always has the worst roads during snow. Not sure why; they are about 10 times larger than Newcastle. I checked my app (not sure why) to see if it was snowing in the other towns on the way home and Newcastle. No snow. LIAR!!! It was like a blizzard the whole way home; mostly because it was so windy. Even a normal snow shower will be like a blizzard with that wind whipping across the road. We made it home just fine, but it was a stressful drive.
Tuesday was thrift store day since we just had our missionary meeting on Monday. We were on the hunt for a large coffee maker/pot. Our seminary students are really loving having hot chocolate every morning. The pot already there makes about 10 cups, and if everyone comes, it wouldn’t be enough. We found a great one that holds 30 cups. I don’t fill it all the way. It’s much faster than the drip one before. Of course, we found a few other things to buy. I swear we are thrift store addicts - especially the one in town. We actually stopped by one in Spearfish on Saturday. Once Walt found out everything was half price that day, he had to give things a second look. We were able to find some nice Christmas decorations there. I even found a Christmas ball painted with a bird. (Thought of you Cash!)
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Our nativity from the thrift shop, plus our version of fire in the fireplace. Cozy looking
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Tuesday afternoon was a scheduled birthday party with Gary. He had it planned about a month ago. He has been working on cake decorating skills and couldn’t wait to give them a try. We invited the Elders as well. Since Elder Kerr was getting transfered, we invited the Elders for lunch at Joe’s Food Place - they have the very best fried chicken I have ever had!! Then we were off to the party - 1/2 minute away. Surprise - Gary had fried chicken waiting for us!! We were really hoping the Elders wouldn’t let on that had just had chicken 10 minutes ago. It made me glad I had only eaten one piece before. We all ate gladly and enjoyed it. Gary had a very nice cake. It said “Happy Booth Day”, since Halloween was just around the corner. He had another present for me (the week before he had 5). It was office stuff and stickers for teaching Seminary. Then he told me the Great Pumpkin had also stopped by and left a gift for me. It was a Halloween bucket (one that lit up) filled with candy. Oh my!!! I have never seen the man smile so much. So glad we both were so happy with the party. We knew Gary would have us take the remaining cake home, so my plan was to leave it at the Smiths, since we had an appt with them next. The cake was sooo moist and yummy. We decided to just keep it. Cake freezes well and so would last us awhile. Gary is just so sweet and yet can be so ornery.
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Last picture with Elder Kerr.
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Elder Kerr and Elder Sullivan
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My birthday cake from Gary
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Our visit with the Smith’s went very well. Two sisters from our ward that are compassionate service leaders followed us there. The Smiths live on a ranch and is pretty far out, with little signage for the dirt roads. The Bishop wants these sisters to get to know the family, so they can be of more service. I think we know them the best, since we visit so frequently. Things are only going to go down hill, and that family will need even more support and love when Renee is gone. We are all really hoping she is still with us for Christmas. It’s just really hard to know.
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Smith Children in their costumes
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Another lovely part of Tuesday was our cold snap of weather. The high on Tuesday was 17 degrees. That morning it was 7 degrees with a feels like -6. Brrrrr. The next morning we woke up to 2 degrees. Guess we should be grateful, it will only get colder as winter approaches. I’m convinced we’re already in it until March or April. We won’t miss this weather next winter.
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| Lowest temperature so far, 2 degrees. |
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Walt ready for a cold cold day!
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Wednesday was a fun seminary day. I was teaching about the Parable of the Good Samaritan. I decided to be brave and have the students act it out. Walt and I worked hard on props the night before. We even had signs to identify their role. I wasn't sure they would go for it or participate well, but they came through. It was rather humorous and I think they will remember the parable better since they each played a part.
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| Walt with his Good Samaritan bling - roles for the students to play |
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Students dressing for their parts. Only picture that didn't show their faces. I like to protect people's privacy
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It was also our day for the Senior Center lunch service. Then we headed to the Smith’s again. They called to see if we could make a special trip to get some paperwork the Bishop needed. He wasn’t able to get it town. So we did. Service is part of our calling as missionaries. I also was asked by Becky to help out with the youth activity at church. She had to go to Utah for her very ill grandmother. The activity was decorating cookies, and witches brew (with dry ice). It was pretty fun. The Bishop was there, and a few other men. I think the Elders quorum had a meeting that night. There was lots of ranch talk (it’s shipping season). Next thing we know, the Bishop has volunteered Walt to help one of the other ranchers at church with processing cows. I am thinking - oh no - he’s going to get broken again. Plus I knew he wouldn’t be back in time for the trunk or treating downtown. We just have to roll with it.
I went to the Trunk or Treating alone. It was supposed to start at 4:30, so I went at 4 pm to get our car set up. The road was already closed off - dang it! So I parked as close as possible and hauled my chair, candy, and blanket (just in case) to the Main St. I had brought my earmuffs and heaviest coat - just in case. It only took about 5 minutes and I was back to my car for both. It was so cold. It had gotten up to 42 - pretty balmy, but the clouds rolled in as did the wind. Everyone was so cold!! Someone should have been given out hot chocolate instead of candy. The candy we had only lasted 20 minted of the 2 hour event. I couldn’t believe how many people there were. So I found a friend across the street and hung out with them and helped give out their candy. There were so many fun costumes; even families came dressed with a theme. There is always music at these Main st events and that night was my favorite - Disney. I talked a lot to kids - complimenting them on their costumes. It was pretty fun - but sooo cold. Walt texted me when he got home and I took that as a great time to leave. I was cold enough.
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| A horse trailer turned into a haunted trailer |
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| Trunk or Treat on Main St |
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| Bart, Pennie and Jordan Loebs. They own the Wayback burger place. (Got permission to put this picture in the Blog) |
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| Lots and Lots of trick or treaters |
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| Don't know these children, just liked their costumes. I did ask to take their picture |
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| This girl looked amazing. Wish I could have got her ruby slippers in the picture. Her dog was real. I'm surprised she didn't have on a coat - guess she wanted to stay true to the costume/character. |
Walt was on the couch, but broken as anticipated. He did have fun at Cody’s ranch. Funny thing there - Cody gave him a horse to ride that was well seasoned in rounding up cows, but getting on in years. Cody said just to trot him, no galloping. Things were great until the horse saw some calves getting away and took off to get them. Walt wasn’t expecting that. He grabbed on tight and did great staying on. The things he gets to experience here. He got to help brand the calves that had missed out in the spring as well.
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Walt's view from his horse on Cody's ranch
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Other cowboys rounding up the cows.
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Oh - we had our treats on Thursday this week in seminary because there was no school on Friday. Love it!!! The family assigned brought in breakfast in Halloween fashion. It was pretty cool and of course, all the students loved it. Great way to start our Halloween.
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Our Halloween breakfast goodies
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Cheese sticks
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Friday we got to sleep in!!!! It was wonderful. It was snowing that day - nothing big. It just randomly will start to snow here. It doesn’t usually accumulate - right now. Friday was one of those days. Just cold and snowy. We took advantage and just caught up on things. It’s hard to keep things straight and clean when you’re a missionary. The work always comes first. We get caught up every now and then. I do manage to keep up with the kitchen and mostly on the laundry. That evening we had the Aylesworth’s over for dinner. Walt saves his soda cans for Keith; who takes them to the recycle center for money. We can always tell when we are overdue for a dinner with them when we get too many cans accumulated. It was a good dinner and good company. They are just so positive and happy!!
Saturday, we headed to Spearfish SD. It’s about an hour away, but is a much prettier trip than to Gillette. There were some groceries we needed, a flier to get printed, and a chance to just get out of the house. There is usually a lot more snow in SD and this was no exception. They got quite a bit more. It’s fun to see it and not have to deal with it personally. The ride through the canyon was really pretty and Walt got some pictures of the waterfalls we saw last time. This time they were partially frozen. The flier printing went fast and while I was in there, Walt found a nice place to have lunch. It was the kind of place I am always hoping we will discover. Something local, different, good atmosphere and food. I don’t ask for much. It was called The Steer Fish Grill. The town is Spearfish. Great play on words. They specialize in Steaks (beef) and BBQ. The food was so yummy and loved the atmosphere and decor. Great job, Walt!! A random thing to share. It is evidently customary here to have toothpicks on the table for after a meal. Several times, our host has handed us the container to see if we needed one. I have not learned this art. The waitress brought us a jar with mints and toothpicks at after our meal. I gave it a whirl and Walt just laughed. We both agreed I don’t know how to use one in public.
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| Beautiful snow and Spearfish creek |
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| There is a house there - that's a lot of snow!! |
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One of the falls from Spearfish Canyon. Just 4 weeks ago, it was beautiful Fall scenery
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| Front of the restaurant. Originally a Mercantile in 1880 |
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Wall in the restaurant. Those rodeo pictures were mostly old ones from the 20's and 30's
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Afterwards, we were headed to Safeway. We check out their ads whenever we’re going and take advantage of their sales. There is Salvation Army thrift shop next door. I’ve already shared the adventure there. By the time we were done shopping, we were both exhausted. It was a really fun day, but we were totally worn out by the time we got home. Walt still had some church clerk work to finish up before Sunday.
Sunday was a pretty good day. I was sad that I didn’t have anyone to pick up. I was supposed to pick up Kay and her little sister, but no one ever answered the door. I did see a large group of turkeys in the yard next door. I have never really seen turkeys up in the trees before and there were about 5 in this tree. They look way too big to be on a tree limb. I tried to get pictures, they turned out ok.
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You can see the turkeys in the trees a little
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We had a teaching and dinner appointment at lunch time on Sunday. Homemade pizza and salad. This family has two children - ages 18 months and 3. The children last about 45 minutes before they start to squabble. Walt did a great job entertaining one of them while I taught my part of the lesson. Guess I need to step up my game and do the same while he is teaching. When we got home, it felt so much later than it was. Good ole’ time change. Walt has decided we’ll leave our clock on the mantel at the old time. That way we go to bed and hour early but wake up on the right time because our alarm is my phone. Anything it takes to get more sleep.
That’s it for the week. We’re trying our best to make our schedules work with seminary and missionary work. Who knows - we might be getting through to some of the kids and helping their testimonies to grow. We’d like to think so. We love you all and miss you more and more as the various holidays approach. Really wish we could have been with our grandchildren on Halloween. We did see pictures and love all the costumes. Even some of our children dressed up. I know Kate and Drake went as the Cookie Monster and a chocolate chip cookie to their ward Halloween party. Have a great week!!
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