October So Far....

Blake spent 2 weeks at the Provo MTC.  He was made District Leader when he was there.  He said it was fun and horrible at the same time.  He got to do lots of temple trips and have some neat firesides with church leaders and sang in the MTC choir.  While he was there, we got told he was going to be temporarily reassigned to Toronto.  We were confused since he had a visa.  In the end it was a misunderstanding.  Blake got is cleared up and Thursday evening he and 4 other Elders left for their long flights to Sierra Leone. From SLC they flew to NYC, had a 12 hr layover and finally on to Paris.  Another long layover, 8hrs, and finally on to Freetown.  It was a long 2 days, he was tired and hungry and a little overwhelmed when he got there.  He landed at a small airport, found the ferry, and they all made it to the mission home.  They stayed there for 2 days then met his trainer and was assigned to Wilberforce.

He has been there just over a week and is really loving it.  Very different world.  He has picked up some of the language already and likes his trainer.  He is in a apartment with 4 elders.  They teach 8-12 lessons a day and walk up and down hills, through the rain. We look forward to hearing from him and all his stories.

I love fall.  It is such a beautiful season.  We have had a lovely one this year.  Dave and I are madly working on getting the shop enclosed before the snow.  And we have had some great warm days. We have been working late hours and are getting close to finishing the roof.  I love being up high in the dark with the stars out. Dave had a business trip to Iowa.  They toured the John Deere plant and had some strategy meetings.  It was a good trip. Cora and Ammon had been staying at our house, waiting to see when they would be going to Montreal or Toronto.  Cora was making another batch of sourdough bread when they got the call that they were going to Montreal.  They booked flights and threw some stuff together and were out the door.  But Cora was promised that she could come back for Maycie's wedding,  she was not going to miss that. :) 

Conference was fantastic.  Since Blake had reset the internet stuff, it took us a moment to set it all back up again.  During one of the seasons it suddenly did a jump and we say Pres Monson sitting on the stand.  Dave and I just looked at each other and kinda laughed.  Back in time. 

Cora and Ammon flew home for Maycie's wedding.  They arrived late Friday night and left again early Sunday morning.  A quick visit.  They got to go to the temple and be there for the sealing.  Later we all went to the family dinner and then the reception.  It was a great day.  Maycie looked beautiful and the wedding was lovely. I wanted to get a picture of the Bean Buddies together with how they have grown.  Cora, Leah, Maycie, and Emily have had so many fun years together.  Sarah was good friend of Maycie's and quickly became great friends with all the others as well.  These cute girls roomed together, ran together, laughed, talked about everything and nothing, travelled, and went on many adventures.  They have grown and expanded and it's been so fun to see.  And I love to watch these now beautiful women go out into the world and make it a better place. 

After the wedding everyone was at our house for the evening.  I had seen a small gift that I thought would be fun and it ended up being a quick celebration together.  We did Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Year's all in 30 mins.  Cora and Leah are both at their in-laws for Christmas this year.  So it will be a quiet Christmas for Dave and I.  Even though we miss all the kids, Dave and I have been having fun.  Working on the shop, hanging out, dinner dates, and just being the two of us. We still like each other, haha isn't that fun. 😄