Thanksgiving in Utah

This year for Thanksgiving we went to Utah to spend it with Jason's sister and her family. We were able to sleep in, eat a yummy breakfast, make food, eat, visit, eat, relax, eat, play games, eat, etc. Jason was able to spend LOTS of time with his nephew Bart building lots of racetracks, etc.

Here is a picture of him and Bart playing with the Hot Wheels.

It was a great visit and were happy Janelle invited us.

After we went to Janelle's, we went and stayed with my brother Chad and his family. We went and saw the lights at Temple Square in Salt Lake City.

It was lots of fun! My other brother Kelby and his family came up and we saw a parade, played lots of games, and enjoyed the company. We loved spending time with all the nephews and my niece.

This is a picture of my nephew McCoy and niece Mikkelle wearing fun footsie jamies : )

Fall 2008

This fall we were able to go on some fun trips. We decided to go to Apple Hill with my sister Amberlyn, Shaun, and Cat. We had a blast, and though it was a little chilly, it didn't rain on us which was a great plus. We had fun looking at all the little craft booths, buying apples, and seeing the beautiful scenery.

Here is me (the really fat one), Shaun and Amberlyn posing at one of the stops.

Here is the beautiful scenery up at Apple Hill

We stopped by Hard Rock Cafe on our way home and ate some yummy food. When we went to take the picture, some random waiter jumped in the shot : )

Jason and I went to one of those "timeshare" presentations and we won three one night stays at various locations. Since Jason and I's schedule didn't match up, I ended up taking my sister Amberlyn to Reno, my mom to Angel's Camp, and Jason and I went to South Lake Tahoe. Most of the hotels were great, but when we went to South Lake Tahoe, it was VERY horrible, so we ended up getting one on our own. Here are some pictures of our trip. Yes, it was fall the whole way up, then winter (and snow) up in South Tahoe. We loved it! It was definitely fun being able to get away, especially in the middle of school : )
We both teach Primary in church, and as a reward for my kids, I held a party at my house. We had fun playing games, decorating cookies, and watching movies.

HALLOWEEN

This past year was my first Halloween in about 5 years where I didn't have a party to plan. I promised my psychologist I wouldn't plan any parties. Without all the stress of planning something, I was really able to enjoy myself this year! Jason, Shaun (my brother), Cat (his girlfriend) and I went to a pumpkin patch. We were able to get some really big CHEAP pumpkins that we got to pick out for ourselves. We also went on a little mini corn maze and the boys had fun scaring Cat. It was a beautiful day!

Me on Jason's back at the patch.

Then right before Halloween, we went to our Ward's Trunk or Treat. We thought it would be fun to get all dressed up. When we got married, one of my mission companions sent us a large witch and large Frankenstein Monster. She put our names on them and called us the Newlydeads. Ever since then, we have been collecting witch's and Frankenstein's and we decided that we would be them this year. We had WAY too much fun spraying our hair with colored hair spray, painting our faces, and picking out the cool costumes. I guess if I have more time, I get a little more into it.

Us all dressed up. Jason even shaved his Goatee (he hasn't in 4 years) so that it would be more authentic.

Halloween itself was interesting this year. I dressed up with a friend at school as Salt and Pepper, and Jason ended up having to Ref football that night, so I stayed at home with another friend watching Hocus Pocus and Beetlejuice. I did get to dissect a heart at school, which was VERY cool : )

Camping Trip- Labor Day

So we were able to go camping over Labor Day. Of course we decided to do it very late and were unable to find a great campsite, but we were able to go to a fun little place about 1 1/2 hours away.

This is us sitting at the campsite early in the morning.

My brother and his girlfriend came along. We were really close to the river and had fun sitting by the river, playing LOTS and LOTS of Settlers (fun game),hiking, and we were going to go fishing, but it got really windy on the last day, so we packed up quickly and took off for a BBQ back in Sacramento.

This is us walking to the river on one of our little hikes : )

Our Lives Since Summer

Just a quick update on us:

JASON- Still doing signs on weekends (early Saturday am and Sunday pm). My parents have been helping us out since we don;t have very much time this fall-THANK YOU!!! We have lost several routes and possibly could loose some more, so he is starting to look for other work. We hope somewhere in a hospital.

He is still OCCASIONALLY doing installs for Pinnacle (security systems), and is he cannot find a hospital job, we are hoping he gets to be the service tech in January when my brother leaves.

Reffing football is one of his favorite things to do, and this fall is no different. He is almost done (he only had about three weeks left), but has had lots of games on Thursday evenings, Friday evenings, adn even some Saturdays. It is easy for him to go since he loves it so much, I just wish they would offer football year round : )

When he isn't doing any of these other fun things, he is super busy with school. He is taking one class and tutoring for the class he took last year. The tutoring gives us a little money, too. He is doing very well in his class getting the highest score in the class on two of his lab tests!!

He loves teaching his primary class, but hope they call another teacher for him soon so he won't be alone anymore.

MINDY- Going to school full time. This takes up most of my time. I am taking 16 units this semester including one online class. The online class is my hardest class, but I still have straight A's right now (and over 100% in three of my classes). 7 classes is taking its toll with tests and homework, but I am managing. In one two week time period, I had 5 mid-terms, 3 tests, and 4 papers due. I think the difference this time is I actually LOVE what I am doing. I think I should have gone into the medical field to begin with, though I wasn't quite mature enough to make that decision when I got my BS. I can't wait to start my career as a Medical Assistant. Next semester I even get to wear scrubs and give shots and take blood- YEAH!

One thing I have been really thinking about now that I am going back to school is becoming a PA (Physician's Assistant). It requires a little more school before I can apply, but I am loving this so much, I don't want to stop! And then I could work in an ER with Jason : ) I actually am really looking forward to that aspect, though I am not rushing it and will work as a MA for some time before continuing on.

I also help Jason with the sign routes as we have found with me driving it saves about 30 minutes on each route (about 1 hour overall- one more hour of sleep-it's so worth it!)

I also have been helping Jason's Mom out a lot since she had knee replacement surgery and cannot drive herself anywhere. Jason and I were able to go to the hospital with her for the surgery and visited her three more times there. We also went and saw her frequently in the "nursing home" she was at for recovery. Now she is staying with Jason's brother Curtis, but needs rides to Doctor's, so I have been helping out with that.

I also teach primary and love my class. Each Sunday I am so excited to look up the lesson and figure out what I am going to be teaching the little kids. It sure makes me feel good to teach them about our Savior.

CAT- Many of you are wondering who Cat is. She is my brother Shaun's girlfriend who happens to be living with us. I add her only to tell you we have a roommate. We hang out with them occasionally and play games, go to Haunted Houses, or go to Pumpkin Patches. Its kinda nice having a built in couple to play with!

Summer Adventures- Part 3

I guess I should start with the 4th of July. Jason had to work all day (unfortunately), but we were able to go to our ward's breakfast in the morning. Then my parents and I went to our little neighborhood parade. It was cute and small. Then my entire family came over for some yummy BBQ and pool time. Afterwards, we went to a local place that does fireworks and had fun watching those. It was a perfect day!

Me and Jason at the fireworks that night! Taken with a camera phone : )

My brother Brendon had a big summer this year, too! I was able to go to his graduation (Jason could only come to his before graduation breakfast since he had to work). It was another beautiful day! Shaun, Me, Breanna, Brendon, Amberlyn, and Cara

And he also received his Eagle Scout award this year. He is the last of my brother's to complete it. All of them were able to come and attend the ceremony which was really cool. That means all the men in my family are Eagle Scouts (and too bad all the in-laws are so close but never got it-heehee).All four brothers and my dad- The Eagle Scout Clan!

Part ov every summer is Grandma and Grandpa camp. Since I live so close to my parents, I get to be a part of this every year. This year, both mom's of the participants decided to come and stay the week to cut back on Travel, so I got to see my sisters and sister-in-law all week! One day, we met up with all the grandkids and were able to go to the Sacramento River. It was a blast to go swimming with all of them, but we had to keep careful close watch to make sure none of them drifted away!

The women enjoying themselves- including my mom : )McCoy, Boston, and Kayden, the three brothers enjoying the river in a small raft

After Grandma and Grandpa camp, my sister decided to stay a week longer with her boys. One night, I invited all the boys to have a slumber party at my house. We went swimming and they all were loving it! Sterling and Colton even went swimming in the deep end and Ryland started to love the life jacket and got brave. They are so cute!

In the POOL!

Well, i guess this sums up our summer. though Jason was REALLY busy with work, were able to enjoy our sevles all summer long. Without work for me all summer, I was able to start healing and focusing on making me better!

Summer Adventures- Family Reunion

Hutchings Hold'Em 2008My entire family-wow there's a lot of us!

One of the really fun things we did this summer was my family reunion in Flagstaff, AZ. So yes, just three short days after arriving home form Utah, we took off and drove (AGAIN) to AZ for my immediate family's reunion. THe theme was Hutchings Hold 'Em . It was a cowboy, card fun theme and we all enjoyed it!All the nieces and nephews at the campground (background)

Flagstaff is a beautiful place, and if I ever lived in AZ, this is where it would be. There are trees and it is not as hot or ugly as the rest of AZ (I only say that cause I like green and AZ is very brown). We camped at a small KOA campground and enjoyed lots of yummy food, playing games, visiting and talking, playing with the kids, and just plain fun at the campsite. But we did not stay at the campground that much, our days were filled with lots to do. The first night we ate at a dinner theater (cowboy style). Sunday we went to church and spent the evening putting funny make-up on and making up skits for fun. Jason's group all decked out in some fun make-up!

Mindy's group who all "killed" my dad!

Monday we went to Sugarbowl (a ski resort) and rode the ski lift to the top and enjoyed the scenery and beautiful view of the area. All the nephews at the top of the ski lift : )

But Monday we also went and visited the Grand Canyon. I have been (when I was younger I think), but this was spectacular. It was truly breathtaking. The pictures do not do it justice, and I can't believe how beautiful the sunset was.

Tuesday was spent packing and heading out towards home. I t was sad to say good-bye, but I knew I would be seeing most of them shortly when they came for Grandma and Grandpa Camp (in the next edition). That is one of the benefits of living next to my parents, everyone who comes and visits them gets us, too :)

Until next time . . . .