COVID Halloween!

COVID Halloween turned out to be much more packed than I thought it would be.  We kicked off the day with Nate, Cooper, Chloe and myself going to the Griffith's house with the Andersens to make some apple cider.  The kids were all great workers and the cider turned out delish!  We each made three gallons and were charged with giving away one gallon to a family that we thought could use some cheer.  We still need to do that!

Apple cider making at the Fillmore's home

Cooper was dragging his heels to go trick-or-treating this year.  I made him dress up for the ward trunk or treat and so he threw on an old Nephite costume and called himself a caveman.  For the evening trunk or treating at the Bellisten's farm house he was a skater.  Chloe braided his hair and he enjoyed his "skater" look for the night. 

Chloe has always wanted a blow-up costume so when she found this bull rider costume while we were Corvallis she was delighted.  Chloe was also invited to go to a friend's house that evening and learn the "Thriller" dance and make Carmel apples.  She had a great day and hauled in quite the loot.

Chloe was so excited to dress of her kitten Nala

Nala, the good witch

Meanwhile, Birch caught an early morning flight to Utah so spend the weekend with the Utah kids and especially to attend the Jordan temple with Elder Tyler Ditto Monday morning.  

Alexa spoiled everyone with a delicious picnic on the Provo Temple grounds.

Birch and Alex went on a killer run at the Provo Canyon!

After having a BBQ dinner everyone (including Alysee's roommate Oliva) went to the BYU football game.

Alysee had her first cougar tail!!

Due to COVID only 6000 guests were allowed to buy tickets to the game.  BYU won the game and everyone managed to stay pretty warm.

It's been such a blessing for Alysee to have a roommate that she loves!  It's been a challenging year to make new friends since Alysee only has a couple of classes that are actually IN PERSON as the rest are over zoom.

It turned out to be a pretty great day for everyone!!  I can't wait to hear how Elder Ditto spent his Halloween.  

Homecoming weekend and family bonding

The few days Alex was home before going to BYU-Provo were packed with immediate and extended family time, unpacking from his mission, packing for college, and lots of time talking.   We hosted an evening for a few close families to come and hear mission stories and ask questions.

Then Saturday we had a fun extended family hike to Umptanum Creek Falls (the smoke had been so bad in Yakima from fires that we had to search for a spot to escape the smoke).

Of course, Poppi and Nate had to join the pioneer club first - many others followed.

Tyler and Alex have loved spending time together.

The hiking crew

Saturday evening we were honored to host a dinner for the Grandmas (Ami, Grannie, Great grandma Ditto), Poppi, Aunt Laurie, and Sis. Day (Alex had served with her when he first arrived in Romania).  We had korean bbq pork, quinoa and salad.

Alysee put together this fun display of treasures that Alex had collected from his mission.

The lovely ladies in the kitchen preparing for the homecoming feast the following day.

After dinner with our special guests, Alex shared memories and answered questions about his mission and then Grannie shared a very special priesthood line authority chart that Great Grandma Harvey had made with Grannie.  It was a wonderful night!

Sunday - Homecoming Talk and festivities

Alex gave a wonderful homecoming talk.  He had not been feeling well since he had gotten home four days prior and had asked Birch for a blessing.  He was blessed with the energy that he would need to share his message and be able to visit with all who made the special effort to come hear him speak.  Alex said he felt totally lifted the whole day -- and then crashed at bedtime.

Here is a link to listen to his talk.  It was just A.W.E.S.O.M.E.

Alex's Homecoming Talk - Aug 19, 2018

He didn't type out his talk but I did find some notes 😂

The afternoon was filled with family, food, and fun!!  Caroline and Alex had an arm wrestling match.  We had Korean Chicken lettuce or corn tortilla wraps, Coconut Rice, Slaw, veggie trays, chips, cookies (thanks to all those that helped!)

It was so special to have Sis Larri-Lea Day and Alex's trainer, Elder Giron drive up from Vancouver, WA for Alex's homecoming.

Aunt Laurie made the long drive from Helena.  She has been so supportive of Alex while on his mission.

This woman, Great Grandma Ditto is just amazing.  We're so thankful that her health allowed her to drive from Montana as well.

Showing off our handmade Romanian shirts Alex purchased for each of us.

Blayre and Ryan are the best!!

Grannie said that Alex's homecoming weekend was the highlight of her summer.

I wish we had taken a picture with all who came to hear Alex's talk.  Really it was so amazing to see friends from other wards in attendance, Alex's first mission companion from Oregon, friends from the Tri-cities, previous school friends, other missionary's parents that live in Washington state and drove over to listen to his talk, many non-member friends, lots of cousins, aunts, and uncles, etc...  It was a packed house and moment totally worth celebrating!

The following morning we got up at 3 am and drove to Seattle to catch a flight to Oahu, Hawaii!!!  We had been saving for the past two years to make this trip possible.  It was surrell to actually be in the air knowing that the sacrifices that we had all made to make this trip happen was finally coming to fruition.  We had a wonderful time despite Hurricane Lane that did it's best to shut down the island!

Surfing!

Hiking to Lulumahu falls

We're sure proud of our kids!

Lots of time playing in the sand

Visiting the Laie Hawaii Temple and doing baptisms

Jumping off Waimea Rock

Hiking Kaena Point

Hiking up Crouching Lion 

Surf Lessons

Parasailing

A family that plays together, stays together.

As much as I am so glad he is home, I am really going to miss those Monday letters and pictures.  We're so thankful for the example he has been to our family and for the love that the Romanians, Moldovans, and Hungarians have shown to Alex.  I know that God is pleased with his efforts to spread His light and love for the people in Eastern Europe.  I'm pretty sure Alex would say it has been his...BEST TWO YEARS!!!

Treasure the Truth - YW High Adventure Trip

Our ward has had a tradition of taking the YW on a high adventure trip every couple of years.  There are always some challenges with making this happen with the other events in the summer but we have found it to be so rewarding and important for ward unity.  I love that our YW leaders get to be involved as well since our girl's camp is run by the stake.

This year the YW president put me in charge of organizing our high adventure.  One of the issues we have is trying to keep it really cheap since we are theoretically only allowed to fundraiser for one event.  By planning far in advance we were able to get good deals on each thing we did on our trip.

First stop...Lake Chelan Slidewaters Waterpark....

For  most of the girls this was the first time they had been to this waterpark.  We all had a blast!

Alysee loved spending time with her friends.

That night we drove from Lake Chelan to Leavenworth to our camping location called Thousand Trails, Leavenworth.  After setting up camp and having a delicious dinner, Kristen Farmer, one of the YW leaders gave a wonderful fireside on "Treasuring the Truth."  

A few YW sang the song "Treasure the Truth" at the fireside.

The next morning we all loaded up and drove to Lake Wenatchee State Park to do a small hike to Hidden Lake.

What a great group of YW!!!

It was a SUPER easy hike.

 When we got back to our campsite we had free time for the next four hours.  The girls LOVED this time -- the campground has tons of stuff to do...miniature golf, tennis, crafts, a lodge with a TV and foosball, volleyball, etc...

We rented one cabin that four adults stayed in.  The main reason for spending the extra money on the cabin was because we had a full size refrigerator, oven, and stove to do all the food preparations.  We had one couple that were totally in charge of preparing the food.  Not only was it delicious but it was awesome to come back from an activity and have a meal all ready.  

Our tents were set up directly across from the cabin.

Friday night we drove into Leavenworth to watch the outdoor theater production of "The Sound of Music."  We have a super talented group of young women right now that love music and drama so this was really special.  

The play was fabulous!!!!

Saturday morning we woke up and packed up camp and headed to go rock climbing and wander around Leavenworth.

I was really appreciative of Birch driving up Friday night after work so he could make this possible for the girls.  Birch has instructed probably every youth in our ward on rock climbing at one point of their youth years.

For many girls this was a first time experience!

Alysee did amazing!

The afternoon went by quickly with the girls spending some time walking around Leavenworth.

We all came home exhausted but happy!  I love the theme we had for the High Adventure Trip!!  It was wonderful to ponder about where my treasures lay.