Fall is a great season for all of those activities in the tittle of this post.
First up, Roger played in the Golf Branch Tournament.
For the first time in many years, Rog and I attended our alma mater's Football Homecoming game in Logan. The best part of that day was taking our two grandsons who are attending USU, Jared and Sam, to lunch.
Such darling boys, whom we adore!
We were invited to sit up in the enclosed boxes for the game, where they feed us lots of food and snacks (the Aggie ice cream and Crumbl cookies were the best!). We had a great view of the football field.
That afternoon, Dane Graham, Executive Director of Advancement at the Caine College of Arts invited us to meet for Aggie ice cream and he brought Dean Nick Morrison, Dean of Caine College of Arts, and we enjoyed a fun conversation with them. We met Dane when he helped Craig Jessop arrange a dinner and program for the Balladiers 3 years ago. Nick mentioned that he had been to the 6 am USU Band practice that morning on the football field, so we paid extra attention to halftime. I am always impressed and amazed at how much effort goes into good marching bands (I guess the not-so-great ones, too). Lots of practice and dedication.
Though the score was 0-17 for Colorado State at the quarter, the Aggies came on strong for the rest of the game and won by 20 points! Go Aggies! Everyone in the box was high-fiving each other and cheering loud! So fun!
We called grandson Ben, Stacy's nephew and good buddy, to pick out Stacy's favorite flowers, pink and orange roses, to deliver to her in Mesa for her 50th birthday. Can't believe our cute, little Stacy Lacy is 50!
We had a delicious Sunday dinner at Rick and Jodie's and Blake gave us a Halloween preview in his cowboy costume, in honor of his sister, Abby, who is on a Church mission in Oklahoma.
Grandma Pam and Grandma Kathie love to catch up with each other. Isn't Jodie's fall table pretty? Kathie made the cute napkins.
What a special treat to go through the St. George Temple Open House! It was the first temple built in Utah and it has been restored, earthquake-ized and decorated true to the pioneer period when it was built. It is so very lovely and has such a sacred presence.
Roger served as a volunteer at the St. George Temple Open House on two different occasions. One time he was an usher outside of the temple and the other, he was inside the temple and he rotated to several different rooms. Elder Robert Wells, who used to live in our branch, came through when he was ushering inside the temple and they were pleased to see each other.
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This year, Roger played softball in the Huntsman World Senior Games, a large senior sports competition, with thousands of competitors from around the world, and it is held in St. George. His good friend and fraternity brother from USU days, Larry Hendricks, invited him to play on the team that Larry had played on and now managed for 24 years. It seems several of his team players now need pinch runners. It was the 79+ years-old category. Roger runs almost every morning and has run in 3 marathons and one half marathon. As a young guy, he played on several softball teams through the years in Logan, Texas and Mississippi, but he hasn't played for many years. His batting was rusty, but he could run (and catch)!
Coincidentally, Danny Gibson, who is Roger's high school friend, has also played over 20 years in Huntsman Games and he now plays on this same softball team, so it was really fun for Roger to play with old friends.
The SilverLime Team
Danny and Carol Gibson are our Lake Powell buddies on Jerry's houseboat. They're great people!
Bob and Mary Brady came to watch their final game. Larry Hendricks and his wife, Myra, were best friends when they lived in Bountiful with Bob and Mary, our Aggie friends for all of these years.
3 Visitor Weekends
The weekend after we returned from Homecoming and staying at Rick's, Sadie's husband, Joe, and his cousin, John, came to St. George on a golf junket and stayed with us for 3 nights, and we enjoyed chatting with them and I fixed them some meals we enjoyed together. We forgot to take pics. That Sunday I sang a duet, "Abide with Me, Tis Eventide," in Church with Jacque Lee, who moved into our branch around Covid time. She is a very experienced musician - a marvelous pianist and organist, and she has a lovely soprano voice, having sung backup in the Osmond Studios with Donny and Marie when she was young. When she was asked to sing a solo in Sacrament meeting, she said she would only sing a duet with me. At first, I was very intimidated to sing with her, and I recorded our rehearsals and practiced hard. It stretched and challenged me vocally, which I hadn't done for a while. At 78, I thought those days were about over, but we had a wonderful experience together and I know my prayers were answered.
The following week, Rick, Jodie and Blake came to visit on fall break for 3 nights and we went to 3 Tuacahn productions in a row! Blake loves them, especially the music. Katie and her boyfriend, Easton, came to St. George on Thursday and they stayed at friends' homes, but came over to eat meals with us. And they came to "Hunchback of Notre Dame" with us.
They all enjoyed going through the St. George Temple Open House.
I love to cook for these guys; they are so appreciative and they do sooo much for us! I made Maid Rite sliders, Italian pasta salad, apple dumplings, blueberry muffins, chicken enchiladas, tomatillo salsa, barbecued ribs, cole slaw, gingerbread pudding cake and Hawaiian French toast. Other food I made for the other weekend visitors - John Rich's chili, IHOP pancakes and golden syrup, Amish macaroni salad and brownie cake.
1st night - Tarzan
(Tuacahn has done Tarzan before, but this time was best ever! They flew on wires right over our heads a lot, used the water feature, live animals and the costumes, the set, the dancing, acting and singing were outstanding!)
2nd night - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
(Blake loved the music, the bright colors and loved loved The Candy Man!)
3rd Night - The Hunchback of Notre Dame
(This was more dark, but the music, especially the choral religious numbers, was rich and so beautiful.)
Rick took Roger golfing at Copper Rock Golf Course.
The 3rd weekend, Josh, Jaylene and Caleb came to visit and to go through the St. George Temple Open House. Josh and Roger played 18 holes at Sunbrook Golf Course.
We love this cute little family! Jaylene and Josh are expecting a baby girl around Thanksgiving.
Isn't this little guy adorable? He loves to suck on ice cubes!
They were here during Josh's birthday and I found out Josh's favorite treat is Nielsen chocolate custard. Kinda weird to put a birthday candle in an ice cream cone, huh?
St. George is popular in the fall with its great weather and many things going on. We're glad we get to see lots of loved ones and join in with their fun!
