September in a Nutshell

So it's come to this...a check off of what we did this month. As is probably obvious, my postings have drastically decreased since school started. So here is a recap of the month of September:

Brick soaking up the last bit of sun before the colder weather hits full force. I love this picture because he looks so relaxed!

Brick's brother blessed his baby last Thursday. Isn't River Anna a cutie? She is such a calm baby, hardly ever making a peep and smiling anytime you glance her way.

On our drive to the family cabin this last Saturday we drove past a hill that had literally hundreds of sheep. Nearby there was a horse tethered to a bush, and the shepherd stood among his flock. It looked like it ws right out of a story book.

I love Fall! Every time it comes along I am convinced it is my favorite season. All the beautiful changing leaves, and "all you need is a light sweater." I must say that Utah really has Arizona beat as far as the different Fall colors go.

Anyway, after driving for a while, Brick and I walked the last half mile to the cabin, and were amazed at the gorgeous fall colors, which were so bright in some places that they almost seemed to glow. Brick and I stopped at one especially incredible point to mention that it took our breath away and made us think about how much Heavenly Father has blessed us with.

Now this one will require a little more explanation. The Flammers have a crazy tradition of "running th falls" up at their cabin. While it's such a beautiful place, it's hard to enjoy the surroundings while in in the water, what with the stinging nettle, the almost freezing temperature of the water, the allergies, numb limbs, and the mud.

So the tradition is that whenever someone wants to enter the Flammer family, they have to participate in the innitiation of running the falls. I did it when Brick and I were dating. When we went it was the middle of summer, and it was still numbingly cold. I opted out this last Saturday, but I can't imagine how cold it was in the Fall. Burg's husband Trevor didn't get so lucky to miss the run this time, and experienced full initiation.

The Flam Fam

I married a little boy.

I sure love this guy.

P.S. Here is Brick thinking he is super cool (which he IS, just so you know)....

Brick came home the other night and asked if we could buy some clay (how cute is that?). So we bought the clay, sat down to watch 30 Rock reruns, and played with the clay until 1 am. This is what we came up with:

Can you guess which one of us made Yoda?

These magnets were so fun!

I love that Brick likes this stuff almost as much as I do!
It keeps things interesting.

Outdoor Excitement

This is why I love Utah...

The Narrows @ Zions National Park


It was so fun to watch Brick's cousins, Kayden and Kenyon
chase lizards and make Matrix moves off the cliff walls.

Hubba Hubba! Check out those MUSCLES!

This weekend we also got to spend some time with our friends Laura and Harv, who were visiting from California. We roasted some INCREDIBLE smores and laughed at Harv as he used up a whole bottle of lighter fluid to start the fire.

Yeah, it was THAT good!

The Savior's Enabling Power

Well the new semester did not wait for me to be ready...It has just plowed straight ahead without asking my permission. That seems to happen to me a lot. Change is good, but hard, and it never asks for our consent.

Brick continues to enjoy his new job at Verizon, especially since his trainer is Spock himself, you know, from Star Trek (at least I think it's Spock...might be one of those other weirdos...Star Trek Geeks, I apologize for my lack of ST knowledge). Seriously, this guy dresses up and goes to Star Trek conventions and everything, and totally looks authentic. Anyway, Brick pretends he's not a ST Geek himself and gets a kick out of the guy.

As for me, I am taking 16 credit hours, but as I like to tell people, this is my "fun semester." Three English classes, a photography class, a wheel-pottery class, and an institute class. I finish in December, and I figured I'd go out with a bang!

I am so excited about my classes, especially my institute class. It's "The Enabling Power of the Savior," and when I walked into the class yesterday, it felt so right. The past week has been a struggle for me, as I have had some hard news about my Grandma Maxine. I grew up next to her, and last semester finished up her life story. She is so close to my heart. Among other things, she has recently had to have her leg amputated, and has only been allowed by her caregiver to take Tylenol for the pain. It breaks my heart to consider the suffering she has been enduring. I think about how the hydrocodone I took for my wisdom teeth was sometimes not enough, and then I think of my poor grandma. My family has been praying so hard for her to receive the care she needs, but we are so far away and feel helpless.

As I have considered all this, and then walked into my class, I felt so strongly that the Savior is there for her. I realized that His atonement works for all kinds of pain, and that perhaps she is being allowed to suffer for just a little while so that, if nothing else, her granddaughter can learn the power of the Atonement. I still pray for her comfort and even release, but now I realize that all things happen for a reason, and I have to trust that.


P.S. I apologize for writing so much, again.