Aaron and I went to the Young Single Adult ward this week. I felt like the speakers gave powerful talks about the power of the atonement in their lives. They also had two beautifully performed musical numbers. This YSA is well attended and many are in the area for graduate degrees, mostly in the medical field. Aaron then taught the 5th Sunday lesson building on the talks on the Atonement from Sacrament meeting. The ward then had a Thanksgiving dinner afterward. Zac and Bode attended our ward in North Ogden. There have been lots of changes in the ward but were excited to visit with good friends. Later that day Aaron and I went out with some of the Elders to teach a member family to help them with sharing the gospel with their friends and coworkers. The family was very engaged and we committed them to inviting their friends to hear more about the gospel. The kids had Sunday birthday dinner with all their grandparents over at the Hall’s.
The birthday celebrations still continued for the kids in Utah. Jessie had a great friend party hosted by one of her friend’s mom. It was so sweet and it totally made Jessie’s day! They also had a family/friend party at Classic Water slide along with their cousin Lily put together by Annette and Jeanne. I appreciate all the time they put in hosting all our families! It was a wonderful night of fun!! Allie went to SLC with some friends to an art show and then to dinner afterwards. Crazy that my oldest is 18, I have another driver and my youngest is 9. WOW!
We have finally got Allie’s residency corrected which involved a lot of calls, paper work and unneeded hoop jumping to prove that she has lived in Utah for the majority of her life, specifically the last year. Now that it is changed we can start working on getting her some classes to take. With Allie going to UVU, we have had to think about more than just school. Outfitting the apartment with things to cook with, clean supplies, bedding, kitchen and bath towels. You know the things that make if function. Oh this is going to be a growing experience not just for Allie but mom and dad as well. :)
We had our temple trip on Wednesday this week because we have several kids leaving to get home for the start of school next Tuesday. We had a great session and then as per tradition we had lunch at Paul’s Pizza. Our kids are coming home today as well and then we are heading to San Antonio tomorrow. However the kids almost didn’t make to Texas as Frontier said they arrived to the airport too late and wouldn’t let them on the flight. (We all disagree with Frontier but that didn't get them on the plane.) The next available option they gave us was to fly them to Houston on Saturday. We scrambled to find them another airline that could get them here today. Well actually they arrived at 2:30am Thursday morning. ;) We are so happy to have them back with us in Texas.
We drove to New Braunfels Thursday morning to go tubing on the Comal River. The river is a bit slow (although we were told it’s running fast right now) until you get to the chutes then the water really moves you and there is lots of fun to be had. Which included stomping at the main chute to jump off the bank sides and repeatedly going down that chute until they kicked us out for going too many times without an additional wristband. We enjoyed dinner at a restaurant in New Gruenes, a cute little town close by, great food and lots of it. Afterwards we headed into downtown San Antonio.
Friday, Aaron and I ran along the River Walk, what a cool downtown area! We then loaded up to go to Six Flags. Allie wasn't feeling well so she didn’t join us until the afternoon when we came back for our swimsuits to go to the water park portion of Six Flags. We decided that we aren’t much of an amusement park family. ;) We totally enjoyed our time at the water park. :)
Saturday, we walked around the Alamo, did the River Walk boat tour and enjoyed some Bluebell ice cream. We were able to see and learn a lot about the River Walk. It was very hot so we would recommend going in the evening for an even better experience. We then headed back to the Comal River. This time we didn’t float the river we just hung out by the main chute by purchasing the wristband that allowed us to go as many times as we like down the main chute. Plus multiple jumps off the bank side, Jessie included. We drove home that night stopping at the famous Bucee’s, think truck stop on a Wal-Mart level of one stop shopping, for dinner. I was skeptical but people promised us we wouldn’t be disappointed. We weren’t. It was really good! We’ve had a great couple of days together and it’s been fun to just hang out as a family.