Early October

Monday, October 4th

Paul mowed the lawn in the backyard.  Shirleen had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon who confirmed arthritis in her knees.  He said "Band-Aids treatments" and replacements were her options.  We had an online FHE with Michael & LeAnn, and with Amy & her kids (Bryce was helping with security at the temple). 

Tuesday, October 5th

Paul did a repair job on one of our chairs.  We had a fair amount of rain during the day.  Shirleen designed the back of the quilt and started cutting it out before she made a donation to the local Choices Pregnancy Center (fleece blankets, flannel receiving blankets, booties, and crocheted butterflies).  Paul gave Lizzie rides to & from her violin lesson.

Wednesday, October 6th

Shirleen continued work on the quilt for Kaylene & Gage.  She started piecing the quilt back.

Thursday, October 7th

The two of us, Michael, and Amy & her 5 kids went to the Arizona State Fair.  Early in our visit we stopped under the grandstand to see a model railroad setup.

Melody, Paul, Michael
James

Paul, Michael, Amelia, Karsten, Maylee, Lizzie

We got some food -- Navajo tacos, hot dogs, and French fries!

Maylee, Melody, Michael, Amelia, Shirleen, Lizzie, Karsten

Other Activities:

James and Lizzie

Paul, Maylee, Lizzie, Melody, Karsten, James, Amelia, Michael

Maylee and a Wooden Top

Melody and Karsten
Maylee and Amelia

Maylee and Lizzie                 

Karsten

Maylee and the Magician!

Maylee, Shirleen, Lizzie, Melody, Karsten

Karsten, Maylee, Lizzie                              

Shirleen, Lizzie, Karsten, Maylee, Amelia, James (in stroller), Melody

Lizzie, Michael, Karsten, Maylee
             James

Melody and Amelia in the Purple Dumbo!

Melody and Amelia

Shirleen

Lzzie, Maylee, Amelia, Michael, Melody, Karsten

Melody

Three Views from a Ferris Wheel:

Michael (white hat), Amelia
James, Melody

Shirleen (waving)

Looking North (Grandstand top-left, Coliseum top-right) 

Having fun coming down the slide:

Karsten               

Maylee      

        Lizzie

More fun at ground-level:

Melody (with Karsten watching in the background)

Melody (with Karsten watching in the background)

Animals:

Maylee

Maylee, Amelia, and Melody 
 (there were goats, ducks, wallabies, and an alpaca)

Maylee, Karsten, Melody, Amelia

The Skyride:

Michael and Karsten

Michael and Karsten

Maylee

More excitement:

Amelia and Lizzie

Amelia and Lizzie

A happy guy, his mom, and a couple of girls with refreshments:

James and Amelia

Amelia and James
Maylee and Melody

Maylee and Melody

Native American dancing, etc.

James and Amelia Watching the Dancing

And there you have it:  Some more good times at the Arizona State Fair!

Friday, October 8th

In the morning Paul got an INR (anti-coagulation) blood test and Shirleen indexed.  Later, we attended the Phoenix Temple for an endowment session.  And here's a photograph of the north side of the building (the main entrance is on the east side):

Saturday, October 9th

Shirleen served as an usher at the Mesa Temple Open House while construction workers and their families toured the temple.  She overheard several people telling their family members about what they had done to remodel the temple.  One man was the plumber who redid all the pipes in the baptistry.  A lady explained that it took 3 years for her and 7 others in her crew to paint the murals for the instruction rooms at her studio, then it took 6 weeks to install them in the temple and paint over the seams.  A man showed his mother some of the welding he had done.  Shirleen said it was wonderful being back in our temple again, even though it was hard to stand for so long.

Sunday, October 10th

It was Harmony Ward's Sunday for ward conference.  Our bishop and our stake president both spoke.  Shirleen and 7 ladies sang three hymns for prelude.  In the evening, we drove to Amy & Bryce's home for dinner with them, their children, and Michael.  The kids gave us some artwork that we brought home:

Seven interesting days in October!