November Celebrations

It was nice to have family and friends help Sam celebrate his 80th birthday.  At our Empty Nesters meeting on Monday (Nov. 6), friends surprised Sam with a birthday cake and ice cream and sang "Happy Birthday" to him at the close of our Family Home Evening.

Happy Birthday, Sam!

Lori Cable, a friend of Beth's, gave a presentation

at our Empty Nesters on Monday evening,

November 6, in our home.

Her mother grew up in the Jewish faith.  Her parents called themselves

 "High Holiday Jews," meaning they went to synagogue 

during the most important religious days.

It was interesting hearing about the Jewish traditions and foods,

and she brought food to taste.

Visiting with Empty Nester friends after the lesson.

 

Then on the day of Sam's birthday, November 9th, Hal and Christy Smith invited us to go to the movie, Only the Brave.  It is a true story dedicated to the memory of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, an elite crew of firefighters who fought the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona in June 2013.  The movie was well done.  After the movie, we ate at a restaurant featuring food from India.

Our family celebration was the next day, November 10th, when those in the area came to wish Grampa Sam a "Happy Birthday" with another birthday cake and ice cream. 

The second birthday cake in the same week.

Sam had no problem blowing out the "80" candles.

Megan helping Grampa Sam serve the cake,

and Jacob is about to see how tasty it is.

 Jacob, Brynlee, and Shannon

  Mason, ready for some serious eating.

Looks like the frosting was a hit. 

(Paul)

This present brought a smile to Grampa Sam

when he opened it and found the hairpiece

Amanda won at her cosmetology school.

The rest of the evening spent with good company.

(Amy, Claire, Jenna, Jessica, Trent, Judd, Doug, Beth,

Tyler, Haley, Taylor, Maggie, Sadie, Trevor, and Megan) 

Beth injured her knee playing volleyball

with other women at the church gym

and came to the birthday party on crutches.

Later, an MRI revealed torn cartilage

that required surgery on Friday, November 17th.

The projected time for healing is two months.

(Amanda getting some help from Beth on a knitting project.)

 Paul, Brynlee, and Rebecca

 Found a quiet place.

(Mason, Jacob, and Amanda) 

Corban can always find something fun to do.

It is fun to have the little ones to love.
(Megan and Sadie)

Getting bedtime for Claire,

so we missed getting a photo with her cute hair bow.

(Amy and Claire)

Claire Elizabeth
born September 22, 2017
parents:  Judd and Amy Ireland

We expect to have a smaller group here to celebrate Thanksgiving,

as this year the families are celebrating elsewhere.

However, we are happy that Ryan, Tani, and Marisa are coming to be with us

for a Thanksgiving turkey dinner;

and Scott, Kristine, and Shannon will be here for a couple of days

before joining Kristine's family for a reunion celebrating Thanksgiving with them.

We wish all a Happy Thanksgiving!

We expect to have a larger family gathering in our home

to celebrate Christmas next month,

and we will also be looking forward to hearing from family and friends.

At the Farm in the Fall

Sam kept checking with Brent to know when it would be the best time for him to help out with the fall harvest, as they were waiting for the first freeze.  We left here on October 25th and stayed overnight in Denver at Scott and Kristine's.  The next morning we left for South Dakota, stopping enroute for a short visit with Bill and Karen in Scottsbluff; and we got to the farm early evening.

 Bill and Karen with Sam

 While Sam spent his time on the farm combining corn, 

I enjoyed visiting with Tauna and family 

and went to Martin one afternoon to visit some friends.

I always enjoy spending time with Joyce Wilson.

I had planned to stop for a visit with Sam's Aunt Curley also,

but I got a short visit with her while she was getting a perm

in the shop at the Martin Mercantile.

(Joyce and Narene)  

I got to see Rachel play volleyball in Winner

in the playoffs

where they beat Red Cloud.

Rachel serving.

Sam and I also went with Brent and Tauna to Pine Ridge

to watch Rachel's team lose to Pine Ridge in the semifinals.

I enjoy going on walks while at the farm, except when it got cold and windy.

Here are some pictures I took one afternoon

on one of my walks.

 Mother cows wanting their calves.

 Grain bins, truck, and auger 

 Hay bales

 Silage pits covered with plastic and tires,

and grain bins in the background.

 Brent has all of the shields removed,

because he is going to be combining sunflowers.

This makes it easier to keep the combine clean

to prevent fires.

Silage Pit (corn silage used for feeding cattle).

 Variety of foliage - beauty on the prairie.


We left the farm on the afternoon of November 3rd, going to Denver
where we stayed overnight.  The next day, Scott rode with us to Spanish Fork;
and he visited family in the area here and celebrated Jenna's 20th birthday with her.