Another week

Well, another week has gone by, and it finally feels like fall here.  Not many trees change color, but we had a cold snap last weekend, and some rain, and that made some of the trees turn red and gold.  I actually found some pretty leaves and have pressed them.  But it's nothing like Utah, with the beautiful display we see in the canyons in October. 

We went to the beach (again!) yesterday.  Another senior couple took us to their favorite place to hunt for shells and sand dollars.  We found tons!  It was very fun.  It was low tide, and that is the best time to find them.  The only trouble with low tide is that there are sand bars hidden along the beach.  You can be walking along in the surf and all of a sudden, you can't get back to the beach because you are on a sand bar and it drops off a few feet right in front of you.  I was running away from a larger than usual wave, and stepped in water up to my waist!  I was almost swept out to sea (ok, I'm exaggerating), but it was a little scary.  I was more careful after that!  We had a nice couple of hours there, and then headed to our MSA FHE later. 

The sister who is in charge of our home evenings, Kimberly, was teaching a lesson on how to set smart goals.  She had a certain process she explained to us, and had us all make our own goals and write down if they were realistic, obtainable, measurable, relevant, etc.  At the end she asked if anyone would like to share their goal.  So a very funny fellow, Justin, (the guy who had us playing Mafia), got up and said his goal was to get Kimberly to marry him.  He then proceeded to tell us how he was going to go about it, listing how many times he'd have to send her chocolates, ask her out, do things for her, and so on, in a very funny, satirical way.  He was kind of making fun of the whole lesson, but it was so funny, no one took offense.  They are really just friends, and are good sports. Here they are:

So it was a fun evening.  They always do a pot luck dinner.  The first few months we were here, they hardly had any food to share, but the last couple of dinners there has been enough for a small army!  The guys always stop and buy a bakery dessert, and the ladies make really good soups and casseroles and salads.  So that part is great, too.  I took a lemon cake (still trying to use up those free lemons!) that is very good.  I'll share the recipe if anyone is interested.  Email me!

We sure do think of you all often, and pray for you.  Our hearts go out to Rob and his office at the loss of one of their co-workers yesterday in that terrible car accident.  That is such a difficult way to lose a loved one.  We are thinking of you. 

We know you all have your own struggles and we hope you are able to get through them successfully.  This a hard time of year for all of us for various reasons, but know that the Lord loves you and will help you when you ask.  He helps us every day.  We love the work here and are happy to have this chance to serve.

We hope your November goes well.  Let us know what you are all up to for Thanksgiving, etc.  We love hearing from you.