September 2016 This & That

I can't believe today is the last day of September!  Where did the month go?  But in addition to having a fantastic 2nd Annual Copeland Girls' Get-Away and a quick trip to Utah, we, also, had a few events I can't forget to mention!

Prosser Annual Balloon Festival

Since the day we moved here to this little town of Prosser, we have anticipated the day we could watch the annual balloon festival.  Last year, we were in California at this time, so we weren't about to miss it this year!  And we weren't disappointed!

We got up at sunrise and walked out our driveway to the little airport across the street to be there for the first balloon take-off!  I wanted to see them getting the balloons ready for flight, which was so interesting.

 The take-off gives you goose-bumps!  (I had actually stumbled on my way walking there and fallen flat on my face on the pavement!  My hand was bleeding, my nose and knee scuffed up, but more importantly, my glasses were a mess--that affected me the most!  But, I was like a kid and put it all out of my mind to enjoy this experience to the fullest!)

 One by one, they lifted off.

 
 And soon the sky was full of these beautiful balloons!

We trailed one of the balloons to see how they deflate them.  It is, also, quite the process!

It takes quite a group to gather it all up after they have deflated it. 

They stuff it all in a small container.  (Sorry, I should have taken a picture of the container.)

They then load the basket and container in a retrieval trailer, and they're off!  Until next year . . .  I loved it and want to do this all again!

General Women's Conference

 

The General Women's Conference for the Mormon Church was held on September 24, 2016.  Although it is held in Salt Lake City, it is relayed by satellite all over the world.  My daughter-in-law, Natalie, and granddaughter, Ella, invited me to attend the meeting with them here in Washington.  I am so glad they did!  I so enjoyed spending the evening with them and learned so much at this conference.

I absolutely loved President Uchtdorf's talk, which is entitled "Fourth Floor, Last Door."  It was one of the best I've ever heard on "Faith."  To listen or read this talk, click on the link below. 

Fourth Floor, Last Door 

The Very Large Fire!

When Kent and Natalie bought nearly five acres of property and decided they wanted a farm, none of us realized all the steps it would take it make this dream a realization!  One of the biggest obstacles was the abundance of goat heads!  By that, I mean a weed that produces the worst seed pods ever--they can puncture a tire or absolutely damage a foot if you step on them.  Well, the entire field was full of them, so Kent had hired a man to scrape them all off and put them in a pile.

George and I and Natalie were given the job of burning these dastardly things!  After pulling at least a third of them off into small piles and still being faced with a two-story building size pile, George decided to go for it and start the entire pile on fire!

Luckily for us, we had called the fire department to let them know we were going to burn some tumble weeds.  However, none of us knew the amount of smoke this would produce!  Soon we had people from all over coming by to see if Kent and Natalie's house was on fire.

We even turned the sun red in the smoke!

 Then, all of a sudden, we had three police cars there.  George had to explain to one of the officers that we called the fire department, so they knew about it.  I think the policeman felt better knowing that everything around it was cleared off, so there was no chance of it spreading.  Plus, we were "watching" it very carefully!

 Surprisingly enough, it soon died down and there were still tons of weeds left to burn!  (We actually put in another day and still probably need to go back again!)  The second day wasn't nearly so smokey, thank goodness, and I think people by this time knew about those crazy "goat heads" being burned on the Copeland property!  This was the most excitement this little town had in a long time!

Ella soon was bored with watching smoke and started riding Ember.

Yes, it was quite the day--one we will never forget!

Hall of Fame Achievement for Ethan

We were thrilled to watch our grandson, Ethan, receive his Hall of Fame Achievement Award for the second time after receiving a perfect 4.0 grade point average for the entire last two school years.

Ethan's goal is to achieve it again this year! 

The presenter was chosen by Ethan because he said this teacher challenged him the most and made him want to work and excel even more!  I love teachers like that!

Keep up the great work, Ethan!

Ice cream was definitely a must after the awards program!  I think Ethan had his Jimmer clothes under his suit.  Hah! 

He's a Copeland, alright!  I know of a bunch of other grandsons who have done the same!

Great month of September!

Quick Trip to Utah - Sept. 15 - 18, 2016

After returning from Lake Tahoe on Wednesday afternoon, I didn't even unpack my suitcase because the next morning, George and I started driving the ten hours to Utah.  We were excited to go for several reasons--even if we weren't going to be able to stay for long.

I always love to meet up with Utah relatives when we are out there.  Today, I was able to enjoy lunch with my niece Jennifer, sister Joyce, sister Natalie and her little grandson Nixon, niece Kelsey, daughter Alison, and DIL Kim.  Natalie's son, Nathan, who has just returned from his Mormon mission to Atlanta was, also, there but he was taking the picture.  It was so nice to see him and talk about the good ole' South with him.

That afternoon, George and I went to Wilson Diamonds where our grandson, Bracken, works.  Somehow George's rings have shrunk, and George was needing to get them sized a little bigger!

Our granddaughter, Jenna, is a cheerleader at Lone Peak High School.  We were so excited that we got to go to a game and watch her cheer.  (She is on the the far left.)

 Since it was homecoming, the cheerleaders performed during the half time show.  They did a fantastic job!

 At one point, all the cheerleaders who were going with football players to the homecoming dance, got to wear their jerseys for the rest of the game.  Jenna was going with No. 95.

 

 So proud of Jenna for how hard she worked to make the team and for the great job she's doing!

 It always makes Grandpa George and me happy when our grand kids include us with their friends.  Lauren and her friends came to say, "Hi." 

 Jenna and her mom, Kim.  Her dad was in Italy for work.

 The next day, we took a ride up Provo Canyon to Sundance with John and Alison, and grandsons Bracken, Preston, and Brady.

 It was such a beautiful fall day!

 After eating lunch at the lodge, we boarded the chair lift for a trip up the mountain for a fantastic view of the mountains and valleys all dressed up for fall!

 

 Made me think of my dad.

 

 

 Bracken, John, Brady, and Preston all walked the trail to the highest peak along here.  They they are at the very top of the path.

 

Coming down wasn't the easiest because of the steepness and because of the rocks that kept falling beneath their feet.

 Such a fun time in such a beautiful place!

 That evening was homecoming for our two granddaughters.  These two beautiful granddaughters, Lauren and Jenna, have basically grown up together.   

It was so fun seeing their excitement for their first homecoming dance!

Lauren and Jenna with their handsome dates!

It was, also, the night for the BYU - UCLA Football game.  We were so excited to go to the stadium to watch the game and had such high expectations for our team!

It was nice to sit right near where my dad has his tickets, so we got to visit with him.  He is a true blue BYU fan and comes to all home games!

It was fun that John and Alison came to the game, too, along with Bracken and Preston.  Tyson had to stay back in California because of his school soccer games.

This picture was taken during half-time and not everyone in the family was here for the pic, but as you can see, we have lots of BYU fans in the Copeland and Rigby family!

The game certainly didn't turn out the way we would have liked, but the experience of all being together had to be the highlight!

Well, that's a wrap of a very quick, but activity-filled weekend.  We started out the next morning after we went to church and heard Angie speak in Sacrament Meeting.  On our way home, we stopped in Boise to see our brother-in-law, Larry, who is recovering after a fall.  We were very concerned and wanted him to know of our love.