Farewell 2022

 Wow! This year, the trio graduated from High School, they all received their temple endowments, Caleb got his mission call and left for Boise Idaho. Sarah started college at BYU-I and got her mission call to Houston Texas, Eliza enlisted in the army, and graduated from Basic Training and Adam and I became Empty Nesters practically overnight!  What a year we have had! We are so grateful for all of it! 

I have a feeling 2023 is going to be a lot quieter around here. But, I say bring it on. I know the Lord has more blessings in store for us and more opportunities for us to grow. 

December

As soon as the Thanksgiving holiday was over, I got to work decorating our home for Christmas! Both girls would be home for Christmas and I couldn’t wait! 

I got an early Christmas present!! I’m loving my new Segway. It’s so fun to zoom around the property! 

Speaking of the property, recently Richard built a big barn on his and his family spent the month working tirelessly on a special project that they wanted to have ready by the time the girls got home! 

We’ve also had fun helping a little and sharing in the excitement of  the surprise.

We loved attending the town of Taylor’s live nativity again this year. We missed our kids, but having Richard and Calli and their kids with us was the next best thing. 

The mountains got a little snow, so Adam and Richard took the buggies up to play in it for a bit. 

Eliza received a certificate for successfully completing the “Introduction to Basic Army Medicine” course. 

This was the first phase of her training at Ft Sam. 

She’ll go on to receive specialized training in physical therapy after the holiday break. 

Sarah’s last month at BYUI was so fun!

Her FHE group went to the temple together and on another occasion went ice skating. 

 

Sarah’s roommates took her to Cold Stone Creamery for her Birthday! And speaking of birthday’s it was so great that the trio’s Birthday happened to fall on Caleb’s p-day. So, even though it was their first birthday ever spent apart, they were all able to have a good visit over the phone. 

Sarah loved her time at BYU-I. She worked hard and ended the semester with straight A’s!! 

She is looking forward to going back to BYU-I after her mission. 

Caleb has been enjoying the snow in Boise this month. He continues to work hard and has found new people to teach. 

The day finally came for Adam to go pick up Sarah from BYU-I.  I still had preschool to teach and as the ward Relief Society President I was in charge of our ward Christmas party (Not to mention, there was a funeral luncheon for Brother Tenny on the same day as the ward Christmas party). So, sadly I couldn’t make the trip.

After helping Sarah get all packed up, they attended the Rexburg temple with aunt Lynn and Uncle Bill

Then, they headed west, to Boise where Elder Gurr got permission to enjoy lunch with them!! 

 They loved the short time they were able to spend with him.

After saying Goodbye to Elder Gurr, Adam and Sarah visited a couple of Adam’s Aunts in Boise, then they went to the Meridian Idaho Temple.

They had one more stop on the way home from Idaho. This time, they stopped in Salt lake and boy, was Sarah surprised to find out why!!!

As it turned out, Eliza was able to come home a few days earlier that originally expected. So, she flew into Salt Lake so Adam and Sarah could pick her up on their way home!! 

I am so glad that they had a great trip and I was SO happy when they all finally made it home!!!

As expected, they loved the surprise Halli and little Richard had planned for them! The fun barn is a total blast!

Their first full day back was Sunday the 18th. I sure loved having my girls home with me. 

The girls enjoyed a day at sunrise with some of their Gurr Cousins. 

Christmas was a low key affair. Having our girls home, going to church and getting to talk to Caleb is what made it truly special. 

The day after Christmas, the Hulse family came! Oh what fun! 

Of course, we had to go for a buggy ride! 

The crowning moment of the month was getting to go to the Mesa Temple with Eliza while she received her own temple endowments. We felt so blessed to be in the temple with Eliza, Sarah, our parents, and many of our siblings and nieces. 

Congratulations Eliza!

November

Adam started off the month with the annual hike to Four peaks with the ward young men. This year’s hike was a bit different because it snowed that weekend and it was too cold and snowy to hike to the peak like they usually do. So, they ended up hiking to the amethyst mine instead and had a wonderful time. 

The following weekend, we went to Mesa for Graeden and Tiffani’s wedding. The day before the wedding, Adam went on a fun buggy ride to sycamore creek.

I enjoyed helping Tiffani and Heather with the wedding flowers. Adam provided great comic relief while we worked. 

 He even tried his hand at floral design. We think he should stick to construction work.

We wish Graeden and Tiffani all the best as they begin their life together. 

Now that Eliza is no longer at Basic training, she has a lot more privileges. The best one is getting more phone time! Getting to FaceTime chat with all three of the kids on Caleb’s P-day is the best!! I’m so grateful for technology that gives us these opportunities. 

Speaking of Being Thankful, 

Thanksgiving this year was very different for Adam and I. With none of our kids home, we felt a little sad. We did have a wonderful feast with most of the Quist Family at the Hulse’s home. We enjoyed eating and visiting and playing games together. Each of the kids were able to call, including Elder Gurr, so it ended up being a nice day after all. 

Eliza did a 7mile run on Veterans Day with some of her friends at Ft. Sam.

She enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with some of the branch members. It was hosted by the Peterson’s. The Peterson’s are military relations missionaries on the base and have been so kind to our Eliza.

Sarah is still loving life at BYUI

She was able to take a picture of the first rime the tro talked together since they all left! 

She went in a trip with her roommates to Cambri’s house for a weekend and loved it! 

She even did a little horse back riding. 

She loved spending Thanksgiving weekend with Aunt Mally. It was awesome, they had thanksgiving with Aunt Lynn and Uncle Bill, went and saw aunt Thayle, and then spent time with Nathaniel and Kristine and their kids. 

Elder Gurr loves being in a biking area and is having great time working and serving with Elder Vowell.

He and several other missionaries were able to attend the Idaho falls temple. 

Elder Gurr and Elder Vowell enjoyed their Thanksgiving feast  with the Miller family. (Elder Gurr is not the best at sending photos. This picture was taken and sent to me by Sister Miller)

We love seeing Elder Gurr so happy!

Although we are apart, We all have so many blessings to be thankful for! 

October

Adam and I went on a weekend getaway up to Green’s Peak to watch General conference in the mountains. We loved spending this time together to be uplifted by wonderful messages from the Lord’s anointed. The fall colors were so wonderful to see white out on the ranger on Saturday! 

I spent my birthday this year with these wonderful ladies on a Disney Cruise!!! We went to Castaway Cay and Nassau. It was an amazing vacation! I absolutely loved spends my Birthday snorkeling with Lydia at Castaway Cay. I made so many fun memories. 

While I was on my B-day Cruise, Adam took Daisy and Graeden and Jewellana on a trip to explore more of Utah with Richard and Calli’s family. He had an awesome trip too! 

Eliza has continued to thrive at Basic Training. Her weekly calls each Sunday are one of the highlights of our week.

She completed the Forge, a super challenging test of all she has learned at basic training and even managed to do it with a smile!! We are so incredibly proud or her!

Sarah has gotten super close with all of her roommates and FHE brothers.

She loves that the Temple is so close and enjoys going with Becca and Lindsay every Tuesday

Caleb was transferred to Kuna ID this month. He is a little sad to be leaving beautiful LaGrande, but is excited to get to serve with his new companion Elder Vowell (who is from Taylor AZ!!!) 

This is Elder Gurr and Elder Rees visiting with some members in La Grande.

“The field is white…”

One family Elder Gurr became friends with, had a son who loved mountain biking. They were able to arrange a mountain biking excursion with the Elders.

Elder Gurr and Elder Vowell with a friend from the Kuna. 

Adam and I went on a fun Double date with Richard and Calli. We went on a buggy ride near Green’s Peak and then had dinner at the Molly Butler Lodge. 

The best part of October was getting to Drive to Ft. Sill in Oklahoma to spend a day with Eliza and watch her Graduate from basic training. Lydia came with us and was a great co-pilot to Adam and I as we took turns driving the motorhome.

Family Day began with an award ceremony for the entire platoon. Eliza was one of only about ten soldiers in her entire platoon to receive a rank advancement at basic training. 

 Eliza’s battle buddy’s dad wasn’t able to make it to family day, so we happily invited Victoria to spend the day with us. 

Our first stop was the Craker barrel for some Breakfast/lunch. 

We spend the rest of the day just hanging out, doing a little shopping and playing games in the motorhome. 

That evening, Adam gave Eliza a fathers blessing and we got in a group hug before we had to say goodbye to Eliza for the night.

The Graduation was quick and efficient. Our trainee is now officially a soldier in the US Army. 

Well done Pvt. Gurr!!!

We had about an hour to spend with Eliza after the graduation. She is now on her way to Fort Sam Houston where she will train to become a physical Therapy specialist. 

Adam and I (and Daisy) took our time traveling home. Lydia stayed in Oklahoma to spend some time with a dear friend for a few days. We took a little detour to see a natural bridge in New Mexico. 

Poor Daisy is back to being an “only child”.