Youth Temple Trip

We went with the youth to do baptisms at the Portland Temple last Saturday. All of the names that the kids did were family names. Andy and I brought along a few names of our own too. I think we did about 150 names as group. It was a really neat experience to do family names, it makes the temple experience that much more personal. I am looking forward to our next temple trip with the youth in May.

Bath Salts & Sugar Scrubs

The Relief Society Presidency asked me to put together a craft that the sisters in our ward could make and give as a Christmas gift. I don't considered myself to be a very crafty person, but I agreed. I thought about this activity for days and what I could possibly make that the sisters would enjoy. I finally decided to make bath salts and sugar scrubs. I think they turned out pretty good-- they smell pretty amazing too!
 

  

I scoured the internet for different recipes and tried several out before choosing the winner. Unfortunately, I didn't keep a copy for myself or I would share it with you.

I think the bath salts and sugar scrubs were a hit. The sisters loved them!

* Note - I found all of the materials for the jars at Michael's.

The Maze Runner: The Kill Order

The Kill Order answered all of the remaining questions I had from the previous books in the series. Yay! I felt like it took forever to get some answers. The Kill Order wasn't the most exciting read but it brought some needed clarity.

If you decide to read The Maze Runner series wait to read the prequel until the end-- if you read it first it may ruin the rest of the series.

* As of right now I have read 14 books this year.

Family History

The youth in our ward at church have been working a lot on their family history and have inspired Andy and I to work on ours too. It has been fun learning more about our family's history. Some days I feel like a detective trying to put pieces and clues together. I'm so excited to learn more about my family!

Pumped Up Kicks

Growing up my siblings and I ran track and cross country-- some people say we are born runners. Here are a few throwback photos from cross country my senior year of high school, fighting through the pain of achilles tendonitis.

Our coaches always stressed the importance of having properly fitting running shoes. Picking out a good running shoes isn't as easy as going to the store and just grabbing a shoe off the shelf. Everyone's feet move slightly differently when they run (neutral, pronation, or supination), I decided many years ago that I prefer to go into a running specialty store to have someone watch me run on a treadmill and recommend a shoe.  I have tried many different brands of running shoes over the years (Adidas, New Balance, Asics, & Brooks) and have grown to love running in Brooks.

Andy and I wanted to run a 5k for Thanksgiving and decided it was time to invest in some new running shoes. Running shoes are good for about 500 miles and ours were looking pretty shot.

Ironically we both ended up getting the same shoe. The only difference is that his are mens and mine are womens and the color of course.

Andy and I love our new shoes we are excited to see where they will take us.

The Maze Runner: The Death Cure

Aside from the "zombie" factor The Death Cure was a very engaging read. Once again I found myself wondering, "What is going on?" Not once did I find myself wanting to put this book down.

At the end of the book I still had a few unanswered questions floating around in my mind. I'm hoping that The Kill Order  (prequel) will answer those questions.

*This is book #13 for me this year.

Halloween

Halloween was pretty low key for us this year. Normally we grab a pizza, watch Hocus Pocus, and hand out candy to the neighborhood kids.

This year we opted to change things up a little bit. There was no pizza and no Hocus Pocus. Instead we found ourselves cuddled up on the couch watching a scary movie that Andy had picked out. I think we had a record low this year as far as trick-or-treaters go, we had a grand total of 3.

Maybe next year will be a bit more exciting and eventful.