Another School Year

It’s hard to believe that school is starting again…summer went to fast. I can’t believe that Adam is in 3rd grade and the “upper grades” of elementary school. He was thrilled to have his first grade teacher Mrs. Lethcoe again, since she moved from 1st grade to 3rd grade this year. He has one of is good friends, Brendan, in class for the third straight year. Sarah was so excited for 1st grade and had a wonderful first day, much different from last year, when it took her half the year to be happy about going to school. She also has two great friends from her kindergarten class, Natalie and Lillian, hope they don’t talk to much. Her teacher Mrs. Spence, seems to be really nice. It’s really hard to believe Isaac started five day preschool. His teacher is Miss Kelly. He made new buddy, Reed, on the first day. He loves preschool and gets really bored in mornings home with me. It will be weird next year not driving down to Imagine and Explore preschool daily after taking one the kids there for the last 5+ years.

Recipes from Grammy

Beef One Pot Dinner

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, sliced thin

1 c. finely chopped potatoes

1 c. water

1- 14 oz. can baked beans

1/2 c. barbecue sauce

1 c. shredded cheese

Brown meat, add veggies, cook 5 minutes. Stir in water, cover and simmer till veggies are tender.

Add beans and barbecue sauce. Mix. 

Cook 5 minutes till heated through. Top with cheese.

One Pan Chicken & Potato Bake

4 bone-in chicken pieces

1 1/2 c. potatoes (3), cut into thin wedges

1/4 c. Italian Dressing

1/3 c. Parmesan cheese

1 tsp Italian Seasoning

Heat oven to 400. Place chicken and potatoes in 13x9" pan.

Top with dressing, sprinkle with cheese and seasoning. Cover.

Bake 1 hour or till chicken is done.

Uncover after 30 minutes.

Grammy - August

Knowing the following article affects each member of my family I felt it necessary for you to be informed and therefore, you have no excuse inflicting any unnecessary problems on your family.

Van Natter JULY

The truth is that it's now August, and nearly halfway through - but thankfully I keep a journal or I'd have no idea what happened just a few weeks ago. Construction continues, and for the last two weeks, it's been going on inside the house. Noisy, dirty, dusty, inconvenient. But the end result will be worth it, right??

We began July mourning with a family in our ward whose Utah Highway Patrol member son was killed during a search and rescue on Mt. Olympus. He left a wife and 3 children, two of whom are autistic. We watched him grow up since his family has lived here even longer than we have. He and his brothers used to play football with our backyard neighbor's boys, and jump our fence to retrieve their lost ball. (Causing a bend in the fence rail!) I made a salad for the funeral meal which is attached below. It was heartwarming to hear his parents share their beliefs on television (this was big news in Utah) and know that although they mourned, they were confident about where their son now was.

Heidi came up to spend the 4th of July with us. We didn't do anything special, except get Chinese for dinner - our tradition of more than a decade now!! It was fun to spend time with her. And the food was yummy!

John moved our network cables and cords and equipment down to the basement, but it will eventually reside in a small closet in the new laundry room. We've struggled with slow internet for awhile and he's still trying to figure out that issue. He is enjoying this construction project and has taken several days off to be here and help where he can.

I spent a day with Annette when the power was going to be off in the house all day. John stayed here and helped the electrician switch out our long-ago-recalled electric box. (The electrician is in our Bishopric.) The only bright spot is that the box is in the basement, which is cooler than upstairs. They finally finished about 3:30. 

Annette and I met at Zupas for lunch. We used to do that fairly often - at least more often than we have in a couple of years! Then we headed back to hang out at her house. She pointed out the things she loves about her kitchen and I took photos so I could tell our contractor what I wanted. And I ended up getting everything I had wanted! Except my pantry isn't as big as I'd hoped, but there was only so much that could be done in the space.

We exchanged birthday gifts - 4 and 5 months late!!! She gave me 4 books, and I am in heaven! I LOVE to read! I got her a little nativity made of hand-molded clay, found on Etsy.  Thanks for letting me veg, Nette!

One task I had to deal with before the construction moved indoors was getting the wallpaper off one wall of the kitchen. Thank heaven I had never finished that project, which originally called for papering more walls! It took two full days just getting it off the one wall. And John had to do the top foot since I couldn't reach, and didn't feel confident on a step-stool (with my leg/foot issue.) Now we face the agony of getting the wallpaper border off the entire living room and hallway so we can have it painted to match the kitchen, now that it's all one room.

I was surprised that I had such an emotional reaction to my old stove being removed. It's the original to this house, so 34 years old! For years, I have wanted it to die so I could justify getting a new one. But only a burner and a broiler element went out, both easily replaceable! So when it came time to see it go, I suddenly remembered all the birthday cakes, Christmas cookies, after-school treats, Thanksgiving turkeys I had prepared in that oven. Who would guess a piece of metal would hold such memories!! A favorite photo is of Ian, just turned 6, sitting in front of the oven window, impatiently waiting for his favorite Snickerdoodles to finish baking!

As far as construction went in July: insulation, drywall, electric sockets, fireplace framed, doors and windows installed, new roof shingled, front of garage bricked, siding begun, garage door installed, and kitchen demolished the last day of July. I posted some photos of the kitchen that day. It was crazy time. And now we have one big kitchen/living room=great room!

Here's the recipe I made for the funeral meal. I wanted to do something with fruit, and honestly, I would classify this as more of a dessert than a salad, but it is really yummy whatever you serve it for! Fun find on Pinterest.

Strawberry Cheesecake Salad
by Chelsey W.

12 oz. whipped topping
1 small package of cheesecake pudding (powder)
3 (6 oz) strawberry yogurts (I use Yoplait)
1 lb fresh strawberries, sliced
3 bananas, sliced (add just before serving or they brown)
miniature marshmallows (add just before serving)

Thaw whipped topping and in a large salad bowl stir together whipped topping, yogurts, and pudding powder. Let this set up in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. Wash and slice strawberries. You can add strawberries to salad or wait to add them with sliced bananas and marshmallows just before serving. Keep refrigerated.

Moulton's July

Finally got our pictures downloaded from Exodus so hopefully, I can figure out how to include them in the newsletter.

July was a BUSY month with lots of visits and of course, Exodus. We started the month with a visit from Claire and Calvin. They stayed two nights and it was fun to visit. They spent most of their time loving up the grandkids! Isn't that awesome!!! The next visit came from Cottrell's who came down after their Yellowstone trip. They likewise stayed two nights. We're so glad to have room for family to come visit! Linda and I yakked nonstop and worked on a cute 'yellow ruler' table runner. That night we went to Spicy Thai: a favorite restaurant with Cottrell's and then they treated us to a wonderful play at the Hale Theatre: Crazy For You! It was hilarious and so fun to share with Cottrell's! Thanks again, Guys!! Another fun visit! They left Tues morning and then we finished getting ready for Exodus. We had to be packed up that night so we ran to the stake center with our buckets and bags and crossed our fingers!

We met the next morning at 8:30 with the Blue Team. They staggered the teams to prevent too much crowding on the mountain at one time. Our kids were excited when I gave them each their Moroni pins to wear. Moroni ended up being a bit of our hero all week since he was on our flag and when we got up to the top, 10,500 feet up Ephraim Canyon, we learned that Moroni had walked this area and dedicated the site for the Manti temple. Cool! This Exodus was not considered a Trek. This was not to remind us of the Pioneers. Instead, Exodus was more of a spiritual experience to encourage the kids (and adults) to leave behind things that would thwart our efforts in getting to Zion or our Promised Land. So that was the mindset as we set off. We gathered for lunch and some words of counsel and then we were off!

We had about 26 miles to walk and surprisingly, some was still uphill and we had overachieving kids in our family who wanted to run and get there quickly! Have mercy!!! We had just left the temps in the 90's but up on top, it was actually chilly. Along the trail, they encouraged us to have teaching moments. They had themes for each day: What do I believe, What do I desire, What will I do, and My Journey to Zion. They had different topics they suggested for us to teach so occasionally, we'd pull off the trail and have a few moments for teaching and then of course, some tossing of the football.

When we got to camp, we all set up our tents and had some much needed down time to rest and relax. This is a view of our campsite from up a hill where we later had a 'hoedown'.

Luckily, they had a 'food committee' so we didn't have to deal with cooking our own food. I think there was actually a guy who did catering who was in our stake and you could tell from the menu. Wed nite was bacon-wrapped turkey slices with blueberry pomegranate sauce, spinach salad with a warm bacon dressing and fresh green beans for 600+ people! And it was so organized. we never had to wait long in line! Amazing!

This shows the trail we hiked up after dinner for the hoedown. (Check out the people on the bottom to get an idea of how steep it was.)

Each day, while on the trail, they encouraged the kids to find a rock that could be placed as an Ebenezer stone. When the Children of Israel crossed the Jordan River on dry ground, much like when they crossed the Red Sea, the tribes of Israel picked up a stone in remembrance of what the Lord had done for them. It became an altar. Later, Samuel placed a large stone which he named Ebenezer after the Children of Israel recommitted themselves to following God's commandments. Ebenezer means, stone of help, so when they looked on it, hopefully, they would remember how the Lord had helped them. (You've heard the song, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing? The 2nd verse says, Here I raise my Ebenezer, Hither by thy help I'm come. This made so much sense after learning about the Ebenezer and quickly became the theme song for Exodus.) So each day, we did something similar. The boys got a little carried away and found the biggest rocks they could find. I assume they wanted to show their bulging muscles to the young women as they carried it to the spot for our Ebenezer. Each rock was to represent whatever the theme was each day. So Day 1 was 'What do I believe?" and that rock was to represent that.

After the hoedown, each ward met with the stake presidency for a special gift. We were given time each night for "Time with the Lord' where we were to go off by ourselves, write in our journals, read scriptures, ponder, pray, etc., for about 30 minutes. During this time, we read our letters from the stake presidency and discovered the "gift."  The first was a glow in the dark rock which we were to remember the story of the Brother of Jared and how the Lord provided for his needs and will likewise provide for ours. Afterward, we met briefly with the kids for our final teaching moment of the day and family prayer. I had some bracelets made up for our family which said, Doubt not, but be believing, which is a quote by Moroni. (See why he became our hero!!!) We were to wear them thru out Exodus.

I found out the next morning that none of the "Ma's" slept much. Why? The Women's Pull was first thing after breakfast and we were all nervous. We could see the hill and it was steep. Wish I had a good picture to show but trust me when I say, it was very steep, rocky and a bit gravely in some spots which would make it slick. Here is a picture before the Women's Pull. Not sure why I was smiling! The boys pulled it to the starting point.

I don't have good pictures of us pulling/pushing the handcart up the trail but trust me, it was hard. Apparently, the Women's Pull is traditional at all Treks and ours was no exception. It was originally to remind us of the women who had to pull handcarts alone when their husbands were called off to the Mormon Battalion. But again, this was not a Trek so instead of focusing on the pioneer women who pushed and pulled, the Bishops each read a letter to the girls in their wards about the mountains they might face in life and to help them learn that they were stronger than they thot. It made me cry! My family was first: Surprise! So up we went. The boys lined the trail and sang, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, but could not touch the handcart to offer help. I was on the back with one little gal and we started off. Jess walked beside us for safety reasons but couldn't touch unless needed. One of our girls slipped and fell at one point and the handcart bounced backward. I shoved it as hard as I could till we got settled: up over rocks, over slick gravel and a couple steep steep hills. At one point, I didn't think I could go another step. I couldn't breathe! But amazingly, having the guys sing really bolstered our efforts. It was wonderful to reach the top and then cheer on the girls behind us! This is a picture of another group so you can see the trail we climbed.

And this is a picture of us afterward. Whew! Glad that was over!!!

And we had just started the day! Today was the longest hike: 7+ miles apparently. So off we went: still more uphill. AUGH! Because we were way up on top, we could see the storm clouds gathering. Good thing because then it started to pour. Good thing for ponchos! (Except Cole on the left. He was our Mountain Man! He didn't bring a jacket or a sleeping bag, just 2 blankets. He slept outside each night and loved every minute of it. We was as strong as an ox and we affectionately nicknamed him, The Beast!

We finally started to go downhill and my lungs were ever so grateful! Of course, the kids still wanted to go fast so we passed a few groups and got into camp early. (I made arrangements the next day to make sure we were in the back and a new rule: no passing! Yay for me! The kids were bummed!)

Because we got in early, we still had a few hours till dinner. We had time to set up tents and then the neatest thing happened. Two of our kids in our family brought instruments: a banjo and a violin. (They'd packed them in trailers so they were protected from the weather.) Just the two of them started picking our the tune to, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, and before long, tons of people were gathering. Other instruments were brought over and it was a regular jam session. Awesome!

Day 3 was the shortest hike but the most difficult apparently. We started off after breakfast and the trail was much rockier. It was a slower pace which suited me just fine! We found a little spot to have lunch and then as soon as we were finishing, it started to sprinkle. We all put on our ponchos, except Cole, of course, and headed out for the spot we heard was treacherous. Then it really started to rain and the trail turned muddy because of those who were ahead of us. We actually, were the last team this day. I don't have pix of us specifically coming down the trails but I'll post some others. Suffice it to say, it was very treacherous. We had the rain, lightning and thunder! It was awesome! Ha! The only thing missing was some background music of the Mormon Tab singing, Come, Come Ye Saints, ala` the movie, Legacy, when they were sloshing thru the mud! We had tied ropes to the back of the handcart to use as brakes. Jess was on the back, heels dug into the mud, slipping and sliding down the hill trying to keep the handcart from plunging down the hill or into the streams we had to cross. At one point, they made us tie ropes to trees to control our descent. I wish I had a picture of our shoes! I think I grew 4 inches!!! Here are some pix of the trail:

These girls on the front ended up falling but I won't show that picture!

Since we ended up on the trail when it was raining, we were slower getting down the hill. There was word back at camp that Blue Company was still on the trail. The Delta Team boys, made up of graduating seniors, who were already in camp, took off on the trail to find us and provide some help. It was an amazing sight to see them running up to offer assistance. However, our family didn't want help! Jess was having a heyday!!! The kids wanted to do it all by themselves. It was truly inspiring!

When we finally made it to our campsite, it was still raining. All the other tents were already up but we had to wait so we crowded under an awning.

 Jess and Someone who is too afraid to show her face after being drenched on the trail! What's up with my poncho??? It didn't even cover my head!

We were able to rest a bit when the rain stopped. We quickly gathered our things and set up the tent with just enough time before it started to rain again. Dinner wasn't quite ready so Jess and I just tried to relax and dry off in our tent while listening to the rain. It was awesome! The rain stopped and we waited for the horn for dinner. We were Blue Company and #6 for the day so we knew dinner would be later but for some reason, the stake pres drove around on the ATV gathering people up for dinner. That seemed odd since we hadn't done meals like that before but we gathered along with 600+ others for dinner. Then they started to blow the horns again. What's up with that, I'm sure I thot until I turned around to the mountains we'd just climbed down and saw a beautiful double rainbow. We wouldn't have seen it if we hadn't all been gathered together like that. I thot it topped off the day perfectly and I whispered a quiet, "I noticed", to the Lord! You can't really see the double rainbow in this picture but it was beautiful!

That night, we gathered for our Ward Testimony Meeting and thankfully, it never rained. Everyone agreed it was probably the favorite day!!! I truly saw the Hand of the Lord in the timing of events on this day! It taught me that God is in the details of our lives!

Day 4 was the last day. Lots of us gathered for pix:
Here are our ward's Ma's and Pa's:

Here's our family: We love our kids!!!

 My hat took a beating after Day 3 but I think it has character, don't you? Check out the mud details along with the muddy handcart!

Today was our last day so we headed down the mountain trail. Today was quite easy in comparison. No rocky trails, no rutted Jeep tracks. But it was hot!!! Half way down, they passed out Otter Pops and nothing ever tasted so good to my parched mouth!

 You can see the Manti Temple in the distance. We all started singing, I Love to See the Temple.

We finished up at a stake center in Manti. There we had lunch and then they gave each of us white shirts to change into which was glorious since we'd been wearing the same blue shirt since Wednesday! (Part of the experience!)

 Then, all 600+ of us went walking to the temple grounds. The Stake Presidency gave their last letter encouraging the kids (and us) to make a covenant with the Lord about our commitments to Him and to touch the temple to symbolize that promise.We didn't tell the kids anything but it was silent. A very cool moment! Lots of tears! One little gal from our family gave me a hug and didn't let go. I could tell she was crying so I held on. I asked her, Did you feel the Spirit and she nodded yes! And that's what this whole thing was about. The stake leaders told us if we can help touch one youth, it will be worth it.

 This girl almost didn't come on Exodus but thankfully, we talked her into it. Her mom told me the next day at Church that her daughter could hardly walk but it was a life changing experience!

And that's Exodus!

But no, the visits didn't stop! We absolutely crashed on Saturday but felt better by Sunday. Sally and Sam arrived after Church and we had another fun family visit. We went with them to Brick Oven Monday nite and then they treated us to the Rodeo! Our favorite part was the Mutton Bustin'. They took 5-7 year olds and put them on the backs of Sheep and off they'd go. The top scorers held on longest because they went on backwards and wrapped their arms around the sheep's back quarters and their legs around their necks. It was the funniest thing I've ever seen! But I'd never let my kids do that!!! The next day was Pioneer Day and Sam grilled the most moist-fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs I've ever tasted! Wow! Delish! We even did a few fireworks for the kids and Luke and Sophie had a ball! Uncle Bryce is so much fun to play with! Sally and Sam ended up staying till Sat and Loran came up on Fri because Uncle Ernal passed away. It was his house that we stayed in for a year while our house was being built which we affectionately called, The Dungeon. It was awesome to see the military funeral after the service. Luke jumped during the 21-gun salute but loved it! Ernal was one of the last Pearl Harbor Survivors so it's sad to see an era pass. We love you, Ernal!

And that's July!

Jess and Annette

July–Greg Cottrell Family

		JULY 2012 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We had a busy July we left for Yellowstone a few days before Mom and Dad via Scottsbluff, NE so we could go see Chimney Rock. We stayed the night in Torrington, Wyoming. Before making our way towards Worland Wyoming to stay with Lindsey’s sister, Candace and family. for the night Around lunchtime in Casper we decide to make about an hour and half detour and visit Independence Rock, Devils Gate, and Martins Cove. The kids were pretty amazed by this size of Independence Rock and were determined to climb to the top it. We started on one side and went across the entire top and down, not as easy as it may look. We weren’t able to do a whole lot at Martin’s Cove, but we did see a little video with a brief history and the kids were able to try and pull the handcarts around a little loop. We would like to go back someday and do the longer trek and go down into the cove. We past by the Sixth Crossing on our way to Worland but didn’t stop. That night we spent with Candace and the next day meet up with Mom and Dad Cottrell for our Yellowstone Trip. Mom already wrote about Yellowstone so I won’t repent to much.  Adam and Lindsey got some nasty bug bites in Burlington, which we annoying and hurt, from that point on we smelled like bug spray, so help prevent anymore nasty bits. Sarah would get nervous every time we came to close an animal and roll down our windows  to look at them. She was doing better towards the end the week. Some highlights are Lower Falls, Grand Canyon, Steamboat, Grand Prismatic, Old Faithful, picnics,  play string games, grizzly up so close, buffalo at our first stop, a buffalo at that liked to hang around the Canyon Cabins, and our last night blocked our path from the parking spot to our cabin, and of course being with Mom and Dad. They took good care of us and we all had wonderful time. As mom mentioned Lindsey and the kids were dropped off in Star Valley and the took Greg down to Salt Lake to fly home and work for the week. The next day all of Lindsey siblings ran a half marathon and the whole family went  cheer them on. They are trying to get her to run it with them next year…..It rained that afternoon so we all hang out and the kids watched a movie. We spent week relaxing mostly. We went the park a few times, out to lunch, eating the snow cones, swimming, playing with kittens, jumping on their trampoline, playing with cousins, and tubing in the slough (a fresh water spring that forms that makes a stream). The kids were having great time until we moved up river little. Isaac decided he had enough so Lindsey waited on the banks with him while Grandma Jane and Sarah one tube and Adam on another decided to float down a little.  Adam was really enjoying it, but Sarah decided she was done and so Grandma Jane put her up on the bank and told her to walk back to me (Lindsey) only problem it was the other side. Sarah was fine until she decided to cut across on want she thought was land but ended to be the most swampy part and worst place to cross. She freaked out, and I wasn’t about to go and get her. I kept yelling for her just run across she kept getting stuck and lost both of her crocs, which made it worse. Once she was across she jumped in a one the deepest parts kicking and screaming, and quickly grab her. She would have been fine if she would have walked up the bank more and straight across from were I was standing, but she was in hurry and afraid. It was a little crazy, we were both not happy. Grandma Jane felt bad and we only found one of her crocs.  Sarah ended up getting new croc like shoes at Children’s place and flip flops (which she has always wanted) from Grandma Jane since we lost her other ones.  We left on Friday and Salt Lake and did little shopping at the Park City Outlets and stayed they night with Uncle Taylor (Lindsey’s Mom’s brother). The next morning Lindsey and the kids went to Wheeler Farm with a good friend from Omaha.  Then they went to go and visit Lindsey Grandma Rose in a rehabilitation center were she was staying after she had fallen and broken her back. She is 91 years old, her health is good, but she is becoming very frail and needs care 24 hours. Then they went the hotel pool to go swimming before picking up Greg at the Airport. The next morning we went and visited Temple Square for a few hours and then back to visit Grandma Rose before heading to Star Valley again. On the they way home we stopped and visited with Aunt Louis in Evanston since she has never met Lindsey or the kids. We also stopped in Almy Cemetery just outside of Evanston to see were some Lindsey’s ancestors are buried.  On Monday we hiked to intermittent springs it is any easy trail. We made the bottom the falls and you are able to go the top but it was to slippery from snow melt this year. On Tuesday we went of to Rexburg and having lunch at Big Jud's on the way. Our family of 5  couldn’t finish the 1 lb. hamburger. We enjoyed visiting campus and seeing the changes made there, it has grown a lot in 10 years. We were planning to go spelunking at the civil defense caves but Greg and Adam needed to get ready for their big hike the next day and get to bed earlier so we headed back to Star Valley. Wed Adam and Greg planned on hiking to Surprise Lake in the Tetons, but they turned around about half way there. About five minutes from the trail head the first hiker headed down and he said that there was bear, they had bear mace so they kept hiking. Some of the other hikers they passed said they saw it some said they didn’t. About .3 miles later Greg was leading the way around the corner and was like “WOW that’s a big bear.” So they slowly  backed up and head back down the trail. They then meet up with an older couple and decided it safe to head back up with them, this time they didn’t see the bear. They hiked another 2 miles eating lunch along the way. before turning around. On the way down again hikers warned them of the bear with cubs. They met up with group of people that seen the bear and cubs that was within .1 miles, they didn’t want to cross between the mom and cubs. By this time there 6-8 people in the group, so they decided to risk going through and  making  a lot of noise. Greg got his bear spray out ready to fire just in case. They did see one cub climbing a tree, and another on on log. A few minutes later they did see the mama bear and the last cub. They tried to take picture but they couldn’t see it well. They made safely to car  and always enjoyed Colter Bay and Wendy’s. While they were hiking Lindsey, Isaac and Sarah spent the afternoon at her brother Robert’s house were the kids enjoyed playing the dirt, ditch, and mud. The next day we headed back up the Teton’s to do another hike, picnic and swimming. We went across Jenny Lake on the ferry and hiked 2 miles round trip to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. They kids did great, Hidden Falls is good little hike and the Inspiration Point is little more difficult but they all did it. We spent Friday mostly getting ready to come home and taking some family pictures. We headed home on Saturday and stopped in Laramie for the night. It was fun trip.