Family Fun

Thursday Stan and I drove the familiar path to Rexburg. Megan and David are packing up their cute little apartment and moving it into a storage unit down the road.

Our trusty Burb is perfect for loading and moving.

While in the Butler apartment, we learned several new things: water bottles can shrink in the wash. That bottle on the right used to be the same size as the one on the left--until a dishwasher visit. Somehow the lid still fits perfectly.

We were also reminded of the beauty of young love. This is the inside of David and Megan's front door.

 This is a particularly touching and tender love note, don't cha think?

We also learned Megan made the local paper, demonstrating her amazing Wilderness First Aid skills. She took a required specialized class this semester. If you're ever mauled by a bear after being bitten by a snake, while suffering from hypothermia and altitude sickness, Megs is your girl!

Next it was time for graduation. David is down there, right next to the guy with the square black hat.

Luckily, Megan had been well-behaved all day and got a good girl sucker from the bank.

Sweet! Cute couple.

And here is "David's Building". It may say JF Smith, but clearly that's a misprint.

David the graduate, with the whole world ahead of him. Or behind him. Hmm. Turn around, David!

David and wife.

David, wife, and in-laws.

 David, wife, and parents.

Those lovely blue diploma containers are empty until BYU-I can be sure you've paid all of your rent, fees, tuitions, parking tickets, and that .50c you needed to borrowed from your roommate 4 years ago to help pay for the late night pizza blitz.

David and Megan took off to Texas. They will return in fall when David starts ISU for his CPA program and Megan finishes her degree. Meanwhile Stan and I broke into their storage unit to permanently borrow their Ferrari.

Wait! They don't have a Ferrari!

I guess Stan and I will trek homeward, through the falling snow that got

deeper 

and deeper.

When we came through Ennis 2 days ago, we came to this open area and there were at least a couple thousand elk, filling the valley. Unfortunately we were so astonished we neglected to get pictures. On the way home, they had mostly moved on

but we still saw maybe a hundred stranglers.

You can see several dozen elk in the distance. I've never seen so many elk in one place. It was amazing!

Before we left for Idaho, Stan made this bench for Amy's table. It was a good thing we hadn't given it to Amy yet because it came it handy over the weekend.

The Bassetts were kind enough to come over so they could bring in our newspaper and mail while we were in Idaho.

They may have also been here to surprise Grandpa Bassett on his sixtieth birthday. 

We were lucky enough to be home from Idaho in time to enjoy Sunday afternoon together. Knowing they would be in a car all day on Monday, we took a Sabbath stroll together. Makayla is sporting her lovely Sunday dress with added pink sweats for warmth. She spent the day with us while Amy and Hailey stayed home with the stomach flu.

The kids enjoyed the hot dogs on a stick, also known as cattails.

 Sunday was a very cold day, especially down by the lake.

I love these Bassett kids. 

They are so sweet

and fun to be around.

They are so nice to each other.

Ava started the day by running to Chase when he woke up and giving him an enthusiastic hug.

We only made it halfway around the lake.

It was just too, too cold!

Time to head home!

Can't wait to see everyone again in a couple of months!