Madison High School and Halloween

Jeffrey participated in the final marching band competition at Madison High School in Rexburg, Idaho.  Wendy and I went to to watch.  We were impressed by the football stadium.  The weather was great, and Century won the competition with the highest score among 18 high schools in South East Idaho.  Tonight, we had our Halloween lights on, and we had a number of Trick-or-Treaters.  Jeffrey invited two of his friends over to the house, and they went out to get candy.  Then they played games and ate pizza.

Office Staff Halloween Party

Wendy's office celebrated Halloween by dressing up and having a lunch buffet.  Wendy ordered pizza from Goody's and had me deliver it to the office.  They gathered outside and had me take a picture of the group.  They looked pretty good.  Wendy dressed as a scarecrow.

Our Deer Friend Invites His Friends

This morning I looked out over our backyard, and I said to Wendy, "I think our deer friend has brought a friend with him."  Wendy stepped outside on the deck to take a picture when we realized that we not only had another friend, but we had a small herd.  Perhaps they know that it is deer hunting season and this seems like a good place to hang out.  I am getting more worried about how they are getting to our yard.  I think they have to cross the freeway, but I have no idea.  I may have to let animal control know about it.

Angel's Landing

What a great experience!  Tyler, Jeffrey, and I got up at 5:00 a.m. and dressed to go on a hike.  We left Baylor, who had a difficult night, to continue sleeping if possible with Wendy.  We left the Lodge at 5:25 a.m. and walked the Grotto trail to the trail head for Angel's Landing.  It was a warm 55 degrees with a bright moon and shining stars.  We hardly needed the small flashlight that we had.  We saw a few falling stars along the way.  We were the first hikers to start up the trail.  Again, it was so nice to be at the Lodge instead of waiting for a shuttle.  In fact, the first shuttle would not even enter the canyon until 7:00 a.m., so we had a good head start to beat the crowds.  We made good time, but Jeffrey and I were pretty gassed by the time we reached the bottom of Walter's Wiggles.  We continued up the switchbacks and arrived at Scouts Lookout before 7:00 a.m.  It was still very dark, and I was a little concerned about starting up the chains with a flashlight in one hand.  A group of hikers passed us at this point which motivated us to keep going.  We started up the chains, and I admit it felt a little sketchy, but we took it slow, and there were no other hikers to contend with, except one professional photographer who nearly flew past us.  By the time we reached the top it was no longer dark.  We arrived at Angel's Landing at 7:40 a.m., so the hike up took us a little over two hours.  We stayed there for about 45 minutes watching the sun light up the top of the canyon.  It was beautiful.  We started down as several hikers began arriving.  We had to wait to use the chains as more hikers arrived.  Tyler got down much faster, and when Jeffrey and I made it back to Scouts Lookout we gave each other high fives and a hug.  Jeffrey was pretty happy about the experience.  Tyler and I both agreed that this hike was better than our first.  I told them that I thought this might be my last opportunity to do the hike, as next year they will begin a lottery system to limit the number of hikers, but there may be a way to camp along the West Rim and defeat the lottery system if I ever wanted to try it again.  We passed hundreds of people as we went down the remainder of the trail.  We arrived back at the Lodge about 10:20 a.m.  While we hiked, Wendy and Baylor slept and then went to eat a good breakfast at the restaurant and shopped at the souvenir store.  Wendy bought me a puzzle of Angel's Landing.  We drove home, and when we got to the Utah/Idaho border it was pouring rain and cold.  What a difference from the morning in southern Utah.  I am going to try to make a video of our time at Zion with all of the photographs we took.

Zion National Park

We packed up this morning into the minivan we rented to drive from Orem to Zion National Park.  Our group was Wendy, Jeffrey, Tyler, Baylor, and myself.  I felt bad that Jaylen couldn't go, but she needed to work on Monday.  We took the highway on the east side of the park which took us through Panguitch, Utah.  We stopped there to eat lunch at a diner.  The weather was windy and cold for most of the trip, however, when we pulled up to the Zion Lodge to check in to our room it had warmed up.  Our room was on the first floor of the Watchman building, and we had a great view of the canyon.  After a brief rest we went on a short hike to the Emerald Pools, and we returned to the Lodge just in time to eat dinner at the Red Rock Grill.  We decided to turn in early because Jeffrey, Tyler, and I are going to get up at 5:00 a.m. to hike up Angel's Landing.  It is so nice to be able to stay at the Lodge instead of shuttling in and out of the canyon.  

The Holt Arena

Last night we went to the Century versus Pocatello football game at Holt Arena.  Wendy and I were talking about the last time we attended a football game at the Holt.  We thought it would have been Tyler's last game there in 2012, almost nine years ago.  It brought back a lot of memories.  Jeffrey played in the marching band during half time.  He said it was harder to hear themselves because the sound echoes.  The band also played from the stands whenever Century faced a third down or scored, which wasn't very often.  Today we went back to the Holt Arena to watch Kaleb play football in the final playoff game for the 7th grade B league.  They were matched up with the only team that beat them this season, the Buccaneers.  It turned out to be the best game of the season.  On the opening play, Kaleb's team threw a 40 yard pass that the receiver ran in for a touchdown.  However, at halftime the score was 16 to 16.  In the second half the Seahawks' defense played really well, and Kaleb had several tackles.  The Seahawks won with a final score of 30 to 16.  Kaleb was pretty excited, and his team deserved to be.  After the game, Wendy, Jeffrey, and I drove to Orem to stay with Tyler and Jaylen.  We are driving to Zion National Park on Sunday.

Prepared to Build a Deck

Today I was able to remove the last bit of grass where the deck will go in.  I have tried to level the ground or slope it away from the house.  The contractor called to say they are ready to begin next week, as long as the building permit is finalized.  Everything is signed and ready.  The area is larger than I expected, but I think the size of the deck will be just right.

Another Day of Football and Marching Band

This morning we watched Kaleb play in a football playoff game.  His team won the game which means that they will play in the final game with the same team that was the only team who has beat them all season.  The final game will be held next week in the Holt Arena.  That will be a lot of fun.  In the afternoon, we went to Highland High School to watch a marching band competition.  Jeffrey had volunteered to help earlier in the day, and he clocked three hours of school volunteer hours.  There were 18 schools in attendance, and the weather was great.  Century did a good job and placed third in the competition.  The second place school was from Boise and the first place school was from South Jordan, Utah.  

First Snowfall of the Season

This morning we woke up to four inches of snow, and it continued to snow through most of the morning.  It really felt like a day in December instead of October.  I went to Costco and walked through an aisle with Christmas decorations and with a Christmas song playing.  I thought to myself, "Who needs Halloween anyway?"  It warmed up a little by this afternoon, enough to melt the snow off the sidewalks and roads, but most of the snow stuck around.  Tonight, the temperature has dropped and will be in the 20's by morning.

A Day in Logan

We spent the day in Logan, Utah for a Marching Band Competition held in the football stadium at Utah State University.  Jeffrey had an early start with the rest of the Century band.  Wendy and I left about 10:30 a.m. and arrived in Logan about noon.  We met up with Tyler, Jaylen, and Baylor for lunch at the Beehive Grill.  It is a nice restaurant, and we enjoyed our lunch until 1:30 p.m.  We drove up to the football stadium and found some seats just in time to see Century perform.  They did a great job and it sounded fantastic in the stadium.  The announcers had the wrong information for their program which may have impacted their overall score.  There were 13 bands in their division, and Wendy and I stayed to watch all of them.  One of the bands from Green Canyon High School in Utah blew everyone out of the water, and they ended up taking all of the awards.  There were 43 bands all together.  Wendy and I stayed for a few more performances in the next division, but we were getting really cold so we returned home.  Jeffrey and the Century band didn't get home until 11:30 p.m.

Link to video of Century Marching Band

Taking Out Our Sidewalk

I rented a jack hammer today in order to break up the concrete of our sidewalk from the driveway to the front porch.  I thought it would take all day, but the jack hammer made quick work of it, and we only needed it for about three hours.  Kaleb helped me pile up the broken concrete, and he tried his hand with the jack hammer.  It was about a hundred pounds and Kaleb had to work hard to maintain his balance, but he was able to break up some of the concrete.  This is the first step in our preparation to have a new deck and ramp installed beginning later this month.  We have a contractor installing the deck, and it should take him about a month.  I am hoping it will be finished by Thanksgiving.  

Football and Marching Band Competition

I took Jeffrey to Century at 8:00 a.m. this morning so he could travel by bus to Minico High School in Burley for a band competition.  Then, Wendy and I went to the Portneuf Wellness Complex to watch Kaleb play football.  His team won the game, which put their record at 5 wins and 1 loss.  Immediately following his game we drove to Burley and arrived there in time to watch Century perform.  They did a great job.  We stayed to watch the rest of the bands and the awards presentation.  Century took 1st place in their division as well as winning Best Music, Best Percussion, Best Visuals, and Best Auxiliary.  They really do have a strong program.