Baby Sturlin

********Edited to add pictures!****************

I'm a little slow on delivering this news. Dan and Melanie welcomed a new baby boy into the world on Saturday morning, Oct 18. They have named him Samuel Owen, he was 8pds 2oz, and 21.5 inches long. I haven't seen him yet and I haven't seen any pictures yet, but I'll be sure to post some if I ever take any. :-)

So now you know

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More Sukkot

So for part of celebrating Sukkot they decided to re-enact a water libation (or water pouring celebration)


What it is, is basically recognizing that water is the source of life.....
and be thankful for it and ask God to bless you with water for the coming year.
So you take water from your well, and then you bless it, etc...obviously there was more to it than I'm saying.
Part of the re-enactment was the whoosing willows. Back in the day the priests would have been carrying 25-30 ft willows and you could hear the sound of them whoosing.
Ours aren't that tall....
but it's still a lot harder than it looks.
Here we are practicing....
It was actually a lot of fun...
Especially if you thought about how crazy it must all look to someone that may not know what's going on.
Good times, good times.

Sukkot

Well, I got pictures of the tent, but totally forgot to take pictures of the Sukkah. (?) Believe it or not I used to be a really good speller, and somewhat of a decent writer... atrophy REALLY does happen. ;-)


I like the grapes
Big and Empty

With people in it.
Eating too. All the better.




That's cheesecake there on the plates. My cheesecake. Yum.

Pretty desert, ugly desert?

ETA: Sharon apparently took the pictures that I attributed to Gerry. I guess I can't keep track of where I steal my pictures from. Heh.

Cary and I have this discussion often...

(Sharon Conrad photo)
I think the sagebrush desert can be very pretty, he thinks it's pretty much always ugly because it's not green.

 (Sharon Conrad photo)
(Sharon Conrad photo)

Here is one I took of Black mountain when it was fairly green. (or Shiloah Mtn, depending on your flavor) ;-)

 (Sharon Conrad photo)
I wouldn't say it's my ideal landscape setting, but it's prettier than the mesquite desert.

Black mtn (Shiloah mtn) I'm not even sure of it's "real" name if it has one. ,,,,,,,


I don't know, there is just something unique and special about it to me.

What do you say?

Wheeler being hidden by some clouds.

Nila

It's been a rough year for my family's cats. Zach (pictured below courtesy of Sharon) went missing this summer. Zach was 14 years old and my brother David was very attached to him.


Rose also went missing, she was 2. (Pictures courtesy of Sharon)
Rose as a kitten.
So now the only cats left are Nila, Lily, and Nigel.

This is Nila, she's kind of a busy body.

Always has to be where the action is.

She also knows where the food is and who brings it.

Preparing for Sukkot

Tonight is Erev Sukkot and so the first day of Sukkot will be tomorrow AND that means that some people will be camping out at night under the stars for a week. These are the brave, brave souls. Mostly for the House of Aaron we set up a tent at the home base (ha) and they eat meals in there instead of camping outside cause it's freaking cold. I'm afraid that while I'm SLC it's business as usual for the most part, but we were there while they were setting up the tent.

Dave, Kenneth and Emily waiting for the work to start.

Measuring everything out.
You saw it here first ladies and gentlemen!
I kid, I kid......we know you're a hard worker Ken!
Breanna trying it out.

Christian and Latham giving it a shot.


Dad wondering why I'm taking pictures instead of helping. Heh. ;-)

My little boy wondering why he's sitting on a cold sidewalk.
Luckily Kenneth is a nice uncle and took him to grandma and grandpa's where it was warm.

Going up.

Tightening the loose ends

Putting up the walls. Voila!

I didn't get any pictures of the final product because we were in a hurry to get home, but since we're going back to celebrate this weekend I'll have more pictures.