A busy month home

I can't believe it has been a whole month.  We have been much busier than I thought we'd be and the month home has flown by.  Now we are counting down and getting ready to get back to the boat.  This past week I have been getting excited about getting back to our boat life though I will miss everyone so much.
So what did we do while we were in Utah?  Good question.  I think I will make a list, because lists make me feel like I am so productive. Here goes:
*Dehydrated about 4 bushels of apples (or maybe 3 bushels and a peck)
*Went to a movie for the first time in four months
*Sewed curtains for the boat (hope they fit)
*Helped remodel my parent's bathroom (painted walls, painted cabinets, new flooring, new fixtures, new molding, etc )
*Helped Emily to arrange and take 4 finals for her online high school (all A's-she rocks!)
*A huge sprinkler re-do project at our Heber home - long story regarding changed property lines that I won't go into because it makes me grumpy to think about.
*Went to a BYU football game (we've missed those) and hosted our favorite Martin family from Las Vegas for a weekend.
*Went to the shooting range.
*Went on motorcycle rides (Will was kind enough to let us borrow his Harley)
*Went on four wheeler rides with the kids
*Went to the Temple three times
*Got Jack ready for a mission -HUGE ( Dr. appts, Dentist appts, wisdom teeth out, mission prep classes, paperwork, Bishop and Stk. Pres. interviews) It is all done!
*Visited Temple Square to see the Christmas lights
*Played with friends and family
*Thanksgiving with both our families
*Cooked and baked most of the stuff we were missing on the boat
*Got to play in the snow
*Lost my tan (after about the first week back to Utah-pretty pathetic)

Here are a few pictures of some of our activities of this past month:

We had a big snow storm in early November and the gang had fun playing in it with our limited supply of snow gear.  Cold!

 

Jack was really a trooper for the wisdom teeth fun. He didn't complain and did everything I told him to. He was such a good patient.

 

He is going to be a great missionary. We are getting excited for him.

 

Thanksgiving day was a lot of fun.  We started the day in Nephi with a family football game that morning, had a family talent show (per Jaci's awesome idea) and did some karaoke together.  And of course had an amazing meal thanks to Grandma and Wendy.

 

 Then we headed up to Midway to see my family to have dessert-yummy pies and for the kids to make their annual gingerbread houses with their cousins.

 

 

 

A visit to Temple Square with the Rasband gang

 

 

 We had some really awesome weather while we were here.  Other than a couple of days of snow early in the month, it was so nice and not to cold. We were thankful for that, because, after living in Florida, we had become babies about being cold. This was taken just a few days ago.  Who would have thought the weather would be good enough in late November to take off the shirts?  This is Noah and his buddy Daniel (our niece Jessica's son)  They had a ball throwing their shirts for some kind of game.

 

More good weather fun.  The kids had a big battle in Grammy's backyard and it was quite the set up with the playground and tree house as bases and shields, sticks, and the works.  They had a ton of fun.

 

 

Now we are counting down. One more day in Utah and then it is back to the boat.  The plan now is to scrub and clean the boat, buy supplies, and watch for some good sailing weather and set out.  Wish us luck.