October Update

I can't believe how time flies and that it's already been a month since we last posted! I'm kind of kicking myself for not doing this sooner because I think I've forgotten some of the things we've done. If I find I did forget something, I guess we'll post it later. We've been living in Washington now for 3 months. It's been wonderful to be here with Nate's family and we're really grateful for their kindness and hospitality. We're still not sure when we'll have a place of our own, but both of our jobs are stable and we're saving up money and for that we are very grateful. Okay so here are some of the things we've done in the past month:

*We went to Nate's cousin's wedding reception at the Woodland Park Zoo. It was really different but very cool. The reception was all set up in the exhibit for the grizzly bear and the river otters. Even though it was dark outside, the grizzly bear was still up and playing in the water that we could see through the glass. The bear literally came right up next to the glass! It was huge!! Kind of scary at night thinking it was just a window pane away from us. Anyways, the reception was nice and it was good to see some family.

*Nate and I were asked to speak on "leading by example" at church the week or two before Conference (can't remember which one). Two talks in one year is enough for me...lol. I guess that's what happens though when you keep moving into different wards. The talks went well, despite the fact that we each only had 5 minutes since there was a lot of ward business and the last speaker was a missionary leaving on his mission.

*Over General Conference weekend (which was amazing!!) we went to Nate's grandma's house with a bunch of the extended family to watch it. In between sessions on Saturday we went to Salmon Days, a fair in Issaquah. It's a huge flea market with food, vendors, and bands playing, all celebrating the salmon coming back up stream to mate and lay their eggs. They have a big facility that regulates the fish and you can see them through the glass around the bins going up the fish ladder. It was really cool to see! I've never seen that before so it was a neat experience.

*Nate and I were also finally given callings in our ward here. Nate is Ward Organist..surprise, surprise, and he's been doing wonderful at it! Honestly he is so very talented and it brings a great spirit to the meetings!! I was called as the Sunday School teacher for the 12-14 year olds. My first teaching calling! I am loving it so far, but have found that it's very hard to teach exactly the way I picture it in my head, especially with a bunch of chatty teens. It'll be a great learning experience for me for sure.

*Last Saturday we went to my cousin Kyan Skeem's wedding at the Seattle Temple. It was so beautiful! It was my first time attending a sealing at the temple other than my own. It was also so very great to see all of my cousins that I haven't seen for years! I couldn't remember anyone's names but I was so happy to be around family at the temple. I also was able to see Galen and Anita's offices at the temple. That was a great experience too.

*This Saturday is our wards Trunk or Treat and Nate and I are planning on dressing up like pirates and decorating our car that way. Nate's been trying to figure out how to build an air cannon that we can put dry ice in and have it blast out puffs of "smoke." It's going to be so good!

Anyways, that's about it so far. We've mostly just been working and doing family stuff or church stuff. I will try to be better at keeping up and hopefully I have pictures on the next post!