Sorry about the green eyes! Here is our Monty (I know some of you are missing him). He has lost 12 pounds on his diet. He can't decide in this picture whether he is going to continue down the stairs or go back up!
Here are some new friends of ours, Eliza and Perry Farley. This is Halloween and we are meeting Perry for the first time. George Farley works with Garth in the legal office on Ft. Wainwright. Gayle is the mother of these two cuties. Eliza will be coming over for a couple of hours tomorrow (Saturday) morning while mom, dad and Perry do some Christmas shopping. One of these days we hope Perry will get to stay, too. I have this in common with Emily, I love to help out and have kids over to visit with. It's nice to be able to help people out and it helps us be a little more lively and energetic around here.
Garth, Alena Keller (a ward member) and I were in Palmer, Alaska on November 2nd & 3rd. We were there for a cannery assignment. This is a beautiful snow-covered mountain in the area. Garth and I also attended a session in the Anchorage Temple. The new Temple President and Matron are neighbors of Rosie and Craig Parker (Garth's sister) in Bountiful. Garth met both President and Sister Owen, and I introduced myself to Sister Owen after the session. They sure think Craig and Rosie are great!
Last week, Garth and I visited the Knotty Shop in Salcha, Alaska. It was getting dark and was snowing, but I did get a picture of a moose. They have quite a variety of carvings from knotty wood, as well as other gifts and novelty items.
These are not bags of trash outside, this is my new deep-freeze! I bought two turkeys and don't have any room in my freezer (remember Garth & Nick's fishing trip in August?). It is so cold here that I just left them outside for about a week. There was an article in the paper a few weeks ago about not leaving food out in the snowbank that would attract bears or moose, but we have a fenced area so I wasn't too worried. There were a couple of times that Monty started barking and I wouldn't have been too surprised to see my turkeys being carried away!
I attended a super-Saturday for Relief Society a few weeks ago. It was fun and we learned how to make these scripture bags out of placemats. I have made one for myself, Melissa, Rachel and Emily. Let me know what colors you like and I will make one for you, too.
Monty is wearing his new booties. With the weather so cold here in Fairbanks we had to get something to protect his feet. He sure did a fancy high-step when we went out on our walk. He soon got into the swing of things, we ran for a while and he did his usual 'stuff' while we were out. We have just arrived home and he is trying to get them off as quickly as possible. We didn't have much of a choice of colors, so he will be Christmasy all winter long in red and green.
This is one of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions - making 'turkeys' to give to friends. I made about 50 turkeys this year for the sister's I visit teach, the kids in seminary, and for Garth to take to work. My mom made these years ago when the kids were little and they are so fun to make.
Emily 'tagged' me so I will quickly tell six things about myself. I enjoy crafty projects - like making bags out of placemats and turkeys out of cookies and candy corn. Garth and I are hoping to make some fun wall-hangings or quilts in the near future. We have done quite a bit of moving over the past 20 years and I love meeting new people and getting to know the areas we have lived in. I think these experiences have made our lives so rich. Alaska has been an adventure so far, and we are excited about the new experiences we will continue to have up here. I love children and enjoy helping out friends and ward members by taking care of their kids for a while. It is always nice to send them home again, too. One of the new things about me is that I am teaching early morning seminary this year and absolutely love it. I know I'm not the best teacher, but I am learning to prepare the lessons to meet the interests of my class and I'm learning to relax a little as I teach so we have a fun time, too. I have 19 students in my class and miss them when they don't attend every day. I'm becoming more of a regular exerciser nowdays. After seminary, which goes from 6:30-7:20 a.m., I go to the gym on-post and work out. I like the eliptical machine and recumbant bicycle. Three days a week I have been using the nautilus machines to build some strength and muscles. The final, sixth thing about myself is, I miss you all and am so grateful for our friendship and relationship as a family. Thanks for all your love and support for us.
Emily 'tagged' me so I will quickly tell six things about myself. I enjoy crafty projects - like making bags out of placemats and turkeys out of cookies and candy corn. Garth and I are hoping to make some fun wall-hangings or quilts in the near future. We have done quite a bit of moving over the past 20 years and I love meeting new people and getting to know the areas we have lived in. I think these experiences have made our lives so rich. Alaska has been an adventure so far, and we are excited about the new experiences we will continue to have up here. I love children and enjoy helping out friends and ward members by taking care of their kids for a while. It is always nice to send them home again, too. One of the new things about me is that I am teaching early morning seminary this year and absolutely love it. I know I'm not the best teacher, but I am learning to prepare the lessons to meet the interests of my class and I'm learning to relax a little as I teach so we have a fun time, too. I have 19 students in my class and miss them when they don't attend every day. I'm becoming more of a regular exerciser nowdays. After seminary, which goes from 6:30-7:20 a.m., I go to the gym on-post and work out. I like the eliptical machine and recumbant bicycle. Three days a week I have been using the nautilus machines to build some strength and muscles. The final, sixth thing about myself is, I miss you all and am so grateful for our friendship and relationship as a family. Thanks for all your love and support for us. 
