Hey, Grandma!

 

Sunset on the Arizona Strip

 Peggy and I were coming back from St. George the other evening when we spotted this sunset.  Had to stop and take a picture!  That's Mt. Trumbell on the left.

Opening Day 2020

Opening day 2020 found us once again out on the sands watching the sun come up.  And once again no seeing anything but a few does.  We weren't alone in that regard however, I only heard one gunshot all morning! It has been so hot and dry this summer I think the deer are all scattered out and haven't moved down yet.

The Boys!

Lunch!

 

Fall Leaves

 Sunday the leaves were starting to turn and by Wednesday (yesterday) they had started to come down.

I hope the rest come quickly so we only have to rake once!

God's Latest Gift To Our Family

 

William Benjamin Schmutz, the latest addition to our family!

On Saturday, Sept 12, Kaylee and Danny went to  Dixie Regional Medical Center.  Peggy and I drove down later in the morning and spent the afternoon doing some errands and visiting with Carlene and Don, all the while getting regular reports on Kaylee's condition.  Because we couldn't go in the hospital, we drove up to the parking lot and Danny directed us to the north parking lot on the west side of the hospital where we could see the window on the 2nd floor where all the action was taking place.

We couldn't see more than the head and shoulders of Danny and the staff, but we could tell when things were getting close when more nurses and the Dr. came in.  We opened the tailgate of the care and felt like we had a ringside seat!

Danny holding newborn William Benjamin!

A brand new spirit reserved for the latter days and his mother!

...and his proud father!

...and we can't forget Grandma!

While we weren't able to see the baby that night or the next day, we were able to go down Monday after they got home from the hospital and hold the baby for a little while.  I can't begin to describe what a blessing he is, especially in light of the 2020 we have had!  

A Special Day for a Special Girl

Ruby and Jared leaving the waters of baptism 

while Stella and Juliet look on.

In a location reminiscent of the Waters of Mormon, Ruby was baptized by her father on August 6, 2020.   

Because of the ongoing effects of the pandemic shutdown, Ruby was able to be baptized in a small pond east of Heber City.  The ceremony was short and simple, with an opening prayer, the baptism, and the confirmation.  It was a beautiful and special occasion.

Joyride!

An Unexpected Break

Peggy and I have spent the last week in Plain City with Sarah and her family.  Originally, the plan was to go to the Middle East, but we had to cancel that trip (thank heaven we bought trip insurance!) because of Peggy's knee.  Then the plan was for me to go to Haiti again and Peggy to spend the week here with Sarah.  Then the Haiti trip was canceled due to political unrest in that unfortunate country.  I had already scheduled the week off and so we both came up.

We really haven't done a whole lot here but enjoy our time away.  We have gone to a couple of DI's and done a little shopping, but that's about it.  And it's been nice.  Today, after the girls went to Hobby Lobby and I spent some time in Sportsman's Warehouse we stopped at the old train station in Ogden and visited the John M. Browning Museum.  A lot of firearm designs came out of that man.

Heaton and Grandma enjoying a little Hallmark together!

Fall Colors

Stole this picture from Uncle Andy

That Time Of Year

The third Saturday of October is practically a religious holiday in the state of Utah.  It marks the start of the mule deer rifle hunt.  Gone are the days when you could just walk in to the store and buy a tag and hunt anywhere in the state with it.  This year Danny was the only one in the family that drew out.

Early Saturday morning found us east of Red Knoll on the sands.  We saw the sun come up, but that's about all we saw!

The boys checking out a bunch of does.  When they are standing under or behind the trees it's sometimes hard to make out if they have antlers or not.  We did this several times on Saturday but eventually returned home empty-handed.

We went out again on Wednesday.  Andy went with Dan in the morning, but again they saw only does.  I went with him in the afternoon and after hunting for a couple of hours spotted a doe so we stopped the Nissan and watched as 6 or 7 does came out from behind some trees, and after a pause, came a buck.  it stopped for just a second and Danny took advantage of the three-point"s hesitation and shot.

One thing about road hunting is you don't have to drag the deer very far!  After cleaning it out it was a short 150 feet or so back to the Nissan.

Once the shot is fired and the deer goes down, the work begins.  By the time we got back home, Andy cleared a space in the shed to hand the deer and begin to skin it.  This is the first time I have ever hung one head first and it will be the last.  We ended up flipping the deer to make the job easier.

Whatever you think about hunting it does bring a family together for an annual tradition.  I don't know how many deer camps we passed but there were a lot of people out there enjoying family and the wonderful area we get to call home.  It was especially good to go Saturday with all the boys (but Matt, who thought he'd rather be in Disneyland!) .