We are so pleased Kylei our oldest grandchild wanted to join her mother Autumn our eldest daughter to pay us a visit while here in Vermont on our mission. They landed in Burlington just as the skies were clearing off. We actually had snowflakes falling for most of the day rather than leaves. However, we awoke to a beautiful clear blue sky so typical of October. We were able to enjoy delightful fall weather to tour the local spots we took most of our family to visit as well as a trip to Maine. We have come to love Maine's villages, harbors and lighthouses and we were glad we could take them to the coast since most of the color around our place was gone. We ended up seeing four neat lighthouses including the Portland Headlight which is the oldest lighthouse in Maine.

Josh our middle son and Emily his wife who live in our home and take care of our place while we are on our mission came out to see us during U.E.A. They stayed with us but also spent a night in Montreal, Canada. We were very happy the fall colors were so bright when they arrived. We think the colors peaked about the time they came. We had fun taking them to Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream plant as well as Cold Hollow where they press fresh cider. We knew Josh really likes apple juice and thought they would enjoy the cider and cider donuts they continuiously make there.

During the first week of October our youngest daughter Rebecca & her husband Dave came from Star Valley, Wyo. and Nate our eldest son & Kelly his wife came from Salt Lake City. We were able to reserve the upstairs of the Baxter Mt. Bed and Breakfast for them. It is located in an attractive valley just a mile or so out of Sharon, Vt. and is situated right along a lovely brook that would entice any fisherman. It was fortuitous that the owner was a cyclist which provided some common ground among the guys. We were also pleased the bed and breakfast was close by and the owner let us join the kids for breakfast the first morning.

Due to computer problems here at the Memorial office and a very busy month of October we have not done any blogging for some time. October has always been our favorite month and this one was extra special with lots of our family coming out to visit us. It started off with Caroliene our middle daughter and her husband Travis coming at the end of September when the fall colors were making their first big change.

We had a great morning for a hike up to the top of Patriarch Hill which is the highest point on the church's property. They really appreciated the awesome view of the Rumpled Hills of Vermont just putting on their autumn dress and the attractive farmstead just beyond the top of the hill. There were still a few Blackberries for them to pick and taste. Our hike was an absolutely perfect way to begin their stay.