Football Rivalry - JC

It was October 20th 2006 and we actually didn’t have school that day for some reason but we still had a huge football game against our crosstown rival, Starrs Mill. It was a big game because this was the first year our two schools would play each other on a varsity schedule. Since Whitewater was a new high school we didn’t play 4AAAA football schedule until our school had all four grades. New schools in GA start out as just one grade and then build up to a full school over the next 4 years.

This game was big and a lot of smack talk had taken place. We were all hyped up and ready to go. When we arrived at Starr’s Mill the stands were packed. It was pretty much a sold out crowd. Around 4 or 5 thousand people were in attendance and I was super pumped. I wasn't starting but I would come in every other series.

We got down early on a long run up the middle by their QB who had committed to Navy. He was one fast white dude. It was through my hole which bothered me, but it was all good. They scored again before halftime and we went into the locker room down 14-0. During halftime a few of the seniors gave inspirational speeches and we all got pumped up again. After half-time we quickly we scored on an 80 yard bomb. This brought us within 7 points. After our first score both defenses held tight til the end of the fourth quarter. With 2 mins remaining we threw a halfback pass to our quarterback which brought the score to 13-14. We expected an extra point that would tie the game and sent it to overtime but Coach McCreary yelled, “Go for 2”. At this time we knew this play would be the game. We called a pass play but right away it went a muck. As our quarterback saw this he ran for the pylon himself. He was met at the pylon by one of the opposing players. We were unsure if he got in because it was on the other side of the field. The two seconds of doubt were ended by the referee signaling that the conversion was good and we went up 15-14! Everyone went crazy!!! It was one of the best feelings. We then held their offense the next two mins and won the game! It was definitely the most exciting game of my high school career. I will always remember this!

J.C

Return to Honduras

Last Wednesday after dropping Danika off at the MTC, I flew out to Honduras to do some mends on the temple walls down there.  We did the project in June of 2012 but the walls need mending and I was to teach the locals how to mend any future issues.  Honduras was an adventure.  It was hot and beautiful there, but the nights were hot and it’s hard to sleep.   As with all my temple projects, it has also been a trial, challenge and filled with faith, tears and lots of prayers.  But also like all my temple projects, I have seen miracles and answers to prayers.  Excerpt below from my letter to Danika.

"I also started training Gina, a sweet artist lady.  She speaks limited English and I speak very little Spanish so it was a four hour adventure...but it's amazing how much you can understand working together by ourselves.  She will come back tomorrow when the translator temple engineer is here so I can make sure she understood everything." 

In the end, things turned out well, Gina thanked me for letting her "share in the art passion" and while she didn't speak much English, I realized she understood most of what I was telling her.  The country and people are beautiful and I feel it a privilege to have been part of this temple.

 

View from my room.  I stayed in the patron housing just across the parking lot from the temple.  Safe and easy access.

 

 

 

 

Fall Memory - Hermana Jennings

When I think of autumn-time I am taken back to cheer leading and football games and being with friends and just smiling. It takes me back to those times when all I wanted was to grow up. Now I wish I could go back to that life that I thought was so "complicated",  but now i realize it was simple and carefree. Right now it is so hot here which is making it really hard to thing of a fall memory but all y'all in the states enjoy the cool weather cause it is like an oven here! haha but i love this place. Love y'all family and i hope y'all write on this blog.  I would love to hear from y'all.

Hermana jennings

Pheasant Hunt - Grandpa Jack

When I was a boy my favorite time of the year was the annual pheasant hunt. Each year the entire family, aunts, uncles, cousins, and everyone else would gather in Benjamin, Utah at the home of my Uncle Arch and Aunt Lucile Huff. In those days Benjamin was a long way away from Salt Lake. There were no freeways or high-speed roads and it was necessary to travel on a two-lane road that went through the downtown of every little community.

We would start out by going South on State Street and travel through Murray, Midvale, and Draper. After we had rounded the point of the mountain we then had to drive through American Fork, Pleasant Grove, Linden, Orem, and arrive finally in Provo. Getting through Provo always took the most time as it was a much larger city than the others. In the previously mentioned cities the highway went right down the main street of each town. Once we left Provo then had to travel through Springville and then move on to Spanish Fork. Once in Spanish Fork we turned west and drove another five miles until we have finally arrived at the Huff family home.

It took many hours for our journey and so it was quite common for us to go down the night before and stay
overnight. That was always an adventure as Norm and Lucile only had a two bedroom home. On that occasion the adults would get the beds and the couches to sleep on and the kids slept on the floor. It didnʼt matter, we were with family and everyone was excited for the opening day of the pheasant hunt. Once the appointed day had arrived we had a family ritual that we adhered to religiously. In the morning the men and boys would go out to chase and shoot rooster pheasants. During those hours the women would stay behind and prepare a huge Thanksgiving type dinner.

My aunt Lucile and my mother were both excellent cooks and the meals which were prepared were fantastic. In the afternoon everyone would go out and enjoy the walk through the fields. In addition to those who were carrying guns all the ladies and the kids would spread out and we would move through many a sugar beet field. With all of the members of our family we formed a line as much as 100 yards wide. It was quite a sight and very exciting particularly when the dogs would point out a rooster pheasant and the bird would make every effort to get away. The birds seldom prevailed and my dad and his brothers Uncle Wes and Uncle Mervin were all excellent shots.

When I was finally old enough to carry a gun I could hardly contain my excitement as pheasant hunting each year was the highlight of my year. Most kids would reckon time from Christmas to Christmas or from their birthday to birthday but not me, as far as I was concerned time was measured from pheasant hunt to pheasant hunt. I can still remember the first pheasant I ever shot and to this day I could take you to the exact
spot. I was only 12 years old at the time I felt as if I had conquered the world when in I knocked the bird down. As the years went by my cousins Martin, Paul, Sherm, Keith, and David would join my brother Al and I for the annual hunt. Some of my fondest memories of my childhood were with the entire family gathering together to enjoy one anotherʼs company, partake of a wonderful meal and to hunt pheasants.

After Judy and I were married and had a family of our own we still continued to go to Spanish Fork each year to join with other members of the family in the annual pheasant hunt. In later years we no longer met at the home of Lucile as her husband Uncle Arch had passed away. After that time it was quite common for us to assemble together at the home of my cousin Marlin Huff in Spanish Fork. Judy and I would load the kids in the car and travel there in a much shorter period of time as there were freeways and wide roads on which to travel. Also during those years I had an outstanding hunting dog, a Hungarian Vizsla. We named the dog Sandy as her AKC registered name was Sandy N. Arany. She was a great hunting dog and was very skilled at finding birds. As it was when I was a boy the family gathered and the men and boys went out in the morning to shoot birds, and the ladies fixed dinner. Once again in the afternoons we all joined together, spread out and formed a line as we marched up and down through the fields. I doubt that there are many families who enjoyed the great association that we had during those precious years. However, like everything else in life things come to an end and as the years went by fewer and fewer relatives showed up for our annual pheasant hunt. As I look back now I have very fond memories but I havenʼt picked up the shotgun in over 20 years.

Grandpa

OK - I realize these are not pheasants, but it shows the young Jack hunter and it's a great picture!

Football Fun - Jody

My autumn memory comes from the football field in 1978. It was my junior year and we had enjoyed a successful season thus far and we were preparing to play Washington County. Washington County was a new school in our district and as players we did not know what to expect from them. However we had a secret weapon, our coach Ronnie Massey.  He had played quarterback for Washington County when he was in high school and his high school coach was still their current coach. Yes Coach Boggs had been coaching Washington County for 15 years.

 I will always remember Coach Massey calling the defense together and saying. I don’t know if it will help but when I was the quarterback coach Boggs would signal in the plays to run and these are the signals. He proceeded to show us about 20 different signals that they had used when he played and what plays they represented. He told us that they may have changed the signs but he wanted us to know them just in case they had not. Well the night of the game arrived and we traveled down to Chatom to play them. The game started and we kicked off to them. Once their offense was on the field their coach signaled in the play. The offense got the play and also our defense got the play. Turns out that the signals had not changed in 15 years and we knew every play they were running. It was fun at first but then we started to feel a little guilty. They never passed the 50 yard line that night and we won 30 to 0. If only life was like that game and we always knew what to expect. 

Jody

Deer Hunting with Derek - Melinda

As I child remember our school system would get 2 days off of school for deer hunting. Seems rather odd now, but we loved to get out of school and  it didn't matter the reason. Each break dad and Derek would pack up and leave the women behind so they could go off on their big hunt. I had always wondered what deer hunting was like, but was never invited to go.  Finally in high school I decided I wanted to experience the hunt also.  So Derek consented to taking me hunting with him early one weekend morning.  When he said early I had no idea that it meant “dark”. We donned our orange attire and headed out into the blackness in search of those elusive deer. The drive the long and the hike even longer for us to reach our perch.   Our goal was to be on the mountain at dawn. I believe we achieved our goal and by then I was tuckered out and tried with no success to curl up on a large rock and go to sleep.   Derek kept telling me that I needed to be looking around for our prey to come in sight. I had that fleeting thought as I looked at the mountain across the way that if we got a deer there would be more hiking in store to go find it.  We got to see the dawn arrive, the morning and even the afternoon sun, but never did we see that elusive deer.  All was not lost I had found a jaw bone and skull of an animal and was so excited by my find.  The hunt was a success in my eyes and the prey was pretty easy to catch. Most important I was able to spend the day with my brother- the mighty hunter. ( We took a picture that day and I can remember it in my mind, but cannot seem to find it)

Pumpkin Painting Tradition - Autumn

Every Halloween my mom cuts pumpkins out of wood and we paint them. I've been doing it since I was 3 and thankfully I've gotten better at it. We have all sorts of themes to each pumpkin: Banana, pirate, cheer-leading, politics, salad, even Christmas pumpkins! (We were a little late one year) But each pumpkin is different and I  love that time with my family and we get creative and think of what we are going to  paint each year.

I'm holding the first pumpkin I every painted!

An Autumn Affair - October 2013 - Nathan

Last month I helped my roommate throw a rather large party in our backyard. In order to obtain a certain fall aesthetic we put a lot of work it it, including hours of yard work, decorating, and I built a stage and a barn facade to add a bit of atmosphere. In the end the most appealing aspect was watching everybody enjoy the party, seeing them in awe at the ambiance, laughing with friends, and listening to great music. We had three bands perform and they were all fantastic, my favorite is a good friend of mine, Kelly Bryan. I loved the entire evening because the weather was cool, we had two fires, and the sum of it created the perfect memory to bring in the Fall. Now I'm beginning to think of more ideas so this new stage in our backyard can get some more use out of it.

Nate