Oh, the worders of fall time in Oregon. A quick trip to Oregon created some meaningful experiences and memories. Wendy and team were running in the Dellinger Invitational in Springfield, only a few miles from my mom's home. This was a high caliber meet featuring many of the top ranked XC teams in the country, including Wendy's 16th ranked BYU Cougars. The exausting 9 hours of travel time to get there were well worth the effort. The time I was able to spend with family, friends, and the team, as well as bask in the wonderful fall feel in Oregon, was reguvinating for me. The incessant rain and fog parted just in time for the race. Wendy's team finished 5th of the 15 teams running. The team, coach, and some other parents gathered at grandma's home afterward for a big meal.

A great weekend with great people.

Bill

A Tale of Two Volleyball Teams

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times, a fitting description of this weekend's volleyball matches. Friday's match at Eureka proved to be a successful outing for the Mustangs who won all three games of the 3 of 5 match. They seemed to play with ease and executed their game plan perfectly.

Saturday, however, was another matter with Alamo taking 3 games out of the 3 of 5 match in Lund's gym. That Alamo needs a sound spanking and I, for one, am looking forward to the day. Brita is having a great time and really enjoying her senior year of volleyball.

Her exploits as Senior president are allowing her to take on the leadership role with activities and fundraising.

Aloha from Hawaii

Wendy was able to spend Tuesday through Saturday in Hawaii with her team. Snorkeling, visiting Pearl Harbor, the Polynesian Cultural Center, and running on Waikiki Beach were just a few of many activities she enjoyed. And, to top it all off, she ran in a cross country race on a golf course right next to the ocean. Wendy took 5th place in the 4K race with over 65 runners from 6 or 7 other schools. Her time was 15:00 flat. She ran well enough to be invited to the Bill Dellinger Invitational which will take place in Springfield, Oregon. The Oregon race will be this Saturday (29) at 9:15 am and will include many top programs in the country. Maybe Wendy will send some of her pictures from Hawaii to post.

Amidst all of the travel, she still keeps up on her studies which hasn't been easy. She has to make special arrangements with her professors and most seem to be cooperative. She is enjoying her new apartment and roommates and likes her ward. She is the chair of the Friendship Committee. She is also involved in a dinner group of 12 people who take turns cooking dinners for the group. Apparently she has met some very fascinating/quirky people in this group.

Soccer Dude

Gabe is having a great time playing soccer and getting lots of good exercise.

Soccer Schedule: (all matches in Ely)

Sept.22

Oct. 2

Oct. 6

Oct. 13

Carol's Homecoming and Wendy's Next Adventure

On a beautiful Saturday morning, September 8th, Wendy ran in the Autumn Classic Invitational at BYU. The race was held at East Bay Golf Course in Provo. Several high school and the women's and men's college races took place. Wendy ran well, (but not as well as she wanted to) coming in 32nd overall and 12th on her team. She ran the 5K course in 19:24. However, she ran well enough to be invited to go to. . . . . HAWAII!!!!! In fact, she is in Hawaii as I write this post. We look forward to hearing about all of her tropical adventures. Her race is this Saturday at 7:30 am local time. Good luck Wendy and hang loose!

The four boys and family welcomed Carol home from her mission to the Washington D.C. Temple. We really enjoyed hearing her report of her varied experiences. Always on the go, when asked what her next adventure would be, she replied that she would go home and lie down on her couch. (Somehow we doubt that).

Brita Makes All-Tournament Team

Brita was selected as a member of the all-tournament team at the Lake Mead Classic volleyball tournament last weekend in Las Vegas. One player from each team was selected by the coaches from other teams. Always modest, Brita was suprised at the honor of being selected. Those that know her attitude, talent, and work ethic were not suprised. She also recieved a pretty shiny trophy. The tournament which featured 8 teams took place Sept 7-8 at Lake Mead High School. After not playing their best Friday night, the Mustangs roared back to take 3rd place on Saturday.



This weekend the Mustangs traveled to the Austin Invitational Volleyball Tournament to take on 5 other teams. The Mustangs came out victorious winning all of their games and taking home the 1st place trophy!
October schedule:

• October 5 Lund @ The Henderson International School
• October 6 Lund @ Trinity
• October 12 Indian Springs @ Lund
• October 13 Calvary Chapel @ Lund
• October 16 White Pine @ Lund
• October 19 Lund @ Round Mountain
• October 25 Beatty @ Lund

November:

Region Tournament Nov 2-3 TBA

State Tournament Nov 9-10 TBA

White Pine Volleyball Tournament

Brita played in her first volleyball tournament of the season. Playing 5 matches allowed the team some good playing experience to kick off their season.

• 
  
  Aug 31 Lund @ Lincoln


• 
  
  Sept 1 Sandy Valley @ Lund


• 
  
  Sept 7-8 Lake Mead Tournament


• 
  
  Sept 14-15 Austin Tournament


• 
  
  Sept 21 Lund @ Eureka


• 
  
  Sept 22 Alamo @ Lund


• 
  
  Sept 28 Tonopah @ Lund


• 
  
  Sept 29 Lund @ White Pine

I don't have October handy right now, but we'll keep you posted.

Off to School

It's hard to believe that another school year has rolled around. Brita, the senior, James, the 7th grader, and Gabe, the 3rd grader, are now fully engaged in their academic studies. School hours are: 7:30- 3:38 Monday through Thursday. Everyone seems to be enjoying school so far. Bill says, "We have a pretty good group of kids and my chemistry class is consuming my life." I'm looking forward to getting organized while everyone else is occupied.

Wendy and I made the trip back to BYU Sunday evening. She was looking forward to getting back with her friends. We all had such a great summer together this year, it was hard to see her go. She will be attending her cross country retreat this week in Park City with classes beginning after Labor Day. We don't know which meets she will be running in yet, but will keep you posted.

Hiking the Ruby Mountains

Wendy was itching to go on another hike before she heads back to school next week. We decided the Ruby Mountains was the place to go. Remote, beautiful, somewhat close, and moderately challenging, the Rubies fit the bill. The Rubies are situated southeast of Elko, about a 31/2 hour drive for us. It's like traveling to Switzerland in your own backyard (well almost). Gabe and Brita stayed behind. Gabe because we didn't think he was up to the big hikes and Brita because she didn't want to miss volleyball practice.

We camped Thursday night in a forest service campground and were actually surprised at the number of campers already there. It seems the secret of the Rubies is no secret after all. The crowds were nothing like a national park, however, which was what we were trying to avoid. If I repeat how spectacular the scenery is, you'll have to forgive me. I cannot say it enough without sounding repetitive.

We did two hikes Friday. Each were 4 miles round trip. The first hike up Thomas Canyon offered spectacular views of Wendy's new favorite mountain, Mt Fitzgerald at 11,215 ft. After some encouragement to James, we then drove further up the canyon to hike to Lamoille Lake. After switch backing our way up past varied wildflowers and ancient pines, we arrived at the high alpine lake. We were wishing we had our swimsuits, but nevertheless, we enjoyed the scenery and the rest.

My only complaint about this whole experience was, why don't we do this more often!?!?! Oh, and we were a little sore the next day.

Gabe's Broken Arm

3 Little monkeys swinging on the clothesline. One fell off and broken his arm... Gabe. The night before leaving for the Quayle reunion, Gabe and his friends were doing acrobatics and unfortunately for Gabe, the ground was harder than his radius. Bill took him up to our circus of a hospital and was told he had a buckle fracture. After much insisting on Bill's part, he was given the x-rays and sent home with a splint. Dr. Orchard examined the x-rays at the reunion and suggested his fracture was more serious than we were lead to believe and suggested his arm be casted. Hopefully we will get a second opinion this week.

Fun at the Quayle Reunion

We had a great time at the Quayle Reunion. It was fun to get reacquainted with everyone once again. Mom and Dad, Jill, and our car load all arrived at approximately the same time. (around 5:30) First on the agenda was the picnic at one of Boise's many beautiful parks. After navigating a couple of other large gettogethers, we found the Quayle clan. Fried chicken, salads, chips, fruit, rolls, and drinks were the fare. Everyone milled around and visited with one another while the younger crew played on the large blown up fun slide that was set up for the occasion. It was nice to see Grandma Cunnington there. She seemed pretty perky, but a little overwhelmed by it all. Golf teams were organized and plans made for Saturday. Linda Orchard loaded us up with what seemed like 30 lbs of chicken and rolls to take back to our motel.

Saturday, Bill, Wendy, and I all went jogging along the spectacular parkway (paved trail along the river). Our motel was right on the river. I saw a family of 5 raccoons enjoying the quiet morning before the trail became a busy highway of bikers, runners, and walkers later in the day.

Bill joined his golf team (Roger Marti, Danny Orchard, and Dan Price) and we were off to the zoo with Grandma, Grandpa, and Jill. "Zoo Boise" is just the right size for those who lose interest in zoos after approximately 90 minutes. Some of our favorites were the Tamarinds (little monkeys who look like Albert Einstein), Ocelots (small spotted South American cats) and the butterfly exhibit with several species of butterflies flying about your head and landing on anything they find inviting. After exploring the zoo, our lunch consisted of some of the 30 lbs of chicken.

Bill's golf outing proved to be quite gratifying as his team shot a 62 (10 under par!) to win the golf championship. Bill scored the longest drive netting him an Idaho spud golf ball.

After much confusion with directions, we made it to the Fiesta dinner at an LDS church. It was a festive mood as we all chowed down on Mexican food. The program, as always, was highly entertaining as Dennis (yes, Dennis Orchard) gave a funny spoof of a letter supposedly written between Don and Doug Quayle in their younger days. Mom doing the annual "Old McDonald had a Farm" bit with Betty stealing the show as the cow (or was it cat?). Many other infamous and not so infamous acts entertained everyone greatly. Bill and the kids were ready to go back to the motel, so I stayed with Jill, Grandma, and Grandpa for the rest of the party. Unfortunately, the late schedule did not allow everyone to take part in one of the funnest parts of the reunion, Craig Marti's band. After a rousing rendition of the Kink's "You Really Got Me", we all danced the night away, getting quite crazy, I must say.

Sunday morning, we met at Doug and DeeAnn's for brunch, pictures, more reminiscing, and goodbyes. Aside from the reunion at the water slide resort in Utah, I really felt this was one of the more enjoyable reunions. I felt more of a connection with my relatives than I really have before. So, maybe we'll see you in D.C. in two years. Start saving!

New Harris Family Blog Site

Here it is! Our own family web page is now online. I'm not much of a blogger, but this may be a fun way to keep in touch. We shall see. So if anyone is a big blogger, just blog away.