Audrey Ford Coppola

Our niece that we actually get to hang out with every once in a while came over tonight and showed some real promise in the progressive film arena. Here she is experimenting with her first experience in front of and behind the camera.

She's very experimental right now. She is atempting to bring other senses besides sight and sound into film. She would like to incorporate taste and touch.

Casa Grande Ruins - Labor Day Weekend 9/01/08

Labor Day weekend was a busy one. We cleaned the house, installed a ceiling fan, and wrote and gave our 1st talks in our new ward. Andrew got a new calling, he is in charge of organizing trips for the boy scouts in our ward. We're both excited about it, he will do really well! By the time Monday rolled around, we were ready to get out of the house and do something. We decided to go somewhere close and discovered that there really are unique things to do in Casa Grande.

The Casa Grande Ruins, are actually located in Coolidge, AZ. The Hopi Indians use to occupy the area and build their dwellings out of pine

(which they hauled form several miles away) and other desert plants. They had early irrigation and had survived off of the fruit from the saguaro cactus, wild nuts and berries, fishing and wild game.

Afterwards we met up with his family at a local restaurant and had FHE at his sisters home. This weekend flew by, but we got a lot accomplished and had some fun in the process! We even saw Casablanca and a few other great movies. What a weekend.

Quebec, Canada (French Providence) August 16th

We stayed at the castle (chateau) that has been there since 1892. Quebec is a beautiful city, whose main language is French. Andrew had a great time speaking French! We went on a business trip with his parents and had such a wonderful time. It was a treat to see such a nice, clean, historic city. The meals, culture and deserts were rich and full of flavor! It was exciting as we quickly discovered that they were celebrating their 400th anniversary with all sorts of festivities and attractions! We saw the Island of Orleans, full of flowers, grass, Victorian style farm houses and the best ice cream in the world! We saw an artistic movie depicting the history of Quebec on an out-door screen made of silos, 80 feet wide with vibrant music. We went to the ward in Quebec and had to use head sets to hear the speakers because they all spoke in French. We even got the opportunity to see Les Miserables in French! It was so classy and the voices were phenomenal! A favorite of the trip! The waterfalls were breathtaking! It was so large, we could see it from the Island of Orlean. We ate at the best cozy restaurants, with sour-dough bread, and 4 or 5 course meals! The water, that comes from the Atlantic, the St. Lawrence River was just outside of our window, with boats and the view of the island. The water fountains were about two stories high, some looked like castles, others had historic figures. The statue duplicate of Joan of Arc was in a garden, not far from our hotel. We saw the changing of the guard and went went shopping at the local stores. They had two Christmas stores open year-long. The ornaments were so detailed and colorful!







The shops in Quebec all had flowers in their windows and the streets were full of decorations, like walking in down town Disney.

Les Miserables! You haven't seen it until you've seen it in French!

Canons outside of our hotel facing the river.

Mom & Dad shopping.








Murals were painted on several buildings, depicting the culture of the people who created the city of Quebec.

There was pieces of Indian culture strung throughout the city.

A canon ball ended up in the trunk of this tree on main street!

In the theater, before Les Miserables started.

The waterfall that was taller than Niagara Falls.

We fell asleep during the bus ride.

That goat was either in need of some attention or was fed up with the whole ordeal.

Us in front of the Chateau

The oldest cathedral inside of Quebec.

Whiting Family Reunion Mid-July

Roping at the Whiting Family Reunion.

Us in front of the old fashioned photo-back drop.

Us attempting a serious old-fashioned photo.

The Whiting Family Reunion in Show Low, AZ. We had a blast exploring the forest of Show Low and learning about Andrew's lineage. There were talent shows, an old fashioned candy store, roping, cow milking, characters, and games. A thousand people came to participate in this great event.