TGIF

Some days

Doesn't this say it all?!

(Card by Hallmark - sent by Alicia!)

A Little Before and After

Thanks Natalie!

Before

AFTER

Isn't she lovely!

Isn't she wonderful?!

(Stevie Wonder)

Homecoming '09 - Things I Learned

1) They are nervous and they will not eat*...

Not the appetizers

Not the pizza

Not the dessert

2) Because of #1 you will be left with LOTS of leftovers.

3) Because there are girls there will be giggling and shrieking.

4) It is possible for 8 girls to all fit into the downstairs bathroom.

5) It is not so much about the dance - more about the preparations..

The drama

The dresses

and

The getting ready

6) Natalie has amazing hair skills!

7) You will be intimidated by the other mothers.

8) Let's face it - Freshmen are somewhat awkward.

9) We would do it all again!

10) Tonic Water and Carbonated Water are 2 different things.

11) Homecoming takes 2 posts!

*Alicia tried to warn us

Menu:

Crudite Platter

Cheese Platter

Pizza

Salade Maison

Amazing Cheesy Garlic Bread

(Pioneer Woman/Stick of Butter Cookbook)

Italian Sodas

Desserts by another Parent

Kettle Korn

Our ultimate retirement plan is to hit the fair/festival/carnival/fiesta/gala and jamboree circuit with a Kettle Korn stand. We hope our dear friends Mont and Kristy are still planning to join us! However, after seeing the colonial-dressed Waterford Kettle Korn proprietors I realized that we might need to begin investing in some costumes - colonial, western, renaissance, etc.

As far as a business plan goes - I think Em's face is an indication that we would do well!

Washington crossed the Delaware....

We crossed the Potomac!

This is a picture from our trip to Waterford - I love the way that the GPS puts the car right in the middle of the Potomac river! I also love the "You have left the road" DANGER icon. For some reason (I guess because I know we are safe) it always makes me smile.

October Outing

Thanks to Kristi for the heads up regarding the Waterford Homes Tour and Crafts Exhibit. I had heard about it before but in my map-addled brain thought that it was hours and hours away (just like the mall - girls).

It wasn't and we took advantage of a school 1/2-day to attend.

The entire village is filled with picturesque homes

and amazing crafts-persons.

No matter where we go, we manage to take a picture of Craig on a work-related phone call (the beach, Disneyland, etc.)
this outing was no different.

Look who is reading the Twilight series?!

I have already posted my thoughts about Twilight (in case you missed it the first time). Fun to rediscover these photos from the summer. I don't think she was quite ready to admit that she was reading the series and enjoying it?! Where have I gone wrong?

Full disclosure: I have only read Twilight. (I think the post referenced above explains it all.)

Movin' on In (and Up)!

Sisters, Housing, Drive-by Photo

Ahh, Sonic!

Another August Photo

Another Back-to-School Pic

Another Happy Student!

UC Class of 2012

Pretend it is still August...

Yes it is dark when we leave for school...


Pretend it is August - the days are hot and humid,
the lazy days of summer are coming to an end.
Your thoughts are beginning to focus on back-to-school shopping.


See, this photo is right on time!



Where does the time go?
She is ready for high school,
we hope high school is ready for her!

A Century of Sanctuary

Why am I still posting summer stuff? 1) because this blog is a partial attempt to document our lives and I am still documenting and 2) I am slow!

This is about the end of the summer stuff however - one more post at some point about our wedding bands.

Em and C with the Zion tunnel stick. We always hope for either

no wait at the tunnel or the stick!

Things you might have overheard if you hung-out with us this summer...


Palmerduck!

Hey buddy, you need to put down the knife!

Blind-y and Complain-y (Nertz)

Lesson Learned

Kaibab Squirrel

? Pants (ask Em or C)

Is that bird dead?

They are MY shoes

The guy in HR said what?

Nobody should have to live in poo for a month... (Planet Earth DVD)

Torsion

Hit Me

Where is the train?

Zion NP was celebrating their 100th anniversary this year. I loved that their theme was:

"A Century of Sanctuary"

The word sanctuary means a sacred or holy place, a place of refuge. We are privileged to spend our summers nearby and have truly found sanctuary there. We come home refreshed and renewed. It truly is a sanctuary for us.

End of The Road

Em and I closed things down - and she (mostly) hung in there with me!

It was a lot of work and I missed all of the extra hands that are usually there.

Craig and Cara went home early to prepare for a tonsillectomy.

Pics of E...

1) taking out the trash

2) reaching for a couple of aluminum cans that rolled into the back of the trunk

(we always stop in LaVerkin and dump a copious

number of cans into the scout collection bin)
I go crazy every summer with the lack of recycling

in Utah - perhaps fodder for another post?!


3) eating like a queen at Mickey D's while meeting up with Kristy!

Summer Sunset

More than ever before I hated to see this summer stay come to an end.

It was the perfect combination of family and friends.

My View and What I Do!

Early mornings are one of my favorite times at the cabin. I love slipping outside when everyone is still asleep and sitting on the deck. It is shaded and cool, and there is almost always a bit of a breeze.

My view

What I do...



Most mornings found me with:

• a book (reading Germinal, by Emile Zola for book group),
• my phone (just to keep track of the time - no cell service),
• the house phone in case someone calls
• the remote so that I can listen to music on the deck
• a knitting project*
• a copy of the Book of Mormon
• notebook - prepping for early-morning seminary

*Delicious yarn and pattern, found at this fun shop in Kanab
- thanks V for spotting it and telling me about it!)

It's a big backyard!

Menu Falls

Named because a picture of the falls

was on the cover of the original Zion Lodge menu.

One evening we drove into the canyon for a small-group guided tour of the valley's flora, fauna, and geology. To be honest, Kristy and I were more interested in the Ranger's personal life story We know she came as an intern, she is getting her MA in education, she is engaged/married to another ranger - people, enough with the questions about the geological formations in the park - ask how she met her husband.

The back of our bus and Em - reminding you that

squirrels are vicious wild animals!!!

Have I mentioned I Heart GC

The Grand Canyon

as viewed from Cape Royale (North Rim).

The best view of the canyon from either rim in my opinion

(which is knowledgeable, educated, irrefutable and humble).

Special thanks to R&V&D for braving the drive...

We really are a ways from civilization!


We Will Remember:

*Harry Potter

*Tri-Tip and Grilled Corn

*Dominoes

*R&R

*Being pulled over?!

Family Fun

The Family Fun without pictures:

Surprise Visit D&E, M&B

Janes Family Reunion - Thanks, Linda!

Superb Accommodations - Thanks, Mom and Dad

Much Golfing

Much Pounce

Only Happy-Ending Movies

This post would be longer but without pictures

I am missing 1,000's of words!

(...if a picture truly is worth a thousand words...)

Brotherly Love

Lagoon '09

The Many Faces of Cara

Family Fun!

Must finish summer post(s)...

381 Miles + One Long Day =

Family Picnic + Temple Open House + Wedding Reception

Family picnic at Liberty Park right before Shauna was whisked away to the airport. I'm not sure what happened to all of the other photos. Apparently I was only interested in documenting the fact that Alicia, Bub, Miriam and Regan were in attendance?!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House - apologies to anyone who might have seen me trying to change out of jeans into a dress in the parking lot. Hopefully my well positioned posterity outside of the car was enough to hide my posterior. Did I mention that it was HOT and I thought I was going to have a coronary. As soon as I sat down in the "pre-open-house-tent" I felt a feeling of calm wash over me - it might have been the fact that there were industrial-size fans and cold water! In reality it was more than that - I actually started tearing up before the video even started. I love the temple!

The tour was self-guided and not very crowded. It was beautiful - the wood trim, the murals, the paintings, and the fabrics were gorgeous. Thanks to Elisa for telling us about the glass medallions. My favorite was all of the upholstery fabrics - very modern - I refrained from touching although I wanted to. The interior design reminded me of a home - appropriate don't you think. Sweet to sit in the sealing room with our girls.

Love the pic of Craig pondering the mysteries of life :)

The day was far from over when we went to a wedding reception for a young man from our home ward. It was fun to see him, his family and his bride. None of my pictures of the happy couple turned out. The only picture that did turn out was with a family from the ward that moved west a couple of years ago. It was such a treat to see them and to get caught up - if only a little :)


I quick detour to Syracuse, dinner with more family and a drive north finished off our long day!

Angel Moroni - Guardian Angel?

I'm interrupting our vacation recap for a story that I saw last night on the local news.

Because I am technologically challenged I only know one way to do this...

click here

Then click on the camera icon for the story

"Dump Truck Dumps Two Wheels on SUV"

and watch until the very end.

Gunsmoke, Petroglyphs and Ants, Oh My!

Update: Thanks to an ornithologically-inclined younger brother the dead bird has been identified as a female black-headed grosbeak. Thanks Darin! May she rest in peace.


I love it when our schedule is no schedule. One day found us headed towards Kanab and the old Gunsmoke set located east of town. I am starting to think I can justify a better camera than my trusty digital point-and-shoot since so many of the things I want to take pictures of are on private property. Either a new camera or a reckless desire to jump the fence so that I can get closer. There are some nice petroglyphs (yes, located on private property) not too far from the Gunsmoke set. There is also what I think might be Southern Utah's first billboard advertising Jensen and Brooksby Store and Garage.


We found some beautiful fields of sunflowers on our way to the Gunsmoke set and the petroglyphs - so pretty - they would make a beautiful background for photographs. Again the problem of private property. Dinner at the Rewind Diner (we ate with Betty Boop) - yummy! My burger had a creamy dill relish - unbelievable! Cara fell in love with hamburgers and sampled Apple Beer.

Sadly, a bird flew into one of our picture windows on the deck. I was hoping that it was stunned but several hours later there were several signs that it was indeed dead (I will not mention any of the specific signs - but trust me, it was dead). I scooped it into a dust bin and after a prayer in my heart I released its spirit to the great bird heaven in the sky and its mortal remains to the gulch behind the cabin.

I have been trying to figure out what kind of bird it was - a sparrow of some sort perhaps, but have been unable to identify it. Any birders?

Ghost Hunters

Grafton, Utah

Settled originally in 1859 and abandoned in 1921, Grafton is a fabulous window to the past. You really do get a sense of it being a real ghost town. It still feels somewhat inhabited to me. It isn't hard to imagine what life might have been like in this town along the Virgin River.

Visting the cemetary is a stark reminder of life and death and hardship in the late 1800's. There are so many children's graves. Perhaps the saddest is one tombstone for two girls who were friends. They both died when the log holding their swing fell on them.

If you are interested in a Grafton ghost story - this link tells a story regarding the two girls mentioned above. The music is performed by Red Rock Rondo as part of an album that celebrates Zion Canyon. The songs were written based on oral histories of people from the area.

The cd/music and histories are wonderful.

I thought I was a grown up...

When are you old enough not to have your feelings hurt?

Craig is always reminding me:

No good deed goes unpunished!

I have never liked that quote and I always give him

a bad time when he says it...

Why

is

it

too

often

true?

If I could Hi(k)e to Kolob...

Kolob Canyon is a beautiful somewhat hidden treasure that is part of Zion National Park. We highly recommend it if traveling between St. George and Cedar City.

No crowds, no shuttle and amazing scenery...

Remember that one summer when both C and E packed the same pair of tennis shoes to wear on the hikes?

After countless arguments, I think this is what happened...

E put a pair in the shared suitcase (for herself) and C saw them and thought "How thoughtful of E to put my shoes in the suitcase." Needless to say there were fireworks when E came down wearing them on the day we planned to Hi(k)e to Kolob.

Yikes! Seems funnier now than it did then. Note the sad C face...

We had few options:
1) one person wear them and the other go without
2) each person wear one shoe
3) no one wears them and you hike in flip flops

We (meaning I) settled on #3 - (it wasn't a strenuous hike - although shoes would have been both recommended and preferred). I had to smile/laugh to myself when they were stopped by an elderly lady (you knew it would be) on the path who commented on their unlikely footwear.

When will they learn?

Craig had the quote of the day after hiking (yes in flip-flops) to the Timber Creek Outlook.

"I actually think the view is just as good from the parking lot."

Now that A doesn't live in Cedar City anymore the only reason to go there is to see the Shakespearean Festival (and our friends the K's) - particularly since the Sonic is closed. It is embarrassing to admit that we actually drove there just for the Sonic - sometimes you just need a Route 44 Diet Coke with extra ice and vanilla flavoring. Unfortunately we had not been notified that the Sonic was closed :(

Seeing Signs

Signs of our Times...

This is the east entrance sign - we actually see the Leaving Zion sign first and then see this sign in our rear view mirror - when I see it it means we are almost home!

Private property -

on the fence outside the old Gunsmoke Set outside of Kanab (more pics later)

Oquirrh Mountain Temple (pics and post to follow)



In an effort to skirt some obscure law affecting their ability to advertise with a permanent sign - - ZP creatively parked a very movable sign at the North Fork turn-off. All summer we debated the propriety of dropping the girls off for the afternoon and paying them to hang out in the trailer handing out ZP info to passing tourists - maybe they could have sold sno-cones as well?!

This is one of my favorite signs - I've been meaning to take a picture of it for several years. It just seems like a really bad idea to me to be able to buy lotto tickets, guns, ammo and beer all at this Fredonia Gas Station - yes, you can buy highly-flammable gasoline there as well.

Sounds like the beginning of a bad episode of Cops...

...Gee, Officer, I only stopped to buy gas and then I thought, hey, why not buy a gun today. Then I decided to try my luck with the lotto, and with my $25 scratch-off winnings I grabbed some ammo and started in on a 6-pack. On my way to my truck I ran into this guy who used to date my ex-wife and well, things just kinda got outta control...

Great sign - Em took this as we headed toward the airport.

Sadly it seemed a little too appropriate that morning.