It must be Fall

Meg's Craft Creations (megscraftcreations.blogspot.com) is responsible for me going way outside the box and actually doing something crafty for my least favorite holiday.  I do like candy corn, however, so this is a better use for them than going in my mouth.  Thanks Megan! (10/2011)

CMA September Style

CMA this month was a hike up to Ensign Peak, which is above the Capital in Salt Lake.  It is only a half mile to the peak with an almost 400' rise in elevation.  The sad fact of the day is how out of shape I am. . .  On the other hand, Trystal and Jeff had already run 4 or 5 miles before they even got there.  You guys are great!

 

The kids liked the view from the top.  They could see some soccer players that were near where we started and they looked like ants.  Nathan liked the trains in the "yard" because there were so many of them.  Joey and grandpa read about the size of the Great Salt Lake. 

 



Tawnia provided granola bars, juice and a card with the hiker's mantra "just one more hill, it's flat from there". Fun activity.  I should probably do that everyday.  (9/2011)

Denver in September

Denver in September means Lynn's birthday, a Rockies/Giants baseball game, fireworks, and my nieces wedding.  It was a quick trip packed with fun.  The game was successful since the Giants managed to produce some offense and won the game 9 - 1.  Saturday was the wedding which turned out very nice.  Sometimes a quick trip is all it takes to rejuvenate.  Happy Birthday Lynn, thanks for letting us come out. (9/2011)

9/11 Ten Years Later

I can't believe it has been 10 years since the towers fell in New York City.  Just wondering if we learned anything, if it made us stronger as a country or if the lessons have been forgotten so soon.  We went to the Healing Fields to remember. Sandy City had a new statue placed called "Hope Rising".  We didn't get very good pictures but you get the idea.  (9/11/11)

Busy Emersyn's Birthday

Emmy has had a rough end of the summer since her activity has been limited because of ITP (see Good Times, Noodle Salad - Tawnia's blog).  I have never seen her so antsy!  We did a couple of projects, took her to the farm so she could ride the horse and feed the goats, watched a man blow glass, visited the dinosaur museum including the new Notion of Motion exhibit, and ate ice cream.  Whew, its tough to just keep up! (9/4/2011)

Daniel Man

This year for Daniel's birthday sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house we tried something a little different.  Instead of going somewhere for an adventure we had one at home.  First we started with a trip to Home Depot. 

With a set of plans in hand, Daniel got to shop for the materials to build his own hat/coat tree.  He chose the colors and made sure we had all the pieces.  Grandpa helped him cut and drill.  He painted everything very carefully.

 I think he was pretty happy with the results!  A trip to the pool--without his brothers who "sometimes try to be mean" rounded out the stay.  Success! (9/2/2011)

Impromptu

We took advantage of Aaron & Amy and the girls coming into town and dropped in at the Discovery Gardens to cool the kids off around the Ark.  They also have a little stream where they could float "boats" (aka various pieces of stuff) down.  Ahhhh, summer!  (8/2011)

Great Grandmother

We picked up a passenger while we were in Montana.  Gary's mom spent 3 weeks with us in August.  She really enjoyed seeing all the kids/grandkids.  Boomer became her best friend over the course of the visit.  Unfortunately, she got tangled up with him when they were both headed the same direction into the kitchen and down she went.  A couple of fingers got sprained and we are glad it wasn't worse.  We had a 72nd birthday party at our house for her with a couple of her brothers and sister and their families.  I didn't manage to get a single picture!  There was also a fireworks show that somebody at Thanksgiving Point did so we enjoyed that one night on the back deck.  I did manage a couple pictures during the trip to the gardens.  It was a good visit. (8/2011)

Thanksgiving in the Summer

Georgetown Lake was the site for this years PGA (Pettet Gathering Association).  One of the things I really appreciated was that nobody had to drive on treacherous winter roads.  It was a beautiful spot with lots of trees on the shores of a large lake.  Rene and Anne (Dave & Tom) did a ton of work to make sure everyone was fed, busy and happy.



Several of us took jeeps (3), motorcycles (3), and ATV's (2) up past some old mining locations and ending at Racetown Lake.  Mark would have liked to go on for several more hours but I was mean and pushed for a return to camp in a timely manner to meet up with those who had gone hiking. 

Everyone enjoyed the dessert burrito demonstration by Tanner (in Spanish that's burrito!).  Our cousin Darla and her husband Martin visited on Thursday night.  As we struggled to make some sort of music come out of our harmonicas we discovered Martin could actually play the thing and had his own with him in his vehicle.  Who knew! 

On Friday there was a trip to the playhouse for a melodrama and the "Sweet Palace" for rows and rows of sweets in Philipsburg.

It was great as always to see everyone.  Thanks to those who made it happen.  (8/2-8/6/11)

July Parades - #2

In an effort to wipe out the first parade of the month we once again decided to sllep out on the street with several thousand strangers.  This time we kept to our tried and true 24th of July Parade in Salt Lake City (Days of '47 - a founders day sort of thing that is huge in Utah). 

Ahhh, much better.  The night before the parade the street fills up with classic cars of all sorts cruising up and down.  The kids play, the old folks play cards, we all sleep.  The street fills up early with marathon/half marathon and 5k runners.  Neither Jeff or Trystal ran this year, maybe next year?  Street vendors are everywhere.  (7/24/11)

Then the parade itself.  It moves right along and there are plenty of marching bands, floats, politicians,  horses, carriages and a good time for all.  I think we'll stick with the Days of '47 Parade--don't forget!

July Parades

I can't explain why we thought it would be a good idea to go to the Freedom Festival Parade in Provo.  When we first moved here it was so exciting to get up while it was still dark, wrap up the breakfast burro's and head for Provo to see the balloons take off in the early morning light.  Great memory.

Last year we tried to share the experience with the grandkids.  Alas, strong winds made the morning less than spectacular and grounded all but a couple balloons.  So, not discouraged, we set out to make a day of it this year.  The bright idea was to sleep out with everyone for the parade and make the quick trip from the parade route to the balloons first thing in the morning.  The night was pretty good, considering we were sleeping with several thousand strangers along the street.  However, once again, the balloons were stymied by the winds.  Oh, well, back to the parade.  

Then, when it was too late, the memory of how really not enjoyable this particular parade is.  The one highlight for the kids ws the Star Wars float which included a bunch of storm troopers walking in front.  I'm not sure we even get points for effort on this one.  (7/4/11)

MoMo is 6

Miss Marti lost her front tooth just in time for her 6th birthday.  She is getting so big and is so much fun.  We went to the Discovery Garden where she got soaked around the ark.  Grandma should have been thinking and had her wear her swim suit!  A local theater group was doing Cinderella (Roger & Hammerstein) so we went to that.  Marti should feel pretty special because Grandpa doesn't go to a play, especially a musical, just for anyone.  It was a good production.  The staging and special effects were especially good.  Marti reminded me of her mother when she wanted to meet Cinderella afterward but didn't really want to approach her. [Flashback--Tawnia  meeting Reba and not being able to say a word]. (7/2011)

Navy Buddies

We met an old navy buddy in southern Utah and spent a couple days going to Bryce and Zions.  It was so much fun!  At Bryce they had some people with solar telescopes so we got to see the sun; up close.  Very cool (or should I say very Hot)!  (6/30-7/2/11)

The Boys

"The boys" spent a night with us so we took the opportunity to go to the gardens.  They loved the fish and the waterfalls.  We managed to get a few good pictures--a rare occurance.  (6/11/11)

It Really Happened!

All the grandkids managed to be at our house at the same time at the end of May.  Quite a bunch of us now and we are extremely grateful for our bigger home.  So here is the obligatory old folks photo with the joy of our lives!

The Gift of April Showers

We had our share (and more) of April Showers, but when the sun peaked out in May - Glorious!  Grandma met the Kemps for a visit to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point Gardens.  The tulips were stunning.  Of course the flowers pale in comparison to the real beauties of the gardens, my wonderful granddaughters! (5/6/11)

Birthday Blessing

So the birthday was a blessing to all as little Miss Rachael turned 2.  Rachael loves Dr. Suess and the Cat in the Hat adorned her cake, the front door, and everywhere. 

Then the blessing was because of the birthday of Anna.  (Just read it again . . . you'll get it!)  Beautiful baby!

Of course any trip to Idaho Falls is not complete unless the kids can play out in Uncle Mark's wonderful yard.  The young'uns managed to sit still for just long enough to snap a picture.  (5/1/2011)

EGGstravaganza

A spring EGGstravaganza was held the Saturday before Easter.  We started with an egg-themed brunch that was consumed with gusto.  Next came the egg-drop contest.  Everyone was invited to come up with a contraption to protect a raw egg dropped from a ladder on our back deck down to a plywood target on the ground.  A size limit of 4" cubed was generally enforced (okay, sort of enforced ... maybe just a good idea). 

The entrants lined up ready for the competition.

This one was impressive going down . . . until it hit the plywood!

The kids loved opening up their containers to check on their eggs.

And the winners turned out to be: The oldest contestant - Grandpa.  The youngest contestant - Emersyn.  And one representing the middle - Joey.  Congratulations

We also made scuba diving eggs.

And planted "carrots" in little "gardens". 

Smiles all around! (4/23/11)

Unplanned Visit

Little Anna ended up in the hospital with RSV at just 2 weeks old.  Rachael came down to stay with us (Trystal and Grandma) to allow Jamie and Patrick to stay with Anna and not have to worry about Rachael.  She enjoyed playing with her cousins.  Where did all these kids come from? We're happy that Anna has recovered and is home again. (4/2011)

Our annual sojourn to Cactus League Spring Training included a few new faces this year.  Of course on the way down was the obligatory stop at Glen Canyon Dam.  Lynn came down from Denver and Tawnia and Kory made the trip, too.  Kory actually made it to one ball game but was really with us for the golfing.  We spent some time tromping around in the desert.  Before a game at Talking Stick (a new stadium that opened this year) we stumbled across a classic car show.  That was fun!  It was snowing at home while we were enjoying the sun.  Ahhhh, spring training!! (3/2011)

#10

 Welcome to our 10th grandchild!  I was able to be there for the birth of our newest granddaughter.  Nothing better than new babies : )  Rachael was not too sure about this new addition but was cautiously optimistic.  Welcome Anna!  (3/2011)

March CMA

Aaron, Amy, Jeffrie & Eastyn were able to join us for our March monthly activity.  We headed to the west desert for some bike riding, motorized and non-motorized.  Joey and Grandma tried out some jumps.  Marti and Emersyn enjoyed riding with Grandma, too.  Dutch oven dessert was enjoyed by all.  Another fun day! (3/2011)

Zoo-bies

The Colorado gang made a trip out for Amy's cousin's wedding the first part of March. We met up at the Zoo for a few fun hours. Nice to let the cousins get together. (3/2011)