Welcome to baby boy Randall!

At 7:04 AM on December 26th ...... came to join the Randall family! He was 8 lbs. and 19 inches and has some nice red hair.  I hope it stays red.  This makes 21 grand children for us!  We are so excited that Brady got a little brother!  When Afton woke up as Lou and Bryan were leaving for the hospital and Paul told her that they were going to the hospital to get their new baby she told him she didn't want them to get a new baby...she's the baby.  I'm sure it will be an adjustment for her, but she was pretty excited to meet and hold him when we took the kids down to see him at the hospital.  What a lucky little guy to come to such a wonderful home where he will be so loved and taught the Gospel.  We are so thankful that everything went well! Now we are just waiting to hear what this cute little guy's name will be.  And now he has a name worth waiting for...Joel Dennis Randall!

Christmas 2013

We had a great Christmas this year!  Jay and Brynn and girls came down and joined us at the house and added the excitement of little children to our household of adults.  We also got to see all of the rest of the family on Christmas too! We are so blessed to have everyone in state. 

On the 23rd we decided to get out and enjoy the beautiful day.  We took a little hike on the Temple Quarry Trail.   The kids were such great little hikers and and loved climbing on the rocks!  

Grandma Kurtz, Moss and Christie and kids and Beacher joined us for Christmas eve dinner.  Jay and Brynn took charge of the meal and it was very tasty!

After dinner we opened the PJs and a few other gifts.  Grandma made hand-painted bird houses for each family!  Paul made a beautiful painting for his mom.  He refurbished a frame that his dad had made to put it in.  He also wrote a story about the painting and each of our kids got their own copy too.  

Christmas morning stockings!

Around the Christmas tree!  Beacher made Supe the cutest Cheetos chalk bag!  We are really looking forward to when she is an "official" member of the family!

Later in the day the Weavers, Moss and Christie and the Smiths dropped by.  Our kids gave us a gift that we will enjoy all year long - State and Nat'l. Park passes, and movie and dinner gift cards all wrapped very creatively by Juge.  We are so excited to use all of it! 

Kennis was feeling a little sick, so we visited the Borrowmans at their house to exchange gifts.

More Christmas day fun!

In the afternoon we went up do some Christmas with the Randalls.  So fun to see them.  After the festivities, we spent the night so that Lou and Bryan could get up early the next morning to head for the hospital for the birth of the newest addition to their family.  I don't think much sleep went on that night.  Everyone was pretty excited.

We are so thankful for all of our wonderful family.  What a wonderful gift our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have given us by making it possible for us to have a forever family!  Merry Christmas to all of you. We love you all so much.  

Crazy snow, Santa and Gaige #8!

Just trying to get caught up here.  We had an crazy snow storm (for St. George) a few Saturdays ago.  It pretty much snowed all day and we got several inches.  Then it got really cold and didn't melt.  I can't remember it ever snowing so much and staying so long in the 26 years since we moved here!  

Weed's kids were over and they made us a snowman!  

 Paul made us some snow ice cream to go with our brownies.  It was really good.

 Indoor fun with the little boys happened too.

Juge, Zion and Noah were down that week end.  Noah went with us to the ward Christmas party.  They said the kids could come up to see Santa alphabetically starting ad the end of the alphabet and Noah ended up being first one up.  He said he was too afraid last year, but this year he was happy to get right up there!

Next fun thing was celebrating Gaige's #8.  He wasn't sure he was real happy to get boring books, but next time we saw him he had 3 of the 4 books read and seemed to have enjoyed them!  We love you Gaige!  (Derek likes to do funny stuff in pictures!)

December birthday celebrations!

The celebration atmosphere continued into the weekend.  On Sunday evening all who could come enjoyed wishing Brynnli (#14) and Paul (#61) a happy birthday.  We had cake and leftover Thanksgiving pie for treats.  We love you buckets Brynnli, Grandpa and Noah!  

I think Brynnli must have been teasing Paul about his candles...so he blew hers out.  We had to light them up again.  Then Trigg wanted to get in on the action!

Eliza enjoyed the party by scooting around smiling at everyone.  Brenden was so excited for Grandpa to open up his handmade present...a note and picture that he made all by himself.  What a smartie!

Presents and grand kids...what could be more fun!

On Monday evening we got to go up to Cedar (so nice to have them close by) and wish Noah a happy #5!  We had the classic macaroni and cheese and hot dogs birthday dinner with some added pizza and veggies.  It was as good as ever! Thanks for letting us join the fun!

Zion even got into the party spirit...even if he was asleep! 

Noah couldn't have been happier...he got trucks, trucks, and more trucks, a watch, backpack, his own markers and lots of other fun stuff!

J.E.M Trail...I made it!

Saturday afternoon Supe, Beacher, and some of her family let us join them on a ride along the J.E.M. Trail. It was my first real mountain biking trail ride.  Here's a brief description:  The J.E.M. Trail is found just west of the town of Virgin near Zion National Park. Named for trailblazers John, Ellen, and Mike, this trail offers high-speed desert cruising and a cliff-side ride along the Virgin River.  Except for a very short but dangerous switchback section (and a half-mile of cliff-side cruising) it's fairly easy technically and aerobically.  Supe was good to hang back and give us directions in the tricky parts including where to just get off, which we were glad to do.  I did better than I thought I would despite the get offs here and there at the rough spots and a couple of spots along the cliff-side that were just a little too narrow for comfort.  The scenery is magnificent, but when you are so busy riding, you can't take pictures.  I just had a borrow a few from the internet to make this collage.  Another day I will do it again and make stops along the way to take my own shots when I am not trying to stay with the group.  

The beginning of the trail and views of Zion and of the river.

Huber and Scoggins Wash and Chinle Trail

Friday Paul and I decided to take advantage of another day off and the beautiful weather to check out more of the area just outside of Zion.  We were not disappointed.  We saw some amazing scenery and only a few people near the end of the hike.  We did about 11 miles starting out by going up Huber Wash until it came to a dryfall where you had to leave the wash and head up to meet the Chinle Trail.  Then we continued on that trail to Scoggins Wash and went out that way to where it joined Coal Pits Wash.  From there we hiked back to the road and back up the road for about 1.3 miles to get back to our car.  We started around 10:30 am and got home around 5:30 pm.  It was a great day!

The beginning of the wash to the dryfall and then Paul up on top after you come out.  

The east wall of the wash just below the dryfall is filled with petrified wood.  Some is still embedded in the wall and sticking out and a lot has fallen to the ground and bits and pieces are laying everywhere.  So cool!

Once you are up out of the wash and hiking along the Chinle Trail there is petrified wood is everywhere.  It ranges in size from little bits to big logs of it.  We saw some that ran along the ground for 50 or 60 feet and then went underground.  The top left picture is of a knot in one of the really big logs.

Shots along the trail and then down into Scoggins wash.  Looking back up the wash the blue skies and majestic rock looked almost fake. 

Thanksgiving fun times with the Randalls

This year everyone was going to the in-laws except the Randalls.  Bryan was on call so they were staying home they invited us to come up and join their feasting and fun.  It turned out to be a really nice day with them.  Supe, Beacher and G'ma came along too.  Bean didn't feel like joining us unfortunately.  We ate, visited, played games, rested, took a walk to the park and ate some more.  It was all good! Luckily Bryan only got called out once while we were there. We are so thankful for so many things and good times with family is one of the things we are most thankful for.

Brady has been practicing up on the stilts and is really good.  Grandpa still has skills from his youth.  

Ellie and Afton don't even have to practice being cute.  

The feasting!

Meeting Zion Paul Weaver!

We are so thankful that Juge and Lance got their new baby boy here safe and sound.  He was born Thursday, November 21st around 8:30 pm in Cedar City, Utah.  He is a big boy at 9 lbs. 3 oz. and 20" long.  He has some seriously chubby cheeks and looks like a little Noah...only with bigger cheeks!  We wished we could have gotten there a bit sooner, but we waited until Sunday afternoon to be sure the weather was good and so that Grandma Kurtz could come along with us.  This little guy makes #20 for our grand kids.  20 wonderful blessings to be thankful for and enjoy watching grow up!  What a lucky little guy to come to a great home where he will be loved and taught the Gospel.  We love you Zion! Welcome to a great life!

Happy #39th Anniversary!

Usually Thanksgiving interferes with our anniversary, but this year with Thanksgiving being later, we actually celebrated on the day before and the day of.  Friday after work we went to a really good movie.  Then we had a gift card for a great dinner.  Then we came home and watched another movie!  Saturday morning we went to the temple.  After lunch we headed for Pine Valley.  We had wanted to go on a hike up by Zion, but we were afraid it would just be rain and mud.  Pine Valley ended up being amazing, beautiful and we had it pretty much to ourselves.  The snow was about 6-8 inches deep in the valley and then up the canyon and by the lake it was much deeper - some places looked like about 12-14 inches deep. It was snowing just a bit the whole time we were there.  A guy that had been fishing broke trail to the lake, but after that we had to do it ourselves. We wished we had brought our CC skis. On the way home we stopped in at Veyo Pies and got some of their great cookies to have with hot chocolate when we got home. We had a great time celebrating a great 39 years!  

The lake was just getting a little ice crust on it.  If you threw a snowball at it, it would break through.  

It looks like next year they will be putting this bridge across the spillway coming out of the lake.  The footings are in, but for now, the bridge is just sitting at the side of the spillway.

The snow was piled up so deep on rocks and stumps that we could just poke holes in it with our walking sticks to make snowmen.  I got pretty hot, so I had to eat some of it.  Very refreshing!

Peek-A-Boo Canyon

Tuesday I didn't have school so we turned it into one of those business + fun days.  Paul needed some stone in Fredonia and Kanab and I have been wanting to see Peek-a-Boo/Red slot canyon over that way.  It requires 4WD to get there.  Our 4WD vehicle is the same one that we needed to get stone in, so it worked out to do both.  Let me say that I'm not sure I would go there again in that vehicle.  It would be a lot better on a 4 wheeler or in a Jeep.  It was CRAZY driving through the deep sand with less than good directions.  We got way off route a couple of times and had given up and were heading back when we saw a landmark that finally got us back on track and to our destination. Paul has such a good sense in that way.  We were so glad to park it and just enjoy the canyon for a while!  It was worth the trouble.  We hiked the .35 miles to what they call the "choke stone" which is about 15' in the air, and then scrambled up and over and enjoyed the canyon quite a bit further until it was time to head back.  The canyon still hadn't come to an end and it was hard to stop when we wanted to get to where it started.  We saw some other people filming a commercial at the mouth of the canyon when we came out and a couple of other guys hiking up.  We also visited the pencil hoo doo that is just outside of the canyon.  Then it was back to the sand.  We ended up getting stuck in a bad place and having to let quite a bit of air out of our tires to be able to drive out, but after we did that, it was fine. Then it was off to get our stone and head on home.  It was a great day with some very tense driving moments.  We took the Cane Beds road on the way there and drove by Coral Pink Sand Dunes.  That's a really pretty drive.

Going down the choke stone.

Coal Pits Wash - finally!

We have been wanting to do Coal Pits Wash trail for quite some time.  It just never happened.  Yesterday we wanted some place close to go explore.  Usually I have thought of it when it is way too hot.  It was perfect yesterday.  We got a little bit of a late start and came out just as the moon rose.  We did about 12 miles and only saw two other people.

Upper left and bottom right - the beginning of the hike. The crazy looking equipment is what is left of someone trying to drill an oil well out there in the middle of no where. Crazy! It was our final destination. We had a bit of trouble locating it, but finally found it. There weren't too many leaves left, but this tree was still ablaze in color. Loved it!

Lots of amazing wind and water carved rocks everywhere.

Loved seeing so much water still running at this time of year.

The top and bottom left pics are at Coal Pits Wash spring. It was so cool. The water (you can't see it) was just running out of the bottom of the lower clump of plants in a steady stream. Ferns were growing out all over under the overhang that the water seeps down through. A fire went through the area in 2006 and left lots of old Cottonwood tree skeletons. They are white, barkless and hollow. Very interesting. The back side view of Zion peaks - so cool to see them from the other side.

This baby Cottonwood couldn't decide - green or yellow? Eagle Crags view as we left for the hike in the morning. Loved this sweet rock - it couldn't decide either...black or cream color?

Zion cliff views. The top right was on our way out and the sun was setting the cliffs on fire. Can't wait to see more of this area.

Friday evening we went on the moon light hike sponsored by Snow Canyon State Park.  It was a little tame, but we it was beautiful and we enjoyed it despite a cold wind blowing down the canyon that cut it a little short.  We did learn a few interesting facts - there are two kinds of skunks in the park.  There are the traditional striped ones and also the spotted variety.  They also have quite a few ring tail cats.  The gray foxes in the park have been seen climbing the Hackberry trees to harvest that goodness.  I didn't know they could climb trees.  Also, I didn't know that the berries on those trees taste like apricots.  I am going to try them next year to see if I agree.