Desert evenings and Randall racing

We started the week off enjoying the longer evenings with a FHE walk to T-Bone Mesa and had our lesson/refreshments afterwards.  And then on date night we went to walk in the desert again at Snow Canyon where those cool rocks just a bit off trail caught our attention and drew us over.  Loving the Spring weather for walking.  Saw desert flowers blooming and met a long snaky friend who didn't like me to pet his tail (once I determined he wasn't of a poisonous nature) and crawled off into a hole hissing his disgust of my human touch.  

And I finally got St. Patrick's decorations down (don't have many - mostly I just like the corned beef and cabbage part of it) and the Easter decorations up.

Friday evening the Randalls came to spend the night and be in town for Brian's St. Pats 10k.  I don't have all of the stats, but he did really well and had enough gas left afterwards to go on a little hike out to Little Black Mountain Petroglyphs.  We ate a picnic lunch in the shade and froze and then roasted on the hike in the sun!  I love that place as much for its' crazy carved rocks as for the glyphs. It was a fun time! Of course we needed ice cream afterwards and then we visited Paul's latest nearly finished job which has turned out beautifully (no pics). That evening Paul had to go and help with the dance so I cleaned house madly so I would be ready for Monday without starting out behind.  

Joel would only let G'pa hold him if he could hold him up to play with his favorite Easter decoration.  Lots of cute kids around the house.

Spring Break revised but enjoyed!

Our Spring Break plans had to be revised from the camping trip we hoped to take to a rock trip/sight seeing trip instead.  The weather forecast in our chosen camping spot turned out to be a bit too cool as yet and we needed to pick up some stone, so we just combined business/pleasure once again for a great time. We always wonder about the places that we don't have time to stop off to see on our way to get stone. This time we stopped and enjoyed some amazing things including Wupatki, Sunset Crater Volcano, Montezuma Castle and Well, Walnut Canyon and Tonto Natural Bridge.  We also stopped off by Marble Canyon to check out a canyon running down to the Colorado river and to get some pics of a cool old corral across the road from it.  We enjoyed cookies at Jacob's Lake, Navajo Tacos at Cameron and a couple of movies at the towns we spent the nights in.  We enjoyed cold/snow/rainy mountain weather and hot/dry desert weather.  And we just had a great time getting away for a relaxing, fun time together!  And before we took off I got the yard weeded and cleaned up and planted a hopeful little garden complete with setting up the drip system, house cleaning, laundry, shopping and cleaning out and filing last year's business papers and burning up a bin of no longer needed business papers.  And we took the older grand kids to the temple to do baptisms of some family names and that night we went and did some endowments and were the witness couple!  It was a week well spent and enjoyed!

Paul, Brynnli, Tavin and Kaebri before and after baptisms.  Afterwards we picked up some
non-sugar treats and headed the the "Skyline Cafe" to eat them!

Checking out a canyon that empties into the Colorado River over by Marble Canyon.

This old corral across the street was really fun to poke around in.

Wupatki was a really amazing site full of ancient ruins spread out over a large area.

The sister site of Sunset Crater Volcano is very close to Wupatki. We did a little hike there before it started to rain and we headed on our way.

We spent the night just outside of Flagstaff where we ate dinner and went to a movie.  The next morning we picked up our rock and then went over to visit Walnut Canyon - another set of ruins. These are different because they are built under the overhanging cliff walls above Walnut Canyon. Some of them were so high up I can't even imagine how the people got to them.  They did their farming up on the rim above.

We also visited Montezuma Castle and Montezuma's Well.  These were both really cool places too.  These people found ways to survive in what seems like some very inhospitable places.

Montezuma's Well was constant water source in the middle of the desert even during times of drought.  The Spring below it just bubbles up so beautifully and is still a source of irrigation today.

In the late afternoon we headed down to Payson looking for a good camp spot along the way.  Most of the roads out into the forest were still gated and it was looking like rain after we got to Payson, so I wimped out and got Paul to stay in a motel.  We had dinner and went to a movie before turning in for the night.  The next morning our last stop before hitting the road back home was Tonto Natural Bridge State Park.  This is really an amazing thing to see.  We couldn't do all of the trails because they were still closed due to high water, but what we did see was worth the stop and wait for it to open.  Then it was time to head home.  We lunched in Flagstaff and snacked at Jacob's Lake and made it home in good time.  Happy Spring Break!  

Oregon kids update

Since Supe and Beacher are off in Astoria, we don't get too much news by way of pictures other than on Instagram which I cannot copy off of.  I got a few pictures recently and decided do a little update on them here.  They seem to be enjoying life so much and even seem to do it in all of the rainy weather!  They are hitting the beach and finding all of these cool places they "need to take us next time we come up!"  We are so ready to do just that!

They have been getting to know some family memebers up that way that those of us down here haven't seen in forever or haven't even met.  That is so nice!  They are showing them the Oregon ropes and kayaks! Thom Cheney and Clair (Le Anne Wood's daughter) and her husband and kids. Looks like a really fun time!  

They found a great hike that comes complete with cabins to camp in if you want to sleep inside out of the ever present rainfall.  It's one of those places we "need to go" when we head up that way!  

After rain hike - Fern Gully

Did a great after the rain quit hike up Tuacahn canyon and over the top and down to Fern Gully yesterday afternoon.  Just a quick hike in the amazing rain-washed beauty and coolness.  Waded in freezing water til our feet were numb when we got there.  Saw Pine Valley way in the distance covered in snow.  Loved getting out and Paul did really great...getting better all of the time!  

Blue & Gold Banquets - 2015

Attended 5 Blue and Golds for 6 units in February!  Paul made it with me to all but one.  Fun evenings, no repeats on food,wonderful leaders and great boys.  So great to see them making progress in their scouting!

Nicholas Sevilla, Chad Bundy, Christian Mathews, Rylan Mann, KC Larkin,

 Gabe Barkley, 

Jonah Barkley and Lorna Hall.