Snow Canyon...rain or shine!

So glad we got that State Park pass gift!  We love to hit Snow Canyon whenever we can for a walk or a bike ride...rain or shine!

Bottom left is the yearly falcon next with mom or dad perched on the edge.  Need a better zoom lens!  

Happy #3 Trigg!

Trigg's birthday happened to fall on Family Dinner day, so we ate and celebrated that day!  It was so nice we ate outside!  Our old time Mouse Trap game was a big hit, and the boys always love the cars. We were few in number this time, but we had a great time!  

Happy birthday time!  Trigg is now a three-year-old!  Such a cute boy!  Happy birthday Trigg!  We love you!

Camping, soccer and dinner fun rounded out the week end!

After a busy day trying to get caught up with all that I was behind on (didn't get it all done yet), we threw it in the truck and headed out for a quick camp out up by Browse.  It was absolutely perfect weather.  Paul made great food and we enjoyed walking up a new section of stream...until I missed it and ended up in the water!  Have felt really crummy with a bad sinus infection, but it was still fun!  

In the morning after Paul made a tasty breakfast and we packed the gear and made it home in time for Brenden's last soccer game where he played a great game.  Came home and got more things I needed to done and then the Weavers stopped in for dinner...they brought dinner.  Fun times visiting with them and hanging out in the yard with the kids!  

Happy #13 Kaebri - an awesome teenager!

It was so fun to join Kaebri and family at her before school 6:30 am crepes and present hunting birthday breakfast party last week!  Amazing that Kaebri is now a teenager!  I remember that cute little baby girl all those years ago!  So proud of the beautiful, kind big girl she has become!  Love you Kaebri!  Happy #13!  (She found her Piano Guys concert tickets - after quite a hunt - stapled to the dryer lint trap!)  Thanks for letting us join the fun!  

Happy #1 Essie!

Too bad we can't just run up for these special days.  Pictures at least help.  Happy birthday #1 sweet Essie!  We love you!  Hope you like that noisy present we sent.  I took it to the post office thinking I had packaged it well enough that the buttons wouldn't be able to press, but then I leaned on it and it starting bleating like a goat.  The guy behind me thought that was pretty funny.  I was in a hurry to get it in the mail before it went out that day, but I got out of line and put it into another bubble envelope and sent it off.  Well, I guess that still wasn't enough...Brynn sent a text saying that the package was speaking to them too.  Oh well, hopefully the noise won't wear out too soon from all of that use in transit!  But maybe Jay and Brynn do hope it will soon be silent!

Red Mountain Trail in the rain

Decided it was time to start getting Paul in shape for his Pine Valley hike with the scouts this summer.  Red Mountain Trail up to the slick rock to see the pond was our goal.  Our weather report said the rain wouldn't come until the evening...plenty of time!  Well, it came early, hitting hard when we got to the slick rock.  We ate lunch under our umbrella and stuck around on the slick rock long enough to see lots of pretty stuff and then headed down the trail. Everything was so beautifully rain washed, colors so vibrant.  Other than getting very wet, which wasn't bad either, we had a great hike! 10.8 miles of desert beauty!

Flowers everywhere!

Snow Canyon overlook.

One of our goals was to see the pond.  Love this little oasis in the slick rock!

Lunch out from under the umbrella, etc.

Water was gathering into little streams, bigger streams...on and on and then cascading over the cliffs into Snow Canyon.  Awesome to watch!

Just before we left we decided to take a selfie...and couldn't remember how.  Then we got it!  All of this technology is hard for us old folk to remember!

Late Easter with the Lillywhites

If there is a reason to be glad about going to the doctor, these girls (and their mom and dad) are it! Paul had an appointment up in Provo early Monday morning, so we left Sunday after church and had a fun time, in spite of ear aches, pink eye and teething tramas, with these cuties.  I had saved their little Easter treats to bring to them.  Essie especially enjoyed her chocolate bunny!  Thanks Jay and Brynn for being a wonderful bed and breakfast anytime we are up your way.  

Date night along the Santa Clara

Found a beautiful trail to walk along the Santa Clara River for our date last Friday evening!  Saw water, crazy rocks, beautiful desert flowers and petroglyphs up on some of the cliffs.  On our way out a couple of owls flew across and we hooted back and forth with one of them.  We also saw some huge cranes coming down to catch their dinner from the river.  Absolutely beautiful!

Randalls, dinner and plenty of wind!

Lou and Bryan invited us up to eat dinner with them while they were camping out at Red Cliffs. Too bad the weather wasn't more cooperative, but they made the best of it and the food was great anyway!Thanks for good fun and good food!

Paul was very useful - he taught an art lesson, ready a story laugh your head off style and taught Brady and Bryan how to make willow whistles.  

Retiring the flags

Every year one of the packs in our stake hosts a flag retirement pack meeting.  The local VFW comes and oversees the ceremony.  I love to go.  I think it is a wonderful ceremony for the boys to attend. This pack also invites any other pack in our stake to come and join in.  This year we had 4 different packs represented.  It was a great event.  I was happy that so many came.