A unexpected free Saturday!

With the cancellation of a meeting and a new dishwasher that comes with a free installation and hauling off of the old one we ended up with an unexpected free Saturday!  We decided to use it for a going out to lunch, taking a nap, a stop by the latest job and a bike ride in Pine Valley!  Enjoyed every minute of it!

We picked out these stones a few weeks ago on a trip to Arizona.  They fit just right as the natural hearth and mantle that the owner wanted for this fireplace.  It will be amazing when it is all done!

The cool fresh air and Fall colors made for a beautiful bike riding venue.  

Happy Birthday Koen and Tasia!

It was the 7/11 birthday week - Koen and Tasia!  We enjoyed cake and presents with Koen, but Tasia was out of town attending a BYU football game for her birthday, so we had to be satisfied with a phone version of the Happy Birthday song.  Her present got taken care of earlier in the week when she got to attend the Piano Guys Tuacahn performance.  I'm sure they were both happy birthdays and we love them both!  

UEA at Brian Head

We had a great family get together at Brian Head for UEA.  We stayed at Sheffield's cabin.  They were very generous to let us redeem our rock repair trade work with the whole family.  Paul and I went up Wednesday evening and then from Thursday afternoon on the rest of the gang minus Moss and Supe's families joined us(they were enjoying time together in Oregon).  We had a great time playing, hiking, eating, watching football games, eating, celebrating Jay's birthday, going to church (those that could stay for Sunday), etc..  It started out as very nice weather and then turned to rainy and was about ready to snow by the time we left.  We were very comfortable in the cabin when we didn't want to be outside.  It was such a fine time in such a comfortable, beautiful setting.  Glad so many could make it!

Paul and I enjoyed a drive Thursday morning waiting for everyone else to arrive.  

The Borrowmans arrived first and we went for a little walk. Brynnli and Tavin got a little chilly and had to share a jacket.  

We enjoyed a concert from Brynnli and Tavin one afternoon, along with all of this other fun and tasty stuff.

On one outing we hiked the Alpine Loop at Cedar Breaks.

On another outing we walked over to Aspen Mirror Lake.  The fall colors were still present to be seen and enjoyed.

FHE - Lou's #40 - at Ben Lott's fun park!

We missed celebrating a big #40 with Lou since she was celebrating it on a cruise.  So we did it as a surprise a little later thanks to Juge and Weed's careful planning.  We replaced a family Sunday dinner with an FHE birthday party dinner instead.  We went out to a really fun place near Leeds - Ben Lott's fun park!  It's just sort of a conglomeration of fun stuff he has put together.  There are two zip lines, hamster cages racers, pedal cars, horse exerciser swings, a climbing wall, a small animal zoo, a museum, etc. plus a nice place for a picnic.  We did it all along with a birthday cake for Lou Anne.  It was a blast!  So glad Weed and Juge put it together! And thanks to Christie for coming up with a great present!  Happy Birthday Lou!  We love you!

Into the Woods...with the Webelos Day Hike 2015

It's done!  As soon as I got done with the Cub Day Camps it was time to get busy on the Webelos Day Hike.  Paul is always a great support to me.  This time they asked us to teach the Into the Woods requirements which is all about trees and a little about plants of the woods.  We aren't experts, but we do have the interest and it was fun to learn more to be prepared.  We set up the tree and plant ID course along the trail and then taught at the station at the top.  We had fun, learned lots and several people said ours was their favorite station!  They all looked really good to me!  Glad it's over and went well!  

Grand clouds and rain!

We had another chance for a business/pleasure trip.  Paul needed to go to Ashfork to pick our some large natural hearth stones.  We just went in the car since we will have them brought here by truck.  We left on Monday evening and got to stop at Jacob Lake for dinner and then arrived in Flagstaff just in time for bed.  We thought about camping out, but with the rain and mud and being in the car we decided against it.  Good thing!  The next morning we got to Ashfork and picked out the rocks right as they opened.  Since we had a little extra time, we drove over to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and enjoyed a little bit of time there seeing the canyon through the clouds with scattered showers.  There was still a good crowd armed with ponchos and umbrellas.  It was grand and magnificent!  After that it was time to head home via Jacob Lake for an early dinner.  I love it when we can work and play all in the same trip!  

Notice the people on the view point and then look how far it is down to the bottom of the canyon!  Someone wanted to take our picture and instructed us to give each other a kiss!  Ooh lala!  

The sun peeked through the clouds here and there at different view points and it was beautiful!

The clouds at the Vermillion/Cliffs/Marble Canyon area were hanging out among the rocks.  Took these shots through the window.  

Leaves and meetings

Monday we took Anna Lou and headed up to see the leaves.  We stopped to eat our KFC picnic at Cedar Breaks picnic area and discovered they didn't put in any plates or utensils, so we ate mashed potatoes, gravy and coleslaw with lids and straws.  Thank goodness the chicken was finger lickin' good!  After that we didn't have much time before dark, but the leaves were really pretty and the antelope were really cool.  Every other night of the week was filled with meetings of one kind or another.  

Delayed gratification at Brian Head

The view from our bedroom door and balcony and Eden showing me her trick.

Weed called it an exercise in "delayed gratification".  We went to Brian Head Friday afternoon to work on repairing all of the phony stone that is falling off the Sheffield's cabin in exchange for some time up there.  It was a beautiful working environment with the fall leaves in full color and the weather was perfect.  The Weavers came up to help us out and Juge made us dinner.  They had to go home, but we spent the night.  Dorothy and Steve came up late in the evening and she cooked us a great breakfast the next morning.  We got lots done with a bit more help from the Weavers on Saturday.  We have a little bit more to do and will enjoy going up again.  Looking forward to time at the cabin with family in the future!  I learned a lot about brushing joints and grouting that I didn't know before and our work came out looking as good as phony stone can look.  

Into the Woods with the Webelos

This year at the upcoming Webelos Day Hike Paul and I are in charge of teaching the Into The Woods requirements.  It includes a plant/tree identification hike and then a short class all about trees and a little about plants.  I have enjoyed learning more about the trees and plants in the area where we will be doing this.  We went up one night this week to check out the hike and make sure we had the plants and trees we want to use identified correctly.  It is a beautiful little hike and we enjoyed the evening.  A bonus for the evening were the amazing clouds just as the sun was setting.  

Snow Canyon & Pine Park

We always love to visit Snow Canyon after a rainstorm.  We did so on an evening last week.  Here it didn't really rain much, but above Zion they had over a half inch in an hour.  It was a devastating thing for the 21 people who were killed in the flash floods that resulted.  7 were killed in Keyhole slot canyon in Zion, 1 man was out driving the back roads south of Hurricane, and the rest were women and children from Hilldale.  3 boys did get out of that group alive, thank goodness. Rain in the desert can be a terrifying, destructive event or beautiful event.  Here the light shower left Snow Canyon looking beautiful. 

Friday after school we packed up and went for a quick camp out at one of our old favorites - Pine Park. We were disappointed to see that other campers had left the place a mess including damming up the stream which destroyed one great campsite, cutting down many living trees to make a wilderness shelter, and leaving trash of many kinds strewn about.  Before we left we cleaned up after them and felt sad that they had killed so many of the new growth Ponderosa pines that are so unique to this otherwise desert like, Pinon and Juniper area.  People who aren't capable of cleaning up after themselves need to camp in an established campground where there are people who are hired or volunteer to clean up after them.  They should leave the dispersed camping to those of us who know how to leave no trace for the people who come later to enjoy.  Our last two camps have been this same story in different locations.  The last time was drunken hunters and this time we are pretty sure it was Scouts - which makes it all the worse.  We did have a great time other than that.