Huh?

I am just about to turn in to my driveway this afternoon when I looked to the right.
What the . . .? Snow in August. Not cool.

It's coming . . .

This morning, on our 5:30 am run, it was 49 degrees and raining. Wahhh. I am NOT ready for summer to end.

I was chilled to the bone, and had to have a cup of my favorite herbal tea to warm me up.

Please, take your time coming, Old Man Winter. Puh-leeez!

The Man Hike

For years Dave has wanted to take his sons and sons-in-law on a back-packing trip to the place he used to go with his own father and brothers years ago. It is called Long Meadow. It is in the Uinta Mountains and requires a 6 mile hike with a 60 pound pack on your back to get there. He went two years ago with Alex, Andrew, Jud, and my dad. This year it was just Dave, Andrew and Jud. (Cody started a new job, Jared started a new life in Michigan, and Alex is in Korea)

Ashley, her boys and I hung out for a few days while they were gone. We went out to dinner a couple of times, watched a chick-flick one night, played Scrabble and watched Jay Leno Headlines. We had a great time.

Here are the reasons I will probably never go on one of these "man hikes":

1- no bathroom

2- a 60 pound pack on your back for hours

3- no bathroom

4- sleeping in a tent, where a bear could eat you

5- no bathroom

No amount of gorgeous scenery can make up for that kind of misery.

Ashley's Birthday

Twenty six years ago I received one of my greatest blessings ever. This adorable girl!

We celebrated with shish-ka-bobs and homemade rolls.

Here are some of my favorite things about my second daughter:

- she brightens up any room she enters.

-she is a huge book lover. As a child she was one of those who hid under the covers with a flashlight after bedtime to finish a good book.

-it is appropriate that she has two sons, no daughters yet. She always hung out with boys more than girls as she was growing up.

- she is an amazing mother. She has just the right blend of firmness, yet gentleness.

- she can always be counted on. If she says she will do something, she always follows through.

- it is always fun when Ashley is around.

-I love her more than I can ever tell.

Happy Birthday, Ash!

Last Camping Trip of the Summer - Trial Lake

We went up to Trial Lake with Ashley, Jud and their boys. We took Dave's dad and Lily with us.

I didn't get pictures, but our cinnamon rolls cooked on dowels over the fire on Friday night were delicious.

Saturday morning breakfast by the lake was amazing.



Lily and James watched tv in the trailer for a little while so we could get breakfast cleaned up.

Logan just wanted to get back outside to eat more rocks and dirt.

Jud took all of the kids on a bike ride.

The only fish that was caught on the trip.

I really wish Dave's dad could have caught a bunch of fish. He would have loved it.

Lily had to make sure her doll, Sara, had a life jacket on before we got on the boat.

The doll is a "Baby Alive" and that dang thing talked the entire time. I think it was possessed.

Lily had to "help" us paddle the canoe.

It was Ashley's birthday, so we celebrated with a cheesecake. We never could get the candles to light, it was soooo windy.

Lily loved doing "crafts" that I had brought.

She painted, glued, and beaded for hours.

The men, out on the lake:

It was a quick little trip, but the weather was nice. It was pretty windy, but we didn't have to deal with cold or rain, so that was good.

Now, it's time to scrub down the trailer, wash the bedding, etc. and wait until next year for more camping fun.

Nice Nieces

My adorable niece, Jessica, had a little birthday party at our house last week. My nieces, Hannah, Leah, Maria, Sara, and Sophie were there too. All of them quite adorable as well.

In fact, I was just thinking. All of my nieces were there except the two oldest - Erika and Heidi. They are both married now. I sure do love them all!

Happy Birthday, Jessie!

Logan Temple

Before heading over to the temple, we took Andrew for his first taste of Korean food.

Spoiled

I really did get way too much attention for my birthday this year. Dave brought me breakfast in bed. That evening mom made me dinner and everyone came over for cake and ice cream. Mom made the best pistachio cake I have had in a long time.

Has anyone seen the movie, "Up"?

The next day I drove home from work to this on the garage door:

The house had been decorated and Dave, Holly and Ashley had made dinner. Talk about being spoiled.

Then later, Debbie and her kids, Mom and Dad, and Spencer came over for another round of cake (yes, Costco cake - my favorite) and ice cream.

Fifty candles. Yikes.

Here's to 50 more

Well, I just turned the big five o. I was just thinking of maybe 50 more things I still would like to do in my NEXT 50 years:

Spiritual:

1- Serve at least two missions with Dave

2- Serve as a temple worker

3- Do a lot more family history work

4- See my last two children get married in the temple

5- Make a little book of my own personal history for my posterity to read someday.

Family:

6- Continue to take each of my children on a "one on one" date on their birthday each year.

7 - Continue to take each of my grandchildren on a "one on one" date on their birthday each year.

8- Hold a "gram and gramp camp" each summer for the grandkids.

9- Continue to go on a date with Dave once a week, minimum.

10 - Continue to make a blog book/family journal every year.

11. Hang out with my kids and grandkids at least once a week.

12. Meet my sisters and mom once a week for lunch or visiting.

Physical:

13- Run at least one half-marathon.

14- Lift weights at least twice a week.

15- Continue to run at least 4 days a week, until my joints can't take it anymore, then bike or walk I suppose.

16 - Eat less sugar.

17- Eat more whole grains, fruits and veggies.

18 - Participate in a 100 mile bike ride.

19- Participate in a triathlon (sprint version)

20 - Be able to do 10 "guy" push-ups. (I am sooo weak.)

Travel, etc.

21- Eat sushi in Japan.

22- Snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef

23- Ride a scooter (a Vespa preferably) around a small town in Italy

24-Visit a country in South America

25-Go to Jerusalem (for spiritual reasons )

26 - Go to the ocean at least once a year

27- Stay at a Bed and Breakfast in Martha's Vineyard.

28- Eat a lobster that I catch myself

29-Take a tour of the White House (it is always unavailable everytime we have gone there )

30- Walk along a bridge in Prague

31- See the Rockettes Christmas Show at Radio City Music Hall.

32- Eat tapas in Madrid

33- Eat yogurt in Greece

Intellectual

34- Read at least one book (minimum) per month

35-Brush up my very rusty Spanish

36- Try to learn new computer skills as often as I can

37-Vote in every election

38-Learn how to play "Maple Leaf Rag" on the piano

39- Learn how to play "Hawaiian Love Song" on the ukulele

40- Take a photography class

41-Take a watercolor class

42- Learn how to fly fish

43- Learn how to play an actual game of tennis

44- Play a game of golf without losing a single ball

Misc.

45- Laugh every day

46-Hug and kiss every day

47- Tell at least one person I love them every day

48- Help someone each day

49-Be more patient

50--Be more forgiving

A Camping Family Reunion

We drove for about 2 and a half hours northward, to Walcott Lake in Idaho for a family reunion with my parents and siblings and all their families. We were almost there when we spotted these ominous, yet rather cool-looking clouds. We were the last ones to arrive. They started a movie, Alice in Wonderland, just after we got there, showing it on the side of Steve's trailer. It was the movie with Johnny Depp. It was a bit intense for some of the little kids.

The next morning Dave and I went on a long bike ride while most everyone was still asleep.

I don't know if this was some kind of an elk farm or just someones pets. You can see the two huge elk just to the right of center.

Ginormous haystacks.

The little white specks in the river are pelicans. There must have been a lot of fish in that river.

Later that day we took a family field trip over to the Twin Falls Temple.

A boy picture.

Then we drove over to Shoshone Falls.

The whole gang, with the exception of dad, nana and billy. (They were eating their lunch in their truck)

We ate lunch at a park near the falls.

From there we drove over to Dierk's Lake. The "youngsta's" wanted to swim.

Andrew wanted me to take a picture of the "ghetto" diving board. It looked like you could get a disease just by standing on it.

The kids did some "fancy" jumping.

Back at camp:

Getting the dutch oven dinner ready:

Playing Bingo:

The next morning we took turns in the paddle boat and the canoe out on Lake Walcott.

It was a wonderful reunion with many great memories and families ties made even stronger.