Pioneer Day 2013

This was a meaningful Pioneer Day as we spent it in Salt Lake City, right where the pioneers of 1847 arrived. 

  Roo had slept over and he and Jared came with Dave and I to our stake Pioneer day breakfast.  It was right on 2nd Ave., probably pretty close to where a lot of the first Utah pioneers set up camp when they first arrived.  We are part of the Ensign Stake.  This has been the home stake of all of the prophets of the church from Brigham Young to Pres. Monson.

Then we picked up Alex from the train so he could join us for the day.  We stepped outside of our apartment building to watch the Days of 47 Parade roll past.  This is the first time we have ever seen it.  It was a true parade, in every sense of the word.  I loved it.   The only time I have seen more floats is at the Rose Parade in Pasadena.

 There were also marching bands, clowns, magnificent Clydesdales and miniature horses.  (Bye Bye, Lil Sebastian)  We really enjoyed it and what made it even better was the overcast sky that kept the temperatures bearable.  It was so pleasant.

Right after the parade ended, we took Trax over to the airport to watch Dallin arrive from his mission to San Antonio.  He returned with honor.  Jeff and Fran were very proud parents.

 Cousins.  The first three of my parent's grandchildren to return from their missions.  Two more (Sheldon and Bryson) are still serving.  What a good bunch of kids!

Later in the afternoon we got sushi and then watched a dvd back at the apartment with Alex and Roo.  We had seen fireworks earlier this summer and didn't feel like fighting the crowds again, so we skipped that part of our usual pioneer day celebration.  But it was a pretty fun day, I would have to say.

Alex's Birthday

 Since Alex didn't sleep over at our apartment I couldn't give him breakfast in bed.  So the next best thing was going to the Belgian Waffle joint here in town.

 Best. Waffles. Ever.

That night we went to a Bees baseball game. 

 They were celebrating the 20th anniversary of the movie, The Sandlot, which was filmed in Utah.

Many of the cast members were there.  Here is Ham, famous for such quotes as "You play ball like a girl" and "First you take the mallow".  He still looks the same.

 Here is a blurry picture of Squints, famous for such lines as "for-ev-er, for-ev-er".

 The Bee's may have lost the game, but we had a great time anyway.

A few days later we had a little birthday dinner for Al at Dave's dad's house.  Tiramisu was Alex's birthday cake that night.

Happy Birthday to an amazing son!  I love you, Alex!

A visit with our Smedleys

Jared had to come to the University of Utah to complete a rotation and research.  Stephanie works nights in Michigan and couldn't get off work for an entire month.  So Jared brought Shad with him to Utah.  I had the privilege of spending watching him and spending time with this adorable grandson for a week until Steph could come.  I loved every minute of it.

Shad got to hang out with his cousins.  They all love him!

 These two were happy to be reunited.

All of my beautiful grandchildren.  Heaven on earth.

 

 Alex joined us for an afternoon at a splash pad in Harrisville.

 This was Shad's first splash pad experience.

Lils knows how to cool off when the temperature is over 100!

Brigham worked on his bathing suit figure.  His thighs still need to get a little more chub.

Olivia didn't feel well that day.  She had a fever.  Poor kid.

 Logan has such a happy life!

 James is a pro at the splash pad.

 Right on the count of three, Jack spits water.  What a goof!

 Another night Holly, Ashley, and Roo drove down to our apartment in Salt Lake to spend some time with Steph.  Alex had to work.

I so love these daughters of mine!

 

 Olivia wanted to show me the hat her Aunt Carrie gave her.

 

The cutest babies ever!

It is very rare to get a picture of Logan actually looking at the camera.

 Pace bars! 

James' Birthday Date

Our oldest Grandson, James, turned 6 this past week.

 

I took Frontrunner up to Ogden and picked him up.  We then rode the train back down to SLC.

 

Dave met us at the Gateway.  James wanted to go to Build A Bear to pick out his birthday gift from Dave and I.  He named it "Batdog"

 

 

 Lunch was McDonald's at the Food Court.  Dave and I chose Japanese food.  The beauty of a food court is "choice", I suppose.

We put Batman stickers in this book and had some great conversation on the train back to Ogden.

A few days later he celebrated his big day at home with cake and ice cream.

 

 

I sure do love this guy.  Happy Birthday, James!

Washington Lake 2013

It just wouldn't be summer without at least one trip to my all-time favorite lake, Washington Lake.  We hauled our trailer up there after the cook-out at Ashley and Jud's on the 4th.  We got there, unloaded the canoe from the top of the truck and paddled out into the lake.

 

We decided to bring a light dinner to eat in the canoe.  I think I want to make this a tradition.  It was so peaceful out in the middle of the lake.  Even if we did only eat sandwiches and chips, I loved it. 

 

We had the lake to ourselves and it was so serene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The next morning, after breakfast, we paddled out again.  The water was still like glass.

 

 

I like to fish, but I'm not hard core.  I sometimes throw out my line and read a magazine or file my nails until I get a bite. 

 

 

 This is the first time we have seen ducks on the lake.

 

The water was high enough that we could canoe over to Tail Lake through the passage between the two lakes.  We almost always have very good luck catching fish in Tail Lake.   

 

 

 After lunch we took a break from fishing and canoeing and rode our bikes to the Haystack Lake trailhead.

 

I love this huge meadow we always pass on our ride.

 

 

The meadow along Haystack Lake had a wonderful assortment of wildflowers.

 

 

Haystack is a pretty shallow lake.  I'm not sure if there are many fish in it.  We've never tried fishing in it.

In years past we've seen a woodpecker making this hole.  Now the tree has fallen.

 

 

After our bikeride/hike, we decided to drive over to Provo River Falls, which is only about a 10 minute drive away from Washington Lake.  I was surprised at how much water there still was.  Sometimes it can be just a trickle coming down.

 

 

You really can't beat eating dinner outside, especially in the mountains.

 

Late that night Alex and Andrew came up.  So we spent the next day canoeing and fishing with them, too.

 

Once again, we pretty much had Tail Lake to ourselves.

 

 

 

 

 

It was a bit crowded with all four of us in the boat.  It was easier to take turns fishing from the shore.

 

 

 

Like I said earlier, we almost always catch fish at Tail Lake, even from the shore.

 

 

 

 

 

Ever since Dave was a little boy he has stopped in Kamas at Hi-Mountain Drug for a shake.  So we've tried to keep up the tradition.  We were starved so we also got hamburgers, fries and onion rings to go with our shakes. 

 

We made it home without anything going wrong with our trailer or truck this time.  Yay, what a blessing!