Labor Day Adventures

I decided to just post these pictures or nobody will ever see them. And of course, everyone must see them. I took them after all.

Sept 3rd, Labor Day weekend:

Have you ever been to watch sheep dog trials? Oh my goodness, so fun!

Of course, this is us leaving. You never take pictures of the dogs and sheep at a sheep dog trial... didn't you know?

If you want to see it, they're going to make a movie of it here. (a better explanation video of the actual trial is here)

It was really fun and I plan on going next year and staying all day. Or at least buying the movie they're making.

This is why we brought Megan.
Do you see the bonnet on Hannah? I made a couple small ones out of the leftovers from my pioneer sewing projects for adults. Hannah and Natalie were so excited they wanted to wear them to watch the dogs. Makes an aunt happy.

Then Alec pumped up the raft...
And Jim pumped up the raft...
But Megan won.
Why didn't we bring an electric blower? Oh we did. It just wouldn't work.

Then we floated down the river.

Of course we didn't take our electronics so u'll just have to take my word for it. We got cold, ran up against some trees, over rocks, a weir, more trees, more rocks, and a bridge pier. Emily thought we were going to flip so she got ready to grab some kids. That's when Bethanie got scared.

I wasn't in the boat at the time. When the going gets rough, Melanie bails... tries to get back in the boat and therefore distracting Alec (the driver) concequently allowing the raft to run up against the pier. Those engineers... no faith.

Its Jim and Megan's fault we didn't flip. Jim asked Megan to pray before we got out on the water. Lots of faith in college freshman and business men.

The fact that the raft was semi flat from our hand pumps and the coldness of the water probably helped too. It just smooshed up against anything hard. Thank heavens.

After that, the kids wanted to turn around and go back. We told them they could row back, but the rest of us with the oars were heading downriver to the car. It was so late in the evening by then that we saw beavers and muskrats all along the banks. Then we hit another tree (which Alec smacked with his oar to show it who was boss), dragged the boat out, ran up the canyon to get the cars while half stayed back to deflate the raft and wrap crying kids in towels, pushed the raft into the back of the car, stopped panicking after Megan found my car key on the ground in the dark (the faith of those freshmen rears its head again), and went home.

Fairly eventful day.

So we rested from our labors on Sunday so we could can peaches Labor Day.
Labor on Labor Day. Tee Hee.

Emily and Bethanie showed me how to do it.
First they get blanched so they're easy to peel.
Then you use child labor to peel the peaches and fill the jars.
Then boil them for 30 minutes.

No, we don't have a picture of the final product. We forgot. Maybe I'll take a picture of the few cans I took home.

As proof I did help, those are my arms (Pictures courtesy of Jim).
I handled the knife since we all know how good I am with sharp instruments.

So what did I learn from canning peaches? I HATE earwigs. Amen.

Then I drove back to Vegas with a beautiful bunch of grapes from Emily's garden along with a cooler full of garden vegetables.
Only special people get grapes from Emily's garden. Just saying. (Apparently I had a lot to say along with these pictures... who would have guessed?)

Random July Pictures

So.. I figured I better put up one post in August. I've let a lot of things slide this summer but am starting to get back into being a productive person again. I still just want to spend all day at my house reading/listening to books or watching Movies/TV series rented from the library... but who wouldn't?

Here are my July pictures. I didn't take many so I'm lumping 'em all together.

First... 4th of July at NM -

Working in the garden waiting for the Parkinson's to get there.

Emily wanted me to take this picture of bums in the air.
As you can see, it had rained that day for which we were grateful as will be explained in the next picture.

Tom took this picture of the mountains behind my parents house on fire a couple nights later. Originally I thought the pictures I had seen like this on the web were staged, but then Aaron took us outside at night.

This is my picture of the smoke billowing during the day.
That picture was taken after Dad had picked me up on my bicycle. Apparently although they opened SR4 around to Bandelier National Monument, I couldn't get into Los Alamos just past the turn off to the Pajarito ski mountain because Lab land was still closed. I was supposed to meet everybody in LA but since Dad hadn't brought his badge to LA (they wouldn't have let me in without my own badge anyway) Dad had to drive all the way back down to White Rock and around to pick me up... and then back around the same way. Plus.. I was out of water by that time. I tried to make it back to Bandelier before he did but didn't quite do it.

And that's all the pictures I have until Saturday when it was concrete weekend. Here Dad and Tom are finishing off the second section.
And here's the rest of the crew.
OK.. so really everyone was such good help. Its amazing how quickly you can make a batch of concrete with so many helpers! All I ended up doing each time was my 3 cans of cement and one or 2 cans of rocks! I think we wore Dad out... but Mom got her sloping ramp. Makes it easier to get the trailer out of the back.

I didn't plan on writing so much about the 4th of July so I'll try to refrain from the next pictures.

I loved being home and miss my family. So I headed back up for the 24th of July to be with Emily. I spent the week before sewing up a storm so we both could have pioneer outfits.

Emily might have thought I was a little strange.

I sent her a picture of the bloomers I made for her. She was embarrassed. Here she is showing off her outfit (I didn't make the blouse) and holding the skirt I made her too.
Sunday she had showed me some material she had bought a long time ago to make a skirt like the one on the left.
I was in the sewing mood (plus I was feeling guilty for spending all of Friday and Saturday finishing the handwork on her pioneer skirt) so I made it for her. I set my first zipper ever. It zipped up... and then it zipped down. I was pretty proud.

Then, since we didn't have any fireworks on the 4th of July... we did fireworks on the 24th of July.

Cathy is wearing Emily's bonnet (I know these pictures are bad but I don't care... I'm posting them anyways). Sparklers and spinning flowers.
The law had recently changed in Utah allowing fireworks to shoot up in the sky. Emily bought one.
It kinda scared us when it went off... but was a fitting end. I was just glad I got to do SOME fireworks in July!

Emily took me to the Spanish Fork Fair Monday where we saw lots of quilts.
There.. that's July. August I'm working on being more productive and will post more often.

At least that's the plan :-).

Spring for Hope 5k

I had the pictures all loaded ready for text to be added for this post last week in June... but then the Las Chonchas fire started and the subsequent evacuation of Los Alamos. I spent the whole week listening to the local radio station over the internet and surfing for more information. Being just a teeny tiny bit of a drama queen, I couldn't focus on anything else until I drove there for my planned 4th of July vacation.

Being as that may, instead of blogging about the fire and my week in New Mexico I decided to get this out. It was now or never, ie wait any long and it would be too late.

So here are my cute relations strutting their stuff! They are showing off for the photographer. See how fast we can go?
And here's me. That's a smile not a grimace.
I enjoyed the 5k although I probably would have done better if I had slept and didn't feel like throwing up. It was a really nice course and I'd never done just a 5k, it was always after swimming and biking in a sprint triathlon. I'd like to participate in at least one more so I could pace it better. I admit it was a little disappointing not to get a medal even though I know that's only for the long races.... next time I'll bring my own. Perhaps the ones left over from the Family Reunion.

Back to the "fast" walkers. I think they enjoyed it.
I know they liked the ice cream and chocolate milk at the end. Thank you to Melissa and Kara for putting together such a nice run. Emily even won a free ice cream in the after race raffle!

PS. Funny story: As soon as I crossed the finish line I started to tell the story of my run. "So I was running... and then I ran some more... " It's a family tradition. My relations hadn't finished yet (I had to wait 20 more minutes) so I cornered the first person I recognized. Poor Wendy.

Senior Weekend in Vegas!

I told the people at work that we were going to paint the town. They (the ones that knew what it meant... meaning the old fogies) thought it was pretty funny. I am pretty funny. And Smart.

I am so glad my niece Megan came for a visit! It sets a precedence.
Now I can say... OK Bailey and Carly, when are you coming?

And, of course we had so much fun!

Apparently I took my camera out on Sunday... and that's it.
But... I did take some smashing pictures with my camera (ahem.. see evidence below). I've been hoping my wonderful sisters would blog about it or at least share some pictures (ie why this post is so late) but perhaps I just need to start.

Megan brought her Mom so she'd have a flying buddy and of course Emily came too. Emily's the one that suffered in the heat so I'm really happy she braved it to be with us. See... I was in Seattle during the best time to come to Vegas. Sigh... that darn making money thing always getting in the way of having fun.

I hadn't actually planned much for the weekend cuz I wasn't sure what activities would be fun for a graduated senior that had been to Vegas once already and I'd already shown my sisters the Vegas sites on earlier occasions.

So we did some shopping and ate at the Red Rock Buffet where we were informed by the couple standing with us in line that this was the best buffet for the price although the line takes FOREVER. Apparently he'd been to buffets all over the valley and wasn't impressed with the ones on the strip. Now you know.

Here's Emily killing time taking funny photo's with her phone.
I talked to Bethanie while the others took pictures (Photo courtesy of Jenny) and decided what else to do (go home and nap).
This weekend corresponded to the weekend of Melissa's 5k run so I had signed up my sisters along with me. Jenny asked if she had to go. I told her I was going to be there and didn't she want to be with me?

No answer.

We went to packet pick up Friday night (got a free water bottle!) and then headed to Capo's to 'carbo load' before our big race the next morning.

It was fun but a little pricey and VERY DARK.
Can you see Megan and I above and Jenny and Emily below?
The 'live entertainment' (hooked up to a Karaoke boom box sitting on the piano) sang to us but we laughed and talked so he sang to the couple next to us who always listened politely. We did sway with our lighted phones in the air but Jenny upstaged us all with the lighter on her iphone.

Crazy older sisters with their new fangled technology.

I didn't get any pictures of the race Saturday morning but I did get complaints of sore bums the rest of the weekend. I really enjoyed it but maybe I'll do a separate post on that. I will say that I learned chocolate milk is not a good recovery drink for me :-).

After a long nap (the race was at 7am) we headed to the Belagio. I hadn't been there during the day for a long time.I was happy to see that Megan was impressed. It's hard to impress graduated seniors.
We fed the ducks granola bars.
I hadn't seen the fountains during the day that I remember... not even as impressive as at night... although somewhat less crowded.

We headed over to the Venetian and Megan really liked the trappings there too. I like impressing hard core senior graduates.

I had given Megan some show suggestions and she decided the Blue Man group would be fun. I think the fact that her brother and sister had seen it without her might have had some bearing on the decision. Here we are waiting for it to start.I know the others got better pictures. My phone doesn't like the dark.

Megan and my sisters really enjoyed the show. Ya for once again impressing hard core seniors!

My favorite was the drummer that really did turn out to be a girl. She had the coolest florescent make-up (OK OK, so I watched almost the whole thing with my fingers in my ears. Why are shows SO LOUD?). The dancing lighted cowboys were pretty cool too.

Afterwards I got to thinking about how it was just another circus acts but this time with mimes instead of elephants or people flying though the air. All of the Vegas shows are just variations on a circus. And everyone loves the circus... very quiet circuses.

I took a picture of our Sunday Dinner cuz I was pretty proud of it. I love french dip sandwiches.
Next time I will need to do better in planning and execution but I think all went well for the first niece/nephew trip with the maiden aunts (and Mom for moral support). Poor Megan and Jenny woke up early Tuesday morning to fly back to Texas feeling very ill but I hope by now they only remember the fun times.
I had so much fun with my sisters/niece- as always- that it took me 'till Thursday to feel fully recovered!

Perhaps I'm too old for this. It's hard to keep up with hard core graduates... and their Moms... and their young aunts. Or perhaps I should figure out how to sleep the nights before and during instead of tossing in my bed with excitement.

Thanks again for such a fun weekend! I'm ready for the next. Bring it on.

Memorial Day

I had so much fun with Emily over the Memorial Day weekend.

We worked in the garden, then went out to eat.. then worked in the garden, had oatmeal, worked in the garden, went out to eat, worked in the garden and then went out to eat.

Emily loves to go out to eat and she loves her garden. Guess what we'll be doing next weekend when she comes to help me entertain Megan and Jenny in Vegas? Everything on that list except the gardening and oatmeal.

My broken arm was sore after pick axing. Apparently that's rather hard on the elbows.

OK.. on Sunday she made wonderful food after letting me help with her sunbeam lessons. Her and Mama are so great with those kids. And they love them back.

This is something that burned... I think.
Its a picture that needs a back story but I can't remember it.

Truth be told, we would probably have been out in the garden on Sunday but it was raining. I still haven't quite figured out the going from 90's in Vegas to raining in Utah so Emily had to let me borrow some warm socks. Her house is cold!

But Memorial Day was the best Memorial Day I've ever had. Emily wanted to put Mums on graves of our ancestors not only because of the stories Mom's told us of Memorial Day's in Rexburg (taking loads and loads of flowers out to the graves in the early morning and then the big water fight in the afternoon after lunch) but also because Bethanie and Angela were doing the same to family graves in Idaho... although the relatives buried there are a little more recent.

Emily on Sunday looked up all the people that were buried in Provo and Salt Lake. And out we headed to the Provo Cemetery with Mums and little flags in hand (just in case we needed them).
Here she is looking in the registry (all the pictures of both of us are on Emily's camera so all I have is a few I took on my cell phone). We already knew where they were from the Internet, but it was a good picture opportunity.

There were so many graves with flowers on them and people all around. Can you see Emily? We found the Chesleys on my Mothers side (ask Emily how they are related... I knew last weekend)
And then discovered Eliza Haws grave (mother of the one above) who apparently had a sister wife who looks like is her younger sister.
There was a laminated card with a number asking for descendants to call. Emily decided to call the lady then and there. The lady was VERY excited! She'd been placing that card there for 5 years and this was the first time she'd gotten two responses (somebody else had called earlier). It was fun to go over the story of Eliza's husband who left on a mission to Australia and never came back. The family here thought he was a martyr but just a few years ago the family looked him up and found he never got on the boat where he had paid passage and after a few years died a ranch hand in Australia (good thing the computer knows how to spell it).

Nobody knows why he didn't come back. Emily and I were even more surprised that he left TWO wives. The lady on the phone told how her father was "disgusted" that a box of letters and stuff was sent back from Australia to "people who didn't care" and left in a garage somewhere. After the box suffered water damage it was thrown out. Who knows what was in there that could have been used to figure out the mystery.

After all that excitement, we wanted to do even MORE. After lunch in Lehi, we headed to Cedar Fort to find some relations on my Fathers side.

This is the only picture I took. It was a couple (whose name I can't remember... ask Emily) in a cool old grave yard with lots of Aults, Berrys and Messersmiths. Obviously our family wasn't one of the ones that stayed. It made me curious about why this one family went out there and why none of the kids seemed to settle there... although a daughter could have I supposed.

If I was them I would have put my maiden name AND my married name on my gravestone to help alleviate confusion. So inconsiderate of them.

All in all, can't wait to go grave hunting next year... although all that's left close to Emily's is Salt Lake. I guess that could be exciting. I LOVE memorial day!

Strange Bedfellows and 2 Other Things

1. Do you ever wake up in the morning, lift up your pillows, and realize you have slept with every portable electronic device you own? I always sleep with my phone cuz it's my alarm clock... and lately I've been sleeping with my laptop because I listen to books on tape before bed, but the latest book I downloaded from the library could only be transferred to an ipod.

Perhaps I need a bigger bed.

2. For breakfast, I've discovered the joys of hash browns and carrots. Emily and Mom taught me how to wash the grated potatoes so they don't stick together and now I throw in a carrot or two with my chives and/or onions. So pretty.

But be warned, although the carrots add some sweetness (and lets face it, anything tastes wonderful fried in butter), you can have too many carrots. The ratio definitely needs to be heavy on the potatoes. I love me some starch.

3. I've discovered that my attitude on the bike is inversely proportional to the elevation gain. Up it goes, down goes the attitude and visa versa. Of course, too much downhill or too much straight can get boring but too much uphill really takes the cake. Kinda like life.

Life Lesson brought to you by Melanie. Your welcome.

I'm off to spend Memorial weekend with Emily. I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday!

Birthday Presents

This whole month I've decided everything I buy is a birthday gift, to me! I'm so happy. (Movie Trivia)

That new DVD player? It's for my birthday. Even more new shirts? For my birthday. That lettuce? Birthday.

Of course, I don't bother wrapping those. But I did these! I told you I would make Melissa take pictures. She was kind enough to do candles and sing for me as well.
Then Dan, Melissa's husband, got the camera.

He kept taking pictures, looking at them, and then sniggering.

He was right to snigger on most of them. I'm only going to post the ones that aren't snigger worthy.
Oh my a new yellow work shirt! Who'd have thought? I needed new work shirts. I hate all the ones I have now.
Heavier weights! I needed those!
And of course, a new book.
That is why I didn't get anything more done that weekend.

Melissa gave me some homemade cards even though I told her I would bring all my own presents. She is so nice to me! I forgot to get my camera back and take a picture of the Bunn family. Sigh.

The next morning I got to experience the ultimate birthday pleasure. Pie for breakfast (and a breakfast burrito).
Pie and presents. Doesn't get much better than that.