Happy Labor Day!

Our latest company is gone

Garn's brother, Larry and his wife Pam brought their daughter Cassandra up from Manteca, Calif. to BYU for school this year and stayed with us for a week. They actually left Fri. morning at 8am to go home and we started packing for our trip in the motorhome to go trilobite hunting. It's been a busy summer so I guess going back to school for me will be like a break but I'm not looking forward to getting up early again. Larry is a diabetic who is legally blind and suffering kidney failure so he had to go to dialysis here twice. He actually said the dialysis unit here is much better than in Simi Valley, Calif. where he goes 3 days a week. He can't walk very well so negotiating our split entry was a bit of a challenge but he usually stayed either up or downstairs once he came in. We got Cassandra moved into a really nice condo across the street from the campus. She has 3 roommates who are all seniors and really nice. Since C is a freshman they are giving her all kinds of tips on how to handle her first year. She'll do great. I loved my time at the Y. Well, gotta get to bed, (ah, no dust or flies....see previous blog)

If you like dust, heat and flies then this is the place for you...

Yesterday, Garn and I along with Misty and Dan and the boys took our motor homes down to Antelope Springs (no antelope and absolutely no water) We did see what used to be Sevier Lake, dried up. It is about 1 hour on a dusty rutted dirt road south of Hinkley, Utah which is about 31/2 hrs from Murray somewhere past Delta out in the middle of nowhere. I thought my back would never recover from the josteling and banging getting there. All to find little fossils on pieces of slate formed 1000's and 1000's of years ago. I had no idea it would take so long, be so dirty and have so many flies! They covered the doors of our motor homes and got inside. Misty's boys had a great time finding these pretty amazing fossils imbedded in the slate. Dan and Garn were in their element too. This is definitely a guy thing. If it hadn't been for Dan and Misty's great dutch oven meals this gal would have rebelled! (Of course I couldn't just leave the barren wasteland; no people or even cell phone bars for miles!) The boys would come back dirty and dusty and thrilled with their finds. I must admit those trilobites were pretty amazing and after Misty and I hiked up to the top of a mountain and could see for miles and look down at our little motor homes and find the kids spread out all over like ants, it had a rugged beauty. We found some pretty amazing rocks on the way down and saw a lizard or two. In the end I was kind of glad I went,( if only to see all the guys' eyes light up at the wonderful finds). But I'm never going again!! Things bounced around the motorhome so much that pipe fittings rattled loose and leaked, food in the fridge spilled and bounced all over and the layers of dirt on the outside of the motorhomes was a sight to see. Even with the windows closed the dust and flies got in! Yeah, this would make a great scout overnighter. I bet you could get a load of merit badges going there! Now that I'm home and showered, I feel much better about the whole 24 + hour ordeal. (But I'm still never going back!)

They're gone....

At 9am this morning Mandy and the fam. pulled out of the driveway and headed back to Texas after 6 short weeks of vacation. It is a sad day today. Mandy celebrated her birthday yesterday by going to lunch with Garn, me , Jon and the kids to Red Robin and then last night Jon and Mandy went to Hale Theatre with Jon's parents. Mandy also celebrated Mon. night at 9pm by going Lazer Tagging with Julie, Katrina, Kelly and Karen. They had a blast! We also went to Jumpin Jacks play place and jumped and slid on all the blowup and bouncing apparatuses (or is it apparati?) Anyway we all got rub burns. The equipment is new and slick and really fast so the natural reaction is to put your arms or hands out to slow your speed but that only results in blisters! But it was so fun!! We raced and ran around with Misty and her 4 boys and had a great time! Tue. we went to Thanksgiving Point for Two-Buck-Tuesday with Mandy, Jon, and their 4 kids and Austin and Devan, Mike's twin boys aged 14. We visited the dinosaur museum with hands on exhibits. There is a lot there but because everyone else was taking advantage of the $2 deal, half of Salt Lake showed up! Normally it costs $8 a person so this was a really good deal. It was however VERY crowded. Still fun, though. Today I'm doing laundry and getting ready for Garn's brother, Larry and his wife Pam from Calif. They're coming in Mon. to drop off their daughter, Cassandra to BYU and then come up and spend a week with us. I'm hoping to be able to go down to see Cassandra at her condo at BYU. She's a fun girl and I'm excited she's attending the Y. Well, better go and change the laundry... I wish all my family were close...... I miss you all terribly.

Our shopping spree in Park City...

Our trip to Park City
Don't our pedicures look cute?
Out to dinner in Park City with me, Mandy, Marcie, Misty, and Marin

I miss you all.........

New cuts for the kids...

A flip for Sadie....
A bob for Haylie
A spike for Carden

Family Pictures Fall of 2007

Mike and Marcie and Devan and Austin
JR and Marin
Dan and Misty and Mason, Merrick, Mcky and Marcus

Jon and Mandy and Carden, Ali, Sadie, and Haylie

Random pictures of Mandy's kids....

The poser...
Yea, I'm cute..
My secret pirate life...
Contemplating the pirate's life....
At the splash park

Photo shoot

Yesterday Mandy and I went to a shoot for the Backyard Adventures catalogue. They make outdoor playsets for kids with swings and climbing walls and slides and all sorts of fun equipment. Mandy's 3 kids were in the shoot along with a host of other kids and stage moms. It was from 2-5 in the afternoon but the shooting has been going on all week from 9am to 7pm. It was fun to watch her girls in each shoot. Carden was in some too but since he is only 41/2 he had trouble taking direction and would either move about the equipment too soon or not do what they wanted. He also slipped in the mud right after the first shoot and Mandy was scrambling to clean him up before the next shoot. It was a long afternoon but the kids did really well. Mandy wanted to take some pictures of them while the shoot was going on but chasing after Carden and Ali was about all we could manage. I hope to take them to Gardener Village later today but I'll try to find pictures of them to post. Mandy got all their hair cut. Sadie's hair is just above her shoulders and flips up just like I wore mine in high school. Haylie's is in a cute a-line bob and Carden's is short and spikey. Ali's is still long but trimmed up. They were the cutest kids there! Mandy definitely doesn't want her kids in modeling, too much work keeping them clean and constantly smiling. I took Sadie and Haylie to play tennis the other day and they did really well! Sadie and I hit the ball aback and forth 24 times before I finally missed. They're pretty good!

Wheeler Farm

Wheeler Farm was fun but hot and (unusually) humid. AND we forgot water! Climbing in and out of bushes and stickers was a bit sweaty but we still had fun and met a family from Louisiana letterboxing also. They belong to a club and exchange info, much more involved than us so it was interesting to meet others. After, since we had Misty's 3 boys we decided to give each of the 7 gr.kids $2. to spend at the Farmer's Market to see if they couild pick out a healthy snack. Mason chose yogurt, Sadie - popcorn and fruit leather, Haylie - fruit leather and she gave Marcus some of her money to buy chocolate and yogurt covered pretzels, Carden and Merrick each chose a banana and a vitamin drink, Ali chose animal crackers, Mandy - peaches and I chose Cherries. It was a bit hectic with Carden and Merrick tearing through store but the others were very good and I would do it again. Mandy on the other hand said she was definitely not having any more kids! Later that evening we went to our friend Brecken's house for a BBQ and farewell party for both Mandy and Misty's B- ball coach Becky Anderson who is retiring from Murray School District. It was great fun and their backyard is 1/2 acre with a slide, tramp and they blew up the raft the teams used to go down the river in and all the kids had a great time jumping on, over and around it. We ate on the deck and the kids just played and played while we all renewed old acquaintences. A fun-filled day!

AC....

OK, central air is C O L D !
Gotta figure out how to turn it down. A problem with having all the windows closed with AC is that it is stuffy when the ac's not on. Guess it'll just take some getting used to. I have Misty's 3 boys today so with Mandy's 4 kids we're going letterboxing at Wheeler Farm. Should be fun, they all like to find clues.

We're getting Central Air today!

I'll let you know how it goes when it's done. Guess it takes a while......

More Cherry Hill...

JR checking out Whitney's I- Phone
Some of the kids checking out the guessing jar........
while JR is still checking out the I- Phone....

Book Club Overnighter

Eight of us in the ward book club went on our annual overnighter to Debbie's cabin in Timber Lakes near the Church's Heber Valley camp. Their cabin is big and beautiful and beautifully furnished. We girls played games and ate and laughed and ate and talked and ate til 3am Sat. We also talked about the upcoming year for book club. It is always an eagerly awaited time and it did not dissappoint. Debbie's sister Cheryl comes and I get to renew my friendship with her. We've actually known each other for 30 years but now only see each other occasionally and really only talk at the cabin. There are some people you meet that become instant friends and remain so forever and Cheryl is that kind of friend. Another friend, Kara, has become that kind of friend too. Well, we had the funnest time and shared our thoughts and feelings about many things. Sort of like girl's camp for adults but with a great kitchen, comfortable beds and running water!! : )

Tough life at Cherry Hill

Garn and Ali relaxing...
A lot...
Jon relaxing too...