October 2013 Highlights

It is October, that means it is Fall-time. We got a full dose this month of the American West Heritage Center. Fall is their favorite time of year. Paul agreed to help out with the train for their corn maze (which got rained out two of the three nights). We both helped for their Fall Festival (Oct 18-19), which meant two long days. Daphne showed Paul how to make a cornhusk doll which he decided to call Daphne. Diane helped at the pioneer village and also worked at the mercantile.

Daphne, Daphne, and Paul 

Cornhusk doll makers

The mercantile worker

Along with the Fall Festival was the Haunted Hollow. Diane was the gatekeeper to let the groups go into the hollow. Paul was a miner that "welcomed" them when they reached the long, dark, haunted mine. Kamary and Alyssa were young ghosts in the ghost-town (which was the eeriest of the whole hollow). It was a lot of fun, but it made for a few long nights.

Paul decided to change careers so he is taking a class on blacksmithing each Wednesday night. He is learning how to make some useful items, but can't seem to make them look very good.

Dave and Faye stopped by for a visit this month. They have been called as employment missionaries and showed Paul how to get on the church's employment website - no jobs open for a blacksmith. We went to the Provo Temple on Oct 4 for the Sealing of Mike and Faye Lynette and their family. This was a special time since most of Dave & Faye's family were there as well as Ken (from Richard's family) and Julie (from Doug's family). It brought back the special love we have for each of them. After being in the temple we went to our mission reunion with President & Sister Eyre. It was good to see some of the missionaries we knew in Canada, but it reminded us that we can never go back. Everyone keeps changing.

Diane's birthday was on Oct 7th. I keep waiting for her to grow up so she will be old enough for Medicare, but I just need to be patient with these youngsters. Andrea tried to make a gluten-free angel-food cake, but she didn't know that they never turn out right. It tasted good, though.

The birthday cake

Quite a blaze

What do I do with these?

Fall also brings rain, which brings a mushroom farm in the front yard. They grow overnight in large clumps, killing off the grass. Fall also fuels the need to change something in the house. This time it was to move Hanna into her own room, the small office in the basement. To make the move also required moving bookcases around to create a smaller bedroom for Kohler, Lauren, and Brynlie. It is looking good, however.

Every year Providence has a sauerkraut festival. Diane talked Paul into taking her this year. They had a turkey dinner at the Old Rock Church. Paul was able to find something he could eat (without the sauerkraut, of course).

Sauerkraut anyone?

After dinner we went to the tabernacle where they held an international concert with music from Scotland, Ireland, India, and Brazil. One of Paul's former students, Arial, from the Dominican Republic, was the MC for the concert.

Arial, the MC - the other pictures were blurry

It was also the art walk in Logan where we were able to go to multiple art galleries and see the art of local artists. It's a lot of fun.

Well, the big event of the month was our trip to Peru (Oct 22 to Nov 1), but that will have to wait for its own blog.

September 2013 Highlights

September is past and gone with not too much to show for it (at least in terms of pictures taken).

Labor day was literal - cleaning out the garage, fixing the lazy susan in the kitchen, and sorting out the music books. It was tiring, but worthwhile.

The kids are back into school. They have really settled down into their school activities since it is a continuation from last year rather than a total disruption. The USU Anthropological Museum had a special activity for the kids to go and learn more about Cambodia. It was a fun family activity. Kamary is taking voice lessons and Alyssa is starting to play the cello. Andrea decided she also wanted to learn to play the cello so they go together (Andrea as an aid) for early-morning orchestra.

Paul reserved the last two weeks of September for trial as an expert witness. He went to Ogden to look over the courtroom and determine how to play the sound clips he had recorded. Another day he went to Salt Lake to the law offices for a debriefing in preparation for testifying in court. While he was there the parties decided to settle the case so he won't have to testify. That frees up the last two weeks of September.

Diane had been busy preparing for their Relief Society meeting this month - Early MTC. She arranged for two of our young sisters who have received their call (Sydney and Camille) to give short skits on what can go wrong if you are not prepared for a mission. Others then gave guidance on how we can help prepare for missions in the home. It was a wonderful success.

Paul has been going through old pictures to try to reconstruct our family history. Some are slides, some prints, and others photos on the computer. She has scanned in a lot of pictures and has been trying to associate them with family activities.

We need at least one picture for the month so here is Kamary at a Young Men/Young Women activity at the Willow Park zoo.

Zoo animal

California - August 2013

It has been a long time since we have been to the Rich & Ginny's cabin so we used Richard's 70th birthday as an excuse to get away. 

Aug 12, 2013 (Mon)

Today we flew to San Jose where Rich & Ginny picked us up on the way to the cabin. We stopped in Oakdale for gas and ice cream cones. We also stopped at Wal-Mart in Sonora. We arrived at the cabin and then unloaded the car. Ginny and I fixed dinner (salmon, potatoes, asparagus, and fruit salad). Yummy!

Aug 13, 2013 (Tue)

            Today was an unplanned day. Richard, Paul and I went to Longbarn to get the mail. We checked out their lodge. Their cabins were very nice. In the afternoon we walked around some of the streets then sat on a bench and looked at the pond (lake). We went back and I helped Ginny fix tacos for dinner. 

Aug 14, 2013 (Wed)

            This morning Paul, Ginny and I went to Twain Hart. I found two tops and Paul found some gluten-free food. We came back to the cabin and had lunch. Paul has been learning some nice shortcuts on the iPad he shared with me. 

Aug 15, 2013 (Thu)

            This morning we went to Columbia and had lunch at El Jardine, a Mexican restaurant. 

Lunch at El Jardin

The smoochers 

Nice smile

We walked around Columbia and looked in some stores. We then went to the Fallon Theater and saw the production of “Oklahoma”. It was well done. 

Columbia stagecoach

 After the play we went to The Rock for dinner. Paul and I split a meal of ribs with potatoes, beans, and coleslaw. It was good. 

Aug 16, 2013 (Fri)

            After lunch Paul and I went for a walk. 

Tree stump along the road

We walked to a small falls (Steven's Falls) to see how much water was flowing. 

Steven's Falls

What are knees for anyway?

We then went back to the lake and took some pictures. 

The lake (pond)

Shouldn't this goose be in Canada?

There were also some nice flowers around the lake. 

Bumblebee thistle competition

The pea family

Steve and Melissa arrived at about 5:30 pm. 

Aug 17, 2013 (Sat)

            Today was Richard’s 70^th birthday. We went for a walk this morning to the lake. Rich and Ginny talked to neighbors on the way so they did not make it to the lake. 

Steve, the Wheeler

Some take the wide path

Anna in the water 

The Google family

How does it feel to turn 70 years old? Unless you are a banana, one day doesn't make a lot of difference.

How many cakes does it take for a 70-year-old?

Finally up-to-date with technology

Aug 18, 2013 (Sun)

            This morning we went to church in Sonora. Steve and Melissa went back to San Jose right after the meetings. We came back to the cabin and had lunch. It was a good day of rest.

Aug 19, 2013 (Mon)

            Today we decided to see Lyon Lake and Dam. It is not very far from the cabin, but we had never seen it. It is a nice lake in a pretty setting that I assume was created because of the dam. 

Lyon Lake

Lyon Dam

We were able to walk across the dam and then we went back across it again. We followed a trail and some steps down to an aqueduct. It was very pretty. The weather was just right and there was a touch of a breeze. We came back about noon and had lunch. 

Around the lake 

Who picked this trail?

Helicopter landing strip

The mathematics tree - a square root

Shady character

Along the metal walkway

Down the wooden stairs

Up the dirt path

Aug 20, 2013 (Tue)

            This morning we learned that Richard couldn’t sleep (trying to solve the problem of the phone not working) so he went to Oakdale at 3:30 am to see if he could get it to work - it didn’t. He was back by 6:30 am. We went to Sonora to do some shopping, passing by the waterwheel family along the way. 

Papa wheel, Mama wheel, baby boy and girl wheels

We got a book of kid’s recipes and I bought a machine embroidery pattern. I also bought  another pattern to use as a rug hook pattern possibility. They were both 50% off. I hope I can make the machine embroidery one work. We went to a few more stores then we went to lunch at Jeb’s. 

We went to Cover’s Apple Ranch and Richard and Paul each bought  book. Paul got the Readers Digest of the American West. He has been looking for it for years. 

Covers Apple Ranch

The train (Paul's is cuter)

Aug 21, 2013 (Wed)

            This morning Paul and I went for a walk. He wanted me to point out cabins that I thought were cozy. As we walked the air was quite smoky. The smoke from the Rim Fire by Yosemite was coming this way. We also noticed ash falling. 

Smoky haze

Even more smoke

The smoke cleared out so it was pleasant outside. 

Aug 22, 2013 (Thu)

            This morning the smoke was thicker than it was yesterday. When I walked out of the bedroom I could smell the smoke. The fire was about 15 miles away, but the smoke was coming right over Odd-Fellow Park where the cabin is. 

This looks like evacuation time

We decided it would be wise to leave and go back to San Jose today. On the way we stopped at Oakdale and checked out a western store where they had large carved bears in front. 

New meaning to bear hugging

We then went to Manteca and had lunch at the Black Bear Diner. It was very good food. We finally arrived at the house in San Jose at about 4 pm. Steve and Melissa had fixed an Indian dish for dinner, but we had California tacos instead. 

Dancing with the stars

Aug 23, 2013 (Fri)

            We had a leisurely morning with breakfast and packing. 

This is why grandpas have laps 

Melissa in the kitchen

At 9:30 am we went to the Computer History Museum. It was a fascinating place. It was fun to see ancient methods of calculators and how that led to computers. It was also interesting to see how big things were and how small they are now. We definitely live in a fast changing world. 

Look at this new computer 

Is this better than counting on my fingers? 

Why can't I have a car like this?

When we finished there we met Steve at Google and had lunch with him. He showed us around outside. It seems he has the ideal job. Rich and Ginny then took us to the airport and dropped us off. Our flight home was nice. It is good to be home.

August 2013 Highlights

August has come and gone making us wonder if we really did anything. We returned from Yellowstone and settled down into our normal routine.

On August 7th we had the annual Bear Lake day for the Young Men and Young Women. Paul was riding up the canyon with Nancy Jensen and a carload of boys. We noticed another carload of boys along the side of the road; the car had stopped and couldn't be started again. A cool head by Nancy led us back to Zanavoo where we could get cell phone reception to call a tow truck for the car and to call Diane to bring our car as a rescue. We all made it to Bear Lake. The favorite activity was riding on an inflated raft behind the boat. Hanna had the time of her life as she challenged even the priest to a rough ride.

We ended up the regular season for AWHC this month. It has been quite a time commitment, but also a lot of fun.

Diane works on her rug hooking

Making rag dolls

Kamary had the opportunity to attend voice camp at USU this month. She was in classes and rehearsal every day for a week. At the end of the week they had a recital for her class and a concert for the whole camp. She sang in the choir, a small, ensemble, and a solo.

Kamary in ensemble

What a beautiful vocal solo

It seems like everyone in the house loves the computer. That includes Brynlie. I guess it's time to send her to pre-school. 

Brynlie at the computer

We decided to get away from it all and hide away in Rich & Ginny's cabin in the Sierra Nevada's. We flew into San Jose on August 12th, spent the week in California then flew back in the 23rd. It was a good break. Details will be in a separate blog.

Paul has been consulting for three law firms on a personal injury case that involved a backup alarm. He made measurements back in 2009 and thought the case was over. When we returned from our mission he was asked to make an analysis and provide a professional report which he did this spring. In preparation for the trial in September, he was asked to return to the site and make additional measurements. he now has his own sound level meter which he updated with sound recording capability. Much of the time at the cabin was spent in figuring out how to make this expensive (and complicated) equipment work so measurements would be easy at the time they were made. On August 29th we went to Ogden to make the measurements. All went very well and the recordings worked better than expected. We will see what happens in trial next month.