Wednesday, July 27, 2016

it's a wild ride, Utah!

We're here in Utah and it has been so nice being with family, seeing a few friends, and just enjoying the sunshine! That and my family are the two things I wish I could take back to Virginia with me.

Anyway - here are a few pics of our adventures as of late. Sorry they aren't quite in order:

believe it or not, looking back, working in the garden and eating the fresh produce are some of my favorite childhood memories. I'm so glad Mason is getting a glimpse of it here.

cousin fun

Sister Kirby's house is the party house

Scofield - where my Dad tended sheep for much of his life

teaching his grandsons how to build a fire :)

can i say that this boy loves dirt?

taking a ride around the mountains was a huge highlight - that fresh mountain air, while my Dad would stop and tell us stories about skinning a bear here, or Mom nearly losing control of the truck and riding it off the mountain because of break loss

hiking Stuart Falls with the Erickson Family and Mom and Dad. Such a fun day

irrigation days - Stan loves throwing rocks in the ditch and seeing the circles of water that follow


Stanley felt in his element I think in the Mountains

that tree where my Dad carved all of our names

something I think out of a Norman Rockwell painting - this camper took my family on many a dream vacation across the US

and that double rainbow was the perfect ending to a perfect day

Shirley and I checking out the Church History Museum with Salt Lake Sisters - Jenet, Ellen, and Sally

enjoying some shade outside of the Church History Museum

this Temple - where it all started

a continual fascination with trains

lunch at the Salt Lake City Creek Mall - this boy cracks me up with his faces!

a motorcycle ride with Uncle Rich - Mason has mentioned it a few times since the last time Uncle Rich gave him a ride.

Making apricot Jam with Grandma

Grandma made them 'green eggs and ham' this morning for breakfast after reading that book with Mason yesterday, and as you see, Mason was pretty excited about it!


That time when Grandma and Mason and Will came out of the bushes with their arms full of western coneflowers to throw at us :). 

so fun to meet up with Nate's Arizona Grandparents. We love them!

fishing with Uncle Jason and Aunt Ashley
We've also gone to 7 Peaks for my niece's birthday party, to the Temple a couple of times with my sisters, swimming with cousins, out to lunch and play dates with friends from here and Charlottesville, and a lot of sweet time with Nate's family at their cabin or at their home or at the splash pad. I'm so lucky to have married into and been born into such kind families.



Thursday, July 14, 2016

driving east to west

Nate has to be in Alabama for 3 1/2 weeks for military training so he was sweet enough to drive us all out to Utah to stay with my family during his absence. Lucky for us, our car was working well enough for us to drive to Utah. We were able to get to Utah for about 1/4 the price that flying would have been that way (and as a student - money is a big deal you know :). We love road trips, so it works for us - even though this is the road trip that never ends. So we decided to make a thing out of it. We enjoyed stopping in Springfield, Illinois (hometown of Abe Lincoln), Nauvoo Illinois (home of LDS Pioneers for several years in the 1840's), and a few other fun stops along the way. Nate and I enjoyed listening to bits and pieces of several books on CD - such as the Wright Brothers by David McCullough, Great Speeches, Guns Germs an Steel, etc. We also got a few short fun books on CD for Mason that he could follow along with. I felt a lot smarter after this road trip :). We also experienced many blessings and miracles along the way - from retrieving a lost purse, to having generous hosts and places to stay, and being stopped by fires in Colorado but having a soft spot to land in Colorado Springs with my generous and gracious sister and her family. It was an experience never to be forgotten. Grateful to arrive safely into the arms of family and friends. God is good, and Utah is a beautiful place.



who knew that pushing a cart could be so exciting. These boys like to help
Subway overlooking the Old Springfield Capital Building

joining in with Abe's family
Abe's old law office

high-fiving Abe Lincoln's son

love this - his face aged so much during the years of his Presidency, but in the end he was smiling. Inspiring man.




The British Pageant - loved it


You take what you can get :)

the gun show

enjoyed listening to the Nauvoo Band

so fun to be back on my old stomping grounds where I was a Performing Missionary. Love this 'Just Plain Anna Amanda' play. Brought back about a gajillion happy memories


Pioneer Pastimes




love this plate with the waffle on it

i made Nate try this old fudge shop we went to while I was in Nauvoo. yum.

Carthage

Mark Twain's hometown in Missouri - close to Nauvoo



Walt Disney's hometown and home. Fun to run into a person who knew his family.


famous eats but in the end - unwilling to stand in the 2 hour line to eat it. sorry, sweetie! maybe when we don't have hungry babies :).
Brown v Board of Education

#reallife

so we like to talk

Kansas