Late Summer Happenings

Just thought I would share some more pictures of this week's activities. Dad has been working very hard on finishing up the shed. The outsid finish is stucco which is a tremendous amount of work. This is a picture of the door side--the double doors are custom made by my very handy husband. The doors still need a final coat of paint, but isn't that what I am here for. If anyone has a suggestion on the color for the final coat, I would appreciate it. The color of the stucco is charcoal gray.

Dad at his cool new workbench.

Also, here is a fun web site for more pictures and details of the hike we took on Thursday. http://utahpictures.com/Amethyst_Lake.php. Hope you can view these cool pictures.

By the way, I was able to get out of bed on Friday and even drove to Provo to have dinner with Chelle and our friends, Stacey and Jeramy from Stewartstown. Stacey brought Jeramy out to BYU for fall semester. Jeramy got home from his mission to Hungary in July. We saw lots of cool pictures from Stacey and Crockett's trip to pick him up.

"Down Day"

Yesterday, Aug. 28, was a "down day" from working on the shed and other odd jobs around the house. Dad has been home since Saturday and has been busy working on his various projects. We loaded up and headed to the Christmas Meadows trailhead to embark on a day in the wilderness. (Nate, of course, was in school.)

Our destination was Amethyst Lake. Dad had been there 5 years ago and has wanted me to see the beauty of this distant lake. When we arrived at the trail head, there was frost on the ground. 8000 feet is cold this time of year, but when we used to camp there when the kids were little, there was often frost in the morning. (Have I mentioned that Christmas Meadows is my most favorite place on the earth?

The first three miles are pretty easier, but once you start toward Amethyst, it gets pretty steep.

We passed many beautiful wildflowers and we followed a beautiful stream most of the way.

After hiking for several hours and working up quit a sweat, we arrived at Ostler Lake with its breath-taking scenery.

It was here we took our lunch break and much to our surprise, we had cell phone reception. (We didn't have it at the trail head and here we were 4+ miles further out in the wilderness and we could call out.)

After stopping for lunch and resting a bit, we headed to our destination, Amethyst Lake.

It is a large lake and the views are stunning and well worth the hike in. Here I am dangling my feet in the cold water.

We then headed back toward the car. It was a long day, almost 14 miles; almost nine hours, but well worth the time and effort. We decided this needs to be our Labor Day activity. (No moose, though.)

Ma's new number

I am preparing to drop my house phone line and so I have a new cell phone number. Hopefully it won't mess everyone too much. The new phone #is (307) 679-5091. Dad's cell number will remain the same as will Nate's.

Same Old--Same Old

Not much new is going on at home. Nate returned home just over a week ago. The first morning he was home, he was up way too early. He was still on Eastern time. He has gone back to his normal routine, which is get up at 11 and play until 2 (am). That's not for me.
Last weekend the Kimbers came for a visit. I'll post pictures of Mr. Ben at a later date. It was great to have them for the weekend. Ben is certainly an active little guy.
On Tuesday Nate and I traveled to Orem to pick up my bike which Michelle and Jon took down to be repaired. It is great to have my two wheeler back.
Nate is officially registered for school now. His first day is the 25th, and I can't wait.
Tonight was a "big" night for me. I went to the Uinta County Museum volunteer pot luck picnic. Such fun. The museum director asked me if I would be willing to help with the museum again this year. So I guess I will until I find something better. It will keep me out of trouble, anyway.

Day at the Beach--Lots of Fun

Yesterday, August 2, Michelle and Jon came up to head over Bear Lake for the afternoon. It was a perfect afternoon for a day at the beach. The beach was sandy and the water was warm. It was a delightful afternoon and here are some fun pictures to show it.

Here are Michelle and Jon playing in the muddy sand.

Tinkerbelle loved being anywhere but the water.