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.

Bear Lake Visit

This is a continuation or the conclusion of Michelle and my trip to Idaho. We took the long way home, through Star Valley which for me isn't really the long way home. It is by far the most scenic of the drives to get to Evanston. We did, however, take a different drive from Star Valley. We went through Montipelier Canyon and into Montipelier ID and then around Bear Lake. We stopped and put our feet in Bear Lake. Tinkerbelle loved the stop.

Jon, you are lucky Michelle came home. Copper is soooooo glad I am home.

Vacaton Continuing

Chelley was kind enough to pick me up at the airport on Thursday. She brought kitten with her so he could go home. It was so nice of her to take care of him and make him feel better while I was gone. The plan was for her to pick me up and then on Friday we would head to Cheryl's to can some peaches and play with the Kimbers.

After spending the night in Evanston and taking our dogs for a walk Thurs. night and Friday morning we headed to Idaho. We went through Ogden and Brigham City to get some peaches.

We arrived at Cheryl's about 5:30. It was a hot drive and very long.

Here is a picture on Mr. Ben staying close to his mom after we arrived.

The purpose of our trip was to can some peaches and we did that on Sat. morning. We did 12 quarts, for Cheryl and Jason, and 14 pints for Michelle and Jon and Ma and Pa. They really did turn out great.

After cleaning up our sticky mess, and thankfully Carma let us borrow her big outdoor stove so we do most of the work outside, we headed to Big Spring for a picnic. big Spring is a natural spring that is east of Mack's Inn on the road to West Yellowstone. It is so beautiful and this year

everything was extra green. After eating and looking at the huge trout, went over to the boat launch and put our "piggies" in the water. Boy, was it cold.

Then it was time to head back to Rigby before the mosquitoes ate Chelley all up.

Vacation Over

I have arrived home after such a good time. It is always fun to be with Dad and we always do such fun stuff. This trip was shorter than usual, but we managed to do a lot of fun things. Wednesday was my last day there and after the boys finished with work, we headed to Baltimore for an evening of fun. First stop: Phillips All You Can Eat Seafood Buffet. It is so much fun watching Nate eat Crab Legs. Big Snow Crab Legs. He loves Crab Legs and he can eat so many of them. I love the chilled shrimp and crab imperial. Everything is wonderful--if you like seafood and we do. Neither Dad or I combined can eat as much as Nate.
Then it was time for a ball game. On Wednesday night the Orioles were celebrating the 25th anniversary of their last world series title. The members of the team were there. These were the guys Dad and I remember watching--kinda of heroes of baseball. (The Orioles beat the Phillies that Year.) They had a neat ceremony before the game. It was way cool. (Guess who left their cameras at home.) It was a throw back game so the team wore the uniforms from 1983--you remember the cartoon bird on the hat and tickets for the upper deck were $5.50. Man, you could almost afford to take your family to a baseball game back then.
About the fifth inning the grounds crew ran out onto the field and sat behind the tarp, so I suspected something was up--that and the fact there were flood warnings posted for that evening and by the start of the sixth inning it started to sprinkle. Before there were any outs, we decided that we would hurry home and watch the final innings at home. (After the rain delay.)
WE were parked 3 blocks away and before we could get to the car, it started to pour. By the time we got to the car, we were soaking wet. The ride home was exciting because it was raining so hard you couldn't see the lines on the road and the wipers couldn't keep up with it. A real east coast rain storm. (The game was called on the count of rain and finished on Thurs. morning.)
My flight left Thurs. morning at 8:55 am and my East Coast vacation was over.

Church in York

Today being Sunday and with us being on the East Coast, we headed to York for church. Dad spoke with Bishop Van Tassel last week and they were the sacrament speakers in York I. Dad forgot to ask Dick what time their meetings start and he was positive that their meeting started at 1. We headed up that way and arrived in time for York 2's meetings. That was okay, I guess, because the Dallastown Wagners are in York 2 as well as the Engel's. So I got to talk to Tina, Billie Rae Morgenegg, because she hadn't left the church yet, and the Engel's. All the Engel's were there except Troy who couldn't get leave and Mikey who is on a mission in CA. The twins had just returned home from Rexburg last week. Chris was there with his wife and baby girl, one twin was there with his wife, and the other twin was there with a girl friend. Lori was there with her husband and FOUR kids. Matt still looks like Matt.
Dad will make sure Nate gets to York 1 next Sunday.
I head home on Thurs. the 24. The boys will continue to have lots of fun when I leave.

Saturday's fun and excitement was fileting the fish we caught on Friday, then a trip to Baltimore and a walk around the Inner Harbor. Heat index was around 100. You remember the days when you sweat while sitting still.

Events for the next few days. Basketball in York Tuesday night and Wednesday Night an Orioles Game.

The fish were biting

Here we are, the great fisher"persons". Friday Dad arranged for Miguel to take us out on the bay for our fishing trip. Miguel brought his 11 year old son, Mark, along to help us. It was so much fun. We left Crofton at 6 am, and yes, Nate slept the whole way. When we got to the Bay Bridge, a glorious sun rise greeted us. You remember the ones where because of the humidity the sun glows a beautiful pink.
When we got out on the water and Miguel picked out our fishing spot, Nate was the first one with his hooks in the water. No one else even had time to bait our hooks before Nate had caught two fish. (All with one pole.) Now, I must give a lot of credit to Nate. He hates water; is scared to death of water, even. But for the second time this trip he agreed to get on a boat.
By the time we docked the boat at about 2:30, we had caught a cooler full of fish. Croakers. Now I know why they are called Croakers. They make a croaking sound, like a frog, when they are caught. Mark caught a lot more than we did. He is a great fisherman. But we all had fun and we will enjoy eating the fish. (I told Dad that when we move out here, he has to buy me a boat and of course, a pickup to haul the boat.)
After taking a quick shower in Crofton, we headed to a little Italian place for dinner. Bookmaker, Calamari, and pasta. Perfect Day

Vacation Update

No new pictures. Yesterday we traveled to York so Dad could meet with the good Dr. Knudson about his sore elbow. He is on the dl now as he has been diagnosed with "tennis elbow".
While Dad was with the Dr., Nate and I went to the Galleria Mall for some shopping. I remember the Galleria as an exciting mall, but both Nate and I were disappointed and we finished walking around the mall in 15 minutes. We did indulge in "Aunt Annies" pretzels, which in my opinion are the best pretzels around.
I stopped in the Orioles store to pick up an Orioles outfit for Ben and a license plate holder for my zuki.
After Dad picked us up, we went to the park over by the Layton's old house, grilled some steaks, had a picnic,and completed our PA day by driving some of the back roads before heading back to Crofton. We saw the farm house from a distance, through the corn fields, and the house on Mill Street. It was hard to remember all the back roads that we used to drive on a regular basis.
The area has really grown. There is a Cracker Barrel and Home Depot at exit one now. The traffic heading north out of MD was very heavy. It certainly is not the same as when we lived there. It is hard to believe we have been gone from PA now for six years. Time sure goes by quickly.
After getting back to Crofton, it was a quiet night of watching the All Star game. Nobody here was awake for the final out.

Vacation Finally

Let the fun begin. We have arrived safely and are ready for some big time fun. Friday after sleeping in and recovering from a late night arrival, we had lunch at the "Four Seasons Grill" and then headed for Towson to look at a job.

Nate and Dad rode the scaffolding to the 22 nd floor where they had a great view of the Baltimore area. We came home early to prepare for our weekend in NYC with the Forbes.

Saturday's drive was uneventful except for the traffic jam where we moved 7 miles in 45 minutes. It's a good thing we had no schedule to meet.

We went to the New Jersey side of the Statue of Liberty and took a quick look. We knew we had to hurry to meet Carolyn and Stew at Shea Stadium for the ball game, but traffic was way heavy so meeting was a little late. We finally got together during the third inning.

The Mets won the game 3-0. It really was a lot of fun--any baseball game is a lot of fun.

After the game we took the Forbes to their friends home where they were staying, but first, we stopped at a little neighborhood Italian restaurant we passed. The food was great and I'm still tasting garlic.

Sunday morning we left our hotel and headed toward the New York side of the Statue of Liberty. We took a Harbor Cruise around Ellis Island and the Statue. It was a beautiful day for a boat ride.

Vacation Day One:

How can I describe the way our vacation began. We left the Evans Family reuninion and made the final preparations for our journey across the country. After Nate said goodbye to his friends, we packed up the Hyundai and left town. We hadn't driven very far when there was a "lurch" in the car and the ac was turned off to see if that would solve the problem. It didn't.
To make a long story short, we didn't get to Green River before we decided the best thing to do would be to turn around and check air fares and times. Dad flies back to Baltimore on Monday and Nate and I fly out on Thurs. We will still be able to get to NYC in time to see the Met/Rockies game on Saturday with the Forbes. What a way to start a vacation.

Moose

Here's some pictures of the moose I saw at the State Park this morning. Hope he stays around until the 4th. As you can see, the river is high and running very fast as well as cold. Summer has arrived and I love it.

Time for photos

I wanted to share some photos from the past few days. I must apologize for no pics from Sat. trip to Ut. I would loved to have shared pictures of Bear Lake and I would loved to have had pictures of my cousins. One Day I will learn to have my camera with me at all times.

Anyway, the pictures are of the snow in the Uintas, more specific, the trail head for Ruth Lake, Christmas Meadows, some wild flowers at the state park, (These are Dad's favorites) and one of our apple trees which are in full bloom. It feels so good to have warm temps and a bright blue sky.

Ramblings

Yesterday I took the time to drive to Clarkston, Utah for an aunts 90th birthday celebration. She was the wife of my mother's brother and has been a widow for 50 years, but my mom's family loved her so much and she in turn loved them that everyone has stayed close. When my uncle died, he would have been in his early 40's when he died, they had 5 children, the oldest being maybe 10. The youngest was probably 2 or so. There was a book with stories about my mom's family and pictures I had never seen before. Carma is going to talk to the cousin who did this book and get me a copy. What a treasure.
I decided that since Nate was at work, I would take the scenic drive. I went around Bear Lake and through Logan Canyon. The lake was sooo beautiful and the drive though the canyon was so peaceful and beautiful. I saw a couple of nice trailheads. Someday I will have to try them.
Logan is a beautiful town--and the temple, which is my favorite for obvious reasons, is so stately sitting up on the hill.
I saw and talked with cousins I had not seen since I was a little girl. My favorite moment was when my mom's half sister's husband came over to me and asked me if I had found me a man yet? (Boy, was he surprised when I told him, "yes, and I have five kids". Obviously he had me confused with Carma.
The drive home took me through Sardine Canyon (the route from Logan to Brigham City) and then a stop in Ogden so I could go to Lowe's for Dad (Roy) and then through Weber Canyon and back to Evanston. I just barely got home before Nate got off work. It was a wonderful day and well worth the time.
It feels like summer here, finally. When I post comments about it being hot this summer I am not complaining, I am just commenting. I will not complain about the heat, I am looking forward to it being hot.

As promised

As I promised in a previous blog, here is a of picture of the moose we saw while out at the state park recently. The park trails are flooded again so it is hard to get over to the side where the wildlife are. Here is also a picture of a goose family out for a swim.

Busy Week

The week that Dad was home was sure a busy and fun week. Let me recap some of the highlights.

I picked him up at the airport Friday (23). When we got home, it was almost time for Nate to get home from school. The boys went driving and we started preparing the shed slab.

Sat. (24) traveled to Orem to have lunch with Michelle, Jon, Dave, Allyson, Ryan, Isaac, and Evan. Nate had to work, so he missed out on a fun afternoon.

Sun. (25) traveled to Rigby to visit Cheryl and Jason. Took a walk around Rigby Lake and then cooked s'mores in their backyard. Played with Ben, alot.

Mon. (26) traveled home and Nate went to work. Worked on filling the slab foundation with more rock.

Tues. (27) filled the foundation forms with more rock. I mowed Grandma Turner's grass. Dad also spent a lot of time working on the base in living room. He wanted to hide the heat pipes so he had to build a cover that would match the base. It looks great. I also planted some flowers in Grandma Turner's front planter box.

Wed. (28) final prepartation for shed foundation/slab. Concrete came and Dad spent the remainder of the day finishing concrete. Nate was at work.

Thurs (29) took the day off from hard labor and traveled Northwest of Kemmerer to do some fossil hunting. Now if you have ever been to Kemmerer, you know you are on the outskirts of civilization, but if you go north and west of Kemmerer you really are on the edge of the earth.

It really was a lot of fun. You can keep all the fossils you find, unless you find a rare one, like a sting ray or a crocodile. I found a sting ray. (Or part of one.) The guide was really dissapointed that I could not show him exactly where I was working when I found it. How did I know it was a sting ray. We found lots of fish fossils and really had a great time. We will do it again.

Friday (30) The lumber for the shed was delivered and the work began. Dad started the framing and I tried to help. He should have married someone stronger and taller. By the time the boys got home from school, the walls were almost up. Nate and Jeff then took over helping Dad and got the roof trusses up. It looked like a shed when we called it quits.

Sat. (31) The goal was to get it all done before we headed to SLC to spend the night. Nate had to work, so Dad got Jeff to help with the shed. Jeff learned a lot and had a great time helping. It was probably the most meaningful experience he had ever had. By the days end, the roof was completed, the walls were finished, and a door was put in. The big double doors will have to wait until the next trip home. It looks great and will be filled up quickly. Dad wants to put in a work bench for working on all the projects he wants to do.

Saturday evening we went to SLC to spend the night. Dad's flight leaves at 6:20 am Sunday morning and nobody wanted to get up at 3 to go to the airport.

All in all, it was a most fun week. Dad was proud of the work he got done. We really do have a lot of fun working together. We like to play together, too.

Busy Weekend

Here are just a few pictures showing what a busy week we have had.

Monday we returned home from Idaho after visiting Cheryl and family.

Tuesday we spent the day preparing for concrete for the shed floor. Dad also spent a great deal of time working on the base for the living room.

Wednesday the concrete came and the shed floor was finished.

Thursday Dad and I went northwest of Kememerer to do some fossil hunting. That was a blast. You can keep all the fossil you find, unless they are rare, such as sting rays or crocodiles. I found part of a sting ray. (We were able to find crocodile poop.)

Friday the lumber came for the shed. Dad enlisted my help for a while and had most of the walls up by the time the boys came home from school. By evening, the trusses were up for the roof.

Saturday Jeff and Dad completed most of the shed. (Nate was working at Walmart. Don't let the picture of Nate on the roof fool you. He had just gotten up.)

Tonight we will head to SLC to spend the night. Dad's flight is out at

Almost Perfect Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend was almost perfect. We saw all the grandkids and may I just say--they are all adorable. Saturday's lunch with Dave and his kids and Michelle and Jon was a lot of fun. The pizza was delicious. We, of course, missed Summer, but I am sure she had a great time with her family. Nate was also absent, but he does enjoy working at Walmart.

On Sunday, as soon as Nate was off work, we headed to Rigby to visit Cheryl, Jason, and Ben. Jason fixed dinner for us and then we took a walk around Rigby Lake. Later that evening we started a fire and cooked smores. I think Ben is really going to like roasting marshmellows. After watching Jason work in the yard Monday morning, we headed back home. We really got rained on during the trip home.

Monday evening Dad and I went for a walk at the state park and we didn't see one moose--no we saw two moose. I will share the pics later when Dad downloads them to my computer.

Tuesday was spent preparing the site for our new shed. And then today (Wed) Dad poured the slab for the shed. It will be so nice when it is done--just like everything Dad does. I planted flowers in Grandma's planter box and got her lawn mowed. Everything looks so nice and green.

It still is a little chilly and the trees are just barely starting to leaf out. The crab apple tree which usually blossoms in mid-May, still hasn't bloomed. We are very grateful for the moisture, but hoping for some warm weather soon.

Nate has only 3 1/2 days of school left. I will be glad when it is over. He has improved a lot this year and we hope he continues to improve next year. Have a fun summer everyone.