Lake Powell

We love Lake Powell and decided to go for Labor Day. Usually we stay close to the marina's but Steve decided he wanted to get away this time so we loaded up the gas cans and drove down the lake. We stayed in what is called the Rincon and it was fantastic. The water was smooth, their was a porta potty close by and hardly anybody was there. We had a bad storm the first night which I slept thru but it rained pretty hard. After that a couple of sprinkles here and there but when the water is 80 degrees you can stand that. I still struggle with this blog stuff so here is a run down of the pictures. Of course our boat up davis gulch. Ryan and Garrett and Tyson had climbed up to the arch so we were just waiting for them below. Tyson is doing a flip on the knee board, Ryan caught the biggest lizard he has ever seen and then he is wakeboarding and Josh is upside down wakeboarding going into his flip. Jeremy and Lianna couldn't come as well as Rachel so we missed them. I love Lake Powell, have to have warm water and sun and the beauty of the Lake is like no other place close by that I know of. It was good to get away!

Neighbors....

So I have been wondering about a particuler neighbor who keeps his yard groomed all summer. He has a makeshift stream that runs in the front, always plants beautiful flowers in the spring and every week is out mowing, edging and blowing the loose grass around. I have been jealous a few times because Steve is not known to love to do yardwork so it would end up being me or the kids. That would explain why I am filling my yard with perennials and rocks. What I am sure to do is make my lawn always green, I really don't care the cost of watering I just know in July and August I have to water twice a day if I want my yard to stay green. Not that I am trying to stay up with the neighbors but I have always loved a green lawn that looks like it might want to be sat upon. Well these immaculate looking yard owners even surprised me! I have started walking a little bit to try and get in better shape and as I would walk past their house I noticed the lawn was dying in the mow strip and along the edge of the sidewalk. Not all of it just spots here and there. Now having already suffered from dead lawn because of a bug, which happened when we first moved in and even killing off my old lawn because it had grown tall fescue grass which I hated, I pride myself in knowing that they just needed to turn the water on more. The sorry condition of the lawn was because of owner neglect and not because of something out of their control. So imagine my surprise when I walked on Monday night having to pass the dying lawn only to return on Tuesday and it was nice and green. The DEAD giveaway was the fact that the color they spray painted it with didn't exactly match the color of the lawn. What was even sadder was they didn't spray all of it at once only the mow strip so it was another day before the other spots on the lawn were sprayed the same non matching color. So it makes one wonder, did they really think they were fooling anybody by spraying the lawn, couldn't they notice that the lawn that was by the stream was in perfect condition because it was getting water and the lawn by the flowers because they were getting water so how about just increasing the water to the rest of the lawn thereby saving you the expense of buying cans of spray paint to use on the lawn? OR were they aware that I had started walking to feel better, or that I had just started a blog and would need material to talk about or are they just CRAZY??

How was your weekend??

So Steve decided he wants to go hike the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim. Some might wonder why I would consent to this when my previous blog was about being alone and him being gone. He has been working on getting in shape this summer so I couldn't help but let him go. He left on Friday night and drove to the north rim of the grand canyon. He hiked 32 miles on Saturday going 3/4 of the way. By the end he could barely put one foot in front of the other, but he made it and is now walking like a very old crippled man. He was so proud of himself and I am proud of him for doing it. Of course he found another pair of sunglasses. Seems every trip he goes on he finds a nice pair of sunglasses. Because of his desire to save gas, he took the galant and left the big truck with us. Ryan had the truck Friday night so Saturday it is Rachels turn to have the truck. She had agreed to pick up Tyson and his friends so I wouldn't have to. Well on her way to pick them up it had started raining really bad and she lost control of the truck turning right at the light and took out a tree in Draper. Quite a big tree and we will have to wait for a couple of days to see the damage on the truck. Needless to say, I bet it is totaled. So here we are without a car, Steve in the Grand Canyon with no service, quess that means no church cuz I am not walking. It all turns out ok because I was able to rent a car from Enterprise. NO they don't pick you up on Sundays! Now Steve is driving a mercury mountneer until we find out the injuries to the truck. As for Rachel she is fine, this is her 2nd wreck in a truck, one at the hands of her dad who totaled the black toyota tacoma and now the ford f-150. Wouldn't you know neither trucks airbags activated! Does anyone think I might have a legal case?

OshKosh and Ford Mustangs

Steve took his dad and Tyson back to OshKosh Wisconsin to see the biggest airshow. His dad has always wanted to see it and so Steve decided to take him back there (sorta like a bucket list item for those who have seen that show). They saw alot of planes, airshows, movies on a blow up big screen and even had a night with Harrison Ford at the campground. Apparently his cousin is the CEO of Ford Motors and hence the mustangs were there as well. Tyson was in 7th heaven as he loves mustang cars. He actually loves the older models but his dad was able to snap some pictures of some mustangs that he thought were pretty SWEET. Now for those of you who have read my earlier blog postings you will know that I don't like to be alone. Even though this trip was planned months ago, no one realized that Steve and Tyson would be gone, Rachel would be at EFY and Ryan would be in Lake Powell with his friend Garrett and his family. So that leaves me and the dog alone to fend for ourselves. Of course the third night alone I have a bad dream about Steve and another woman. For those of you who have/had those dreams you know how real they can be. I wake up bawling the next morning and immediately call steve. I need to make sure he loves me of course. Well there is no answer and so I leave a message amongst the tears. After I have been at work for awhile I realize that he has not called back so of course I start texting him. Where are you, did you get my message, please call me to name just a few. That is Tuesday. Well Wednesday comes and still no Steve. Finally Wednesday night I get a call from him. Of course he left the phone in the truck! After reasurring me that he does love me, it was just a dream and he will call every single night I am feeling better. He lives up to his word and calls me on Thursday and again on Friday. He is supposed to come home Sunday morning sometime after he drops Tyson off to scout camp. By the way, I won't be seeing Tyson for 3 weeks, which I was not looking forward to. Well in walks Steve and Tyson, Friday around 5 pm. I couldn't get the grin off my face for several hours. The hugs and tears I think let them know how much I missed them. The best part was I got to spend time with Tyson before he had to go back to scout camp and work. After finally getting a hold of Steve and he realizing what a boob I was they decided to come home early. It was Tysons idea not to tell me they were coming home so they pretended to be in Wisconsin while they would call me as they traveled home. I still don't know if I have convinced Steve that this was the best surprise I could ever have. I know it is sappy but honestly if you know me you know how much family means to me and how I HATE to be alone!

Let's meet Max!

This is Maximus Eralius (from the gladiators) but he goes by Max. He is a chi-who-a-who-a (that's how my dil pronounces it. Ok dil stands for daughter in law also known as Lianna, Jeremy's wife. He is the cutest little biscuit and has adapted well to his new home. Jeremy got this grease jacket out of a dvd case when he got the movie and believe me it is small. When he lays on his side his black spots on his sides turns into a heart. I haven't seen this little man for a while and I miss him. When I was little we always had dogs and now we are on our last one, Missy. She is a boxer and such a good dog. She is inside because our last dog, bubba (he was also a boxer) was poisoned. I was trying to include a picture of our boxer and I don't know what happened but the picture isn't that great and I can't seem to get rid of it. Anyways that is missy. I can hardly wait for the two of them to get together and see how they do. Missy will most likely be afraid, but then she will adapt.

Patience...

Many years ago when I was a student at BYU we had a concert that was coming to the Marriott Center and I and some of my buddies wanted tickets way bad. So we camped out at the Marriott Center in the stands sleeping in the seats waiting for these to go on sale. I remember thinking back then how much I hated doing that, how impatient I really was and wasn't even sure by the time I got my tickets that it was worth it. My roomates and I had alot of male company at our apartment in Heritage Halls and I had a roomate who didn't go out alot. Well one day as we were all primping for our nights activities, (mind you we only had one bathroom) she yells that she needs the bathroom. Another roomate yells out "Patience is a virtue" and she yells back "So is chastiy". I have never forgotten that statement, probably because I was on the less than virtuous side. Who knows, but over the years I have learned that patience is a virture. In my own life I have never had alot of patience. As I get older it is getting easier for me to "wait" for things. Recently my sister has had to exhibit alot of patience waiting for her much needed surgery. Now that it is done, she will have to wait to heal. I have watched her and been amazed at her attitude. Mind you she has been frustrated as we all have but the other day as I sat in her room at the hospital, she being sound asleep and not even knowing that I was there, I was amazed at how much she had gone thru, what an example she is to me of patience with trials and obstacles that come into a persons life and I don't know that I could have been as strong. Her trials started some 2 plus years ago and not just one but one after another and for me this last one would have been the one that broke the camels back. Instead she has weathered each and every storm with dignity, she is my example. One thing that I have observed as she has been hospitalized a couple of times before the actual surgery was the amount of love that her co-workers have for her. I have personally never met so many nice people who thought my sis was the best. Now in the younger years growing up I might have disagreed, but actually she deserves every accolade. Sis you are the best! You are such an example to me in many ways and I love you very much.

The latest and greatest invention..........

.....at least that I have seen. We have awesome friends who always seem to win everything under the sun. Of course he labels himself the chairman of fun and I do believe it fits him to a "T". So they are golfing in Page, Arizona and win a cooler in the tournament. They are thinking it might be kind of a dumb gift until they see it. It is an electric cooler, complete with a seat and back rest, accomodating handle bars, and speed like no other. If you are not careful you might even tip over if you go to fast on a turn. I have not laughed this hard for a long time. It was way fun! I am told you can buy these at Cabelas for around $399.99. With gas prices the way they are it might be a wise investment. By the way in this same golf tournament they won a set of golf clubs as well. If you want to have a good time let me know, I can hook you up with the chairman of fun!