I am back.

Sorry to be absent for so long but well life gets a little overwhelming for me sometimes. Anyway, we have pretty much finished the basement(only a few little things need to be finished) and we have pretty much moved in. It has been a big job for us but it will be nice to have done.
Ashley and I have started working at the Canyons Resort. It is fun to have someone to ride up with. We are finally getting snow so things are picking up.
Last Saturday Ric and I went snowshoeing. We left the house at 6:30am with a temperature of 15' and went up our American Fork Canyon. We met a group of fellow snowshoers and began our hike up a small canyon. It was beautiful with the newly fallen 18+ inches of snow and very cold (about 0'). We were dressed warmly and kept moving so we were really enjoying it. We got back to the car at 11:00am. I had lots to do but was so tired that not much got done the rest of the day.
Our Christmas eve was very quiet with just Ric and I but Ashley and Clay with their families were here on Christmas day. We ATE and played games. It was nice to be together.
I will post pictures as soon as I find my camera cord to the computer. Yea I am still unorganized. Sigh!

Grandkids are fun play toys!

We enjoyed having Staci and the boys come for a visit. Ashley and her gang came over and we went to the Childrens Museum and the next day to the Heritage Farm. We looked like a preschool on an outing. It was chaotic but fun. At the Childrens Museum, the babies loved the water area, Dallin and Parker loved the balls, and they all loved the helicopter. The train at the Farm was a hit as well as the pony rides and the playhouses. I ran out of battery in my camera at the Farm...oh well...I am still a grandma in training. But I have decided that grandkids are really fun "playthings". Lots of good times had by all.

A new baby boy added to the family.

I have spent many fun hour with the grandkids this summer. We welcomed Nathan and Staci's new son Landon so most of the family was together in Boise. He is such a good baby and so sweet. He was blessed wearing Nathan's blessing outfit. Staci did a great job arranging a brunch and hosting us all.

All the grandkids loved playing together...6 under age 4 years is a real zoo. It is also incredibly fun to watch. They are so active and individual.

Havasupai Falls Trip

I have always wanted to go to Havasupai Falls from the time I was in college so this was a dream come true for me. We spent 4 days having a blast...hiking, jumping into falls, swimming, floating down the stream, eating and camping. We drove all night on Thursday and began a hike down the canyon at 6am. It was still cool and the switchbacks were not bad. As we hiked the 10 miles into the canyon where we found a magical world of azure blue water, huge falls and groves of green trees within a desert world. We hiked through the Indian village to our campground. There were lots of people at the campground but for some reason I wasn't bugged. I was just happy to be some place cool. The hot temperatures made the water really inviting. We did the trip with Ashley, Justin, Justin's friends Tom and Sarah, Sarah's aunt and uncle, her 2 brothers, and a couple who were Tom and Sarahs friends. It was a great group.

We spent the next two days floating on inner tubes down the cascading terraces, swinging off rope swings, hiking to the four falls, eating and even attending a church meeting in the Indian village. I managed to pull a muscle in my leg which has dampened my summer activities but it was worth it. We all got a little banged up bouncing down the stream in our inner tubes and jumping off ledges with them into the pools below. It was incredible!
The last night we got up at 3am to pack up and begin our hike out. Since my leg was not working too good, we left our packs to be brought out on the mule train later in the morning. It turned out to be a really nice way to do it. I enjoyed the evening/morning hike out. The stars were awesome, we saw frogs and scorpions, and the sunrise was beautiful as dawn approached. It took us about 4 hours to hike out. We were thirsty and hot but we had cool drinks and watermelon waiting for us in our coolers up on top. We waited for our packs and watched the mules carry out the mail from the village(one of the last places to still have mail delivered by mule.
Ric and I had the best time especially being able to share it with Justin and Ashley and their friends. We recommend the trip to anyone even with the heat, the indian dogs, and hiking. It was worth it.

The Indian Ruins along the San Juan River

Ok so I am still figuring this out. The picture on the San Juan ended up gigantic size at the bottom of the Blog. Oh Well. I just laugh at the way I can mess up even the simplest tool.

More later. My best adventure was with Ric in June and I wanted to do it justice so wait for the next blog.

River Pictures

Just a couple of pictures from the San Juan River.

BYU Education Week

Just finished going to 3 days of Education Week. I wimped out on Tuesday but got motivated for the rest of the week. I learned some great things and I always come home with renewed commitment to be better. Watched a premier movie on the New World. It was about the land of the Book of Mormon. It was really interesting how they try to figure out where they were and what the civilization was like. You will have to see it. Listened to Marvin Goldstein play and talk. Anyway it was great and next year I want Ric to go. He would love it.

Summer Update

We started out with a mad rush this summer, but things have slowed down now. In June, I ran a river for a week then at the end of the month was in California taking out two tours on the Channel Islands. I really loved that! When I got home, I headed off to Boise for Nathan's 3 son's birth. A month after that, we had a family reunion in Boseman, Montana. It was really great to get so many family members together. We camped near a big stream and hiked and ate and went to the Museum of the Rockies.
Ric and I drove back to hurriedly leave for Trek with our Stake YM and YW. We went to Martins Cove and walked the actual trail where the Martin and Willie handcart companies faced such horrendous trials. We were Ma and Pa to a great bunch of kids. We pulled the handcarts 30 miles in 3 days. It was an awesome experience for me to walk the same trail that so many of my ancestors had walked since it was on the Oregan trail. I had researched out a lot of my g.g.grandparents so I felt expecially close to them Ric and I were both inspired by the courage that both the handcart pioneers and pioneers had shown and their testimony of the gospel.
After a few days of recooperation, I was off to help Nathan and Staci get moved into their new home. Since Nathan was in his new job, Staci and I with her dad's help did most of it. The house is wonderful and it is always fun to see the "Boys". Dallin is amazing since he is reading and doing double digit math problems. He is only 4 and has another year of preschool. We are not envying the kindergarten teacher when she gets Dallin. Parker is a bundle of energy and at such a cute age (2) . Landon is now 3 months old and cooing and so cute.