FOR-EVVV-UHHH

To celebrate our 24th anniversary, we went to Zion. During our dating years, we would go to Zion frequently to eat, watch concerts at the amphitheatre, and hike or drive around the area. We were able to enjoy some of those same things again. I am always amazed how beautiful that canyon is; everywhere you look there is something amazing to see.

We also drove to the Ghost Town of Grafton, UT.  It has been years since we've been there.  The one-room schoolhouse is always my favorite.  Looking in I can imagine the fun it would have been teaching in it.  With varying levels in all areas, in many ways the classrooms of today aren't so different.  I think the students would have been better behaved then, because they viewed education as a privilege and the parents didn't think twice about disciplining them with a switch when they misbehaved or were disrespectful!

Really, I could just live next door and walk to and from work.  After school I could sip lemonade on my porch and read a good book!

Here's Evan (who by the way, HATES to have his picture taken) looking quite intellectual in his first pair of reading glasses!   How lucky is he that he's had perfect vision until recently?!  Not one of our girls has been blessed with his eye site!  He's going to be mad that I posted this picture, but doesn't he look handsome and smart?!?

And being the smart one that he is, he ruined my little fantasy by reminding me of the realities of living in that time period.  Rattlesnakes, angry Indians, hard labor, isolation from others, no a/c or heating systems, very little pay, and harsh living conditions.  Hmmmm.....so perhaps I'll just enjoy imagining life back then.

The cemetery always sheds light on reality as well.  This family all died from diptheria, indian attacks, or tragic accidents on the farm or otherwise.  Two little girls (best friends) died when the swing they were on collapsed crushing them both.  So sad.

If only the massive trees and abandoned building could tell the other stories left untold.  Such obedient and stalwart pioneers were they that were sent to settle small places like Grafton.  It was a hot and dusty day, but it always make me grateful for them and also to live with the modern conveniences of our day.  I hope to sit down in Heaven with them one day and hear their stories.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

 Abby and Chicka.  First day of school looking adorable.

Abby age 13 - 8th grade          Taylor age 15 - 10th grade

(Notice that Abby has caught up with Taylor in height!) he he Chicka informed us this summer that she wants to be voted as "BEST DRESSED" in school her Senior Year!  Ha ha!  We suggested she aim for something like Honor Roll, Scholarships, Valedictorian or something along those lines instead.  She said she is, but that being best dressed would be great too!  She cracks us up!

Well, I may be just the old-fashioned, out of fashion, weird, crazy, out of sorts mother of these adorable teenagers, but I think they are THE cutest girls in school today....inside AND out!  And that's what matters!

Never a Dull Moment

See Abby.  See Chesnee.  See MREs.

 See Abby eat.  See Chesnee eat.  See them enjoy and smile!

Why you ask?  I don't know.  Abby & Chesnee have always come up with weird, funny, and curious things to do and try since they were little.  I wonder about these girls sometimes.  At least they know how to plan for a cheap and easy date some day!

See Stephanie.  See Whitney.  See smashed bananas.

See them cooking together with their matching t-shirts!  They are my "swins" . . . twin sisters as their professors have been known to call them.  They are good friends and have so much in common.  Steph is my new adopted daughter.  They are student teaching at the same school and making life so much fun when they are together!!

 See my bedding.  See Steph, Abby, Whit, and Tay in my new bedding cuddling on Saturday morning.

Hear them giggling, talking, planning, teasing, scheming and more giggling.

Hear them having our "Saturday morning chat" without me!!

See them faking sleep as I tell them to get out of my bed.  See them trying to look all sweet, innocent, and cozy hoping I'll let them be!  Oh my. . . why do they have their own beds again?!?

Here Pepper!!  C'mon girl!  Let's go wake up the girls!!!!



S U R P R I S E !

Doug wanted to have a surprise party for mom's 74th birthday so he let us all know and we arranged our schedules to make it happen. That was the first challenge; the second was keeping it a secret from mom! She seldom answers the phone anymore except the day I'm trying to get details from Doug. I know she's got caller ID, so I tried disguising my voice just incase she didn't notice the number. I did a lousy job since she knew it was me. I'm certain she was quizzing/pestering Doug all day long about why I would be calling to talk to him. Anyway...I think she may have had an idea, but seemed pleasantly surprised.

Here's all the crazy, noisy grandkids waiting to surprise her. Keeping them quiet was also a challenge! (Especially Chan & Gippy!)

And the BIRTHDAY GIRL arrives!

We gave her a Willow figurine called "Generations" which was a grandmother, mother, and child looking over a quilt. This was a perfect gift for a grandma who has made several quilts aka "wubbas" for each grandchild, and has taught her children to sew and many of her grandchildren as well. Gippy explained this to her incase she didn't get it. Thanks, Gipper!

Grandpa Ted aka "BEAR" posing for a picture!  Lucky for him, he couldn't hear all the hullaballoo as loudly as it actually was!  Party animal Bear still loves a get together!

To make the gift even more meaningful, I asked each grandchild to write a letter, poem, or card telling Gma Shen how much their own "wubba" meant to them.  They were all very sweet; she cried happy tears as she and Doug read them.  The biggest surprise was Elder Wiscombe's email from Hungary expressing his love for her and his beloved "wubba"!  It was a hit!  We love you, Mom/Gma Shen!!

Here's Mom posing with all the homely grandkids. he he

(Chandler, Parker, Gma, Hannah, Jaid)

San Francisco, Napa Valley, Point Reyes

It's never as fun packing to leave a vacation as it is packing to go on one!!  I had to purchase an extra bag and then borrow one of Sue's to get all my treasures home!  Thank you Southwest Airlines for not charging for extra luggage!!  I finally made it to visit Sue in Davis.  I'm not sure what I like the best....visiting, enjoying a variety of restaurants, shopping the unique places, or learning something different each time.  It's always fun, no matter what we do.

We rode Amtrack to San Francisco the first day and then used BART for the rest of our transportation when we weren't walking.  We first stopped in at Macy's for a makeover and sampling of new products!  We shopped around until it was time for an historic walking tour.  We learned so much and enjoyed little insites about the time period and the Gold Rush we had never heard before.  We shopped in ChinaTown where we stopped midday for an amazing foot and body massage, then onto more shopping.  It always looks so festive there.  The hours passed by too quickly with all our fun and we caught the last Amtrack back to Davis.

The next day, we traveled to Sonoma.  I LOVE seeing the fields of giant sunflowers when I visit in the summer.  Rows and rows of lovely yellow flowers nodding their heads.  I enjoyed seeing Napa Valley and Sonoma, better known as--Wine Country.  We shopped around the unique shops there and visited a few museums learning of the history.  Real estate is largely out of my range, though it's fun to dream.  We sampled lots of cheese and resisted the wine.  We were happy drinking our Cokes and enjoying the fresh samples! 

This is General Vallejo's little cottage where family members would go for peace and quiet.  We loved the idea of a "time out" cottage!

This is the main house that sat on 27,000 acres of a cattle ranch and vineyards.  It was beautifully decorated and fun to imagine life on this massive ranch in the 1850s.

We hiked to Point Reyes the next day.  It was a very misty, moist, foggy morning.  This lighthouse is the on the furthest most point of the coast of SoCal.  Prior to there being a lighthouse, there were 200 or more shipwrecks.  A wretched climb in 40-100 mph winds at times and very lonely for the lighthouse keeper!

The climb down was great!

Couldn't see any migrating whales for the fog all around.

Very windy and cool.  The only time I needed my jacket.  Me smiling here prior to climbing back up the 350+ stairs.  (They say it's equivalent to a 30 story building).  I was skeptical about that, but it did kick my butt climbing back up!

Walking around the San Andreas Fault Line.  Only rumblings heard here were from Sue's butt!

Hills and more hills of vineyards!  So amazing to see up close.  Immaculately kept and perfectly spaced apart!

It was such a great little get away prior to school starting!  I LOVE seeing new places in this beautiful country and learning of the history and those who pioneered the west.  Sue and I agreed it was very pleasant to be able to read EVERY sign in the museums, along the paths, and go at our own pace!  We must have inherited the love of history from Dad.  He would have loved accompanying us on such a trip.  Thanks, Sue!!  What a great way to conclude another summer!  Back to school soon for me!