The Natural Bridge

Labor Day 2010 gave us the chance to visit the Tonto Natural Bridge. It is one of our favorite places EVER! It is the perfect day trip from the valley and the cooler weather was wonderful.

Enjoy!
(Continued on the next post)

Natural Bridge Part 2

The big brother carried his little sister the entire way, over the treacherous terrain and was vigilant even when they rested.
This is my favorite picture from the trip.

A Peck of Peppers

Does anyone have any suggestion as to what I should do with these?

They are late bloomers from our garden. L asked on Saturday if I wanted him to pick the bell peppers and bring them in. This is what I got.

Hmmm... We will make fajitas, but that surely won't use them all!
If they were the spicy kind, I could make buckets of salsa, but no such luck.

Really, who even needs spice when I have these peppers flavoring my life?
They are so great! They even practice their instruments without me having to ask!

More from Provo

We had a wonderful time back on the BYU campus last week. R and I attended parent orientation classes and K bounced back and forth between work, freshmen orientation fun and errands with us.

R and I met at BYU, although we grew up just a few miles away from each other and attended the same high-school. We had K in Provo and it was funny pushing T in the stroller on campus like I had done with big sister.

Besides the Creamery and the Candy Counter, these are a couple of my favorite places on campus:
Did I mention that K has the sweetest roommate EVER? She has been in the US for 4 years, is native of Korea and her family has just gone back there.

I am not sure how K survived the 2 1/2 weeks she was there without her piano and guitar, but you can see the smile, and she has them close, now!


Have fun, ladies!

Amazing!

Today, I am bragging about...


Karli


She found out this morning that she made it into BYU SINGERS!

BYU Singers

Brigham Young University Singers is a small, select choir of flexible singer-musicians. As one of the major touring ensembles of the university, the Singers have traveled throughout the United States, including Hawaii; twice to Russia; three times to Israel; to Australia and New Zealand; to the countries of Western and Eastern Europe, including the Baltic States; to West Africa; and to South Africa. The choir traveled through the British Isles in May 2009, placing second in the Fleischmann International Trophy Competition at the Cork International Choral Festival. The choir has attained the reputation of a captivating, versatile choir with an impressive range of repertoire and style.

This choir RARELY auditions freshmen, but she had a great recommendation that helped her get in the door and then she took it from there. The audition process had 3 parts and then soprano call backs were last night. While posting the results, the director paid her some very nice compliments.

We are SO HAPPY for Karli.

She has always been determined and hard working and we look forward to the great concerts and the adventures she will have.

I guess we will be making a few more trips to Provo!

My Word

My friend Jenny from the Denton Sanatorium challenged readers last week to think of a word that describes them. One word, and post it today. I have been thinking hard.

There are many words I would like to be:
Creative
Classic
Compassionate
Able
Artistic
Excellent...

The list goes on.


I had to look at my life, my aspirations, my environment, to see what I am.

I looked for a word that was defined as "a much anticipated masterpiece". That is what I like to think I am. Do any of you know what that word would be? I couldn't find it anywhere, but then again, my vocabulary has decreased over the years. If my toddlers can't understand it, chances are, I may not, either.

I am unfinished.

Not glamorous, not hopeless.

It is evident in my character foibles,
unmet deadlines,
laundry piles,
dreams,
to do lists,
decorating,
talents,
preparations...

It leaves me room to change, accomplish, learn, become.

I like it.

A Visit to Provo

Happy 20th Anniversary to R and I. We celebrated on the 24th by strapping in the 2 littles and taking a drive to Provo, UT. After only a small officer related speeding incident and after finding K at a friend's dorm, we picked up the belongings she would need for the night (along with a large pile of dirty laundry) and headed to Cedar Hills.
We are blessed with great friends. One of whom generously gave us her basement for the week. Look at the beautiful private entrance...

...and a friend to play with!

A Successful Rescue

It took these trained professionals all afternoon to make a man-chain long enough to reach their friends stranded on the chair below. Luckily, they were able to employ their friend, who is 5 inches tall, as compared to their 3, to be the main anchor with some help of a generous "dog-pile" formation.
Upon their reaching him, a loud cheer was said to erupt from the onlooking crowd... R and I.
Please, don't be in any hurry to grow up.

Hot August Nights

One thing we love about our home is the yard. Specifically, we love that the garden half of the yard is flood irrigated. A couple of months ago, we hauled dirt and formed a barrier in the middle so that the trees are irrigated, but the rows are not. It cuts down on weeds to water the rows by a drip system... and really, who needs weeds?

Our berm has caused me grief.
Ron's question to me: "Why is it that whenever I irrigate the berm is fine, but when you irrigate, it all washes away?"
Hmmmmm......
Who has time to ponder such things, really?

So on this hot August night, we once again, rebuild the berm.

And one of us goes skinny dipping.Lesson learned: figure out why the berm washes away so I won't have to rebuild it, AGAIN!

I am no Bobby Flay!

See this bad boy?
(off-centered as it is, sorry)
I love grilled food. I am not a griller.

I had a lovely play date with a friend and her boys which ended up including a delicious, yummy lunch.

Naked grilled chicken. Completely bare except for it's grill stripes.

I loved it and I had never had it before.

How hard could it be?
I followed the directions on the package: Grill until the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F.

We had beautifully grilled chicken bricks for dinner. If you could crack through the outside, you could tear away some edible shreds, inside.

It still wasn't half bad when dipped in Bill Johnsons Original, thank-goodness.

The best part is that my sweet family all ate it (or snuck it into the garbage can) without complaining!

Thanks, gentlemen!