Tales First Parade

Ok - So it was Handcart Days..... hmmm -there's a parade downtown. What's a parade? Tales, come on... haven't you ever been to a parade? So we packed everybody up (we had Sam and Laura with us) and headed downtown so Tales could see his very first American hometown parade. Laura was sporting her new "do".

Wow! How is that for coincidental! One of the very first floats was the one belonging to LDS Business College. It just happened to be Tales' very own alma mater. Laura and Sam wanted to stay in the sun so they could pick up the candy that was thrown to them. We finally convinced Laura to go home with us. As we were walking back to the car, we had to stop to cross the parade route.

Lo and behold! Here was Shon and Mel and all the kids - Isabel, Max and Jake. We turned around and saw Heather, Joe, Elsie, Cy, Andrew and Caleb. It was a family reunion right there in front of the mortuary. We should have gone inside and picked out our caskets!

We stayed there for the rest of the parade and then Shon told us where to go for the best view of the fireworks. We all joined up together to watch fireworks up at the junior high school. It turned out to be fun evening - and all because Tales had never seen a parade. Go figure.

ALL YOU CAN EAT AT IN-N-OUT

For the past year or so, one of my bigger customers has been IN-N-OUT Burgers. We have enjoyed working with this California company. They have been more concerned about the quality of their food and pleasing their customers than most I have dealt with over the years. Every time they open a new store, I am invited to bring my family for a pre-opening bash. This time, the new store was in West Valley, so I brought Brooke and Steve and Michael and Lily. We had a hard time keeping Mikey from joining the 40 or so other IN-N-OUT employees back in the kitchen.

We can order as many items of whatever we want from the menu - and it is all FREE! The kids ordered one of everything on the menu to feed their family. If you've been to IN-N-OUT, you know that they have a pretty limited menu, so Brooke and Steve aren't really the pigs I made them sound like they were. There are some "secret" ways to order, that you have to be a real INO connoisseur to understand. I think Steve ordered his fries "animal style".

Lily thought her Pink Shake was the cat's meow ( or slurp!) With one of everything to try, we got a good sample of lots of food. I especially enjoyed the break from the fruits and vegetables Janene usually makes us. She complained the whole time that it wasn't very healthy, but I noticed that she ate all the fries and saw her hide a look of private delight as she wolfed down her burger. The next one to open up is going to be in Centerville, a little closer to home. After that, I'll have to take the family to Texas for the grand openings. There are forty or fifty new stores coming up in Texas. It's too bad that Katie is coming home from Texas this week. One bright side though, there is an IN-N-OUT just down the road in Washington, Utah. As a family, we had a super fun time together.

A Little Bit of Catching Up To Do

A person would think that if you had a granddaughter get married and you had a blog that you wouldn't wait a month or so to tell about it. I have so much catching up to do that it is not funny. Our son Doug's oldest daughter, Chelsey was married last month. The wedding started with Chelsey's daughter spreading rose petals down the garden walkway. To be honest, it really started with WAITING - a lot of waiting. But when the bride-to-be finally came out, it was all worth the wait.


Doug was able to walk Chelsey down the pathway where their bishop was waiting to marry them. I swear that I have never seen Doug so nervous. When we first arrived, Doug's son Jeremy came over and told me that Doug was not able to make it there in time. "Dad's stuck somewhere in Wyoming, still delivering his route", he explained. Since Doug got his old truck driving job back, he has been pulling some pretty long hauls, so it didn't seem too far-fetched. "Whoa", I thought. "Doug is going to be in the doghouse for months". Then I caught a little glimmer in Jeremy's eye and knew he was yanking my chain.

With Doug and his other daughters watching on, Chelsea was married to her Army beau. What a beautiful setting for a wedding! The moment was a little poignant since her new husband was headed out of state for a new assignment and is eligible to be shipped out overseas, but he sure looked sharp in his dress uniform.

And speaking of "dress uniform" Chelsey was stunning and radiant ( sounds kinda like some high society reporter, doesn't it) in her ivory bodiced gown. I actually don't really know how to describe the dress. I couldn't tell you what fabric it was made of (or anything else, for that matter). What I do know was that she wore the biggest smile I have seen on her since she was just a little girl. I'm sorry that I don't have any pictures of Angie. As the busy mother, she was always doing something for someone else in the background.

A Fourth, Seventy-Seven, Thirty, Eighth and Ninety

Every year our ward does a 4th of July Breakfast. For the last 10 years, (except this one) I have been one of the cooks since I have a cookstove. For a few of those years Janene was in charge of putting the whole thing together, so I got to help by default. We always have a great time visiting with our neighbors. It is really a lot of fun because we get to visit with all of the people in our area, not just the ones you see at church. Usually, we get to have a flyover of an Air National Guard tanker/refueler and five fighter jets. Add that to being able to honor some veterans, and it is quite a moving experience. Ever since Janene and I went to the Soviet Union as friendship ambassadors, I have had a soft spot for patriotic (yes - flag waving) ceremonies.

The highlight of the day for me was going to the parade in my mom's neighborhood. My mom used to be a majorette and really knew how to throw a mean baton. (I hear that she was known as "Legs Morton" at the time). I can remember Mom trying to teach us kids how to twirl a baton and having it end badly with a big bonk on the noggin. This year Mom led the parade with all the kids on bikes and a guy on horseback throughout the whole neighborhood. She wore a number 77 on her back that corresponded to her age. I don't think I ever expected to see this day. From third grade on, I was always surprised to see my mom make it to another July 4th birthday. This too, was a pretty emotional experience for me.

Back in our neighborhood, our bishopric was leading our own parade of kids on bikes. They tried to get me to participate in this crazy scheme, but I didn't want to wear one of those silly hats. Besides, I am sure that I can't remember how to ride a bike well enough to keep from running over the little kids. There was also this small problem related to every bike we own having a flat tire. Later on, on the night of the 4th, we had a memorial service for Dave's 30th birthday that was an emotional roller coaster for both of us. From fun and goofy to spiritual and touching and back and forth again - all in the space of a day. Wow! is all I can say, but what blessed lives we lead.

On the eighth, we had a little party for Janene's mom who turned 90 that day. Everyone had a good time including Janene's mom, even though she didn't really understand what the party was about. What she did know was that everyone loves her - and that is what is really important anyway. So that is the story of all those numbers. It is too bad we didn't have the time to record this on the blog until now, but better late than never.

Animal House

We went to Albion Basin this weekend to photograph flowers, but got some bonus pictures of wildlife. This marmot was sunning on a rock a few feet from where I was taking pictures.

A cow moose and her calf wandered into the viewfinder and I could never get the exposure right.

This little guy was giving me a hard time emitting these very high piercing squeeks. It sounded just like it does when Sister Young's hearing aid is out of adjustment in church

We saw several squirrels ripping up dead grasses in the underbrush. This one got really close to me and I was able to get this shot through the leaves of the flowers. I guess this was material for a nest, but I don't really know.

A Frightening End to a Harrowing Weekend

While we were at Albion Basin, Kate had a slight altercation with a Uinta Ground Squirrel. The squirrel did not take kindly to the constant chasing and gave Kate a piece of his mind. With discord in the neighborhood, we thought it best to skeedaddle and find a quieter place.

We hopped in the car, and of course, Kate wanted to drive. As we headed down the mountain, Janene was calm as could be. ( and why not? After all, she had taught 7 or 8 teenagers how to drive) Me ? I was scared to death. Partly because it was hard to hang onto the windshield wipers with one hand and take photographs with the other, and partly because Kate insisted on checking out the highest speed on both the cruise control and the wipers.

Kate was happy to tag along as we went for a short hike in the Uinta Mountains to Azure and Rock lakes. While we dozed on our special "nap rock" Kate stood vigil throughout, serving as our ever faithful squirrel alert system. Pretty soon our mountain adventure would be over and it would be time to return her to Mom and Dad.

We just had one last stop to make. During the entire trip, we were training her for her return home; but just like my little sister, she finally was potty trained on our little vacation. She was a little embarrassed to have me take her picture on a mountain toilet, but I couldn't help it. We are so proud of our little doggie.

Kate's Harrowing Mountain Adventure - Part Two

It's one thing to be planted with all fours on terra firma chasing squirrels to your heart's content. It's quite another thing to be hanging from a steel cable suspended over a mountain gorge. After letting Kate run around on top of Hidden Peak, we walked down the south side into Mineral Basin and then back through the ski tunnel (the only one in North America) and into Peruvian Gulch. Once we got on the chairlift to head back down the mountain, Kate was too afraid to get out and sit on the chair by herself.

A short time later, Kate crawled out of the pack when the lift stopped for a while. She eventually got up the courage to explore her surroundings, always being careful to keep all four feet wrapped around the safety bar.

Janene thought that this would be a perfect time to impress upon Kate just what the consequences would be if she jumped up on Janene's nylons again. Thoughtful parents should always be on the lookout for those special teaching moments. You never know when they will affect a child's life for the better. ( or worse)

Back at The Lodge, Kate hurried off to bed like a good little doggie should. She seemed excited to be back in familiar territory and was soon fast asleep in her own bed. We were glad that we had reserved a room with two queen beds.