Trunk or Treat

It seems to have been a very busy week. These images should have been posted much earlier, but quite frankly I haven't had the time in the early mornings, and I have been too tired in the evenings to do anything but crash with Bubby and watch a short segments of "Little Dorritt".

Last weekend, I had a meeting in SLC on Friday, so Bubby spent some time with Babsy and the fam, and we both spent the night. Unfortunately, it was SUU's Homecoming in Cedar City on Saturday, so we had to rise early and race back home. We were back in town by 9:30. Time for a haircut, shower, etc., and then on to a parade and the other homecoming activities.



Back to SLC. Here is Babsy clearly delighted with a gift from Laurie. I am not quite sure what it is, but it has to do with nursing new babies and such. I have not asked too many questions for fear I would blush. Thanks to Laurie for putting such a big smile on Babsy's face.



While I was at my meeting, Bubby and Babs took the girls and did lunch, somewhere. I can't remember the details (that is either a sign of my age or due to the lateness of this post). The girls had a grand time "playing" video games. Notice who is driving.



The highlight for us was the opportunity to join the family as they participated in their ward's Trunk or Treat activity. Here are the kids just before we left for the event. Our oldest grandson sure makes a fine Harry Potter. I had to laugh at our little elephant. Once we got to the church parking lot, she decided that the costume was too warm. She began to shed it right there in the parking lot. Of course, she had her underthings on beneath, but nothing else. I tried to take a picture of her daddy insisting that she put her costume back on, and she resisting with all of her might. Unfortunately, the photo did not do the amusing scene justice.



An added bonus was that Liza brought her boys over to join in. This is Mr. J all dressed up as the Transformer, Bumblebee. I wouldn't have known if someone hadn't explained it.



Ma'Ted's costume needed no explanation. He wasn't very happy about it, but, complete with light saber, he made a fabulous Yoda.



After the activity, and sans ears, Ma'Ted was very happy to indulge in eating the candy and snuggling with his Mom. Jas stayed home to watch a little baseball. Was fun to see the family.

Buboppy

Great Harvest Weekend

We had a very productive weekend including, but not limited to: the removal of our garden materials, a trip to the dump, and fertilizing our lawn and gardens and Daniel's lawn. We were pretty spent by late afternoon on Saturday, but when we returned from our lovely sushi dinner at the Ninja, Bubby noticed the light on our only deciduous tree, and she insisted on this photo. She took it herself. Not too bad.

Sunday was Sunday. Choir practice before the block, the block, choir practice after the block, dinner preparations, home teaching (2/3 families visited), enrichment planning meetings, dinner with Daniel and family (the obvious highlight), and a new choir practice that evening. I thought this was supposed to be a day of rest! I was certainly glad to lay my head on the pillow late that night.



On Monday morning (the Harvest Holiday) Bubby and I rose early (5:30 departure) and headed toward Escalante for a day in the sun with some of our favorite people. Stacy, a former student of mine and a long time friend, met us on the slick rock with her two daughters. We went on a walk (we didn't walk far enough to call it a hike, probably only 2 or 3 miles) in search of Moki Marbles. As you can see from the photo above, we didn't have any trouble finding them. Of course we were in the Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monument, so we didn't collect any samples. We just had a great time picking them up and seeing them both concentrated as erosional "lag" on the surface of the slick rock and more widely dispersed in the Navajo Sandstone itself.



The girls had a grand time. They thought the funny ironstone balls were really interesting and they stopped to examine them close up every time we passed a bunch.



Bubby even got into the act of examining them carefully. Actually it was a magnificent fall day, temperature in the mid-70's, and it was a "pure D" pleasure just to be outside with good friends and beautiful scenery. Of course there were misadventures along with the adventure. Bubby and I got stuck in the sand, not once, but twice! We decided to take the Acura so the drive over and back would be more comfortable. However, it doesn't have much ground clearance. It got stuck in the sandy areas. Fortunately Stacy has a four wheel drive pickup and she even had a tow rope. She pulled us out with very little ceremony both times. After the second episode, however, we abandoned our car and rode the remaining distance in the back of the truck.



I called this one a glamour shot of the two little girls. They were absolutely delightful. Polite, considerate, and really enthusiastic. You can tell that this kind of recreation (being outside in nature) really appeals to them. I think Stacy is raising them to enjoy this country as much as she does. No one knows better hikes in the Escalante area than Stacy does.



After our walk, we fired up the briquettes and did a little Dutch oven right in the road. I have some old galvanized trash can lids that work well for containing the mess. We had spare ribs (with Famous Dave's BBQ sauce), a delicious corn pudding side dish, apple salad, and a fresh peach pie for dessert. The food was fabulous, the company outstanding, and the scenery, well, it speaks for itself. We lingered until the wind began to be a nuisance, and then we had to head back to the pavement. We never saw another soul after we parked the truck at our destination. We had this location all to ourselves.



On the way home, Bubby couldn't resist the cottonwood trees along the Esclante river. The light was right, and they really were striking. We had such a lovely ride home. It seemed like the perfect ending to a perfect day.



One more photo. Bubby made me stop at the Mossy Cave parking area so she could take this hoodoo shot. We live in such a natural wonderland. Furthermore, I am convinced that most of the best part of it is in the areas we visited during our little outing. Everything was exceptional, the weather, the color, the company, the food, and the drive. So glad we got to do it. We were wishing you all could have joined us.

Buboppy

Dallas Arboretum

Today, after the morning nap and a Texas BBQ lunch, we went to the arboretum. Laurie had seen some photos of their fall decor and wanted to check it out. All I can say is that it far exceeded my expectations. There was a particular area completely decorated with pumpkin and squash, as you can see in these photos. We had a great time just wandering around and taking it all in.



Of course we got lots of photos of Mr. Leondus. He was very cooperative and there are some great shots in this post. Here he poses in the midst of a major pile of the seasonal orbs.



There were so may varieties of pumpkins and squash that it was an interesting time to just try to get acquainted with the possibilities. Leo was fascinated, as you can see.



Bubby looked lovely among all of the orange. She has recently discovered that it is a color she likes.



There was a house whose exterior was completely decorated with pumpkins, and we took several photos of the family groups in front of the structure.



This particular variety of pumpkin is called a peanut-skinned pumpkin, because of the brown lesions on its surface. I thought it was pretty cool.



All of the walkways were lined with pumpkins. Leo cooperated for a little while, but started trying to crawl toward the pumpkins after a few photos.



A nice photo of the Dallas Eves. Leo was getting tired and less inclined to smile at the camera.



This beauty was called a Texas columbine.



I think this plant was a variety of ginger, and the flowers were pretty spectacular. Again I wished I had my big camera.



There were several varieties of plant with interesting colors of berries and seed pods. This one was particularly attractive.



We did find this giant pumpkin sitting on a bench and Leo had a great time standing next to it and trying to eat it.



While we have been here, Bubby has knitted a stocking cap for the entire family. Laurie got a strawberry, Booty got a bell pepper, and of course Leo got a pumpkin in addition to his eggplant.

We finished the day with trips to Barnes and Noble and Walgreens for prints from Laurie's photo archives. After a trip to a local Italian restaurant, we headed home for bedtime.

Buboppy

Toys R Us and Saltgrass

Bubby needed to do some serious looking at Toys R Us, so we loaded up and headed out. Leo looks great in his arctic gear (it was in the low 50's today, which is really cold for Dallas).



I know all I have talked about in these two posts is food, but aside from hangin' out, that has been the high point, thus far. We decided to celebrate (AGAIN) my recent promotion. Laur and Leo posed for this one while we were waiting for our food at our favorite TX steakhouse.



When the food came, it was a thing of beauty, so of course we took photos. This is the chicken fried steak, and as you can see it defies eating in one sitting. Booty and I brought plenty home with us for tomorrow.



Bubby and Laur had a pot roast that they both thought was awesome. You can see that it certainly looked wonderful.






Leo was up for some mac and cheese and this is what they brought out. It was beautiful, and made us proud doing some serious two fisting.

RLE

Lots of Leo!

Our trip to Dallas was relatively uneventful. Except that we misread the flight board and were sitting at the wrong gate until Bubby said, "I don't think this is our gate." I double checked and sure enough we had to go to a different one. We got there just in time to line up on our number and board the plane.

The weather decided to turn on our arrival. It was raining when we landed and a big cold front blew through the first night. Booty and I had an appointment with Mark to do some fishing on Richland Chambers lake, but we called him at 5:00 AM on Friday and called it off. It wasn't as much the rain as it was the wind (15-20 mph by afternoon). That left us wide open to goof off instead of running south to Corsicana, TX.

We took Bubby to the Orvis store so she could try on some clothes and comb the sale racks. She had a grand time and we all waited patiently until she was satisfied. Leo was really hungry by the time we finished, and so we walked across the street to California Pizza Kitchen, on Booty and Laur's recommendation. It was super fun, and the food was great.



Leo ate some serious pizza and an order of fruit (grapes and fresh pineapple). Bubby had a dewlicious Thai salad and I had the signature BBQ chicken pizza with bacon. We shared. Booty and Laur had pizza, too.

After our adventure, Leo had has nap, and then it was dinner at Sweet Tomatoes (Booty had some coupons). Remind me to tell you about it sometime. Bubby has been working overtime on a pumpkin hat for Leondus, and she finished it on Friday evening.




On Saturday morning, we had a leisurely start. Bubby and Leo were reading books in his bedroom.



While Leo took his morning nap, while we went to Sprouts with Booty and did some other shopping, including a run to the El Rancho Super Mercado for tortillas and an aqua frescas. It was fun, and we enjoyed our outing.



Once Leo woke up, we prepared to head out on the town. Here are Bubby and Leo modeling his new pumpkin cap. He also had on a pumpkin T-shirt, so he looked ready for Halloween.

Buboppy

Where did our summer go?

No photos to post, but I thought I would just muse a little at the expense of our readers. As we slide, inexorably, into fall and the inevitable winter that follows, I am forced to realize, again, that the older I get, the faster time seems to slip by. Summer in Cedar City is my favorite season. It never seemed to end when we first moved here in 1995, but this summer just flew by and now the year is practically over. We are unable to protect our garden from the nightly freeze, even though the it is really in its productive prime.

There were certainly some highlights this summer, some that will live in our memories for a long time. Our days together at the Jasper Eves family reunion in Birdseye, were certainly the high point of the summer. It was so fun to all be together and loving the opportunity. I hope we can do it again.

Of course it was great to travel in May, but as Bubby is so fond of pointing out, that trip was so long ago, it almost seems a distant memory. I guess that is the other side of getting old and dealing with passing time. Events of the recent past fade ever more quickly into the distance.

Enough. No need to get maudlin. We are enjoying the change in the season. We have been looking forward to tomorrow's trip to Texas for many months now. Bubby can't wait to hang out with Leo, and to visit the Orvis clothing outlet located there. Neither of us can wait to see the kids. I am sure there will be lots of photos and postings from our adventures there.

Most of our readers now know that I was selected to permanently fill the Dean position (College of Science) here at SUU. There was a national search, lots of interviews, and it was quite a process We are all glad that it is over. My first official day on the job was October 1st. The permanent position brings new challenges, new opportunities, and nice raise, and much more. I cannot help but feel gratitude for the opportunity to serve the University that I love in this position and to "leave my mark" on the organization I have devoted a large part of my life to, first as a student, and then as an employee. I also see this as evidence of the hand of a loving Heavenly Father in our lives. I have felt his guiding influence many times through the process, as I have mentioned before.

Buboppy