A Busy June

I have been taking some time off from work, and that means staying away from a computer, even when I am at home. Consequently, we haven't posted at all this month. Let me bring you up to date.

Bubby and I accompanied the Bryce Canyon Field Seminar to New Mexico. We had a grand time seeing the country, renewing old acquaintances, and visiting some really interesting places, including El Moro and Bandelier National Monuments.



The Friday that I returned from field seminar was supposed to be a birthday luncheon with my friends from work, to be convened at the Pizza Factory in Cedar City. I was very surprised to discover a surprise party instead, at which all of our kids and grandkids were present, even Matt, Laurie and Leo, came from Dallas.



What a great time they must have had planning this subterfuge.



Of course I was very, very surprised, and more pleased than a photo could show. What a great way to end six decades on this earth, nearly four of them in the loving embrace of my family.



Rhonda, pictured here, was party to the deception, as was Barbara. All I can say is that they are both very convincing liars.



Sarah and her family and Laurie and Leo have stayed on. Jake had to go to Cedar Mountain Science Camp, and the kids have all had swim lessons. All of the kids, except Miss Maggie. We have enjoyed having them visit and getting to know this little one.



We have been cleaning out the freezer while they are here, which included a meal of frozen pot stickers the other night. I couldn't help but include photos of Katie using chop sticks for the first time. She did very well.



Lydia, on the other hand, not quite so well.

We have had a great month so far. I have been able to use some of my accrued time off, and it has been great to just be with the family.

Buboppy

Irises

I was over at the Daniel Eves home watering the lawn this week and I was taken with the beauty of Rosalyn's irises. They are in their absolute glory right now and she has several different colors and varieties. They particularly stand out because during her babysitting downtime (aka nap and quiet time) this spring, Bubb did some serious cutting back of the corner flower beds in the front yard.

I won't bore you with a blow by blow, but here are the photos to enjoy. We hope things are as beautiful in Provo. Cedar City has left spring behind (it was about a week) and we are into early summer. The garden is starting to take off (I have green onions that popped through overnight), and we are loving the change.

If Dan and Rosalyn are trying to read between the lines on this post, the message is obvious. We miss you!












Hurry Home!

Buboppy

Memorial Day 2010

We did, in fact, have a weekend worth reporting on.

Sarah, Aaron and family stopped in Cedar City on Thursday night in-route to a family reunion in St. George. Daniel was flying solo with the kids, so he came down from Provo as well. I had to join up late because I was in Grand Rapids, MI, on a tour of Steelcase University. It was a great experience, but that is not what I wanted to talk about in the blog.

On Friday morning, Bean, Dan and I played some early golf at Cedar Ridge. It was blowing like crazy, but we still managed to have fun. Sarah and family went on to their reunion and other activities and I went in to work. Daniel and the kids went home to hang and take naps, etc. On Friday afternoon, Bubby and I drove over to Bryce Canyon and stayed overnight at the new Best Western Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel (Ruby's latest offering). We stopped and had dinner and pie at the Bryce Canyon Pines restaurant, which always makes us happy.



On Saturday, we rose early and drove to Escalante for their annual Heritage Festival. We were there in time for the flag raising, 21 gun salute, and honoring of veterans. We also joined the locals at breakfast in the park.



We drove up to the site of the new Heritage Center, located just east of town (south of the Cemetery), and looked at progress on the site (that is the foundation for the restrooms. We also visited the cemetery and just visited (lots of nice people hanging around) and looked for people who we know. We finally found our way to the high school were there was a craft fair, a video presentation about cowboying on the 50 Mile mountain (starring Quinn and Grandpa Griffin). We got to participate in the presentation about phase two of the Heritage Center, as well. There were many more activities planned, but Bubb and I headed toward home at about 1:00 PM. We got there around four, in time to mow and edge and fuss in the garden a bit (Drewfy helped me plant the pole beans). We went to dinner at Wendy's with Dan and the kids.

On Sunday I taught Sunday School (Ruth and Naomi), and we had lunch at Dan's house. I had one more family to home teach, so we caught them and they gave us some really cool sandstone concretions to investigate. I might blog about them later.

On Monday, we worked on the garden in earnest. I got everything planted that we had, and we even found time to get a few more items from Ladybug Nursery. Sarah and fam were back in Cedar for lunch and a romp outside (beautiful day) and Dan and fam joined us. By 2:00 PM, everyone had headed toward home. All in all, a great weekend.

Buboppy