Arrrrgh Pirate Day

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts had a national promotion for "Dress like a Pirate Day."  I wonder if they really thought that through for an area like Provo/Orem with all of the families and college students around.  The line was so long but the kids tried to stick it out.  Jack wanted nothing to do with dressing up so Rachel and I bailed with him after being there for awhile.  Jes and her family finally tried going through the drive through and were successful.  But I must say if there is a special dress up day this is one for Spencer!

Fall Leaves 2012

For several years now Rebecca and I have taken a day in the fall and headed to up Provo Canyon to take pictures of the fall leaves.  It has become a tradition for us.  It even prompted us to take a photo class to try and learn to use our camera's better.  (To bad the class was such a joke but that is another story!)  It is hard to determine if I like the colors of spring or autumn better but I love the color of both.

I have to admit I look forward to doing this with her every year spending time with her enjoying nature and just plain enjoying the time with her!

Brigham City Temple

Because of our trip to Ireland we were only able to get to the Open House for the Brigham City Temple on the very last day.  All of the family in the Utah area were able to go to dinner in Layton and then on to the Open House.  We all treasure our time in Brigham City so we were excited to see the new temple and hoped to see some of our old friends there. 

The temple is so beautiful, the use of the peach blossoms in the woodwork is so pretty and appropriate for the area.  As we walked through one of the sealing rooms Dave G. turned and said to me "it is so neat to be able to look into the mirrors and see my family reflecting forever."  I told him I understood and teared up a little and he realized I was feeling that way about my "entire" family.  I was just missing my Kansas family quite a bit at that moment as well.  We didn't see any of our old friends that night but I just fell in love with that temple.  I am not sure how many time one of us sang or hummed the song "I Love To See the Temple."

Caleb's Rocket Launch

Caleb invited us to his Pack meeting to was him launch his rocket that he and his Dad had been working on.  It was great fun to watch, and to see his excitement.  Great job buddy.

Irish Hydrangeas

There were many things to love about Ireland, too many to take pictures of or see.  We tried to take pictures of everything and in order to make memories and share but to begin to interpret what we saw could never be adequate

I  have loved hydrangeas for a very long time but in Ireland I was amazed at the beauty of them.

They were all over the Island and when I thought I had seen the prettiest I found another.  This pink one we saw on our third day in Sligo.  It had been raining and the little drops shown as I took the picture.  I think this one was my very favorite.  

Oh no!! Brown paint.

While Dave S. was on a scout camp out Natalie asked a few of us to come and help her paint her bedroom to surprise him when he got home.  We agreed and started taping the room and dong the prep work to paint.  I ran to get some pizza for all of us and when I got back to the house well let's say chaos had erupted!  Natalie had taken the lighter trim color up to start and "T" trying to be helpful started to carry the can of dark brown up as well.  The problem is after the color had been mixed the lid had not been replaced tightly on the can.  Bless his heart he made it a few steps before the weight of the can was too much for him and he dropped it.  When he dropped the can the brown paint spilled on the carpet and that changed the emphasis on what we did for the next 6-8 hours!!!!!

Cameron ran to Macey's in Lehi and we started taking turns shampooing and cleaning.  Natalie used her oxiclean and it really helped.  Knowing how it started I am amazed that we were able to get as much of that dark brown paint out as we did.  Now she just needs to put a throw rug over it until the make the changes they want to anyway!  Need less to say not much painting got done.

Long Time No See---- Arvadans

I was invited to attend an Arvada Reunion to see friends that I hadn't een in a very long time.  I took Rebecca with me for good measure.  It turned out to be more of a McQueen reunion than an Arvada reunion for those who knew the McQueen family over the years.  I have seem Keith over the last few years because he lives in the area close to me.  Our kids, Jessica and Chris, were friends in high school.  However, I had not seen Owen since the year before we got married.  And at first I didn't recognize him but it was obvious he knew me as we walked across the where they were gathered.  It was great to talk to these guys again and do some reminiscing.

The Miller's, McQueen's, and me.