Labor Day

I made plans with my sister to get out of the house on Monday for the holiday, then while I was waiting for them to pick me up, I wondered if I wouldn't rather stay home. I'm really glad I got out. We ended up at Tony Grove and walked around the lake. Perfect temperature and when the wind blew, I was very grateful for my hoodie. 

There are very few things that smell better than the mountains. It was a lovely day.

Spring Break

Woke up this morning to thunder and lightening. And hail. It's been raining but now it's snowing. I'm sick so I guess its a good day to stay home. 

I got back last night from a trip with my sister and the twins. I will say it was a good trip in some ways, but it was also difficult. My nephew has autism with another disorder called PDA. He's such a cute little kid but he goes Jekyll/Hide all the time. He's in therapy and she's doing all she can for him, but that doesn't make it easy to deal with. So yeah, we had some hard times. But there were also good times. I don't want to stop doing stuff with them just because it's difficult at times. 

We flew into Seattle and stayed by the airport at first. We took the train into the city and explored Pike's Market the first day. Then we drove to the peninsula. One day we spent at a state park climbing over rocks and looking in tide pools. I love being on the water like that. It's one of my favorite places. I'm not a sit on the beach type of person, but I love walking and exploring along the water. 

Another day we spent some time in Olympic National Park. It was so beautiful and I want to go back one day.  Took a little walk along Crescent Lake. 

And also did the hike to Marymere Falls. 

It was about 1.5 round trip so not long and not hard. Perfect for kids. I loved just being in a green forest with pine, moss, and ferns. We also explored Port Townsend and Port Angeles. We would have liked to include a ferry ride, but just couldn't fit it in this trip. That's ok. We'll just have to go back!

I felt fine the entire trip, although did get a bit stuffy one night, but I didn't feel sick. Yesterday my nose started running a bit on the flight home but I still didn't feel bad. By the time I went to bed last night, I knew I was getting something. So now I'll just stay home til I feel like leaving. I did pick up a few groceries on the way home so I'm fine and happy to be home in my own bed.

Nice Day for a Walk

I took a very early lunch break this morning and went for a walk. I had to wait for the sun to come out, but it was wonderful. 

The sun was warm and the leaves were making noise. But the flowers are still out as well because it hasn't hit super cold in the morning... just kind of cold. ha ha  There are 2 more weeks until Daylight Savings and I'm trying to take advantage of the light after work as well. 

I listened to a podcast on the history of Halloween and learned about soul cakes, which were handed out to children and poor people going door to door, and which seems to be the origin of trick or treating. So of course, I googled to see if I could find a recipe. 

They turned out pretty good. The recipe called for British mixed spice, which seems to be like the US pumpkin pie spice, but I used my King Arthur Flour yuletide cheer spice instead. And then I didn't have dried currants so I used my dried tart cherries from the farmer's market. It's no chocolate chip cookie, but tasty in their own way. I froze most of them to take to family dinner. 

Again, just trying to take a little time each day to appreciate the season. 

Fall Vibes

I’ve been wanting to get to Midway for a while, mostly to check out the indie bookstore, Folklore, that has been open for a few years now. So this weekend my sister and the twins and I headed up there. We actually spent the night in Heber, just thinking that it would be easier to be a little closer to explore. I think in the spring I would head up there again just for the day and be happy with that, although we did have fun. We left town Friday around 10:30 and got to Heber by lunch time so went to eat at the Dairy Keen. I told myself I’m going back one day to get a chocolate shake. It looked so good. I did have gelato later that afternoon, but still. 

Then we went to the fall festival that Heber Valley Cheese put on. Basically, they put kids games in their fields and the kids had a lot of fun. I was happy being outside. The forecast had rain, and it had rained before we got there, but it was actually a tiny bit too warm for my long sleeve shirt. Then we wandered around a little shopping area of Midway, including the bookstore. Oddly enough, I did not buy myself a book at all. I did buy the kids each a Taylor Swift sticker book, but that was it. LOL not sure what got into me?

The next day, we went to some thrift shops and then took a little walk by the river. I had wanted to go back to the little covered bridge we saw. It truly fell like fall and was so nice. 

We’ve had some rain again and I’m baking bread today for family dinner. I’ve been putting on old (pre 1970) horror movies and have puzzles and books and embroidery to do. This week I have a bit of a laid back week with nothing planned after work. I’m trying to reset my attitude about work and deal with the things I get paid to deal with. But after work, I’m going to make the most of the rest of October. 

Lady Bugs & Bookstores

Well, I made it to Saturday. It’s been a really good day.  I met my sister and the twins at the library this morning. They were doing their annual lady bug give away for Earth Day. This year they even gave me my own packet of lady bugs. I also got to switch my library card from a really old one to a new one that is blue and has lady bugs on it. Then I came home and watered my flower garden, which is mostly still dirt right now and put my lady bugs in it. I have a couple perennial plants that are starting to bloom but that’s all. Hopefully some of the lady bugs stayed. It’s still fun. In a few more weeks, I will be able to plant some  annuals and some coleuses. 

Then I headed down south to watch another niece in her soccer game. It’s windy today, but it was still warm enough and it felt really good to be outside in the sun. I’m trying to appreciate this and enjoy it before it gets too hot. Amy and the twins met me down there and we went to lunch afterwards. 

Then because it’s indie bookstore day, I went to a bookstore I’ve never been to in Bountiful. Since I was over half way there for the soccer game, I thought it would be fun to go. It’s called The Book Garden. I found 3 Georgette Heyer books that I don’t have. I’ve been collecting them, but I like the old covers and these 3 were perfect. I also found a small journal that is the same type as one I already have and am using for a travel journal. I’ve almost used it up and was so excited to find this one. It’s got a different cover (both are floral) but same publisher and you can tell they go together. 

Honestly, I did’t know Utah had so many indie bookstores. Now that I’m not buying books at Amazon (print ones anyway) it’s nice to know I have a lot of choices, besides Barnes and Noble. We even have 2 romance only bookstores and one is in Salt Lake. I just didn’t want to go all the way down there today. I’ll get to it soon, I hope. 

So yeah, it’s been a fun day. I did all my cleaning and chores earlier so I could come home and not have to worry about it. The other thing I’ve been doing is that I started a gratitude journal. I have a cute little notebook with books and bookish quotes in it, but it’s not really the right size for journaling or for work so I am now using it to write 1 thing I am grateful for everyday. Or 1 way that I saw God in the details of my life. I’m only about 5 days into it but it really is helping my mental self focus on good things. Or at least be aware that they are there in spite of stressful days at work. 

Trip to Canada

I just spent a fantastic week in Canada. It’s a trip I reserved and booked early in the year, probably January. I had wanted to go somewhere this year and nothing was coming to me. Then I saw this trip listed on the WTT website. It’s the same company I used to go to Egypt. It is always a little bit anxiety-inducing to go on a trip with people I don’t know, but once again we had a great group of women and I was not the youngest (I was second youngest ha ha) person on the trip. My tour leader was really great as well. 

We started in Vancouver. I got there on Friday night and stayed in a hotel near the airport and then took an Uber the next morning to the hotel where we were all staying. I spent the afternoon wandering around the city. Then we met up as a group for the first time and had dinner together. Sunday, we took a tour of the city and then went to the Capilano suspension bridge, which was on my list of things I had wanted to do if I ever got to Vancouver.  After that, it was free time and I went to the Fly Over Canada attraction with another lady. It was so fun. I’ve heard of those kinds of rides, but never been on one. It’s the thing where you sit in the seat and it moves and the screen shows you a bunch of scenes you feel like you are flying over.  

Monday morning we boarded the Rocky Mountaineer train for a 2 day trip across the rocky mountains. It got a little long on the second day, but I had a really good time on the train and the scenery was so beautiful. 

On Wednesday we were in Banff and it was amazing. Mountains, rivers, trees, resort town: I loved all of it. I floated down the Bow river, did a few little hikes and walks and did some shopping in my free time. 

I did get to go to Lake Louise and Lake Moraine. It was raining and cloudy that day and I loved the way the mountains looked and the smell of the rain and pine trees. Unfortunately, since the sun was not shining, you couldn’t see the blue color the lakes are famous for. But whatever, it was still stunning. 

On our final day, we did a quick hike to the lower falls in Johnston canyon. Again, I loved it. I want to go back. I really need to get back up there with my sister. She’d be in heaven up there. 

So all in all a very good trip and I’m glad I got to go. It was the first of two trips I’ve been looking forward to for the summer. And when both trips are over, summer will almost be over and I’ll be looking forward again to fall and cooler temperatures and winter hibernation. Ha ha ha… but not yet. As much as I dislike the heat, I’m trying to live in the moment and enjoy the long days and sun.

Roadtrip!

I spent the weekend on a mini road trip with my sister and her 4 year old twins. And her dog. 

We drove down south and stayed at a hotel in Richfield. It wasn't expensive and had an indoor swimming pool. I'm not a -sit by the pool- type of person. For one thing, I don't like to sit in the sun because I burn so easily. And I'd rather read indoors. But I do find it very relaxing to play in the pool once in a while. So we took the twins to the pool both Friday and Saturday nights and it was a lot of fun. 

On Saturday, we spent the day at Capitol Reef National Park. It wasn't too crowded and I had not been there since I was a kid. I loved it. 

Plus, I really love looking at the wildflowers. 

We managed a small hike before the rain started. We were going to tough out the rain, but it lightening and thundered once and the kids were kind of done and I don't blame them. It was still such a nice little hike. 

We stopped at Fish Lake and Pando on the way back to the hotel so that's another bucket list item checked off - Pando, not Fish Lake. 

Of course, the drive home took forever and we had to stop a bunch of times for bathroom breaks but I still had a great time, even if I was happy to sleep in my own bed again. 

Day "Camping"

I am still a little coughy/stuffy nosed but those things sometimes linger. On Saturday, I didn't care and went up to the Uintah's with my sister and her twins. The kids call it camping, even when you don't stay overnight. The temperature was in the high 70's which is probably the warmest I've felt there. We did something new and did the little .5 mile hike to Fehr Lake. It was a nice, easy hike and the view was worth it. We want to go back because there are lakes also at 1 mile and 1.5 miles. A 3 mile loop would be a nice day hike with more of the kids. 

The fish were jumping in the lakes and everywhere there were wildflowers. It was a really nice day.

Girl’s Camp

I can’t believe July is half way over. The hot, hot part of the summer is here. I’ve had the week off work for girl’s camp. Earlier this year I very reluctantly said yes to the bishop when he asked me to be camp leader. Part of it had already been planned out but I worked on planning the rest of it and started going to YW activities when I could. Truth be told I was dreading it a lot. I still didn’t know most of the girls and it’s been a long time since I’ve had to be with people for 3 days straight. 

I spent Monday grocery shopping and picking up coolers and other things for camp. I was exhausted (I had help and it was still a lot of work). Then we left for camp Tuesday morning and came back Thursday evening. One of our priesthood leaders knows a guy who has a big house in Idaho that they use for camp outs and family reunions and things and when they aren’t using it, they let youth groups use it. We had 20 people and the 12 girls and 6 women leaders stayed in the house. It was big and had everything we could possibly need, including fire pit in the back yard. Our 2 priesthood leaders camped in the front yard away from the house. We unpacked and got everything set up when we arrived and then had lunch. We spent the afternoon playing some group games and then had craft time. Some of the girls painted, some made bracelets or things with beads, and friendship bracelets. Later that evening we did dinner and then had a camp fire and s’mores. 

Wednesday we let the girls sleep in a bit because of course they were up late the night before. The family whose house we borrowed also had a big pond that they have all kinds of things at: a huge slide, trampoline, canoes and kayaks, etc. The pond was ours for the day and they spent a good 4 hours or so playing in the water. After a late lunch, we had a few other things planned but the girls were tired and a few were sunburned so instead we ended up with nap time and more craft time for those who wanted. We did tin foil dinners and Dutch oven cobbler for dinner that night. Before the water park, we had made a simple 3 ingredient, no churn ice cream. The ice cream and cobbler were a big hit. I have to admit, it was very very tasty. I was quite pleased I had thought to make the simple ice cream. :)

Thursday we got up earlier and after breakfast we had our hike. The leaders thought we would be on a dirt road, but it was an actual trail up the mountain. Since I’m slow and out of shape, I was in the back prodding the complainers and slow hikers. LOL  After the hike we had a brief stop back at the house and then drove over to the Niter Ice Cave. I had found out about it by looking at google maps and the girls had said they wanted to go during one of our planning meetings. I was not sure what to expect, but I had a blast. It was muddy and you had to walk carefully but so much fun. The cold air felt great. It was just a walk out and back of maybe 200 yards or so. The walls are graffitied in a lot of places, but there are spots where you can see big chunks of ice and whatever minerals are in the rocks make the ceiling glitter. 

After lunch, we had the girls do a bake off and they divided into 2 teams and made cupcakes from scratch, decorating them with a pioneer theme. 

And then it was finally time to pack and clean the house so we could go home. It was 2 hours of chaos but eventually, we were all in the car for the trip home. As we left to caravan home, the priesthood leaders were in the first car and I was second that time. Ahead of me he started swerving on the road and I didn’t know what he was doing but I thought I’d play along so there was a line of 5 cars swerving back and forth on this deserted country road. In my car we were laughing, and I know in other cars the girls thought it was fun. We stopped at the first Maverick gas station was passed and that’s when Brother Taylor asked what we were doing. He had been swerving to check that all 5 of the cars were on the road. In my sleep and caffeine deprived mind, I thought we were just having fun. LOL I’m still laughing over it. 

I will be honest and admit that I had a really good time. Of course, we did have to prod some girls and deal with some complaining and a few minor injuries, but overall I am really glad I got to go. I still have some unpacking to do and I can’t say that it’s been the most relaxing week, but it’s been worth it. 

Road Trip UT-CO

I’ve had the week off. I went on a road trip with my sister and her 3 year old twins. My sister is my favorite travel buddy and we haven’t been on any trips like this since the twins were born. She’s been a few places, and I’ve been a few places but not together. It was really fun. We did have to cater to the kids a bit but it wasn’t a problem. And if they had a few hard spots, she got to deal with them. I only got impatient a few times when I was tired or hungry, and I didn’t get tired of being with them, which made it even better. 

We started by dropping the dog off at my other sister’s house (Thanks Anna!) and headed south. 

By the time dinner came we were in Moab and found a food truck park. The kids had corn dogs and Amy and I split a falafel wrap and a gyro. Both were excellent and it was a nice break. 

We spent the night in Monticello and in the morning headed to Mesa Verde National Park. I had reserved tickets for the guided tour to Cliff Palace 2 weeks earlier and we had the 2 pm tour so we had time to get there and explore a bit beforehand. 

Spruce House

Cliff Palace

We didn’t walk/hike too far since we needed the kids to be able to do the stairs and ladders on the tour, but still had fun looking at the sights.  The Cliff Palace tour was good and I’m glad we were able to do it. The kids thought the stairs and ladders were an adventure. They got antsy as we listed to the ranger but after we got to a certain spot, we were able to leave when we needed to. Strangely enough, I thought the ladders and stairs would be in the “palace” itself, but you don’t get to do anything but walk by it, which makes perfect sense because it is a sacred place to the people and their ancestors. But there are very steep stone stairs and a few ladders to get in and out of the place. 

After Mesa Verde we headed to Durango, CO. The kids fell asleep in the car and didn’t wake up until we got to the hotel. We had a great time in Durango. Again, we did things the kids would enjoy as well as checking out the town. We spent some time every day at a park so the kids could play. It was just so nice to be outside. Plus, we had fun in the hotel swimming pool. And we got to see the Silverton train leave the station. We had already decided that even the shorter train ride would be too much for the kids at their age but they had fun watching it leave. 

Then when we left to drive home, we went up the mountains to Silverton. The San Juan mountain range is really beautiful. They still have snow and we saw a bunch of “waterfalls” as the snow was melting and running off the cliffs. 

Storefronts in Silverton

Of course after the fun in the morning, the rest of the drive home felt super long. I got home just before 10 pm and got to sleep in my own bed again. But it’s been a great week and I got to mark another place off my travel list. We would totally love to do it again one day when the kids are older.