Weekend

It was slumber party weekend. My niece had asked if they could have one before school started. I didn’t quite make that since most of them started this past week, but it was close. I had 5 of them spend the night. I feel like we did pretty good. The chaos was manageable and I didn’t yell. Seriously, I’m not sure why they like coming here. When I was younger, I made more of an effort. LOL

We started at the pool. Since some of us have a pass, I just paid for the other kids. My sisters came too and we had fun. We got out right before it closed and then went to Chic-Fil_A for dinner. We met up with my older nieces as well. Once dinner was over and we got back to my house, I let the kids play and they got out my tinker toys. I’ve had those things since Spencer was a tiny and they’ve been a good investment. About 8:30, I had them get in the pajamas and we made popcorn and settled down for a movie and treats. I rented some Pokémon movie and was bored stiff, but that’s ok. Eventually, I got them settled in bed and went up to bed myself. I told the older kids I didn’t care if they stayed awake or kept the tv on as long as they didn’t wake the twins. Evidently, they did stay up late and they did wake at least one of the twins. LOL I didn’t really hear them, but I did not sleep well. I just get weird anxiety when I’m not the only one in my house. So I ended up getting up early and took a shower and got ready for the day. I went downstairs a little before 8 to start breakfast and Rosie woke up first. Once one of them is up, there’s no way to stay quiet. 

We had breakfast and watched cartoons. I put on a few different 80’s cartoons because Katya loves watching 80s stuff. Then we got out the ancient game cube for an hour or so until Amy came to get the twins. They don’t all fit in my car for me to take home. I took the older kids home by way of Walmart for some birthday shopping and then In N Out for lunch. 

It was almost 2 when I got home to start cleaning. I got everything put away and got the floors vacuumed and swept and mopped. I started laundry and made my grocery list. I got home from shopping around 5 and just enjoyed the clean, quiet, calm of my home. I’ve been trying to make it cozy and I like how it feels. 

Then a little before 10 we had a thunderstorm. It was glorious. The rain just pelted down for a few minutes and I had puddles in my backyard on the lawn. It calmed down for a bit and then it started back up when I went to bed. I opened my window and enjoyed the cooler air and the sounds of rain and thunder. I do love a good storm. 

Today I’m finishing a bit of laundry, but otherwise taking it easy. After church, I plan on making the sweet corn chowder. I may throw in a small batch of biscuits as well. The sun is shining but the wind is blowing and it will still get hot. It’s been a good weekend though. 

Canada 2026

I had a really great time on my vacation to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and P.E.I. The people were great and the views were amazing. I'm not really in the mood to put down anything in depth so this will suffice for now. 

Back home and it's hot! We are almost to the "BER" months and I'm hanging in there. I am so looking forward to shorter days and cool temps. 

Anne of Green Gables musical

As the sign says, the house LMM was born in.

Confederation Bridge, PEI

Field of flowers

Somewhere on the Bay of Fundy

Caves on the Bay of Fundy

Ferry in the fog

Lunenburg

Peggy's Cove

 

4th of July

Happy July 4th!

I don’t consider myself unpatriotic, but I also don’t think romanticizing the past and future are helpful. But I can celebrate our unique constitution, the values and ideals of freedom, while also knowing that not all are free or found refuge here. Other people have said it better than I can, but we can celebrate and grieve.

I have no plans for the rest of the day. The governor declared a ban on fireworks, with cities being able to make their own plans, and my city banned them city wide. They don’t even do a 4th of July fireworks show because they do July 24th in a big way. But the last few nights have been blissfully free of fireworks noises. I do expect to hear a little bit tonight from neighboring cities, and I’m sure somebody will be letting them off illegally. But seriously, we are still on fire and nobody needs more of that. 

I got up early this morning and was at the farmer’s market a little after 8. They have some fun stuff going on for the 4th and I wanted to do something to be part of it. Weird, how as I’m getting older, I’m craving more community. Funny thing, I ran into 2 people from my water aerobics class, which I started going to for the people. I’m seriously considering seeing if I can volunteer at the booth next year. I wouldn’t want to do it every week, but I could do it a couple times. 

Anyway, I got myself a bunch of berries (blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry) and had to walk those back to my car so I didn’t smash them. The flat didn’t fit into the bag I took. And then I also got some fresh peas and potatoes, and an onion. I had seen a fun fizzy pop on Instagram that the lemonade stand was doing and there wasn’t a line so I got one. It was basically Sprite with strawberry and blueberry flavoring but the way they stacked it made it red, white, and blue. 😉 Then I bought myself a cilantro chicken empanada to go with it. It was a delicious breakfast. As I was headed to the shade to sit and eat, I saw the flyover from the jets from the Air Force base. Honestly, I think those are pretty cool. 

And one of the local indie bookstores I haven’t been to was supposed to open early so I was heading in that direction and not watching my feet and I totally tripped over a big construction sign and went down. I was fine and got right back up again (I can do that thanks to the muscles I’m working at water aerobics) but it was in front of a lot of people and quite embarrassing. A lady came over to make sure I was ok, which was really nice. So I crossed the street and walked down the block to find that the bookstore didn’t open as early as they had posted. But then I didn’t want to walk back where I fell, so I took the long way back to my car. I got 2 miles in, so there is that. I am fine, except I did bang up my knee and it’s sore. I put a bag of frozen peas on it for a bit. 

So I’ve washed my berries and shelled my peas for later. Before I left for the market, I put some chicken in the slow cooker with a homemade bbq sauce. I’ll be having a nice dinner later. I don’t really want to do anything else. I’m doing laundry, but my knee hurts so I’m not doing any more cleaning (I did half yesterday) right now. I guess I’ll finish my book and take a nap? I’ve got a puzzle on the table I can work on as well. I did my people-ing so I guess I’m good for the day. 

Summer Storm

The part of summer that I hate came early this year. It’s been hot and dry (less than 10% humidity in the air) and windy and everything is on fire. Normally, this doesn’t hit us truly until later in the summer. Some of the fires are big and have forced evacuations. I’m just praying people stay safe and that they can get them out eventually. Most of the fires are further south, but even Salt Lake had one on the mountain above the hospital. And now people are upset because the governor finally did something and called for a statewide ban on fireworks. Personal fireworks. Municipalities can still have their shows and whatnot. I say yay. I’m a grinch when it comes to fireworks, and I know it. 

We did finally get some rain today. And that has been lovely. I woke up early and turned my fan off and a little bit later it started to rain. I just laid in bed and listened to it for a while. I’ve had my windows open and just been loving the cooler temps plus then general stormy atmosphere. I even just heard some thunder. While it’s coming and going I have decided to read in my library. Might as well enjoy it. Plenty of time for errands and chores later. 

Farmer’s Market

Made it to my first farmer’s market of the year. I met up with my sister and the twins so I knew this one would be the big one that I walked down into all of the vendors and not just the produce section. I got all sunscreened up and met up with them this morning. 

It was a little smoky in the air from a fire, but I got used to it. I got a breakfast burrito and a blackberry mint juice at one of the vendors I like. Forget their name, but they’ve been doing it for a few years now and have good pastries too. I ended up with a bag of cherries, but that’s the only produce I got. I was tempted by the peas, but didn’t make it back to those tables. We got there late, but even between 8:30-9:00 am there were a lot of people.  

I also bought the kids some Nutella covered strawberries and let them get their face painted. LOL the price has gone up, but I said once a year I can do it. That’s not something we really got to do as kids and I always thought I missed out. Of course, now I don’t want it done to me. 

There was also a bookmobile called Withering Hearts that I got a really cute perpetual calendar that counts the books I’ve read this year. It’s now sitting on one of my bookshelves. LOL It’s got the wrong number on it though. I’ll have to fix that. 

And before I left 25th street, I stopped in at The Romantics Archive, which is a new-ish indie bookstore. The did have more than just romance. There was a science fiction and mystery section as well. I bought a book and a little notepad set there. So that’s 2 more indies I’ve supported today and 3 total this month. That’s probably good for June. 

On the way back to the car, I noticed that the Episcopalian Church of the Good Shepherd was open for tours. It’s a beautiful historical building that I’ve always wondered about. So I turned back and walked on in. The guy there let me ring the bell and then told me all about the stained glass and pews. It is a lovely old chapel. He said they also open during the Art Stroll and that seeing the sunset hit the stained glass is a must see. I think I’m going to have to go to the Art Stroll this summer. :)

So I’ve run all my errands and had my fun. I’ve a bunch of laundry to do and want a shower. 

Lazy Weekend

This was one of those weekends where I didn’t really have plans. Those are always nice. I went for a long walk on Saturday morning and then planned my menu and grocery list. And since I didn’t spend as much money as normal on groceries, I headed over to Trader Joe’s as well. I didn’t do laundry or clean much of anything. I did a puzzle and I read and cooked. Sunday was the same thing. Hard to believe we are halfway done with June. 

Summer Plans

I finally figured out what I’m doing for my summer vacation! I didn’t have any set plans, and nothing was sounding good. I had already marked off the time on my work calendar and figured that I would just head down to the Shakespeare Festival and spend some time at home. I had also already ruled out a trip with WTT because it was just really expensive. I mean a tour is always more money, but this one was just more than I wanted to spend on a trip (that didn’t leave the U.S!). 

Then on Wednesday, I logged into my email and WTT had sent an email about trips that were almost full and closing soon. And wouldn’t you know it, but Nova Scotia and P.E.I. were on it for the exact same days I already have scheduled off. Prince Edward Island has been on my bucket list since I made it. L. M. Montgomery’s books were a huge part of my childhood and I’ve always wanted to go there. I’ve halfway planned a trip there before, but didn’t truly want to go by myself. 

So I jumped on the internet to see what kind of flights were available and as soon as I found something I could handle, I signed up for the trip, and then purchased my flights before I even knew I was in for sure. This trip is about $2000 cheaper and even though I told myself I’d never share a room again, I’m doing the room share. It’s one week and I have those great noise canceling headphones now. 

This trip does a little bit in Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, plus one day at PEI. If I were planning it myself, I’d do an extra day to take in the Anne of Green Gables musical theater show, but I’m ok not doing that, especially since I don’t have to plan any of the transportation, which includes a ferry. I’m just super excited to be walking around and see the coast up there, as well as some AOGG stuff. 

So I’ve got my vacation sorted aaaannnnddddd…. I also planned for a 3 day weekend in August to head to Cedar City. I can hit up a few of the shows in a long weekend and that will be great for this year. Next year, I’ll see if any of the girls want to do another bigger trip. 

So this summer is shaping up to be a nice one so far. I’m sure June will be over before I know it. I also have a work trip to NC in there and we want to do something as a family, maybe head up to Bear Lake for a day or something like that. 

I’ve been walking again and I’m still going to water aerobics. I still love it, although last night I did not want to go. I was so tired but I went anyway and I had a great time. Plus, the instructor was a substitute and we did a different workout, which was nice. It helps me use my muscles in a different way. I am starting to notice that I’m getting stronger in my legs. Getting up off the floor is getting easier. Reminds me of what I already know: little changes done over a period of time will add up if I keep with it. 

So yeah, summer is here and it will be over before I know it. Still not looking forward to the heat (although I have not turned my A/C on yet, but it’s coming) but I can handle it. And after summer comes my favorite months of the year. 

Rainy Saturday

Last night when I went to bed, I heard a few raindrops and then they stopped and I really hoped that wasn’t all the storm we were getting. Luckily, it wasn’t. It started raining again sometime early this morning and didn’t stop until about noon. 

I wanted to get out of the house and my sister said she was heading to Valley Nursery for a cucumber or something so I said “pick me up!” We actually went for a drive up the canyon and over through Mountain Green and back down to Uintah first.  The mountains are stunning. Truly so beautiful. And we were driving in the low clouds and I just loved it. 

Then of course, being surrounded by plants and trees and flowers is always a good time. I had 2 plants that were either dead or dying and wanted to replace. I ended up with 3 houseplants. Ha! Two of them are succulents and they will probably die on me. But I do love having plants in my home. They make me happy. Just walking around the nursery is nice. We stopped in the rose greenhouse and just wandered. Roses are lovely, I just don’t want to grow them. 

The rain has stopped and the sun came out and now it’s cloudy again. I’m in for the rest of the day. I am doing a little cleaning, a little reading, a little laundry. I made black beans and rice for dinner and my house smells fantastic right now. I don’t even like when it smells like food but very excited to try this new recipe. 

I’m calling this week a win. I worked from home the entire week since there was an electrical project going on at the office. I did try and get out a bit every day so I didn’t get too stir crazy. I walked 3 miles and also went to water aerobics on Tuesday and Thursday. There were a few instances of rage at my job, but I handled it. There was also a problem that I solved and that felt good. So yeah, this week is a win. 

Cedar City - Part Two

So besides the house, we actually went down there for the theater. This year I saw 4 plays: As You Like It, MacBeth, The Importance of Being Ernest, and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.

All of them were well done, but I probably like Gentleman and MacBeth the best. The younger kids didn’t go to the theater but we did catch a Greenshow with everyone and we all got to wander around the grounds a bit. I love the whole setup they have there. 

Besides the theater, there were a couple other things that made the trip especially fun. We didn’t plan this because we didn’t know about it, but they have a Renaissance Festival every 3rd week of July and it’s free to go to. So we got to wander around that and see the booths and the kids played in some bounce houses and there was entertainment and food. It was a fun way to spend a couple hours one morning. 

Since we didn’t have a hotel pool this year, we checked and they have an aquatic center and we tried it out and we are never going back to hotel pools again. Ha ha in Cedar City, at least. It was so fun and not expensive for what you get. I think adults were $5 and kids were $4.50. The pool has a big kids playground and then a slide and a lazy river. Plus there is a hot tub and an outdoor pool. Kids and adults had a blast. The lazy river was my favorite part, but the kids playground with the buckets that dump water every so often was also pretty fun. 

The weather was also great. I had thought it would be super hot down south, but it was actually cooler than home. They had some monsoon rainstorms a few of the afternoons, but it never interfered with our plans and it was so nice to see some rain and have the cooler temperatures. 

Since this year was a big year with the house and all the kids and 4 plays, I thought maybe I would take next year off… but then I saw what’s going to be on and have to think about it. I can probably be talked into doing a trip like this again, maybe with even more of the family. But I could also just go down by myself and see a few plays and go home.  So I won’t rule anything out. We for sure want to do this again though. It was truly a great vacation.  

Cedar City - Part One

We did our trip to Cedar City and the Utah Shakespeare Festival this week. It’s one of my favorite things and I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time. This year it was me and my 2 sisters and all their kids (minus one and then plus one from my brother). So nine of us. We decided with the price of 3 hotel rooms, it would be easier to rent an AirBNB. It was a good decision. The house was in a different location than where we are used to staying, but it was actually really easy to get places and close enough to everything we wanted to do. I had a really good time. 

The house was little pricier than we had wanted to spend, but my very frugal sister had love at first site and we talked my other sister into it. The entire house has every room decorated like a different movie. Pictures just don’t do it justice. 

Barbie Room - the twins favorite

The Up room - this was my room

The Star Wars room - one of my sisters stayed here 

The Harry Potter room - one sister and a couple kids slept in the 4 bunk beds -(one bed for each house)

The Pirates of the Caribbean room - my 2 oldest nieces slept here

Then there was the Home Alone bathroom and the Raiders of the Lost Ark living room. Plus a Napoleon Dynamite game room, and a movie theater room that was not even on the listing. Adults and kids alike had so much fun. One of my sisters is planning her own family trip there already and I’m pretty sure we will try to go back. 

I think we counted 8 tvs and then there were games of all kinds and a trampoline in the backyard. As soon as we saw the house, we knew we didn’t need to spend a lot of money on entertainment. 

Truly an experience that was worth a little extra money. 

San Jose

So awhile ago, my 20 year old nephew decided he wanted to go to a v-tuber con in San Jose. I didn't realize what it was and thought it was some kind of regular con like Fan-X so I told him I'd go with him. I take the girls places all the time. 

It turned into a bit of drama because he thought we weren't getting there soon enough because we were flying in Friday morning and the con started an hour earlier than we got there. (The doors opened, but most things had not opened until after we got there and had our badges). I was not going to take more than 1 day off work for this thing. Anyway, it was a bit of drama and with his high anxiety, he was freaking out a bit. It turned out fine and he actually got to meet his person twice and was there early enough for the goodie bag. By the time we needed to leave on Sunday, I think he was conned out and didn't mind leaving a few hours before it actually ended. 

I only went to the con on the first day and it's not my thing. It great that other people love it, but after about 4 hours I was tired (we had gotten up early for the flight) and wanted real food. So I left to eat lunch and then check into the hotel. 

Saturday I dropped him off at the convention center and I drove to the coast. I had looked at things to do in San Jose but then decided that I was so close to the ocean, I should go see it. I drove to Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz. I got there at low tide (not on purpose) so was able to explore some of the tide pools and just sit there in the sun and listen to the waves. It was really wonderful. I'm not a big fan of the sand, but I do love the waves. I was able to take a short walk along a butterfly sanctuary as well. 

And on Sunday, I dropped Spencer off in the morning and then went over to the mall to park the car. From there I walked to the Winchester Mystery House for a tour. It was fun to see the old house, but this is one historic house that I can truthfully say I would not want to live in. With all the windows and doors that go nowhere and weird passages, it was very strange. 

Then I hung out at the mall for a few hours until it was time to pick up Spencer and head to the airport. So quick trip and I'm tired today and I'm glad it's over. It was fun seeing Spencer's reaction to his first time flying. He had a pretty rough first day and between me and his mom we had to talk him off a ledge, but I helped him figure some things out and he had a blast the next 2 days. He talked non-stop on the way home and I was so tired and so tired of people, I was probably a bit grumpy with him. But I'm glad he had fun and discovered that he can do a lot of things on his own. He's already planning his next con. I will not be going with him. LOL

Fun Fun Fun

Summer has arrived. I had to turn my A/C on in my house because my bedroom was too hot to sleep. We are actually having a cool down for a few days this week but I think it’s time to get out the other oscillating fan. My ceiling fan is just not cutting it. The heat always takes some getting used to and I don’t like being out in it. I’m trying to get myself out of bed a few mornings a week to exercise but it’s hard. I just don’t sleep well. 

I feel like I’m doing nothing but camp now until it is over. Ten days. Ten more days and I’m free for the summer. Free to do other fun things ha ha. I’m going to a con with my nephew later this month and then I have my Cedar City trip with my sisters in July. Then a work trip in August. And in between all that will be some farmer’s markets, hiking, playing in rivers. Fun summer stuff. And then these 3 months will be over and I can start thinking about fall.

Labor Day 2024

I had a really nice Labor Day weekend. I spent some time with my sister and the twins on Saturday. We went to the park and the the little zoo in Logan and then to Gossner's cheese factory. I like to buy some discount cheese for soups for the winter.  

We moved our family dinner to Monday and had a BBQ for lunch. Amy and I did Dutch oven cobber and cherry chocolate cake and they turned out very yummy. The kids played outside on a blow up water slide and it was just a really nice day. Too hot, but otherwise very nice. Very summery. :)

Another Fun Vacation

This week I did a quick trip to Cedar City and the Utah Shakespeare Festival. I didn’t go last year so it was fun to go back. It was a little bit different this year because mom wasn't with us. The day we left I did let myself have my moment to feel sad. She would have had fun with all of us. This year my sisters wanted to come so I had Anna and her girls and my other niece Katya for the theater. My other sister came with her 5 year old twins as well. They just did other things while we were in the theater but they had fun sitting on the grass with us to watch the Greenshow.

This year we went to The Winter’s Tale, Much Ado About Nothing, and The 39 Steps. I didn’t know much about The Winter’s Tale, but they did a great job and I understood what was going on. It’s kind of a crazy story and it’s labeled as a “Romance” but you wouldn’t know it from the first act. I knew I would love Much Ado About Nothing, and I did. It was fun to see it on stage. The 39 Steps just sounded fun and it was probably my favorite because I laughed almost all the way through.  

All 3 of my nieces want to go back next year and the season has been announced and they are doing some good ones, so I will probably be planning out that trip as well. 

While I have been on some really great trips, this is probably my favorite vacation. I get to spend time with my favorite people and go to the theater. 

And now, I'm out of things to look forward to. Except for autumn coming. But all this year during the hard stuff, I've had my Canada trip, this trip, and a day at the Uintah's with family as the things that I was looking forward to this summer. I still have some time off coming, but nothing planned for it. I'm not sure how I'm going to feel about the holidays this year, but I do love autumn and now that school is back it's the one thing I'm anticipating...even as it's still 90 degrees outside. Ah well...

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.

More Summer Stuff

Yes, I’m complaining about the heat. But tonight I walked over to pick up my mail and started getting dripped on. It was finally raining. Then it started really coming down and I stood on my porch and just watched. It was so, so nice. 

We haven’t seen water like that for months.

I did get out for a hike with my sister and the kids on Sunday. It was still too hot in the mountains but slightly cooler in the shade and there was a nice breeze.

And on one of my morning walks, I got to enjoy the flowers at the botanical gardens. I guess summer is ok if it looks like this.