An Elder and an Aggie

Kevin was made an Elder on Curt's birthday. 

After the ordination, we went out to dinner and then home for birthday treats. Curt opted for his favorite dessert as opposed to a birthday cake. Hence the whip cream numbers.

Three days later we went to Utah State to help Kevin move to his dorm. Kevin thought this bedspread was too girly. Not sure how blue and green squares equals girl, but it was Krysta's when she went to college. Just be glad she chose blue, Kevie.

We stayed overnight in Logan. Our hotel was as close to campus as you can get; it was smack-dab in the center of campus right next to the student center. Unusual, but very convenient.

Lots of changes in a short time. But the best is yet to come. Kevin's mission papers have been submitted. We expect a call in a couple of weeks! So exciting! (and then I will cry...is it possible to be excited and a little sad at the same time?) We know Kevin will do well and have a great experience as an Aggie for a semester.

August

Nothing like sleeping in a tent to make you appreciate your house! We had a hard time finding a date where we could all go camping. I really wanted to fit in a backpacking trip, but couldn't find a free weekend that fit everyone's schedules. We finally settled for a short overnighter in the middle of the week.

We love Albion Basin in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Last year the snow was so deep that this campground never even opened. Letting it rest for a year was probably a good thing. Albion Basin is close enough to be convenient, yet high enough to be in the forest. Surprisingly, in spite of the dry weather, we got to build a fire and make s'mores.

Outdoor breakfast is always extra tasty.

Albion Basion always seems to have beautiful flowers in bloom.

We hiked to the top of Catherine Pass and looked over into Brighton and the beautiful lake below.

The cute little critters loved our rice crispy treat snacks. We had them eating out of our hands.

A few days later, Camille turned 14!

A few cousins to celebrate with.

Happy August!

July

July was a month with too much time spent seated in front of the computer. I was taking an online children's literature class as part of getting my library endorsement. Normally this is a 14 week class, but it was condensed into 5 weeks for the summer. I probably averaged 4 or more hours a day most weekdays doing homework. Since it was also a graduate class, I got the fun of writing a research paper for the first time in decades. A. Research. Paper. People. The most boring thing to read or write on the planet. But all was well. I enjoyed what I learned, the research paper wasn't too bad, and I got an A. Yeah!

We were lucky to have a few fun events in the month. On the 4th of July we went to the Stadium of Fire and saw the Beach Boys put on a rocking concert. And the fireworks, always my favorite, were better than ever. Erin and Camille were nearer the stage; they were invited to go with some friends. The rest of us had the cheap seats, but we still enjoyed the show.

 Erin turned 16 and celebrated by going on a date to the movies and by getting a new phone.

My parents came up for the 24th and we visited the Hill Air Force Base Museum. My dad has flown in some of these in his National Guard days and he liked seeing those planes and the ones his brother-in-law flew in WWII.  The museum here is very well done and interesting.

Verl and his family came over later on the 24th for a bar-b-que. Sanae's mom was visiting so it was fun to see her.

Kevin, Erin, Camille, and I traveled to Utah State for youth conference. We got to experience life in the dorms and Kevin got a better feel for his future college campus. This is Erin during Aggie games.

We actually planted flowers this year and the ones that haven't been consumed by snails are really pretty.

And how's this for random. See these lovely salads in the picture below? Some friends at work found this idea on pinterest and it's the best lunch idea ever! In the bottom of a canning jar you put dressing, and meat (I use canned chicken), and harder veggies. I haven't uncovered my canning jars in the basement, so I used these empty spaghetti sauce and pickle jars. The middle section is softer veggies, beans, or fruit (anything you don't want soaking in the dressing). On the top is lettuce--the drier the better. These salads can be assembled in advance, and they keep really well for 5-6 days in the fridge. You do all the chopping and assembling at once (get the mess over at one time) and pull one out for lunch each day. Healthy and yummy. Yes, those are strawberries in the middle salad. Shake the salad out on a plate and enjoy. Google "salad in a jar" for more info. This is makes me hungry!

Monticello and Moab

The rest of our Southern Utah trip found us driving through the cute town of Monticello on our way to Moab. We took a quick picture stop at the temple.

Little did we know that Monticello is also home to one of our favorite Disney characters, Tow Mater!

The tiny town of Monticello also has this famous eatery. Too bad we didn't have time to stop and compare burgers with the NYC location.

Erin and her friend were on a Temple road trip, visiting all of the temples in Utah. We met them in Moab since this was the only leg of the trip that they weren't staying with relatives. The next day, Erin and friends left for the Vernal temple.  Our trip ended with a quick visit to Arches on our way out of town.

One of the main goals in visiting Arches was to get this poster. This picture is blurry but the actual poster is a really nice silk screen.

I decided that my downstairs family room is going to have a National Park theme with these really cool vintage reproduction posters and pictures of our family at the parks. This new decorating idea will probably take place next year...or the next...or sometime; you know how it goes.

To continue with our Cars theme, on the way home we spotted Lightning McQueen! Hey, Lightning, your buddy Mater is hanging out down the road. Go find him and tip some tractors or something.

Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde was home to the Ancestral Pueblo people for over 700 years. There are 5,000 known sites and over 600 cliff dwellings. Only about five cliff dwellings are open to the public and three of those required tickets and a guided ranger tour. We got our tickets as soon as we entered the park, and we were able to visit all three main sites in our one-and-a-half day visit. 

Our first tour, Balcony House, was entered by going down a path and up a 30 foot ladder. Rachel, as the "Safety Officer," went up right after the ranger. Curt came along to assist her in her duties.

Part of Rachel's responsibilities as Safety Officer was to stop the group from going further than the ranger wanted. Since we had to go single file in most places, the ranger told Rachel where the next stopping point was so she could stop the group. Here she sits on a ladder to prevent people from climbing on the ruins. Our Ranger recognized that we had several tourists "with a language barrier" as he put it, and asked me to make sure they stayed on the flat surfaces and didn't climb everywhere. Hence Rachel on the ladder. I wondered how I was going to communicate that "Hey these are 1000 year old ruins, you can look in the windows, but not climb inside to poke your head out to take a picture. " Luckily, I found a nice simple "No" sufficed.

There was a mighty steep cliff below us!

The wood and roofing materials here are original. The dry weather preserves it in an amazing way.

I believe these kivas were reconstructed.  When the site was discovered, most of the front portion had slid off into the canyon below.

To get out of Balcony House we had to crawl through an 18 inch narrow space. I wish I had a picture, but at the time I was concentrating on not being claustrophobic. This narrow passage, is one reason why they think these ruins might have been built for defensive purposes.

 
Our next visit was to Spruce Tree House. This was the only site we visited that didn't require tickets, but there were two rangers onsite to answer any questions.

The kiva at Spruce Tree House was reconstructed so we were allowed to climb the ladder down inside.

Kivas had these small walls to protect the fire from being blown out by the breeze from the ventilation shaft.

The clouds that made this sunset so beautiful, unfortunately also blocked the stars that night. Mesa Verde is supposed to be a great place for star-gazing because of the lack of city lights.

Rachel was much more pleased with this night's accommodations. I would highly recommend staying in the park. The distances between sites make it nice to be right in the center of it all.

Can you imagine the reaction of the cowboys who first saw this cliff dwelling from across the canyon? Amazing. This is Cliff Palace and is the largest site in the park with 150 rooms. See the square tower on the far right of the picture? I'll show you the inside later.

Granaries high in the structure.

This is the inside of the square tower I mentioned earlier.

This mural was painted high up in the tower. There's also one in the picture above.

This is another square tower, appropriately named, Square Tower House, which is only visible from atop the canyon. A few limited tours are given of this area, but the next available dates are in September.

Our last tour was of Long House. This tour was interesting because we got to go back behind the ruins instead of just staying out front.

 An original kiva roof is behind Curt's head.

 The rock roof is darkened from all the fires from long ago.

We had a great time here at Mesa Verde!