Where, Who, What & Why

No When needed here. If you can't tell by the date of the last informational post, we've been out and about. We've returned for a brief period to unload and reload suitcases and to sojourn for another few weeks.

Mesa Falls, Island Park, ID - Barbie had to be in the picture according to Noelle.

Canoeing down Big Springs River, Island Park, ID - (Not my best angle)

Where did we go? Well over the past three weeks we managed to cover Utah, Idaho and Wyoming. Although Utah was the ultimate destination, we spent some time in Island Park, ID and ventured into Yellowstone National Park.

Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park with Jenny - Hot day and hot steam = New England Summer


Who did we see? We visited family, extended and all. Friends of various sorts and from different corners of life. We had a marvelous time with everyone, although it really seemed like we didn't get to see everyone we'd wanted. As always we'll have to plan for our next visit.

Kate, Mr. G & Auntie after running the Deseret News 10K - They all did well and it was the second 10K for Kate & Auntie while we were there.

What did we do for all of that time? We visited Wheeler Farm, swam in Grandma Nay's pool, played with Jack, saw water falls and animals, watched a lot of Barbie in The Nutcracker and Little Mermaid, attended a wedding, watched fireworks with Grammy, went on the boat and tube.

Noelle on a pony ride at Wheeler Farm

Checking out the cow with Grandma Nay at Wheeler Farm

Noelle's best friend in Utah, Jack - sharing chocolate

skinny dipping with the Hunter cousins

Why o' why? Escaping the heat was worth every second, even if it was nearly 100 degrees everyday. Beats 113 anytime!

Noelle & Mom at Pineview Reservoir with the Albertsen cousins and Grammy

Toddler Tug-o-War

In the brief period of time that we have in between trips, I'm downloading Kindermusik songs onto the mP3 player at breakneck speed so that the next time we have a minor meltdown in the car we can pop in Noelle's music. I'm only speaking from prior experience.

However she insists that USB cable is hers for the taking. And so tug-o-war ensues. Toddler-dom is so much fun.

Noelle laying in the cool grass at G-grandpa Grows

Its Time to Make the Doughnuts

Tonight we had friends over for dinner since we're going to be absent for some time over the next many weeks. So to make it extra special we cooked up some homemade doughnuts. (Side note: "We" meaning Noelle and I. Boo will meet up with us later.)

Boo found the Dunkin' Doughnuts recipe online. It was really good.

I thought the chocolate frosting had a strange taste, but apparently I was the only one to notice.

I thought Olivia might die whilst having to wait for the doughnuts to cool down enough to eat. Boo sent them home with some leftovers and she was so concerned about where those doughnuts were going. It was quite comical from a spectator point of view.

Olivia ejoys her chocolate dougnut

Thanks for coming to dinner. See you when we get back!

Happy Birthday America

I hope you all go out and celebrate our lovely country wherever you might be, despite its shortcomings. This is the one day we shold try to remember the good things about our politics and laws and hope for a better future.

"Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits." -- Thomas Jefferson

What more do we need?

Chocolate Factory

It didn't take long for Noelle to learn to say "chocolate." Over time she has even figured out who the suckers are that will give it to her when she bats her big blue eyes. (Papa, Grandpa Ted, Dad) While on a recent trip to Wal-Mart I told her that she could have a treat for going potty and she said she wanted chocolate. When I put some M&Ms in the cart she said, "Not M&Ms, chocolate Mom."

So to celebrate a love of chocolate we took a field trip with some of our friends to Cerreta Candy Co. in Glendale, AZ. We got to see pretzels being covered in white chocolate on a conveyor belt like the one in "I Love Lucy." They showed us all kinds of chocolate shapes, but best of all we made our own chocolate pizza! The samples were delightful too. For part of the tour I put Noelle on my shoulders so she could see. The worker gave us each a truffle to try. Noelle wasted no time in eating hers, as for myself I was enjoying mine in bites. As I went to take my second bite she tried to snatch it out of my hand. If there is one thing she'll learn over time is that her mom doesn't like people to touch her food. Boo says that when I eat I "box out" like in basketball. Watch out for my pointy elbows.