What a great getaway. Seriously, we had the best time. These are my very favorite kind of weekends. It’s funny how you can cross things off your list of places to see only to add more places to that list as you’re crossing things off. There is so much more to see in the Escalante area.
Some classic Escalante scenery today with a hike to Lower Calf Creek Falls. Saw a rock yesterday and water today which makes for a pretty awesome hiking couple of days if you ask me. We heard so many birds on this hike. It was a bit drizzly and it was cold at the waterfall so we didn't spend long there. We grabbed a bubbly in Escalante, stopped at the Visitor Center, had a detour for a hike in Kodachrome, and regretted eating at Desert Grill in Panguitch.
We drove the rest of Hwy 12 and how I wish I could talk to my dad about it. He would have loved chatting about that. I would have too.
Started our hiking weekend. Made our way to Escalante through rain and snow to mostly overcast. We hiked to such a cool place today! Cosmic Ashtray was amazing. We've been wanting to see this place for a few years. At one point we had to huddle by the side of a rock to get out of the pelting rain but luckily it didn’t last very long and the rain made cool little waterfalls on the slickrock. The ashtray was so much bigger than pictures show. Did I mention it was such a cool spot? (8.5 mile RT hike.) And the views hiking in were pretty cool. We saw zero people hiking today which is one of my favorite things. Having the ashtray to ourselves was fabulous. Pizza after this hike was delicious. We stayed in the Ponderosa Inn and had a cute little room.
Will I ever not cry when I come to Richfield? I’ve felt so much love inside the four walls of the Richfield house for 50 years.
Happy Earth Day! This earth is definitely worth celebrating. This planet is pretty cool and I feel like jumping for joy thinking I get to experience the smallest fraction of it.
Happy Kenzie’s birthday! That Kenz is so great. She is so very kind. I love how passionate she is about teaching. She puts so much thought and effort into teaching and is very good at it. She is the best sister and is always up for hanging out with her sibs, even if they tease her all the time.
Some things that made me smile this week:
“In the absence of experiences with God, one can doubt the
existence of God. So, put yourself in a position to begin having
experiences with Him.” - Russell M Nelson
Things I’m especially thankful for this week:
A tender mercy in the form of an email from a former Snow College girl that went to the Manti temple regularly and always saw my parents. Denise forwarded it on to me. (Denise let her know my parents had passed away.) Her email had wonderful timing as I have been missing them a little extra this week with my mom’s birthday. I have been quite teary after reading it. It’s a good reminder that kindness can span generations. I sent her an email and her reply to me was so sweet!
“Everyone wants to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” - Oprah Winfrey
Missing my mom on her birthday (and every other day). Her birthday present was an announcement for a temple in Lehi.
Today was such a good vacation day. I love those. Darren and I started out the morning early in Zion. As we got close to the park there were misty, cold clouds hanging on top of the Zion rock towers. Sigh. It was another cold Spring Break day. We hiked some of the West Rim trail. We love that trail. The views seemed extra awesome this morning. This hike felt so good (and not warm so we kept moving).
First full day Spring Break escape to Hurricane with Darren, Cam, Sadie, Kenzie, and Tanner. Sadie woke up and chose Dolly and donuts. She came out of the room singing, “Farting in my bed and farting in the kitchen” (sing to 9to5). Today’s entertainment was Barnes and Noble for the girls (with mall pretzels) and golf for the boys, with Pizza Factory for everyone after. Mmm. Darren and I went to see Brian Regan tonight at Tuacahn. That guy is so funny! We laughed and laughed. I love his comedy. We wished it was a little longer but it was freezing so it was also nice to get warm.
Happy Easter!
Good pre-Easter celebrating today. The kids got donuts to start the celebration. We had a coloring contest and an Easter egg hunt. Cam and Kenz found the golden egg in a funny flurry of egg grabbing. I love that I got to see all my kids this weekend.
Today I went on my first snow hike of the month. We only hiked about 3 miles up a snow covered road and yet blue skies and fresh air with friends was wonderful. Also - I identified a waxwing by its sound for Darren.
This evening Darren and I went to Rachael's orchestra performance of Lamb of God. It was fantastic. I always like a trip to Ephraim.
Got to sit outside for a minute today and discovered so many cedar waxwings in the tree. Spring is coming!
So many emotions being back at my mom and dad’s house.
Found some pictures, so many decorations, and lots of good memories.
These pictures are from some of the places we spent a lot of time at - me in the backyard, my dad fishingat Lake Powell, and my mom with my Grandpa C at Accord Lakes.
Temple felt so nice today. I can’t put my finger on the feeling but it was a good one. And there were flowers and a blooming tree which both made it feel like spring.
I love Relief Society. 182 years of that awesome organization. Here's an unrelated picture from Wednesday.
Great evening with Rachael’s senior recital at Snow College. She played amazingly! What a great performance. Kenz and I talked about how much my mom would have loved it. Sigh. The drive chatting on the way home was fantastic with Kenz, Tanner, Cam, and Sadie. Lots of laughing and laughing is my favorite.
Sadie’s birthday party today with the aquarium, Little Caesar’s pizza, Minecraft, cake, and one more trip to Barnes and Noble.
We had so much fun at the aquarium playing tourists. Octopus, otters, penguins, sharks, and lots of smiles. Too bad Darren’s foot is bugging him. I love that we celebrate birthweek and not just birthday.
Where else do you go for your birthday but Barnes and Noble. And what do you shop for - not books. :) You also go to Olive Garden. Their alfredo makes birthdays taste better. Great time celebrating 17 year old Sadie!
I’ve just been thinking a lot about divine worth and how important it is to remember and what a difference it can make when we do. Don’t ever forget - I am a child of God. From Sister Wixom, October 2015 GC:
Our divine nature has nothing to do with our personal accomplishments, the status we achieve, the number of marathons we run, or our popularity and self-esteem. Our divine nature comes from God. It was established in an existence that preceded our birth and will continue on into eternity.
Enjoyed reading Sister Joy D Jones talk from October 2017 GC this morning. “Let me point out the need to differentiate between two critical words: worth and worthiness. They are not the same. Spiritual worth means to value ourselves the way Heavenly Father values us, not as the world values us. Our worth was determined before we ever came to this earth.”
Cam made Sally’s cookies tonight after dinner and they smelled delicious and tasted delicious.There was no omelet lady this morning in the kitchen. Quite a disappointment. She was there for me every morning on the cruise. This cruise group photo is missing Jenn and Brandon.
It's good to be home and chat with the girls and hear them laugh. I will miss that Caribbean weather.
I wouldn’t call it a perfect day at CocoCay but it was a very good one. Fun to watch Darren totally enjoy snorkeling.
The water was so pretty and the white sand - so Bahamas. I liked the little grass strands floating in the water. Some blue skies, some white clouds, seagulls, and palm trees completed the Bahamas vibe. Bonus was the white egret!
Boat day. It included Kindle and booby watching and so much eating. The stars in the ocean sky tonight were cool.
We had the best day in the Dominican Republic doing a zip line and then 7 waterfalls of Damajagua. It really was an awesome adventure with Em and Brian plus Heather and Danen.
All you can eat watermelon and fruit already cut is a fabulous perk of the cruise. Macaroon flat cookie with lunch today was so good! We spent the day at fake Haiti. Swimming and relaxing on the beach and in the water was a great stop getting off the boat.
Cruising is underway. Got on the boat yesterday and we're cruising the day away. This cruise life is weird. It takes some adjusting for me to sit around all day with lots of strangers. Saw a brown booby flying along side the boat. Darren is racking up his bird totals on this trip. My summer clothes are so excited to be out in the winter.
Good evening workout at the leg. Then D and I grabbed some costa Vida from Sadie. Everyone she works with loves her and they let us know that this evening. Camrie’s bosses also tell me constantly how great she is to have at work.
Baylie let me go on her hike. Then we all went to Pizza Pie Cafe for $100 lunch. Good way to spend President's Day with most of us.
Darren knocked it out of the park with his talk! Loved the part about his North Timp hike and how making the choice to be able to hike and choosing that trail led to a magical sunset moment. Choices are important and God will reward us generously. Found out he loves Hymn 5 - High On a Mountain Top. Makes perfect sense. It was the Draper show today as I taught Sunday school.
Sunrises are magical and spiritual. One of my favorite names of Christ is - the bright and morning star (Revelation 22:16).
Some days it just hits you that you don’t get to see your parents again on this earth. It makes me very teary. And then tonight we grabbed some donuts with Ry and I got the chocolate chocolate cake donut which my mom would always choose for her donut.
I love Darren. He always comes through with some things I love. Today it was flowers, chocolate strawberries, and food I didn’t have to cook (which included K and T out to eat double date). More things I love that I can think of right now:
I sure love that Sadie kid. Cannot believe we are registering her for senior year.
Time for cabin time. Each year I love the consistency of getting together with these college friends of mine and each year our overnight cabin stay is a little different. Same - Out to eat (Strap Tank again. Don’t get their side salad). Plenty of chatting. Bacon and eggs breakfast. Mary and Tara on the couches, Pats and me on the floor. Different - lots of sleeping with earlier bedtime and naps by Patty and Mary Ellen. Fruit dip. Only one movie. We wore our matching Moab sweatshirts (maybe this will be the same next year).
I have been having a hard time getting myself to the winter mountains but today I did and it was a winter wonderland up AF Canyon. Sigh.
So many good things from this week that I wrote down as I sat in sacrament meeting:
St. George temple - white - art in the St. George temple - temple “tour” - looking down the staircase from 5 floors up - delicious Mexican food - chatting with the Draper family - rainy hike that wasn’t too rainy - water coming down the rock - cholla cactus - views - talking with Emily - Snow Canyon - blue skies - puffy white clouds - good little hikes - choosing a good place to eat (Bishop’s Grill) - seeing Cam and Sadie after getting home - extra chatting with Sadie - picadilly chips at the Beaver Drive In - sealing promises - colors and textures in Snow Canyon - Darren - “I had joy and great hopes” 1 Nephi 16:5
Today on the drive home from St George I really really wished we could
stop and say hi to my parents. As we passed the exit to do so my heart
just hurt. I wish there could be just one more visit.
Today was just such a good day! We celebrating Jessie and Harley going through the temple and getting sealed.
Good Saturday with fam. Played some games with M - R and K - T and I won at both SkyJo and 5 Crowns (odds of that are slim). Went on an awesome snow hike with Darren - I love Pine Hollow in the winter. Barnes and Noble trip with KCS. Dinner was Costa Vida (bonus seeing Sadie). Finished the day with a little movie watching with some Ben and Jerry's ice cream.
