Ah, the End of Summer...

This will be a long post, I have tons of pictures here...
Andy took his test for his math class on 7/28, so we headed out for our camping extravaganza on 7/29. Since we had a shortened time frame, we stayed "in Utah" for this year. We had a great time and found some new spots to return to... Here are some of the highlights:
First camping spot - Fish Lake - Mackinaw Campground, Site 18. (Site 16 is ROCKIN' for tents, but there was someone there before us. Our site was great tho', at the top of the circle, back in the trees.) NOT Sarah's favorite, just because she had to be on her leash. We were there Wed-Mon and did some great hikes, took Sarah swimmin' a lot, and found some awesome dispersed camping and trails.Monday - we pulled into Torrey, UT, just outside of Capitol Reef National Park/Monument. Having been there at Halloween, we had found a motel that is pet-friendly. So we showered, did laundry, had pizza at the Patio, and shakes at Slackers (also great burgers for lunch). Slept in a bed for one night, then off to Hell's Backbone Road.
Second half of camping - Blue Spruce Campground, just off Hell's Backbone - The road is great...better than our own dirt road for most of it. Andy took pictures at the bridge (WAY high up). We found the campground around noon, 6 spots, one site with people (who were packing up). Latrines, water, bear cabinets, lots of trees, a running creek, and a fence around the whole thing! (we think it was to keep cattle out) Sarah loved it, she "logged" the creek, and ran around the whole place since we were the only ones there. We did some over-the-road exploring, and took Sarah swimmin' every day (ask Andy about the kids who caught a duck), and survived a LOUD thunderstorm Thursday morning.
We headed home Saturday through Tropic and Bryce and Coral Pink, watching everyone else going the opposite direction. We got everything unpacked, checked email (seriously people, 80 messages in 10 days?), checked snail mail, did laundry, SHOWERED again, and had a house full of dogs. School starts tomorrow for me, so I'll probably MIA for a little bit. Happy August! This adventure was brought to you by Moose Drool... [it tastes MUCH better than it sounds ;) ]

Summer Daze

I have kind of been slacking off since everyone left. I've been reading up a storm and keeping the dog hair and dust to a minimum, but I would not consider myself overworked. Andy's in the midst of a research paper and math overload. We've kept close to home...
Random thoughts:
1) I love Andy's bbq - that rotisserie is great! We just did our second "at home" chicken. It is good with brining, just like a turkey at Thanksgiving.

2) My teeth are still straight...ha! This new retainer is awesome...I may wear it forever!

3) Looking forward to camping, but already mentally gearing up for school... the countdown on the district website says "30 Days" until the kids start back. I kid you not, check it out... http://www.wash.k12.ut.us/ and then, the day after school starts, the countdown changes to the first break or holiday we have... it's crazy!
4) I have been stalking the web for new New Moon trailers...yes, it's started again.

5) We did go see the new Transformers movie, it was okay... not as good as the first, but some amazing special effects.

It's too quiet here...

Whew! Andy and I have always admired parents, but now we have "an understanding". We had a great time with the kids, and look forward to seeing them every summer (till we're not fun or cool anymore). We finished the week by baking cookies and 9 loaves of banana bread and a Wii marathon on Thursday. MB, Mary, and Holly came that afternoon.



Then Friday morning, we all went back to the river... more great times were had by all. Angie Moore came by Friday night, and we finally did s'mores, but never did put up the tent. The weather just wasn't cooperating. Saturday morning early, we packed up the kids and headed back to Vegas. When we got back on Saturday afternoon, I napped for like 3 hours! Then we went to the fireworks/bbq at the fire station. It was a big hit...again! Sunday, I tried to bake marble squares, but the universe was aligned against me... too small a pan (I think), high altitude, and something funky with the cream cheese (it didn't blend well - fat free problem?). Anyway, I will try again someday. We took a pie, watermelon, wine, and beer over to Dee and Steve's for their "I love my country, but the economy sucks" party. More fun times. Wendy and Dan were there, and I finally got to show Wendy my house.
Last but not least, I GOT MY BRACES OFF! It feels weird, but great. Have a permanent on my lowers, and didn't lose my retainer over night. Hopefully this is because I'm training my tongue, but also might be that retainer technology has improved! I'll send pictures later. Need to spruce up to take those pictures... Bye for now!

Getting to know St. George

This week has been full of new experiences.... We have taken Logan, Ivy, and Sarah to the Falls Park in Virgin (see pictures). A good time was had by all - Andy and I have been there before, but not with an almost 2 year old dog, an almost 5 year old girl, and an almost 7 year old boy. There were sand castles (okay, wet sand) built, tadpoles caught (and eaten - by Sarah), and floating. Then we did Fiesta Family Fun yesterday - mini golf, bumper boats, and go karts. 15 holes had full participation, then the heat started to pick us off from the little end. The lemonade and bumper boats really revived us all. Today, Logan, Ivy, and I went to the St. George library and town square, where they have a lazy creek and jumping fountain (water comes out of the concrete). We picked out some books, had a picnic, and they played in the water for a couple of hours (sunscreen liberally applied). Then we went to Story Time at the library. WHEW! I'm pooped! MB, Holly, and Mary come tomorrow - camp out starts soon!

So far, summer good...

Well, we've been truckin' right along on the summer to do list: Andy's classes (check), my summer reading (check), at least one camping trip so far (check), all the requisite meetings and appointments (check). The only thing on the list that has not been accomplished is the closet completion... I need to paint and then put everything back. Sarah and I went to the dog park in Springdale today so that she could swim. She's been so DEPRESSED all week because her friends Mojo and Gracie went camping. You think a bored kid is a pain... at least they speak the same language. Logan and Ivy are coming to visit Dog Cousin Sarah and Uncle Andy next week (I get to chauffeur and chaperone)... we are all VERY excited. I'm thinking that a LOT of baking will get done, and we will probably do a little community service for the town that will include green paint and large tshirts.Andy and I have also seen quite a few movies in the last 2 months (probably more than we've seen in the last few years - in the theaters, we've been "busy"). The new STAR TREK was great...neither of us were trekkies, but it tied in all the old good stuff. We enjoyed the new Terminator (so did MB - I sense another Christmas classic).
The new Night at the Museum was good, but not better than the original. We are psyched for the new Harry Potter in July! It's a harmless diversion, and doesn't require going into St. George (yeah Coral Cliffs Cinema 8!). Plus, it's an excuse for Dairy Queen, who doesn't love that???

Cramming it all in...

Happy Flag Day! Andy had fire training this morning, so I spent the AM cleaning out email and catching up on things...yes, the chain emails are from me. It's been an exhausting couple of weeks of workshops and classes for me. I'm done for the summer though, except for research on my own. Now I've got to get ready for Logan and Ivy's visit...planning fun but not too taxing activities for a 4 and 6 year old is tough!

Anyway, I found some cool pictures hiding on old emails... check out the Meisel/White Family Shot and the Compatible Dyad (not a twosome, but still great) and some pictures of how Sarah spends her time. That's Diane's fountain and Gracie with her... I'm deliberately ignoring the picture of the scorpion Diane sent us. I've seen a tarantula near the garage... and Andy says the neighbor mentioned a rattlesnake in his chicken coop.

Camping at Tuweep

We met Dee and Steve at the Chevron (there's only one folks...) and drove out a long dirt road to Toroweap Point. There is a scenic day use area and Tuweep Campground. We got the "best" campsite...kind of all to ourselves. They have very nice composting latrines out there...relatively un-smelly:) We traveled out Thursday afternoon and then set up camp. Then Friday, we lazed around and Steve took Andy and I out to Toroweap Point (see pics over the edge). Saturday, Steve, Andy, and I hiked east toward the "Grand Canyon" (it's all the canyon, but toward the North Rim area) to look for Steve's Grandpa's old mine. We found some cool stuff...of course, we hadn't taken the camera, because we didn't know if/how wet we might get. There were clouds and storms on and off...great camping/hiking weather. We came home Sunday and "vegged".

Andy started his summer school classes, and I am taking a class that someone else was signed up for originally. But my trainer is Mary Matheson, who used to be the instructional specialist at Cheyenne Elementary before I taught there...small world!