North Carolina - Summer 2016

North Carolina - Part I

July 11 - 17, 2016 - Had such a great time in NC.  Scott decided to come with at the last minute – he told Bryce he got his priorities straight.  We spent the first few days with all of us, went swimming, to a movie, shopping, Duke Gardens and just playing with the kids.  Scott left on Tuesday taking Bryce to the airport with him, Bryce to go to Switzerland for school/work.  Alicia and I took the kids to the science museum, the Marble museum, the splash park, and out to dinner Saturday night to Red Robin for Alicia's birthday.  We had a very good time and the kids were really good.  On Sunday after church I picked up Bryce from the airport, we circled through the airport and he dropped me off for my flight. 
That is about as short a narrative as there could be for six days.  

January was fun considering how cold it was!  So glad that we were able to get out of it for awhile over Christmas.

We headed into Midway for an evening out.  Met Brad and Kaley for dinner at Tarahumara Restaurant.  It was good food.  Did a quick bowling game (could only do one game before they closed as the little bowling alley in Heber was rented for the evening by Penn & Teller during Sundance).  Then off to Ice Castles.  It was something that was worth doing once.  Not many times I'll leave Vernal in the winter and go to a frozen place.

Need to practice the selfies.

Full Moon

We look like zombies with the reflection off our glasses

The next evening was Brett's reception.  Got to have dinner with Vicki, Lynn and Taylor before at Kneaders.  What a cute girl!  Vicki has lucked out with all the cute girls they have added.

I crossed one thing off my list of must-dos.  Patty John came and helped me get my pressure cooker out of the box and onto the stove.  15 pints of chicken. We've even eaten some.  I'll do it again.  Now I need to learn to cook in it...

Canning success.

Blankets are sewed, 4 more weeks till the little guy should arrive.

Blankets, burp cloths, car seat tent

CHRISTMAS IN THE SOUTH 2015

CHRISTMAS 2015

Brad, Scott and I came into Lindon for Christmas Eve and had a wonderful time with family, eating and watching the kids open gifts.  

The weather wasn't supposed to be good so we decided to take the safe route and head to the airport late Christmas Eve for our flight early Christmas.  It was snowing lightly when we left and Lindon had about 8 inches on Christmas so maybe it was good we went.  We had a hard time sleeping in the airport, caught an hour here and there.  Our flight was delayed about an hour while we waited for de-icing.  Flew to Vegas, met up with Brock and headed to Durham.  We were just about there, maybe 30 minutes out, and turned around and headed towards Louisville.  One of the pilots was ill and they had to make an unscheduled landing there to pick up another pilot.  After about an hour and a half we were on our way.  Got to Durham, picked up a minivan and finally got to Bryce's about 3 hours late in 75 degree weather!.  So glad they kept Addy up to greet us.  She acted like she had seen us just a few days before.  No warm up time needed.  Bryce had fixed us jambalaya and we were grateful.

They waited to have Christmas on Saturday so we got to watch her open gifts.  It was so much fun.  Cici's for lunch, roast for dinner, and then all headed off to Star Wars while I stayed with Addy.  Sunday was church and then left for Charleston.  Guess there were a lot of other travelers because a trip that was supposed to take about 4 hours took about 5-1/2 because of stop and go traffic on I-95.  Ate at Fatz Café and then made it to Homewood Suites in North Charleston.  Two rooms, two bathrooms, kitchenette, family room.  It was very nice with a great breakfast and some light dinners. 

On Monday the weather wasn't supposed to be very good so we headed to Charles Town Landing, a state park that had a reproduction ship, some reproduction dwellings, an animal forest and some beautiful blooming bushes.

After a nap, headed to Charleston.  Ate at Hominy Grits with boiled peanuts and real southern food.  It was very good.  Then went to the Waterfront Park, wandered around a very crowded little touristy city and tried to find just some regular ice cream.  We gave up and headed to Cold Stone. 

The next day we went to Fort Sumter by ferry, the ranger was very entertaining on the slow boat.  Not much on the island but loved how it has been preserved.  A good history lesson.  Back to the rooms, lunch from Big Billy's Burger Joint and dinner at the hotel pasta buffet.  Canasta where Brock and Bryce (?) won. 

Wednesday we got up and headed back to Durham, had no traffic but a torrential downpour.  We were on a mission, had to make it back, it was the Duke basketball game that afternoon.  The boys and I went and stood in the rain and had great seats behind the corner of the basket just near the Duke bench.  Stood up the whole time in the student section but it was great fun. 

Thursday was a quiet day, lunch at Dames chicken and waffles (yummy), watching football, brown butter and mizithra cheese pasta, and all the boys playing Zelda monopoly to ring in the new year.  All this time included play-doh, doll house playing, reading books.  We had bouts of flu throughout the week, Bryce on Saturday, Brad on Monday and Scott on Wednesday.  All were troopers and it didn't stop us from doing anything that we had planned. 

On Friday Bryce and Alicia went to eat at Cheesecake Factory, we got in our last time with Addy and picked up some Cook Out bbq, said our good-byes and headed to the airport.  Brock rented a car to head to Jacksonville to see a friend and then on to Dallas the next week.  We boarded our plane for Chicago/Salt Lake, very uneventful and a very quick flight.  Opened the doors at the baggage claim in Salt Lake and were greeted with the bitter cold we had not missed.  Next time we visit in March there will be another little one awaiting us!

Thanks to Brad for a lot of these pictures...

Addy in Charles Town Landing State Park

Addy at Fort Sumter

Addy with the bear at Homewood Suites

Bryce and Brock at Charles Town Landing State Park

Charles Town Landing State Park

Coach K - Duke Basketball Game

Family - Charles Town Landing State Park

Family - Duke Basketball GAme

Fort Sumter

My Favorite Place to Be

Dinner at Hominy Grits, Charleston, SC

Ice Cream at Cold Stone, North Charleston, SC

New Year's Eve - Football and Zelda Monopoly

Watertown Park, Charleston, SC

Channel Islands November 2015

Three weeks ago we drove to see Brock.  We went to dinner at Safire in Camarillo (it was very good!) and to see Spectre and there Scott and I were given the senior discount.  We respectfully declined after a good laugh.  

The next day Brock chose to go to the Channel Islands which is a national park and right near the base.  We took a ferry to Anacapa Island.  It was beautiful weather, 70's and sunshine.  We were able to enjoy very closely dolphins and two whales.  The ferry would stop and circle so we were able to watch.  I think the ferry ride took an hour longer than expected but it was so worth it.  

 The first picture was the north end of the island looking towards other islands.  In the bottom left of the picture there were a bunch of sea lions sleeping in the shade of the rocks.  Later, in this same area, there was a group of about 13 kayaks that had been dropped off in the area and were rowing around the island.

 These arches were on the south end of the island.

View from the north end of the island.

Brock was kind enough to pick the island that had a lighthouse on it.

It was a small island and it took a couple of hours to hike around, have lunch and enjoy the views.  The ferry came back, we loaded up and enjoyed the sunset heading back to Ventura.

We didn't feel like doing much after the outing.  There was a Jazz game that night, so we pulled out some chairs from the pool, turned on the satellite radio and listened to the game.  Scott went and got pizza, and we had us a picnic in the parking lot.  I think Scott was glad that Brock was there to protect me so he could go in the room and not have to sit and listen to the game with me.

It was a great weekend.  On the way down and on the way back we visited with Roger and Doris.  Mesquite is a great place to stop very late at night because the rooms at the Virgin River are $28.  You can't beat that for a few hours of sleep.

Maybe one more trip to California next summer and then Brock will be done!?!

Our trip to North Carolina in March was so much fun.  It's hard to believe that Addy has changed so much already.  We read, and we read some more.  We went shopping at the outlets, and we went to Duke Gardens.

He was a very willing reader.

She had her moments, but not very often.

Duke Gardens

Duke Gardens

I decided I needed to hurry and do this post before next week when she comes because this four months has made a lot of difference.  She was just starting to talk while we were there.

The kitchen cabinets were finished.

 The fence was finished, although this picture does not show that.

And now it seems we have come to a screeching halt on the house projects.

Brad came out one weekend and we went to Fantasy Canyon.  I think it was over Easter.  

Then we hit the camp mode.  

Scott's work had a camp at Red Canyon around June 12th.  We tried out our new tent that was still in the box from a year ago.  An 8-man tent is plenty big enough for the two of us. I have missed camping.  I enjoyed the pond while Scott rowed us around in a canoe.  We saw turkey vultures and a crane.  

Helaman's Camp was on June 25-27 and Scott was over that.

Girls' Camp was June 29-July 3 and I was lucky enough to be Stake Camp Director.  I was also very lucky to have an artist for a neighbor.  Wendy painted the ship.   It looked really good and was worth all the work.

  

I was so grateful that no one else from the ward (other than the bishopric) volunteered to come up (every ward was to have one brother there all week, they came in shifts) and so Scott felt obligated to come.  He spent that first morning setting up the ship, I would never have been able to do it without him there.  We put him to work teaching water purification.  

Girls always gotta dance.

We quilt, even at camp.  Four quilts will be donated to the local Women's Shelter.

We did a really great service project while we were there, Days for Girls.  We are very fortunate where we live and what we have available to us.

During the month of June I was trying to finish up the quilt I was working on for the Lindsay Family Reunion.  It will be donated for a raffle.  I had some help with the blocks and some help with the quilting.  I got it off the frames just in time for camp.  

And last but not least, last week Scott was asked to speak at High Uinta Scout Camp so I went along for the ride.  I have never been to scout camp and it is probably good I didn't go while the boys were going. It was Thursday evening and it had been raining Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  There were some families up there with small kids, which surprised me, and they were running around, riding bikes down the dirt road not caring in the least that there were cars around.  One little kid was so cute, he stopped just in front of me on his bike and I looked at his feet.  He had ziploc baggies over his feet inside his shoes.  I'm sure dry shoes never smelled or felt so good when they got home.  There was a scout walking down the road to the amphitheater barefoot.  It appeared to me as if the dads were in charge, but maybe that is an unfair generalization - or maybe not.  A stark contrast to my week spent at girls' camp, especially with it being Heber Valley Camp where the rules are so strict about long pants and always having shoes on.  

This is dad speaking as the boys would head out for the honor trail.  

That is the last few months in a nutshell.  

I have never worked so hard on anything before as camp.  And I really enjoyed it.  It was good to be busy.  And I'm glad that Scott was busy at the same time and still able to help me as much as he did. He never questioned all the things that I was doing - he'd just go with it.

Now if we could just find the time (maybe it's the energy) to work in the yard....