Levan and cabin

Last fall when the Johnson's came out to the cabin we planned that next year we would go to their place in Levan for the weekend. We found a weekend in June that worked for both of us and made our plans. We were going to go four-wheeling up in the mountains by their place the first night, the next morning go to the sand dunes and then the lake that afternoon. The weather was not looking good with the high's around 50, but with busy summer schedules we decided to still go that weekend and do what we could. We got their and they have a cute little house that they have fixed up very nice. We took off on the four-wheelers to explore the mountains. I can't remember what they called that canyon but it was beautiful. With all the rain it was very green. Took some pictures by a waterfall and even saw a turkey with 8 little turkeys running up the mountain. Got back to their place just before a big rainstorm started. Had a huge dinner and then sat around visiting.

The next morning the weather wasn't any better but we loaded up the four-wheelers and went out to the sand dunes. The one good thing about the weather was that it wasn't busy. I can't imagine playing out their when it is busy. Steve and Ben took the dune four-wheelers and me and Jolene took the other ones.

I was nervous driving their brand-new four-wheeler but Jolene took me on easy trails and I had a blast.

Luckily we split up from the boys for most of the day since they are alot more daring then us. We then hooked up and watched as they played on a big dune. I wish I wasn't such a chicken, but my stomach can't handle things like that. It was really fun and I'm glad we went down.
We had crossed two things off our list and with the weather being so cold I didn't think playing on the lake would happen, but I was wrong. We didn't change into swimsuits and climbed on the boat with coats and blankets. They haven't had a chance to take their boat out yet and wanted to see if everything was working properly.

We have gone out with them before in cold weather and Ben has gotten in to ski, so I wasn't surprised when he said that he wanted to go wake-boarding. We were all fully dressed and I wondered if maybe he would go out in his G's, but Steve had the great idea of just putting on a wet suit and going. I can't believe he got in because I was fully dressed with two jackets and a blanket and was still cold.

Luckily everything worked out and we got the boat on the trailer just as it started to rain. We really did luck out with the weather and had a fun day playing and catching up with friends. Thanks Johnsons.

We got home Saturday night and Steve flew to Florida on Sunday. He worked that week and then drove up to Georgia to see Heather and Kevin and the girls and then to Orlando on Monday to meet with another county about some work. I wasn't looking forward to being by myself over the weekend so Thursday after scout camp I headed up to the cabin by myself. The first night I slept from 8:30 to 7:00 in the morning. It felt so good to finally sleep. I love sleeping at the cabin. Friday I spent the day in the yard trying to get it caught up, Saturday just hung around doing odd jobs and that night Taryn came up. We watched a movie and then waited for her friend Kevin to make it up. He had called and got directions about 8:00 so we expected him around 10:30. He had never been there and we were worried that he was lost somewhere. Finally about 11:30 he made it.


The next morning we ran down to church and then took a four- wheeler ride up the loop. Since they saw a bear over on that mountain I was a little nervous. I think we were one of the first ones on the trail because we ran into alot of trees that had fallen over.

Just after the fenced in pasture we ran into this tree that had fallen over. We thought we could easily move it since it wasn't so big but it was a tall tree and we could not budge it. Taryn and Kevin decided to go around it and down the trail, but I choose to turn around so I could slowly drive home and look at things. I think Taryn takes after my sister Jodi and just punches it on the four-wheeler and they had to keep pulling over to wait for me. I had a nice drive back, but did get a little nervous when I was going down the hill. Lucky for me the bear was not in sight. I have a theory that if you bring along a camera then you won't see animals like bear or moose, so I think I will be packing one with me everywhere up there. It was a fun weekend and I enjoyed having some time with Taryn.

Memorial Weekend

We really had a great time up at the cabin over Memorial Weekend. Me and Steve went up Friday and then Taryn, Greg, Lauren, Alex and Taylor came out on Saturday. The weather was still crazy and on Saturday we spent alot of time outside with our jackets on. We finally got out the Boce balls. That was a fun game and I even won a few rounds. It's great because it only takes a few minutes to play a game.

Poor Lauren has been working two jobs and planning a wedding. She was so tired she even fell asleep twice outside on the deck.
We thought we would go for a hike up the canyon and these guys all thought it would be funny to put on the masks. Sometimes I would have to remind myself that all three of these boys served a mission, they still acted so crazy.

We found this spot and had everyone pose for pictures.

Poor Alex had nobody to pose with.
Taryn was nice enough to let Taylor pose with her.

Such a cute picture.

We went to Sacrement meeting down in Tabionia and were really hoping to find some cute girlfriends for Alex and Taylor but we arrived a minute before it started and had to sit in the way back so we had no luck. We told them that we would stay for the other meetings so they could find them one, but they passed. When we got home the sun was out so we grabbed some blankets and laid out on the deck. It felt so good to be warm.
That afternoon the most exciting thing happened to the boys. All weekend long they were talking about seeing a bear. We have seen bear tracks up there but have never spotted one. So they climbed into the ranger and Steve took them up on the mountain were we saw a cub track last year. The whole way up they started every sentence with bear. Finally Greg got so tired of it that he asked if they had to mention bear in every thing they said. They got to the top of the mountain and parked the ranger and walked over to the edge of the cliff. It's a deep canyon with a tiny stream at the bottom. Greg, Steve and Taylor were all looking around when Alex came over and immediately said "There's a big animal, it's a bear" and pointed to the bottom of the canyon. They all looked and there was a bear. Instead of being quiet so they could observe him they were all screaming and high fiving each other and the bear took off and climbed straight up the other side of the canyon. Steve said he would climb and then look over at them. He said he made it up the other side in less then a minute. Pretty scary that they can go that fast. Off course they didn't have the camera or even their cell phones to take a picture. So all in all it was a great weekend. The kids are all great kids and fun to be around. I think we have learned one lesson and that is in order to see neat things you have to leave the camera behind.

Waimeia Canyon

We thought Waimeia Canyon was gorgeous. They say it's the Pacific Island's Grand Canyon. On such a small island I can't believe they have such a deep canyon. We were up at this observation deck and asked this young couple if they would take out picture. They agreed and the wife took the camera. While we were getting ready the husband told us that they would take the picture even with Steve's blue BYU hat on. We found out that they were from Utah and he had graduated from the University of Utah. Steve had his BYU shirt on and we stopped at a McDonalds and a cute little guy with no teeth said something about BYU's volleyball team. Wearing a college t-shirt is a great conversation starter.

At the end of the road you could see the Napali coastline. It was so pretty. They had a sign for a small mile hike. We weren't really dressed for hiking but thought that we could easily do a mile hike. We started out and it was fine. The ground was a little muddy, and when we were on our boat ride the captain had mentioned that the dirt up in these mountains turn into an ice-rink when it gets muddy. He was right on. I kept slipping and it was a bit scary taking a step because you didn't feel in control. It was hilly and thank goodness for all the folige because I had to keep grabbing it so I could stay upright.
This is what the trail looked like. By the time we got back to the car out feet where caked with mud. It was the worst hike I have ever been on. I never knew a two mile round trip hike could take that long. The sad thing is the view never got better so we could have saved us alot of time and stayed clean just staying at the top. After the canyon we stopped in Waimeia at a little shrimp shop and had one of the best meals. I had shrimp tacos and they were so good. I'm really missing the wonderful sea-food we had in Kauai.

Kauai

Sometime this winter Steve was looking on the internet and found a deal to fly us to Kauai and it would only cost us 40,000 miles. That is a great deal to go to Hawaii and since we have always wanted to visit Kauai I told him to book it. We figured May would be a great month to go. It is very nice not to plan our vacations around the school system. That is one plus to being empty nesters.

We got to Kauai and the only activity we really wanted to do was get on a zodiac boat and see the Napali coastline. This was our third day on Kauai and the sun was still hiding behind the clouds. I was starting to think that the sun doesn't shine in Kauai. We put on sun-screen before we took off but with the cloud cover didn't reaply and almost got burned. The tops of my legs were getting a bit red and Steve's chest was getting red.

Being on the zodiac was great because he was able to take us into the caves and under the waterfalls. I wasn't pleased when he took me right under the fertility waterfall. Hopefully that is an old Hawaiian legend.
The coastline was so beautiful. Steve had brought his scuba camera so we were able to keep it out the whole time. We got a seat right up front and the waves were coming over our head and soaking us. The water was pretty rough.
At one cave he floored it and we couldn't see anything but the dark. It was a bit scary but cool.

We stopped for lunch at a beach that has an ancient Hawaiian village. We got to take a tour of it and hear some of the history of how they lived. Our guide pointed out that back then the women's only chore was to take care of the children. The men cooked and gathered the food. I'm thinking that was a great life.
After lunch and the tour we spent some time snorkling. The corel in Kauai looks really dead and this was the only cool thing we saw. They call them convict fish, I guess because of their stripes. They had some cold springs running into the ocean and after about ten minutes of snorkeling I had to get out because of the cold. It was fun and what a great way to see the coastline.

Taylor leaving for Long Beach

Before Taylor left for the MTC Steve booked us a trip to Kauai. We were pleasantly surprised when a week before we left Taylor wrote us in his e-mail that he would be flying to Long Beach the same morning we were leaving for Kauai.

We knew his flight was at 8:30 so we got to the airport around 6:30. We checked in and went to the gate his flight was leaving from. He wasn't there so we asked some other missionaires that were waiting if there was multiple buses that went to the airport that day and they informed us yes. We grabbed breakfast and then went to wait by security so we wouldn't miss him.
Before we had left for the airport Steve asked if I was going to cry. That could have been one of the dumbest questions he had ever asked. Being married to me for 27 years, surely he knew that of course I would cry. We were sitting and waiting when Steve saw a bunch of missionaries coming through security and there was Taylor. Just seeing him immediately got the tear ducts going. I tried really hard to stop before he got through. Steve was busy snapping pictures when one of the airport policemen came up to him and asked if we had a missionary. When Steve said yes he told him to get closer to take the picture. It was funny because right before Steve said I bet security comes over and asks me what I'm doing taking pictures.

Taylor was flying out with 9 other missionaries that were also going to Long Beach. Because he had been put in the intermediate spanish classes he didn't know them. Luckily his companion just wanted to make a phone call so while he was calling we grabbed Taylor breakfast and were able to talk for about an hour.

Taylor's confidence has grown and right before he boarded the plane he stopped and talked to this lady. I don't know what their conversation was about but he seemed very comfortable talking.

Here he is leaving for a wonderful opportunity. I'm excited for him and that we also get to share through e-mails this experience. He will make a great missionary and the people of Long Beach are in for a treat. Good Luck Taylor.

Kitchen Remodel

For the last three weeks we have been busy with a kitchen remodel. After we tore out the top cupboards I realized that I did not have a picture of what the kitchen looked like so this picture of Taryn and Zach at Taylor's farewell and Greg's homecoming will have to do. When we built we just had the standard oak cabinets put in. Over the years I have painted them white with a stain and then I painted them twice red. But as our family dynamics have changed the kitchen really didn't meet our needs.

So I talked Steve into looking for a new house with a kitchen that would work better for us. After a few months of searching we realized that house prices were still pretty high and since our home is almost paid off that it made more sense to remodel the kichen then buy a new house. So we found someone to custom build the cabinets and when he came out to look and give us some options we decided to tear out the part they had framed out above the cabinets. He assured us that only once has he ever ran into anything in them. Well he doesn't tell anybody that anymore. We had a lazy builder who hired even lazier subs so there was wiring and plumbing and all sorts of stuff that should not have been there.

Luckily I married a handy man and he was able to fix the wiring and plumbing and sheetrock it up. He even took out our big florescent light and put in recessed lighting. He is amazing and I'm lucky to be married to him. He is also smart and one afternoon Greg had a couple of his friends over so Steve put them to work helping us tear out the remaining cabinets.
It is nice to have someone else do the hard work.
This is what it looked like all torn up. We did that Monday and that night I started painting and getting it ready for the cabinets to be installed on Wednesday.

Here are my new cabinets and I couldn't be happier. We took out our bar and he built me the cutest island. It has a butcher block top and is perfect for preparing dinner on. They have measured for the granite and it will be installed in a week. I never realized how much I use my kitchen sink. I've been hauling dishes up to the bathtub for a week and have another week left. But I don't mind the inconvenience because I love my new kitchen.

Snowy but great weekend

This weekend we headed up to the cabin to open it up for the year. We knew the weather would be cold and snowy but Greg really wanted to go up so we did. Knowing that the road down to the cabin would still be snow-packed we made plans to get all the stuff and ourselves inside. We were pleasantly surprised when we drove up and found that our great neighbor Tom had plowed the road for us. We made it inside on dry roads and thought we were safe. The next morning when we woke up and saw that it had snowed 6 inches, Steve decided that he better drive the truck out to the road in case it kept snowing.

Greg really wanted to go to the cabin so he could propose to Lauren up there. During the break in conference on Saturday they took a windy cold walk and he asked her to marry him. We are excited to have Lauren in our family and think they make a cute couple. They don't have a date yet but sometime this summer. I took this picture hoping you could see the ring in it, I will have to post another one with the ring later. That night Steve and Greg rode the four-wheeler out to the truck and drove down to watch Priesthood. Me, Taryn and Lauren just hung around the cabin, playing games and relaxing.

Easter morning we woke up to another 4 inches of snow and lots of sunshine. It was so beautiful. During the break in conference we went for a long walk and enjoyed being outside with the sun on our faces.
Of course Steve and Greg had to cross the river. We walked along the ditch bank and we would be walking along fine and then somebody would step and sink up to their knees. It got hilarious watching someone walking fine and then sinking to their knees.
We found a patch of ice on the river and tried to break it apart by throwing rocks. I have a hard time passing the river without throwing rocks into it.

We played outside for an hour then headed back inside to prepare dinner and get ready for the last session of conference. Taryn and Steve spent the time listening and putting together puzzles. The first one had 1000 pieces and they did it. The company was fun, the scenery beautiful and conference was amazing. I can't wait to watch the talks again and again. I'm so excited for Greg and Lauren and this new stage in their lives. If we had Taylor and Heather's family with us then it would have been the perfect weekend.