Sunday, October 15, 2017

Important Papers Arrived.....


I got my actual official diploma from Utah State this week.  Even the envelope said that it was a diploma and DO NOT BEND.  One of my cohort actually had her envelope and diploma bent despite the warning and has to get another one sent to her. Rude, right?

Then Jena sent this picture in a text to us on Friday.  It is her Food Handler's Permit.  She took and passed her test on Friday.  It think that means that all of our kids have had a food handler's permit.  I am not sure about Jessica but I think she did when she worked in childcare.  Scott, Ben and Tosha all have worked in food service industry at some point or another.
Yay, Jena!!! Good job on learning all of the stuff you needed to pass the test.

Grandchildren update

 Just because they are all so cute.....
Zander
Liam loves his Aunt Jena
Liam loves hats and made his own with the bucket.

 Tosha sent these gorgeous pictures of--
Cooper
Niki with Austen
Cooper
Doesn't just looking at that face make you want to laugh with him?
 And Scott's kids (and Chantel):
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Scarlett with Chantel
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First day of preschool
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James

UDSF Retreat

Gary and I headed up to Fish Haven, Idaho, which is on the very northern end of Bear Lake to attend the 2nd Annual UDSF Retreat.  We missed last year because I was running a high fever and ended up with a cold for a week as well, so this was our first trip to Gerald's cabin on the lake.

This was the view from our bedroom window on Friday afternoon.
And this was the view from the same window in the morning after a storm went through the area.

By mid-day most of the snow was gone and the lake was turning back to its beautiful blue color.  Gerald that the blue color is due to a certain mineral that is found in the water.  It is the same mineral that causes the blue of Lake Tahoe as well.
Gerald and his wife have eight children and they decided to build this family retreat for the entire family to gather.  They only have four grandchildren currently but they are planning for those big gatherings in future years.  We loved our stay and were able to get a lot of planning done for the next year for the Utah Down Syndrome Foundation. And we introduced some of our board and their spouses to the game "Wits and Wagers,"one of our old favorites.

The fall colors have already faded in the higher elevations so we headed back the Wyoming route which takes you along western Wyoming to Evanston and then over to Syracuse.

And we ran into a Wyoming traffic jam.  There was a whole herd of cows moving along the road at their own pace.  They would run back and forth across the road at unpredictable times, mooing all the time.  You could especially hear the mother cows mooing when the babies headed over to the other side without them.  I videoed a 25 second clip to share with Jena when we got home.  It was quite amazing and I didn't mind the 10-15 minute delay it took us to get through the herd.  Fortunately we had lots of time to get home.  Some cars behind us must have been in a hurry because they kept honking their horns...which the cows didn't care about at all.

The cows were traveling with their two cowboys who weren't too concerned about getting the cows up the road as you can see.






As we came down in elevation, there was more color in the mountains.  This is a shot as we headed up Hwy. 89 in east Layton on our way home.
It was a quick trip but it was productive and also a little break as well.  Gary spent the time reading a books, working on indexing and taking a nap.  Spouses didn't have to attend the working meetings, just the fun stuff.  I appreciate Gary's support of my passions.  I couldn't do it without him.

Jessica, Elessia, Liam and Zander came up and stayed with Jena while we were gone.  We heard they had some fun times, especially Liam and Jena who are close buddies.  Thanks for hanging out with her while we were gone.

Fall Stake Conference or is that Stake Conference AND Fall

We had Stake Conference on the weekend right after General Conference.  We attended it at the Tabernacle on the same block as the Ogden Temple.  
It is still amazing to me how different the temple looks since it was rebuilt.....

And we decided to visit Vonette and Gary Kerr (Gary's sister) up in Ogden Valley....
 And enjoyed the amazing fall colors as we traveled.









I love the colors of fall and northern Utah has a great fall season.  The mountains are blazing with colors everywhere you look.

And it was a fun visit with conversation, game playing, and plans for a future trip together.  We even got to visit with Krystal, our niece, who was home for the weekend from the University of Utah where she is a freshman.

The NEW Hale Theatre

The Hale Theatre in West Valley is moving south to Sandy in a huge new building just off the 1-15.  On the last Saturday of September we attended our first performance there in the Jewelbox Theatre to see "Forever Plaid."
new building


The parking lot is done yet so we had to park across the street and follow the signs to the theatre.

This was September 23 and the higher mountains in Salt Lake Valley had gotten some snow during the storm the night before. 

And this was the new theatre.  It is not the main stage which will continue to be a 'theatre in the round' with some of the most amazing abilities (we have heard).  We will see that next month for "Aida."


I had never seen this show before and it was fun.  If you love old rock and roll music, you would love this show as it is lots of singing.

Autumn Skies

I posted these pictures on Facebook with the following post:

"Truly skies couldn't be more beautiful anywhere in the universe compared to Earth! I love clouds and sunsets! (Sunrises are good too but I usually miss those.)"



Aren't they beautiful?  Enjoy the sunset where you live tonight.






Pinewood Derby time

We are slowing down on the Pinewood Derbies.  We are getting older (meaning Gary since he just had the birthday.) and it is a lot of work to set up and keep it all working and in good order.  However we did just do two--one for our own ward Cub Scouts and one for a good friend's ward where we have done it before.

A neighbor in our ward sent these pictures which she took.  I love them as this is how we spend our time during the races.....

Gary on one end....................

And me on the only end.  We always let the boy in lane one push the starting button.

Gary got the track all clean with some Soft Scrub and several man hours of labor.  We have had lots of fun working with the Cub Scouts and others over the years.  We will see what the next years bring.

Birthday time again for some Halls

We gathered for a family dinner on Jena's and Elessia's birthdays (and a day after Gary's).  It was fun to watch the kids play together with their cousins.
Scarlett
Liam
James
Zander and James
 And Jessica's phone actually worked in the basement to allow us to facetime with them in Japan and for Niki to say hi to his cousins which he hasn't ever met (Liam, Zander, and James) or seen since he was 8 months old (Scarlett).

And as usual, Jessica found Gary a clever shirt for his birthday.  Unfortunately, the shirt itself didn't arrive into a few days later so this is what she gave him with a paper clip and instructions to pin it over his t-
shirt....which of course he did!  Can you figure it out?  People have been enjoying it as he has woren it.

Happy Birthday!!!!


Sunday, October 8, 2017

Shrek and Newsies

have never looked better than in the outdoor theatre at Tuacahn in St. George.  This was a combined birthday gift for Mom Hall, Gary and Jena (I got to go as the "tour" guide.)  We took our motor home and stayed at the same place we have stayed before--Temple View RV Park.  We left Friday morning and came back on Sunday afternoon and packed in two plays, a swim, some games, and visits to Zion's and Cedar Breaks and a sacrament meeting in Cedar City.

Warning--When I download the pictures I wanted to use for this post, there was 56 of them.  I have trimmed that down a lot but there is still lots of pictures.  Again for our memories, feel free to skip through.)

Our own little palm tree by our spot--

The red rock is everywhere in St. George and it never quits being amazingly beautiful--

Waiting for Shrek to start--selvies....



 The stage before the show.  Of course no pictures can be taken during the show.


Saturday morning we had a slow morning and a nice breakfast before we headed off to Zion's.  Jena and Gary both forgot to bring hats so they got new ones from the visitor's center.
We had to wait about 30 minutes to get on a shuttle.  The park was very busy for a Saturday in September.

 Finally some shade as we waited for our turn on the shuttle---
Here is what the shuttles look like.  They have some sun roofs and you can sometimes see clifts through them as you drive along.  It is nice not having to look for parking along the way.  We drove to the end and then made some stops on the way back.
 The end stop where you can access The Narrows.....




The next two shots are the same view but focused on different things----as you can see it was a beautiful day in the park.





 Jena and I hiked to Weeping Rock



After our visit to Zion's, we headed back to the RV park and enjoyed a swim in their pool.  Then we got ready and headed to dinner and the play, Newsies, at Tuacahn again.

We took the shuttle up to the dinner where we had a New York style buffet dinner (not our favorite).

Jena and Grandma Hall 
While waiting for the show, I took Jena over to see the big posters.  When I asked her to pose, immediately she tosses her leg up in the air like the dancer on the poster.  It made me laugh but I was glad that I got this picture.

And then her "Shrek" pose.....

My fun traveling companions...

The set of Newsies before the show.....


The first two times we stayed here I wondered why it was called Temple View.  Our spots had been in a different section of the park.  However this time, I actually saw the temple.

When we were figuring out about Church times and heading home, Gary suggested that we get ready and then drive north until around 11:00 and then attend Church.  The nice thing about Utah is that there are a lot of options.  We made it to Cedar City and attended a ward there.  Afterwards we took a short trip to the west and saw the brand new Cedar City Temple.  The open house will be next month I think.  I love the blue roof and the dark wood front doors.



Then on to Cedar Breaks which is a gorgeous location where I have also post pictures about in the past.  It still was amazing on this trip as well.
the road up to Cedar Breaks












Isn't the world amazing?
This was another perfect trip.  Thanks for sharing your birthdays with me--Mom Hall, Jena and Gary!!!

On the way home, we stopped and visited with Ben as it was his birthday (Sept, 17) so Grandma Hall got to visit him while he opened a few presents with us.  Then we went back on Monday and took Chinese food and some cupcakes to share to add on to his birthday celebrations.

That was a lot of traveling in a few days but well worth it all!!!!