camping at panguitch lake

The good and faithful people in Utah have been praying and fasting and praying and then praying some more for rain. So we were cautious not to complain too much about the weather that came. It poured every afternoon and every night. We did our best to keep children and supplies from getting too soggy. All the cousins didn't mind the storms at all. And, despite the inconveniences, it was a lovely change for us Phoenicians to have cool, rainy weather. For all that, the camp hosts were holding fast to the fire restrictions. So, no campfires and no charcoal. Thank goodness Grammie and Papa brought their trailer. Without their oven, we wouldn't have had much to eat!

Eden and I had some good times in the tent. She was a sport about staying out of the rain. 

The kids got to play a couple rounds of Go Fish in Grammie and Papa's truck whilst waiting for some clouds to clear out.

A few fishing outings were made. There was a lot of smack talk amongst the men folk regarding fishing prowess.

Cori, Grace, Ashton and Papa Ray booked it to shore just in time to get some shelter from a deluge. Grace ended up having the only snag of the trip, thus winning the fishing competition. Moments later...

Back at camp we had golf shoes, horse shoes, cousin playtime (and slumber parties) in Grammie and Papa's trailer, bike rides around camp, family meals and no cell phone reception. Perfection! Oh, and more rain.

Craft time. Grace only knows how to go for the gusto.

Rain or shine, everyone kept a great attitude and we had a fun being together. We were scheduled to be there 4 nights. On night 3, we had a particularly fierce rainstorm. All night long I kept thinking, "The rain can't get much louder. That lightning can't get much brighter." And all night long it kept getting louder and brighter. The rain continued into the morning. We decided to call it good and packed up. We got to spend the day with Arianne's family in Enoch and then spent the night in St. George at Sandy and Ray's condo in St. George.

happy birthday to me!

While we were away, I celebrated birthday No. 32. Cori and the kiddos gave me a little celebration before we left. Cori fashioned this lovely plate of rainbow sour punch tape - he knows me well.

I celebrated the big day whilst camping with a crowd of my some of my most favorite people (Cori's fam). We went to Church in the morning and then spent the rest of the day in Bryce Canyon. It rained and it shined. I had a marvelous day.

we {heart} the olympic games

For a few days now, we have been home from the camping trip we took with Cori's family. We had such a nice time, I'm excited to post about it. Since returning, I've spent my days chugging through laundry, back to school lists, and Church stuff. And, the Olympic games have begun. Under Cori's direction we made some posters to track team USA. I've stock piled a few projects to work on, as every night finds us tuned into the action until past bedtime. We love the Olympics!

harry potter party

We finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone this week. Movie time! We made a day of it. This worked out well for me. When it is a million degrees outside and too hot to even enjoy swimming for very long, it is a welcomed distraction to have inside projects to work on. The G's helped me make pumpkin pasties in the morning.

Once Eden was down for her nap, they spent the afternoon blowing up and then coloring balloons. We did red and white ones (because we didn't have maroon and gold) to celebrate Griffindor's winning of the house cup. 

During the movie we dined on ciabatta reuben melts (an ode to the corned beef sandwiches Ron has on the Hogwarts Express), traditional veg, pumpkin pasties, and butter beer (even though it doesn't pop up for another book or so.)

Grace is begging to get to the book store... Maybe we can get through Chamber of Secrets before summer is out. :)

vacances d'été : Disneyland

I've mentioned before that my mom is a member of a hand bell choir. She rings with a lovely group of ladies from the Methodist church in our hometown. The conference for area 10 of the Handbell Musicians of America was held this year at the Disneyland Hotel. It began just a day after the conclusion of our Hawaiian travels, and Mom let me and the kids tag along for another few days of fun. Sadly Cori and Papa had to go home to their respective jobs. But Aunt Thea, Aunt Sara and Uncle Kevin came along to party it up with us.

The Disneyland Hotel was charming. Grace spent a lot of time trying to spot all the Mickeys - in the carpet, the bedding, the shower tiles, the shapes of handles and knobs here and there... Almost everyday, we took advantage of the 'magic hour' (7AM!) that is granted to occupants of any of the park lodging. Then we took advantage of our proximity to come back to the room during the hot and crowded part of the afternoon for naps.

The pool was pretty great too. Grace hit that water slide at least 20 times.

"Hello. My name is Grace. Can you tell I was on the red-eye from Honolulu last night? I'm going to dance a little hula for you now. And then I'm going to crash on that padded bench right there and sleep for maybe an hour until we go to dinner..." Grant was already asleep.

Mom had classes that she attended during the early part of the day. Everyday of the conference they had a nicely catered lunch with a performance. I went to lunch with her on the day Vivace performed. Vivace is a well known bell choir from Puerto Rico. It was amazing to watch them and so much fun to be with Mom while she was in the midst of something she loves so well. We all attended the closing concert with her on the last day of the conference. So glad we got to experience a bit of it with her!

The days in the park were surprisingly uncrowded. People were saying it was because most of the crowds were over at California Adventure for Cars Land. But we spent most of Saturday (the Saturday before the 4th of July, mind) walking onto almost everything. It was unseasonably hot, maybe that had something to do with it too. In any case, we were left with nothing wanting on our to do list. I snapped pictures here and there.

Grace went on every big kid ride in the park, and most over at California Adventure. Grant was tall enough for everything at Disneyland except Indiana Jones. He refused to try Splash Mountain this trip, but I managed to talk him into the Matterhorn. He tried to have a good attitude about it (unsure smile pictured above), but wasn't convinced until the ride was done. He's told me that he will try Splash Mountain for sure next time. I'm just so happy to get to go on some of the big kid rides myself! It was great having so many adults around to pass Eden off to.

Cars Land is completely cute - looks just exactly like the movie. We got fast passes first thing in the morning for Radiator Springs Racers (they book out by 9AM) and it just may be my new favorite ride of both parks. Part story telling, part roller coaster it combines all the elements that make Disneyland rides so imaginatively transportive.

Oh, this picture. I love how Sara looks all glamorous (hair flying in the wind, hand demurely resting on her seatbelt shoulder strap) contrasted with myself (mouth agape - ready to take a gigantic bite of something, hand tightly clutching my camera case with crushing force).

On the warf, and then, waiting for World of Color to begin.

Grant's favorite ride of the trip: Autopia.

Grace's favorite ride of the trip: Star Tours.

Eden's favorite ride of the trip: King Arthur Carousel.

Thanks again, Mom, for sharing your magical conference with us!