Farmington Bay

I have been craving the outdoors - and ironic since I'm in one of the most magnificent states in the Union for outdoor recreation and sightseeing.
Carl and I did go with friends for a cookout in Big Cottonwood Canyon a while back and love being in the Wasatch Mountains (just outside my window to the East - about a 15 minute drive). On the way down the mountain we literally almost ran into a bull moose! Came within about 6 feet!

This last weekend we tried something a little tamer - a 25 minute drive through gorgeous countryside to Farmington Bay. It's similar to Upper Newport Bay (Back Bay) in Cali but massively bigger, and the salt source is the Great Salt Lake.

We went to see the Bald Eagles but their nests are being protected so we can only get back on foot which we weren't prepared to do that day. We'll be going back this weekend. We did see some cool birds on the 2 miles or so we walked off the dirt road. Mostly Canada geese but also Northern Harriers and lots of waterfowl. Sandhill Cranes and Great Blue Herons have gigantic nests on poles made by the wildlife conservationists - which are often also the hunters here in Utah.

ELFIE!

Ok...it's been awhile but I'm planning to get caught up!
Here's our newest rescue - a purebred mini schnauzer registered as Princess Jane. She lived with what seems to be a very nice family that just got way too busy for her and she wasn't a priority. We think she was fed with the 2 heelers they had which meant she got what was left - if anything. A dog her size should eat about a cup of dry food a day so she wasn't even getting that! She weighed just 9 pounds which is at least 3-4 pounds underweight.
But in the 1st 4 days we've had her she's put on 2 1/2 pounds!
She is a very balanced dog as far as her temperament goes so my plan is to certify her as a therapy dog. Once we're a certified, registered therapy team, we can go into Primary Children's Medical Center, and hopefully Huntsman Cancer Center too.
Meanwhile I continue to expose her to things that she'll be evaluated on like ability to pass through crowds undestracted, comfort with lots of handling which can sometimes be agressive (my grandkids:), loud sudden noises (Ivy:), auditory, visual, and olfactory distractions, and willingness to be walked away from me by a stranger.
Interestingly, these are all things that are not typical of things dogs have been bred for centuries to do, so it all depends on the training and socialization. That's why the certifying agencies require I have at least 6 months with her to adequately assess her.
It's not like I needed one more thing to do - it's just that dogs feed my soul!
I'll keep you posted!

1st good snow

It's so great to have fun with the kids as they grow and enjoy new experiences. Each year they seem to have more and more fun - me too!

25th Anniversary at the Cano's pics - finally :)

OK...so I spent a lot of time with my grandkids that night...what better way to celebrate a marriage revisited then to enjoy our posterity?!

Halloween

What a great night! Weather was beautiful...stopped and talked with lots of friends along the way...kids were adorable...Koral was so awestruck by the whole experience it was fun to see Halloween through her eyes! Had soup at Katie's before we went trick or treating (her family tradition and we love it!), then pie and hot chocolate at Vanessa's after. Good times - good food. Gotta love it!

A marriage revisited...

Well we had a great 25th Anniversary dinner at Ness & Salomon's with the whole family. It was postponed a week so we could get an earlier start to Wolf Creek last weekend. Vanessa & Salomon made some delicious Greek food (my personal favorite) - chicken gyros, Greek salad and cuscus (sp?). Dessert was baklava! Katie made yummy punch no one could get enough of. But the REAL treat (besides playing with all the kids and watching Ken eat) was the DVD Salomon made for us! He set the pics to the song played at our reception - "Just You and I" by Eddie Rabbit and Crystal Gayle. It was a marriage revisited. So sweet.

THEN it happened...just when we thought it was over and we thanked them for doing that for us...the real fun started. The second half was random pics of Carl and I over the last 25 years - NONE of them flattering, set to a song most of you have never heard "Chaccaron". It's a family joke and a favorite...Ken found it during a random web music search and passed it on to me thinking I'd like it. I passed it on to Salomon for translation. As it turns out it's nonsense so we all had a good laugh. But it IS catchy and I like it!

Anyway, it was so unexpected and so appalling that we (I) scared the kids laughing so loud!
I will post pics as they come in from our family historians: Katie and Jake.
I'm still debating whether to post the video...not sure you all are ready for that :)

25th Wedding Anniversary at Wolf Creek Resort

Carl and I had a chance to stay at one of Ken and Katie's Worldmark by Wyndham worldwide resorts. We went as a whole family last October for the first time and loved being there in the fall. Since the 21st is our anniversary and this one is our 25th, they suggested we go up there again.
We're way impressed with the resorts so far. Ken and Katie stayed at the Vancouver, BC resort for their honeymoon and it was amazing. We'll be staying at the Anaheim resort when we're in Cali this December.
The weather was perfect in Wolf Creek - warm sunny days - crisp nights.
No surprise to anyone who knows us - we slept a ton, ate well, went for walks and sat in the sun!

We had to take a pic of the sign for Mo (Melissa Petersen {formerly Stearman}). Moe is the one and only Koi in the Wolf Creek pond - keeping company with the three giant algae eaters.

The pic that appears to be of nothing but ground is actually a damselfly - see if you can spot it.

And I really AM happier than I appear in most of these pics!