Beauty, Family Time, and Great Country

We are coming up on the middle of July and things are just now slowing down enough to get recorded here.We had a lovely time visiting family and traveling to our places that we love in the West. We have had a drought here pretty bad. Our lawns are turning yellow and we are restricted to watering twice a week. My folks kept our new sequoia trees we planted this spring a live and my favorite hibiscus tree as well. On our trip to the cabin, we encountered all sorts of rain in Nevada. It made for a nice green view like I've never seen in that dry state. In Utah we arrived on fourth of July and to our surprise there was a gauntlet of fireworks it seemed. We drove from Salt Lake to Payson and saw fireworks going off on both sides of the freeway the entire way! What a great site to behold. It was the perfect ending of a great first day of vacation. I loved that we talked about our country. We took our usual route through Gunnison and the blue Mesa Reservoir . I never tire of the beauty there.

We did a few things a little differently on this ride to the cabin. We stopped at Chili's For dinner in Alamosa. Spencer has been doing so well in public places. I love our family time and it makes me happy when we can all be together out having fun and eating out.  I noticed my battery light had come on an my engine light that day, but we had made it. We took the long way to Taos and saw wild horses, we visited the cure town square and shopped at the shops just in time. There was rain incoming and the town closed up fast. On the way back we visited the Rio Grande river gorge. This time Spencer didn't throw anything off it. We are finally wise to his intentions of doing that on every bridge he visits. Joseph and Celia got neat stones and souvenirs from a friendly street vendor there.

The next day we went to Zapata falls. It was still a rough road too the top and Spencer didn't quite know about this hiking business, but we made it as a family. Celia Emmy and I got a little wet and climbed on rocks and walked through the river to get a closer look of the falls. It was so loud and misty. the water was barreling out of the sky and hitting the rocks below. I loved it! We had every intention to go to the sad dunes after, but our tire light turned on. We decided to go into town do some laundry and get the tire fixed. We ended up at Pizza Hut(tradition after any sort of difficult hike). Little did w know the alternator on our car had was tiring out. It wasn't to bad we rolled into antonito called AAA ad after a long while we were delivered to the cabin and the next day it was taken to town and fixed up. We visited Chama Trujillo Meadows and our new fun spot cliff view of the Brazos. Of course we visited many family dollars and little shops and restaurants throughout our visit. I wrote down a list of cabin activities and I think we nearly did them all! We even discovered the best Pizza ever and the cutest Lodge gift shop around. We drove up the Alamosa and down the Platoro which is backwards from our normal trek and we saw  the cutest fawn you ever laid eyes on. Celia was in the back of that van saying He aren't I as cute as the Fawn? Of course she is, but you can tell how we were ooing and aahing over that beautiful creature. We tatered at Tater falls. I think the rocks are getting more smooth and slippery each year. Extra clothes is a must for everyone next time!

Tahoe, relaxation time

We had a spontaneous trip to Tahoe. Spence had not been feeling well and  I mentioned it to  friend. She offered to let us use the rest of their time at their condo in Tahoe. It was absolute big, beautiful, and clean. It was very relaxing and even though not all the family could be up there at the same time with is it was a reprieve that I appreciate. We were able to go for walks rest inside and watch movies. Isn't that what vacation is all about? Well, the fire alarm did go off and we had to exit the building for a while. We did make one of our  walks a hike that was longer than expected, but both were great adventures and memory builders. Even the drive back was long, but beautiful I wanted to go around the lake and take the 50 home from North Star. The view made it worth the time in the car, the stop at McDonald's and a u turn were fine, and singing to keep myself awake. There is always a silver lining to our clouds. Life is good, our relationships mean the most and I will cherish these times with fail, with friends, alone or some combination thereof.

Great day with the girls then the Zoo

Celia has been coming home early from school lately. She has had some trouble lately with some mean girls, but we have been spoiling her. The other day we went to park days at the pool and had a fun time and today we went and saw Pitch Perfect 2 the movie. it was really funny. Even Celia and I laughed out loud. It definitely wasn't my typical type of movie, but I was happy to be there with the girls. We sent Emmy off to  Youth conference to sleep under the stars and headed to the Sacramento zoo for Dream Night. We got little stuffed animals and saw old friends there.We had two tutors with us:Alyssa and Allie. Spence seemed to enjoy sitting around on the various benches. He called a duck over once and we got to see glimpses on animals doing their thing. Spence was too tall for the typical place to take a picture, but for the most part, He was pretty happy. There were many more people there then I remember last year, It was too bad since there was a lot of waiting. The carousel seemed to be worth the wait for Spence and we were all so pleased we made it through successfully.
On the way home we saw an amazing lightning storm and the clouds were so cool looking. I'm grateful for rain and the wonderful time we had today.

Primary Temple Visit

I didn't realize how often Celia had visited the temple with me. As we attended a Primary temple day, I heard from her how much she had remembered about our visits. I am happy that she knows the House of the Lord is an important part of my life and so is she. There is so much peace and beauty there. Celia did great on the tour listening and holding still. I know it was hard for her, but what a great job she did! We learned about the symbolism and the architecture and most of all how touching the temple can touch our lives.

I want so much peace for her right now as she goes through school and social situations  that are less than ideal. I wan her to know she is loved and protected and can have the spirit to be with her. I'm sure the Lord was happy to have so many little ones visiting today. Celia is a precious daughter and I'm so glad she is an affectionate sweetheart to me. She plays with her little toys (Lalaloopsey and Shopkins) and uses her imagination and creativity to play and sketch like an artist.  Having one daughter grown up makes me want to take time and enjoy my next little young woman in the making. I hope for many more opportunities for mommy daughter time like this.