The Cabin, and My Birthday

It was all great, I love that Joe and Emmy gathered from two different states to be a part of our family time in Colorado. We picked up Emmy in Provo then headed to the Cabin. There was some construction on the 50 on the way to Gunnison, so I insisted we take a new route, 92 to get there. It was a leap of faith, but boy did it work out. The black canyon cliffs were fantastic. We saw the steep hill and the views and I said, "Wow, Its goregeous!" It is so neat to have a new perspective. We will definietely go that way again. This year we were in the Audi since that was our new family car sans van. We packed light, but forgot to tell Emmy. It was tight in that third row. Each day we ventured and enjoyed family time. No bears which was nice, because we heard they were around this year. I got cold a few times, but it was such a great mountain experience. I cooked and we bbqed. We also went to Quincy's in Monte Vista which was a steak dinner highlight of the trip. On my Birthday, we went to the Alligator Museum which turned out to be awesome. It was an adventure seeing all the dangerous animals, but it was loved my all who went. Holding the small alligator was quite the experience. Tater falls was great and we uunted for my sunglasses for so long, the cold water was no longer was too freeaing. I loved that Bri found them and that we didn't give up. We went four wheel driving in the Audi and broke it in with muddy tireds and high up elevations. It was so fun and I'm glad we took it. Even though four car washes later, there is still dust around in crevacies from that trip in the car. Bri, Emmy and I hiked to the meadow this year. I had to stop a lot going up, but I was glad I made it to a clearing where we shot a gun and smelled the bark of hte trees there that smell like vanilla. It a surreal feeling to be so far up in nature, it was lovely. We picniced on the Platoro drive near a meadow and a river. I wish we did more of these exploring in nature outings in California, but Coloroado's beauty is amazing and not as busy with people. Taos was nice though and we shopped a little. I loved the smoothie there and buying a wool rug with Bri. On the way to Taos, Brian picked me out a Manasa turqoise braclet from a vendor by the gorge and it made for a great present and happy feeling for me. It was a whole nice experience. All of the clouds around the valley were amazong and we did see rain every few days. It was a stark contrast coming home seeing smoke from fire in all the states from Utah to California. What a reprieve it was to be at the cabin and see the stars and be smoke free for a while. On the way home from Taos, we went looking for wild horses. We didn't see very many, but a few. I said "Hey lets turn off this little road" to see if it would takes us around the mountain to see more wildlife. We turned off road and all of a sudden, a herd of Antelope started running,. We drove along side them as they ran up the hill. They were so camoflauged my video didn't turn out, but it was magical to see them run up the hill following their Dad's instrcuion. The one with the horns was guiding them and it seemed like a little family. SO sweet. It was a great vacation and feel blessed to have spent the time out there together. It

was a beautiful way to spend the end of summer before school starts up again.

Fruit, Firework hunting, and Family Fun

We had a great haul with fruit this year. First he two apricot trees then the plum. The grandparents know now where to get their summer fruit. We've had a lot of get together s and celebrations with the family lately. We had father's day, fourth of July and My Dad's birthday all in a row, not to mention Kieran coming to town. We loved hearing him play his music for us and home and sending him off at the San Francisco airport. I did get splash with soda that fell out of our car and was hit by a Prius. I did have to run through the airport to find my dad since he had the keys to the car which was in a  no parking zone, and I did slip on uneven ground coming back to the car from Stinson beach. All of these mishaps and hurdles still weren't overshadowing of the amazing views, fun tastes and sounds and feeling of visiting sf and seeing the beach and spending time with Emmy and my folks. This is how life is, full of heartache and mishaps, but mainly good times and great memory making blessings. I lost my ten year wedding ring which I wear a lot and my mom gave me this beautiful pearl ring she got while at Koolina. I was happy to have such a great ring from such a great place. There we no fireworks allowed in Placer county for the fourth so Emmy and I went to old town Sacramento. We saw a boat parade with  some fireworks, but decided we needed to hunt some more. The girls and I went to Vernon street and went to the top of the parking structure and had a great view of the fireworks show at the fairgrounds and all around town. I was happy Celia made it out with us.

Celia has been exerting her independence from me lately and its nice to have Emmy to go hang out with and the temple to clean and the weekly park /pool days with the ladies to get some social outlet. Of course we have our Saturday ride routine and I loved going to Ettore's with Bri, Emmy, And Celia/ It is beautiful to see that area of Sacramento. When we take Spence we see Auburn area a lot and we have beautiful rides through the foots hills and near Folsom. The temple grounds are so beautiful and I was pleased to walk there with Emmy and plan future events of interest. We had a grand time having Rah Rah over for my Dad's Birthday dinner here and going to her house for her chicken enchiladas and 
banana  crème pie. It makes for a great summer and for sweet feelings of connection with the family.