Wyatt and Cade

Heber Valley Railroad

Heber Valley Railroad

Heber Valley Railroad

Heber Valley Railroad

Chris and Cade

Provo River Falls

Lynn and Cade

Chris and Wyatt

Provo River Falls trail

Provo River Falls

Hayden Peak overlook again

Hayden Peak overlook

Camping

THE MAYAN

WEDNESDAY, JULY29, 2009 I spent today recovering from yesterday’s swim party/BBQ. I did four batches of wash; three of them beach towels, the other, swim suits. I also did a batch of dishes and generally picked and cleaned up. I tore down a large pasteboard box that has been the basement since Molly got a chair/bed from IKEA. It came in the box. Wednesday is the day I take the trash out to the street. I was able to fit the torn down box into it. I take the trash out on Wednesday because they pick it up first thing in the morning on Thursday; 7:00 a.m. I don’t want to miss it. Chris, Lynn, Wyatt and Cade went to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point today. At 4:45/5:00 p.m. we all met at the Mayan Restaurant at Jordon Commons for dinner. Everyone was there except Austin and Molly. Austin was at Lagoon and Molly was in Yellowstone. When Jayden and Bailey came into the restaurant they had a bit of a to-do over who got to sit next to Wyatt. Popular-handsome boy that Wyatt! I left dinner early and came home. The last I heard, it sounded as if Judy and Corey and family might go to a dollar movie. Nothing had been finalized when I left. Sierra had to leave early to go try out for a spot on Taylorsville’s dance team. She is on the team but only a certain few get to perform at this fall’s football games if I understand it correctly. I hope I got that right. Ps. Sierra had a friend with her but I forgot her name. She has so many it is impossible to keep up with them all. I called Chris. Sierra’s friend’s name is Ari.

CAMPING PART 2

WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2009 Yesterday morning I drove back to the campsite at Mirror Lake to help Chris and Lynn tear down camp. By the time I got there around 11:00, they had gotten a lot of it done. We finished getting ready to go including putting what belongs to me and some other odds and ends into my Camry and we drove to Heber City and ate lunch at the Dairy Keen. The Dairy Keen has modal trains running around the ceiling and a Harry Potter train display with a small train that goes from end to end including going through a tunnel when you insert a quarter. From there we drove to the Heber Valley Railroad station and took the 3:00 p.m. train ride to and along the north shore of Deer Creek Reservoir. We sat in an open-air car next to the caboose and on the return trip all of us except Lynn spent some time on the end platform—the end part of the caboose. Later this evening everyone except Jim and his two came to our place to swim and have a barbeque at the pavilion. We cooked burgers and hotdogs on one of the two built-in grills that are part of the pavilion. Jim had to work rolling sushi downtown at Simply Sushi. As a side note, when Corey and his gang showed up, Bailey ran into the house, asked where Wyatt was and tore off into the basement to be with him. They are both the same age. Wyatt seemed to enjoy Bailey’s attention and was very open and friendly with her.

CAMPING PART 1

MONDAY, JULY27, 2009 I have been away from my computer for several days. Friday I drove the van with a load of camping gear to Mirror Lake. I found that campsite number 5 was still available. It had a water tap “right there” the toilet close by and there was room for Chris’ tent trailer and several tents. The attendant said it was ok if I put my stuff out of the van and go let Chris know where I was. That way it would be obvious that the site was occupied. Chris was running an hour or so behind me. I waited near the entrance to Washington Lake, the first place he would come to of the places he suggested I try, but after a while I got bored and drove into Kamas and called him. He was approaching Kamas himself so we met at the supermarket to fuel up and get last minute supplies. After setting up camp we got in Chris’ Jeep and he showed me some beautiful backcountry around Whitney Reservoir. He and I were the only ones in the trailer that night. The next day we went on another long drive. We went back down the canyon to the Soapstone road and went south on it to the Wolf Creek Pass road, went west on it to Francis then back into Kamas and back to the store and gas station. While we were in the store I called Corey. He was approaching Kamas so we all met there and did some more shopping. The next day Judy, Jim and Greg & Niki and Alexa and Gavin came up and we all had a good time. On the funny side; Jim and Corey and Jayden were out in Chris’ canoe fishing. Corey thought Jayden should have been facing the other direction and told him to turn around. When he did, it made the canoe capsize. It turned completely upside down. The water wasn’t too deep at that point but Corey and Jayden were completely soaked. Jim was wet from the waist down. Chris and Niki were on the shore watching and Niki got some good pictures of the whole affair. She said she was laughing so hard she nearly peed her pants. Chris was laughing so hard he was snorting and chocking. Jayden was in hog heaven from all the attention and as they came walking back into the campsite he was beaming from ear to ear and couldn’t stop talking about it. He claimed he “did it on purpose!” Among other things I walked all the way around the lake which took about forty-five minutes. Chris’ girlfriend Lynn and her two boys Wyatt and Cade flew in at around midnight last night. He picked them up at the airport and they went from there to the campsite.

BEET RED

Monday, July 27, 2009 I was so stiff and sore from all the the camping activities the last few days that today I went to the chiropractor then got a massage. After that I got myself a haircut. Nicole, my barber and I were chatting as I was getting my hair cut. Among other things she asked how many grandchildren I had. I said seven. She said that that must be nice…the usual stuff. She said she would like to get married and that she had a boyfriend. As we were finishing up she yawned and said she had been up until three in the morning. I asked what she and her boyfriend were doing until three in the morning. She got beet red and the whole place broke into snickering.

Alyssa

Our next-door neighbors, the Call’s eight year-old granddaughter Alyssa was visiting them today. This afternoon I was in the backyard working when she them came over and asked what I was doing. I said I was cleaning the grill/barbeque. She asked why I was wearing the shoes I was wearing. They are sandals that can get wet. I told her I was wearing them and the shorts I had on so it would be ok if I got wet cleaning the grill. At that she grabbed my garden hose and gave me a good soaking! Later I went over and ask David (Call) if he could use a good laugh and told him what had happened. He said that “She is a real fireball!”

HITTED

Tuesday, July 21, 2009 Yesterday I was watching Jayden and Bailey at their house. They were playing in the basement when Bailey came up screaming bloody murder, “Jayden hitted me!” A moment later Jayden came up and announced, “I know. I’m going to my room!” It must have been fifteen seconds later that Bailey was laughing as if nothing had happened and a couple of minutes after that Jayden was back and they were playing like best friends. Through the whole thing, I just sat there saying nothing.

A FULL DAY

Tuesday, July 21, 2009 Corey and Stacey bought a new Volkswagen CC, silver in color with crazy power and speed and it is only a four cylinder. They got it Saturday if I remember correctly but didn’t do the final paperwork until 9:00 a.m. yesterday. Since it is my day to take the kids I met them at the dealership. Anyway the five of us were at Ken Garff Porsche Audi Volkswagen on University Parkway in Orem. Corey had a 10:00 a.m. appointment and Stacey had to be at work at FEDEX/KINKOS in Draper at ten, so the two of them left as soon as possible leaving Jayden, Bailey and me to finish up the paperwork. From there, Jayden, Bailey and I went to Cascade Springs in American Fork Canyon via Provo Canyon, and walked around and through it looking at the fish and all. They thought it was a long boring drive getting there but they really enjoyed it when they got there. We came home via the mostly dirt road that goes over the hill into Midway then over to Deer Creek Reservoir and west through Provo Canyon. Last evening I took them and Douglas (pronounced Dooglas [Scottish]) Jayden and Bailey’s neighbor and friend to Corey’s work then to Jordan Commons to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. In total there were Judy, Corey and Stacey, Jayden and Bailey, Jim, Austin and Molly and me. Judy got free tickets through Mercer, her work. It was a private showing provided by United Health Care. I think we all enjoyed the show and Jayden and Bailey and I enjoyed the whole day’s adventure.

TEN YEAR OLDS!

Monday, July 20, 2009 Last night as they often do, Jayden and Bailey slept on an air mattress on the floor of Corey and Stacey’s bedroom. During the night Corey and Stacey heard Jayden talking in his sleep. He kept repeating over and over “Take that you rock!”…a line from Avatar, The Last Air Bender, his favorite cartoon show and I must admit a quite intriguing one. Corey snuck out of bed and got on his hands and knees to listen to him. Stacey was hanging over the edge of the bed. Suddenly Jayden opened his eyes, giggled and said “gotcha!” or something of the sort. The four of them had a good laugh. Ten year olds!

When are you coming home?

SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2009 The other day I was talking to my three year old granddaughter Alexa on the phone. She asked me, “When are you coming home?” I suspect she has heard her mother asking that question to her father, Greg over the phone.

PIONEER DAY CONCERT

SATURDAY, JULY 18, 2009 Last night Judy, Austin, Molly and I went to the Conference Center for the Pioneer Day Mormon Tabernacle Choir & Orchestra at Temple Square Concert. It was more a commemoration of the Tabernacle Choir having been on the air for eighty years. The second song they sang was Come, Come, ye Saints one hymn I always bawl through and have done so for as long as I can remember. Ever since my sweet mother got me hooked on genealogy when I was fourteen and having read and reread all my ancestors pioneer hardship stories I have felt a strong kinship to them and in my mind will always have a deep abiding love for the Mormon Pioneers. Things went downhill from there and I cried for an hour and a half. The PIONEER thing and a love of the Lord and the gospel did it last night! I am crying again as we speak. The following is the program: “Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square Pioneer Day Commemoration Concert celebrating the 80th anniversary of Music & The Spoken Word. Friday, July 17, 2009 7:30 p.m. Conference Center Mack Wilberg conductor Richard Elliott, Clay Christiansen, Andrew Unsworth organists. Program The Morning Breaks….George Careless arr. By Mack Wilberg Welcome and Prayer Come, Come, Ye Saints….early Latter-day Saint hymn arr. Mack Wilberg Bound for the Promised Land….American folk hymn arr. Mack Wilberg They, the Builders of the Nation….Alfred M. Durham arr. Mack Wilberg Over the Rainbow from the Wizard of Oz Alleluia Fanfare and Praise to the Lord, the Almighty….from Stralsund Gesangbuch, 1665 arr. Mack Wilberg Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing….from JohnWyeth’s Repository of Sacred Music, 1813 arr. Mack Wilberg I Feel My Savior’s Love….K. Newell Dayley arr. Sam Cardon Cum Sancto Spiritu from Petite messe solenelle….Cioacchino Rossini I Want Jesus to Walk with Me.…African-American spiritual arr. Moses Hogan Swing Low, Sweet Chariot….African-American spiritual arr. Richard Elliot Rock-a-My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham….African-American spiritual arr. Howard A. Roberts You’ll Never Walk Alone from Carousel….Richard Rodgers Arr. Arthur Harris Fill the World with Love from Goodbye, Mr. Chips….Leslie Bricuss Arr. Mack Wilberg Battle Hymn of the Republic….William Steffe Arr. Peter J. Wilhousky God Be with You Till We Meet Again….William G. Tomer Arr. Mack Wilberg I LOVE THE PIONEERS!!!!

FUNNY GIRLS

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2009 The other day Corey and Stacey told me about an incident at Wal-Mart. Well, come to think about it all four of them joined in the telling. Anyway, as they were leaving the store, eight year old Bailey yelled to some customers who were just walking into the store: “Welcome to Bailey-Mart. Get your crap and get out of here!” Both she and Jayden have crackup senses of humor. On another note. Yesterday I received a phone call from my (barely) three year old granddaughter Alexa. She went on and on about this and that over the phone. She speaks as if she were several years older than she is. Afterwards, when Alexa put her mother Niki on the line I was told that Alexa had said to her, “I think I need to talk to Grandpa!”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to JAYDEN

SUNDAY, JULY 12, 2009 Today we are celebrating our grandson Jayden’s 10th birthday at our house. His actual birthday was the 10th. They celebrated with the Bingham side of the family on Friday and after diner and presents, they came here to swim. Today someone asked him what he wanted next year for his 11th birthday. His answer was, “I want to reach puberty!” We all had a good laugh at that. Stacey said that a while back he asked her when he would reach puberty. She responded, “In a couple of years.” Well he was still nine at the time. Now he is ten and in his mind a year from now, when he is eleven will be a “couple of years”. My question is, how does he even know about the subject and how much does he know. He speaks very sophisticatedly for his age. Good luck Jayden!

PICTURE from our CAMPING TRIP

TRIP TO IKEA

TUESDAY, JULY 07, 2009 Mondays and Fridays are my days to be with Jayden and Bailey while both Corey and Stacey work. Yesterday morning and early afternoon was spent at their house watching cartoons, riding bikes and playing with friends. Later the three of us drove to IKEA. Bailey wanted to eat there. On the way, Jayden insisted on stopping at McDonalds. I finally relented. He ordered a double cheeseburger then said “make it a triple.” On the way to IKEA he gorged himself. He said he borrowed a stomach from one of his friends to hold it all. I can’t remember the friend’s name. At IKEA they played in the supervised play area for the one hour they are allowed then we went to the restaurant to eat. Bailey got the four chicken fingers with fries and a small Coke. The chicken fingers were large. Jayden got a tub of Cheerios and a carton of milk, a bottled water and the chicken fingers. Bailey ate all hers except some of the fries. Jayden took a handful of Cheerios without the milk and ate that, and then he took two bites of a chicken finger drank the milk and declared he was full. No wonder! After Jayden quit and was up walking around, I sat with Bailey while she finished. I got a bubble in my tummy and had to do something about it. Bailey looked at me and asked, “Did you fart?!” She turned up her nose, picked up her tray and moved to another table. It was nearly time for Corey to get off work and his office was nearby so we drove there and Jayden and Bailey went home with him.

CAMPING AT LILY LAKE

Monday, July 06, 2009 Chris is in town and loves to camp. So do I, or at least used to when I was younger. Now I love all but the sleeping part. Judy is much the same. In fact, her idea of roughing it is black and white instead of color TV. Chris and Sierra drove up the Mirror Lake highway midday Friday with the intention of getting a camping spot at Trial Lake, Lily Lake or Washington Lake. There is no phone coverage beyond Kamas so everyone was on their own finding them. Jim, Austin and Molly drove up later that day and stayed the night in Chris’ pop up camper. Chris and Sierra took along their red canoe on top of their camper and used it on two different lakes. Chris as usual was very well prepared and had enough food for four people for each meal. When we went up we took along extra. He had the outside gas stove on the trailer as wells as a small gas grill on the picnic table. He had an extra card table in addition to the dining table that came with the trailer. These two he sat up outside next to the trailer and its attached gas stove. Judy and I drove up Saturday midday and stayed until dark then drove back home to shower and sleep in our own beds. Driving up we didn’t know where to go so we drove through Trial Lake’s huge campground looking for them. Then, since Washington Lake was next to it, we searched it next. Finally we drove to Lily Lake and slowly drove through its campground. There they were at the second to last campsite. I saw Jim’s car first then Chris’ and the camper. Were we glad to see them. If they hadn’t been there I don’t know what we would have done. Sunday, we went up early and stayed until a bit before dark. Niki and Greg showed up a couple of minutes before we did. If not sitting around the campfire we spent most of the time at Teapot Lake taking turns paddling in Chris’ canoe. Teapot Lake is actually closer to our campsite than Lily Lake is. Lost Lake was right there too, just across the highway. The mosquitoes were pretty bad but we all wore spray and had a zapper, a mosquito coil and a tub or citronella candle. When we went up Sunday we took two slabs of precooked pork ribs we had wrapped in foil. For lunch we sat them of the grill to heat through. It’s a good thing all the fishermen had their fishing licenses because two DNR (Department of Natural Resources [game wardens]) came around checking them. Sierra was bored and because there was no phone service there she couldn’t text Mark, her boyfriend. She said she sent over 4000 text messages last month. E-gad! On our way home we encountered four deer in the road. One of them bounded across just in front of us and we had to hit the brakes. One walked out and we came so close to hitting it that even after braking hard and swerving, we virtually brushed alongside in flank. Lynn and her two boys Wyatt and Cade will be in town on the 24th or thereabouts so Chris is planning a camping trip for them (and all of us). She or her kids have never been camping.

BAILEY THE PUPPY LOVER

FRIDAY, 03 JULY 2009 Monday when I was watching Jayden and Bailey at my house, Bailey asked if she could “go play with the puppy outside?” I wasn’t sure what she was talking about but I said “Yes”. A granddaughter of the Higbees who live across the driveway was visiting and soon she and Bailey and the dog were playing gleefully. Wednesday, I think it was, when Higbee’s granddaughter saw me outside, came and asked “Is your granddaughter here?” She wanted to play with Bailey but I had to tell her “Sorry, she isn’t!” When I mentioned it to Ethelynn later, she said that “She is very social.” I said that Bailey is the same way and I have seen her with her arms around the shoulders of someone she met just moments before. My Bailey is quite the girl. I love her to pieces.