Hello!

So much to do, so few hours in the day to accomplish it all.  I've been thinking about the past month, and I really have accomplished a lot, a lot of things for other people.  I made (and finished!) a quilt for Emilie.  I helped her get the new baby's room all painted- and it does look so cute the way she has it fixed up.  I've been knitting, knitting, knitting away at the baby afaghan for her.

I'm always glad once everything in the yard is done for the season.  I spent about a week picking grapes this year.  The majority of them I gave away, so I would not have to juice them also.  

Happy 4th of July

Yesterday at church,  our ward Primary President was telling the children about how their family hiked to Stewart falls and how awesome the falls are this year because of the record snow levels we received last winter.  So when Mr. T came home from church, I asked if he would take me up Provo canyon the next day, so we could hike to Stewart Falls.

Today was a leisurely 4th of July morning.  I usually get up and go for a walk first thing in the morning, but since I was planning this hike, I didn't go for my morning walk.  I read a few chapters in a book I am reading: "Saving CeeCee Honeycutt".  It's a really cute, sassy book that makes me laugh.

Mr. T finally got up & moving.  We left home about 11:00 am.   Arrived at the trail head about 11:30 and began our hike. There were a lot of people on the trail.  Many, many families with children of all ages.  The hike is about 3.5 miles (round trip) and is considered easy.  It was the perfect day for a hike,  a little overcast which made it perfect for hiking.  

Mr T. at the beginning of the trailhead

This was beautiful - all the ferns in the quaking aspen.  I have never seen ferns growing so tall and thick in Utah.  I thought for a minute we had been transported to Washington or Oregon!

Stewart Falls.  There is still quite a bit of snow at the base of the falls.  The mist coming from the falls sure did feel good.  

There was quite a bit of excitement when we got to the falls.  A young man climbing near the falls had fallen 30 feet onto a ledge.  There were search & rescue people all over the place trying to get him down to a helicopter so he could be flown out.  We did not see the actual rescue, as we left before they brought him down.  But we sit down and rest for awhile and watch all rescue personnel wandering around.

This picture shows the amount of snow that is still left at the bottom of the falls.  

On our way back, I was drawn to all the wild flowers along the trail. 

 Forget-me-not

 Yarrow

 Columbine

  Sweet pea

 wild strawberries

wild geranium

Instead of driving back down past Sundance, we continued up the Alpine loop thru American Fork Canyon.  Here are a couple pictures I took along the loop:

Showing how fast the water is moving down the canyon.  There is still a lot of snow that needs to melt and come down out of the mountains.

Back side of Timpanogos.  The other side is what I see when I look out the front windows of my house.    I do love the beauty of this mountain.

Great day!  

Road to California Quilt Show

Here are some pictures from the "Road to California" quilt show I attended last week.

These first three pictures are some I took while wandering thru the vendor booths.  It was really crowded for most of the day.

I picked out one quilt kit to buy, from a store called "Stars & Scraps".  Their store is located in Corona, CA.  I thought this watermelon quilt would be fun to make:

Terrrell went with me on the first day of the show.  We saw this line of chairs all filled up with people taking a rest for a few minutes.  He thought he would go sit with them for a few minutes and schmooze:

The quilts in the show were amazing.  I took pictures of some of the ones that were my favorites:

Someday I'm going to make a "Dear Jane" quilt.  I always seem drawn to them.  Here are two that were hanging really close to one another.  One was in lighter fabrics, the other one was done in darker colors.  They are both beautiful.  

This one I decided was my favorite of all:

It has fun to get away for a couple weeks.  (Before this trip to California, we were in Las Vegas for three days going to a trade show there)  It was nice to escape the cold weather and snow.  The weather in California was in the 70's!  But now it is back to Utah, 30 degree weather and snow.  (snow storm going on outside right now)

We brought a huge bag of lemons home with us from California.  I squeeze the juice out of them,  then measure 2 cups of juice and freeze it in a zip-loc bag.  

This way we can have fresh tasting lemonade all season long.  It really hurts my wrists so squeeze lemons, so I usually do it over the space of several days.

Would you really ask for a 1¢ Refund?

After being gone & staying in motels for the better part of the past two weeks, it feels good to be home tonite.  This past week we stayed at three different motels.  We stayed in Ontario, CA for three nights.  One morning I noticed a stack of newspapers sitting in the lobby next to a basket where there were some danish pastries.  This was stamped on the front of the newspaper.  I thought it was pretty funny: 

I'm the kind of person that will bend over and pick up a penny if I see it laying on the ground.  But I don't think I would ask for a 1¢ refund for not reading a newspaper.

Cali

It's time for our January trip to California to attend the ISS show in Long Beach (Imprinted Sportswear Show) .  Yippee!  This year the "Road to California" quilt show (in Ontario) is the same week.  That's where I will be for the next two days.

We left a day early to avoid a storm that was supposed to hit Utah Wednesday.  We drove to Primm last nite and stayed here:

Booked on Expedia right before we left home.  Lodging total:  $6.69!  Plus we received a $10.00 dining credit at Denny's.  Used that for breakfast this morning.  Did not use:  $15.00 slot machine credit, or the 2 for 1 spa treatment.

Saw this on the side of a semi - somewhere between Baker & Barstow:

Remove some of the letters, and a few people will make the connection that I did when I saw it.

Stopped in North Hollywood this evening to visit Jan & Larry (Terrell's sister & her husband), and to raid their lemon tree.  My supply of lemon juice to make lemonaide next summer will be replenished! Sorry, no picture of the lemon tree, we were out picking them in the dark with a flashlight.

There was no question where we should stop to eat:

Terrell claims this is the best tasting In-n-Out.  Roscoe Blvd in Panorama City.  I'm just happy to get to eat at In-n-out wherever it may be!

I've never seen a menu board like this one:  Makes you think twice before ordering that double-double, fries and a shake:

A Grateful Heart

'Tis is the season of thanks and gratitude.  Every Thanksgiving, I am reminded of a talk given by a wonderful man named James E. Faust.  This talk comes from the April 1990 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You can read the talk in it's entirety here: LDS.org - Ensign Article - Gratitude As a Saving Principle  The talk never fails to touch my soul as I read and re-read it time and time again.

I have shared President Faust's youthful story about being grateful for the meager, simple things like hot, homemade bread, oatmeal and sweet smelling soap, several times with the Primary children in my ward while I have been serving there (10 years now!)  It causes me to stop and reflect upon my own life, and the small - often times simple things that I have been blessed with.  Since I haven't updated this blog in awhile, I thought I would list some of the things that have brought me great joy this year, things that have caused me to have a grateful heart:

I'm grateful that after 19 years, I was able to make a career change in January.  This little girl is Katie or Katie-Nana, (the nickname she received from me at birth).  I started tending her when she was 3 months old.  She lives close enough that I still see her a lot.  (She's also one of my favorite Primary kids).

I was able to stay home on Thursday's all summer long to tend these two little tornadoes.  I'm grateful for them.  They bring much joy to our house.

This is their new brother, Easton William.  He was born November 18th, 2010. We are grateful to have this new beautiful baby join our family.

I took a rap from my nephew because I originally didn't say anything about being grateful for my oldest son Brad.  My nephew's idea was that once the grandkids came along, Brad didn't matter anymore.  So here is another picture of Brad's family.  Brad worked all summer long on the Layton Interchange project.  I guess I could say I am grateful that he didn't fall off the bridge.  Seriously, I learn a lot from this fine gent.  He is an amazing example of happiness and what a true friend is.  

I'm grateful for this daughter.  She is one of the smartest people I know.  This year she is teaching 6th grade at the same elementary school she attended growing up.  It is fun to listen to her teaching stories and hear her say how much she loves the students in her classroom.

I am VERY grateful that I have been able to wrap my brain around the new world of embroidery digitizing and running a 6 head embroidery machine.  The two pictures above are a couple of the first designs that I did "all on my own".  I still have a lot to learn, but this has been a major accomplishment for me this year, especially after Kimball left on his mission and I was "on my own".

I'm grateful for friendships that last thru the years.  We met this young man when he was a new freshman at BYU.  We have followed him thru a mission, schooling, marriage, the birth of 3 children, more schooling (med school), moves to Ohio, Washington, and back to Ohio.  I'm grateful that we were able to visit him & his family in Ohio last September.

I have been to Kirtland, Ohio many, many times in my lifetime.  It is one of my favorite places on earth.  I was so grateful to be able to take my fine husband there this past fall, to let him experience for the first time the great history and spirit that the Kirtland area has to offer.

I'm grateful that I get to go to trade shows with my husband.  I usually plan detours to other places in the area. Recently we spent a long weekend in Las Vegas at a trade show.  On Saturday, I hauled my husband to every quilt shop in the Las Vegas valley!  The last shop was in Boulder, so we traveled a little further to go see the new bridge at Hoover Dam.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  What an amazing feat of engineering!

I'm grateful that I get to hang with such a fun person.  I have been married to him for nearly 28 years.

I am grateful for this fine boy, my youngest son.  He is currently serving a 2 year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the Philippines.  Right now he is living in a small town called Rizal, on the Luzon Island.  He loves living among the Phlippino people, eating rice, noodles & ulam & riding in jeepneys.  They are a happy people even though they don't have much. It is a great blessing for our family to have him there serving and teaching the Philippino people, as he searches out the lost sheep and helps bring them back into the fold of our Master, Jesus Christ.  

I am grateful for traditions.  Even silly ones like putting olives on all your fingers at Thanksgiving.  So what if the olives are already consumed by the time the meal is ready... just open another can.

To quote President Faust once again:  "A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness.  It is an expression of humility.  It helps us develop such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love and well-being.  Said the Lord, "And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea more" (D & C 78:19).