A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Once upon a time, say the year 1985,

- this boy -


- asked out this girl -


- They did all kinds of things toghether -


- Then one day, in the Fall, the boy asked the girl if she'd like to go up to Logan Canyon. The leaves had turned and he knew a perfect spot to enjoy the colors; Tony Grove. The girl thought it was a great idea and wanted the boy's grandmother to come along. The girl knew the grandma would love the drive. But the boy discouraged it saying things that made the girl think nothing of it. The boy and the girl walked around the grove. It was beautiful. And they sat down on a fallen tree. The boy asked the girl to marry him. The girl said yes.-



- The boy and girl picked out an engagement ring -


-They got married -


- And every once in awhile they visited Tony Grove -





- Then, many years later, the girl's brother and sister-in-law moved to China and before they moved back to the United States, told the girl that they would really like to give the girl and boy something nice, something they could get for them in China - a painted picture of whatever the girl and boy wanted. The girl and boy decided they would love to have a painted picture of Tony Grove. And so, now they do -


Ed and Mary, thank you so much for the painting. It turned out great. We love it. It will always be precious to us, not only because of what the picture is but because you had it made for us.

uhhhhh

What to blog about? It is a little after 9pm and my plan for a post today got away from me because I had a busy morning, then was making dinner for missionaries that were coming at 5pm (which they did and it was great) and then I zoned on it and then when I thought about it my kids were using the computer. So here I am - my first chance back and I don't want to stay up late late to get my original plan posted. Tomorrow.

I have the book Eat this Not That in front of me. We gave it to Greg for his birthday. Claire is the one who really wanted it and I wouldn't buy it for her but she suggested it be a gift for her dad and I was fine with that.

Have you heard of the book?

We have been watching the author on several talk show segments the past year and find it fascinating but gross. It might help us. Except I see that the Egg McMuffin is a best choice for a breakfast sandwich. I hadn't planned on eating one but now I want one. I do love them. And Greg showed me a Black Angus slick with coupons for good deals and right there in big colorful print is one of those appetizer trays that will kill you. We've decided we can eat it but promise ourselves we'll walk on the treadmill afterward. So - that's progress.

YUCK!

I was bringing the kids home from school. We come to our corner and a FedEx truck is sort of blocking our driveway. Deliveries are very common - the bishop gets boxes all of the time. OK - so I'm kind of waiting but also inching my way to pull in and we notice the FedEx guy getting a drink from our fountain! Our algae growing fountain! And as I continue to pull in he starts to run to his truck but he's making this "EW" face a the same time - looking at us. I'm making the same face back at him. We were so grossed out that he did that!

Here's a picture of our lovely fountain.

Who could this be?

I know - it is hard to tell but I scanned it anyway. Many of my pictures are fading away!



This is from left to right Liz (with short hair) Becky in the back ground and Julie on the right. This is the back of Greg's truck. Greg and I went up to visit you in W. Yellowstone. Must have been the Spring of '85.

New Year's Eve Revisted

Ready for an afternoon of fun? We're off to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I think the most interesting specimens there were my children.

It was a day full of mugging - Ready for a picture?


Say Cheeeeeese.


A lovely day with lovely posers.


Not a whole lot of pictures of Greg - he's not all that into mugging. (Also, he spent a great deal of time studying an aquarium membership brochure trying to figure out how to get the biggest bang for his buck.)




The Fabulous Floaters
and stimulating conversation.





Wild life in a kelp bed.


Wild life in a clam.



Wild life in an octopus costume.



Sea Horses are so cool.


Erics are cool too.


Wait...wait...here it comes...

SPLASH!

Get a load of the little face on the left.


Very picturesque.


Don't forget the sea birds.



Some hands on fun.


Feeding time - for fish and for us.


Greg's not here - he's back at that box office because he figured out how to get the biggest bang for his buck.




My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." I'd say I got a box of nuts.


Our trip to the aquarium was our answer to a day away from home at Greg's request. Evan came up with the idea - everyone agreed that would be fun. I thought of the Wrights. Hey you guys - next time! And we'll go with you!(we have two transferable tickets to share! if it's within the next 12 months) ;-)

A Birthday

Today is Greg's birthday.

Yesterday, in honor of Greg's birthday we went for a walk. We did the same thing last year on the Quicksilver Trail. This year we did the Los Alamitos Creek Trail which we started out across the street from the Camden building.


Part of the draw, besides the obvious time together and the exercise, is Greg's love of spotting wild life. He grew up hunting, and though he hasn't done that since he returned from his mission, he still has this keen ability to hear and spot animals. So, these following pictures are of the animals he spotted. However, they're so small in the photos, you may have to just take our word for it but they were there.

Well, this one big bunny chased away the other bunny, but there were rabbits all around.


Ducks on the pond...


Home, home on the range...


Another big bunny. Greg said the surroundings remind him of the Middletown area where he grew up.


Lots of fun things to do since the trail includes a par course.

Love Evie's fancy jump off the post.

And the signature pose - some Hardesters on a bench.



Happy Birthday Greg!

Mid-night Thoughts

It's 12:05am Jan. 2, 2010. I just posted my Jan. 1st entry - getting it in with maybe 15 minutes to spare (and if this is confusing to anyone out there let me explain - I have accepted a "post for every day" challenge - for the month of Jan.). I realize that I did post earlier on Jan. 1st but it was regarding Dec. 31st - and I published it as such. I wanted my Jan. 1st entry to have a Jan. 1st date...yah, maybe a little too serious about this date business but it makes sense to me.

What doesn't make sense is that it is after midnight and Greg and I are awake and our children are in bed.

What to do on the first day of 2010

- A little bit of this and a little bit of that -

A little bit of Christmas clean up (actually got most of it done - tree is in the gutter - many boxes are lined up ready to go back to the attic)


A little bit of sadness - sending our college boy back to school.


A lotta bit of Wal...(is it nast I'm supposed to write?) Wal*nast shopping.
A little bit of scrapbooking material.


A little bit of money on a movie we've never seen but Evan and I are totally hooked on the SG1 series.


A lotta bit of money on some fancy ear bud things.


A little bit of fun - Did or did not Greg really find the Bop It and hope to play it tonight? And - *if* Bop It wasn't Greg's big find in the store - what was?


A little more shopping.


A lotta eating (Marie Callender's - burgers all around - 3 Friscos - yummy!)


A little this.


A little that.


What did you do your first day of 2010?