Choir with the Runs Throughs

I was short a pianist for choir today, and happily, my sister Joan was still staying at my house. It worked out great. Not only did she play for choir, but my niece Bobo played the cello with the choir!

Choir attendance wasn't large, but we had people on every part. We're doing an arrangement by my friend, Kim Smith, from Maryland.

It sounded great. Sadly, we'll have to find another cellist to play it with us when we sing in Sacrament meeting in May. Or maybe find a different director and I could play the cello! So many options!

Saturday Morning

We had fun Saturday morning playing with Mabel and Clementine. My nephew, Naji, helped Brittany and John sort and put new labels on Brittany's old horse collection.

We went for a nature walk in Lambert park, and it didn't snow!

John was able to identify this tiny plant that is along all the paths: A redstem filaree! Filaree is fun to say!

Ed seemed to have the magic touch with Clementine this weekend. He put her fast asleep twice! Nothing like a sleeping baby!

La La Land with the Runs Throughs

My sister, Joan, along with her children, Judea, Bobo and Naji, stayed over last night, and we enjoyed watching a movie with them last night.

I use the term "enjoyed" loosely. While we enjoyed spending time with family, the most fun we had watching the movie was complaining about it afterwards. It was a pretty painful couple of hours! We couldn't believe this was the most lauded movie of 2016!

The most amazing thing about it was Ryan Gosling's learning to play the piano in three months!

Nature with Brittany

Yesterday Brittany came over and helped work on our website for the
Alpine Nature Center. We also took a nature walk (in the snow)!

Brittany showed me how to get better close-ups of flowers by touching my phone's camera screen to make a focus point. I think these are groundsel. Maybe. It's hard identifying flowers!

Mabel was excited to play with Brittany's old horse collection! When you bring out a new toy she says "Ohhh!" It is fun to see her enthusiasm!

Clementine is almost 3 months old, and is starting to be more interactive, but is not yet into toys!

John read a book to Mabel and put her to bed so the Pinyon Rats could practice. Surprisingly, our music did not wake her up!

Rocks, Roots and Ruts: Obstacles in Path

There are a few obstacles along our walking paths in Lambert Park. I've been thinking many of them start with the letter 'R."

Rocks is number one. Big ones and little ones. I tripped on a rock like these when I broke my wrist!

Roots is number two! Some attack from the side like this ones, and some are broken off stumps hiding right in the middle of the path!

Three is ruts. Some of the paths have a deep grove in the middle where bicycles have work a narrow path. It's hard for feet to fit in the narrow groove.

Ed and I thought it would make a great topic for a gospel talk! Life obstacles can be compared with rocks, roots and ruts!

On an interesting note, you might be able to work the homonym "route" into the talk, as well!

Fickle Spring!

We went walking this morning in the snow! We might not have gone if we'd realized it was snowing when we got all dressed for the walk!

The weather eventually cleared up, and we enjoyed walking through the fields of Utah sweet peas in full bloom!

In the afternoon I went back to the dermatologist to have a little more skin removed for another biopsy. This is the story of my life!

Now I get to walk around all week with a beauty patch on my face! If you see me it's okay to ignore it and pretend it's not completely distracting!

Laundry Room is Finished!

We finished the remodel of the laundry room today. "We" means mostly Ed! I removed the wallpaper and painted it. Ed took the drawers out and replaced them with higher ones. This also meant taking out the corain countertops and re-installing them..

He had to replace the molding and stain the insides of the drawers to match the wood. He also replaced all the knobs.

Not too mention making nice shelves inside the old ironing board cupboard! We love it!

Here is a BEFORE picture, with the wallpaper.

The counter-top was too low to use for folding clothes. Now I can sort laundry to my heart's content!

Dumb Dog....or Smart Dog!

Guess who saved her own life today! Coda! She chewed through her own leash to get back to us after she ran off after a herd of deer.

Ed (tiny black dot in the middle of this picture) was so worried about her getting caught on her leash that he climbed straight up the side of the mountain to find her. He had heard her yelping. I figured she was still chasing deer!

When she finally freed herself she ran to join Ed and he brought her down the mountain!

Next time Ed sees a deer on our walk he will hold on to the leash tighter before he says, "Look Judy! A deer!"

Venice in Vegas

We went to the Venetian Hotel yesterday and had lunch at the shops on the Grand Canal. Buddy V's is a taste of New Jersey, as it is owned by the Cake Boss from Hoboken, New Jersey. Tom, Tina and Ed felt right at home!

We considered going for a Gondola ride in the Grand Canal, but at $136 per couple, we decided to save up for when we go to the REAL Venice! It was fun to watch, however, and the entire hotel was incredible!

There is such a maze of shops that we had a hard time tracking down the Honolulu Cookie company, which Tom had told us all about. We were happy we found it, as we stocked up on a few cookies for our ride home last night.

Note to self: Do not weigh in the morning after a weekend in Vegas! Who knew a few hearty meals could do so much damage? Oh, well, we had a great time and enjoyed spending time with Tom and Tina!

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

Yesterday morning Ed and I explored Red Rock Canyon about 20 miles Northwest of Las Vegas.

We doubled our usual morning hike, by going 6 miles instead of 3. We were happy to find out we had no problem hiking that long. It wasn't until we got out of the car after driving back to town that we realized how stiff we really were!

We  chose the white rock loop and were rewarded with a view of Desert Bighorn Sheep. There is one perched on the white rock dead center in this picture.

He and his friend later sat on the rock to watch us watch them watch us.

We enjoyed the beautiful array of wildflowers in bloom. We only saw one cactus in flower, but it was a good one!

We rewarded ourselves by eating Mexican food at Toros Cantina afterwards.

We spent the afternoon lounging by the pool and waiting for Tom and
Tina.

Tom and Tina, along with their friend, Hector, arrived in time for dinner at the hotel. We didn't get to eat till about 8, as all those bowlers, prospectors and quarter horse owners were quicker to the table than us! This is one happening hotel!

Las Vegas Weekend

Ed and I did not go to Paris, but Las Vegas felt like a foreign country, as we hadn't been here in 25 years! Boy has it changed!

We're staying at the aptly named South Point Resort. It is so far south of the main hotels on the strip that it is even south of the airport! It is notable for hosting equestrian and bowling events (both of which are going on this weekend)!

We're here to meet Ed's brother, but as we arrived a day earlier than Tom, we decided to take in the Donny and Marie Show at the Flamingo. It did not disappoint! It was fun hearing them sing, but also fun going through the stages of their singing careers with lots of video to accompany the show.

We had a really deep dish pizza at Giordano's in the Grand Bazaar. It was great eating al fresco! It's summer in Vegas!

Coda's Big Adventure

We left Coda with Brittany and John for the weekend. She thought it was fun when we dropped her off, but looked a little concerned as we walked out the door. Mabel was happy to see her.

The cats were not so happy. We're hoping they are able to coexist peacefully while we're gone!

More Tulips

You don't have to pay $20 at the tulip festival to see great tulips in Utah! Ed and I were able to enjoy these for free in front of the Timpanogas temple this morning!

Ed wondered why it is called the Timpanogas temple rather than American Fork, as most temples are named after their town. Maybe someone out there in cyberspace knows the answer to that question!

Easter with the Pinyon Rats

The Nuttalls invited us to Easter dinner yesterday. We were happy to see Ellis doing well after his surgery!

After dinner we had fun watching Mabel hunt for Easter eggs. She was amazingly motivated, considering they didn't even introduce her to the joys of eating the candy inside the eggs!

The Pinyon Rats have been practicing again, and we took the opportunity to play a few songs for the Nuttalls. It is always fun playing for an appreciative audience (like family)!

Here is a video of us doing You've got to Walk that Lonesome Valley!