Escalante Trip--Day 3

Morning number 2 was leisurely as well and meant that we could take breaks in the middle of getting ready. Michelle and I were both reading ROOM for book club and were thoroughly sucked into it.

Amie had gifts for us!

Amie taught Melinda how to play Sudoku.

Michelle had to spend some time on the phone with various family members because her mom ended up in the hospital. It was quite worrisome and yet we were in the middle of nowhere and thousands of miles from her mom...it's a good thing prayers travel well.

We ventured into town again and saw a few more fun sites, including this very blue house with intimate apparel on the line (yes, it is the home of one of Amie's relatives!).

We went to lunch at a gas station in town because Amie's mom recommended the pizza there.

I couldn't believe it when Amie showed us Jessica's picture on the wall of this gas station! It was like visiting another planet, but different.

The pizzas took awhile to cook so we spent some quality time in the gas station...weird.

Fun though.

The pizza was really good and I indulged in a Coke again. (It's a slippery slope for me after being off diet Coke for 6 years! I thought if I drank Coke I wouldn't like it enough to get hooked, but I keep thinking about it and wanting it.)

After lunch we drove down the road to the Hole in the Rock Monument where we read about the amazing story behind it. It confirmed for me once again (as if there was any doubt) that I was NOT cut out to be a pioneer!

Beautiful.

Covered wagons are narrower than I thought!

After our time at the monument we drove around some more to take in the scenery. Amie was kind enough to humor Michelle and I when we wanted to stop to take photos.

Michelle took some pictures of me taking pictures.

And I took some of her too. I love it that we share a passion for photography!

This is one of my favorite shots.

Amie also took us to the reservoir to see more beautiful sights.

The town map has an Alvey Wash! I'm telling you, Jimmy and Amie's family has some roots in this town!

After touring the town, we spent a couple hours watching "Persuasion" (oh Mr. Higgly bottom).

And cutting coupons and loading pictures for blog posts on the laptop. I had seen that version of the movie before but Michelle and Melinda hadn't and I really wasn't sure if they were going to recover. Jane Austen has such a way of building up to a big finish.

We ventured out one last time to go to dinner at a place that cooks everything in an outdoor brick oven. It was tasty food and an interesting place to visit. We had to drive over a super narrow bridge to get there (good thing Amie was driving) and the people at the table next to us were German tourists (apparently they wanted to go back in time too).

**Have you heard the Hole in the Rock story before?

Have you seen "Persuasion"?

Do you enjoy Sudoku?

Ever hung your undies on the line?**

Comment Window Tidbit: Today was crazy busy, I worked 9 hours, did Orchestra car pool, came home and planted daffodils, went to dance class, helped Whitney with her homework and then blogged. I'm wasted.

Five for Friday--My Last Work-Free Week Edition

When the kids were little, we always went to the pumpkin patch to get our pumpkins and to take photos. But the past few years have found us purchasing pumpkins at the grocery store, which is far less picturesque.


I thought we might be past the stage of getting cute photos while shopping for pumpkins, but these are alright.


Since Whitney turned 10 last week I feel like it's really official that I am the mother of BIG kids. Gone are the days of little-kid cuteness, now we've moved on to big-kid amusingness and independence which isn't bad either.


When we arrived home from church last Sunday we found this big box of goodness waiting on our porch. It was not your typical October Boo Treat that goes around the ward. This was a full on chocolate bundt cake with raspberries (somebody's signature fruit) and homemade whipped cream in a jar. We've been eating it all week.


I finally got caught up with my coupon clipping the other evening while watching "Lark Rise to Candleford". It was a big job!


I babysat my friend Cathy's kids for a couple hours this week as part of our Relief Society Service Auction. Cathy went to the temple, so I played with her kids at their house for awhile then we walked over to the church for a presidency meeting. They did really well and were quite funny. Her little girl said several amusing things like, "Are you a girl?" and "Girls are princesses." I have never thought that my gender was in doubt, but maybe from down where she stood it was unclear.

It had been long time since I'd pushed a stroller uphill while hefting my big, heavy church bag, so I was worn out by the time we made it back to the house. Phew!


After babysitting, I treated myself to a Pork Tostada from Cafe Rio and then finished watching North & South on Netflix streaming. Oh how I love these BBC movies!


My mom dropped all her plans for the day in order to go to the temple and take me to lunch on Wednesday for one last hoorah. We did a session then went to Chili's and then shoe shopping for a little while. It was rather painful to be bending over trying on shoes (boots to be exact) after stuffing myself with chips and salsa, salad and soup!


Michelle and I had our last, official, weekly Creative Friday yesterday and I am at a loss as to how to post about it. This is pretty much the sorest sacrifice for me with going back to work.


And finally, my blogging friend Lindsay emailed me last week to see if I was interested in having her backlog of coupons. Apparently she was receiving 5 papers (for the coupons) for awhile there, but then realized it just wasn't for her. She held onto them in the hopes that she could give them to someone who would appreciate them...hello! I jumped at the chance to get them and stopped by her house last Saturday. I was overwhelmed with the amount of them (they go all the way back to June) and her generosity in thinking of me. Then she completely undid me when she offered me her coupon binder full of baseball card sleeves. I've known I needed to get one of these to organize my coupons, but didn't know where I'd find the sleeves or how I'd pay for them. This was a HUGELY generous gift and came so out of the blue. I immediately started crying as I gushed my thanks (I seriously don't recognize myself anymore, what is with all the crying?!). It was a miraculous gift and was truly thoughtful and humbling. It was yet another reminder that the Lord is mindful of me and that we just never know who He is going to send to help us out!

**Where do you get your pumpkins?
Did you get "boo-ed" this month?
Has anyone asked you if you're a girl?
Have you seen North & South?
Did you cry this week?
Has the Lord helped you in an unexpected way lately?**

Comment Window Tidbit: Every Halloween I find myself wishing I had a costume or at least some Halloweenish clothing to wear. I'm wearing an orange shirt with a black tank top under it, but I wear that regularly so it doesn't really count.

Swoon

Need I say more?

Comment Window Tidbit: Oh Jane, you get me every time!

Five for Friday--Decent Week Edition

1. I finished watching a BBC version of "Emma" this week and fell in love with Mr. Knightley once again. Apparently it doesn't matter what version of the show I see, I always fall in love with him.


2. I got this email from one of Landon's teachers this week, and was touched that she took the time to send me this email (and of course was very pleased with Landon as well).

"Landon is in my class for Keyboarding and CTE Intro. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate Landon's great attitude. He works hard, is willing to participate, and always thanks me before he leaves class each day."

{Old photo, but better than nothing}

3. Wednesday was my sister Lori's birthday so my mom and I stopped by her house to delivery some balloons, a card and some caramel popcorn. As we stood knocking on her door fro 5 minutes (it turns out she was in the shower) I pulled out my camera only to have it say "change the batteries". ($#@!) That stupid camera never gives me any warning, it just quits. So I missed getting a photo of the goodies we brought, and missed a photo of her opening the door dripping wet and wrapped in a towel. Aargh!

My mom took me to lunch at The Pizza Factory after that and I missed getting a self-portrait of us as well.



4. The weather was so pleasing Wednesday evening that Landon and I went outside to do some reading. We caught the last hour of daylight and loved it.


Landon has been a reading machine lately (he finally remember that he's a reader) and has been gobbling up the Fablehaven series. He finished #3 (which he just started on Sunday) while we were outside.


5. In an effort to focus more on "the essentials" on my life's to-do list I took myself to the temple yesterday. It was a nice, peaceful couple of hours.

Plus had the added bonus of beautiful scenery afterward.

**Do you love Mr. Knightley?
Do dead batteries make you want to scream?
Have you read outside lately?
How are your essentials coming along?**

Comment Window Tidbit: Amie was congratulating me about spending practically no money this week (like $3) and asking me if it felt empowering. It does, but only temporarily because running out of things is painful and must be remedied. We're almost out of toilet paper...that's nonnegotiable! I haven't had pebble ice for four days, and I can't buy drinks for Creative Friday today. Swing low.