Yearly Archives: 2011

We got up early and went to church in Grand Island Nebraska.  The ward was really small and we added a chunk to the congregation!  It seems like we always to that when we are on the road!  🙂  We decided to stay for 2 of the 3 meetings and although the girls weren’t too excited about that, they really loved the classes they were in.  Everyone treated them really nice.

We drove, and drove, and drove and finally made it home Sunday evening.  What a drive and what a trip!  All-in-all, we drove about 4500 miles round trip!  Crazy, huh?  We are very tired, but we had a great time on the trip.  It was good to see family and re-connect.  We’ll sleep good tonight and have a wonderful, relaxing day tomorrow with NO DRIVING!  🙂

Unfortunately, when we got home, we found that our washer was broken!  😐  Ouch!  It’s about 15 years old and we were hoping it would hold on for a while longer, but looks like we’re out of luck.  We’ll probably have to replace it, which means that we’ll replace both and spend a bunch of cash.  Uggghh.

This morning, we got up early and started on our way back home.  We drove down to Provo and picked up Sarah and Brittany from EFY.  They had a great time and had a lot to talk about.  They really enjoyed it there.  They liked their roommates and their groups of kids they were with.  They had some great spiritual experiences as well which was great for them. Below are some pictures of their groups and counselors:

Zach was pretty excited, because they bought him a BYU hat for his birthday!  🙂

We then started the LONG drive home.  We’re used to the flat Midwest farmland that we have lived in for the past 16 years, but when we come back West, it sure is nice to be in the mountains.  We sure will miss them!

We made it well into Nebraska before we stopped for the night.  We were planning on starting home on Sunday, but now we will get home on Sunday and have all day Monday to relax and get ready for the week.

Today we got up early, packed, and then at a wonderful last breakfast at the Desert Thistle.  We said our good-byes to Maureen and Warner and started on our way.  We really enjoyed our time there, that Maureen and Warner really made us feel at home.  They are such great hosts and we wouldn’t hesitate again to stay there!  🙂

We decided to drive through the southern part of the park on our way home (where they allow cars).  We saw some more stunning views (checkerboard mesa is below):

After leaving the east entrance of the park, we drove north and then back west again to the mountains to Cedar Breaks National Monument.  We had never been there before, but WOW, what views!  The place was like a mini Grand Canyon sprinkled with Bryce Canyon into it!  What a beautiful place!

We listened to a presentation about the animal life from a ranger there, and then enjoyed the views before continuing on.  The interesting thing about the monument is that it is along the main highway.  As you drive up the road, there are turn-outs that you can stop at, hike a little bit and see different views.  It is really breathtaking!

After seeing Cedar Breaks, we drove up over Brianhead and down the canyon to I-15.  At this point, we were ready to be done driving for the day.  🙂  On the way home, we stopped in Spanish Fork and went to see Greg and Lisa.  Greg was still at work, but we had a great chat with Lisa!  After that, we drove as fast as we could up to North Ogden.  It was great to finally see the kids.  They were so excited to finally be with us again!  They had a great time but they did miss us!  🙂

Today was an awesome day!  We spent the entire day in the park and it wasn’t nearly as strenuous as two days ago (or I am used to the altitude and am in a little better shape after 2 days).  🙂  We got up early, ate a great breakfast, and then hiked the Emerald Pools.  It was very beautiful up there and although it was hot, when we got to the pools, it was at least 30 degrees cooler.  What is kind of sad is that they have signs posted all over NOT to swim or wade in the water because it will destroy the ecology of the pools.  So what did we see when we got there?  Tons of people splashing around and swimming in the water.  It’s sad that people can’t read and don’t care about the environment.  We rested there for awhile and enjoyed the peace there (after a bunch of the noisy people left).  🙂

We then took the long trail back around and picked up the shuttle to further up the canyon.  The full hike was about 3 miles but today, it didn’t seem like it.  We took some beautiful pictures and just enjoyed the walk.  We didn’t have to hurry and there were no chains to hold onto for fear of falling 1500 feet on either side of you!  🙂

This afternoon we went up to the very end of the scenic route in the park (Temple of Sinawava) where the trails end and hiked the Riverside Walk trail to the end.  We then donned our river shoes and hiked up the main part of “The Narrows.”  This was the highlight of the day.  The Narrows are where there is no trail but the river so you walk in the river with cliffs towering on each side.  The full hike from the bottom to the top is about 16 miles.  There were places as shallow as shin-deep, to as deep as our chests.  Some places were swifter and other places were quite calm.  Before going, you have to check for flash flood warning and weather reports because if there are flash floods in those canyons, there is no where to go you don’t have much of a chance of surviving.

We had a wonderful time and we kept nice and cool in the water.  It would have been fun to go even further, but we were pretty tired (doing that can take a lot out of you because you are walking against the water the entire way up).  Coming back was a little trickier, because the water was pushing you from behind.  🙂  It went pretty fast.  By the time we got out of the water and had walked back to the main parking lot to the shuttles, we were almost dried out (no humidity and warm temp) and ready to eat dinner!  🙂

We went down to Springdale and ate dinner at Oscar’s (recommendation from Maureen and Warner).  They had the best burgers I have ever tasted!  I had the “Murder Burger” because they said it was “to die for” and it was something else!  Coupled with their fries (Angela had the sweet potato fries), we were pretty full by the time we finished.  What a great dinner!

After dinner, we went back into the park and went on a 90 minute ranger-led tour.  We crossed our fingers because we were wait-listed and fortunately, we got the last 2 spots because some others didn’t show.  It was a pretty cool experience.  The ranger took us to places that the shuttles don’t usually stop and gave us all kinds of historical and geological facts about the park.  We had a great time.

Meanwhile, the kids were up in North Ogden swimming and having a great time too!

They had a lot of fun and really enjoyed a break from the heat!  Kirstyn did a great job helping take care of the boys and we sure appreciate her helpfulness!  🙂

We capped off the day with some chocolate Creamies and are now getting ready to go to bed.  We are excited to see the kids, but are not excited that this is our last night down here!  We have thoroughly enjoyed our time here and will miss it.  It has been great being together without any responsibility!  🙂

Today was quite relaxing (physically).  We didn’t hike a bunch of miles and we were able to partake of much more air conditioning than we did yesterday!  🙂  We got up early and after breakfast, went down to St. George.  We did a session at the temple, and then did a little shopping at Deseret Book and the Church Distribution Center.

We then went to Cafe’ Rio (Mexican food) and had lunch!  It was really good!  Angela went there when she visited Vegas last year and loved it.  It was my first time eating there, and I’ll tell you, it was MUCH better than either Qudoba or Chipotle!  I wish that someone would open up some franchises out in the Midwest!

After lunch, we went over to Brigham Young’s home (historical site) and took a tour.  It was fascinating to see some of the things they had there and to hear the history of the place.  They had almond and fig trees planted there, something that you wouldn’t think of growing in St. George!

We then drove over to the old tabernacle and took a tour there.  We arrived just in time and were able to be on the last tour of the day.  The history there was very interesting.  It was at that pulpit that Lorenzo Snow prophesied about tithing.  There were many other historical facts that we found very interesting as well.  The Elder that was there took a picture of Angela and I sitting behind the pulpit.  I think that is one of the favorite things the missionaries like to do with folks who come on the tour.  Every prophet of this dispensation with the exception of Joseph Smith has spoken at this pulpit and has sat in the seats we were in!  🙂

After we took the tour, we went shopping at the outlets there for awhile, grabbed a little something to eat, and then went and saw the new movie 17 Miracles.  It was in early release in select theaters and we thought that since church-related movies don’t come too often in out in our area that we would check it out.  What a powerful movie!  It portrays the struggles of the Martin and Willie Handcart Companies as they came across the plains.  It was VERY well done and the acting was very good.  That is definitely one we’ll have to add to our collection when it comes out on DVD.

After finishing up at the movie late, we drove back home and are pretty tired from the day’s activities!  We’ll sleep good tonight in preparation for another physical day tomorrow!  🙂

What a WONDERFUL but extremely exhausting day we had today!  We got up early, had a GREAT breakfast, got to know the Spanish couple a little bit that was staying there,  and went into Zion National Park to spend the day.  You can no longer drive up into the park’s scenic drive due to congestion.  You have to take a shuttle which is MUCH better than it used to be.  We decided to take the most strenuous hike first (Angel’s Landing).  With me being out of shape, Angela kicked my butt on this hike and had to wait a few times for me to catch my breath. The views are spectacular, however.

It’s a 5 mile, very strenuous hike that goes up 1500 feet!  In some places you have to hold onto chains in order to keep from slipping off the trail and falling hundreds of feet!  At the end, it narrows into a small trail with chains that is only about 3 feet wide in some places and 1200 feet down on either side.  We got to this point (see picture below) and decided that we would just watch others do it.  There have been many deaths from people falling and when you look at the last little bit, you start thinking of your kids and life insurance.  😐

We rested there for awhile and enjoyed the incredible views!  In addition, I needed to rest and get some energy back.  It was at this point I realized how much more I need to exercise and not be as much of a computer geek/couch potato!  🙂

The hike down was much easier than the hike up and then we went on a couple of other hikes…  One to weeping rock, and the other to hidden canyon, which was pretty strenuous (at least for that time of the day and that we had already hiked a bunch) and had some chains to hold onto as well.  You don’t see that kind of hiking in Illinois!  🙂

Probably the most majestic picture in the park is of the Great White Throne (shone above).  It is also probably the most photographed as well.  Overall, we hiked about 10 miles or so (felt like 20 with the major changes in elevation) and were totally wiped out!

We took another recommendation of Maureen and Warner and went to the Bit and Spur restaurant for dinner.  It was pretty good (Mexican food), but it was much more bland than what we are used to, even in Illinois.  Warner said that Southern Utah Mexican food is not really authentic if you like spicy.  🙂

After dinner, we came back and went swimming in the pool.  It felt so good to get in the pool after the heat of the day and all that hiking!  I can’t imagine what it would be like if we had the humidity of Illinois!   Yuck!  It was a beautiful day, and here, the head isn’t so bad because the humidity is low.

We are ready to go to bed and I don’t think that falling asleep will be too hard tonight!  🙂  We are looking forward to a great day (and a break from hiking) in St. George tomorrow!

This morning we got up early, picked up Alec and his friend and drove down to Provo to drop the kids off at EFY.  The girls were SO excited!  The boys and Kirstyn were excited to spend the week with Grandma and Grandpa Halliday without having their older sisters around!  🙂  When we got down to BYU, we parked at the Marriott Center and waited in line to get the kids checked in.

It was very interesting to see all the different kids there and you could really tell who had been to EFY and who hadn’t.  We also ran into Bret and Trey Brady from our ward!  They were there with their cousins and grandmother, waiting to check in as well!  Small world!  Anyway, we got them checked in and then we took them to lunch before dropping them off at Helaman Halls and getting them settled in their rooms.  It was funny to be back there where I spent my first freshman semester!  Alec and his friend were in Budge hall which, at the time, was the girl’s hall in our ward.  In fact, I think Alec’s room was the same room as a girl I liked.  🙂  The girls were in Taylor hall, right next to Chipman Hall where I stayed.

After saying good-bye for the week, Angela and I drove around Provo a bit and took a look at all the old apartments/houses we lived in while going to school.  Things have changed a bit.  Awhile ago, the house we were living in when we graduated got ripped down, and the lot is now an entrance to and part of the church parking lot where we attended.  Our first apartment we lived in when we first got married is still there, and so is the ugly apartment building we lived in when Sarah was born (below).

It was fun to reminisce for awhile before taking off for the long drive down Zion National Park.  On the way down, we stopped at Cove Fort, a restored church site that was very fascinating.  The last time we were down there (about 18 years ago), they were starting to do some restoration work.  Now it’s unbelievable what an “oasis” it is in the middle of the Utah desert.

We took the full tour and really enjoyed learning about everything that went on down there.  Turns out, our tour guide, Elder Cummings knows a bunch of Angela’s family.  Way back when, her uncle was the one that hired him as a teacher!  Again, small world!

We enjoyed the rest of our drive down to Rockville, UT, where we checked in at the Desert Thistle Bed and Breakfast.  What a wonderful place! We know we are going to absolutely love it there.  It is a beautiful house that the owners (Warner and Maureen) have taken great care of.  The grounds are beautiful and the rooms are great!

By the time we got settled, we were starving, so we asked Maureen and Warner for a recommendation on where to eat.  They recommended the Switchback restaurant.  We were not disappointed.  It was a bit pricey, but the food was excellent and the view from the outside terrace was even better!  The picture below was taken from our table!

I think that we are going to absolutely love the next few days.  Maureen and Warner are so kind and love to chat and get to know their guests.  Right now there is a family staying here, and also a couple traveling from Spain.  We are excited to meet them and get to know them as well.

This morning, we got up, ate breakfast, packed everything up and started our drive back down into Utah.  As we drove through Franklin, ID, we stopped and saw Angela’s grandmother’s old stone home that is still there, and then drove over to visit the grave of her Aunt Ann.  It is amazing to see how fast time has flown and that she passed away almost 6 years ago.  We drove by the new Brigham City temple and saw it in construction, and then drove down to North Ogden to my parent’s place.

It was SO nice to take a shower and get all cleaned up!  We went to church and it was fun seeing all the people that I grew up knowing.  Some are no longer there (either passed away or moved), but it was surprising how many still knew who I was.  🙂

After church, we had a great dinner and birthday party for Zach, Brittany, and Austin!  Greg, Lisa and  little Tommy came as well.  It was great to see Tommy for the first time.  He is SO cute!

We had a great time hanging out and enjoying family company.  We also got some family pictures done which I don’t have the digital copies for yet or I would post one here.

After the party, we made a quick visit to my Uncle Jerald’s house to see him.  My aunt has Alzheimers and is bed-bound now.  He takes such good care of her.  What an amazing man to do what he does in taking care of her and meeting all her needs.  He always has a positive attitude and we admire that so much!

Well, off to bed!  We have a big day tomorrow.  We’re taking the kids to EFY in Provo and then going down to Southern Utah for some R&R!  🙂

The past two days have been a lot of fun!  Most of our time we have spent swimming in the pool.  Downata is a hot springs and so the pool was very warm on very warm days.  It took some time to get used to the hot water in hot weather, but the kids had a blast!

When we weren’t swimming, we were eating, doing crafts, sleeping, visiting, and playing games.  The kids loves the many craft things that Auntie Carla brought up for them to do.

The food turned out awesome as well.  For one of the meals, we had milk can dinner, where you throw a whole bunch of stuff into a milk can, cook it, and then dump it into a sled.  🙂

By the end of the day today (Saturday), we were so hot and tired, we couldn’t move.  We didn’t have any ice cream, so I went into the thriving metropolis of Downey (population about 350) and spent $10 for a 5 quart bucket of ice cream!  Yep, we were craving ice cream that bad!  🙂  It was gone within 10 minutes!  We’ll sleep good tonight!  We’re not looking forward to packing everything up tomorrow morning, but we are excited to go to Utah to see more family and the girls are absolutely stoked to go to EFY in Provo next week!

Today we had a very busy day!  We got up early, ate breakfast, and then the boys and I wandered a round the ski village for awhile.  We took lots of pictures and had a great time!  Too bad we couldn’t have spent more time there, got day passes, and then went on the alpine slide, the alpine roller coaster, the zipline, climbed the rock wall, etc.

After we explored, everyone took the bus into Park City downtown and we wandered around for awhile, enjoying the day.  We ran a little late, hurried and ate lunch, packed up, and left for our drive to Idaho.  Along the way, we stopped in Bountiful and saw Angela’s Grandma.  She seemed to be doing well, especially for over 90 years old!  🙂

We finally arrived at Downata Hot Springs in the late afternoon and pitched our tents (no one is SUPER excited about tenting it in the heat).  We were able to put up two tents, one for the girls, and one for the rest of us.  It worked out really well.  Now we just have to endure the heat!  🙂  Fortunately, it’s not too humid, so we’ll take that.

After settling in, Angela and her sisters decided that they wanted to run a 5k together.  They had this planned, but it wasn’t supposed to be until tomorrow morning.  They figured if they waited, they probably wouldn’t do it.  We all piled into one of the trucks and drove out to the starting line and dropped the girls off.  We would drive ahead some, and wait for them to catch up, cheering them on as they ran.

When they finally arrived back, they were totally wiped out, hot, and sweaty, but happy that they did it.  For Carla, this was her very first 5k!  Great job ladies!  We hope to sleep well tonight due to the heat…

We got up early this morning, had breakfast at the hotel, and then drove to Park City, Utah to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa Halliday, Chantelle, and the boys.  They were really excited to see us.  They have a timeshare with Marriott and they have a nice place up in Park City, right at the foot of the mountain in the Ski village.  We hung out and the kids had fun playing together.  The had some nice facilities for the little kids and a great “teen room” for the older kids.

There’s a great workout room, a great pool, and multiple hot tubs.  We had a great burger dinner and then relaxed and went to bed.  The quarters were really tight as there were 7 more of us than they had the night before, but everyone will sleep well, I’m sure.  🙂

Today, we left for our two week vacation out to Idaho and Utah.  We are very excited for the break from all the responsibilities we have.  We will be spending a day in Park City with my family, then going up to Idaho and spending a couple of days with Angela’s sisters and their families at a hot springs.  We’ll then go down to Utah, and while Sarah and Brittany are at EFY at BYU Provo, Angela and I will be leaving the boys and Kirstyn with my mom and dad and having a much-needed getaway for our 20th anniversary!  Hope all turns out well!  We’ll keep you posted!

We put in a 17 hour day and made it to Laramie Wyoming where we stopped for the night.  We are all exhausted but excited to see family tomorrow.  We’ll be leaving early tomorrow so we can get to Park City, Utah as early as possible.  The kids wanted to keep driving all the way through tonight, but we told them absolutely not!  🙂  We couldn’t drive any more and Ben was getting a little restless!  🙂