July 2012 Happenings

Well, as usual there is a whole lot to summarize since the last post!  I was going to take a trip to Brazil, which ended up getting cancelled then put back on again, then postponed.  But I needed to re-apply for a Brazilian visa (which I haven't done yet now that it's unclear if and when I'll go).  So anyway, we did our own version of a head shot for the application.  Here it is:

 Yes, that's a white bedspread behind me as the backdrop.

 For July 4th, the clan got together and went to a local supermarket's parking lot because it's just beyond where the fireworks go off and lots of people set up chairs and blankets there (like on the grass between the parking rows).  The market turns it into a festive event with music, food, children's fun things, etc.  Here are some of our girls, way before it got dark.

 Avril loved going down the big blown-up plastic slide, with a bigger girl's help (her new friend standing behind her in line).

 Of course McKel wanted to participate but was too small.

 So she just hung around looking cool.

 Brit had some friends come by to hang out with.  They had a few 4th of July items to light up too.

 Some special prism glasses were handed out.  Here Avril tries looking through a pair.

 We were able to rest on the grass strip.  Gayle and Alicia got a bit of relaxation.

This was about the most unspectacular of the night's displays, but it happened to be the only one we caught on camera (it's hard to time fireworks displays with a digital camera).


 This is a clip of Avril going down the slide at the parking lot.

 Earlier in the day we held the annual 8th ward neighborhood 4th of July breakfast in River Hollow Park.  Here Brit and Avril work on some pancakes.

 I had scrambled egg duty that morning.

 McKel, Alicia, and Adrian enjoyed the food too.

 Grandma Joyce and Alicia had celestial food for breakfast!  See how their plates shone?  Actually, with the sun behind them that's just how the shot came out.

 Gayle and I took a trip to SLC on the 6th.  Among other things, we stopped by Temple Square.  Here is a shot of the lovely landscaping.  We also checked out the new City Creek Mall across the street.

We had some very young fawns show up in our backyard one day.  See if you can spot them in this shot.

I tried to photograph them through the windows, but it didn't work.  So I just walked around back and they stood still for me.

  
McKel managed to do a "face plant" on Alicia's driveway this month.  She skinned up much of her nose and forehead, and other parts of her face. This was shot on Ali's lawn before I mowed it.  It's amazing how fast McKel has healed.

 We all supported a luau fundraiser for a Fijian athlete, held out in Mount Sterling (near Wellsville) on a farm.  It featured two water slip and slides down hills, a fun house for the kids, and a bit of entertainment.

 Watching Avril in the fun house.

 It took a while before Avril enjoyed the bouncing.

 Three generations of Parkinson girls.

 Watching a Polynesian dance, near one of the water slip and slides.

 The weather cooperated and the dining was pleasant.

 The little ones had a great time.  Jared joined us by coming on his Harley.

 Gayle with Adrian's family.

 McKel with a partly healed face.

 Gayle and I tandem surfing.

 Brit participated in a youth conference up in Wyoming that included some handcart pulling at Martin's Cove.  They had to get their belongings in one plastic bucket.  Here she poses with the bucket that she and grandma Gayle decorated.

 Jared got a new wrap around sofa.  The girls loved playing in the empty boxes on his front lawn.

 Just the right size for kids!

A panoramic view of the boxes, with Jared, I believe looking for McKel in one of them.

 A frequent activity when walking the grand kids around the neighborhood is to stop by Riverside School and play on the swings and slides.  The girls love getting pushed on the swings.

 Gayle and I brought the largest of Jared's sofa boxes home for the girls to play with.  It didn't take long for them to get bored with it, so we offered it to our neighbors, the Chesleys.  Here their 3 boys, plus another boy who is their neighbor, get direction from Randy Chesley on how to carry the empty box to their house.

 We took the girls to Noodles, an eatery.   McKel insists on feeding herself.  Here she's about to dig into a bowl of spaghetti.

 Likewise, Avril has to do everything herself.

 Avril has a Play Doh kit that extrudes the stuff into fake ice cream.  Here she pretends to be eating the stuff.

 Papa helping Avril with the Play Doh fun.

 Avril, extruding fake ice cream.

 Grandma Joyce holding Grandpa Spencer's hand in his room at the Legacy House.

  I had wanted to do a "century" (100 miler).  A fundraiser for the Rotary Club featured a 102 miler, along with shorter distances.  Gayle and I were going to go to SLC Saturday afternoon (the 21st) so I just signed up for the 68 mile course.  But our commitment fell through so I was able to do the 102 mile route with Alicia.  Here we are, stopped at the Wellsville aid station (1st of 4 stops along the way).  This was her 3rd 100 miler and my first.  The route went up over Sardine Canyon, out to the Bird Refuge way west of Brigham City, up through Corinne, Honeyville, Deweyville, etc., and over the north pass through Beaver Dam and Petersboro.  We went back through Mendon and over to Willow Park, where we started.  My only annoyance was that while I put sunblock all over my face and arms and neck, I failed to put any on my legs (they got roasted).  Also, I think I have a herniated disk in my neck from bodysurfing at the Wedge in Newport last summer, so I get persistent pain near my right shoulder blade when I ride. But it's not unbearable.  At any rate, we had a great ride and got in a good workout.
 
So this is what we looked like after 102 miles (Alicia probably did 104 miles since she rode her bike to the start of the course).  My face appears white because I still have sun block on it, but look at my legs above the knees.  Our ride coincided with the next to last stage of the Tour de France.  I actually look forward to more long rides.

Rest of June 2012

 June is a great time of year.  The start of the month is not too hot yet, and the plants are taking off.  Here Avril helps me hand water the berm area, while McKel points something out.

 Nothing like watering with the grand-daughters.  This shot shows the tranquility of a lovely June morning.

We held a Father's Day cook-out at Adrian's house.  Here are some of us getting things ready.  Grandma Joyce joined the rest of my family.

 Adrian recently got a new grill and was anxious to use it for this cook-out.  We had "carne asada" and grilled chicken drumsticks, along with other yummy items.

 Alicia and her girls. 

 The hosts -- Adrian, Arleen, and Brittney.

Gayle, Grandma Joyce, and I.

 It was mild weather and we ate under the carport at Adrian's mobile home in Logan.

 And here's a June dusk shot of the berm.  The deer usually have left most of our plants alone, but this year at least one of them has developed a taste for some of our hostas and ground cover.

 Our back hillside has filled in and is a peaceful setting.

 A photo of another part of the back.

 And here's looking back (to the east) at some of our pines.

 Our New England salt box home in Logan, UT.  Which segues into the fact that I went on business trips to King of Prussia, PA, Cambridge, MA, and Raleigh, NC this month.  So I'm glad to be home, enjoying the serenity here.

 A week ago Alicia rode in another 100 miler, this time at the request of the hospital.  It was a fundraiser for multiple sclerosis.  She finished at the Fair Grounds in Logan, at a very hot time of day.  Here are Gayle and the little ones awaiting the cyclist.

 Someone had a health related problem, although it looked like a worker at the fair grounds and not one of the riders.  McKel was so cute in her red outfit.

 Alicia after riding 100 miles!

 All the girls.

 The team that rode for the Cache Valley Hospital.

My next travel will likely be to Brazil, so we took some shots I could choose from to convert into a 2 x 2 photo for the visa application.  This was one.