7.18.2009

Swimmin at Anderson Ranch Reservoir

There is a lake about 10 miles south of Featherville, called Anderson Ranch Reservoir. It is really busy on the weekends but weekdays you only get a handful of boats, especially in June when it is still cold.

It was raining and cold the first 3 days we were up in Idaho, (seriously like 42 degrees in the mornings kind of cold) the river is running super high because of all of the run-off and with the additional rain this spring/summer the water is still really cold but the day it hit the 80's outside, we had to take the plunge and dive on in down at the lake. Once you got used to the water (aka numb) it was great. This is our non-motorized day with only the canoe since Michael had the boat up in McCall for a church outing. We swam and jumped off the dock and had lots of fun playing in the water.

We had the whole dock to ourselves and it was fantastic.
Look real close and you can see all the minnows....


Our little Men

7.17.2009

Haircuts by Malcolm

While on our trip to Idaho, Griffin and Lewis both got haircuts by Malcolm. Lewis went with the regular shave-it-short look. Malcolm did a great job and Lewis loves having his haircut so he sits really still and loves to tell everyone "hair bye bye"!!
Griffin went for the extra special do. A sweet Mohawk for all to enjoy. We went to church 3 times with that beauty before I finally had Molly-Wally-Doodle cut it off in Mt. Pleasant. Malcolm loved giving the haircuts and Griffin looked sweeet with that do!!!
Totally AWESOME!

7.16.2009

Frog Princess? Kiss her to find out!

Griffin loved Idaho. He had a great time catching frogs with his "best-friend-girl-friend" Anika. They do everything together. I am surprised that poor frog lived they played with her so much. I told Griffin to give it a smooch to see if it would turn into a princess. He did but no princess, maybe next time!


7.14.2009

Vacation Over

Well after 26 days, 3137 miles, and 202.5 gallons of gas we have finally arrived back home.

We had a fantastic time with 15 days in Featherville, Idaho,

4 days in Orem/Lehi which included Stadium of Fire and the Freedom Festival,

3 days in Mt. Pleasant and
4 days at Lake Powell to cap it off.

We spent all of our time outside on our vacation because now we are stuck inside for the next 2 months or so. We came home to the summer season of Hell here in with a balmy temperature of 115 Fahrenheit or 46 Celsius the day we got home. Here is what we have to look forward to this week. Kinda makes me want to leave again!


7.04.2009

4th of July--Girls meet Elder Holland

Yes--here in Provo, Utah, land of the Freedom Festival 4th of July Parade you just might run into an Apostle of the Lord.

How totally sweet is that?!?

Mary "Hello President Holland."
Elder Holland "Hello girls, (shake hands) are you sisters?"
Girls together "We're twins!"
Elder Holland-pulls down his sunglasses and takes a good look "Twins?! Well this one is a bit taller isn't she?! (while patting Helen on the head)
Girls giggling "Bye Bye, nice to meet you."

Girl in Black shirt came up while the girls were there and said Elder Holland I love you, you are my favorite speaker at conference, you're my favorite!"
Elder Holland replied "Well, you're my favorite too!"

6.24.2009

On VACATION


I am far far away in the wild reaches of Idaho, a 16.5 hour drive from my front door to the cabin's front door. No cell phone service and no phone, I am borrowing a computer to write this blog. It is paradise!! (Except for the damn mosquitoes--we all look like we have some horrible disease!)

Brad is holding down the fort at home and the children and I are escaping the heat. Take pity on my poor hubby, our 16th anniversary is tomorrow and he is solo---someone take the guy out to dinner please!

I will have lots to post later! But you should really check Featherville on the map we are way out here!

6.16.2009

Ken Frost

My sister-in-law Sheri's dad passed away on May 31st. It was kinda sudden, he has had MRSA for a while which he got after a hip operation and just couldn't kick it, it finally got to his heart and there was nothing they could do but try to keep him comfortable. A week or so before he passed on, they were told he would have maybe 6 months so Sheri wasn't sure if she should come down from Idaho right away or not, she was so glad she did. Sheri got to Flag on Friday night and spent Sat and Sun at the hospital--even overnight so she was with him at the end and was so happy she decided to come when she did.

Having grown up in Flagstaff, I knew her dad well and I really loved him. He had this fabulous deep voice and he always had great stories to share. For example:

Once on a youth activity they planned for our ward, they took the kids and hiked rim to rim to rim in the Grand Canyon. My mom and her friend Betty hiked in flip flops. Ken and some of the other men thought this was a crazy choice but half way down when their feet were hot and sweaty and weighed down with their hiking boots, and they could hear the flip-flip-flip-flip of those flip flops, they thought maybe they weren't so crazy after all!! He said he'd never forget the sound of those flip flops flip-flip-flipping down the trail. (the sound he made to describe the flip-flip-flip was awesome!)

He also went on a fishing trip with my dad, my Uncle Bill, and Grant Holdsworth to Alaska. Grant and Uncle Bill had this cabin they had stayed at before and when they got there it was filthy, Grant and Uncle Bill didn't care, they just got out their gear and went fishing but my dad got out the pine sol and scrubbed that place top to bottom. Ken said he was very impressed with my dad's cleaning skills and was very happy he had come along because that cabin was scary!!!

His humor was great and he always made you feel important and cared for. We would go to his home often when we were in Flag to play and my kids called him Grandpa Frost just like their cousins did. He treated each child as if they were his own grandchildren and they loved going out to his house to see his horses, jump on his trampoline, ride the 4 wheeler around the loop of their home and play with the dog. My last memory of him is at the dinner table with Anika on his lap and Griffin on the other side of him, trying to eat but listening to those 2 kids talk his ears off and smiling and nodding and paying attention to what they said even though his dinner was getting cold.

He was a great man and will be deeply missed by my family. We were so blessed to know him.

Kenneth Frost Obituary

Kenneth McAllister Frost, 75, died on on May 31, 2009, surrounded by his cherished wife, Shirlyn, and their children. He was born Jan. 5, 1934, in Kanab, Utah.

He loved the red hills of Southern Utah and often stated that the K on Kanab's hillside was for "Ken." He was the sixth of seven children born to Denzil and Beulah Frost. He spent his childhood and young adult life in Kanab. When he was in kindergarten he met Shirlyn Judd. They grew up together and were childhood sweethearts. On Sept. 14, 1954, they were married in the LDS St. George (Utah) Temple.

Mr. and Mrs. Frost started their married life in Logan, Utah, where Mr. Frost attended Utah State University and earned an associates degree in accounting. After graduating, they moved to San Francisco, Calif., for a short time where Mr. Frost worked for Del Monte Foods. They decided quickly that city life was not for them and happily took a position with Kaibab Lumber Company in Flagstaff. Mr. Frost worked for Kaibab for six years and then decided to return to graduate school at Arizona State University where he received a master's degree in accounting. He became a Certified Public Accountant, returning to work in Flagstaff for the next 30 years.

Mr. Frost's career, however, was not the top of his priority list. Rather, his devotion to God, wife and children were the mark of his character. He was fun-loving, always quick with a clever reply. Laughter came naturally as did his salty-tongue; he was quick to correct but even quicker to forgive. Water fights, ball games, dancing with his wife, camping, hunting, fishing and boating were in abundance throughout his life.

He was active in many community organizations including Rotary and the Boy Scouts of America. He served as a Scoutmaster for many years and was awarded the prestigious Silver Beaver Award for his many years of devoted service. He was also instrumental in organizing and completing a restoration of Boy Scout Camp Raymond in the late 1980s. The primary focus of his life of service was The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he served in many capacities including providing key leadership in the establishment of a local welfare farm for the church on North Highway 89 where they raised pinto beans in the early 1980s. After retiring from his accounting career, Mr. and Mrs. Frost served as full-time missionaries in Athens, Greece, for 18 months. They also served in the LDS Snowflake Temple in recent years.

Mr. Frost loved horses and people. He was quick to give away anything of his own to others in need. He had a particular sensitivity to the needs of those who were less fortunate than himself.

Mr. Frost is survived by his wife, Shirlyn; children Linda Seaman (Les), Susan Dutton (Tom), Mark Frost (Mary), Tom Frost (Karen), Rick Frost (Cathie), Nancy McGuire (Pernell), and Sheri Freer (Mike); 37 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; sisters LaPrele Taft and Anna Lou Reese; and many nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his parents Denzil and Beulah; sisters Harriet, Marie, Helen; and brother Mac.

6.15.2009

Mother's Day Eggs Benedict Breakfast in Bed....Finally.

Yeah! On Sunday I woke up to this lovely sight....
No, it is not part of my boot-camp-at-5 a.m.-workout-till-you-walk-like-an-old-woman-watch-what-you-eat-diet but since I only get these babies on Mother's Day, my birthday and Valentines Day I ate every last speck, wrote it in my food log without looking at the calorie content, and then was really good for the rest of the day. Brad really goes to town with the hollandaise sauce doesn't he?! :> Thank You my sweet handsome Hubby! I love you!

6.13.2009

Swim Lessons and Swim Meets


Ahh, summer, the time of swimming here in the valley of the sun. We believe in all things water related in an attempt to stay cool. The girls have swim team every morning and ride their bikes 2.4 miles each way to and from practice. Oh happy day, mommy is in no way involved with swim team practice. Unfortunately I get to go sit in the blazing heat every day for Griffin's class, I just couldn't figure a way around it.

Griffin is in a stroker class in an attempt to learn the different strokes so he will be able to do swim team next year. He is one active boy and has a hard time just holding on to the side of the pool waiting his turn. He has to swim back and forth and down to the bottom and misses half the instructions. He is on week 3 of his lessons and has improved quite a bit on his freestyle and back stroke although he weaves like a drunken sailor when he does the backstroke and takes twice as long to get to the destination because of it. He gives it all he's got though!

Learning proper kicking...
and diving...that's gonna hurt
Mary and Helen are on week 5 of swim team practices which start 2 weeks before school ends. They have had 3 swim meets and have improved at each one. Today we were at the YMCA from 7 am to 11:30 am for the swim meet. There were 6 different teams there and that was a lot of kids to get though with the 6 and under girls then boys; 7/8 girls then boys; 9/10 girls then boys starting with a medley; all ages, then breast stroke; all ages, butterfly stroke all ages, backstroke; all ages and ending with freestyle. The girls did 3 different races; both did backstroke and freestyle while Helen did butterfly and Mary did breaststroke. It was a long morning but the girls did great, spent time with friends, won lots of ribbons, had lots of fun and Mommy melted. Daddy volunteered to take one for the team and stay home with the boys....Lewis didn't wake up until 10:30 and Griffin is zombied out on the Wii--Lego Starwars of course so daddy had a rough morning.

Helen Butterfly
Mary Breaststroke
Yes, Helen is really that much taller than Mary now!

Now we are getting ready for our escape from the heat trek up to Idaho then meandering on down to Utah and ending with Lake Powell. We are very excited about our vacation except for the 16 hour drive the 1st day when we go all the way to Featherville--yeah, Google that thriving metropolis!!!

6.04.2009

Jules Rules!

Everyone should enjoy this post from my friend Jules. Talk about living right, she must have someone lookin out for her!!!!! Since I've had 2 bikes stolen I guess I need to bump things up a bit.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Evidence that I do NOT have it all together


In case any of you were wondering...
I definitely do not have it all together.
Yesterday, It was proven!

I really can hardly believe, myself, that I am about to admit this to all of you!
(But my friends told me I must....for posterity's sake!)

So, here's the deal:
I went to lunch with some friends from work.
I was driving.
The parking lot was crazy full
(Naturally, because -
what were we thinking?
Wednesdays in Provo?
Hello...missionary drop-off day -
every restaurant in town is crazy busy!)

Anyhow.
Parking lot - full.
I dropped off my friends at the entrance to the restaurant and proceeded to scour the lot for a parking place.
Then...I found one!
I parked.
I went inside,
and we enjoyed our lunch.

As we were getting ready to leave, I could not find my keys.
Side pocket of the purse - no
bottom of the purse - no
anywhere in the purse? - no

Luckily, I always carry a spare.
(I've been known to lock my keys in my car before...although, it's been a few years...)

Went to get in the car.

Yep.
Keys in the car.
in the ignition.
ignition running
AC on.
Car NOT locked.

Only in Provo would this scenario end with my car still sitting in the parking lot.

I am SO LUCKY.
(and, yes, SO CRAZY.)

ugh. what am I going to do with myself?