Bountiful Lake - August 21, 2010

James and I had a random Saturday of running errands and not much else.  So we turned it into date night and had dinner at IHOP and stopped at Bountiful Lake for a stroll.  Not a very big lake, we wandered all the way around.  Lots and lots of people fishing, ducks begging for bread, dragonflies, tall grasses over our heads and benches along the shore - all lost in the tall grasses.  A beautiful evening.

Big Cottonwood Canyon - August 20, 2010

My friend Diana is the ward Activities Committee chairperson and she is planning a ward cookout at a campground in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  She's already reserved the site and is planning the food and activities, but she's never been to the campground.  So we invited their family to come up Big Cottonwood Canyon with us tonight.  We toured the campground and checked out the group site, the softball field, the horseshoes pits and the volley ball courts.

Then we drove the rest of the way up to Brighton and had our own little cook out.  (I had to go over to the house where we house-sat earlier this spring and borrow a propane canister - I managed to bring an empty and leave a full one at home. Sigh. Who put me in charge of packing the supplies!?  Silver Lining - they asked us to house-sit again for a week in October.  Yay!)

Chris, Hudson and Diana Elexpuru

The Jessi James Gang (It was cold after the sun went down and we didn't remember to bring any long sleeve warmth - Silver Lining - snuggling in the car blanket!)

A video of Hudson jumping off the big granite rock where we took photos - Diana's reaction to the whole thing just makes me laugh!

Sunday Drive - Alta - August 15, 2010

The wildflowers are in bloom!

Lake Blanche - August 14, 2010

Today, we hiked the Lake Blanche Trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  The last time I hiked this trail, Kim hiked with me and carried McKayla - who was backpackable.  The last time James hiked this trail, there was still snow covering the last half mile of the trail.

The beginning starts out easy enough...

But it just keeps going, and going, and going, and going... (see the "v" where the two ridge lines meet - in front of the distant mountain?  That's where we left the car.)

It was worth the hike though - I got to use my new birthday hiking shoes.

And there are lakes to explore at the top.  Lake Blanche with Sundial Peak in the background.

Lake Lillian and Lake Florence (I think Lake Lillian is the more distant lake).

Plenty of rocks to skip.

These incredible old dams - that have since broken and are now just perfect for sitting and taking in the view.

On the way down, about 1 mile back down the trail, I discovered that I'd lost an earring somewhere in our exploration of the lakes.  So sad!  But we voted, unanimously, against hiking back up to the lakes!  I think I'll try to turn the remaining earring into a bookmark.

We ended our hike with dinner at Silver Fork Lodge - we had a $50 gift certificate from when we house-sat up at Brighton earlier this year.  We still ended up paying $8 and a tip.  Without a gift certificate this place is way, way out of our budget!  Beautiful view, ritzy patrons, food was just okay.

I expect to be sore, sore, sore after this one. 

Little Blue - August 12, 2010

After begging for another jump to get the car started after work last night (thank you for the loan of your jumper cables Chris!!!), I headed to AutoZone.  According to the battery checker machine, the battery is unable to hold a charge or put out enough zip to start the engine.  In other words, dead.  It was the original battery - still had a Subaru sticker on the top of it - and the car is now 6 years old.

RIP Original Subaru Battery

Silver Lining -

• I only need to ride the bike to work for the equivalent of 4-5 tanks of gas to pay for the new battery and I've probably gone 1 1/2 tanks of gas already.
• The guys at AutoZone installed my new battery and hauled the old one away. No grease on my fingers!
• The new battery is warrantied for 8 years.  If it lasts that long, Little Blue will be 14 years old and I'll be 40 (whoa! wait, is that a silver lining?).

I could use a little silver lining!!! - August 11, 2010

James noticed (a few days ago) that when we turned off Little Blue, that the back light behind the radio still flickered on and off.  We tried turning off the radio before we shut down the engine, but it still flickered.  Hmmm.  Strange.

Last night, we stayed up waaayyy too late doing college prep stuff and downloading software onto the new computer.  Then I was a complete slug this morning (a cute slug says James) and James had to find his own breakfast and pack his own lunch while I slept.  And then I slept in even longer and didn't ride the bike to work. 

Little Blue's battery was dead. 

James has to leave his phone turned off in his locker at work, so I couldn't call James to rescue me.  We let our AAA membership lapse, so I couldn't call a tow truck for a free jump.  Who do I know that might be home at 8:30 in the morning?  Not our home teachers. 

But our friends Chris and Diana might be home!  I called Chris and he was not home, he was at the airport with another brother from the ward.  And they came, with jumper cables, and jump started my car and my day.  And removed the spark plug that feeds the radio.  Hopefully, I will be able to get home again.

Silver Linings:

• James thinks I'm a "cute" slug.
• While I waited for my rescuers, I got the dishwasher emptied, the washer filled and had time to eat some breakfast.
• Nice friends and neighbors who rescued me. 
• The car started again and I was able to drive to work today.
• While I made my commute to work last as long as possible (to recharge the battery), I went to the post office and got another small part-time-job project completed. 
• Not only can I go get my battery tested, I can also go get the tires rotated - multi-tasking! 
• Another reason to ride to work in the morning - the bike has yet to break down on me (knock-on-wood!)

Our Idaho Weekend - August 6-8, 2010

This weekend we went to Idaho for a special reason.  McKayla got baptised!  We have a picture with her in her beautiful dress, but it is in Kim's camera - I hope she blogs some!!!! HINT HINT!!!! Lucky me - she blogged - click here. 

These were taken at Sierra Trading Post.  After dinner we went out to buy a netbook sleeve for James' new computer and McKayla came along for the ride.  Can you see why she's one of my favorite shopping buddies!?!

James and I stayed at the old farmhouse behind the dental office.  The same house we lived in as brand-newly-weds.  But the house is a bit more active now - Christy, Tyler and Jake.  (Thanks Kurt and Carlee for a place to sleep and breakfasts!)

We got to visit the Dotys - Emma and Aspen showed me their scrapbooks (I'm impressed Kristen!  And thanks for optimising our new computer Clay.)

Aspen let me curl her hair for church - doesn't she look so grown up!?

And Emma has such a beautiful smile!

I'm just glad they let me take their picture!

We also visited Chickadee Bead Art and the Simpsons.  I had a birthday gift certificate for a watch (THANK YOU Jed & Maria!!!) and it was so fun to design my own.  I got to choose everything from the watch face to the beads to the spacers.  I didn't think I'd like the bigger beads, but when I was done, that is all I used!  Stella helped me string the beads and Jed fed us lunch while Maria made strawberry pie (again!) for Tucker's birthday.  I'm sad we didn't get to stay for pie and presents, but it was a fun visit.

When it was time to go, I offered to adopt McKayla.  She refused - said she needed to go to school on Wednesday.  I almost convinced Carter, but he's pretty excited for kindergarten and decided to stay home after all. 

Finally, we just loaded up G and G Price and left all the munchkins behind.  (Thanks for carpooling with us!)

P.S.  Happy Birthday Tucker!! (see Mom's blog for some Tucker pictures)