A lot of rain, hot temperatures, 2 able bodies (for 7 hours) and 3 more able bodies for the rest of the time, equalling 8 straight hours of weeding...and what do we get......
...a garden that looks like we have a real "gardener"!
(you know, the kind that you hire to keep your yard looking in tip top condition all of the time?...No we don't have one of those, but for just a minute it looked like we might!)
I should have taken pictures before we weeded so that you could appreciate how it looks now. Honestly, there was no telling where the plants were and where the weeds were, it looked like one solid weed patch. Over by the fire pit/picnic area was completely covered with weeds. The kids thought that we had sent them to a prison camp when I told them we were weeding for Family Home Evening....(you see no one who abides so strictly by the laws should be punished in such a harsh way, that's child abuse...don't you know) Halle and I had spent the day outside weeding and there was still more to do, so Family Home Evening sounded like a great time to get it finished up. After it was all done and the weeds were banished and disposed of, we took advantage of being able to see the fire pit again and we roasted marshmellows and made S'mores for refreshments. All in all, the kids didn't complain TOO much. I will have to say~ that they were troopers and tried to put a smile on and dig right in... but I would be lying if I said that they were thrilled and excited and loved pulling all of those weeds...BUT the end results made the journey well worth it....at least it did for me!!!!
ach anniversary a big deal as well?! In the past, we've gone on a cruise, we've gone to Seattle, we've gone to Hawaii, we've gone up north, down south, we've gone to Yellowstone...we've been many fun places. Every time we go somewhere I think to my
self that "this was the best". This year was no different. We didn't go anywhere big, 
oo far away, we didn't spend alot of money or even have to pack...but our anniversary was just as
much fun as it ever has been! I think I just love spending the day with my wonderful hubby doing whatever, and having him all to myself. We took the day and drove down through Crouse Canyon, through Brown's Park, over to Jarvie's Ranch and then over to Flaming Gorge and back onto to Vernal. We took the scenic route on the way down and went through Crouse Canyon. It was mostly a dirt road and a little narrow in some places, but so
safer if I just walked across it...WRONG..I started out across and looked down between the slabs of wood (there was about 3-4 inches in between each slab) and you could see the Green River below...quite a ways down there, the bridge rocked a little with the wind...at about t
hat time I ever so carefully walked back to the truck and opted to ride...at least I would get to the other side quicker. It was pretty tense and got our hearts pounding...but we lived through it and we're here to tell about it. Next we drove down to Jarvie's Ranch. (In 1880 John Jarvie built a ranch along with some stores where he offered store bought goods to those who lived or traveled in this part of the country. He built a ferry that took the wagons from one side of the Green River to the other.) They still have some of the original buildings there and some of the historic things from that time period. It was a nice little place with alot of history. I suggest if you plan on going there, to look up the history part of it first so that it will have some meaning. Deron did and was able to tell me the stories be
hind the ranch, so it made it more interesting. We then drove on over to Dutch John and down to Vernal where we stopped and had dinner at Canton City. We both love Chinese food and Canton City has some of the best around. Deron went on his mission to Taiwan and said that alot of the food is very authentic there. 
e tired, but we both had such a great day together. We could have done anything, anywhere and still had just as much fun. We just talked and laughed and talked and laughed and took pictures and drove and I couldn't have asked for a better anniversary! Twenty Two years is a long time, its longer than I was ever single. BUT its been the best 22 years of my life. 
ires, a broken pump and a dead battery. By the end of the week it was almost like new. They 
loaded up 
, loaded pop bottles and logs. I love the picture that Deron took of the pop bottle full of rootbeer being blown to pieces....it was pretty cool. They had an awesome time just hanging out with each other and doing fun "guy" things. Our neighbor and one of his sons came up and spent the last night 
with them. They love camping and shooting as well, and joined right in on the fun. Cameron and Deron both came home beat and dirty, but full of lots of great stories of the fun experiences that they had together. Deron is an amazing dad and loves to spend time with his kids...I hope they realize how lucky they are to have him in their lives because he is a wonderful dad!
a tad bit behind schedule. We haven't been able to take the kids on a "BIG" vacation this year (this is probably the biggest its going to get this yea
r) so we wanted to make the most of our day there. Deron has been trying to get Halle to go on "The Wicked" for several years. Its his very favorite ride there. Halle is a bit of a chicken and doesn't like too many rides at Lagoon. We were sure if she would just try some of them out, she would change her mind and really love them (they are so much worse to watch than to really experience them) and want to go on them over and over. Finally Halle made a deal with her dad. If she went on The Wicked, he had to go on any ride with her that she wanted him to go on...the deal was then made and they shook hands on it. The closer we got to Lagoon the more Halle was trying to get out of the deal, she begged and pleaded but we decided that we also needed to teach her that once you said you would do something, that it was your word
and you needed to follow through. We all went down and got in line, Halle too (not without her letting us all know that she was not going to go through with it). She continued through the line and we all tried to convince her that it looked so much worse than it was and to just have a good time. Finally we were on the ride, buckled in and ready to take off. Halle started to cry and said she was scared...and that's pretty much what happened before the car took off and went up the hill and down and then around and around and pretty soon it was all over. She was crying and screaming the entire time. When our car finally came to a
stop the girl in front of us turned around and asked Halle if she was okay, which she said that she was. Then she told me how embarrassed she was for crying and wanted to go on it again....Moral of the story- "stick to your guns!" We ended up not going on it again because the line had become really long and we had many more rides that we all wanted to go on. Kim and Cameron took off on their own for a good part of the day, and Deron and I hung out with Halle. Everyone but me (I'm not a water person, when it comes to rides...I like to stay dry and warm vs. wet and cold) rode down the Rattle Snake Rapids and got wet, then we went over to the Pioneer Village for a scoop of ice cream fro
m their little ice cream shop. We all had alot of fun. This year they had a "Monkey Show" at the park that everyone could go and watch. It wasn't as exciting as we thought that it might be, but it was interesting to see baboons out of their cages and experience their personalities. Some of them had been in different TV commercials and some movies. The trainers did some role playing
with them and showed us some neat things that they could do. They are really welled trained and it was fun to watch. By the end of the day we were beat and exhausted and ready to come home. I think back on the years when all of our kids were young and came with us to Lagoon, those were good time too. It won't be long and we won't have any kids left at home to take. So I guess we'll just take in all of the time that we can with our kids, do all that we can with them, and make the most of the memories that we have made! Isn't that what life is about anyway...making memories?!
