After taking a few weeks of a break from informing family and friends of my every thought on everything, I needed a bit of a break.
Consequently, a few things were missed. This post will mostly just be a deposit of our visit with my parents and grandparents at the ranch in southern Utah as well as a few notes about my sister in law Lisa and her visit to Salt Lake for the day.
Southern Utah:
This was a visit down to the ranch to actually do some chores for my grandfather and to help out the family to accomplish what needs doing at the ranch. My Grandfather (bless his cotton-pickin' heart) really just wanted us to enjoy some time together. So, it was more fun with family and less hard labor.
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| Packer, Grandma Becky and Great-Grandma Foote -- lots of fun! |
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| I had so much fun sitting and watching my mother and Grandmother put this puzzle partially together. We laughed and laughed. I hadn't done that with my sweet Grandmother very often, and it was a blast (mostly fart jokes). |
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| Both Packer and my Dad enjoyed being outside and looking at everything in the morning light! |
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| Packer, Dad, and Great-Grandpa Foote -- we all had fun working and playing together. |
Alycia and Steven (Jameson's sister and brother-in-law) also drove down to see the beautiful sites and a few of the easy day hikes on my grandfather's land.
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| Jameson didn't tell me there was a snake a few feet away from me slithering it's slimy devil little body through the water. Good move, Jameson. Good move. |
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| Walking into Twin Hollow -- Packer loved the sights. |
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| This is the sheer red cliff and blue sky only to be found in Southern Utah in Fall Canyon. |
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| These two are such photo nerds - so glad they could come. |
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| We found a tidy little spot to leave Packer in Twin Hollow if the going ever gets rough . . . |
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| This was taken at Denny's Wigwam in Kanab. We took a trip in and thoroughly enjoyed this location as well as 3 bears sandwich shop. Super yummy -- totally recommend! |
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| On a log over the north fork of the Virgin River (it is more like a small creek) running through my Grandfather's land. |
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| A small family picture in a small nook in Twin Hollow |
Lisa and Kaleb:
Lisa and Kaleb came the day before we left for Southern Utah. It was pretty fun to see Kaleb and it was the first time that anyone from my brother Chris's family had seen Packer since they live so far away.
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| Lisa and Kabeb in our small kitchen |
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| Cute little cousins having a blast! Packer may have been bowled over a few times, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and he needs to learn to fend for himself! |
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| Lisa and Packer -- it was so much fun to chat with Lisa and she was so good to my little guy! |
Kaleb was a very sweet, very busy little body and Lisa was a wonderful, fun and patient Mom!
Good Book to Read:
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanan -- I really enjoyed this young adult book. It is about a young track star who gets in a traffic accident and looses one of her legs below the knee. Since I have tragically become a runner since I graduated college, it was great motivation for me to get my rear in gear and work harder toward my fitness goals. I also learned a thing or two about running technique from the book. For those who aren't runners, it is also just a wonderfully inspirational (if totally fictional) story that highlights overcoming obstacles without the usual teen drama that accompanies young adult novels.
Good Series to Watch:
Alphas -- this isn't actually my favorite, but Jameson loves this show. It should have all the makings of something I love, but I think I want a little more 'clean' heros. This is a little too nitty gritty for my style. Still a fantastic and well thought out idea that has great acting and a fascinating plot.
