Donut Falls

McKenzie, Kelsee, Diego and I hiked up to Donut Falls. I've never seen the river so high. We couldn't even cross to the other side. Kelsee (who likes to climb into precarious positions--see blog entry below) can be seen at the top of the picture. I finally used my mom voice to get her off the mountain before she fell and crashed to her death.

So instead of climbing up the falls, we threw rocks into the river, ate donuts (of course) and watched Diego pee on the rocks. He was a little intimidated by the whole "hiking" thing (and wanted Kelsee to carry him) but eventually he relaxed and enjoyed chasing rabid chipmunks and splashing in glacier-cold water. Kelsee (who just watched The Happening) was convinced the forest was going to murder us. Mick hid on the path ahead of us trying to convince Diego she'd been eaten by the wild tigers that roam the Wasatch Mountains.

A Visit to Ashley's

The gang invaded Ashley and Brenton's new home in Grantsville to see their new digs. The house is really cute with lots of land--the perfect place to raise a family. Kindra loves having her own room and has a little alcove in her closet where she can sit and read.

Because there was a treehouse, Kelsee had to climb into it. There was no ladder and it wasn't the sturdiest thing, so getting down proved a challenge. (We had the Grantsville volunteer fire department standing by just in case.) I told Mick to put all the kids on her back and scale the tree but she decided not to. I'm sure Ashley and Brenton appreciated Kelsee showing their kids there was a way to get up to the treehouse

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We had pizza and soda in Ashley's new kitchen (we had to pick up the pizza ourselves because Domino's in Grantsville doesn't deliver) and had a tour of the home. Very cute. Very fun.

My strange daughters and crazy grandkids by Ashley's fruit trees.

Happy Early Father's Day

On Sunday, we hopped in our cars and drove to the scenic land of Gunnison, UT to visit dad and to see his new home. Dad, Virginia and Carol treated us to an amazingly huge lunch and then we went lizard hunting. Well, the grandkids went lizard hunting with dad while the "adults" threw boulders in the water to terrify the tadpoles.
We also stopped by the Gunnison Dragon to see first-hand this mythical creature. Someone with way too much time on their hands made a mosaic dragon the whole length of an underpass. When big trucks drove over the bridge, it sounded like a dragon's roar.
Here are the siblings with dad(except for Shelley who was partying in Wendover).

David Sedaris

While working hard at US Speedskating, I was reading People magazine and happened to come across a new book by David Sedaris!! I LOVE him! If you've never read anything by Sedaris, prepare yourself for an always irreverent, sometimes raunchy and freaking HILARIOUS trip through his life.

These personal essay collections are my favorites. "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Jeans" and "Me Talk Pretty One Day" will make you laugh until milk comes out your nose.

His new book, "When You Are Engulfed In Flames" is now at the top of my "need-to-read" list.

Happy Birthday, Dad!!

For dad's birthday, we all converged on Jenny's house for pizza, cake and ice cream. Dad and Virginia (shown here with Laya) took a break from their home renovation in Gunnison (that included a massive, raging bonfire) to celebrate his birthday with us.

Happy 61, Dad! We love you.

Senior Citizen Discount

Tom turned 55 (yes, 55 or fifty-five or LV in Roman numerals) on May 29. We celebrated by going to the Salt Lake Bees game where the team came from behind to win 7-4. Fun game. Fun times. Greasy food. They had Tom's name on the Jumbo-tron and announced his birthday to everyone in the general vicinity.
This is a picture of Tom and Rick Devenney. They've been friends since the second grade during the Civil War. LY