For fall break we went out to the sand dunes at the Little Sahara. It was a beautiful day, perfect for a little playing in the sand! I'd never been there before and was stunned by the wonderful dunes everywhere and the number of people who, like us, had driven for an hour or two through the Utah desert to have a little fun on some four-wheelers! We had a blast!

Happy 50th Anniversary Gordon and Golda!!!

Last night we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Rand's parents. It was beautiful. They are incredible people with such a wonderful love for each other. I am so blessed to have such great inlaws! They are such an example to me!

This is Gordon and Golda with their 4 handsome sons: Randon, Gordon, Jason and David.

We had the party for them in their gorgeous yard. It's amazing! We had good food and I had made a tribute video that people seemed to really enjoy. It was fun!

After all the guests had left we even had a cake that they fed to each other, just like on their wedding. What a cute couple!

Salem Days!!! Best days of the year!

We love Salem Days! It sure makes us appreciate living in a small town. Tad played in the mud volleyball tournament-didn't win it all this year, but had a lot of fun and got good and muddy!

We were in charge of the duct tape regatta again this year and despite the E-Coli fear that came out in the newspapers the very day...we had a wonderful time. Cameron and Tad built pontoon-type waterskis that Cameron entered into the freestyle category and won! No one, not even him, thought that he'd be able to make them work, but they sure proved everyone wrong and were the hit of the night!

We also absolutely loved the parade...tons of candy, a few old tractors, several beauty queen floats...all done in less than an hour. Olson's Greenhouse even gave large free flowering plants out to everyone. It just doesn't get any better than that!

We ran in the Salem Fun run and everyone did great. Mom even won 1st place in her category! Boy it pays to be in the "old lady" category! The kids think the best part if the free chuckwagon breakfast that they get to have afterward! Our favorite part ofthe week has to be the program and fireworks in the park on Saturday night! It was amazing! It sure makes us proud to be Salemites!

Hiking the Narrows!

We took the family to St. George where we stayed in Dave and Chrys 'incredible' house for a few days. We have a high school friend who works for Zion's National Park and so we hooked up with them for some mountain biking, sightseeing, temple visiting, Tuachaun attending, and hiking. On Pioneer Day we hiked the narrows that started in Orderville Canyon and then joined up with the Zion's Narrows. It was incredible! The canyon was beautiful, of course, and we had plenty of interesting obstacles to maneuver over, around, down, or through. There were a couple repelling spots and one place where we had to jump off a rock outcropping into the water and swim! After being in the St. George heat for a few days, we were loving the cool canyon climate. When the thunder and rain started we decided we'd better not waste any time getting out of the canyon, but weren't particularly worried about things. However, when we got back into the park there was a sign posted indicating that flash floods were 'emmiment' and that the canyons were now closed for hikers! Yikes! It's a good thing we prayed for safety before we left! (I guess there were three hikers that were not so lucky and ended up being swept down river and off a fall, landing them in the hospital in critical condition. They were in a different canyon than we were but still in Zion's Park) We had a great time, but it sure felt nice to rest afterward!

Costa Rica Trip with PHS students

OK, I know that some of my travels seem kind of "fishy", but someone has to chaperon these students on these international trips......so why not me. I actually gave up my spot to someone else, but then one of the other original leaders got engaged and the wedding date was the day we came home, so I was back in the picture.
I wish I could say that we did some humanitarian work like we did at the children's hospital in Mexico, but actually this trip was just for playing. We rode horses, did a zip line tour in the rain forest, we went to the beach, we did white water rafting, saw two volcano's (one that erupted at night when we were there), went kayaking, and went to more tourist shops than you could shake a stick at.
The kids were all well behaved and made the trip that much more enjoyable. My Spanish is still a wild concoction of Portuguese and Spanish, but hey, I can get where I want to go and ask for what I need and talk people down in price on things! I am set.
I was able to hook up with some friends of ours that live in San Jose and I went out to dinner with them and got caught up on old times. I had a fantastic trip and have realized that after two trips to Costa Rica, it is probably farewell forever!
My buddy here at PHS has already begun to plan our next trip in two years.........Madrid! and on this one we have vowed not to go alone, our wives deserve to go with us this time.

Dad's Alaska Conference

The last week of April I was able to attend a Career and Technology teachers conference in Anchorage, Alaska! Wow what a fun place. I have got to get back there when I have my wife with me and when it is greener and when things are operating for tourists. But I was able to see a bit and get in a bike ride and buy a cycling jersey, so it still has to be considered a good trip!

Happy Easter!!!

We had such a fun Easter Weekend! The married kids came over on Saturday for lunch and an Easter Egg hunt. Rand had teased me all week saying that the kids were too old to go hunting for Easter eggs, but I decided I would have to make the big kids do the hunt until they give me some grandkids! Well, Rand was wrong. We never would have predicted how much they would have gotten into it! It was a blast. They were out for blood. It was serious egg-hunting! They didn't even know that we'd hidden some 'big-kid' prizes and a puzzle hunt among the eggs! Tons of fun!

We also watched conference together and designed a few 'interesting' eggs. It's sure nice having the kids close enough that we can get together often. With it being conference weekend and Brady's birthday, we really had reason to celebrate! What a wonderful conference! It was great to be taught by our leaders and feel the wonderful spirit they share!