More Marionettes

Last year we saw the Fratello Marionettes at our library and it was the coolest thing. Thanks to my good friend who saw the dates for this year, we were able to catch it again & enjoy it with them.
Instead of longer stories, this year they did a bunch of small acts.
This heavily made up opera singer was funny; the higher the notes, the more her bust would shoot out and her accordion skirt would ascend higher and higher until she was almost as tall as the puppeteer.
This next pic was from an act where two penguins were teeter-tottering back and forth and doing flips. Then the really fat penguin walked out and the laughs were hilarious!!! Because we all knew that this would bring trouble. What a joy to hear all those kids perceiving the humor and being fascinated with it all. I love it!

Summer's Here!

I guess it's high time I post an update. As of the last post, school got out that following week, so we have had a busy June so far. Scott and I celebrated our 15 YEAR ANNIVERSARY (!) on June 1st so we celebrated the last days of school with a quick staycay here in town. Soon after, we only had a few days of busy things before heading out of town for a fun family trip.
The youth of our ward was attending the Manti pageant and had room for our family so we tagged along and capped the days before and after with fun.
First off, hours prior to departure, was Sadie's doc apt for her cast (and pins) removal. All healed well and she was so happy to have it off. I took some gnarly pics of what it looked like but I'll spare you that stomach churn.

First stop was the family cabin in Duck Creek, near Brianhead. We spent the night here and left the next morning for Goblin Valley. This place is in the middle of nowhere, and kind of out of the way, but worth the trip. My parents brought us here when we were kids so it was really fun to have ours at the right age to experience themselves.

If you are reading this and haven't seen Galaxy Quest, then you must satisfy this deficiency. It is so funny. At one point they visit a planet and Goblin Valley was the location they filmed it.
"We'd better get out of here before one of those things kills Guy!"
The kids climbed all over. Can you see them? Where's Waldo?




From GValley we drove up to Manti and joined our ward. Such a beautiful evening FULL OF FREAKING MOSQUITOES. Blech. I hate them. I had twelve bites before the night was through. Yes, even with repellent. PRO- it was fun to have the kids see this. CON- if you've seen it before, you never have to see it again. It's identical to what is preserved in your memory so save yourself an evening. :) But we enjoyed it.

Our sleeping situation was pretty awful but we survived (I'll spare you that story) and were ready after breakfast the next day to head to Powell and meet my parents on the houseboat! Woot!
The temps were nice but the water still cold. But what is temperature to kids? They swim in the ocean in the spring so this was no issue.

On Sunday, the temperatures were cooler with some breeze, perfect for my Dads suggestion to go visit Horseshoe Point. What an awesome sight!! I can't believe we hadn't done this before and we'll definitely be back. Amazing! (though nerve wracking with little kids- the drop off is right there)


The next day we took out the speed boat and explored some beaches. Scott got in some surfing and our last stop was this amazing sand dune.

This dune is special, people. We visited Powell many summers in my youth, most of which included trips with our special Larsen cousins. We discovered this dune and had so much fun running up and down. With all the water loss, this has been out of reach for many years. We thought we'd check it out again to see if, perhaps with all the water level increase, it may be accessible again. IT WAS!
White & pristine and waiting for us...it looks easy, yes?

It's NOT. But why climb? Because it's there (...and/or because of the potato chips, oreos and milk duds). All of us made it except Mom (the smart one who stayed in the shady boat).

Running down is the best part anyway. See? the boat is small! We supa-high.

It was a fun few days. Our kids are a blast at this age and I'm loving it. Now we're preparing for another 4th in Provo and are looking forward to all the family events!

My First Century!

I did it! I made a goal this year to ride 100 miles on my bike, a distance that I have not yet tried, and signed up for a ride called Little Red in Logan, UT.
I'd heard of this ride a few years ago but haven't ever been interested because really, who wants to ride a bike all day long? Not me until this year. And I admit that as I trained I wondered why I even set this goal. Being on a bike longer than two hours is hard for me because there are SOOOO many other things I would rather be/could be doing with that time! But I kept reminding myself that some goals take sacrifices so I stuck with it.
Since I was nervous about taking this on, I didn't recruit any friends too heavily and planned on doing it alone. My aunt was participating with her pals, but that was all I knew of until Scott and I were at dinner with some old St. Louis friends of ours (who now live in Vegas) and she was signed up! So I met her Saturday morning and joined her group.
It was a little cold when we started but the day was beautiful so it warmed up nicely.
Since it was a loooong ride, I did not tote my camera so all these pics are from my iphone. Consider them incognito shots from behind enemy lines!
It was gorgeous, flat green farmland everywhere with big blue skies. Lervely!

Here's my friend, Steph. I managed to get a shot of her and forgot to get one of me. Nice. What else is new.

This is one of the earlier feed zones. This event knows how to set you up! Every station was loaded with a great selection of fruit, drinks + supplement powders, sunblock, snacks, etc. The best offering I have yet seen at a cycling event.

More view shots... I took this while riding over my shoulder. Tricksy, eh! That's my red vested back.

This was a beautiful home of some importance because I saw the informative historical display nearby but was not interested enough to walk over and educate myself. Ha! I just thought it looked like Mr. Darcy would come around the corner....in that open white shirt and knee high boots.... Oh... I must need some sugar.

More pretty views...

The ride over all was so much easier than I had anticipated. I did some long training rides at home that were hard and only 60 miles max. I thought for sure I would be suffering so I prepared for the worst. Perhaps that mentality is what saved me some? That or the super flat course. :) Hardly any hills to speak of. I felt so great the last ten miles, I could have ridden 30 more (maybe that was the Motrin talking, though). I know there are MUCH harder century rides out there so this might not actually count to the competitive rider, but for me, I am happy.
Thanks to my family and friends that texted and checked in during the weekend, and most importantly my husband who took over so I could do this! XO!