Richard's Birthday at Echo

August 27, 2011: While Sandy and April were in town, we spent some time at Echo Reservoir playing in the sun like we did when we were kids. As children, we spent hours in the water and sun and it was really fun to do it again.

Three of my cousins joined us at the lake for Richard's birthday and it was really nice to see them. (I didn't get pictures of Debi and Rachelle, which is kind of sad, really).

In the afternoon, we pulled out the boat and the water-weenie and took the kids for a ride. It was a hot summer day so we all took time to swim in the lake. My brother's boat doesn't have a ladder off the back and I didn't realize this before I jumped in. After jumping in and swimming around for a while, getting back into the boat was rather entertaining for me and anybody who was there. April told me the way to get back up was to "Shamu it" onto the deck, which was level with the water. Shamu it? LOL! You know when you laugh so hard and you get weak? That was me. After that, I stayed in the boat.

Here are some pictures of the kids and Lori's son, Chris, on the water weenie:








After some time around the lake, we made our way to the cliffs. I would have jumped, but then I thought about the Shamu moment and decided to just take the pictures:




As we finished out the day, one side of the sky was filled with clouds and lightening (in the distance) while the setting sun lit it up in the most beautiful way.

All in all, it was one of the most amazing summer days: my sisters, my brother, my niece and nephews, cousins, and The Lake. Perfect!
Happy Birthday, Richard!

On The Road Again

My dad and I took another little trip to Southern Utah on Sunday (2/22/09) to return Bruno and Beanie to Sandy and April.
We began our journey a little earlier than Sandy and April did, so we had a couple of hours to find something to do. We found that "something" between Fillmore and Beaver (which sounds so bad when you say that out loud).

We stopped in Fillmore to see the original state capital, which looked nothing like a capital at all.
Later on the journey, we decided to stop in Cove Fort. I've seen the sign many times on I-15 (going mach 90) and I always think: "I'll have to go there one day, to see what's there." This was that day.

One of many discoveries was that it is owned and run by the LDS church. Where have I been????
So when we pulled up that morning, we were greeted by missionary couples, who gave us the tour. It was a really neat place to see and the stories were amazing. I have to say that I'm really glad we stopped.
It is definitely worth the stop - but plan on an hour or two when you go.
Here are a few of my pictures:




Click here for the rest of my pictures on flickr. I tried to remember the stories behind some of the items and I've done that on flickr.
Another site for Cove Fort.

We arrived in Mesquite about 30 minutes ahead of Sandy, April and Elida. We had a quick dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then it was back to Utah for us and LA for them. Of course, they had the dogs in tow. We are pleased to announce that there were no major setbacks this time around. (aside from Sandy's car not starting in LA so she had to call AAA.)