last half of summer (in pictures)

I go back to school next week, and you know what that means... summer is quickly drawing to a close.  here's what we've been up to:

fourth of july barbeque + scout samuel.

"potato war" at science in the rockies (a study of force and motion).

aquarium with my nieces.

24th of July at the Joneses.

amazing 2 weeks at Hebgen.

birthday bash for Hilary's lucky #25.

happy summer!  and happy back to school...

being home is nice.

How agreeable it is not to be touring Italy this summer,
wandering her cities and ascending her torrid hilltowns.
How much better to cruise these local, familiar streets,
fully grasping the meaning of every roadsign and billboard
and all the sudden hand gestures of my compatriots.

There are no abbeys here, no crumbling frescoes or famous
domes and there is no need to memorize a succession
of kings or tour the dripping corners of a dungeon.
No need to stand around a sarcophagus, see Napoleon's
little bed on Elba, or view the bones of a saint under glass.

How much better to command the simple precinct of home
than be dwarfed by pillar, arch, and basilica.
Why hide my head in phrase books and wrinkled maps?
Why feed scenery into a hungry, one-eyes camera
eager to eat the world one monument at a time?

Instead of slouching in a café ignorant of the word for ice,
I will head down to the coffee shop and the waitress
known as Dot. I will slide into the flow of the morning
paper, all language barriers down,
rivers of idiom running freely, eggs over easy on the way.

And after breakfast, I will not have to find someone
willing to photograph me with my arm around the owner.
I will not puzzle over the bill or record in a journal
what I had to eat and how the sun came in the window.
It is enough to climb back into the car

as if it were the great car of English itself
and sounding my loud vernacular horn, speed off
down a road that will never lead to Rome, not even Bologna.

Consolation
by Billy Collins

making me happy monday

• garden growing
• the washing machine is fixed
• thinking about books
• less than a week until Hebgen
• 25 plastic folders on sale for cheap
• HP 7.2 
• smoothies
• nutella

national park road trip

Samuel had the week off work, so we put our parks pass to good use by touring all five national parks in Utah: Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Arches.  It was gorgeous!  And, aside from the 107 degrees in St. George, it was excellent weather for camping, hiking, and driving scenic byways.  A truly excellent vacation; I'm looking forward to a return trip.

a quick stop in fillmore

our first campsite

Zion

Samuel eating my apple core

Bryce Canyon

Hoodoos

my favorite-- scenic byway 12

Capitol Reef

dead horse point

upheaval dome

Arches

resting after hiking to delicate arch

Utah!

dear old dad

my dad is a wonderful person.  hard working, intelligent, loving, and wise-- he is a prime example of fatherhood and priesthood.  I appreciate the connections we have through music, the way he adores my mother, and his unwavering support for me.  I love his sense of humor, his practicality, and his determination.  I love the way he persists at his goals, and constantly tries new ways to become a better person.  he is a teacher, a "pop", a musician, a friend, and a leader.  I love you dad!  happy father's day.

if there were ever a time to win something, it would be now.

Do you ever enter those giveaways that bloggers periodically do?  On occasion, I'll enter when it looks cool, or when I'm trying to support local businesses.  But today while checking up on one of my favorite blogs, I found this.  I don't think I've ever wanted to win something so badly!  You should enter, and then take me with you if you win.

cheers.

first rites of summer

well folks, we made it.

the last two weeks of school were busy busy: alice in wonderland celebration, spelling bee, talent show, astronomy field trip, finishing, cleaning.  oh how I love those kids.  we went up for a quick stint at the cabin, which was wonderful as usual.

school was officially out on June third, and boy, does it feel great.  I spent all morning gardening yesterday,  and all afternoon cleaning my house.  samuel is a champ and did all of the things I don't like to do like mop and trim the rosebush and scrub the toilet.  tonight we made hamburgers and corn on the cob, and went for a walk before it got too dark.  summertime is here!  (and it feels especially worthwhile when you've got tomatoes, peppers and geraniums planted, a clean and peaceful house, and great things on the calendar).

happy june.