Summer fun with Andrea

                                       A nice summer dinner with Andrea home.

                              Andrea left balloons and surprise notes for Dave on his birthday!  #64 :)

Maryland Reunion 2018: Deep Creek and the Homestead July 22-29

 Our reunion started at our house in Maryland.  Kara, Luke, and their children drove from New York, Erika and Tyler flew from Boise, James and Tammy and three children flew from Seattle, Dan and Meg and Claire live nearby, Julia and Matt live nearby in Virginia, and Andrea was just home from her mission to Canad.

                                    Cousins got to know each other: Audrey, Alek, and Claire
                            Here we are just after church.

         We stayed in a great cabin with everyone in Deep Creek.  We rotated which families cooked each night.   We all played games together in the evening. One day we were on the beach together and rented canoes.  One morning the girls and kids made jewelry while the guys went golfing.  On our last day, we luckily secured a boat to go tubing for a half day. 

 When we got back Julia had coordinated a shower for Erika and Meg, who were both expecting in September.  Julia made decorations, games, and dessert, and we had a fun girls party for them.  We also tied a quilt for each of them that night.

 We all attended an Orioles game together!

                               

      It was great for Dave and I to have the whole family together for these special memories!

Andrea is home from her mission!

She was officially released by the stake president for her excellent service on June 27.  

She had such a happy glow!

 Here is a fun picture of Andrea's group, or district. Little did she realize that she would marry one of these elders!

Kitchen refresh

I'm so excited about the improvements we recently made to the kitchen and nearby rooms.   We got new quart countertops, handmade tile backsplash, painted cabinets, walls, and ceilings.

Here's an example of the before :

and after!

We also had the adjoining family room and sunroom painted in a soft white as well.  The house feels so much younger and fresher.  Our house has protected us for 26 years, so it seemed well-deserved to show it our appreciation. :)

Andrea's Mission

Andrea is loving her 18-month mission in Canada.  This picture exemplifies her exuberant spirit and love of teaching people about God.  She has been a light to people around her, and to us!

Rose Ball 2018

 We often attend the annual Rose Ball, a free gala put on by our stake.  They really decked out our church's gymnasium with the 'Under the Sea' theme. My dance partner got lots of compliments on his cool dance moves.  Lucky for him he had just attended a meeting for teenage boys who were taught hiphop by a young man in their group. So, he's had way more practice than I have!

Bus trip to Philly

 Dave and I took a bus with several members of our church to visit the new temple in Philadelphia.

 It's about 2 1/2 hours from us.  It was very beautiful inside, and nice weather for our excursion

St. George in the Spring

In late April I flew into Las Vegas and took a 2-hour shuttle to St. George to see my mom and her husband, Craig.

                                            We took one day to enjoy the St. George temple.

 My brother Vic helped my Mom make this awesome glass mosaic that hangs in their living room.   The story is from the Book of Mormon, an ancient American history written on gold plates.

                             Easter morning.  My Mom looks fabulous sporting the necklace I made for her!

 My cousin Nikki (Monte and Violet's daughter) had a booth at the cool art fair held in town.  She does interesting stained glass pieces with antique and vintage bottles, plates,  and bowls. She came down from Logan to show at this event.

               

Pipe Springs, Arizona

On my visit to St. George to visit my Mom and Craig, my brother Vic coincided his vacation and we saw some sites together.  One interesting day trip was to Pipe Spring, Arizona.

 The tiny town was  along the "honeymoon trail" where travelers occasionally stopped in pioneer  days on their journey between Mexico and St. George, Utah.

A fort was built by the Mormon settlers with the help of Paiute Native Americans.  A national monument includes a museum and tour of the fort and grounds where you can learn about the two cultures that lived here a hundred years ago

Where were the springs?  The fort was strategically built over them! At the time water came out at 55 gallons a minute, and was very important to desert life here.

Zions National Park

My brother Vic met me on my trip to St. George, Utah, where my Mom and Craig live. Vic does a lot of hiking.  He helped us select the most appropriate hikes in Zions.  You park at the entrance and then shuttle to different stops where trails begin.

 Here people were enjoying the "beach"--a sandy area near the stream.  This is where we ended, and serious hikers begin--walking in the stream as the canyon walls become narrow.

    Water was coming from the rocks all over!

Spectacular views everywhere!

 Due to rain the day before, there were some amazing waterfalls that are not usually there! The rainwater seeps into the porous sandstone.  Then when it reaches a layer of denser rock, the water is forced out.

 We were able to walk under this waterfall, and catch it from several sides.

These canyon walls are huge.  It's difficult to capture their true size, but you can see a person on a trail on the left of the water to provide size reference.

 We hiked about 5 miles of trails.  I was proud of us!

                                             I'm in at least one picture to prove I was there!  (I was enjoying my handmade Ute earrings that day.)  It was a gorgeous day to enjoy the beautiful red rock country with family.

90th Birthday

 Dave's mother turned 90.  We flew to Cincinnati to celebrate with his siblings and some of their families.

 We had a fun dinner at an Italian restaurant for 26 family members.  It was great to get together, and enjoy this milestone with her.