BUSY, BUSY IN THIS MONTH OF JUNE

June - where did you go? We were so busy, it seemed to just fly by. 

Jaron and his sushi

At the first of the month, we took Jaron out to dinner to celebrate his graduation. Jaron wanted sushi so we went to Fuji Steakhouse - a Japanese restaurant where they cook your meal in front of you on an hibachi grill. They also serve sushi. Jaron ordered an appetizer of sushi and then we all had a chicken hibachi dinner complete with fried rice and vegetables. It's good food and a fun place to eat. We had a chance to talk with Jaron about his plans now that he's graduated from high school. He says it's a little scary now that his life isn't mandated by school. He's not sure if he wants to go on to college just yet but would like to do something to help people. He's looking into teaching English in a foreign country. There is an outfit in Orem that sends high school graduates to different countries to work with the children of those countries like India, China or the Ukraine. He is putting in his application to do this and is excited about the possibilities of doing good and traveling at the same time. 

Also at the first of the month, I met Janet Harman for lunch in Provo to celebrate my birthday...a little late but still good to get together. She's a dear friend and I love the times we spend together visiting. In the middle of the month, I met Sandra and Misty Verbino for lunch at Cafe Galleria in Midway. We hadn't seen or heard from Sandra in several weeks so I wanted to check in on her and see how things were going with her and Misty. She says she has been keeping busy but that her dream for starting a new business is on hold for a while. She is in our prayer continually.

Picture taken of Steamboat Spring
from the top of a nearby ski mountain

Deon and Gary came to town on the 15th so we could take a little get away trip together. They wanted to be in Utah on the 24th for the birth of a grandson (Garrett and Kristen's) so we decided they would come a little early and we'd drive to Steamboat Springs, Colorado for a four day vacation. There was a World Mark resort there and we were able to book a newly remodeled unit. We took off Sunday (Father's Day) after church and drove the 5 hours to get there. Steamboat Springs is in a beautiful mountain location complete with hots springs and ski runs. Because of all the moisture this spring, everything was lush and green. Sunday evening we cooked a tri tip dinner which is always good. That evening we just relaxed watching a movie and popping some popcorn.

The next day, after exploring the quaint downtown area of Steamboat Springs and walking along the river close by, we decided to drive to Fish Creek Falls, a must see in Steamboat. To see the falls required a walk downhill for about a half a mile. The walk down was easy and the falls were beautiful but the walk back up to the car was a little difficult for us old people, except for Paul who seems to never get winded. 

Just a preview of the
actual falls (ha ha).

The Fish Creek Falls
So much water

On our walk through town, we discovered Fuzzywigs - a typical tourist town
candy and ice cream shop. We went back after lunch for an
ice cream cone.  It was so good we had to have one everyday.

The next day was raining most of the day. We decided to spend the afternoon at the movies. We saw Pets 2 which was surprisingly entertaining. Afterwards, we thought we'd brave the hot tub at the resort as it had stopped raining for a bit. We enjoyed relaxing there until we saw lightning and heard thunder close by. Knowing it wouldn't be safe to be in the hot tub during a lightning storm, we got out and quickly made our way back to the condo. That night, we ate dinner at a local Mexican restaurant and then settled in for another movie in our unit.

Strawberry Hot Springs

We woke to beautiful sunshine on Wednesday and decided to to the two other things we were planning to do in Steamboat - take a dip in a natural hot springs and ride the ski lift to the top of the mountain. We drove the half hour to Strawberry hot springs and enjoyed soaking in the warm water there. This hot springs is in a natural setting, not just in a warm pool as to many other hot springs are. We spent a couple of hours there before going home for lunch.

One of the many places the hot water comes into the area

The chair lift

That afternoon, we found where we could jump on a chair lift that would take us to the top of the local ski mountain. It was a bit of a scary ride up, dangling high above the ground, but absolutely beautiful when we got to the top and could look out over the green valley below. On the ride back down, we realized we could put down a safety bar to help us feel more secure than we had felt on the ride up. 

Having fun together, especially now that the safety bar is there for us to hold on to.

 

The view as we were coming back down

At the bottom of the ski lift where there were many fun activities for families to do.

On our last day in Steamboat Springs, we had to buy a chocolate covered twinkie and ding dong, along with our last ice cream cone. Little did we know that the chocolate covered cakes were $24.00 a pound, priced like all of their dipped chocolates. We figured they ended up being about $6 a piece....pretty pricey for a Hostess treat...but delicious

Thursday was check out day and the 5 hours drive home to Heber. We topped our mini vacation off with a delicious steak dinner at the Hideout Steakhouse in Heber to celebrate Paul's birthday.

Funny incident - Gary spilled his drink all over himself
at the beginning of dinner. He was a little uncomfortable
sitting in sticky wetness while we ate. He was a good
sport about it though.

Enjoying our conversation and our time together

The owner and other employees singing happy birthday to Paul

A special birthday treat for the birthday boy which he shared with all of us
YUMMY!!!

That Sunday, we invited our grandson, Taylor, and Deon and Gary's grandson, Kyle, up for Sunday dinner. I served Marsala chicken with all the trimmings including breadsticks. I made 20 breadsticks and Taylor and Kyle downed at least 12 between the two of them. Obviously, they are starving young adults. It was fun to visit with Taylor and catch up on what he has been doing. He is working for Green Lawn, spraying lawns with fertilizer and pesticides. We worry about him a lot, especially now that he has purchased a motorcycle. Of course, he rode it up to Heber to show it off to us. We advised him to be extra careful going down the Provo canyon as we have seen a few motorcycle accidents along that road. Gratefully he made it home safely.

All decked out in his motorcycle garb

Harvey Fuller was born early evening on the 24th with mother and baby doing wonderfully. Deon and Gary were glad that had made the effort to be here so they could hold their new grandson shortly after he was born. They came back to our home for dinner that night and then left the next morning. They needed to get home because they were flying back to Utah the next Monday to help with the Fuller boys so Garret could get some work done.

Welcome to the world Harvey - only a few minutes old

On Wednesday, the 26th, we had the privilege of attending the premier of Mitch Davis's new movie, 'The Other Side of Heaven - Fire of Faith.' We arrived around 6 in the evening and were given tickets to a light buffet with fruit, vegetables and a croissant sandwich. After hanging around there for a while, we were allowed into the theater. There we were entertained by the One Voice children's choir and some Tongan dancers. Mitch spoke for a minute to thank those who had been instrumental in helping this movie come about. We then watched his movie which was incredible. We cried, we laughed, and we went away having learned a powerful message of service and faith. We were so glad we could share this special evening with Mitch and Michelle.

Mitch Davis, the writer and director of the movie....
and our one time neighbor.

The Grobergs, of whom the movie was about

The last thing of this month was a presentation by Paul for the 5th Sunday meeting at church. He had met with the Temple and Family History committee earlier to discuss this presentation and then put together a power point to outline the important points to be discussed. It was a very effective meeting and hopefully educated and motivated the members of our ward to get involved in this most important work. 

 Just few of

the pictures

we were 

able to

download 

for the 

presentation

And then there's Aria and Avery.......

We didn't see as much of them this month as we usually do because we left on Father's Day and they were coming home from Melba, Idaho the next week. On the first Sunday of the month, they brought up Aria's new bicycle so she could show us how she could ride it. Complete with helmet, she peddled up the driveway and part of the way around to block. She was pretty proud of herself. Of course, Avery had to try on the pink princess helmet, too.

So proud of her new bike

And they're off....

 The helmet seems to be a better fit for Avery