Each September, we look forward to traveling to St. George to watch the three musicals put on by the Tuacahn Theater. This year was no exception. We left for St. George after our temple shift on Friday, the 15th. We stayed with Ryan and Katie for Friday and Saturday nights. While there we were able to see Nathan play in a footfall game and a soccer game as well as watch Grace in the theater production of Newsies.
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| Nathan made 2 touchdowns and 2 extra points in this game. |
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| Kicking the ball |
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| Grace was in this scene dancing and singing |
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| She also played a nun |
On Sunday, we went to church and came home to bake the Outback bread I had rolled out earlier in the morning. When it was done, we all piled into two cars and drove to Pine Valley to see Ryan and Katie's cabin which they had bought a few months prior. Lauren and her boys were staying at Ryan and Katie's for the weekend, too, so they drove with us. The weather was at least 20 degrees cooler which will be a nice respite for the Millars during the hot summers in St . George. The cabin is a work in progress but we could see its potential. It's on a half acre which will give the family lots of room to play. They are so excited to have a place for a retreat from the business of life. Julia has already had a group of friends drive up to enjoy the cabin and cooler weather.
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| The cabin |
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| The kids playing some football |
When we returned, Paul and I left Ryan's to go check in at the Worldmark Estancia for the rest of our stay in St. George. After checking in, we went to Don and Dana's home to meet the Fullers and the Bulkeleys who were traveling in from Heber and Alpine. Dave and Suzette joined us, while we were fixing dinner, and surprised us with Darrell being with them. We were told Darrell might come but didn't think it would happen. We were all glad to see him as it had been years since we have been with him. He lost his wife, Wanda, a few years back and has had a hard time adjusting to life without her. Ed and Debbie joined us later that evening as they were coming from Idaho and couldn't get away until the afternoon.
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| Our Sunday dinner of green salad, tri tip, garlic potatoes, and corn on the cob (from our garden) as well as the Outback bread and raspberry butter I had made earlier that day. |
For this family get together, Ed and Debbie and Sam and Kathy stay at Don and Dana's while Deon and Gary stay with us at the Worldmark condo. On Monday morning, the Fullers and ourselves drove out to Pine Valley as Deon and Gary wanted to see Ryan's cabin. We stayed there for a while, drove out to the little lake close by and then headed back to St. George. On the way, we decided to drive through Snow Canyon State Park. We had never done that before and were glad we took the time to do so as it was beautiful. After lunch at Freddie's, we went to Ryan and Katie's home so Deon and Gary could see that too. They had seen it when it was being built but not the finished product. They loved both the cabin and the home.
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| Snow Canyon |
It was then time to join the rest of my family at Don and Dana's to make our own pizzas for dinner. Don has a pizza oven in his bake yard so this has become a tradition. We brought two fruit pies from a little pie place in Veyio just down from Pine Valley. Ryan had said the pies were really good and he was right. Everyone enjoyed their pizzas and the pies. After dinner, we all left for the Tuacahn theater to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was a wonderfully fun production with the most incredible background graphics. We are always amazed what they can do with the LED screens they are now using.
Tuesday was a special day. Most of us met at Tiffany's Creperie for a late breakfast. Everyone loved it so that will become another tradition when we get together for out Tuacahn experience. Paul and I split a breakfast crepe of a poached egg, avocados, and Canadian bacon covered with a hollandaise sauce. We also split a sweet crepe which was absolutely delicious, too.
We went back to the condo to change into Sunday clothes and, then, met everyone at the St. George Temple. We had tickets for the open house of the newly designed temple. We were so glad we could see the beauty inside this temple. The decor was right in keeping with the age of the temple and was incredibly beautiful. We felt like we had stepped back in time as we walked through each room. The baptismal font took our breath away with it's elevated font and black and gold decoration. We stayed around to take lots of pictures to record our all being together at this historic site.
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| Dave and Darrell together again |
It was a baked potato bar for dinner before heading back to the Tuacahn theater for the production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The story line was a little dark but the performances of the 5 main characters were out of this world. The main character had played as the phantom in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway as well as the Jen Valjon in Les Miserable. That was the caliber of the singers who performed and it led to an incredible performance. This production got an immediate standing ovation as the last scene ended. So enjoyable.
Our last full day in St. George, was spent relaxing in the hot tub at our condo before cleaning up to meet everyone at a taco restaurant right next to Alumni Creamery. We had lunch and then had to have an ice cream cone. We were all really full but couldn't pass up the deliciousness of BYU ice cream.
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| At the taco restaurant |
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| BYU ice cream!!!! |
All too soon it was time for dinner. Sam and Kathy had purchased chicken pot pies from a store that specializes in pies. Along with a green salad and sourdough bread, dinner was delicious even though we were all so full. While we were eating, a storm blew in and inundated St. George with a huge rainstorm complete with lots of thunder and lightening. We wondered if the night's production of Tarzan would be able to be performed. We waited for the storm to calm before we took off for theater. At the theater, we waited for about 45 minutes before it was announced that the production would be performed. It was about an hour late getting started but it was an entertaining performance and worth the wait. Thursday morning, we all packed up and headed for home. A fun get away with family.
Instead of going straight home, Paul and I drove to Sandy to meet Jon and Mindi at Bingham High. Jaiden had a football game. Jon and Mindi had some business appointments in Salt Lake on the weekend so they flew in a day early so they could watch Jaiden play his game. We were glad we could come too as we had wanted to see him play. His JV team only played the first half of the game, with the sophomore team playing the second half. (Their game had been canceled) We weren't too sad to only be able to see Jaiden play half of a game as we were able to get home earlier that evening. We had been gone almost a week and had some things to do to get ready for our temple shift the next day.
At the first of the month, Paul and I went to the Cougar luncheon to hear Coach Satake speak about our football team's chances in the Big 12 conference. We enjoyed a lunch provided by Tucahnos after which we listened to the coach. He was optimistic about our season. The best part of the afternoon, for me, was seeing my dear friend Jan Holiday. We hadn't seen each other for several months so it was good to be with her again.
That weekend, it was time for another football game. Todd was able to come to this game and came to visit with us before the game started. That was great as we hadn't seen him for a couple of weeks. The game was in the afternoon so during the first half it was very hot sitting in the stands. By the second half, the shade came onto our side of the stadium and then the clouds rolled in to cool everything off a bit. Thank goodness. We won the game.
Ready for the game - ourselves, the Fullers, and the Bulkeleys
Also happening this month, was Paul having a colonoscopy and endoscopy. He had been complaining about discomfort in his abdomen so he wanted to get it checked out. He spent the day before prepping for these procedures, eating only Jello and beef broth along with his Gatorade mixed with Miralax. It wasn't the best day for him but worth it when the procedures were all done and the doctor said there was nothing to be concerned about. We were both relieved.
We have been amazed at how quickly the hills around Heber have turned red. In Heber, we even had our first freeze and there's been a definite chill in the air. Provo Canyon's colors were brilliant this year, too. Absolutely gorgeous. Fall has come to Utah.
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| The Heber side of the mountains |
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| Provo canyon has never looked so beautiful |
That about covers our month of September except for a few memes that caught my eye.
