I Might Order This Book...

...but I'm not sure. I think maybe I've read enough old maid books already, but this one looks really entertaining.

Trip Photos Part Three

Here are the girls riding the steam locomotive narrow gauge train. We rode in an open car, and even though we wound up looking like chimney sweeps from the soot, we had an excellent view the whole way. Blowing off steam over a bridge.
The boys.
The little girls in front of our locomotive. This was at the turn-around point in Silverton.
One of the many breath-taking views from the train.
It was a blast!

Trip Photos Part Two

These are from Mesa Verde National Park. Here's one way to keep the hot, high-altitude, desert sun off.
This is Cliff Palace, probably the most famous dwelling. We got to take a tour of it. I thought it was fascinating to be in a place where people lived almost a thousand years ago.
This was the highest point in the park. We could see for miles and miles in all directions.

Trip Photos Part One

These are from Arches National Park. Here's Papa trying to push a rock down the mountain. Pushing rocks down mountains was sort of a running joke after Seth decided to try moving a giant rock and it actually did move and nearly flattened our grandparents' dog!



We all had sand blowing into every crevice of our body at this spot, but the view was worth it.
This spot was so spectacular, but scary too, because the wind is very strong through the arch and it's on the edge of a cliff. Yikes! That's John, Anna, and Seth below, trying not to blow away.

Back Home!

I returned safe and sound from my exhausting but fun vacation yesterday afternoon. I have some pictures, but I couldn't post them last night because the phone and DSL are out at my house. Maybe I'll put pictures up tomorrow. Maybe I'll do a few each day. Maybe it'll be a mini-series!

In addition to the lack of phone service, I also came home to two roaches in the kitchen, 95-degree weather, a bunch of little dead bugs on an endtable, no food in the house, and no hot water because I couldn't get the water heater relit. Nevertheless, I'm glad to be home and it was nice to get to fly back early and have the afternoon to unpack and rest before the rest of the family gets home this evening.

As I think about the trip there are a few things I'm thankful for:

• I got to visit with cousins I haven't seen in years.
• I saw lots of beautiful scenery.
• I got to spend some time in cool weather.
• I was able to get the pine tree sap off my khaki capris. (Secret weapon: alcohol. Lesson: don't wear khaki capris on a camping trip.)
• We found a campground in a nearby town when we were run out of Arches National Park by a sandstorm.
• We got to see some fantastic arches in spite of the sandstorm.
• I didn't get sick on the five 10-foot ladders at Mesa Verde. (I hate ladders.)
• Becca only stuck one foot in the ice-cold creek and didn't fall all the way in.
• It didn't rain on our open-car narrow-gauge train ride.
• The twig that smacked me in the face when I leaned out of the train car didn't draw blood.
• Seth didn't find the abandoned bicycle horn until the second-to-the-last day of the trip.
• The chicken grease I splattered on my pants while serving food at my cousin's rehearsal dinner came out completely. (I kept having laundry problems this trip!)
• The sunscreen-induced rash on my face that caused my skin to bubble, turn red, then start flaking off got quite a bit better before my cousin's wedding.
• The wedding was a beautiful outdoor ceremony that went very well in spite of the pint-sized ringbearer throwing a fit and the mother of the bride standing up at the wrong time and the grandparents doing musical chairs at the front trying to get seated!
• When a Bible for the Scripture reading at the ceremony couldn't be found, John came through with his nice, black-leather, gold-edged Bible that he had in the van. Yay!
• The two alarm clocks I'd set for getting up for my flight ended up being unnecessary because I just woke up. (Maybe I was still wired from the night before.)
• My uncle took me to the airport, along with my cousin and her new husband who were departing for their honeymoon. I was afraid it would be awkward and I'd just be in the way, but it ended up being a great chance to visit, even though I think they were more exhausted than they'd ever been in their whole lives!
• Last but not least, most of the 500 emails I found when I got to work this morning turned out to be junk that was quickly deleted.

Hooray! I've had a vacation and lived to tell about it!!

Going On Vacation

Tomorrow afternoon, I'll be flying to Colorado to join my family on their vacation up there. Much as I've enjoyed having the house to myself since they left on Saturday, I'll still be glad to see them.

The day after I get there, we'll be going to a Gospel Grass Festival.
Then, we'll go here:
and here:
and ride this train:
and go to my cousin's wedding.
It'll be great to get away for a while, and I'm looking forward to our adventures. I just hope there's no repeat of my family's 70mph rear tire blowout that they had on the way up. Yikes!

See you in a week!

I Wonder....

...how fast would you have to be to take a picture of your camera?
?
?
?
?
(I may not be getting enough sleep lately.)