Half a Century

On the 19th of September I passed a huge milestone.  I turned FIFTY years old!  Rick threw a small party with our kids and a few neighbors to celebrate.  We started off with some catered bbq from Dickey's.  Smoked turkey and bbq ribs with loaded potatoes, mac n cheese, and green beans.  We all had our fill of food and then headed indoors for present time.  I got a couple of new exercise outfits which I have been enjoying.  I also got some new lotion and some autumn candles!

After presents we had cake and ice cream.  Costco chocolate cake which is SUPER yummy!

The next day was Sunday so after our morning of church then choir practice and a few visits to ward members we hopped in the car and headed to St. George.  The trip was uneventful UNTIL.......just a 1/2 miles from our exit we got rear ended by a vehicle while traveling SEVENTY FIVE MILES PER HOUR!!  We were pushed into the left lane.  He knocked us pretty hard and we were lucky that our little car did not roll!  The vehicle did not pull over and so we followed him as we called 911.  

The person was driving very erratically and thankful there were no other cars too close.  He really could have killed someone and actually we came to find out later that at one point five different people had called in to report that he was driving Southbound in the Northbound lanes!  

Long story short the police were able to pull him over and as far as we know the driver was using some very heavy medications.  The good thing was that he had up to date insurance and our car is now getting fixed.  Here is picture of some of the damage to our vehicle.  The trouble is that when the convertible is opened it will not latch.  Rick told me yesterday that there is a possibility 

that our car may be considered totaled because it would cost too much to fix the convertible.  We will see.  

We really have enjoyed this car so much the last two years and will feel really bad if it can't be fixed.

After getting to the house.......around 10:30 we got right into bed because we knew that our morning was gonna be early.  We met up with Kelly and Deanna's house and drove the two hour drive to Lake Powell.  We had been planning since June to do another Lake Powell trip.  It has been seven years since our last one.  We were hoping that more family would join us but that didn't work out:(  We met up with Garrett and Shari and their girls in Kanab before launching into the water for the day.  We had a nice breakfast and then drove the rest of the way to the Lake.  

We enjoyed the whole day playing on the sand and in the water.  Garrett, Shari, Rick, Deanna, and I did some water sports (even though Shari is 7 months pregnant)  Skiing, Kneeboarding, and wake boarding.

Toward the end of the day we took a drive up to see Glen Canyon Dam from the water.

After staying the night in Page (and enjoying some Mexican food while we were there) we got back on the water.  The second day was a little more rough because of the winds but we still had a good time sightseeing around the lake.  We got to go into a beautiful canyon, (I can't remember the name), docked, and then hiked to rainbow bridge, and the found some Indian ruins.  It was a full day of boat riding and a nice time with Kelly and Deanna.  We really appreciated the opportunity we had to be with them and spend time on their beautiful boat.

That night we drove back to St. George.  We enjoyed the rest of the week at the house.  A few highlights were seeing Newsies at the Tuacahn Theater,  playing a round of golf at Red Hills and of course playing in the pool and spa!

The coarse was being reseeded so this was the first time we walked the whole way.  We generally like riding in a cart.  We had fun though and enjoyed some beautiful weather.  It was a wonderful week and we really enjoyed our alone time together.  It was a good way to spend my birthday week!

Oregon Coast Getaway

Last week while the boys were off fishing Kendra, Sarah and I took the kiddos down to Lincoln City, Oregon for the week.  It was an early flight out of SLC (which we just barely made) stopping in Oakland and then on to Portland.  The kids did well during the trip.  Rafe was my traveling buddy and he slept throughout the whole first flight.  On the second flight he played with toys and colored.

 It was a pretty easy flight with this cutieJ

Scoutie enjoying some in flight treats!

Sarah had her hands full but thanks to the i-pad Henry was able to enjoy the trip watching movies!

After arriving and getting our rental car (a Chrysler minivan) with FOUR carseats we headed out of the city.  Our first stop was to the Portland Temple.  Just before we got there Henry and Charles had fallen asleep so we got a few pictures of the rest of us.  Rafe and Scout were happy to get out in the fresh air and do a little running!  After having the kids touch the temple we stopped in the visitors center for a few minutes.  They had a beautiful statue of the Christus and the children were happy to touch it!  Henry and Charlie missed all of the temple!

Our next stop was at Panda Express to get some lunch and then on to a park for the kids to eat and enjoy some outdoor time!  We found a beautiful Park and the weather was beautiful!  We let the kids play about an hour and then got back on the road for the two hour trip to the coast.

I liked my fortune!!!!

The trip was fairly uneventful and we arrived at our rental home (The Pirates Lookout) and got settled.  I have stayed at the Pirates Lookout many times with our Phelps Sisters' trip.  I wanted to get back to this home because it sits on a cliff overlooking the ocean with a beautiful big deck to observe from.  There are steps just off the deck that lead down to the beach.  NINETY EIGHT OF THEM!!  Also, right close to the house off the beach is an outcropping of rocks that I thought the kids would have fun playing in the tidal pools.  It was quite windy and chilly those first few days but we still enjoyed the beach.

We had a nice dinner that night and then got a good nights rest.

The next morning we just stayed around the house until we could enjoy somewhat of a low tide for the kids to play.  We were out for about an hour and the kids found lots of fun rocks and a few shells.  One thing that was disappointing was the lack of starfish.  Usually the rocks are covered in starfish and I had told the kids, before our trip, about them but throughout the whole trip we never even saw oneL  We still had fun looking in the tide pools and finding treasures! 

After getting back and getting ready for the day we drove up north to the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  It was completely different than what I was expecting because they had closed down the original factory.  They had a temporary visitors center where we were still able to go through the cheese tasting line and the gift shop and yes, they still had that delicious Tillamook ice cream! 

We also stopped at the Blue Heron Cheese Factory just right down the road from Tillamook.  They had a little petting farm with little animals.  The kids enjoyed chasing the hens and chickens!   It was nice to let the kids run around and explore a little bit.

 

On Wednesday we enjoyed the morning at the house and the beach again and then packed everyone up to head south toward Depoe Bay and Newport.  We had a nice lunch in Depoe Bay and looked through a few shops and then drove the rest of the way to Newport.  

Henry found a crab claw!

I Newport we were excited to see the “famous” sea lions.  Again, just before we got there Charlie and Henry fell asleep.  They missed that time with the sea lions!  We did go back after perusing some shops and stopping at TWO candy shops for some treats.  We couldn’t NOT let Henry see the sea lions.  That was a highlight!

We had a wonderful dinner back in Lincoln City played in the hot tub and then let the kids watch a little Disney Channel before bedtime.

Thursday was our last full day so we enjoyed Lincoln City!  We had breakfast at The Pig and Pancake and then stopped at a park to let the kids play for a while.  The low tide was supposed to be around 1:00 so we packed some sandwiches and had a picnic on the beach.  It was a beautiful day and the kids enjoyed playing in the sand and water.  The were so proud of themselves for being able to catch sand crabs and put them into their buckets.  Mostly they loved playing in the sand!!

After our beach fun we got all gussied and went over to the Factory Outlet shops.  We all went are separate ways and did a little shopping.  I had fun buying some clothes for Rafe and Scout who’s birthdays are coming up in a few weeks.

Afterward we enjoyed dinner at Maxwell’s restaurant and then went back to the house to get things packed up for the morning.  We were all tired and enjoyed some time on the phone talking to our fisherman.

How about that beautiful sunset!

Friday morning we packed up and drove back to Portland to catch our flight home.  It was a great trip and a fun way to enjoy time together while our husbands were having their fun in Alaska.  We sure missed them, though!!

                           My cute flight partner!