HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALISA

Poppy and I send you our love and Birthday Best Wishes

You are a great mother!

You have fun with your Children.

You enjoy having a daughter.

You are aware of the needs of your Children.

You enjoy having three sons.

Enjoy this Little One

He won't be little Long

Poppy and I love you and are proud of the mother and woman you have become. We enjoy your visits and love watching you interact with your brothers and sisters. Your upbeat and accepting personality are appreciated by all who know you.

CHANGES...

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New Cap Rack

New Furniture Arrangement

Fall always brings out the nesting instinct in me. We're preparing our dog run for the winter wind and snow, all the perennials are being cut back and the flower beds are being raked of debris. I like to look around and see what I can do differently to change up the look of my home at little or no expense. Recently I received the above adorable gardening tool rack from a couple of admirers and have been considering a number of ways to give it a useful and prominent place in my home decor. The mud room had become stuffed with numerous pairs of shoes, enough jackets to cloth a family of seven, scarves, gloves, and hats and caps galore. So, I emptied all the "stuff" onto a table in the garage and started from scratch. This is the way they do a makeover on HGTV and I found it to be faster and more efficient than dealing with one item at a time.

The rack now holds all of our caps. Chuck wears one everyday and I wear one anytime I'm having a bad hair day. I moved the drop leaf table to the little hallway outside my bedroom and created a display that looks attractive, but will probably serve no purpose other than to gather dusk. But......I think it makes this area look warm and cozy.

AUTUMN COMES TO UTAH

Maple Tree but not one which produces Maple Sap

Wasatch Mountains

This is the road that heads up into the mountains from the Parking Lot

Many of you have taken this road on 4 wheelers in the Summer

Aspen among the Fir Trees

Strawberry Reservoir

Golden Aspen

Main Street Looking South

Park City

Wasatch Mountains

Main Street Looking North

Park City

Strawberry Reservoir

Chuck's Favorite Canyon

Fall in the Wasatch Mountains is absolutely amazing. Leaving SLC and driving Hwy 80 east toward Park City, one is stunned by the colorful vistas on all sides. The mountains are covered with every shade of yellow, red, and orange. The change of colors happens when the weather turns cooler. One morning you wake up and the hillsides have been transformed. These colors last for about two weeks and then as quickly as they came, the colors fade

and within a short period of time, the leaves have fallen and the mountains are brown.

....ON THE PLAYING FIELDS OF ETON."

Parker No. 87 at Halftime

A Pep talk from the Coach

Dad gives last minute advice and a little demo before the second Half

Team moms are Appreciated

Teamwork and a chance to knock people around makes for a Great Saturday Afternoon

The Duke of Wellington is quoted as saying "The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton." The values of good drill, courage, and teamwork are learned in many sports.

While I hope that Parker, Brendon and your sons never see the battle field, I do appreciate and respect what team sports offer to young men. Though our sons played football for a small school and were not bruisers, we enjoyed those games as much as watching the Trojans or the Bruins. Our sons enjoyed being part of a team and learned to push on when they knew the immediate result might be painful and disappointing. So......"GO ALTA!!!!"

PORTRAITS OF CHILDHOOD

Skyler C&J

Brooklyn J&C

Jack C&J

Logan J&C

Paige K&R

Charlie C&J

Peyton J&C

These portraits were taken last weekend at a train park in Scottsdale, Arizona. The heat was a scorching 111 degrees, but these little ones look cool as cucumbers. Charles and Jenny brought along sandwiches, salads, strawberries, and drinks for all, but the children were more interested in swinging, going down the slides, climbing on the bars, and generally racing around with little thought of eating. We ended the afternoon with a train ride around the park and an ice cream cone while we watched the merry-go-round....go round and round.

It reminded me of Kiddieland when I was a child. Often, after all the Saturday "jobs" were completed, my parents took us there to ride the ferris wheel, the roller coaster, and the bumper cars. There was always a final ride on the little train around the park before leaving. Five happy children thought their parents were pretty great on those evenings.

TWO LITTLE GIRLS AT PLAY

Brooklyn and Peyton

Learning from Your Sister

Jennifer took this picture using her iPhone and emailed it to me.

ARIZONA .....111 DEGREES

ARIZONA COUSINS

Visited my grandchildren last Week

70 Degrees in Heber

111 in Phoenix

Am I Crazy?

Logan Craig Rees

10 Months

Jennifer's Son

A FAMILY UPDATE.....

All is Well

Steven and Alyson have recently run in another long distance 12 man/woman Relay.

Aly led off by riding the chair lift to the highest point at Brian Head and starting her leg

in below 30 degree weather.

Summer and Parker... excellent student Athletes

Parker plays defensive back and wide receiver for his football Team.

He scored a touchdown the weekend his parents were running in Zion Nat"l Park

Chuck was there to support Him

Summer plays forward on her soccer Team

It is not unusual for her to score three goals during a game

I was there to support Summer while her parents were away and yes... she scored a Goal

Aubrey is in the Third Grade

She takes dance classes, piano lessons, and performs in plays and sings in a Choir

Her confidence and ability is obvious on the Stage

Macy is in Kindergarten

She takes dance classes and piano Lessons

Macy has amazing "moves" on the Trampoline

She told me that she has told her parents that she wants to play Soccer

We Appreciate the Time We Spend with this Family

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNY!

Happy Birthday, Jenny!

Chuck and I love and appreciate you and all that you do for our family.

Chuck and Rebecca

A Girl and Her Dog

Macy and Zack

Macy gives her dog Zach lots of time and attention. Zack is a "markie" which is a cross between a yorkie and a maltese. He is an excellent family pet. Zack likes to spend part of his day sleeping on his back on the front stairs with all four legs in the air. Macy likes to chase Zack around the house and yard.

Posing for the Camera

The Camera Loves this Child

Back to the Camera......Turn Quickly to Face the Camera

Works Everytime for a Glamour Shot

Flaming Gorge Dam Utah

Flaming Gorge Dam on the Green River

Green River as it Exits the Dam

Above the Dam

Osprey was fishing just to the East of this Island

Green River Above the Dame

This river's headwater are about 150 miles north into Wyoming

and is part of a water storage system for the west.

The Green River joins the Colorado River about 240 miles downstream and continues on into Glen Canyon and eventually through the Glen Canyon Dam and South through the Grand Canyon. From there it flows to Lake Mead in Nevada and on through Hoover Dam. Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, and California are already at odds over this water. St. George is trying to build a pipeline 150 mi long to supply water for new development. Water is a BIG issue in the west.

After leaving Hoover Dam, it flows on through Davis Dam and forms the western boundry between Arizona and California. As it flows on, it will be dammed again in the Imperial Valley of California, the Imperial Dam. The Colorado flows on into Mexico and "I have heard" that by the time it reaches the Gulf of California between Baja and the Mainland of Mexico that it is nothing but a muddy stream.

But, hey we got ours!

FLAMING GORGE

Inlet on the Green River

Cruised on the pontoon boat....great for swimming, fishing and Picnicking

Bridge across the Green River

Accessing the Dam

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Dynamic bridge Construction