Grand Canyon Adventures

What an amazing trip!

Tristan wanted to do this trip as a family before he left home, and since that time is growing shorter and shorter, we took Spring Break (first week in April) and did it.  We actually left on Easter Sunday, in the afternoon, after a meal of steak and all the fixings here at the house.

Our first stop was the KOA in Cedar City.  Not a bad little spot, and they have really nice tent sites too (something that is sometimes lacking at RV parks).  It was a bit on the expensive side (about $60), but it would still be far cheaper than a hotel and perhaps more comfortable than one of the Forest Service campgrounds in the area.  We stopped at the Walmart there to get Alana's birthday gifts, and to replace our egg crate pad with a memory foam one.

Shannon took this shot of Alana on the playground at the KOA

It seems you're never too old to want to dig to China

The kids had a great time on the playground at the KOA.  I loved hearing Alana holler "Faster, Tristan, Faster" as he pushed her on the merry-go-round.  For two kids who often seem to hate each other, this was a wonderful first night.

Max, with Shannon, on the ledge at the overlook

 The next day, we headed further south.  The drive was spectacular. It's a barren landscape, but breathtaking too, with the painted desert rising to the east and the views stretching for miles and miles and miles.  We stopped at the Le Fevre lookout on Highway 89 to stretch our legs and get a good look.  

We stopped at Jacob's Lake, the gateway to North Rim (1000 feet higher than South Rim, and closed until at least May 15), and then turned toward South Rim.  Our next stop was Navajo Bridge.  It seems logical that there would be a bridge out here, but this one is pretty special.  It was completed in 1929, opening the way for faster travel between northern Arizona and southern Utah, shortening the travel time and providing vital connections in this region.  For it's era, it's an engineering marvel, and the foot bridge that parallels it was enough to send me scampering to the side to read the historical information and stop at the visitor's center.  The visitor's center, restrooms (pit/vault toilets), picnic tables and surrounding displays were created during the 1930s by the CCC and the WPA.  I find all of this absolutely fascinating, of course!

Alana at Navajo Bridge

Bruce and Shannon peer down at the Colorado River below

We arrived in the park in the early afternoon, and were immediately amazed at the views.  There really are no words to convey the feelings, the vastness, the shifting light and colors.  It's a 5000 foot deep canyon that goes on and on and on.  Tributaries carve out side canyons, leaving buttes and "thrones" and "temples" behind.  Photos don't do it justice, either.  It truly is one of those places you need to see for yourself.  

Shannon and Max

There was so much we could see and do, and we did as much as we could in our time there.  We used the shuttle bus system to get out to many of the viewpoints.  We hiked along the rim, though "hiking" might be stretching it just a bit as the trail is mostly flat and, in many places, paved.  We explored the Tusayan Ruins (Ancestral Puebloan, inhabited a bit earlier than Mesa Verde).  We took an afternoon mule ride, through the forest and out to one of the overlooks (the one that goes down into the canyon took two days and more money than we wanted to spend, especially considering my fear of heights).  We saw a California Condor, elk, deer, various rodent critters, and lots of ravens.  We hiked about a mile down into the canyon, and back out again.  I got quite caught up in all the history of the area and read every plaque they put up, plus all the brochures and more!  There's an active cemetery in the park, and an old Uranium mine (that's now a Superfund site).

One tired puppy dog!
She was quite grateful to be left behind to rest while we went to dinner.

Bruce is officially fired as "Child Safety Officer."
(Though Bruce tells me this photo was staged to scare me)

Abyss Overlook, on our mule ride

Our Mule Ride--Bruce, riding Twinkie, Tristan riding Junky, Shannon riding Blizzard, me riding Marci (who needed a muzzle because she has a tendency to wander off the trail looking for snacks), and Alana astride Tater Tot

I really did go down into the canyon on the Bright Angel Trail

S'mores, Easter-style, with Peeps and small chocolate bunnies

These two bull elk were lying under the trees at Desert View, near the Watchtower, and less than 10 yards off the paved trail.  Some people never even noticed them, and Max didn't really know they were there, but they sure knew she was nearby!

Alana at Powell Point, where we took a break for lunch one day

We decided this rock looked like a lion

Hermit's Rest, at the end of the road.  

One of the films at the Visitor's Center was shown on this spherical screen

Alana is now a Grand Canyon Junior Ranger!

Quick Fly-By

(In order to get the full effect of this post, you must read it out loud, very fast, barely stopping to take a breath.  Serious stream-of-consciousness ahead) 

 

Remember that time when I said "I'm sorry, but I won't be available to volunteer," and the person said "Yes, you will because I said so," and I said "Yes?"

 

Yeah, me neither.  LOL!

 

The Buffalo BBQ is this weekend.  My parents will be in town this weekend.  So, I told the lady in charge of volunteers that I wouldn't be able to help out this year (like I have for the last *5*).  Her response?

"Well, that's not a good enough excuse.  You can still come.  You WILL be here to work a shift."

"I'm sorry.  I won't be able to help this year."

 

"Yes, you will.  That's not a good enough excuse.  I expect you to be there."

 

Well, I won't be.  

 

She kept pushing too, telling me that it wasn't a good enough excuse and I would, in fact, work a shift and that's all there is to it.

 

Really?  You think so, do you?!

 

Oh, well....all righty then.  NOT!

 

Totally got my back up and pushed some serious stubborn buttons and I'll be there when HE!! freezes over.  But I was polite.  I told her she was welcome to put me on the schedule, but I would NOT be there.  

 

Who the HE!! does she think she is?!  SHE gets to decide that a) I need an excuse, b) said excuse isn't good enough, so c) I WILL be there?!  Funny, last time I checked, I was a grown-up who didn't answer to YOU!

 

And that has further cemented that I'm done with this fundraiser for good.  It's for Boy Scouts and Tristan's pretty much quit, so I was debating about whether this year or next year would be my last year.  Guess what?  LAST year was my last year!  ROFL!

 

Oh, and my parents are coming and my mother is already driving me crazy.  At least I'm giving my sister a break, right?

 

We're getting new siding, so my house looks like it fell out of the ghetto.  Inside isn't much better since I've had to remove everything from the walls to keep it from being forcefully knocked down.  Yeah, those 5 spoon cases and the mirrors by the door?  UGLY empty spots right now.  And probably will be that way until Monday or Tuesday of next week.  

 

We also put a window in the laundry room.  Yay!  

 

But, that means we took down the shelves (and everything on them) and it's in bins wandering randomly through the house until the shelves are rehung.  Probably not until next week since the guy needs to put the trim up around the window on the inside.  *sigh*

 

However, I get new siding and we've replaced the bay window with double-hung so they OPEN to let in a breeze!  WOOHOO!  

 

MIL is still dying.  I wish she'd schedule it so I can make plans.  That sounds terrible, but there it is.  FIL does NOT want to let her go and I'm rather impatient about that, but then, I haven't been married to her for 59 years (thank GOD!).  Okay, I'm really not in a good place about all of this.  He keeps trying different treatments and I really wonder to what end?  She's 86.  Death is the natural, inevitable conclusion to our spin around this planet.  Let her die with some dignity.  Or maybe that's what he's trying to do?  If they can push the cancer back enough to let her leg heal, then she can go home to die?  Maybe?  I don't know and my attitude about it is awful, so I'm keeping my mouth shut.

 

All of the sisters have been out to see her now, including the oldest who last visited the West for our wedding.  In 1994.  No, I'm not kidding.  The brothers are making plans, though the oldest is procrastinating, wanting to wait until MIL is home/feeling better, which isn't likely at this point.  We've offered a plane ticket to SLC and then Bruce would drive him from there, but he hasn't made any definite plans as of yet.  

 

Kids are busy with end of year stuff.  Alana has her UpWithKids performances next week (the reason my parents are coming).  The Tuesday performance just happens to be at the exact time of her CRT tests.  *groan*  I'd have her skip the play, but it's the whole reason my parents are coming, so she'll just have to make up the tests.  I'm trying not to feel too horribly guilty about that.  

 

The older kids are busy with Bell Choir stuff, and AP studying and band/orchestra festivals and dutch oven cook-offs and such.  I'm subbing where I can and aching to do some real crafting stuff, while never finding the time (in between harvesting virtual crops).  *rolling eyes*  

 

I want to learn to make corsages.  Flowers for Sr Ball cost me $38!  Some of that was because it was the same weekend as National Scrapbook Day (oh, and CM is back in Ch 11 Bankruptcy) so I really didn't have time to do them myself, but I really would like to learn as it doesn't seem *that* hard, kwim?  

This post is seriously scattered, but then....so am I!  HA!  

 

And I didn't thaw anything out for dinner.  I'm thinking take out sounds really good right about now, though I need to run it by Bruce.

 

L-3 laid off nearly 200 employees (thank you Congress!).  Thankfully, Bruce wasn't one of them (and probably won't be unless they're closing completely), but it makes him nervous and stresses him out.  Add in his maternal angst, and his dislike of disarray and he's testy lately.

 

Okay.  Dinner.  Must figure out how to do dinner without breaking the bank.  

 

And another load of laundry so I have an excuse to watch NCIS-LA tonight while I fold.  

And the drama train continues.....

As I mentioned in my previous post, MIL's health is failing. 

She broke a hip a few weeks ago.  During the surgery, they discovered bone cancer.  It is also in her stomach and the lymph nodes.  I strongly suspect that it started in the stomach, but who knows?  FIL has opted for a round of chemotherapy because MIL can't come home until the break heals and it won't heal while the cancer is still there.  While this is probably not a choice I would make, I understand why he did, and I don't think there's anything "wrong" with it.

Enter the family and all of their opinions.  One SIL, the one who's married to the PITB-Presbyterian-Minister-BIL, has decided that FIL is verging on incompetent.  I need to back up just a bit and tell you about this family.  They live about 12 hours away from the Outlaws.  PITB BIL's mother lives about 2 hours from the Outlaws and 1 hour from us.  This family has visited PITB BIL's mother without calling us or the Outlaws on more than one occasion.  They probably see the Outlaws once a year, but complain about how the family doesn't make efforts to see them or stay connected.  Apparently that road is supposed to go one way--TO them.  It is especially hurtful to us because we HAVE made the effort to see them, and they still snub us when they visit BIL's mother. 

This SIL (PW SIL) came out to see her parents this week.  She seemed convinced that MIL is on her deathbed.  DH and I believe that MIL is dying, but probably not for a few months at least.   PW SIL has also decided that FIL may not be competent to care for MIL and make decisions for her.  She's basing this on two things.  First, FIL doesn't know what stage MIL's cancer is in.  I don't know that it matters once it's in the lymph nodes.  The doctor may not have told him.  He might not have asked.  So what? 

The second reason she states for FIL's incompetence is that he's "in denial" about MIL's condition.  He is still planning for her to come home.  We don't believe she ever will, but this is a process.  To me, it's analogous to not really seeing how much your own child has grown because it happens so gradually, but when you see someone else's child you're astonished by how tall they are.  FIL hasn't seen how much MIL is deteriorating because it's happened gradually over the last couple of years. PW SIL says "He's in denial and WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.  I'm a pastor's wife.  I see this all the time."  Yeah, okay sweetie. 

And there's the emotional part of this too.  The Outlaws have been married for over 60 years and FIL has been taking care of MIL for decades, really.  He's not ready to think about her not calling home, but he's a rational, reasonable man, so he'll get there.  He's doing the best he can and he's doing a pretty decent job under these difficult circumstances.

DH and I both said "Good luck with that conversation" to PWSIL.  That's not going to go well.  To make matters even more interesting, PITB BIL is arriving today.  He sees himself as a spiritual leader and expert and we should all listen to whatever he has to say, follow his advice, and live our lives the way he tells us to.  You can imagine what we think of that!  LOL!  He treats FIL with the same paternal arrogance. 

I'm popping the popcorn for this. 

She's ba-ack!

I know it's been, like, forever, ya know? 

(Okay, okay...no more channeling my inner Valley Girl)

I keep meaning to post and then I get side-tracked and I just never get here.  I have, however, made lots of little lists of things I want to write about and share and I'll get to them, I promise.

First, Lent.

It began last Wednesday, February 13th.  Yes, the day before Valentine's Day.  So, no, I have not had any Valentine chocolates.  And I won't until Easter.

Like years past, I've given up all junk food and all computer games.  Well, almost all.  Wine is not junk food.  Beer is.  Don't ask me why I think that way.  Maybe it's the carbonation?  And Words With Friends is, technically, both a computer game and a phone game, plus it's interactive, so I'm still playing it.  On my phone. 

The junk food has been relatively easy.  Every now and then I want something crunchy, but it's not in the house, so I have to make do.  I don't usually have chips in the house anyway, except the occasional bag of plain corn chips, so it hasn't been too challenging.  Same goes for candy.  I've had moments, like the Valentine party last week, where it might have been nice to pop a few M&Ms in my mouth, but then I got busy leading the activity and the feeling passed.

Computer games, however, are a completely different animal.  I have discovered that I have virtually NO self-control with them.  Zero.

There is a school of thought, backed by folks way more educated in said matters than I, that says that Sundays are like mini-Easters and, therefore, one can indulge on Sundays during Lent.  This is backed up by the way Lent is figured.  It's the 40 days before Easter, not counting Sundays. 

Now, I should know better.  I really should know myself a bit better by now, but I "allowed" myself to play some computer games on Sunday.  And I played and played and played.  I planted and harvested my virtual crops on FarmVille, and I fired off all those little bubbles on Bubble Safari.  I even cleared a few levels!  I worried that my friends would surpass me in FarmVille, getting to the next levels way ahead of me. 

And the next thing I knew, two hours had passed.  My back ached from sitting in the chair.  My foot was asleep, and there were two dirty bowls and a glass next to my laptop, since I couldn't be bothered to eat anywhere else. 

To add insult to injury, then I had to go through withdrawal again yesterday!  I got up and I automatically went to my games on Facebook.  Whoops! 

This, friends, is why I do this in the first place.  I really need these few weeks to reset myself as Spring approaches.  And this year, I think I need it more than ever.  The seasonal depression has been worse than ever, leaving me struggling to get out of bed and do even the most basic of care-taking.  I eat crap and play games all day in my PJ pants, finally getting dressed just before it's time to get the kids from school.  Obviously, this isn't good for anyone.  I hate it, but lack the will and motivation to do anything about it.  That's depression for you, in it's purest, most insidious form. 

Lent, in spite of it's deprivation and seriousness, is a sign that winter WILL lose it's grip on us eventually.  Spring WILL come.  And changing a few things in my life as I wait so impatiently for that renewal helps give me a jolt, a startle perhaps.  I have to find things to do to entertain myself.  Sure, I could wind up on the couch watching TV for hours, but that gets old after a day or two and I move on to something more productive.

Last week, between Wednesday and Friday, I read two books!  Granted, they were young adult fiction (Peter and the Starcatchers series), but I read instead of playing mindless games.  So far, there's no weight loss to show for the 'no junk' thing, but that's okay.  I did discover that my clothes do, in fact, weigh 2 pounds.  LOL! 

Now I'm back on the program, working to resist clicking that Bubble Safari link (I LOVE THAT GAME!) and I'm back to blogging.  Yay me!

So Nervous!

This fall, I got really brave and applied to be a reporter for a small local monthly newspaper.  Bruce actually saw the article that said they were looking for writers and left it for me on my computer.  I hemmed and hawed around about it, then took the plunge and applied.  I had to create a resume, something I haven't done in at least 10 years (probably closer to 15), plus submit writing samples.

I nearly fell over when I got an interview.  She likes me!  She really likes me!  LOL! 

And then I got the job!  I was astounded.  That sounds ridiculous, I suppose.  I like to write and I think I'm good at it, but the idea that other people want to read what I write is still new to me. 

Today I submitted my first two stories.  And I'm sooooo nervous about them.  It's all those self-doubts creeping in.  What if I'm terrible?  What if she doesn't like it?  What will I do when I see all that red ink splashed across my computer screen?  Gah!!! 

I'm sure I made some mistakes.  I've already learned a lot.  Talking to people was fun.  One story is about the busiest fire station in the county system.  While I was at the station interviewing the battalion chief, they got an ambulance call, and they invited me to go along!  That was absolutely fascinating! 

But will she like what I wrote????? 

Tristan's Yard Sale

I think I posted that Tristan has an opportunity to go to Europe next summer with the Utah Ambassadors of Music program.  He'll visit seven countries in 16 days, and play in the band in several cites, plus listen to the choir sing in some of the most beautiful cathedrals on the continent.  It's an amazing chance for him and we're so thrilled to be able to send Tristan.

But, as you can imagine, it's not cheap.  So we're brainstorming ways to make the money we need.  Our first idea was to hold a benefit yard sale.  I should say it was my idea.  The boys (the one I birthed and the one I married) had their doubts.  We papered the neighborhood with flyers asking people to donate items to us.  Bruce and Tristan didn't think people would give us their junk, uh, I mean, gently used household items.  Boy were they wrong!

The two-car garage was FULL, all the way to the garage door opener.  By the day of the sale, it had spilled over into the house.  We borrowed clothing racks from the church basement and filled them with the clothes--4 full racks.  There were shoes, furniture, household items (2 KitchenAid Mixers), books, movies, and more.  It was amazing! 

Tristan and I spent a full week going through everything, pricing it, sorting it and such.  Some people's idea of what it "useful" or "gently used" were interesting, so we sorted through it all and filled several trash bins/recycling containers.  We had to borrow from the vacant house next door!  (Though, really, that was perfect since much of what went in those bins had come from the previous owners of that house!). 

We held the sale over two days and made nearly $1200.  Over the two weeks after that, we sold items on a local website and made another $150 or so.  We've still got a number of children's items that we'll be selling at the Consignment Sale.  What doesn't sell there will be donated. 

We are thrilled with the progress.  So far, we've got Tristan to New York!  LOL!  There's a lot more to go, but we're well on our way and that's exciting. 

The Wedding Coordinator From Hades

As some of you know, we were honored to host our neighbor's wedding reception in our back yard.  She asked us when they got engaged and we were thrilled to say yes.  Little did we know what we were getting into......

The neighbors hired a wedding coordinator.  Now, I know this is a profession that serves many people quite happily, but for smaller weddings, I've never really seen the point.  Since it wasn't my wedding, and they didn't ask my opinion, I kept my mouth shut. 

At first glance, she seemed nice enough.  Wedding Coordinator (WC) had a bit of a challenge since the MOTB had her ideas about things and the Bride had some very definite ideas of her own.  WC was trying to balance between the two, though it got crazy.  Seriously, the Bride wanted to invite people they actually knew.  The MOTB invited the hairdresser's nephew's best friend!  Estimates on how many guests varied from 75 (Bride) to 400 (MOTB).  In actuality, there were probably about 200 people at the reception.

So, about a week before the wedding, we got a rather condescending email from WC.  In it, she went over some of the things we'd discussed, like moving the boat trailer and the camping trailer out of the way.  But she also mentioned that the dog mess needed to be taken care of, or did she need to send her "staff" to do that?  And, did I make plans for the "family animals" during the event?  Nah....I figured we'd let Psycho and Scaredy Butt run loose amongst all those people and the food!  *rolling eyes*

She told me that they needed my refrigerator empty and everything removed from my counter tops.  I told her that I wasn't moving the microwave and she could have 2 shelves and a drawer.
 
This email also mentioned that the lighting guy wanted to be climbing on my roof and did we have a ladder for that?  When I asked if the lighting guy was insured, she got a bit put out!  But she did email me and say that he was insured......I doubt it, but I did my due diligence.  Thankfully, lighting guy didn't fall off (or thru) the roof, so that wasn't a problem.  The email did not mention grills or trash.  This is important for later.

The happy couple got married at a nearby Temple (they're LDS/Mormon) on Friday.  I was at the Temple when they came out and I attended the meal afterward at WC's house.  After dinner, as I was leaving, WC told me that her staff would be at my house at 8:00 the next morning and she would be there between 8 and 9. 

Saturday morning, I got up around 7:30.  This is not something I do willingly.  Ever.  And especially not on a summer Saturday.  Seriously, something had better be on FIRE for me to be up at that hour.

You can guess the next part, right?

She didn't show up.

Not at 8....or 9....or 10.

At 11, Bruce and FOTB went over to her house to get the tables and chairs from the party the night before and bring them over here.  Oh, there's been a change of plans.  Lighting guy can't be there until 4, so that's when we're coming.  WC didn't call because it happened late at night.  Oooookay.....

What lighting guy has to do with when she arrives is beyond me.  And there was no phone call, email, or text message to anyone.  Yes, she had all that information.

Strike 1.

I went to pick up Tristan at 4:30.  WC is NOT at the house yet.

Strike 2.

When I got home around 5:00, WC is in the back yard having a temper tantrum.  She's shouting at her "staff" and the various and sundry neighbors and family members who are trying to get the chairs and tables set up.  "We are running behind, so I'm going to repeat myself for the fourth time!  The chairs go in conversation semi-circles of 8....."

Strike 3.

At that point, I was so furious that I was ready to throw her off my property and do it myself.  Just who does she think she is?  Yelling at people who are there to help and talking to them about running behind?!

Then Bruce told me that they'd arrived, with a Uhaul full of stuff, and WC, the only person who knows the plan, went across the street to do hair.  When they finally went to get her to answer all the "what's the plan?" questions, she went on her tirade.  

I ran to the local granola store to buy a gluten free cake for Shannon since it appeared that they'd forgotten.  I wasn't particularly irritated by that, except that we'd be told there would be gluten free cupcakes so I hadn't worried about it.

Seriously, it all went down hill from there.  The kabobs were all cut up, but not skewered, so the "staff," of teenage boys were doing that.  She'd made crepes, but not in the flavors the bride requested.  She'd prepped fresh peaches and strawberries for those as well, and she was making fresh whipped cream for those before the party.   

"Where are the grills?"  Um, what grills?  Apparently we were supposed to have borrowed the mondo grills from the Boy Scouts for this shindig.  I vaguely remember making the offer back in June, but she waved it off saying she'd rent them, so we didn't have them.  So, with less than an hour before the reception, we're frantically borrowing grills from the neighbors. 

We ran out of crepes pretty quickly, and Shannon heard her say "I made crepes for 300 people.  It's not MY fault people took more than one.  I'm not making more!"

The kabobs seemed to take forever to cook, though WC hadn't wanted to start them before the party started at 7:00.

Half of the cupcakes weren't frosted.  It turned out that she'd planned to make cream cheese frosting and frost all 150 of them at my house, sometime between 4:00 and 8:00.  Except.  Yeah.  She was busy doing the decorating and putting out sauces for the kabobs and on and on and on.

Essentially, she bit off way more than she could chew and she was not prepared for the reception.  One neighbor spent the entire evening in the kitchen, helping with whatever she could.  It was unbelievable.

Then they wanted to know what we were going to do with all the trash?  Excuse me?  What are WE doing with the trash?  You're taking it with you!  WC's husband said "Well, I guess we'll have to find a dumpster somewhere for this trash."  Great, add theft of services to the list.

At the end of the night, WC kept promising they'd leave food for us (didn't happen) and they decided that the *only* thing that went wrong was that they'd left the gluten free cupcakes at their house by mistake.

Really?  That's the ONLY thing?!

On the upside, we got lots of compliments about the party.  The vast majority of the guests had NO idea what was happening behind the scenes. 

Other gems we overheard "Well, everything was going fine until Bride talked to people and turned them against me."  Nope.  Your tantrum in my back yard is what did it for me.

Sheesh!   For the amount of money they paid her, we could've hired a caterer and done the decorating ourselves.  It would've been a lot less stress all the way around.  We still have an extension cord that belongs to the lighting guy, but WC won't return our emails so we can't get it back to him. 

And the final problem, Psycho (the old and crochetty dog) got bit on the ear by one of the neighbor dogs while he was hanging out over there.  At the vet on Monday, she called him a drama queen, for the way he was acting about how much it hurt!  I laughed cuz it's true!  So he had 10 days worth of antibiotics to clear that up.  It was just the final straw in the whole thing.