Family Picture!

Hi All!! Merry Christmas. HaHaHa...I'm actually posting with a new picture (and we just took it tonight). This is our family photo for our Holiday get together this year. We had a big ol' feast today, then went and saw National Treasure. DeDe volunteered to watch Lukie because she saw it on Saturday. Bless that child; She cleaned the whole kitchen and dining room, too. We ended with a family photo shoot. Luke was getting a little tired of our experimenting with the lighting and position of everyone so we had to call it quits. Not bad for our first ever color coordinated, do it yourself jobber. Love You All, Family. Take Care. Wendy

I know, I know

So it's been a while since I posted...okay...it's been two months since I posted. I'm sorry. My life has been crazy. I also stuck my pictures on the shutterfly website and am in the process of getting them off. So, you'll have to do without pictures for a while. But I thought I should update everyone on the life...Things are good here in little ol' Nephi. We're feeling the usual warmth, cold, excitement, and pressure of the holiday season. We're looking forward to Christmas break because Lacy and her family are coming out to visit, Jade and Tim will be here to spend time with us, and we'll get to have the whole family together for a while...enjoying each other's company. It's going to be an enjoyable few days. We're all good here. Just trying to battle colds, flus, and the regular battles we face every day! Hope you all are doing well, and, I promise, I will get pictures up soon! Take care!

Alright, Alright...Gimme a Break...Tort

What I am doing is waking up at 3:00 in the morning because I can't sleep and then trying to take a nap whenever I can find my bed during the day because I haven't slept. Why can I sleep at noon but not at night? I don't know. I don't get it. Apparently it has something to do with turtles...or at least Tort. I went on a lovely two day trip for my anniversary and didn't have a bit of trouble sleeping. I guess because Tort stayed home. I got home on Monday and then woke up that night and worried about Tort being moved into the house. Where did Charlie put him? Is he on my carpet somewhere? Does he have a cage of some kind...I don't think so....I need to get him something. What about his food? None of that makes a bit of difference at noon but let me tell you at 3 AM, the troubles of Tort are paramount. Unfortunately I can't actually sleep at noon either because I have to work or go visiting teaching or homeschool Charlie or run north to help Jade...or something, something. So I find my bed again about 11 pm and 3 am hits again. Does Tort have any water? How do you water a Turtle in the house? What a mess it's going to make. How many days can a turtle go without water? I bet Missouri turtles need more water than our desert variety. All that water and humidity. Do we have a desert variety? I don't think so.

So I was Wondering...

How many times do you think I can get away with posting without actually putting pictures up on my blog? I've had a mishap with my new, dear friend.... otherwise known as "my digital Camera"... It's lost. I don't even think it's my fault this time. I always hate it when something is lost around my place. First I do a little cursory search and come up with a big fat zero, zip, nada, black hole...then I start slinging the accusations...Where did my "whatnot" go? I had it right here. Charlie, you were dancing on it yesterday...or JB I saw you smuggle it upstairs under your xbox...or you know..DeDe, Delila, Tweedle Dee, you surely...surely you were using the flat iron on it...Right? (I'd call Lacy and Jade too, but I don't think I could make as strong a case against them.) Then it happens...they've all figured me out..."No, mom. It wasn't me. Maybe YOU LEFT IT somewhere..."

Maybe. OH...I hate that. They can blame me because, you know, maybe I did leave it somewhere. I do have this uncanny knack. It has something to do with neurons not jumping the right synapses in my brain...or something. I just don't know for sure, but I'm still wondering....And then somehow I find the ol' whatnot....right where I left it. So I ask myself: Did I do that...or did someone just put it back a second ago?

Have you every seen Conspiracy Theory. That's a good movie....edited. I'm just sayin'...

NOT THIS TIME THOUGH, Big Guy. I know I didn't have my camera last.

I'm pretty sure...


UPDATE...I'm not joking...Joey just found my camera in my closet on one of his belt hooks...I have no Idea. Really. I don't. I'm thinking it was the kids...or Crowden.

Indio Resort and Knot's Water Park

I still haven't figured out that I should start at the end of my trip and work forward... Well I guess I do know that now...Let's see if I can remember next time. Indio is where we spent the last two days of our trip to California. We arrived on a Sunday, spent Monday at a waterpark and drove home on Tuesday. So we didn't stay long. You can see that these first pictures are all dusty gray. Well that is because at about 6:00 Sunday night the wind picked up and before long it was so dusty that you couldn't even see the mountains behind the resort. We wondered at first if it could be ocean fog this far inland, until Joey and I went on a walk to take these pictures. Although I don't love the area this is the fanciest resort we have been to. It was quite spectacular. I would have been happy to stay at the resort all day but we had promised the kids a Knot's... so Knot's it was.

You may notice that JB is conspicuously absent from our shots. He did not get to go on our trip because of a football camp he didn't think he could miss. He said that he never wanted to stay home again. I'm glad, because it wasn't the same without him. I had tried to talk him into coming but he was quite adamant. On our drive home we went way out of our way to see Hoover Dam. It was quite spectacular but we had been on the road far too long already. The kids were not impressed with the traffic at all. Still I find it incredible what man can accomplish. I wrote it down as one of the museums we would like to visit at a future date. As it was, there was no way we were stopping when we still had 6 hours till we would be home. . . So there you have it... That's our trip...from end to beginning somewhat. Crazy to only have 4 people on a family trip. Times are a changin'.

This is it...Hearst Castle

I googled "Hearst Castle" and this is what I found. I thought it was quite interesting. "Hearst Castle was the palatial estate of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. It was built on a 40,000 acre (160 km²) ranch that William Randolph Hearst's father, George Hearst, originally purchased in 1865. The younger Hearst grew fond of this site over many childhood family camping trips. He inherited the ranch, which had grown to 250,000 acres (1000 km²), from his mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst, upon her death in 1919. The estate is a pastiche of historic architectural styles that Hearst admired in his travels around Europe. For example, the main house is modeled after a 16th century Spanish cathedral, while the outdoor pool features an ancient Roman temple front transported wholesale from Europe and reconstructed at the site.Invitations to Hearst Castle were highly coveted during its heyday in the 1920s and '30s. The Hollywood and political elite often visited, usually flying into the estate's airfield or taking a private Hearst-owned train car from Los Angeles. Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, the Marx Brothers, Charles Lindbergh, Joan Crawford, Calvin Coolidge, and Winston Churchill were among Hearst's A-list guests."

He only began construction after his mother died because she refused to let him build at the ranch. She told him that she knew him too well. If he ever started to build, he would never stop. She knew him very well indeed because that is exactly what happened. There are parts of the estate today that never were finished because his dream never ended. I love the line in Newsies...His Newspaper was called The World so he says, "When I created the World..." I think that explains William Randolph Hearst very well.

Inside Hearst Castle & Indoor Pool

Ancient tapestries in Living room depict a French revolution and a particularly beloved leader who is still sung about today in their National Anthem. The long narrow dining room at Hearst Castle is of Gothic design with the high ceilings and narrow walls of dark wood. Apparently everyone who visited the Hearst "ranch" was expected to attend dinner, after dinner drinks, and movies that could go on to all hours of the night. If you fell asleep in the theater that was fine, but you had to show up. Other than that, guests were free to entertain themselves. When guests came into the dining room they would look for their name card at the table to find their seat. If after a few days it started inching its way down to the end of the table by the fireplace where Joey is standing, then you knew your stay was drawing to a close. Carey Grant was a frequent guest. If he saw his name moving down he would simply switch it with someone elses to prolong his visit just a bit. I think my very favorite piece of artwork is the teak carving of Mary and Jesus in the center picture. I think it is simple elegance, and quite touching.


The indoor pool is breathtaking with all the beautiful blue and gold mosaic throughout. At the bottom right picture you can see the shallow pool set back into another room. It was only three feet deep and was called the sissy pool. It was mostly for the Easterners who did not have swimming pools and had therefore never learned to swim well. Hearst allowed his staff to swim and participate in most of the events of the day. He expected his guests to treat his staff well. While back East they were called servants at Hearst Ranch they were staff and a guest would be asked to leave if they didn't treat staff as "almost" equal.

Solvang and Hearst Castle

Fun times in Solvang...Wish I had more pics. The 1914 Indian motorcycle that Joey is standing next to was bought by a
man about 1915 when his girlfriend was going off to college in another state. She decided she didn't like college and came home very soon after starting. The poor guy was apparently too afraid to mention to her that he had splurged on the motorcycle so he hid it in his barn and married his sweetheart. He forgot all about it after only putting about 700 miles on it. It was found in that same barn in 1976 when someone was looking for another item for the bicentennial celebration that year. I thought I needed a picture of the Danish motorcycle since we were in a Danish community. Although only neighbors with the Dutch, Solvang made me think of Grandma Walker. I'd love to take her there.

Here is the start of my Hearst Castle extravaganza of pictures. I have not much to tell...but oh my goodness...Wow!

The oldest artifact at Hearst Castle is in this collage. Can you guess what it is? I'm sure I can give it away by saying that it is from
before Moses time or some insanely unbelievable thing like that. I know she mentioned Moses...can't remember if it was before or after.

More of Santa Ines

It seems that any time people do good for others in the name of Jesus Christ that the Holy Ghost is present and you can feel the peace he brings. That is how we felt at Santa Ines. It was very much a sanctuary.

Santa Ines Mission

I'm a bit surprised at what I didn't take pictures of...None around our resort in Solvang...None around town in Solvang...None with the girls and me at the theater, Kiss Me Kate...Darn. However, Lacy and I thoroughly enjoyed our walk over to and tour of this mission/museum. From the back of our resort there was a walking trail in a big open field with 1003 lizards and 57 squirrels and absolutely no snakes...(we hope). Joey and I were on a walk one morning and found out that this field was a short cut over to the Santa Ines mission. Joey took Charlie to an incredibly expensive and elite golf course just a half mile up the road from us...They had gps in their golf carts but couldn't figure out how to use it...=0) While they were basking in the luxury of teeing off in style, and while Delila was every so lovingly babysitting the Little Luke, Lacy and I ventured over to the mission. I don't think we would have made it had we gone through town. We met some girls who volunteered to take a picture of Lacy and me together while I was snapping a shot of Lacy. I asked them what they do in Solvang and they said they were massage therapists. Naturally I had to talk to them a bit more.

Vast Ocean and Many Mini Horses

A day at the beach in Santa Barbara. Joey and I were a bit surprised that the kids didn't want to go any other time, but it was chilly and overcast on that part of the ocean most of the time. We did have fun for the little while we were there.

I think everyone enjoyed the short ride to the Quicksilver Miniature horse ranch. These horses are 26" and under. Pretty adorable...the little filly in the center was only six weeks old. Joey and I thought this could be quite an enjoyable retirement endeavor. The fillies sell from $4-6000 and the colts at about $2500 (or something like that). When you consider that they require a minimal amount of feed and sell for more than many full size horses...hmmm...it's a thought. This ranch was beautiful and immaculate. I loved it...

Nojoqui Falls...Almost Dry In August

It was a bit less awe inspiring than if gushing water had been falling from the top but still quite impressive in a peaceful way. I wanted to give you the feel of how tall the falls were. Although the picture above Joey was more close up, the two pictures together only barely overlap. Wish I could have gotten a little better perspective but these square pics can't do much in that regard. There were so many places in Santa Ynez valley (where Solvang is located) that are difficult to pronounce. This falls topped our list. I could think of a dozen ways to try and "mis-"pronounce it. Finally I gave up trying to come up with something reasonably foreign or Native and settled on NO JOKE EE... As you might have guessed...emphasis on "Joke". So what do you think the pronunciation is. After I've heard from everyone, I'll let you know. No cheating though. You can't look it up... or google it...or any such thing. Just let me know your best bet. Lacy if you remember...don't tell.

Back from Solvang and Indio!!

We are back!! We returned from our trip to California (one week in Solvang and 2 nights in Indio) on Tuesday night. It was such a wonderful time being able to spend a week with Lacy and Luke. We only had a couple days with Jason since he was unable to get out of work... We would have liked more time with him but admire all that he is trying to accomplish. Hang in there, Jason!

So no pictures yet because my head is still kind of spinning with trying to get back into a routine and all... but I am here and expect to be posting very soon.
Love You Family,
Wendy

Delicate Carpet of Flowers.

Wildflowers grow profusely in the mountain tundra above the tree-line. Too cold year-round for trees, the beauty stays much closer to the ground. Nothing is more than about five inches high. Yes, I was practically laying down to snap these pictures.

These pictures, on the other hand, were taken from my car window looking down from the tundra as we were driving up the highest road in America at some 12,000 ft. elevation. It's kinda fun to have a good camera.

Sprague Lake Explained

A pretty bridge to walk on and the Mountains behind us just out of view.

OK...So Delila was posing first and so I posed and then she stopped just before the shot. That was just to make me look silly I think. Tricky-Dee, that's what I call her.

This is the plaque enlarged because I thought it was quite cool... Those are the mtns just out of view in the shot of Joey and me on the bridge. A beautiful place for a lodge but it isn't there any more.

I think you can read this for the most part. This lake was my favorite place at the park. It was so gentle and perfect.

Sprague Lake at RMNP

Peaceful Sprague Lake...at Rocky Mtn. NP.

The tail end of an Elk herd we were trying to catch up with.

My family and Sprage Lake views. A little girl was so enthralled with Crowdin. First she asked us if she could pet our coyote. Then later she asked us, "Is he a coyote or a dog?" We're guessing her parents got to her. Oh, to have your childhood fantasies so dashed.

Even little Tort, our Missouri turtle enjoyed the views. He was screaming..."Put me down. Put me down. This is the right place!" Little did he know he wasn't there yet.

Estes Park as Compared to....

Here are some more pics of the condo and views at Estes Park. Estes Park is the name of a mountain resort town just outside of Rocky Mtn. National park in Colorado. I wish I had some pictures of the town. I think I like it even more than Jackson Wyoming for a couple of reasons. Jackson is about an hours drive from Yellowstone NP and Jackson has gotten so huge. Estes is less than five miles from Rocky Mtn. NP and it still has that small town feel. However, there is no beating Yellowstone NP and happily Worldmark is putting a resort in West Yellowstone, Montana which is just outside the park. Though it's not as cute a town as Estes, we are so excited for that resort to be finished. I haven't yet been everywhere, but I'm pretty sure that Yellowstone is my favorite place in the whole world.

Estes Park Worldmark Condo

(One comment per pic/left to right/top to bottom) Snapshots of the front of our Worldmark condo at Estes Park. JB's sexy pose on the sofa sleeper. Our porch with river behind us. Beautiful river I wanted to walk in. Looking from the river back to our condo on the left and ground level. Master bathroom. Master bedroom. Special needs kitchen. Delila lounging in the 2nd bedroom.

Mountain Glory Effect

So just for fun Kim was showing me how to do the special effects on Picasa. I added two different graduated colors to the clouds of my picture of Rocky Mountain National Park. Kinda crazy. I know.

Rocky Mtn. National Park

Here we are at Rocky Mountain National Park. I was playing with Picasa, my picture progam on the computer, to see what I could actually do. I cropped the picture of Joey and me. Then I changed the picture of Delila and Crowden to sepia. OK? OK...

Nephi Canyon Fire, July 19, 2007

This is the fire burning in Nephi Canyon right as I type. Yesterday, while DeDe and I were at the Old Pinery for girl's camp with our ward and stake, we were evacuated when the fire jumped from the north side of the canyon road to the south. When we got back to Nephi we found that we weren't any further away from the fire but more out of harms way. We are located almost exactly where the center picture is taken. The one to the left of it is just up the road from us. If you follow the road in that picture all the way to its end that you can see...that's how close our home is to the fire. Our house was so full of smoke last night...I didn't know if we needed to evaquate just for the sake of smoke inhalation alone. Our beautiful KOA campground...prettier than any campground Joey and I have seen all across the United States...has been destroyed. The house at the top is our friend Dr. Oveson's. It has been saved so far...as has the Ockey's who live next to and own the KOA. To see more pictures go to ksl.com and click on the lead article Dozens of People Evacuated from San Pete County Due to Wildfire

Walking in the Woods and Fields...Via the Circle

One night I took a slow walk around Kim's circle and fortunately thought to take my camera. I snapped pictures of everything that reminds me of Missouri. Trees, barns, fields of hay, and yes, even the curious neighborhood dogs.

People complain of the humidity. All I feel is the softness of the warm moist air on my skin; all I see is the lush richness it gives to the country it nurtures. I just stay out of it on a hot day unless I'm by a body of water.

When We Saw Kim and Brent

These are the first photos I've been able to get up on my blog since returning from our fabulous 4th of July trip to Kim, Brent and the rest of the Richardson clan's house. We had such a riot. Boyd Bridge may actually be in Excelsior. I'm not too sure. Brent, Kim, Joey and I were meandering around on the way back home from Walmart when we saw it....(Yes, Lacy..."meandering" is a word also. I didn't make it up.)

Ok. So my kids have been to a Royals game. Their lives now have meaning. I'm pretty sure Lacy and Jade went once when they were young. I'll have to check on that one. But at least Delila, JB, and Charlie can definately say they've seen a major league ball game. A little different from when I was a kid and went a few times every season.

Fourth of July Fodder

So we had great fun on the Fourth of July... even with the crazy storm that rolled in. What a downpour!! Dad with the dogs I think is hilarious. You would think he'd be a big dog kinda guy but he loves the little ones too. Crowdin's not quite sure how to take everything. He hardly leaves our side for fear that we might run off and leave him like we did last year...at least that's what it seems like to me. So Kim explained the whole Texas Hold'em poker game on her blog. What a hoot. Aren't all the Gideon pictures so cute. He's a little superstar.

We thought we'd make it to fireworks in Liberty since the rain blew over just in time for some good displays. Unfortunately our plans were completely waylaid when police set up a road block right off the road to Kim's office where we were going to watch them. Couldn't believe they wouldn't let us in. They said the Lots were all full but they weren't talking about her work parking lot, they were talking about down the road further to the arena where they were shooting off the fire works. We tried to talk our way in but to no avail. So we kept on driving until we found ourselves all the way back home.