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.

Jade's Big Bad # Twenty ... Continued

So here's some of the other Birthday gifts besides the abundance of Delila gifts. The first gift is her card from Snook and PJ with a lovely twenty tucked inside. The rest is an assortment of gifts from Dad and me. Pay particular attention to the bottom row. Jade's first reaction to the card I gave her. Then we decided to show exactly why she reacted that way. Pretty card on the outside...NOTHING on the inside. Yep. Leave it to Mom. I forgot to write inside my dear daughter's card. I was completely oblivious. The whole time she opened it, I didn't even realize...Until she turned it around for me to see. Nice, Mom...

DeDe says "Happy Big #20 Jade!!"

Jade's Birthday Craziness!! These are the gifts from Delila. She knew Jade liked to go to Gold's Gym so got her a bunch of work-out stuff. Dee said, "I'm not saying you're fat, Jade." She even gave her a champagne glass filled with Rolos to prove it. DeDe also made Jade's cake... For Cute...

Becky's Bridal Shower @ Andrea & Brandon's House

Becky, Ali, and Andrea at Becky's Bridal Shower. She is Kevin's new wife and makes a beautiful addition to Renee's daughters. Andrea is Brandon's wife. Brittney, Steven's wife wasn't able to make it, but they are all beautiful girls.

We had a lot of fun making candy bar posters and playing bridal shower bingo. Becky's mom is next to her on the right and Shauni, Kevin's grandma, is on Becky's left.

Youth Conference 2007.... Stop #1...Temple Square

Our whole ward youth conference group is in the center shot with the Salt Lake Temple. Seeing the Joseph Smith movie was a great and moving experience for all of us. Joey had to make fun of me for wobbling around on the ledge when I was snapping a shot of the Temple so then he had the brilliant idea to get a picture of us falling into the fountain...(No...we didn't actually fall in.) Our carload was a lively group...the oldest kids at the conference...so naturally they were completely comfortable cutting up. Laying on the floor was the best way for them to appreciate the ornate ceiling in one of the wedding reception rooms.

Paris Idaho Tabernacle...Youth Conference 2007

The Paris Tabernacle is in the small town of Paris Idaho...Designed by one of Brigham Young's sons and completed 1889. It was a beautiful place to tour at our Youth conference. The last picture is a blow up of the chapel ceiling...built by a ship builder...Though you can't see the beams in the chapel very well, they go from floor to ceiling and are each carved from one entire log. They must be about 30 feet at least.