"What do you do on Saturday night, go down and throw rocks in the lake?"

 Since Todd and I had a little taste of gold panning in Alaska, we thought we would try it on our own.  One Saturday night, we headed up to American Fork Canyon and started panning.  We are very new at this hobby, so at this point, I felt like we were just throwing back the rocks in the river as we panned.  The classic Parent Trap quote did come to my memory.

4th of July

 What a nice start for a 4th of July! We watched the parade while sitting in the shade while the kids waited for the candy to fly!

 In the afternoon, the kids did slip n' slide, water guns, and we enjoyed a delicious cook out. 

We drove home during the peak firework hour, so we saw quite a few fireworks throughout 3 counties. 

Hailey and Chris' weekend

 After the tin foil dinner with the family, we had Hailey and Chris spend the weekend with us.  We had a great time hosting them. The weekend included bocce ball, movie night, and smoothies.  But the best part was driving Nebo Loop, having a picnic, and soaking out feet in the river.  The yellow flowers were everywhere.

 We stopped for a picnic at Blackhawk camp ground.  The jean picnic blanket sure came in handy.(thanks Mom and Grandma!)

 My favorite part about the Nebo Loop is the Utah valley overlook.  We stopped there for pictures and to see the whole valley!  You can see Mount Timp, Utah Lake, Y Mount, etc.

 This overlook is called Beaver Dam overlook---not sure why the name??? but there are plenty of trees.

 We walked around Payson Lake. 

After soaking our feet in the river, we spotted a deer.  Then, it was time to go home since we always guarantee wildlife on our tours. (Last year, when Hailey and Chris were here, they saw a moose.)

Tin foil dinners and S'mores

A few weeks ago, we were excited to have the Fishers come for tin foil dinners at South Fork park.  We always enjoy going up and using the same spot with the fire pit and picnic table where Todd proposed.  Thankfully, we were able to claim it. 

 Not only did we enjoy yummy tin foil dinners and s'mores, we played baseball, football, and took a nature walk.

Thanks Roger, Jill, Chris, Susan, Mark, Louise, and family for coming!

Alpine Loop Date Night

 After work, Todd and I grabbed some dinner and headed to the mountains to escape the traffic and the heat.  We stopped to eat at the amphitheater by Aspen Grove. 

 There was plenty of snow on Timp Mountain.

 While driving the Alpine Loop, we stopped at the Tibble Fork Reservoir.  This spot was my favorite view. 

 We also stopped to walk around Sun dance ski resort.  We did this while on our second date, after making cookies, we drove up and walked around Sun dance.  It was fun be back there after several years. (I remember taking my first picture of Todd on my camera phone while we were there back in June 2008.)

 There is so much water flowing and so much green!

Thanks Todd for a wonderful date night to enjoy nature's beauty.

Alaska Adventures

We had a grand adventure exploring the Inside Passage of Alaska. We stopped at the Tracy Arm Fjord, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Victoria. Skagway was a full day of the train ride, gold mining, and shopping in the town. We saw humpback whales, bald eagles, and harbor seals on the wildlife boating excursion in Juneau, as well as visited the Mendehall glacier. What a nice town to explore in as we wondered around Ketchikan. In Victoria, we took an evening stroll through this beautiful garden city. Todd and I discovered the magnificent Alaskan traits. I also enjoy spending every moment together with Todd. These pictures are a taste tester of our fun times. Above is one of the largest polar bears they have found. This is one of the few bears we saw, so we will just have to go back one day.

Mendenhall Glacier National Park---a wonderful glacier as well as a waterfall right next to it

In Ketchikan, we wondered around and found a beautiful walkway. Here is a view of our ship.

We enjoyed finding some fun street signs. Above, is Todd's road now. Below is Alaska Street found in Skagway.

Todd was most excited to pan for gold. We ended up walking away with $26 worth of gold! See the shiny gold found in our pans.

The train ride through the White Pass was based off of a trail that gold miners used to head to Dawson City for the Klondike Gold Rush.

We rode the entire time out on the train landing, getting the freshest air and best view speeding through the mountains.

We got onto the cruise ship in Seattle.

We enjoyed our fantastic dinners eating with a couple from Louisiana. They lived in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and we heard about their experience during it---came back to a two story home filled with mud.

Victoria located in British Columbia was lovely. We strolled along the city, enjoying the gardens, and the night lights outlining the beautiful buildings.

My favorite part was the wildlife boating trip in Juneau. We saw Humpback whales, harbor seals, and bald eagles. I, (the camera-less person as Todd was taking care of that) was know for saying, "Get it, get it, get it" as I excitedly saw the eagle perfectly soar over us, as everyone else was taking pictures of the whales. So the picture below was one of the combined Alaskan wildlife pictures we got of the whale and eagle.

Rest of the Birthday Weekend

After a wonderful river walk, we headed back south. We stopped in Eagle Mountain to see a Clint Black concert and firework show.
Then on that Sunday, I had one more surprise for Todd. After church, I set the table for two. But once dinner time arrived, David and President DJ Smith (aka Todd's friend and boss) surprised him to join us for one last birthday dinner. We had potatoes, meatloaf (Jenny's recipe), rolls (Debbie's recipe), and carrot cake. Happy Birthday Todd!