DC in December

It was my good fortune to spend the first weekend of December in DC with the kids. I participated in the ordination of Jeremy as his was called into the bishopric of the Capital Hill Ward. It was great to be with them and have a little fun together in addition to the business at hand.

We celebrated Tennyson's birthday a little early. He really does enjoy playing with his "trash truck".



Tennyson playing with his toys by mom.



It was my good fortune to have the Museum of American History and the new boondoggle , er I meant Visitor Center at the US Capital open up the week prior to my coming to town. The last time I was at the American History Museum I couldn't remember finding out where Dorothy's slipper's were. This time we found them and I took a picture. By the way, both of these facilities are well worth seeing.



Jeremy in front of the Capitol (the visitor center is basically underground here.)



Me in front of the Capitol. I dressed somewhat warmer than Jeremy.



Jeremy looking up through the Visitor Center ceiling windows to the Capitol dome.



Me in front of Jeremy's future employer (Supreme Court).



Suzanne, Jeremy and I went to a great restaurant, the Sequoia, located on the banks of the Potomac. This tree was in front of the building adding to a beautiful sight and evening.



Enjoying the tree in front of the White House. We didn't stay long because it was downright cold this night.



The night after getting home our ward Relief Society had asked me to sing We Three Kings with a couple of other ward members. They told me to come in costume. Do I really look kingly or more like a clown?

Spooky!

Here are a few pictures of the Halloween activities. Some are adorable. Some are funny. Some are just plain scary.

How about that Doug and Laura clan. They make a pretty neat looking Flintstone family.



Cute Kaylee



Tessa working on the finishing touches to Bronson.



Grandma Pat is dressed up in the same 'ol costume she has had for the past week. It is nice to see her smiling.



Could this be Thatcher and Bronson? Oh! the power of example. Grandma and Grandpa will never live it down.



Bridger, one tired Giraffe.



The Shupe group. Little Weston dressed up in his penguin attire (he didn't like it much).



Beautiful Annalese. No she is not a princess. She is a fairy. Just ask her.

St. George, Vegas, and Thatcher

We spent a restful and fun week Oct 4-11 at our home in St. George and subsequently went to Las Vegas. We hung out with our friends from Farmington, NM, the Pugmires, and had a great time.

On Saturday, Oct 4, there was a real nice storm that hit Southern Utah. This picture the next morning shows snow on the mountains to the north. A beautiful sight.



Did we every show you the park just below our house in St George? It will be a great place for the kids to party.



Here we are at the Luxor. Ralph and Jay went and saw "The Body" exhibit and were totally impressed.



A great respite is going to the beautiful Las Vegas Temple. The celestial room is totally "heavenly".

One of the highlights of the Vegas trip was going to see the Phantom of the Opera play. Totally spectacular. We hope that all of our daughters and daughters-in-laws will be able to see this someday. (The guys would love it, too.) One of the best productions we have ever seen.



We hurried home to participate in Thatcher being ordained a Deacon on Sunday, Oct 12. We are very proud of him. A truly wonderful grandson!





We had to throw in a picture of cute, little Bridger. Some may not have seen Tessa's new addition to her pearlies. I guess having it done once when she was a teenager wasn't enough. In reality, Tessa is looking terrific.

North! To Alaska!

What a great Trip! Pat and I went on an Alaska cruise of the inside passage. These pictures will give you a little of the flavor of what we experienced. I came to realize that Alaska is: Big, Beautiful, Wet, and Cold.

Saturday, September 6, 2008
Leaving Seattle. I am still amazed how the cruise ship crew can manuever a 100,000+ ton piece of steel around like they do.


Sunday, September 7
Just chilled out at sea with the other 16 Cargill employees and spouses. Here is Shane and Jennifer Holt enjoying a little sushi.




Monday, September 8
Our first stop, Juneau (we did see Governor Palin's mansion). We had a great excursion of the Mendenhall Glacier (would you believe this icefield is 1500 square miles!), went to the state museum, nature trails, and a large salmon hatchery (see me kissing one below).






Tuesday, September 9
Up to Skagway. This is very much a gold rush town (research 1898-1900). We had a great time riding the train to the top of Pass (3000 ft). We rode a Motor Coach (aka bus) back down taken pictures along the way. The young lady with Pat was our bus driver and tour guide. We went to a cool place that was converted into a late 19th century gold mine where we panned for gold. We panned out about $13 in gold and then subsequently had it made into a $25 necklace. Ah, capitalism. The population of Skagway is around 800. Back during the gold rush there were over 80 brothels in town. Our tour ended by taken a tour of the Skagway Inn and also eating lunch there. It was also known for its infamous activity.

Wednesday, September 10
A day on the Golden Princess. We were really looking forward to this day. This big cruise ship took us up the Tracy Arm Fjord. You can tell from our pictures that this was a cold, wet day. The upside was numerous waterfalls created as well as the subdued light making the icebergs appear a brilliant blue color. You can see the icebergs floating around and pictures of the glaciers. An incredible place.













Thursday, September 11
A great day in Ketchikan. We went with one of my consultants and his wife (Jed and Jaimee Southwick from Richfield) on a adventurous Backcountry Four Wheel safari and then canoed a cross a beautiful lake for lunch. We had an absolute blast. We thought it was going to be tame, but we had water and mud flying completely over the top of our jeep. (see the vegetation on top of the jeep). The five twenty something guides cooked us a great chowder and salmon meal, took us on a nature lecture. Of course we were the fastest canoe. The last picture in this section was also our last formal night. As you may know, you eat way too much on these cruises.










Friday, September 12
We concluded our trip in Victory, B.C. As you will remember, we went here last year for the sales contest trip so many of us were quite familiar with the area. Victoria is definitely a beautiful city. Flowers like none other.