Mark and Linda's July

We had a great time on a trip with Greg and Lindsey and kids to Yellowstone. Here we are in Burlington at the cemetery. We also explored the old tank on the farm where we gathered a few treasures: some of Mark's early school workbooks, his little bicycle, an old sled and a milk bucket. It was also fun to discover that the old store was still there and everyone chose an icecream bar. It was hot there, and we found that the temps would be high in the park too.

Mark wanted to show the kids the Cody Chapel with it's famous church history mural. There is a senior missionary couple there and Mark was able to tell them a lot about the history of the building. I was especially fascinated with the old Junior Sunday School room which hasn't changed since Mark's day. It felt like stepping back in time. And even though it wasn't MY old sunday school and Primary room- it brought back little-kid memories...with the giant picture of Jesus we used in the 60's and the old pew that stretched across the back of the stand, and the little  podium and the old chairs. This is now a favorite memory for me from our trip.

We spent the night in Cody and went to a rodeo. The next day we drove into the park and looked for a picnic site. We pulled into the first good one we saw ....and drove right out since there were two huge buffalo by the tables! It was so fun to get up close and personal...from the safety of the car! We were able to see a LOT of animals in the park,. including a black bear, and mother bear and 2 cubs, a grizzly (see below), elk, a wolf, pelicans and LOTs of bison.

We enjoyed some hiking in the park. The trail down to the brink of the falls of the Yellowstone River was the hardest. Even though this was an amazing view, i was glad to leave.....scaaaary!

Another favorite memory was seeing this grizzly up so close!!! We watched him pawing at the ground and Sarah informed us that he was digging for worms! (cute!)

Sarah- age 6, Mark, Adam- age 8, Linda, Isaac- age 4, Greg and Lindsey at Yellowstone Canyon. A fun memory is how i taught the kids how to play string games (Cat's cradle ya know.) We also had the fun of finding $5 Yellowstone Park  t-shirts.

Loved picnic lunches in the park. We ate breakfast in our cabins and had dinners in the cafeteria at Canyon or Lake Lodge. Our last night in the park found us waiting outside our cabin for a buffalo to move so we could get out of the cars! After leaving the park we drove down to Star Valley and had dinner with Lindsey's family. She and the kids stayed there and we drove to Salt Lake with Greg and took him to the airport the next day. Mark and I enjoyed hitting a few favorite stores in the valley, and eating dinner at Thai Siam in downtown SL before heading to Salem to see Nette and Jess.

 

 

Nette and I yakked and yakked!!! We made a cute table runner that looks like a giant ruler. It was a lot of fun to go to dinner at a favorite Thai place in Orem and to Hale Theater where we saw "Crazy for You." Nette made us the BEST meals....loved the tacos with the grilled chicken and fish. And Nette made the most scrumptious (Rumbi's Voodoo) salad. She is a master with food. It was amazing to see the stuff they were taking on the trek and to hear what they were in for!!!

I was delighted when Project Runway started in July. I took inspiration from their new "workroom" decor and added these stitching lines to my studio with vinyl strips.

This is one of my favorite little groupings on a shelf in my studio. Isn't the book perfect?

Hope you all have a good last month of summer. I have been thrilled to be able to walk outside again now that i am officially at the 2-year-recovery mark. Getting my hip replaced was one of the best things i have ever done. Happy August to all!