After work today, I went to the 40th birthday party for my friend Manny Camacho. He lives in Texas and works for the wind-power industry, but he happened to be in Utah, so he invited old friends to hang out for his birthday. It had been so long since I had seen him, and it was so nice to connect! He has a beautiful family.
Also, Lily took the kids on an outing today, and I’m not totally sure what it was, but it looks fun!
Today Ammon and Clarissa pretended they were running a restaurant using magnetites for food. It was very fun for them to serve me their delicious food.
Today I completed a 13 mile Spartan Race with Kicker, Trace, Paul, Max, Paul and Dave. It was so fun! Kicker is Trace’s brother, and the rest of the guys are people I used to lead on team Spartacus. It was so amazing to get back together with them. The race was so fun. Some parts of it were very long stretches of steep uphill or downhill. Dave and Paul both got bad cramps (Dave’s were the worst), and not everyone in the group were runners, so we walked/hiked most of it. Still, I had an amazing time and the obstacles were so fun. I was so grateful to Lily for supporting my run this day. It was so fun to be with the guys and have fun with the race. I’m hooked and want to do more!
Happy Birthday Georgia! Today, we celebrated Georgia’s 78th birthday! We had a wonderful time having her over today. Lily made a fancy German Pancake Breakfast, and then Georgia spent time with the family. I came up from work around noon to help finish the Cobb salad Lily made and grill the chicken. The BQQ chicken Cobb salad is one of my all time favorite dishes and it was so fun to share it with Georgia. Lily also marinated the chicken deliciously, and we had some yummy spicy sauce for those interested.
Georgia, we love you and we are so grateful we could share this day with you. You have faced your challenges with grace and courage, and you continue to bless our family with love, kindness and your smile. Happy Birthday!
When I took Georgia home, I was delighted to find that Legacy Village (her care center) had won the “Best of State” award, and it made me very happy to feel affirmed that Georgia is in a good place. I also loved how the people at the front desk exploded with happy birthday wishes when I walked in with Georgia, and when she got back to her area, they had cake already for her and every sang happy birthday and she blew out candles. I got it on camera.
Also, in the evening, Ammon built a magnetite creation that he was very proud of.
Today I took the day off of work and spent time with the family in Salt Lake. We also had Lizzie along which was so fun! First we ate Spitz together in Sugarhouse Park.
Then we all went to “This is the Place Park”. We checked out the monument first and then all the kids panned for gold and searched for gemstone in the fake sand while Lily and I relaxed.
Then, for a date, Lily and I went to the Mercantile restaurant in Heber. We had a difficult time emotionally together and I think it is because of all of the stress we have both been under. We walked around Cascade Springs and the beauty was wonderful. We were both feeling better the next day, but this night was quite difficult for us.
Today I made an oatmeal breakfast for everyone and then we broke camp and saw Black Canyon of the Gunnison. It was a remarkable canyon and is the most remarkable canyon in the US when one takes into considerations narrowness, steepness and depth.
We were blown away by the views and excited to get another National Park checked off the list. That was the last remaining park we hadn’t seen that was within 10 hours of our home. We then drove the 6 hours to make home in time to watch fireworks. And there were so many fireworks all around us! There were neighbors setting off fireworks and a lot of public shows we could see near the lake from our view. I stood outside with the Lydia and Ammon (the usual firework lovers) and chatted with neighbors while enjoying the show for a good 45 minutes. The weather was perfect as we watched fireworks (as it was the whole time in Black Canyon of the Gunnison) and it was a really pleasant 4th of July evening. Lily even made a peach cobbler to boot!
One of my favorite things on earth is camping with my family. It doesn’t make much sense why it makes me so happy, especially when one considers how much work is involved, but still, for some reason I can’t explain, I love every second of being in nature, and camping with my family. Everyone enjoyed today, but most especially Basil :).
We started driving at the end of my work day and made it to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim campground around 7PM. We had plenty of day light to put up the tent, set up sleeping bags and mats and cook dinner. I really enjoy cooking while camping, and Lily did such an amazing job on the tinfoil dinners (she used halloumi cheese, it was so good!). After dinner, we ate banana boats. After dinner, I hung out by the fire alone for a while just to be with nature, my thoughts and the campfire (while everyone else went to bed) and it was very peaceful and good for my soul.
Today Lily and I exercised at the park nearby. It was a little warm, but we loved talking to each other. At home, Lily worked with the kids and folded laundrey while I worked at my computer and did some cleaning. Lily and the kids have been making so much progress on the kids’ reading and instruments! Lily has been spending a lot of deep time practicing instruments with the kids and doing Clarissa’s reading lessons, the kids have been focussing on practicing, and Lydia is even spending time helping Clarissa learn to read with flashcards. It’s also amazing how Ammon’s reading has taken off. He is really enjoying his Bad Guys books. Lily and I were delighted to see Ammon, Mary and Lydia peacefully reading when we walked into the living room in the morning. I’m so glad Lily being a bookworm has made its way to our children! Also, Ammon and Clarissa played a lot together today. Here are some videos they captured of their time together.
In the evening, we went to visit my mom and Jay for a 4th of July dinner together. David, Olivia and Ozzie were also there. We had a great time talking about jobs, travel disaster stories (my brother is a scream puker lol) and my mom’s new home and Hawaii property. We had a great time and on the way home we shopped for our Black Canyon trip the next day and packed and prepped food for the camping trip. I’m so excited!
In the morning, Lily and I started slowly, but then the day picked up steam as I biked and worked at my computer while Lily made huge progress on music with the kids. Lydia was at a party at Lizzie’s house most of the day and I played a game with the other three kids where we pretended I was a desperate parent trying to manage misbehaved kids.
Then we all went on a hike at horsetail falls. It was so fun! Clarissa, of course, protested a lot and Lydia did not like the bugs, but I think by the end, everyone had a great time. One funny part was when there were some bugs, and Lydia said, “this is a nightmare” and Clarissa quickly agreed, “you’re right this is a nightmare.” Lol, but again, I think in the end, everyone had a good time, aided by jelly beans and hi chews every quarter mile on the way up, due to Lily’s recent inspiration from a lady’s advice on the Steward Falls trail. Right at the end Ammon saw a rattle snake close to him, and it really rattled him (no pun intended), but he eventually calmed down and saw it as a unique and even kind of cool experience. It really scared him though. Clarissa was still mourning the In-N-Out burger she didn’t finish from the day or two before (and Lily let Ammon finish it), and we told her she could get In-N-Out if she did a good job hiking which she did. The rest of the family preferred Zupas, and we were very fortunate to find a Zuppas right next to an In-N-Out in American fork. We enjoyed our dinner and got home at 10:40. What a day! Below are pictures and videos.
Clarissa had fun taking pictures of herself today 🙂
