The past two weekends at our "cabin" have been truly heavenly. Even though we were working hard, the weather and surroundings were so beautiful. We listened to the birds sing and enjoyed the warm but not hot, sunny weather. It's so nice to be near the mountains and look out over the beautiful green valley and see the snow covered mountains on the other side. We love it there. Here I am painting the shutters for the front of the house. You can see below some of what we got put together in the basement.
The view from our deck out over the valley is inspiring. We love the cute barn too.
The afternoon of May 29th I had the opportunity to pick up Tanner from his school activity to the amusement park. We spent that evening and the entire next day together. It was a very special opportunity for me to spend time with my oldest grandchild. It's hard to believe he's 15 1/2 and driving! Where did the time go? He decided he wanted to go to a couple of temples he hadn't been to yet. I was thrilled with that suggestion so we went first to Oquirrh Mountain and then to Draper. Both were beautiful.
Then we checked out the new sporting goods store recently completed in Utah. There is a ferris wheel in the middle, along with lots of photo spots and lots of American heritage displays. It was very interesting.
It's not every day you can sit by Pres. Lincoln in the hot seat. The bench was made of metal and had become quite hot even though it was a mild day. Kids better watch out this summer!
We posed in front of this wildlife mountain inside the store and had an employee take our picture.
Next we had lunch at an all you can eat buffet. As we were leaving, a patron asked Tanner if we were celebrating his graduation. I laughed and said that I was just enjoying the day with my grandson. She laughed and said, "I thought he was your son." I said thanks for her kind, exaggerated words and she said, "No. I really thought you were his mother." We both got complemented there. Young people always want to look older and old people always want to appear younger. We both laughed and enjoyed the moment.
That evening, we were joined at the condo by Heather, Brinley, Anna and Elsie. Elsie and Anna had to try out the pool even though it was chilly.
The next morning while Heather was at the dentist, we went to the zoo. We are glad we went early, as it began to get crowded by the time we were leaving.
After a quick lunch, we all headed north to our "cabin." There is a lot more room there to roam and the neighborhood was really celebrating the end of school so the kids had a good time. Of course, Heather and the older kids helped us move some heavy storage boxes and clean the kitchen cupboards. Heather is always willing to help and volunteer the kids also. We appreciated their efforts.
Darn! That barn looks awfully full of stuff still. We are whittling away at it week by week.
Heather and the kids left for home Saturday morning. Hilary was the first one out the door that morning as she left with her friends to ride in the "Little Red Riding" event. It is a bike riding extravaganza with thousands of women riding bicycles in various groups. Hilary's group rode the longest ride and logged in at 100 miles. Congratulations, Hilary! That's a challenging accomplishment. Here she is after her ride and her shower! She said she hurt more after the 70 mile ride the week before.
Steve didn't have to fly out until Tuesday, so we stayed an extra day to meet with the plumbers, electricians, cabinet and landscaping contractors. The plumbers and electricians finished their work in the basement. Hooray. You'll see the completed photos. Now we are really ready for company. The landscapers started by unloading dirt and several truckloads of boulders. It will be exciting to see what's been done this next weekend.
Here's the blue bathroom. The photo makes it look more purple but it is really sky blue. I was inspired by Shawn's redo of their bathroom. It is fun to deviate from my normal neutral occasionally.
