Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Memorial Weekend

The beginning of the week was the graveside service for my aunt. It was a nice service and all the Skeen cousins were there. It has been a long time since we were all together.



At the end of the week we had a schools out party and did exploding chalk on the driveway that if was more like fizzling chalk.





Aubrey could not believe all the excitement.


We also played a mean game of croquet with Connor winning us all.



We had a dinner and then the grand kids slept at out house that night.














Sunday afternoon all those that were in town met at the Plain City cemetery at Gaven's grave. It is good to have family together to remember him.


On Memorial Day we did a hike. We intended to go to Waterfall Canyon but it was so crowded we went to Beus Canyon instead. It was so green and with the small stream at the side of the trail made for a pleasant hike.




We then took the shoreline trail and the landscape changes from a forest to the scrub brush. The wild flowers were out such as this lupine and mules ear and even the Sego Lilly.



We found a high point on the trail and stopped and had lunch.


Then it was time to turn around and head back to the car. The peaks still have some snow on them and this was a very pleasant day and just the right temperature for hiking. On the way back Connor found a large rock to jump off of so his Dad could catch him. 

Mid may and the end of school

The one thing about spring is the changing floral arrangements that take place in the yard. Bulbs are replaced with flowering plants and trees. Each couple of days is a new color to get excited about. Here are a few more seasonal colors as May moves forward.
























Connor had his pre-school graduation. This is the last year and now it is on to Pioneer. He has enjoyed this opportunity and will miss this class.
























The next event was going to a concert with Cameron and Cecelia. It was Celtic Woman which we always enjoy. Many of the faces have changed over the years except the fiddle player who always has so much energy.






















I had to take this picture because the man of Maddie's and Mom's dreams comes out to play the Irish drum and they go wild over him. So this picture is for Maddie since she was not with us this year.
















Sunday, May 15, 2016

Birthdays, Mothers Day and Maddie leaving



May 6-10 saw a lot of activities as we tried to get family things done before Maddie left for Alaska. On the 6th we had a family dinner at Tucanos to celebrate Cameron's birthday. We had a large group as Aaron and Tawna and their family joined us.



After we had our protein overload, Nic was moving a blanket up and down and Aubrey would just get so excited her whole body shook and it was so fun to watch her.



























The next day was the day we assigned to have family pictures taken. The weather the last few days was off and on rain storms. Everyone had different things going on and it seemed that 5:30 in the afternoon was when we all could meet. We met Joni at the West Haven park along the river. The wind was blowing  and it started to look like it was going to rain but we made it in record time and got some pretty good family pictures. Thank you Joni.








The next day was Mothers Day and we all gathered at our house for dinner and to play games. It was good to have everyone together.



Finally it was the day (or early morning ) for Maddie to leave. We had to get up at 3 a.m. to get to the airport so she could catch her plane. Joey mainly did the packing of the bags. One bag was 80lbs and the other 50 as she packed about everything so she would have a stock of things. We watched her go through security where they took her peanut butter jar because it is a prohibited cream and then she was gone. Joey and us had a good cry seeing her leave. We will miss her while she is gone but this will be a good adventure for her.







Later we got some pictures from her for her first day. It is so beautiful where she is at and the lodge has a great view of Mt Drum and the other peaks in the mountain range.











A bike ride and then wind

The spring runoff has raised the river which sometimes blocks part of the bike trails.  Maddie,Cindy and myself decided to take a ride one day and see how far we could go on the trail that goes to West Haven. We came to the confluence of the Ogden and Weber and saw the different colors of the rivers as they join together. The Ogden River is the clearer water on the left side without as much sediment.




We went for a ways but then was stopped because the trail was flooded between I-15 and 1900 West.


















On the evening of April 30 and May 1 we had strong winds with gusts up to 90 miles an hour. We lost some shingles which was not bad compared to others. A portion of a tree broke and landed on Nic and Shannon's roof. Other places even had worst damage than ours.



During that strong wind a colt was born in the field across the street from us. We saw the colt Sunday morning looking out the window and it was evident that it had recently been born. This may be the last time we see these things as the field is planned to become a subdivision.