We have had a busy spring.  Late in April our grandson, Scott Weber, married his sweetheart, Traci Thomas in the San Diego Temple.  Leonard opted to stay at home and assist Craig with the farming.  As it turned out, it rained nearly the entire time I was away, so he certainly could have gone without a problem.  Our daughter-in-law, Maria, and I left on Friday morning and flew into the San Diego airport.  We rented a small car and drove to our motel.  Using the GPS capabilities on her phone Maria was able to get us everywhere we needed to go.  Alan and Connie and the wedding party were staying at another motel one mile away.  We were able to navigate the traffic and meet all our schedules without a hitch.

Friday evening we met the other wedding guests behind Alan & Connie's hotel at the BBQ area.  While Alan supervised the tri-tip cooking we mingled around the pool area and visited with the family and friends of Scott and Traci.  We were surprised to see Patty Barch there.  She had come with Alan and Connie as a surprise to Traci.  Traci and her companion had baptised Patty's husband before his death, while they served in Parma while on their mission to Boise, Idaho.  Maria and I took Patty under our wing and the three of us spent a great week-end together. 

Because of the cool breeze and temperature, the hotel offered us their serving area for the BBQ dinner which Connie and Alan had prepared.  It was most welcome to enter a warm and convenient dining area just inside the doors.  We enjoyed an evening of visiting and eating with some humor involved.  In the middle of our meal, a couple came down from upstairs, saw us eating and helped themselves to the buffet.  We smiled to ourselves as they carried their filled plates upstairs to their room.

Maria, Patty, and I arose early and attended a session at the San Diego Temple on Saturday morning and then witnessed the sealing of Scott and Traci.  Afterwards we waited for the Bride and Groom and began taking pictures. 

We were finally able to eat at 2:30 p.m. in a pizzaria just across the interstate from the temple.  That is where I was able to get this great picture of the temple.

We returned to our hotel and changed clothes for a garden reception which was held at Traci's parent's Ward Primary president's home.  She was gracious enough to offer their backyard for the reception.  As Connie and Traci were setting up, the owner came out and welcomed them.  She inquired if Connie knew a relatives of theirs who lived in Parma, Janice Bowers.  Her husband is Janice's brother!  It is a small world within the Church.  Here are pictures from the reception and ring ceremony.

Beauty

Attached are photos of our lovely front dahlia bed.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Five New Kittens

Several days ago I was outside and heard the familiar sound of new kittens mewing for their mother.  Upon investigation, I found four babies wandering under our walnut tree barely able to walk.  It was evident their eyes had just recently opened.  Today they were out again by the woodpile and were much more agile.  When I got close for a photograph, I discovered there were actually five!  Counting the mother and the one survivor from her last litter earlier this year, we now have 7 cats! 

So many of you have asked how Mother enjoyed her 90th Birthday celebration that I decided I would go ahead and write about it, even though I don't have the pictures to post.   My siblings and I met at Mother's on Sunday, Sept. 12 to decide where and when and how we would celebrate Mom's Birthday.  With Mom's help we decided to meet for dinner at her favorite restuarant, The Jade Garden, on the evening of her birthday, Sept. 14.  Mike and Karen agreed that they could manage that amid all the wedding plans for their granddaughter, Hailey.   We then excused Mother to the kitchen to visit with Ron Hawley, Steven and Angel Mendoza, and Leonard.  They played a game of Hand and Foot--which mother won, of course, while we continued with our plans for her big day. 

My older sister, Noreen, on the previous Tuesday had found a great bargain at Fred Meyer's.  They had all their diamond jewlrey on sale for 70% off and if she bought something that day it was an additional 20% off for Seniors!  She purchased a "Journey" necklace with 6 diamonds totalling over 1 karot, with the stipulation that she could return it if we did not agree on the gift.  At that price we all agreed to pitch in and be done with the shopping!  It is a beautiful piece.  Noreen also suggested that we write something fitting to give with it to explain the gift and  make it really special.  She was assigned the job, but tried to get out of it.

The next afternoon, I felt prompted to sit down at the computer and see what I could come up with.  After an hour, I called Noreen and asked her what she had written.  She said she had been up most of the night, but hadn't gotten much down on paper.  I read to her what I had composed and she was thrilled to tears, saying it was perfect.  Below is the poem we gave with our gift:

Two Hikes Each Day!

We usually took two hikes a day, one in the early morning, another in the late afternoon.  It worked great.  We even took a nap a couple of days.  Tom outdid us though, one morning he got up early and did the extreme Angel's Landing hike.  The rest of us slept in and that day did only an afternoon hike.  Because the hikes all were different we enjoyed each one.  I can't recall which was taken when, but here are pictures from some of them.

Here is the hike that Tom arose at 5:30 a.m. to experience:

Here is what Tom ventured without us:

This part of the trail even Tom didn't attempt.  It is the width shown (about 3-4 foot across) and has a 3,000 ft. drop off on each side!  Truly it is an Angel's Landing!

Zion!

Here is where we stayed while in Zion.  Tom & Julie made the reservations and gave us the suite complete with living room, full kitchen facilities, and extra long bathtub--perfect for soothing aching muscles!

Julie's pick for a site to eat our lunch.  The day was warm, the Visitor Center crowded, tables public and sunny.  We loved her choice!  Of course, I have my mouth full--as always!

This picture includes a hummingbird hovering over the river can you find it?  There were several which came while we enjoyed our meal.

After eating lunch, touring the visitors center  and getting settled into our rooms, we took the tour bus up the canyon and viewed all the trailheads.   We chose the river trail as our first choice:

Taken from the bus window on the drive up the canyon.

As you can see it was a beautiful trail and not too strenuous.

Or was it?

Actually, we just needed to cool off our feet after making the end of the trail.  The narrows would have been the best part of the trail, but as you can see, there was just too much water to go much further.    We had a wonderful day!

Red Rock Canyon & onto Zion

On Thursday, May 27 we drove to Zion's National Park.  We did not stop at Red Rock Canyon that day, but did on the way out from Zions early the morning of the 29th, and did a short but breathtaking (in every sense of the word) hike.  These are a few of the scenes.

If any of you go be sure to visit this sight and take the walk to the Forestry Cabin.  Your Great-grandfather and grandmother Whitaker stayed in one of these the first summer they were married.  What a honey-moon!

Yep, that was their table!

Having purchased a lifetime Golden Age pass several years ago at Yellowstone, we were able to provide free entrance to Tom & Julie and ourselves at all of the parks.  It was a great advantage to us on this trip.  Before entering the Zion's National Park proper, we were astounded at the canyon walls.

We called this quilt rock, but the park named it checkerboard.  Amazing!!!  The horizontal and vertical lines are made by water and freezing temperatures.  This phenomena is found in only a few places in the park, and no where else on earth. 

These are a few of the views we enjoyed before we reached the gate entrance, even though these pictures were taken as we left the park to return home.  When we first saw them, we had no idea that each was a unique sample.