The Almost Naked Indian

Meet the almost naked indian.

I honestly have no idea why this statue is on the BYU campus.  

I do know this:

I passed this statue every school day for four years.

His pattern of dress does not meet the BYU Honor Code.

My roommates and I thought he was HOT!

A picture of me looking dreamily up into the naked indian's eyes may or may not exist.

With this picture, I have officially passed the torch on to my daughter.

She didn't look dreamily into his eyes (thankfully--she's only five!)

But, just after I snapped this photo, Karina turned and totally looked up his loin cloth.

Oh my.

A Real Parade!

We have parades in our sleepy little town, but at BYU we got to see a real parade--complete with a marching band, dancers, candy, firetrucks, and a firing cannon that blows your ears out!  It was awesome!  Well, the cannon was a little much, but other than that, we thoroughly enjoyed the festivities for BYU's Homecoming celebration.

The kids frantically gathered the candy that was thrown out every few minutes.  Jason pumped up Kyle to run all over the place and grab candy in between the parade floats.  He took his job very seriously.

Jason and I had to laugh at this float--BYU's Pillars of Sustainability--which was built with all recycleable material, paper, cardboard, plastic, pop cans, etc.  It's great that BYU and other Utahn's are now touting their environmental awareness.  Unfortunately, they're about three decades behind the curve.  It's something we complained about all the time when we lived in Utah ten years ago.  Sorry, guys!  You're a little late to the game!

Can you see this guy?  He did a laid-out flip twisty thingy over these other students.  They all did it, in fact.  Like a wicked game of leap frog.  My kids went berserk when they saw them doing this.  It was pretty cool.

The kids got to see their cousins and Aunt Allison and Uncle Chad during the parade.  Karina and Elizabeth played and danced to the parade music the whole time.  

The Golden Spike

On our way to Salt Lake City, Jason veered off the freeway to visit The Golden Spike National Historic Site in northern Utah.  Forgive my historical ignorance, but I had no idea what this was all about.  I was surprised to discover the incredible history found in this remote area of Utah and the significance it had on our great nation years ago.

This was where the two rail lines, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific, met to finally complete the transcontinental railroad in the United States in May 1869.  The completion of this project changed our nation in many ways--providing faster, easier routes to the west, carrying supplies back and forth across the country, modernizing the frontier's way of life, etc.  It was an exciting time in US history.

Kyle is standing next to a replica of the Golden Spike.  There were two originals that were used on the day the railroad was completed.  One disappeared and the other is at the Stanford University campus in California.  The kids were interested in learning about the railroad for about 3.5 seconds and then they resorted to this....

Actually, they were very well-behaved when we toured the storage garage where the replicas of the train engines are held.  Our jaws dropped as we entered the building and saw the engines, named Jupiter and No. 119.  What beautiful, magnificent machines!  The park ranger gave a very informative tour and allowed us to ask questions.  The kids (especially Kyle) were very astute and asked some really great, meaningful questions.  I loved seeing them be so inquisitive and observant.

My favorite bit of information we learned was about the men who worked to build these rail lines from Sacramento to Omaha.  They were fiercely competitive and industrious--and they were thoroughly enjoying  their paychecks from the government to build the rail lines.  In fact, they were so driven by the project and the income it produced, they actually continued to build the rail lines past and parallel to each other until the government finally stepped in to establish a final meeting point and order them to end the project.  Hey, if the money's comin'......

A week away

Our week of vacation was much anticipated and thoroughly enjoyed.  From trains to parades, football games  to family dinners, pumpkin patches to alpine slides, we had our share of fun and adventure in beautiful Utah.  

I had forgotten how beautiful the changing fall leaves are on the trees.  

We stayed up in the mountains and the drive to our hotel was breathtaking every single day.  

We found our street!

It was a really great week full of memories made and family friendships renewed.  

We are grateful to have spent the time together.

Goodbye summer, hello Utah!

We've really enjoyed this beautiful, sunny, and warm fall weather that has stuck around since summertime.  The kids have been walking or riding their bikes to school.  We've gone to soccer practices without umbrellas and raincoats.  I haven't even taken an inventory of winter clothes and rubber boots yet.  I've taken every opportunity to soak up the rays of the sun.  The past few months I've felt rather sun-deprived and can't seem get enough warmth and light into my body.  A permanent lawn chair sits in the middle of the lawn where I sit and read a book or open the mail or just relax.  These last warm days have been glorious.

But, as I viewed the weather forecast for the next few days, I see the rain creeping back into our lives.  Sigh.  I know once it starts, it won't stop for several months.  Luckily, as the rain comes in, we'll be leaving for a family vacation to Utah.  I'm hoping the rain won't chase us.  Rain, rain, go away.  We want to play!

Open for business?

Moving is messy--whether it's your house or your business.  It's just plain messy.

But we're getting there. One day at a time.

And we're open for business.... sorta.

Between the moving and organizing, we're trying to service our customers 

and get appointments rolling again.  

It's a tricky balance.

And a lot of work!

Banner going up....

Showroom getting stocked....

Inventory shelves being filled....

Shop equipment being installed...

Our dream is becoming a reality.  

Did I mention it's a lot of work?