Missing You

Miss You today.
Love, love, love

Me

What a great weekend

I can't imagine a better weekend. Golf tournament on Friday - Movie in air conditioned comfort with the kids on Saturday - Hiking into Big Elk Creek on Sunday!
AND, I'd like to mention that every detail of our day today was perfection. We started by meeting some friends at Starbucks - I had a Venti, triple shot, sugar-free caramel skinny latte. (Perfect)

We had made sandwiches to take along on our hike. Deli sliced turkey, ham and roast beef with havarti and some nice colby jack. Chris has grown some pretty little leaf lettuce in our garden and we had that on our sandwiches with that delicious mustard that the Saucy Sisters in Pocatello sell at the farmers market. (Ummmm yeah...Perfect)

We drove about 1 hour, just past Palisades Reservoir and turned left off the road. Just a little drive up a dirt road, past a campground and to the trailhead. No one had on a pedometer, so we're just guessing we hiked about 3 miles in. It was nice and cool in some areas, and the smells were amazing! We saw tons of wildflowers and some really incredible scenery in general. Delaney is getting really good at spotting and identifying different types of wildflowers and she is just a teriffic hiker. She always has been! She can go for miles and miles and miles and she never complains. She likes to stop and look around and she's one of those kids who seems to appreciate what she's seeing. Cameron, on the other hand, seems to struggle a little bit. He has a hard time finding a pace - so there is a lot of sprinting and stopping and sprintint and stopping. It makes it kind of hard to hike with him. Then he just goes, goes, goes until he's out of gas and the walk out can always be a little challenging. He won the family award for "Hiker Who Tried The Hardest" today. I should win the award for "Mom that encouraged a surly 6 year old for 3 miles!" We stopped at the Rainey Creek Store for a world famous square ice cream (Delaney had Rainey Creek Mudslide, Chris had Raspberries and Cream and Cameron and I both chose Rainbow Sherbet) (They were a Perfect treat after a long hike) and we made it home in plenty of time to have a hot shower and watch the Next Food Network Star!

Other fun details from our day -

We got to wade up to our hips in some seriously cold water!

Cameron and I drank heartily from a fresh mountain spring and I hope (for you Tuck Everlasting fans) that we don't stop aging as of today.

Hannah got a ton of exercise and is stiff and sore tonight.

We saw a ton of butterflies while we were hiking.

We saw 3 elk running through a wheatfield on our way to Big Elk Creek.

Hannah scared up some sage grouse that flew into a tree and then took off after a duck and ended up about a half mile downstream- LOL

We were dirty and hot and sweaty at the end of our day, but came home to hot showers, clean jammies, and some nice memories.

See? A perfect day!

There has to be a joke in here somewhere

Wayne and I got invited to play in a celebrity golf tournament yesterday afternoon at Sand Creek Golf Club in Idaho Falls. I was pretty excited because I don't get to play as much as I would like to, and when you "have" to play golf for a work event, well...let's just say it's better than your average workday.
When we got there, Wayne and I found out we would be separated (apparently there just weren't enough "celebrities" to go around) It's set up so that I would play 3 holes with one group, wait for the next group to come up, play 3 holes with them, wait for the next group and so on and so on.
I headed to #10 to meet my first group. Four guys that work at the site - a bunch of engineers - and really good golfers. I was nervous for several reasons. 1. I'm a pretty low level "celebrity." 2. I'm not a very good golfer by any means. Walking up to strangers and introducing myself, and then teeing it up and driving down the fairway was pretty daunting. But I got off to a great start - 240 yard drive right down the middle. It was pretty!
Then I took out my 7 iron and was onto the green in 2. NICE! Feeling good now - ready to play on.
At hole #13 those guys moved on, and I got a new group. Again 4 guys from the site - all engineers - all members of the Eagles Lodge - all drinking vodka punch out of a cooler on the back of their cart. FUNNY! We had a pretty good time, but I played like poop for the next three holes. Except, on hole #13 I did get onto the green in 1.
So then as I was on hole #15 (my last hole with this group) I came around the corner and saw Wayne! He said he was playing poorly and was coming to check on me and see if I was doing all right. He had already introduced me to a man that I knew would be in my next group - the Stake President of our LDS "stake." (Stakes are larger geographic areas the church uses to break its huge congregation into smaller groups, and "wards" are smaller still--just some Mormon education for you uninformed gentiles). So I know I'm leaving the drinking Eagles, and playing 3 holes with the serious golfing Mormons. I know what I'm in for.
Then things went all hinkey - Wayne is friends with the stake president and his group so he wants to play with them even though it's my turn. Wayne decides he'll just play the next 3 holes with this group and I should stick with them too. Now we have SIX golfers instead of the expected 5. It's weird, it's taking us a long time to play, and it's a little awkward because these are Wayne's real world friends and I feel a little like a third-wheel. But after a while it starts to be kind of fun. The stake president is a very nice man and a CPA. He is playing with the retail manager of Deseret Industries in Rexburg, a dentist, and a man who sells headstones and monuments and burial stuff - he does the chair and tent set up at funerals and even moves the occasional body from here to there. (I'm not really sure either, let's just move on.)
A very nice group of men (and all really good golfers!) But I realized there was a joke brewing when I found out I was playing golf with...
Two Stake Presidents
One Acting Bishop and Two Released Bishops.
Yep, One Episopalian and five Mormon Bishops walk onto the golf course...You can fill in the rest of the joke for yourself.
I had a ball, played pretty well most of the day, made some new friends, and managed to not embarass myself or Wayne. A good day!

Delaney at camp

Delaney is off to camp again soon. She leaves on the 15th of July. Last year we all tried to send her letters, but nothing made it to her because of the delay. I thought I would get a jump on things this year and start sending letters and a care package right now - LOL
If you would also like to write to Delaney at camp you can send your notes to
Delaney Hunt
Paradise Point Camp
PO Box 764
McCall, ID 83638

Baby Butts

Whoops! I was so busy on the 4th of July (Radio stations work ALL DAY LONG on the 4th) I didn't take a single picture or video. Even when we got home and let the kids have their sparklers and a couple fountains in the driveway, I still didn't remember to get out my camera. I'm sorry.
Fortunately, Chris took this one cute shot on his cell phone while they were waiting for the big fireworks show to begin.
I think we managed to have a pretty nice 4th of July "Holiday" in spite of my work schedule, and the fact that Chris doesn't like to be dragged to parades and fireworks shows, BBQ's, etc...etc...
I hope you had some fun, blew up some stuff and ate too much!

You think you're sooooo funny!

Wayne and Liza,

It is to bad you are promoting violence as a "wholesome family activity". Your enthusiasm for watching a fight break out at the recent Idaho Falls Chuckars game is indeed a sad example of our society.
If you look at today's MSN News stories you will find an article about one man killing another at a community league softball game...is this what you are advocating on your KLCE show? If so, I am done listening to your program.
The amount of violence in our society rises every year. What is even more depressing is when public personalities, such as yourselves, make light of violence such as this.
I will never attend a Chuckars game if it means my children may have to witness persons such as Liza standing up, cheering for, and then laughing on air, about meaningless violence.
Liza, from now on, I would recommend you rethink what you share with your listeners on the air.

Sincerely,

Dave Butler

Happy 2nd of July!

The Constitution of the United States took effect on this day in 1788