Swiss Days

The Navajo Taco is a favorite of many who travel to Midway to attend the festivities of Swiss Days.
This is the deck of Sharalyn's cabin. She has a stunning view of the mountain side, which is just starting to turn into autumn colors. Sharalyn is holding Snoopy, her cute little rabbit.

We enjoyed listening to the yodelers and bell-ringers as part of the day-long entertainment at the Midway celebration.

I drove to Midway on Thursday afternoon to meet my cousin Sharalyn at her cabin. After an overnight stay, we headed out in the early morning to the Swiss Days celebration. If you haven't been to Swiss Days in Midway, you have missed a fun time. There are many, many booths set up with every conceivable handmade craft for sale.

We had a great time. Her cabin in the hills of Midway is rustic and secluded. Sitting out on the deck, feeling a part of Mother Nature, we lost some of the stress of our everyday lives. We were entertained watching Sharalyn's little bunny rabbit hop around the deck.

Happy Birthday, Melanie

Melanie has the distinction of being our Alabama baby. Her dad was in the Air Force in Selma, Alabama, at the time of her birth. She came into the world with the cutest chubby cheeks and tons of hair. She was one of the few white babies in the hospital nursey, and then with her thick red hair, I was sure I took the right baby home from the hospital. She, like her sister, had colic as a baby. After she grew out of that, she became a happy baby with a sunny dispostion.

As Melanie passed through elementary school, she was an excellent student and also loved to play with friends. Achievemnts such as Patriot of the Month and the Honor Roll student came with her middle school years.

Melanie was a very thoughtful child, and she still is thoughtful in her interactions as an adult. As a child, she would leave sweet little notes on her mom and dad's pillows. She did the same thing with her grandparents. We still have many of those notes.

Melanie is a whiz with computers and also is the only person in the family who could fix broken things. Another great trait of hers is her positive way of interacting with people, whether it is at her job or with the family.

There is not another person in this world who is a better aunt than Melanie. She loves Jake, Derek, and Megan dearly; she watches Jake's swim meets, attends Derek's ballgames, and enjoys going shopping with Megan. A few days ago, when it was Megan's birthday, Melanie drove over to the Peterson's before she went to work so she could put tons of balloons in Megan's room. Megan woke up on her birthday with the biggest smile when she saw all those balloons. Melanie has weekend sleepovers with the kids, takes them bowling, goes with Jake to Lagoon, and is just an all-around fun and caring aunt.

Melanie loves to give gifts. I think that is why Christmas is a favorite holiday of hers. She puts a lot of thought into giving a person something to complement his or her personality.

Paul says that he can tell when I am talking to Melanie on the phone; I always laugh a lot. She can see humor in just about everything.

Melanie has brought joy into my life. She is sensitive and sweet; she is patient and kind. I am lucky to call her my daughter, and I love her very much.

A Stop on the Way to the Toy Store

We caught up with Megan as she came home from school to wish her a happy birthday. She and her parents were then headed off to the toy store to let Megan pick something out with her birthday money--a busy day for the special seven year old.!

Happy Birthday, Megan -- Seven Years Old

It is hard to believe that our little Megan will be seven years old tomorrow. She is now in second grade. For her birthday, she and her family spent last Saturday at Lagoon.

When Megan was born, she was three weeks early. Weighing in at slightly less than five pounds, she looked so tiny and helpless. Her due date was in September; by coming three weeks sooner, she qualified to start school a year earlier. Megan is such a good student in school; she is also a real social butterfly. She has no problems fitting in as the youngest one in the class.

Whenever I am with Megan, I feel my spirits lifted. She has such a happy disposition. I can not imagine life without Megan. I hope she has a very happy birthday (even though it is on a school day).

(The top picture shows Megan at one week old with her Great-Grandma McKell. I have always loved this picture.)

War and Peace

In the Classics Book Club I belong to, we read a novel every month (except December); then we meet the third Wednesday of each month to discuss our impressions of the books. We plan ahead and pick our selections at the beginning of each new year.

This year we decided to really take a plunge and read Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. Since this novel is very long (1215 pages in my copy), we needed more than one month to complete it. We will read starting in October and will finish in January.

In all my English Literature classes at BYU, War and Peace was never assigned as required reading. So.....here's hoping it keeps my interest; just looking at this book is starting to bring up an unpleasant memory of being forced to read Moby Dick over Christmas vacation in my junior year at BYU. At least this time, if I don't like the novel, I can just walk away from it; I won't have to pass a test or write an essay to prove I read it!

Mother Nature's Show (from our deck) -August 18th, 2009

Sundance Theater in Provo Canyon

Tonight Paul and I and our friends Sandy and John are going to the Sundance Theater in Provo Canyon. We used to go to Sundance at least once every summer to enjoy various musical productions. This we did for years and years. We loved it! I remember, after being in the heat of the Salt Lake Valley that day, driving to the canyons to experience temperatures that were pleasant and even cool for the evening.

The productions were stopped a few years ago, and we have really missed them. Today in the newspaper, we saw an advertisement for the new Sundance Theater. Music from the group known as the Fantastics will be on the venue tonight. (Only really old people know about this group of singers!!) There is also an outdoor barbeque to purchase before we take our seats for the play.

Even if the play turns out to be only mediocre, a night under the stars in cool Provo Canyon, with yummy food and good friends, promises to be fantastic (like the play).