A ride with 'old' friends!

We took Marty and Linda Risley (and their son Brent) on the Manti Canyon ride when they were here visiting from New Hampshire. It started out as a beautiful day and we had a great time. (Linda was a little less than excited about the trail ... it gets a little steep at times, but she made it!)

At the lookout point ... RuthAnn, Dennis, Marty, Brent and Linda.

On top of Skyline Drive ... just before Linda and I left the boys and started back (notice the dark clouds!!!). Before we got off the ridge we hit heavy rain, hail, and lots of thunder and lightening. We were glad to get down safely ... but got WETTER than I have ever been in my life!! Linda and I came down a gravel road and the guys came down a very muddy one ... which we were very glad we didn't have to experience. It was a fun ride ... definitely ended as a wet one! After the ride we went back to our property and cooked Brats!!

The Keller's stopped by for a quick visit!

Terry, Carolyn, Kurt, Kelsey and Kraig (in front) stayed overnight at Diane's on their way back from picking up Kelsey at school (BYU Idaho in Rexburg). We thought they were crazy for driving so far so quickly ... but they did it and they all seemed in good spirits! We had them over for waffles outside on the patio before they started for home via St. George.

Here's Dennis and I in our Sunday clothes with our aprons. (Notice my In-n-Out apron ... a favorite for sure!) We had yummy waffles, strawberries, and whipped cream.

Diane, Ruth Ann, Carolyn and Kelsey.

The 'NEW' look in the backyard!!

Here is the before picture ... pretty barren, but we have looked at that retaining wall for 6 years ... and it was time for a new look.

Here is the finished product!! We love the way it turned out. I still need to replant some shrubs, but this is a pleasant change. Thanks Sandie for helping us get the stone so inexpensively!! Our backyard looks amazing!!

Cherry Pickin' time! (and my 200th Post!!)

Since it was 'time to pick' the cherries, we invited some friends to come and have waffles ... and help pick!! Here are some of the people that came ... enjoying waffles, strawberries, whipped cream and Pam's delicious buttermilk syrup. Grady and Terri Burt, Jimmie Gillie, Melissa Freeman, Alec Westwood (and Joanie Leishman, not in the picture) and Karren Harrison (Dennis' sister who came to visit and ended up helping too).

This is what we saw from the ground ... there were 13 people out picking (on 5 ladders). We appreciated the help and they loved the yummy cherries.

Brad Kidd is on the left ... and Pam is on the ladder on the right. (Joanie is in the middle ... on the top of the ladder, and on her tip toes!) They were great pickers!!

Karren got creative and used the edge of the deck to help with her picking. (Pam Kidd was nervous watching her on the rail ... so they soon moved the ladder down under the trees.)

Two of our favorite BYU women !!!

Michelle Scott and Traci Garff ... two of the very special young women we met at our BYU ward came to have breakfast and to participate in the morning activities. We love these girls and hope to keep in contact with them. (Michelle is moving back to the bay area ... west coast and Traci is moving to the east coast ... New York). We are glad they came into our lives.

Here they are proving they really helped pick a few cherries ... aren't they cuties!! Thanks girls.

Seth and Spencer!

Seth is taking a picture of Grandma ... taking a picture of him!! Spencer is grinning ... what cuties they are!

I now know how hard Amy has to work to get a picture of both of them looking and smiling at the same time. This was the best I could get. Gotta love these boys!!

Our new "FAVORITE" ride!!

We were invited to go on an amazing ride up Manti Canyon with some friends from our ward in Springville. Here is a picture of all 6 of the machines that went ... along one of the 10-12 beautiful lakes we passed. It was a fun/challenging ride for us all, but beautiful scenery!

Here is our group: Brent and Candi Bown, Scott and Gwen Finlayson (their son-in-law and 2 grandsons are in the front), Jim Rider (a friend of Dennis' from work), and Dennis and I.

One of our first stops was at an overlook where we could look down into Manti (this is with the telephoto ... it is much farther away). We had to do some serious climbing to get here.
Once we got up on top of Skyline Drive we were able to see this view (and many others). We rode on trails and saw mud, water, sheep, steep trails, rocks ... you name it, but we were able to get through it all and the reward was some of the most beautiful scenery we have ever seen. Most of the time we were riding through the pines and then out in lush meadows. Wow, we live in an amazing state.

We ate lunch by Duck Fork Reservoir... and there were lots of fish jumping all around. We had been riding for 2-3 hours at this point. (Finlayson's surprised us all by bringing a portable ice cream machine ... a ball that you can roll back and forth with ice in it ... but the jostling of the trail did the same thing and we enjoyed the yummy treat, along with fresh brownies. ~ Roughing it easy, for sure!!)

Dennis was behind me, and he got this fun picture of the first of us heading up the trail. (I am on the yellow machine at the back). This was one of the rare 'exposed' areas we rode ... but a fun trail, for sure. When we finished the ride we all knew we had been on a challenging, yet rewarding ride. It was a fun day with some very fun people!!

A few more 'Manti Canyon' pictures.

Here are a few more pictures of our trip up Manti Canyon.

Who would of thought there were so many gorgeous lakes. We couldn't help but take more pictures because it is not what we see all the time, for sure.

We made a few stops ... just to make sure everyone was OK ... and to re-group. We saw sheep, deer, and elk along the way.

The ride was beautiful and so was the weather ... practically perfect, we would have to say. (A view from the top of Manti Canyon)

Tanner and McKay at BYU Basketball camp!

Jodi brought the boys up this past week for basketball camps at BYU, and they really had a good time. Tanner was playing on a team that was mostly 8th and 9th graders. He is a great player and enjoyed getting to play games at BYU.

Here's McKay shooting a free throw (which me made). He is also a great little hustler on the court. There were lots of boys getting trained for the past 3 weeks on BYU campus. We loved having them here.

Talmage wasn't old enough to be there yet ... so he got to watch with the parents. He is anxious to get to go with his brother's!