14 June 2009 - Off to Utah

On the Monday before we left for Utah, several of the moms from the ward took a sizable group of children to the Pittsburgh Zoo.This is Jessica, Emily and Madeline with Emma Stephens at the zoo.
When we arrived in Utah on Thursday evening, we stayed in Orem for the night, then went to Angie and Darin's house in St. George the next morning. On Saturday and Monday, we took Uncle Darin's boat to Sand Hollow reservoir. Madeline liked to drive uncle Darin's boat.
Sand Hollow lives up to its name -- the beaches are very red and very sandy. There was a fantastic 4-wheeler riding area in addition to the lake.
When not riding at Sand Hollow, we were able to have some calm slow rides around Angie's neighborhood.
The kids also entertained themselves by playing red rover in the yard.
More pics to come from our second week in Utah on Sunday.

Matt

7 June 2009 - Wedding and Work

One of my first home projects for the summer was to refinish the deck. The wood had never been treated since it was built about four or five years ago. I pressure washed it last week, and this week focused on refinishing it.When we were driving on Saturday, we found the street where apparently we should have bought a house.
I have to confess a bit of a problem. On Saturday, we went to our friend Cliff Bergmann's house for a party for his daughter Carina. Carina was turning 8 and her baptism was on Sunday (the next day). Cliff is a bit of a motorcycle enthusiast, and he let me take his new Honda Shadow Sport out for a ride. I was gone for a little while ;-) Now I want a motorcycle. This is my problem.
While I was off riding, the girls enjoyed swimming in Cliff's (or Carina's) pool, and eating picnic food.
Saturday was a busy day for a lot of reasons. In between riding motorcycles and eating hamburgers, I officiated the wedding of Jonathan Kice and Toni Balzer, who are members of our ward. This is the second of about five weddings I'll be doing this summer.
So school's out for the summer now, but we've certainly kept busy. We're looking forward to seeing many of our friends and family when we come west in the coming week.

Matt

31 May 2009 - Memorial Day Week

We had so much fun at the Memorial Day Picnic that we forgot to take many pictures. It was a hot, sunny day, so there was much water fighting and such. It was well planned and well attended. Madeline even got to go horseback riding.
Since there's no rest for the wicked, it seems I've always got something on my plate. This week I pressure washed our deck to get it ready for stain. It's amazing how filthy it was. It looks like a new deck already -- hopefully I'll have pictures of a finished product soon.This week we also discovered a nest of baby bunnies in our back lawn. The girls have been quite vigilant in checking on them daily and making sure they're growing as they should. I'll have to get some pics of the babies before they get too big and move out on their own.

Take care,

Matt