We are celebrating Pioneer Day-an actual holiday here in UT with a day off work, etc.-by mostly feeling grateful for the comforts of a non-Pioneering life. We did wake up the kids early in order to hike before all the cute families and large groups of Japanese tourists hit the trails. We were in Big Cottonwood Canyon, on a trail that leads past Doughnut Falls and a small snake that had to be picked up, and up to... we don't know where, but the section we hiked was rugged and beautiful.

Leith's latest eye Dr appt. resulted in a prescription for his first pair of glasses. He has an eye problem similar to Niall's and related to Coral's. He has lost vision in his left eye, but should regain it with the glasses. I continue to be so grateful to have access to the care my children need for these eye problems. I am also grateful to the eye wear shop that has already graciously replaced Leith's glasses free of charge when they were broken 5 hours after he began wearing them.

Right after the holiday weekend earlier this month, I got a sudden opportunity to host a teacher from France in my home for 5 weeks. I knew instantly that this was a great opportunity to expand my world and jumped at the chance. Marie-Anne Daudin arrived on July 10. She is the chaperon of 8 French students staying with families here in UT, in CO and in CA for a language immersion and cultural experience. Other than keeping tabs on the students by phone, Marie-Anne has no particular demands on her time. We have been having a great time showing her our world, teaching her important American phrases- chick-flick, etc-, feeding her new foods-Coral has been demonstrating the use of Ranch dressing as an all purpose condiment, and on and on. She had a constant look of alarm and fascination in Costco. I totally understand-I find Costco alarming, and I am American. Marie-Anne has a husband and two daughters near Nantes, France who will join her for some sightseeing next week- I can't wait to meet them.

Marie-Anne was very interested to hear of the wildlife we encounter here, particularly the deer. They are so perverse- they seem to have left town just for her visit. It is nice for my tomatoes and peaches, but she was starting to disbelieve our accounts. One evening, I took her out for a drive to find some deer to look at. We drove over the hill to Highland and back without seeing a single one. I decided to drive around the Temple on the way home, and we finally saw one deer grazing in some one's front yard, amid the traffic and pedestrians around the Temple.

Marie-Anne, Leith and I hiked to Cecret Lake at the top of Alta last Friday. The sun was intense and the scenery amazing. We spent a few minutes feeding a Pika granola bars by the lake before returning to the scorching valley heat.

I didn't think of this in the two days I had to prepare for Marie-Anne's visit, but she is getting huge dose of our religion while she is here. We toured the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple yesterday, (it is pronounced 'ochre'- like the paint color) and she has spent some time visiting Temple Square and attending church with us.

I think there are two world class things to see here in Utah: the mountains and natural scenery and the headquarters and temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am so grateful to have a hand in showing her both. I am having a great time with her in many other ways, too- sightseeing, cooking, gardening, reading, watching movies, talking, etc., etc.

Backyard wonders

On Father's Day, Church was cancelled because so many people in this area had contracted the Swine Flu- Kevin included. As the long day stretched out ahead of us, Leith noticed through the back windows that the baby squirrels were emerging- perhaps for the first time- from their nest under our patio. We watched the four of them and their mother for over an hour. Taking pictures through the blinds was tricky...

For a while, the mother sat up on the rock wall looking at the babies and communicating with them. We wondered if she was trying to get them to come up to her. We haven't seen any of them since. It is amazing what we miss as we rush through our busy lives. I am so glad we had the down time that day, and that Leith was observant enough to catch this event.

Catching up...

Before we went to the beach, India and I left Kevin at home with the boys and the Swine Flu while we went to Youth Conference in Manti and Ephraim. We did baptisms in the fairytale-like Manti Temple. I had seen photos before, but the beauty of this Temple and its setting are hard to believe, even while standing right in front of it. I kept blinking to be sure.
India and Caitlin at the Manti Temple

The Manti Pageant later that evening was a very interesting cultural event. It was a unique 'take' on the history of the Church. It is billed as the 'Mormon Miracle Pageant', but parts of it seemed to me more like the 'Mormon Folklore Pageant'. It was fascinating to see how the whole community participates in one way or another and how invested they are in making it successful economically for the town to host so many visitors. It would have been worth it to me to go there and sit on the lawn near the Temple and look at the stars- no pageant necessary. So beautiful...

The rest of the conference was at Snow College. The kids played many games on the lawns, ate in the student center and had a fireside with one of the special teams coaches at BYU- a very cool and spiritual guy from Scotland- Robert Grant. We had several youth that turned out to be sick with the Swine Flu, but other than that, it was a great experience.

Independence Day

Our hike took 5 hours plus the time we spent at the lake and driving. We arrived home at 2pm exhausted, in need of showers, with 2 1/2 hours before guests arrived for dinner. We powered through, even though my legs felt like Jello, and had a really nice cook out.
Grandma Denna, Jack & Robin, James & Joy all joined us along with Diana who stayed the whole weekend and helped cook.
James, from Elko & a Grade 2 Piper, generously played for us after dinner. We heard clapping and cheering from other backyard groups around the neighborhood.
I made this to entertain the kids, but it actually turned out to be delicious, too. Lemon juice and zest in white cake, raspberry and cream filling with lemon juice in the frosting and, of course the beautiful berries. I am so bad at making the layers even and frosting it! Good thing it was tasty.

Diana reprised her raspberry pie, this time studded with blueberries. Amazing.

After dinner we went to Thanksgiving Point to spend the evening playing Frisbee, throwing a football, chatting with the many friends and neighbors we saw there and watching fireworks. We were completely exhausted, Diana dangerously so, but we definitely maximized the holiday and enjoyed all the best things about living in this beautiful, wonderful country.

Holiday Weekend Hiking

We hiked on Friday on the White Pine Trail- a favorite. Coral wimped out due to a pulled muscle and stayed home.

Diana was with us Friday and stayed over so she and Kevin and I could go further along the trail into Red Pine Canyon and up to the Lower Red Pine Lake.

It was a strenuous climb with significant snow fields as we got toward the top. The gain in elevation is over 2,000ft with the lake sitting at about 9620ft.

The other-worldly blue-green of the lake and the surrounding scenery were SO worth the effort. Kevin and I are making plans to come up here overnight sometime soon. You can't see it, but the Hotel/Spa/Gourmet Restaurant is just on the other side- JK!!! We are talking serious roughing it.
Kevin was very amusing as we came down the mountain, through the snow.