So many blessings

We had a little campfire/swim party last night with the grandkids. What a joy all 6 of them are to us. Today Greg and I were talking about how sad it is to us that the kids are all growing up so fast. It seems we don't have nearly enough time to spend with them one on one. Hopefully they will still know of the love we have for them with the time that we do get to spend with each of them.

In order of birth.....

It is a joy to watch Jaden fighting dragons with a stick, tying a tree up with a rope, helping to comfort his brothers, or swimming. He is a darling four year old.




The twins just get cuter every day. They are such little Vest babies. More and more they look like Jason and his siblings, which is great because they are such a good looking family. Brighton is the one who likes to be loved and cuddled by me. Brigham seems to cling to his mom more. But he is warming up to us more and more all the time. They make me smile!!




Then there is little Harlee.....what a character!! She is always singing. She makes us laugh all the time. I love the way her daddy interacts with her.



She loves to snuggle with Greg and I, and we enjoy every minute of it. It brings back memories of our own little girls so many years ago.






Jade brings us so much joy. He has such a happy, curious nature and bright eyes. How could you not love such a beautiful little boy. It's fun to watch Jenn and Mike enjoy him so much.




Finally, little Jaycie.....she is so happy and contented. Life must be so good for her. Her personality is to be determined, but so far she seems so much like her mom to me.

How we love them all!!

It Brings Back Memories

When our girls were little, they loved playing in the water almost more than anything. We always bought season's passes to the Ammon Pool. Nearly every day they would go swimming. Of course, when they were little the backyard pool was a huge hit.

A while ago I took Harlee under the crawl space with me to find some old toys. She must have seen our wading pool down there. Yesterday Heather called and said that Harlee had asked if she could come swim in "Grandma Terri's Pool". Of course I had to get it out for her. It didn't have long to warm up but Harlee didn't mind the cold water. It reminded me of the "Old Days"!!

A Beautiful Place

Last week Greg and I had a fantastic time. We have been wanting to go to Capitol Reef National Park for a while now. We had plans to visit it last year, but then found so many fun things to see in Escalante that we didn't make it all the way to Capitol Reef.

So last Monday we left way before dawn on our grand adventure. The photography forum that I am a part of has people who have been everywhere. I asked the group where we should stay to visit the park. Everyone who had been there said that we should stay in the park at Fruita. Well, the only place you can stay at Fruita is at the campground. I called the campground and they assured me that there would be showers we could use in the town that is about 5 miles away. So we decided that if there were restaurants we could eat dinner at and showers to use, we would camp at the campground.

What a great decision that was. Fruita is the headquarters for the park so we were close to the visitor's center and all the main attractions of the park. We were within walking distance of the old pioneer buildings and could hike right from the campground. It was a beautiful campground with grass and lots of trees. We hiked to our heart's content and went on three gorgeous drives. To really see the park you have to go on some dirt roads. We had a blast exploring.

Capitol Reef is just as fantastic as Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce, Escalante, and Zion. Our favorite activity was a hike to Cassidy Arch. It wasn't a long hike, but we climbed over 1300 feet in a couple of miles. It was strenuous, but we both made it and loved every minute of it.

Cassidy Arch


The landscape along the trail


The Castle


There's not much water in the park so when you find a waterfall, you have to take a photo of it!! We did camp at the Fremont River, so that was nice.




Besides the early Indians, Mormon pioneers were the first modern people to settle in the area. Their old buildings and artifacts are a central feature of the park. I can't imagine how hard their life was. They lived along the river and grew fruit orchards, but they kept getting washed out by flash floods, so they gave up on living there. The park has kept their old orchards going and if you visit there in the summer you can pick all the fruit you can eat.

Here is a pioneer registry carved on a canyon wall. The canyon where this was carved was the path they took to get through the reef. Now it is just a hiking trail. I can't imagine trying to drive through there.... If you look above the trees you can see the names that are in the second photo really small on the wall. The ground shows what the area was like that they drove through to get out of the reef.




Thirteen people were in the family who lived in this house. There was only room for two children and the parents to sleep in the house, the rest slept in the cave.....can you imagine....it snows there in the winter. We think we are picked on if we don't have air conditioning.



There's lots more to tell, but it will have to be later..... I hope you get to see the park for yourself someday if you haven't done so already. I wouldn't take little kids there, though. To see it you have to either hike or drive a lot. Not a great combination for little ones.

A Perfect Day

Last week Stan told us that Ashlee and Dru had a great time at Yellowstone Park seeing lots of wildlife. So, Saturday, Greg and I decided to go. We had a fabulous day. We saw 4 grizzlies, 1 black bear, a coyote, fox, antelope, and of course, elk, eagles, and moose. There was a surprise around every turn. Besides the wildlife, the scenery was fantastic. It was a clear day with light puffy clouds.....just perfect.

Coming home we had the fun experience of getting into a traffic jam with a buffalo herd. They were not about to let cars deter them from walking in the road.

Lucky day....

The little grandkids hate having their photos taken with the studio equipment. Yesterday Amber came over to help me set it up so I could take a missionary photo of Logan. Becuase the boys were excited that Logan was getting his picture taken, they wanted to do it to. Jaden cooperated extremely well. The twins sat on the stools for a couple of minutes and cooperated. It was a miracle. Later Heather came by and I asked if I could keep Harlee for a while. I even got her to sit on the stool for a minute. She hates having her photo taken more than any of the others. But we tried to play some games like turn around backward and spin around and surprise grandma!! It worked.

Of course, Logan looked extremely handsome in his missionary suit. It made me happy to be able to do this for him. What a great young man he is. I've always been so impressed with his goodness. He is just an A-1 young man.






I have to share this one as well....Greg loves being a grandpa. Harlee was being really cute with him last night.

It seems like only yesterday

On Saturday we did some chores around the house. We have a tree in our front yard that has some bushes under it. One of the bushes had died and two of the others were looking pretty bad. Greg decided to take them out. We were standing there looking at the tree. The trunk of the tree is huge. I looked at Greg and said, "How did that tree get so big?" He said, "It seems like only yesterday that we planted it." How fast the years have gone.

Last night I was feeling really sad. I got an e-mail from the American Family Association. It's a group I like to read because they are standing up for values that I believe in. The e-mail was explaining how PepsiCo has become a huge supporter of gay marriage and is pumping lots of money into groups that are promoting it. AFA was asking it's supporters to boycot PepsiCo products which include Pepsi, Quaker Oats, and Frito Lay. These are just common everyday things. The church has not asked us to boycot anyone so I probably won't do that. But, I just sat there sad thinking about all the changes that have happened to our world in my lifetime and especially since we planted that tree and have lived in this house. What happened to the America that I love???? Whenever I see a flag now, I almost start crying. I was so lucky to grow up in such an innocent time. You didn't have to be afraid to turn on the TV. Now if you turn it on all you hear are attacks on people who are standing up for traditional values. I almost cannot believe how fast things are spiriling out of control.

I think the time is here that we will certainly stand out as being different. I also think that we will be made fun of and mocked by many. We aren't mainstream Americans any more.

Thank heavens we have our prophets and apostles who tell us to keep up hope and to press on, that everything will be ok because God is in charge. I often wonder how God feels when he sees what is happening. He loves everyone and must shed so many tears himself over the conditions here.

All I can say is I hope these little ones are very strong and that their parents can shield them from all the craziness for as long as possible.

Four years in a row....

For the past few years we've gone to Grand Teton National Park in April for a bicycle ride. They open up the main road in the park to non-motorized travel for the entire month. We love getting out in the beauty of the mountains and enjoying the peace and quiet of the park with no cars. This year Amber, Jason, and the boys went with us. I'm sure glad I didn't have to tote one of the bike trailers. It was a very beautiful today. Watch the video and you are in for a treat seeing one of the travelers.