Kennecott Copper Mine

Whenever we are given the opportunity to explore something new in Utah, we try to take it.    So when we heard that Scott’s parents, aunt and grandpa were going to the Kennecott tour, we jumped at the chance.  The Kennecott mine is the largest of its kind.  It is visible from space and has produced more copper than any other mine.  The amazing thing about the mine is that the copper that is taken from the mine is such a low grade of copper and they have to go through quite the process to extract the copper.  During the process, they also refine silver and gold.

The trucks that move the rocks are SOOOOO big.  See the tire that is more than twice my height?  That’s from one of the trucks.  Pretty cool huh?  Know what else is cool?  Grandpa Great is having a lot of fun in his old age.  Earlier this year he played Twister with the girls and then this summer he went WATER SKIING!!!!!  He didn’t get up and blamed the life jacket and the wet suit.  He said that next time he’ll just wear the old white life belt.

In October the water is COLD

It was a warm day in October.  Warm is relative.  The water was absolutely COLD.  Many of us weathered the cold.  Jade and Madeline did some knee surfing (knee boarding on a surf board).  They loved it.

Ivy wasn't really into the idea of really cold water.

It was a really fun last day on the lake.

But, then pain happened.  Ivy was running and face planted.  She forgot to put her hands down and landed flat on her face.  Blood started gushing and her nose puffed up like a balloon.  So we rushed her to the hospital.  After all, she is my daughter and when hands don't stop our falls our noses get broken.

Luckily, Ivy is too young to break her nose.  So after an X-ray we were sent on our way with an ice pack.

Outing with Mom

Jade got invited by Scott to go spend the afternoon out on the boat, so Ivy and I got to go on a girly outing.  Ivy picked a pedicure so that is what we did.  She soaked her feet, as best as she could.  She giggled when they clipped and filed.  And of course she said yes please when the sweet lady that was doing her toes asked if she wanted flowers.  (Way to ask the 4 year old for the upgrade and not the mom).

While we were soaking our feet, I saw that they have a much cheaper polish only option for little ones.  I should have done that but oh well.  Ivy had a blast.

After our toes were beautiful, the two of us stopped by Roxberry and enjoyed a frozen yogurt.

Anne's Quilt

For Anne's birthday and cancer treatment, I made her a quilt.  It is my very favorite one so far.  I hope it keeps her very warm while her treatment is making her so cold.  And after she is cancer-free, I hope it becomes a family favorite to cuddle up in to watch movies.

I love you Anne and pray for you constantly.

Lou Andrus Field – The coolest thing ever!!!

For the past 30 plus years, my dad has been an educator, a coach and an athletic director.  30 of those years were spent at 1 high school.  After many years of service, he has received a really cool recognition.  Westlake High School named their football field after my dad.

The Governor, Gary Herbert, had the honors of making the announcement and presenting him with a plaque.  It was an absolute surprise for him.  He had no idea that my brother was flying my mom home, nor did he know why any of us were there.

My mom wrote an amazing and brief biography about him.  I thought I’d like to share it with you…

LOU ANDRUS was raised in Salt Lake City, the second of six children.

He attended Granite High School where he earned 10 varsity letters in Track, Basketball, Baseball and Football.  Lou received All-State honors in Football and Track.  Lou turned down an offer from the New York Yankees to attend BYU on a Track and Basketball Scholarship.  In 1962 he was the Conference High Jump Champion and competed throughout Europe with BYU’s team.  Midway through his college career, he switched to playing football for his old Granite High coach, LaVell Edwards. Lou played Offensive Guard, Tackle, Defensive End, Safety and Tight-end for BYU.

Lou accumulated six varsity letters at BYU and was a member of the 1965 WAC Football Championship team.  He received a B.S. and M.S. Degree in Education from BYU.

Drafted by the Denver Broncos, Lou earned a starting position as a linebacker and later played tight-end and center for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL.

In 1972 Lou began 30 years of teaching and coaching football, basketball, track, and golf at Lehi High School.  A highlight of his coaching career came in 1980 when Lehi won it’s first State Championship in Football and Lou was named the 2A Football Coach of the Year. His track teams were Region Champions from 1977 through 1984. While Lou coached at Lehi High School, 25 football players received All-State honors and there were 20 individual State Champions in Track.

Lou became the Athletic Director at Lehi in 1991. In 1997 he was President of the Utah Interscholastic Athletic Administrator’s Association. In 1998 he served as an Executive Board Member on the Utah State Athletic Directors’ Council and received the Athletic Director of the year Distinguished Service Award from the Utah High School Activities Association. He was also presented with the Award of Merit from the National Interscholastic Athletic Director’s Association. In 2003 he received the Meritorious Service Award from the UIAAA.

After several years of retirement, Lou was excited to join the staff of Westlake High School as the first Athletic Director and be a part of the opening of this amazing high school. He enjoyed working with the administration, the coaches, the Boosters and most of all, the athletes.

I am so glad we got to be part of such an amazing night for my dad.  He really is an amazing and wonderful man.

If you could have something named after you, what would it be?

**** I’m adding these two pictures of my dad – young.  This one from my Tom's blog…

and this one from my Cass’s.

Heber Valley Railroad

During the summer, Screamin Coupons had a sweet deal for the Heber Valley Railroad.  So we jumped at the chance to go.  But, the tickets weren't as easy to use as we had hoped.  We tried to go with my parents but missed the train by minutes.  But we managed to get up there the day before it expired.  (I am really not a fan of expiration dates).

It was an absolutely beautiful day with clouds that looked like they were airbrushed in the sky.  The temperature was a little nippy but very pleasant.  The girls enjoyed riding in the inside cabin on the way out of town.  They drew most of the way and had a great time playing around.  On the way home, Jade fell asleep and Ivy made new friends.  (Cause that is what she does).

It was a three hour round trip ride.  We started out in Heber and went down Vivian Park in Provo Canyon.  They gave us a few minutes off the train while they turned the engine around.  Then we headed back to Heber.  The girls thought it was really cool and worth doing.

Peach Days Carnival

Hanging at Grandpa and Grandma's

After the parade we went to Grandpa Bob and Grandma Janet's house for a BBQ and games.  The kids had a blast playing games.  Jade and Nathan were hilarious when they were arm wrestling.  It was a serious competition.

Jade was a natural at hitting the baseball.  Ivy, not so much.  She's just like me, and she closes her eyes whenever she swings the bat.  Jade also climbed the tree and played on the swings.

It was a perfect late summer day.

Peach Days Parade

Every year we go to one parade.  It is nearly always the Peach Day Parade.  We get up early and head straight to the spot that Grandpa Bob always saves for us.  This year Grandpa Wayne joined us.

We saw the Governor and the Peach Queens that I helped with their walking.  Then there was a horse that left a present along the parade path.  For some reason the "pooper scoopers" never came and cleaned it up.  So a funny clown planted a flower in it.  Everyone drove their floats or marched their bands around it.  It remained with the flower until nearly the very end of the parade.  Then some punk kid decided it was his place to de-flower it.  Why on earth he'd want the smelly flower was beyond me, but he took it and we were left with just a large pile for the remainder of the parade.

Granny's in Heber

This summer we bought passes to the Heber Valley Railroad through Screamin Coupons.  They were a great price but their expiration date seemed to sneak up on us.  So I took off an afternoon early and so did my parents.  Scott wasn't able to make it.  We sped up to Heber and went to check in at the station just after they had called "final boarding".  We missed the last train of the last day before Mom and Dad were headed down to California to help Tom and Anne.

So instead, we went Granny's for ice cream shakes and fries.  A pretty darn good trade off in my book.

(Again, see how adorable Jade is in her uniform? I love it).

Lake Powell - Day 4 Heading Home

After several days in the sun and a lot of time on the lake, it was time to go home.  Scott managed to do a quick run in the morning before we had to pack up.

Everyone had a wonderful time.   I would have enjoyed it more if I didn't have bronchitis.  Jade would have enjoyed it more if she didn't get a rash from the life jacket.  Scott and Ivy didn't have a single thing to complain about.

We had a great time and are so glad that we were invited to go with this very fun and established group.  I hope they enjoyed having us around as much as we enjoyed being around them.

Lake Powell - Day 3 Swimming

To end our Sunday afternoon we all set out to find a swimming cove.  There was a great cliff to jump off of and water so deep it was nearly black.

We didn't let Jade jump off the cliff, much to her dismay.  But I have this HUGE fear of doing certain things on Sunday.  Cliff diving fits into that category of things not to do.  Sure, she had a life jacket on.  Sure, she would have jumped out far enough.  But what if she hit the water just the wrong way and hurt her back.  Or what if her arms went over her head and the force of the water took her life jacket off.  (It isn't like Ivy's that has the strap that goes between her legs). So, we didn't let her.  Granted, even if it wasn't Sunday it still would have made me very nervous).

Ivy had a blast just swimming around and hanging on me.

Lake Powell- Day 3 - The Hike

Day 3 was Sunday, so we didn't do any water skiing or wake boarding.  We spent a lot of the time relaxing in the sun and tying down camp to protect it from the wind storms.

Scott and Dan took all of the "bigger" kids on a quick hike up above camp.  They had a great time but the path that they used to come down from their hike was two coves over.   Which meant they had to take off shoes and the camera so that they could swim back to our beach.  The mom's at camp watching were all very nervous when we realized none of them had life jackets on.  (Who knew going on a hike above camp would result in a swim)?

The kids loved hiking and I am so grateful that Scott is always up for an adventure with the kids.  (You might remember that he took the kids for a hike when we went to Yuba Lake as well).