This day is why Utahns love the month of July. Pioneer Day is a state holiday, meaning that all of us get the day off to celebrate our ancestors and heritage. The history of Utah being settled has deep roots in the pioneers crossing the plains from the settled East to the desert of the West. Indian country and the wild west didn't look like paradise to the early Latter Day Saints, but neither did cutthroat mobs and persecution. It was a good thing those Mormons left when they did, because soon thereafter the Civil War began between the confederates and the union. So in the mid 1800s hundreds of pioneers traveled across the plains, the mountains, and the desert to settle in Utah. What a wonderful heritage to have, to be descended from those courageous men, women, and children. Why not have a day in July to celebrate the wonderful valley they settled for us, to give us this beautiful life we have. I get to live in the shadow of a mountain! I don't go anywhere without seeing those monstrous earth-forms watching over me, protecting me, reminding me that God made the Earth for us to come here. And God also helped those saints reach Utah safely so they could live here. This is the essence of Pioneer Day. Gratitude and our ancestor's Legacy.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013
Yellowstone the Beautiful
Old Faithful, mud pots, Bison, Lodgepole pines, hot springs, Grand Prismatic Lake, Mammoth Hot Springs and Minerva Terrace, Elk, Bighorn Sheep.
Let me tell you, great family reunion location!
The sights inside Yellowstone National Park are absolutely amazing, and definitely worth the trip. I wish I could go back and spend days and days inside, seeing all there is to see and learning all the plants that grow there, and especially being able to photograph everything. The things you see as you drive through Yellowstone are not exactly the normal sights you see when you drive through any forest.
Old Faithful was the only geyser I saw, but I want to go back and see the tallest one, Steamboat geyser.
On our way to Yellowstone we drove through and saw Mesa Falls, a gorgeous waterfall with an upper and lower falls area. Being large, as most natural phenomena are, we could only see the lower falls from a scenic point. To make up for that the upper falls had a boardwalk that took you right up next to the edge of the falls. Reaching really far wouldn't get your hand to the water, but it might have gotten it wet.
My film camera was clicking away like mad, well, as mad as you can get when you realize how much it costs to develop the film, as well as to buy new film. Perhaps I'll scan some pictures and put them up later, when they are developed.
Let me tell you, great family reunion location!
The sights inside Yellowstone National Park are absolutely amazing, and definitely worth the trip. I wish I could go back and spend days and days inside, seeing all there is to see and learning all the plants that grow there, and especially being able to photograph everything. The things you see as you drive through Yellowstone are not exactly the normal sights you see when you drive through any forest.
Old Faithful was the only geyser I saw, but I want to go back and see the tallest one, Steamboat geyser.
On our way to Yellowstone we drove through and saw Mesa Falls, a gorgeous waterfall with an upper and lower falls area. Being large, as most natural phenomena are, we could only see the lower falls from a scenic point. To make up for that the upper falls had a boardwalk that took you right up next to the edge of the falls. Reaching really far wouldn't get your hand to the water, but it might have gotten it wet.
My film camera was clicking away like mad, well, as mad as you can get when you realize how much it costs to develop the film, as well as to buy new film. Perhaps I'll scan some pictures and put them up later, when they are developed.
 | |
| Grand Prismatic Lake, aerial view from online. See that boardwalk along the bottom edge? That's where I was! There was so much steam coming from the lake that it was hard to get all the colors in any of my pictures, especially that deep blue in the middle. We learned that microbes living in different temperatures of water are what causes the colors, and blue is the hottest. |
Saturday, May 18, 2013
I Climbed A Tree!!
Yes, my new motto is "I Climbed A Tree!!" because I did. And I loved it! And I will be doing it for a long time!
I may even become an arborist just so I can climb trees for my job for the rest of my life. Yes, this is a good plan.
So go climb a tree!
I may even become an arborist just so I can climb trees for my job for the rest of my life. Yes, this is a good plan.
So go climb a tree!
Friday, May 17, 2013
Spiritual Thought #some-odd
Legolas said, in The Two Towers, "Few can foresee whither their road will lead them, till they come to its end."
Lately many people around me have been realizing, or rather recognizing, that the Lord has charge of their life. They cannot always see which way it is going in the moment, but our Heavenly Father knows. He answers our prayers when the time is right for his plan. Our timing doesn't matter. It doesn't matter when we want it if that is contrary to what God knows is best for us. Of course, our Father in Heaven loves us so very much and so he always has our best interest on his mind. This means that what we want right now may not be what he has planned, and so we must be patient and trust in the Lord. We need to know that the Lord is right, but we need not necessarily how things will work out or exactly what is going to happen. Have faith and believe, have courage, and keep going.
Lately many people around me have been realizing, or rather recognizing, that the Lord has charge of their life. They cannot always see which way it is going in the moment, but our Heavenly Father knows. He answers our prayers when the time is right for his plan. Our timing doesn't matter. It doesn't matter when we want it if that is contrary to what God knows is best for us. Of course, our Father in Heaven loves us so very much and so he always has our best interest on his mind. This means that what we want right now may not be what he has planned, and so we must be patient and trust in the Lord. We need to know that the Lord is right, but we need not necessarily how things will work out or exactly what is going to happen. Have faith and believe, have courage, and keep going.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Tree House
Someday I SHALL live in a tree house!
Tree House
by Shel Silverstein
A tree house, a free house,
A secret you and me house,
A high up in the leafy branches
Cozy as can be house.
A street house, a neat house,
Be sure and wipe your feet house
Is not my kind of house at all-
Let's go live in a tree house.
Tree House
by Shel Silverstein
A tree house, a free house,
A secret you and me house,
A high up in the leafy branches
Cozy as can be house.
A street house, a neat house,
Be sure and wipe your feet house
Is not my kind of house at all-
Let's go live in a tree house.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Earth Day
Trees are amazing things and you should hug, climb, and love your trees!
Imagine, they have been alive for longer than you and seen so much! Trees are huge, and they are alive and growing, and they provide so much for us and a lot of other creatures. If I could, I would live in a tree. I would climb that tree every day and sit in it and read.
So in memory of our wonderful gift called Earth, please appreciate and love your trees!
Imagine, they have been alive for longer than you and seen so much! Trees are huge, and they are alive and growing, and they provide so much for us and a lot of other creatures. If I could, I would live in a tree. I would climb that tree every day and sit in it and read.
So in memory of our wonderful gift called Earth, please appreciate and love your trees!
Monday, April 1, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Snowy Ducks
I saw ducks eating something out of the snow today!
They're so adorable and they look so cold!
Monday, January 28, 2013
The Provo Housing Market (pre-Econ 110)
In a nutshell, it's disappointing right now.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Not That It Really Matters..
But I get very disappointed when someone in a show, make that a movie or whatever you watch, is supposed to be able to play the violin and they fake it. And they fake it bad. Always.
Very disappointed. It is a curse, I suppose, that I know how to play well enough that I can tell that the main character on the screen is trying their best. But that best, even if they've had a few beginning lessons and special training, just isn't enough to satisfy me. Call me picky if you like, but you can't say that it is not impressive to see someone on the screen actually playing the violin. Admit it, it just makes it so much more legit.
And isn't that the point of a movie? To be able to see the action, see the drama played out and make it even more real than if it were in a book? So why wouldn't you put out the effort to learn how to perfectly play the violin for your character who knows how to like a genius, if you really wanted to play the part?
Just sayin', not that it matters though. Most people don't mind at all...
Very disappointed. It is a curse, I suppose, that I know how to play well enough that I can tell that the main character on the screen is trying their best. But that best, even if they've had a few beginning lessons and special training, just isn't enough to satisfy me. Call me picky if you like, but you can't say that it is not impressive to see someone on the screen actually playing the violin. Admit it, it just makes it so much more legit.
And isn't that the point of a movie? To be able to see the action, see the drama played out and make it even more real than if it were in a book? So why wouldn't you put out the effort to learn how to perfectly play the violin for your character who knows how to like a genius, if you really wanted to play the part?
Just sayin', not that it matters though. Most people don't mind at all...
Monday, December 31, 2012
New Year's Eve - a Happy One To You!
:)
I hope that you celebrate all night and enjoy every minute of it. My dad said we'd be playing games for the rest of the year: every minute of every hour for the whole year. Of course, 2012 is almost over, so that means all night and that's it. But we love to play games on New Year's Eve and snack on cheese and meat and crackers and dips and chips and wonderfully fun snacks until the New Year has arrived.
Good job, by the way, for surviving the 2012 scare of the end of the world. Of course, we all knew it wouldn't actually end. It was silly to say so in the first place. But all the movie makers took advantage of it. So if you go to the right movie at the right movie theater watch out; all you'll get is a half hour of junk apocalypse and alien invasion and other end of the world previews. So disappointing.
Anyway, I hope you have a great New Year's Eve celebration and do a good deed to welcome the New Year to our door!
I hope that you celebrate all night and enjoy every minute of it. My dad said we'd be playing games for the rest of the year: every minute of every hour for the whole year. Of course, 2012 is almost over, so that means all night and that's it. But we love to play games on New Year's Eve and snack on cheese and meat and crackers and dips and chips and wonderfully fun snacks until the New Year has arrived.
Good job, by the way, for surviving the 2012 scare of the end of the world. Of course, we all knew it wouldn't actually end. It was silly to say so in the first place. But all the movie makers took advantage of it. So if you go to the right movie at the right movie theater watch out; all you'll get is a half hour of junk apocalypse and alien invasion and other end of the world previews. So disappointing.
Anyway, I hope you have a great New Year's Eve celebration and do a good deed to welcome the New Year to our door!
Monday, December 24, 2012
Merry Christmas!
I know I'm a day early, but Merry Christmas! I hope you have a nice, thoughtful, meaningful Christmas. I don't wish that you get everything you asked Santa for, and I don't wish for you to get a lot of presents. That's not what Christmas is all about. Instead I hope that you think of others, giving them gifts of love and service, remembering what Christ would do for them and in that way honor Christ's birthday wish for us. Remember the reason for Christmas and I do wish you a happy one!!
Friday, December 7, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Hydrangea
There was a time when I owned a little Hydrangea flower plant in a pot. It was gorgeous. Now I have a lot of other little plants that I am growing and hoping they will flower! But for your more immediate enjoyment here are some Hydrangea pictures:
-mydragonfly
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Little Children Brushing Their Teeth
and their father exclaims:
"Who taught you to use a hundred miles of toothpaste to brush your teeth!?!"
Monday, November 5, 2012
It's the 21st Century!
Yes, it is weird to embroider pillowcases in your living room when guests are over and you are a single young lady. Because it's the 21st Century! Embroidery is a seriously beautiful and elegant art, and pretty much old. That does not mean every young woman should learn it. It actually means that emroidery is mostly out of style, unfortunately.
If I bring back a new fad of doing embroidery, is that such a bad thing? No, just weird. Because it's the 21st Century.
If I bring back a new fad of doing embroidery, is that such a bad thing? No, just weird. Because it's the 21st Century.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
fish, sea, and swimming quotes
http://quotes.yourdictionary.com/fish
http://www.allgreatquotes.com/sea_quotes.shtml
http://www.quotegarden.com/swimming.html
If the world was flat I'd probably swim off it. ~Author Unknown
Sometimes God calms the storm. At other times, he calms the sailor. And sometimes he makes us swim. ~Author Unknown
On matters of style, swim with the current, on matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~Thomas Jefferson
In my retirement I go for a short swim at least once or twice every day. It's either that or buy a new golf ball. ~Gene Perret
You can swim all day in the Sea of Knowledge and still come out completely dry. Most people do. ~Author Unknown
We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dream. Wandering by lone sea breakers, and sitting by desolate streams. World losers and world forsakers, for whom the pale moon gleams. Yet we are movers and the shakers of the world forever it seems.
Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy
My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep. The more I give thee, the more I have, For both are infinite.
William Shakespeare
A smooth sea never made skilled mariner.
English Proverb
Even Castles made of sand, fall into the sea, eventually.
Jimi Hendrix
There is nothing so desperately monotonous as the sea, and I no longer wonder at the cruelty of pirates.
James Russell Lowell
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.
John Masefield
Sea Fever.
“While wandering a deserted beach at dawn, stagnant in my work, I saw a man in the distance bending and throwing as he walked the endless stretch toward me. As he came near, I could see that he was throwing starfish, abandoned on the sand by the tide, back into the sea. When he was close enough I asked him why he was working so hard at this strange task. He said that the sun would dry the starfish and they would die. I said to him that I thought he was foolish. There were thousands of starfish on miles and miles of beach. One man alone could never make a difference. He smiled as he picked up the next starfish. Hurling it far into the sea he said, “It makes a difference for this one.” I abandoned my writing and spent the morning throwing starfish.”
http://www.agiftofinspiration.com.au/stories/attitude/starfish.shtml
http://www.allgreatquotes.com/sea_quotes.shtml
http://www.quotegarden.com/swimming.html
If the world was flat I'd probably swim off it. ~Author Unknown
Sometimes God calms the storm. At other times, he calms the sailor. And sometimes he makes us swim. ~Author Unknown
On matters of style, swim with the current, on matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~Thomas Jefferson
In my retirement I go for a short swim at least once or twice every day. It's either that or buy a new golf ball. ~Gene Perret
You can swim all day in the Sea of Knowledge and still come out completely dry. Most people do. ~Author Unknown
We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dream. Wandering by lone sea breakers, and sitting by desolate streams. World losers and world forsakers, for whom the pale moon gleams. Yet we are movers and the shakers of the world forever it seems.
Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy
My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep. The more I give thee, the more I have, For both are infinite.
William Shakespeare
A smooth sea never made skilled mariner.
English Proverb
Even Castles made of sand, fall into the sea, eventually.
Jimi Hendrix
There is nothing so desperately monotonous as the sea, and I no longer wonder at the cruelty of pirates.
James Russell Lowell
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.
John Masefield
Sea Fever.
“While wandering a deserted beach at dawn, stagnant in my work, I saw a man in the distance bending and throwing as he walked the endless stretch toward me. As he came near, I could see that he was throwing starfish, abandoned on the sand by the tide, back into the sea. When he was close enough I asked him why he was working so hard at this strange task. He said that the sun would dry the starfish and they would die. I said to him that I thought he was foolish. There were thousands of starfish on miles and miles of beach. One man alone could never make a difference. He smiled as he picked up the next starfish. Hurling it far into the sea he said, “It makes a difference for this one.” I abandoned my writing and spent the morning throwing starfish.”
http://www.agiftofinspiration.com.au/stories/attitude/starfish.shtml
Monday, September 24, 2012
Ever Heard Of Them?
It is very likely that you have heard of the Piano Guys, because of the wonderful following they have on YouTube, not to mention the wonderfantabulistic music they create. Well, if you have heard of them, give a shout out right here in the comments. If you haven't, here's a link to their page [ thepianoguys.com ] and their channel [youtube]. And please! Enjoy!!
The real reason I am spotlighting the Piano Guys today is because of the great opportunity I experienced over the weekend. I was part of an audience for one of their live performances!!! YAY!! I loved it SO much! Their music is awesome and they were such great performers and had a good interaction with the audience. All in all I think they captured my attention a little more than the nearby India Fest, although I was concentrating on that performance as well. But that was homework.
Piano Guys Rock!
Yup,
I'm a fan
The real reason I am spotlighting the Piano Guys today is because of the great opportunity I experienced over the weekend. I was part of an audience for one of their live performances!!! YAY!! I loved it SO much! Their music is awesome and they were such great performers and had a good interaction with the audience. All in all I think they captured my attention a little more than the nearby India Fest, although I was concentrating on that performance as well. But that was homework.
Piano Guys Rock!
Yup,
I'm a fan
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
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