Camping in Zions - April 6-9th, 2026

 Retirement life is great so far. We just got back from camping in Zion National Park for 4 days. It is so pretty. We avoided the crowds, and rode the shuttles when people left in the afternoons. The weather was beautiful! I was able to walk 1-3 miles at a time each day on the trails. On our walks we saw Turkey, Deer, and lots of Squirrels. Of course we took our picture at the Big tree at the lodge. I have pictures of us there every year since 1990. And some of when our kids were little, and some from when I was little. Maybe someday, I will put them all together and see how much has changed!

Snow Canyon State Park - March 3-4th, 2026

 We decided to take the new RV for a test run, so we booked a campsite in Snow Canyon. It is only 10 minutes from our house, so if we needed anything it would be easy to come home. We had the prettiest view from the windows. It was beautiful weather. There is a new hike that tells all about the Desert Tortoises. At the end there is a huge bronze tortoise. We also hiked to the pioneer names that the pioneers wrote in the 1800's. We went for a couple of hikes. We went to the Petrified Dunes, which we had never hiked before. I couldn't hike very far, but what I saw was awesome. We realized the first day there, that the battery in the RV was not going to be enough to power what we needed. As soon as it got dark, we had no lights, and couldn't run the AC, or watch TV. And we found out that we needed a new water pump. So we left a day early and came home and ordered 2 new batteries, and a new water pump. It is a good thing we went for this quick trip, so we can be ready for the summer camping season. 

Scraped Fender - March 3rd, 2026

Today as I was backing out of the garage to run to he UPS store, I got too close to the garage, and scraped my fender. When I got out and saw it, I was sick. I blamed Doug for parking it too close, because he drove it last... I told him I hated my car now, and wanted a new one. He very calmly got some stuff off a shelf in the garage and proceeded to fix it. It only took 5 minutes and was as good as new. I was amazed. I didn't know he could do that, but he said he did stuff like that on the used cars at work all the time. Now I was thankful he brought all that stuff home. (even though I complained at the time that he was bringing home too much junk...)

Total Eclipse Of The Moon - March 3rd, 2026

 I kept waking up all night because I wanted to see the eclipse. I went outside and 4 am and watched it for an hour. It was pretty cool to see. I didn't get very good pictures, but I am glad I went out to see it.

Amelia - 20 Months Old - March 1st, 2026

 Amelia turned 20 months old this month. She weighs 22 pounds now. She never stops jabbering. I wish we knew what she was saying. She does say a lot more words now. She eats pretty much whatever we give her. Her favorite treat is a little yogurt snack. She makes the cutest faces and dances when her nursery rhymes are on. She loves to play with our old Fischer Price farm and house. She like to open and close the doors, and she carries the little people all over. We go outside every time she is here. She likes the log swing. We went for a walk, and there was a cat at the neighbors, and she followed it all around and kept bending down and laying her face on it. I'm surprised it didn't run away. She is growing up too fast!

Falling Down! - February 17th, 2026

 Doug had a bad fall today. He was out working in the back yard, and was coming in the house. I reminded him, that the lawn guy had just sprayed, and he couldn't walk on the lawn yet, so he hurried and tried to come across the landscaping rocks by the stairs, and one came loose and he lost his balance. I saw him fall hard on his face. I ran up to him to help him, but there was nothing I could do. The way he landed, I thought he might have broken his hip or arm... He had nothing to stop his fall. When he stood up, he was covered in blood. It was dripping down his face pretty bad. He had a big gash above his eye and one across his nose. Thank goodness he didn't break any bones. We couldn't stop the bleeding by his nose, so we went to the Instacare. They cleaned it up a little and put in a few stitches. He didn't have them check his hand, but he thinks he sprained his finger. His arm and knee also hurt a lot. He was covered in scrapes. 2 days later and he has 2 black eyes all the way down to his cheeks. He said he feels like he got run over my a truck. He had his yearly appointment with the skin Dr. and he saw his face and ordered him some antibiotics and some special cream to stop the oozing. At one week he got the stitches out. By 10 days, the swelling and black eyes are much better. I am so thankful he wasn't seriously hurt!

Gunlock Reservoir/Snow Canyon State Park - February 12th, 2026

 I was so sick of lying around bored, so we decided to go for a drive. There is a campground now at Gunlock. We brought a picnic lunch and enjoyed eating outside by the reservoir. Then we stopped in Veyo and bought an apple pie. Their pies are usually really good, but this one was not at all. It was so sour. Then we drove through Snow Canyon. That is such a pretty drive. We stopped at the campground to see which spot we are camping in next month. We saw some cool cloud formations on the drive. It was good to get out of the house.