Pomp and Circumstance

Madison High School class of 2009

Last week I was able to go up to Idaho to spend some time with my Mom and to see Landon's brother Miles graduate from high school. It was crazy watching the Madison High School graduation five years after mine and Landon's graduation. So many of the kids graduating had siblings that I graduated with. It was fun to see the orchestra and choir perform, fun to see old teachers and friends, fun to reminisce about the "glory days" of high school. What a great time in my life, and how glad I am to have it behind me!

Miles getting his diploma - I had to take tons of pictures, because Landon wasn't able to be there due to field camp. He was so sorry to have missed it.

My parents and me and Landon got Miles a book and Milkyway Dark candy bars for graduation. Who doesn't deserve a present for surviving adolescence??

I wasn't brave enough to go into the crowded fieldhouse to find Miles after the ceremony, so I made him put his hat back on and reenact it. Aren't I a great sister-in-law?

Yeah. He's definitely getting mature.

Congratulations Miles!! We're very proud of you and your accomplishments. Drink it in, because in five years you'll be sitting in our shoes wondering where the time has gone!

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”

Last week we had a few blissful days off together, and one gorgeous afternoon we decided to go for a drive. There are all kinds of fascinating things in Utah; the one that we stumbled upon this time was the Salt Lake Temple Quarry. We had no idea it was still there, or that you could visit. We packed a picnic and went on our little adventure together. It was a nice reminder that no matter what successes or uncertainties come our way (and we are certain there will be an abundance of both), no matter how winding and bumpy the road, no matter where we go or what we end up with in the end - we always have each other, and we can always enjoy a picnic.

April Showers Bring...

Well, we are hoping that they will bring us good luck with our "garden" this year. Living in an apartment, we have to get a little creative with everything we do. Last year we planted flowers, but this year we wanted to be a little more adventurous, and feel self-sufficient. So we decided to plant a garden of sorts.

From left to right we have: Cilantro, Mint, Cherry Tomatoes, Radishes (and one bean plant that sprouted from last year), and lettuce (Love the salad theme? We were going for things that could be used together). We're crossing our fingers that at least one of the things we planted is successful. We used Miracle Grow potting soil, good quality seeds (at least according to a book we got from the library), A tomato start from a local nursery who assured us it would grow just fine in a pot, well-drained containers and liquid Miracle Grow to top it off. We will post pictures of the garden's progress, unless it's a dud. Then we will deny that we ever tried. Any tips for the novice gardeners?

Our personal stimulus package

After a grueling semester, Landon left last Monday morning for his seven week field camp seminar. This week he was in Wendover, Nevada. He'll be going to various locations and coming home for visits in between for the rest of Spring semester.

In light of this, we decided that we deserved what we have dubbed a "superdate." We didn't have a lot of time or $$, but we wanted to get out of everyday life - which for us means neither of the adjoining counties to our home count. The winning attraction? Manti, UT!

Neither of us had ever been there before. It's just one gorgeous 2-hour drive away. I took a day off work and we left on Thursday night for our adventure. We checked into a quaint and very historical bed and breakfast, spent the night enjoying cable TV, relaxing and laughing, and enjoying this remarkable view from our window:

The next morning, we slept in for a good long time (well deserved, I have to say). We checked out at 11 a.m. and started wandering the town.

We loved the temple so much and were sad that it was closed (We knew this beforehand, but we decided to go anyway, and we're really glad we did). We'll definitely be going back to do a session there. If the inside is anything like the outside, it must be breath-taking.

We found a very cool old cemetery with plenty of pioneers, including those from the Willie Handcart company, Isaac Morely - who founded Manti, lots of casualties from the Indian wars, and two of Butch Cassidy's sidekicks. It was beautiful.

We also found this fabulous old door - and now have plans to reconstruct it in our backyard someday for photo shoots. I wish I would have had my tripod, so I could have gotten a proper photo of us - but the camera perched on an old crate balanced at the right angle by my purse was passable.

After wandering Manti for several hours, touring old homes, looking in fun little shops, and buying some delicious ice cream, we began our trek back home. But we couldn't leave without taking a peak at...

(Molly, this picture is dedicated to you)

We had packed a picnic lunch and stopped in a little park on the way home for a really late lunch/dinner. We made it back home by seven, in time to catch a movie to round off our "superdate." We weren't sure how the one-day trip was going to work out, but it was enough to recharge out batteries and give us some fun time and memories together before Landon headed out. We're thinking of making this an annual tradition. And we may even head back to catch the pageant (although I don't know that it will measure up to Palmyra, despite what the lady at City Hall told us)!