The 4th of July

Moab is kind of a different town, especially when it comes to community celebrations.  We don't have a county fair, or many holiday celebrations to speak of, and there was nothing but evening fireworks planned for the 4th, so we headed up to the mountains to fish and play at Buckeye Reservoir.  I used to spend quite a bit of time here as a little girl when my Dad worked for the Forest Service, but I hadn't been to Buckeye in YEARS!!  So many years that Kimbrey didn't even know what Buckeye was.

 By the time we fixed and loaded the boats and then drove all the way there, it was past lunch time.  So we ate a picnic lunch first.  And we taught Capri to dip brownie bites in whipped cream.  YUM!

Then we played a little bit of Flickin' Chicken.  A game Jill bought Kenny for Father's Day to protest the Croquet game he bought her for Mother's Day.  It was a riot!

  While Dave did what he does best.  Sat and watched.  Actually, he had an excuse this time.  He had been on a motorcycle ride and had cracked or bruised a couple of ribs and wasn't moving around very well.

When we got tired of flinging rubber chickens around, we drug the boats to the lake and paddled around for a while.

 My plan was to sit in the shade and read a book.  Somehow that never works out for me.

 It was so pretty and peaceful, and we started to wish we had rented some paddle boards to play around on.  Maybe next time . .

 Capri fished from the shore a little bit.  Something she didn't get to do at Cozzens Camp much.  She is a good little fisher woman.

But then Kenny spotted a Bald Eagle in the top of a tree and we started following it around the lake.  If you look closely, you will see it in the very top of the tree behind Aiden.  

 And Capri found PINK HONEY SUCKLES!!!  It was a great find for a little pink girl.  And they were just as yummy as the red ones at the Cabin.

 Jill was trying to teach Aiden that when someone wants to take a picture of you, you should pose and smile for them instead of hiding or pulling a funny face.  So when Aiden asked if he could use my camera to take a picture, I tried to be a good example.

And I thought he did a great job!!  It was a fun day and much cooler than if we had been stuck in town at some old 4th of July celebration.  Happy Independenc :)

Then on to Boston

After all the graduation excitement, we loaded the rest of Brennan and Emma's possessions in our rental car and headed to Boston.  It was dark by the time we got settled and drove into downtown Boston, so I have no pictures of the part of the Freedom Walk we were able to go on.  

But the next day we had a little time before my flight left, so we headed over to Lexington to see where the first shots of the Revolution were fired.  Above is a monument to that battle and those who were killed in it.  

 They had tours of some of the places of significance.  We bought three, but were only able to use two before our time ran out.  The first was Buckman's Tavern.  It was here that many Colonist met and discussed issues, like taxation without representation, etc.  The tour here was a self guided, audio tour, which I really liked.  It was very interesting and well worth our time.  

 

 They also had some old artifacts that you could TOUCH!!  Touching is usually a BIG no no, but here, it was a very much hands on experience.  Very fun.

 A few fun shots of the outside of Buckman's, with cute Emma and Brennan included.

 The next tour was the Hancock-Clarke House,  This was where John Hancock and John Adams were staying when Paul Revere rode up and told them to get out quickly, the British were coming.

 This ugly green room here was the actual room they were sleeping in when they were awakened by Paul Revere's warning.  This was also very interesting and well worth our time.  Wish we could have made it to that third place, but planes won't wait and I had to catch one back home to Utah, because more fun was awaiting :)

Brennan's Graduation

  Of course, our real reason for being on the East Coast this time was to attend Brennan's graduation.  Somehow, when it comes to college, our kids always have multiple graduations.  Kyle graduated from CEU with an Associates and then SUU with a Bachelor's degree.  Jill graduated with Snow with an Associates, CEU with an LPN and then SUU with her RN, Kimbrey graduated from Snow with an Associates and then the U with a Bachelor's, and now there's Brennan, who graduated from Utah State with his Bachelors, and this year - Renssselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York with his Masters.   Good thing I LOVE college graduations :)  Love them!

 Dave and Emma killing time before the graduation began.  We had GREAT seats, due largely to me and what Dave calls my "Johnson timing" - that's code for we're early for everything

 Brennan didn't go to the graduation rehearsal, so we didn't know which isle he would walk up in the processional.  Imagine our surprise when he walked right up our isle!!  We NEVER have that kind of luck.

Emma and Brennan with his VERY large diploma.  He worked pretty darn hard for that thing!

 This is a reenactment of this picture from Brennan's Utah State Graduation

My how they've changed in two years.  And I think maybe Brennan's a little bit more out of shape.

And this is Brennan's cute friend from Bangladesh. He and Bren entered the program together, studied together, encouraged each other, and graduated together.

I can't remember his name, and Brennan never answers my texts or I'd ask him.  But just know that he is going to Portland, Oregon to work, while Brennan is headed to Boston.  Really, Brennan . . .you might could have picked Portland for your Oregon loving family :)  Best of luck to both!!

Five Days on the East Coast

 While Dave jaunted off to Haiti for some Humanitarian work, I flew to New York for Brennan's graduation.  What a fun trip!  Jill, Kimbrey, Dave and I went to New York about this time last year, but most of our time was spent seeing Church History sites, so this year, since we had a free day before Brennan's movers come, we went to some Revolutionary Battle sites.  One of those was the battle at Saratoga.

This battle was a hugely important one for the American Revolution because we not only won this battle, but the British Army had to surrender.  They were surrounded and couldn't even retreat!  This was a HUGE blow to the British and a HUGE shot in the arm for the Revolutionaries.  The house above was a farmers house that was taken over by the Americans during the battle and became the headquarters for Benedict Arnold, a hero at this time in the war.  I kind of feel sorry for poor Benedict Arnold and the stupid choice he made later in the war. 

And this was a platform that was used to anchor a cannon as the fighting was going on.  It was a beautiful site, alot like Gettysburg, but was not covered with monuments and signage.  I can never describe the reverent feeling that exists where people have given their lives for freedom.  It is incredible!

 I felt bad hurrying away from Saratoga, but our time was short and we had an hour's drive to get to Fort Ticonderoga.  This place was so cool!  It played a huge roll in both the French and Indian war, and the Revolutionary War.  These are rein-actors working at the Fort.  The guy in the tri-corner hat was our tour guide.

 The fort was completely leveled during both wars, but a private group rebuilt it to the way it was during the 1600-1700's.  They had shoe makers and tailors there who made the clothing the rein-actors wore in the same old way they made them back then.  It was fun to watch and to talk to them.

 Here is a cannon pointed out to sea.  This is the view a soldier would have as a battle was being fought

Just a quick history lesson - During the Revolutionary war, when England took over Boston, Ethan Allen and his army and Benedict Arnold came to Fort Ticonderoga, knocked on the door of the unsuspecting British who occupied it, and took over the Fort without firing a single shot.  They took the cannons from there and transported them to Boston for the battle that would win Boston back.  Pretty cool, those early Patriots.  They make my heart swell.   Wish we had a few of those guys around now  :) 

We Pause This DC Report For An Easter Post

On Friday night before Easter, we colored our eggs - the old fashioned way.  With boiling water and food coloring.  And some glitter, but I didn't get pictures of the glittering.  I was on glitter control!!

Using a whisk for the little kids was an ingenious Pinterest idea that worked pretty darn well.

I love how coloring eggs is a timeless, ageless tradition.  Everyone loves to get in the action!  

And on Saturday, we had the second annual egg hunt to the Brown Rocks.

Kimbrey came up with a few rules, such as all the blue and pink eggs could not be picked up by anyone under the age of 2.  This gave the little ones a fighting chance.

And, once you had found eight eggs, you had to help everyone else find eight eggs before you could collect more.  It was fair and reasonable and Brody HATED it.  Too many rules for an Easter Egg Hunt :)

But everyone made it to the top, happy, and with 8 or more eggs in their basket.  

BTW, we were missing two kiddos this year.  They were at Disneyland :( :)

And then we rolled those eggs down the hill until they were smashed to bits.  It's the Easter Way!!