Utah: Family Time and Bear Lake Reunion 2014

From Kauai we fly into Utah to spend time with family and attend Ethan's family reunion at Bear Lake.  Here are some highpoints...

Fun with Maren at Grandma and Grandpa Wood's house

Cousin time with Lucy

Sand castles at the lake!

Travis and Larry hanging out.

FHE by Lindsey and Milly

FHE treat by Lindsey and Milly

Sorry McKenna, Ali wins.

Crazy girls!

This is the Place day trip with cousins: Zoe, Milly, and Lucy.
Thanks Grandma Geri and Aunt Chelsey.  (Chelsey made Lindsey her dress.)

Loves those horses!

Horseback riding with Milly--thanks to Ranae and Wade Ashby,
my dear Springville, UT friends!

Kauai--Honeymoon #2

Our initial March honeymoon was four days in Bear Lake, which essentially sits on the Utah/Idaho border.  It's cold at that time of the year in Bear Lake, but still a lovely place.  We spent the rest of the week moving my stuff to Minnesota and arrived in the midwest in time for the kids to resume school following their spring break.

Honeymoon #2 was on the island of Kauai.  Here is a glimpse of the beautiful sunsets and sites we experienced.  Many thanks to Keven and Cindy Prusak for providing the accommodations for this amazing trip of a lifetime.  We loved every single minute.  (Can we go back, now, please?)

Hanalei Bay area--great food and absolutely stunning! 

Hanalei at sunset!

Sailing along the Napali Coast.  (Do I look a bit green?)

Wailua River--we did a riverboat tour and kayaked

Helicopter ride over the Napali Coastline.
Ethan was like a kid on Christmas morning!

Waimea Canyon--incredible!  A highlight of our trip.

Shaved ice was a favorite for us in many spots.

Napoli Coast from the air.

Home for a visit

 I headed to Utah for a few days to celebrate my nephew, Nathan's, marriage to Allie.  I regret that I didn't take any photos of their wedding day. However, I did enjoy a fun outing with my family at the  zoo while I was there.

Sure miss my kids!  

Monkeys--aka:  Ethan and Jacob

 

The Colorado Gordon's

Nikki, Syd, Heather, (Lyla), Ethan, and Dallin

Spring--finally!

As people met me they asked why I hadn't brought spring with me from Utah. I began to wonder the same thing. The long, hard winter of 2014 continued for quite some time. When spring broke, I was delighted.  My second spring, since I was able to welcome some of spring prior to departing Utah.  Here are some of our activities during the month of May.

Lindsey playing outside.  Lemonade and other sales efforts began with the neighborhood kids.

Lindsey's fourth grade poetry celebration.  Her teacher, Mrs. Hummerickhouse, is one of the finest teachers I've known in my career.  Her commitment to each individual student was evident in Lindsey's progress this particular year.  Notice that she surprised me by writing a poem about me. To this day I get a bit teary eyed when I read it.  I've sure grown to love this girls.

Over Memorial Day weekend we took a trip to Duluth.  Our adventures were many and great fun. It is a beautiful place, but definitely even colder than the Twin Cities. My friend, Lynnette Christensen, served in Duluth. It was her favorite area. Of course, it a coastal city with some spectacular sites.

Glensheen Mansion tour and grounds.  The is a historic house museum supposed by the University of Minnesota. It was built in the early 1900s, sits on 7.8 acres, and has 39 rooms.  It also has a murder story attached to its history.

Our next adventure was the Split Rock Lighthouse which is on the way to the Canadian border.  We walked many, many steps down to get some of the photos from the beachfront.  It is a beautiful area. The lighthouse was built in response to shipwrecks in Lake Superior vicinity

Gooseberry Falls, near Two Harbors, filled the other part of our day. Tanner chose not to join our jaunt. Notice Lindsey's sense of adventure and fun spirit!

One of the highlights of our trip was touring the Sudan Mine. (Thanks for the suggestion, Morton Family.) We were 2341 feet underground. Unbelievable!

                                   Our final day was a boat ride tour around the Duluth bay.

We ended the school year with two events for Lindsey--her school track race and first piano recital.

Marchant-Wood Family's First Month

Blending a family is a journey.  The journey is process, one that we're still experiencing in our home. Our first month together involved putting our house together. (Wish I had some before pictures.)  We started a routine of seminary, school, work, church, and extra-curricular activities.  I felt like I was a visitor for quite some time. I'm sure Lindsey, Tanner, and Ethan felt like they had a house guest who imposed a lot of changes.  Somehow we are surviving.  Here's what the first month looked like.



Farmington ward Pinewood Derby.  They included everyone! It was my first ward activity in Minnesota.  The people were very kind.




Lindsey turned 10 with a "Zoo Theme" birthday party.  Our house was almost put together by this time.  Lots of a fun with friends, treats, and games.  Katie, Alyssa, and Paige are in this photo.





Lindsey's fourth grade music program with their handmade dulcimers and recorders.  I was very impressed with the quality of music they produced!