The last weekend

Because I wasn't working last weekend, we took a trip down to visit family, sort of a last hurrah before the kids go back to school.




First, Great Grandma Duce ("GG" to Ella) took us to see the play Beauty and the Beast. It was a fantastic show and I couldn't help but feel jealous that we don't have a theater program like that.

We stayed over night at GG's and even went to church with her, even went to all the meetings. It was good to have time dedicated to just visiting her and I think that she appreciated it. The old style decorating in her home made for some nice photos too.




We then moved on to The Manor. The girls found time to can pickles and beets and the guys took the kids to see the movie Wall-E.








Tanis and John hosted a breakfast and a lunch at their home, The Arbor (it needed a name too), and watched our kids while Heather and I took in a session at the Temple. Thanks guys! I flew John's airplane and even managed to land it twice (crashed four times).

On the last day we all went to Writing on Stone Provincial Park. It has been years since I was there but it was nice to see that it's just as neat as I remembered it. Heather later commented on how agile and nimble Mason was while climbing on the hoodoos. I was proud to hear it. I have been waiting to see which of the kids, if any, would display an aptitude for Ninja skills.








Finally we moved on and spent two days with Heather's mom and dad (whom I call The General). The kids got to spend time with their cousins on that side of the family and do those things that they only get to do when they visit; things like petting the next door horses and feeding them corn cobs and crab apples. Ella was in Heaven.




I took Mason out to the wood shop and got the pellet gun The General uses to protect his strawberries from birds. I gave him a lesson on safe gun handling, and an overview on how sighting worked. Before I knew it, he was knocking down the Coke-bottle target on almost every shot.

Those readers who grew up in the 80's, are aware that real Ninjas don't use guns (although, I've never been sure whether it's due to an actual prohibition, or just out of contempt for how inelegant firearms are). However, I vividly remember seeing a magazine-page poster tacked up in the locker of a fellow fourth grade student, which displayed the provocative (if inaccurate) image of a white-suited/headbanded Ninja holding an Uzi. It seemed to suggest, and perhaps rightly, that the only thing more awesome than a Ninja, would be a Ninja with a machine gun.




It was nice to spend time with the Hardy's after their trip to Disneyland and the other Hardy's after their trip to Nauvoo. We are sorry that that Crystal couldn't come down from Calgary and that Jeremy was so busy working (although he did stop by in time to play a few games of Metal Slug on Nintendo). It was awesome to see Heather's parents and sister and luckily, her daughters don't call me "Uncle Sucka'fool" like the other cousins do (although they call me "Uncle Cheesy" for some reason). In short, it was really great to see everyone and we love them all so much.





- C

Meet Daisy

Heather is such a softie. I told her about some hamsters that I'd seen at work (actually I was at Petland to pick up a young child who'd been abandoned there by his parents), and I could tell that she was at least partly receptive to the idea of having one.

We took the kids to our local pet store on Monday afternoon - kind of like the zoo but cheaper. The salesman introduced us to a female black bear hamster that he said, had "a really nice temperament". Over the kids' heads I gave Heather my "what do you think hon?" shrug, to which she answered with her "it's up to you" shrug. Suddenly we were picking out a cage and food and bedding - OK, no longer cheaper than the zoo, but the hamster was free.

At home we agreed on a name and helped Daisy settle into her temporary home in Mason and Tyson's room (Ella gets her next week). The kids love playing with her and think she is the funniest thing ever.








I think it is really important for kids to be close to animals and learn to appreciate them. I also think it's important that Heather not get stuck with any of the work involved in caring for Daisy. That was probably my mistake with our cat, Towser. Sure, it seemed handy at the time to have Heather empty the litter box occasionally, but we haven't had a cat since and I don't think it's a coincidence. When I look at Daisy, I see a furry little ambassador. If she accomplishes her mission, we could be one step closer to... I don't know... something bigger at least.




- C

I've been to Beazer

Yup, I can finally make that claim. People seemed surprised that I hadn't been there before and, truth be known, I'd always felt a little guilty about it. The reason being that Beazer is an important place for our family. A painting of the area always hung above grandpa and grandma's fireplace and Old Chief Mountain came up in conversation from time to time - suggesting that it stood as prominently in peoples' thoughts as it does on the horizon. My grandmother's family settled the area in 1890. Mark E. Beazer, after making the trip from Utah, had chosen the spot from the saddle of his horse. Grandma was later born there. I couldn't help but imagine a magnetic pull as I turned down the gravel road towards the place where my family came from.





Following the directions, we easily found Uncle George's property. We parked our car on the bank of Lee Creek and crossed the water on a bridge made of two felled trees. The campsite had a tipi, a cedar hot tub, and sand for the kids to play in. It was fun to watch them and ponder George's reminder that this exact area had been grandma's childhood playground. Uncle George told me that they'd named the spot "Diamond Dipper" after the stands of diamond willows sprinkled across the property and after the sighting of an American Dipper on one of his first visits. Uncle George, a lifelong student of nature, said the Dipper is his favorite bird. It dives underwater to feed, and it does not fly South in the winter like other song birds. "Instead they hunker down. Tough it out." There was admiration in his voice.





Jerry pointed to the massive plank and log table and commented how everything there was "Toone-sized". That reminded me of the story my dad often told about his first visit to the farm in Claresholm. According to the story, he pulled up in his Austin Mini and was met by Ike, Grandpa's German Shepard which stood a little taller than dad as he peered in the driver's window at him. Then Grandpa and Uncle Jim stepped out onto the porch and the thought occurred to dad that he had accidentally driven into the Valley of the Giants. That's how he told it anyways.





We were late getting to the campground because I had worked until early that morning. But, to redeem ourselves, CHEMT were the only ones from our side of the family who stayed overnight. I would like to say that we toughed it out, dipper-style, but the truth is that there was nothing tough about the weekend. Uncle George and Aunt Karen were gracious hosts and generously provided everything from meals and treats to a jeep parked with the keys in it and an invitation to explore their 100 acre property.





Our children immediately started playing with the other cousins and us adults visited. At one point Kelly Dawn yelled over, "are those horses supposed to be here?" We looked up to see three horses come running through the trees, skirt where we were sitting, and stop at the hitching post (I suspected that they had been out of sight, planning how to make a dramatic entrance, but I don't know very much about horses, or whether that is the sort of thing they'd plan). Cody looked up and exclaimed "we should try and catch those!" They did and soon Cody and Katelyn were taking people on rides and Uncle George was leading horsey rides for the kids.








The supper that George and Karen put on was amazing. There were salads and barbecued vegetables and mushrooms. There were scalloped potatoes and cowboy pork & beans (with a Hawaiian twist), both cooked in Dutch ovens beside the fire. When I went to the barbecue George advised me knowingly, "you should go see Cody instead". I did and was presented with a giant cut of rib steak. During the meal, I thought it was strange how the best steak I've ever eaten didn't come from a fancy restaurant as I'd expect. Instead I found my Best Steak in an outdoor clearing, served on a paper plate. Maybe that's how they're all found.








I wish I had gotten my act together sooner and visited the area with grandma, or attended one of the family reunions held in past years. In a way though I felt like she wasn't very far away. We were in the same place as her, even if not at the same time. All weekend long, Beazer blood again made tracks on the land... and next year there will be even more.





See you at the reunion cousins.

- C