Prescott, Arizona

Rod and Karla at one of the memorials standing on the Square. The quaint architecture in Prescott was fascinating. This balcony is just one example Rod is looking at the Yavapai County Timeline at Court House Square. Rod and Larry at the Veteran's Memorial at Court House Square. Saturday, July 29th, we went to Prescott, AZ with some new friends. We met Betty and Larry Marvin through work - Betty is a counselor at Cortez High School where I work. Marvins love the Prescott area and were kind enough to take us up there to show us the sights. We enjoyed a great lunch at a western style cafe. Prescott is a higher elevation than Peoria, so it is much cooler than down in the valley. We enjoyed the scenery of the hills, the cloudy sky and the gentle breeze and temperature. It is tradition with the Marvin's to visit Kendall's Ice Cream parlor for hand dipped ice cream every time they go to Prescott, so of course we could not break that tradition! There is always something going on at the court house square every weekend. The east end of town is flanked by a forrest and there is a butte that can be climbed. Several old, but restored Victorian style homes adorn the streets along with more modern buildings. We are anxious to go back and take our kids. This was a most enjoyable outing!

No More Capsicum!

This week we went into Borders book store and could not resist the "Buy 3 get one free" special on some reduced books. I have a weakness for cookbooks, so I found some that I think we will enjoy. One of them is called "Stir-Fries, Best Ever Wok & Pan Recipes." I scanned the whole book and picked out three recipes I wanted to try right away. We found the special ingredients and I stir-fried up a storm. One of the ingredients for this special dish was called "capsicum." I did not know what this was, so I looked it up on the internet. Here is what I found: "the fruit of most species of Capsicum contains capsaicin (methyl vanillyl nonenamide), a lipophilic chemical that can produce a strong burning sensation in the mouth (and, if not properly digested, anus) of the unaccustomed eater. Most mammals find this unpleasant; however, birds are unaffected. " Just let me tell you that the burning sensation was EXTREME (I have been accused of having a weenie mouth) in the mouth and later on the way out! And being a mammal, I did find this sensation unpleasant. As you can see from the illustration, the capsicum is, indeed, a chilie pepper. I thought that just one little red chilie pepper in the wonderful recipe "Curry Chicken Noodle Stir-Fry" would just add a little flavor and color. WRONG! It was too, too, too hot for me! I don't think I will be using "Capsicum" in further stir-fry recipes. I think I will substitute with a nice, benign, red bell pepper. At least that will add the red color and look pretty with out burning the mouth, gut and anus!

Snowflake Arizona

Becca is trying her skill at the blow torch on one of Granddad's bench pieces. It is kind of scary to have that much fire power in your hand! Sam and Trudy at the Salt River Canyon. Trudy hardly ever cooperates for a picture, so this is a rare moment. Nick is good with the blow torch, under the watchful eye of Brother Stratton. Trudy helps Becca get in the tire swing. Trudy is teaching Nick how to play a leaf whistle. Granddad gave Becca this little bench. It has his "Rafter D" brand on it. Last weekend, we went to Snowflake, Arizona with some dear friends. We went to visit Trudy's 96-year-old father. What an awesome experience! We left early in the morning and enjoyed a wonderful drive. We traveled through some really gorgeous country, pine trees and all. We saw the Salt River Canyon - beautiful! When we arrived in Snowflake, we had lunch out on the patio in perfect weather. We were given a tour of the place. We saw the "Dog House", the garden planted with perfect rows of corn and lots of tomatoes, apple trees loaded with apples, the old barn with a tire swing, and Granddad's wood working shop. Brother Stratton goes out to his "Dog House" every day, where he works on the beautiful wood items he creates. He makes mostly benches, but has done some custom desks for family members. He finishes the wood by using a blow torch that slightly burns the surface of the wood to burn the grain, and then uses a varnish to seal it. Nick and Becca both tried their hand with the blow torch, the enjoyed the tire swing, and chased rabbits. We also made a "soda explosion" with Diet Coke and Mint Mentos. Now that was amazing! we enjoyed some great Mexican food for dinner at La Cocina de Eva. Trudy's dad is a patriarch, and he spent the evening with us talking about patriarchal blessings and shared many sacred and sweet experiences with us. It was a truly special privilege and we enjoyed his warm personality and vivacious spirit. We spent the night and drove home early Sunday morning to get to church on time. Thanks, Sam and Trudy, for this memorable experience.

Hogle Zoo

Everybody had fun on the train ride! Cooper, Becca, Savannah, Ava, and Julie all pose on the big bronze gorilla.

All the kids love their Auntie Becca.

I think Cooper has a way to go before he should tangle with an ape.

Savannah gives her sweet smile in front of the mighty paciderms.

There is no better way to spend a glorious summer day than at the zoo. Especially with my three girls and grandkids. We started off by loading up strollers, kids, binkis, a great picnic lunch, lots of drinks and our cameras. It only took a short 15 minutes to drive to Utah's Hogle Zoo from Katie's house. I remember going to that zoo as a very small child. I loved it so much. It has really changed since then. The exhibits have all been updated and it is a very impressive place. My grandkids love going and Katie always gets a season pass so they go often. That way they don't have to spend a lot of time and it is a fun diverson for them. We saw the elephants, rhinos, bears, zeebras, all kinds of monkeys, the wild cats and many other exotic and common animals. We just happened to go on the day the new wild cat exhibit opened up to the public. The radio station was there, they had food samples, and people galore. The kids really enjoyed it. At the end of our tour, we rode the train. Guess who the conductor was? None other than Santa Clause himself! Savannah was thrilled. He talked to her and told her he loved working at the zoo in the summer time and that this is where he met Mrs. Clause 150 years ago. He hollers "All aboard" just as well as he hollers "Ho, ho, ho." It was great fun. As we finished up our trip, we stopped at Jamba Juice for refreshing smoothies. What a perfect day.