Baker City!

Home Town

weeeeeeee!
merry -go- round
just a swinging
monkey boy

We ran into Mom's cousin Julie and family! Such a surprise, they are here on vacation too!

Mom took Charlie to a western store and bought him a cowboy outfit. Pictures will be in another blog entry!

We are in my home town! My Mom, Charlie, and I are in Baker City Oregon. Mom and I were saying how fun it is to have a beautiful home town to come and visit. I grew up here so it will always feel like home. It is so interesting, you get here and life just seems to slow down. It is not like being in the city where everyone is going a million miles per hour everywhere. It is so nice not to have traffic! Very relaxing.

Today we went to our favorite shops on Main Street and then drove around looking at familiar sites. We went to the high school I graduated from and got some pictures,which are included in the blog. Baker High School, it looks so small compared to the big schools in Utah.

We joined Steven this evening and went to El Errardo one of our most favorite Mexican Restaurants. The food was amazing, just like I remember it! After dinner we went to the park. I was able to recreate photo shoots in the park with charlie on the exact play ground equipment that I have pictures of me playing on as a child. I love the park in Baker, it is beautiful with all the old established trees.
My hope is to keep pictures and entries posted while we are on our trip. My sweet husband had me bring his lap top. I have the best husband. I wish so bad he was with us, it would be so much fun. I miss him, and we have only been away for three days.

Grandma Knowles and her birthday party!

Birthday Girl!

My beautiful Grandmother

Mom, me, and Grandma Knowles

Marrieanne, David, Mom in a death lock, Lynn, and Grandma
Mother and daughter
Abi and Maddie, cousins
Uncle Dave helping Charlie down the stairs

Abi, Annie, and Lynn
David tying a bow in his Mom's hair. How cute!
Maddie and Kellie (Mother and Daughter)
My Handsome Sweetheart

Charlie, and Emmie
Charlie helped take the candles off Grandma's cake. Such a big helper!
A my space picture attempt! Like my seductive look? he he he

Talbie and Ben, cousins

We went up to Aunt Marrieanne and Uncle Dave's house for Grandma's birthday. It was so fun, Dave barbecued hamburgers and we all enjoyed being outdoors taking in the beauty of the mountains. It was a very delightful evening and I have the most wonderful family.

Man are they photogenic!

Happy Birthday Sarah

Happy Birthday Sarah!

Charlie and his Aunt Essa

Sarah and her sister Hillary. Gorgeous girls!
Baby Sarah, Robert, Spencer, and Hillary
Sarah and Donovan, Senior Prom pictures

Yes today is my sister in law's birthday; oh yeah July 21st! Two people I love with the same birthday! Sarah turned 19, oh to be 19 again. Happy Happy Birthday Sarah dear happy days will come to you all year if I had a wish then it would be a happy happy birthday to you from me! Happy Birthday Sarah we love you!

Sarah is Robert's baby sister. I asked Robert what he wanted to say about his sister and he said that she is a very independent young lady and determined and that he loves her very much.

One of Sarah's many skills....She loves to play soccer and is a phenomenal half back "aka" wolf man! She is a talented girl and incredibly intelligent. She is going to school to become a EMT! You rock Sarah.

We love you Essa (that is what Charlie calls his Aunt Sarah) We wish you a very Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Grandma Knowles

Happy Birthday Grandma Knowles

Grandma with all her grandchildren
Jessie, Charlie, and Grandma Jessie and Grandma Knowles dressed up for Halloween

July 21st is my sweet Grandmother's birthday! I love the story she tells of her childhood. When she was a small girl her family would always drive from Baker City Oregon to Utah to celebrate Pioneer Days. She thought that all the festivities were in her behalf because it was her birthday. She said she was always impressed with the firework show they did for her on her birthday. That is so cute! I guess they should have called it Mary Days Instead!

I love my Grandma so much we are very good friends and have a lot in common. She has taught me so much. If I need a gospel question answered I ask her; she is a wealth of knowledge. She loves to read and study the gospel. What an incredible example she is to me and her family. I am excited for this week because we are going to Baker for a little road trip and she is coming with us. It is going to be so much fun!

Celebrating Early in St. George

Red Rock Get Away!

The club house on the green, where we had the most delicious lunch
Milk and Cookies. Yummy
Red rock agrees with me
Robert and a Barrel Cactus
View of the neighborhood at Entrada

Robert relaxing, we wanted to bring that chair home with us. Boy was it comfortable!
Our little fully stocked kitchenette
The very amazing jetted bathtub. Some day I want one of these in my home.
Robert in front of our Casita
Taucahn Theater

The stage with an amazing view

Zion National Park

The 1.1 mile tunnel that is cut through the mountains. It was fun to drive in! Beep Beep Honk Honk

Hiking the Narrows

Robert and I had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate our wedding anniversary a month early. Omniture (where Robert works) was offering employees extra paid days off if they used some of their vacation days before the end of July. So for every two vacations days, you received one personal day! It worked perfectly for us, we got to get out of dodge and go have a fabulous time.

St. George is a little tradition we started last year for our anniversary. We like to go down and go to the Tuacahn Theater and spend the night. This year my mom was so kind and offered to watch Charlie and told us to go spend a few days there.

Oh it was so marvelous! We stayed at an amazing place called the Inn at Entrada. It was where the second High School Musical was filmed. We did not go there because of that. It was just a really great place for the price. We had our own little Casita. Basically a studio apartment with garage. They turned down our bedding and brought fresh baked cookies and milk in the evening. It was so fun.

We went to the the Tuacahn and saw Les Miserables. Fabulous!!! I highly recommend this show. The actresses and actors that sang were so incredibly talented. It was a beautiful rendition.

We did some shopping at the outlet mall bought some clothes for Charlie at Osh Gosh. We also went to Snow Canyon on a drive and walked around the St. George Temple. It is such a stunning temple. Beautiful and white against a red rock back drop!

Saturday we spent the day in Zion National Park even with the temperature at 108 degrees. I have been there a couple of times and every time I return I am always left awe stricken. Robert and I hiked what it known as the Narrows. The Virgin River was very deep this year and we were in above the knee. It was tricky with the fast current but worth the effort because the scenery was breath taking.

We had such a awesome time. I look forward to this tradition next year! Robert and I think it would be so fun to retire in St. George.