Sunday, May 31, 2020

May 2020!

This handyman can fix anything. I had bought a keyless entry garage door opener to replace our other one. The other one still worked, it was just trashed. Well, the new one wasn't compatible with our garage door. So Adam took the board out of the old one and put it in the new one...good as new!!
Calli walked in from the gym and headed straight for the pantry, backpack and all! Haha!
Look who we finally got to meet...
Rowan Blu Peterson. He is such a doll!
Amazing Sky on my way to work one morning. 
Adam and I took a much needed break from work one Friday and grabbed some lunch. Most of the  restaurants dining room's are still closed, so we grabbed Fire House subs and drove to the temple to see the progress and just to sit, eat and chat. It's so weird and a bit sad to see it like this right now during the renovation, but it will be worth it. 
Love seeing this man when he can finally find a minute to sit and relax. He sure loves his hammock!
On Memorial Day, all the girls had plans or work during the day so that night we had outdoor pizzas and played games. 


We've been playing so many games lately that we dug deeper in our game closet to find ones we haven't played in a while...found this gem from when the girls were little.
Plus, three extra dogs in the box that Gentry said she remembers putting in the box. The middle one was from Polly Pockets...talk about nostalgic. Haha!


I'm pretty convinced that we have the most amazing skies here in the desert than anywhere else. 
America makes history. This was so cool!. On May, 30th SpaceX an outside company not associated with NASA teamed up with them to send the first aircraft built by anyone other than NASA into space. This was also the first time an aircraft has been sent into space from American soil in over a decade. 
It was pretty nerve racking but so awesome watching the live coverage leading to lift off. They had interviews with other astronauts, tons of info and history about the launch and Kelly Clarkson sang the National Anthem from inside her home. It was kinda emotional watching the two astronauts (Doug and Bob) saying goodbye to their families and climbing aboard the rocket and then counting down and watching it blast into space seamlessly. Made me proud to be an American. 
19 hours later they docked with the space station where they will live for 3 months....pretty amazing!
On the exact same day, that America went from a super high, it fell to it's lowest of lows.  A few days before a black man was killed by a white cop in Minneapolis. He was later arrested and charged with the murder but protesters took over the nation. There were protests in most cities across America. Most of those were peaceful including one here in St. George but for most other major city across the nation, riots and violence broke out. It was so scary to watch as stores were looted, cars were tipped over and building were burned. It was like watching the news about a different country...certainly, not America.  

Especially watching it unfold in Salt Lake City. Seeing police cars turned on their sides and people laying on the ground as police started making arrests. It was insane and so crazy. It doesn't make sense to me to protest hate with hate and what's the point in looting businesses and burning your city. So sad!! Praying we find peace in our divide soon.

Tortoises!

My friend Kristen posted on instagram that while her family was walking the dike in Ivins they spotted 10 desert tortoises. I knew I had to get out there and take a look. 
With the following day being Thursday and my day off, Gentry, Adam and I headed out that morning around 9:00 am. (Adam had just swung by the house and we were heading out and decided to come along)
They were pretty hard to find at first unless they were moving, but once we found a couple they were easier to spot.  We were lucky enough to find 5. It was pretty cool!!


So cute!
I have lived here my entire life and have seen 7 tortoises, including the 5 that day. This was Gentry's first ever sighting.  Pretty amazing!

Demo

Every Summer, Adam and I continue to make improvements on the yard...it's a working progress. With preschool over, I have been wanting the swing set and playhouse gone. They were both starting to fall about and were just a nesting ground for pests. 
Before picture of the play house demolition. 
I didn't get a before picture of the swing set. But here is right after. 
The walls are coming down
Adam had me run the saw while he hauled the pieces off. 
Under the floor of the playhouse we uncovered black widows and a scorpion...yuck!


All done!! Sooo glad to have those out of here. It looks and feels so much better!

Sunday, May 24, 2020

The Lone Sequoia Tree

Another great ride with amazing views and awesome company! We rode out and found the only sequoia tree in southern Utah. "This tree is not native to this area. It was planted as a sapling in 1933-34 by Dr. Walter P. Cottam as part of the Browse Experiment Station." It was pretty cool! It stands out from all the other trees that surround it. Definitely worth the drive. 
 Heading over the freeway.
 Part of the ride was along a ridge with valleys and peaks on both sides...Amazing!



 Pine Trees growing straight up out of the rocks. 

 So green!
 WE pulled up to the guard station and right behind it you could see it peeking out above all the other trees. 

 Aewsome!!



 Just Adam and I. Calli and Gentry were with friends and Sadie had to work so it was just Adam and I with Cains and Johansen's.



 Almost...All we needed were two metals poles (inside joke from another post)
 Boys Toys. 
On our way back to where we parked the trucks we found every trail off the main trail to duck off and follow. It was a fun afternoon ride.