The Beauty that's Kanab

A few weeks ago, I took a trip to KANAB, Utah to visit my parents. I drove there all by myself, and I have to admit. . . . . . I kind of liked it. I loved the weather (73 degrees, thank you very much) and the BEAUTY in Flagstaff. Ok I know this is supposed to be about the BEAUTY of KANAB, but you have to pass through Flagstaff to get there. And this probably isn't the best picture of Flagstaff but. . . . . I was driving, remember.

The thing I love about my parent's house in KANAB is that there is a view out of every window. This is the view from the Kitchen.

One morning, Dad and I went for a walk, enjoyed the scenery and the BEAUTY of the people of KANAB. I met the woman who is running for Mayor, and a vietnam vet in a wheel chair who won the St. George marathon. OK, don't laugh too hard at my skinny ankles, it's quite obvious they are hereditary.

This is the BEAUTY you see as you walk through my parents neighborhood.

A few nights after I arrived, my brother and his wife drove up from Las Vegas and brought this little cutie with them, baby Maddox, isn't he adorable?

The next night my Mom's Doctor and his wife came for dinner. I wanted to try out this recipe from my "Barefoot Contessa" cookbook, Lemon Fusili Pasta with Arugala. Amazingly enough it looked just like the picture in the cookbook, and it was delicious, even if I do say so myself. We enjoyed good food, good company, and good conversation.

On Saturday we took a stroll through downtown KANAB. It was a little toasty outside, but we managed to find some shade, which made the perfect background for this cute little family picture.

I loved spending time getting to know my new sister-in-law better.

In KANAB, there is a wonderful care center called The Beehive House where they take wonderful care of my 96 year old Grandma. It was so great to be able to go visit Grandma several times while I was there.

I love the BEAUTY of Mothers and Daughters,

and, the BEAUTY of wisdom and age. . . . . . . .

reflected in the hands of three generations.

I am so very grateful that I had the opportunity to go to KANAB for a week and spend time with my parents and their friends, where I discovered that I truly love the BEAUTY that is KANAB.

Summer Days, The River, and Somer's Day

One of our favorite things to do during the SUMMER is to go to my brother-in-laws home on the Colorado RIVER. We especially enjoy going for the 4th of July.

Johnny loves it the most. I was shocked when I realized he was old enough to ride the jet ski by himself. He was just a baby when we first started going to the RIVER.

The brothers, Frank and Steve, love to hit Golf Balls. They have a contest to see who can hit the ball the farthest and/or over to the Island.

The girls love the time we spend together in the kitchen making wonderful gourmet SUMMER meals.

Like this amazing Wedge Salad with homemade blue cheese dressing and fresh blue cheese crumbles. Yum!!

I love SUMMER nights at the RIVER, sitting outside on the dock enjoying the reflection of the moon on the RIVER.

When we are there for the 4th, the boys put on an amazing fireworks show. This year Uncle Steve bought the big mortars, just like they shoot off at the public shows. Unfortunately, the cops didn't like the show as much as we did. The boys couldn't hear or see them because of the smoke and noise, so finally the cops got on their loud speaker and told them to "put your hands in the air". This concerned us just a bit, but luckily Uncle Steve saved the day and no one was arrested.

Later that evening we noticed a huge fire. We were not the cause of this fire, by the way. Luckily the fire was on the side of the RIVER where there were no houses. The next day in church a man spoke about a time when there was a fire very close to his home. He talked about the concern he had for his home and his family as he watched the fire creep closer, however, he could watch this fire with no concern since it was on the other side of the RIVER. He knew his family and home were protected by the RIVER. He compared the RIVER to the Savior and the Gospel. If we are on the right side of the RIVER, we will have no need to fear the evils of the world. Our home and our family can be protected.

Last Monday night, Franklin had the opportunity to help his friend SOMER come to the safe side of the RIVER.

We are so excited for SOMER and hope you are enjoying your SUMMER days as much as we are.