State Solo Festival

Tyler went to play his base at the State competition which happened to be at Orem High School.  Jessica did a great job as his accompianist.

Imagine our delight when we discovered that Kayson Brown was his judge.  Kayson, of course, let Tyler know that he knew a really good orchestra he could join.  I told Kayson Tyler had never had a Bass lesson and Kayson said, "He should take one."  

Lyceum would be really good for Tyler but I don't think he has the passion for it.

Signs of Spring: Tulip Festival and LADAM

I love the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point.  The weather has been a little strange this year.  First, unseasonable warm weather got the tulips blooming earlier than usual and then a late snow made them very cold.  The gardens were still beautiful.  I still want one of the giant outdoor checkers games.  Tyler beat Maria until she understood the rules and then she beat him.

In another sign of spring, Melanie and her neighborhood buddies are cleaning up LADAM.

They like to build furniture for it out of scrap lumber.  I have been informed that this turned into a Goldilocks chair and came apart when Melanie tried to use it.

Spring Break Capital Reef Vacation Day 3

Calf Creek Falls

Tony Brown predicted this would be the best hike of the trip and he was right.  This is a beautiful hike through a canyon along a river.  It is three gorgeous miles and when you get to the end this is your reward. We had a marvelous time just hanging out here and taking some fun pictures.

Tyler and Maria tried to swim in their clothes but it was pretty cold.

Melanie found a friend.

Capitol Reef Trip Cohab Canyon and Hickman Natural Bridge Hikes

We were just at Capitol Reef National Park two years ago but decided to go back because we love it so much.  We found some hikes to do that we haven't done before and even did one of our favorites.

Cohab Canyon was a trail that was new for us and definitely one we will do again.  There was lots for the kids to climb on and it was beautiful.  The weather was chilly when we started in the morning but we were soon sorry we had our coats with us as we ended up carrying them.

Our good friends the Browns came with us on the trip.  They are great at finding good hiking places and fun to hike with.  

Tony dropped us off at the beginning of the Cohab Canyon hike and then drove the car to the end of the hike.  He then had Sarah drop him off at the trail head and ran to catch up with us.  One way hikes is one of the things I like about Capitol Reef.  After Cohab Canyon we went right to the Hickman Bridge hike.  This is family fun in Utah.

Spring Break Day 1, 2, and 3

Jessica suggested that Warren and I put "experiences" in Easter baskets as gifts this year.  We thought it was a great idea and went to work brainstorming.  One "gift" we gave was a trip to the Museum of Natural Curiosity Ropes course.  This gift certificate came with "Hi-Chews".  We redeemed the certificates on Monday night and had a great time.  Connie, Ashlyn, and Emily came to play with us.

On Tuesday, we planned to see the Origami exhibit at the BYU Art Museum but didn't realize it would be closed when we arrived at 6:15pm.  Instead we gave Maria a tour of BYU's beautiful campus.  We then attended a Percussion Concert with several different BYU classes showing what they had learned over the semester.  After, they invited the audience on stage to look at the instruments and try them.

On Wednesday, we got ready for our big trip.  

Easter

I love to watch the sunrise on Easter morning.  I love the symbolism of the sun coming up over the mountain to light up the whole world.  Warren, Jessica and Melanie scouted out a location for our sunrise service on Saturday.  They found a great spot overlooking the lake across from where the sun would peak up over the mountain.  No one gave us trouble about getting up early.  Tyler provided us with some good Easter Morning music on his i-phone.  We read from the Bible the story of the resurrection.

When we got home we all helped make Eggs - a la Golden Rod eaten over the top of Resurrection Rolls.  We then enjoyed listening to General Conference.