Allison Celestia Taylor Litchfield Graduates

We've been looking forward to Christmas vacation for so long and for so many reasons. The number one reason was so we could go to Allison's graduation from Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg. We've also been looking forward to spending some time in Wallace.

On our way to Wallace, we stopped at Lowe's in Coeur d'Alene to buy a new fridge because our old fridge stopped working last time we were there. We measured the space under the cabinets in the kitchen where the fridge was supposed to go and we measured the old fridge a million times. We thought we knew exactly what size to get. We knew we'd need to get a smaller than average sized fridge. So, along with two Ski-Do's, and Daniel's motorcycle, we strapped our new fridge onto the trailer. We must have looked pretty funny to the other drivers on the road.

Our neighbor, Elmer, helped us move the fridge into the house. We slid it into place but. . . . it was about 1/2" too tall to fit under the cabinets. What to do? Good thing Tom's so handy. He always asks, "What do normal people do?" Well, Tom Taylor would put the fridge on its side and cut out the rollers and anything else that makes the fridge one fraction of an inch taller.

This is what Abby Normal people would do

 

We breathed a huge sigh of relief when it barely slid into place.

We left Gypsy in Wallace for our wonderful neighbors, Corki and Elmer, to take care of her. We knew she would be in good hands. Early Thursday morning we were off to Rexburg. This is what I saw out my window for most of the 6 hour drive.

Beautiful countryside

As soon as we arrived in Rexburg, we went to work filling the Budget rental van with Tate and Allison's belongings. Tom and Tate and Dylan (Tate's sister's husband) took the furniture apart and loaded big boxes while Allison and I packed and packed and cleaned and cleaned.

Later that night, we checked into our hotel (a really yucky one), and then drove to Idaho Falls for dinner at a really yummy place called The Snake Bite. I highly recommend it. Next time you're in Idaho Falls.

Friday morning, we invited Allie and Tate to our hotel for breakfast and then headed back to their apartment for more cleaning and packing. We took a lunch break and invited Tate's sister, Robyn, and her husband, Dylan, to go to the famous "Taco Truck" with us. I've heard so much about this fine eating establishment that I was really excited to go. I was not disappointed.

Robyn and Dylan

Inside the taco truck. It was surprisingly warm inside.

     

After lunch we went back to the apartment and crashed for just a few minutes. After our nap, Tom and I drove to Rexburg Motorsports, a huge ATV, motorcycle and snowmobile showroom. I wanted one of everything. Too bad we don't need any more toys.

Nap time

Eventually, the big truck was full of Allison and Tate's lives. They had no room to spare. I don't think they could have been able to wedge a toothpick into that truck.

Tate's expression.  Ha!

Allison's graduation ceremonies started at 6:00 in the evening. We wondered over and over why they would decide to have graduation so late. I concluded that the University must have some kind of deal with the local hotels because most of the graduates had to house parents in a hotel. Because Rexburg is in the middle of absolutely nowhere, I'd be willing to bet that 85% of the people at the ceremonies were planning on spending the night. Including us.

It's official!

YUP!

After Commencement, we dashed to MacDonald's for a quick bite in the car and rushed back to her College graduation ceremonies. It was short and sweet.

I'm probably the only person in the entire world who actually loves graduations. I look around at all of the young people in their caps and gowns and I think about all the hard work they did to make it to this point in their lives. I'm so proud of Allison for sticking with it. I'm so happy that she met Tate while she was in Rexburg and that they've been able to start a wonderful life together. They have an amazing future ahead of them, starting with a trip to China to teach English at a major University beginning in February.

How many times can I say how proud I am?

The graduate

Tate and Allie decided to start their long drive to Henderson immediately after the ceremonies. Tom and I decided to try to make it to Butte. A snowstorm blew in just as we were attending graduation and the snow was accumulating very quickly.

We said goodbye to Tate and Allie and drove out into the blizzard. Tom is an amazing driver and I was only a little scared. There were NO other cars, no other people who were crazy enough to drive through the storm. We had intended to stop at a hotel in Butte but decided to keep going to Deer Lodge. Once at Deer Lodge, we decided to keep on driving to Wallace. It snowed most of the way and the going was slow, but we pulled into Wallace at about 4:30 in the morning, exhausted but so happy that we were home.

We heard from Allison along the way. They eventually made it to Henderson at around 9:00 in the morning, having driven the entire night. I'm sure they're exhausted, but excited to start their Christmas vacation.

It was a wonderful trip to Rexburg--probably our last trip there, unless some grandchildren decide to attend BYU-Idaho. Which would make me very happy.

One last time: I'm so proud of Allison!  

Weekend at the cabin

It was the perfect weekend for going to Lake Wenatchee. Tom, Gypsy and I left Redmond at around 4:30 pm and drove to the cabin. We stopped at Grocery Outlet and tried really hard to find $20 worth of groceries so we could use the $5 coupon we got in the mail. We bought all sorts of junk like ice cream, chips, candy, cereal, milk, and a little tiny bit of fruit so we wouldn't feel so bad about all the junk. But when we got to the register, it turned out that the coupon was only good for the Lynnwood Grocery Outlet. I don't even know where Lynwood is. So we ended up getting a bunch of stuff we didn't even need. Oh well. Tom tied the ice cream to the back of the Jeep because it was FREEZING outside. No way it would melt on the way.

The cabin was C.O.L.D.  We turned on every heater and bundled up to watch The Bletchley Circle on Netflix.  When I took Gypsy outside for her last peedle of the night, I looked up to completely clear skies and more stars than I've seen in a lifetime.  It was so beautiful.  No pics, but you'll have to take my word for it.

Saturday was fun.  We hiked with Gypsy to the top of the property.  One thing about Gypsy is that she absolutely LOVES going to the cabin.  It's the only place she gets to run around without her leash, and boy, does she ever take advantage of her freedom. She runs and runs and runs. Just look at the excitement in her face.  We always worry that she'll chase a deer or worse, a coyote, but we've been lucky so far.

In the afternoon, we went on a "tio" (not sure where this word came from, but to us, it means "adventure"). Tom knows the names of all the places we went, but I don't pay a lot of attention to the names.  Alls I know is, we saw a lot of really pretty things.

We ran across this empty bulletin board with major bear scratches on it.  Why did the bear do this?  I imagine it felt like stretching its back and stood up against this bulletin board.  Then, it just kind of slid its paws down.  Anyway, it left some serious scars.

We had such a nice time at the cabin. We ALWAYS do. But now, it's back to reality. . . . which isn't so bad, either.

We went to Florida for Thanksgiving

When Eric and Tanya announced they were moving to the Miami area for six months, we immediately invited ourselves to visit them for Thanksgiving. Allison and Tate went to Las Vegas and Paige and Chris are in Germany. So, it seemed natural for us to simply fly to Aventura, Florida to be with Eric and Tayna. We were only there for three full days and one of them was Thanksgiving so we had to pack in a lot of adventure into just two days.

On Tuesday, we went to the Florida Everglades to Shark Valley, a park run by the Department of Interior. I have no idea why they call it Shark Valley because it wasn't even near the ocean and the main attraction, as you will see, are the plentiful alligators that call Shark Valley their home. We rented bikes and rode along a 15 mile loop trail.

We saw about 5 or 6 of these beauties. We were told to not get closer than 15 feet away. Since I didn't bring my measuring tape, I'm sure we ended up getting much closer than that. It was just a little bit scary but oh, so fun to see these crazy creatures up close and personal.

At the half way point on the trail, we climbed up the observation tower and got a great view of the Everglades.

After riding the 15 mile loop, we were hot, sweaty, tired, and hungry. So we drove to Miami Beach to one of Eric and Tanya's favorite hamburger places, Shake Shack.  

We strolled around South Beach and I loved looking at all of the amazing Art Deco architecture. I've never seen so many beautiful people in one place. I felt like we were in another country altogether. Eric drove us all the way up Collins Avenue where we saw amazing old and new high-rise apartments and hotels. It was fascinating!

On Wednesday, we decided to drive up to Cape Canaveral and visit the Kennedy Space Center. Google Maps said it was a 3 hour drive. We didn't think much about that but, as we came to realize, three hours is a LONG time to drive. Tanya was the official music selector and we had a nice time listening to great music along the way.

Tom was hesitant about going to KSC because he's been there several times and he doesn't like repeating things. But we found a tour called "Then and Now" that took us to some of the places where some of the first rocket launches took place. Miraculously, he really enjoyed our three hour tour and he actually learned a thing or two. The rest of us learned much more.

We ended up staying at the Kennedy Space Center until it closed at 5:00. Then, we made the 3 hour trek back to Aventura, stopping at Five Guys Burgers on the way. We got back to Eric and Tanya's apartment feeling very tired but happy that we'd had a good day. We watched Hunger Games and I fell asleep before it was over.

On Thursday morning, Eric drove me and Tom to a beach and dropped us off. We strolled along the beach for a while and enjoyed perfectly blue skies and comfortable temperatures. While we were walking along, I got a video phone call from Paige. I'm still amazed that modern technology can let me see and talk to my daughter and grandkids in Germany--while strolling along the beach. Even though I cried once we hung up because I miss them so much, I still feel very lucky and very thankful that I was able to see my grandbabies and talk to Paige.

It took all morning and half of the afternoon to make our Thanksgiving dinner and it took MAYBE seven minutes to eat it. After dinner, we walked to a park and played frisbee. Thursday night, we went to the Aventura Mall and saw Disney's Frozen (I gave it an A-).

We woke up bright and early on Friday morning and Eric and Tanya drove us to the Fort Lauderdale airport.  We flew from Fort Lauderdale to Houston, from Houston to Las Vegas, and from Las Vegas to Seattle. The only two perks were flying over the Grand Canyon and being in the same city as Allison and Tate--even if we didn't get off the plane.

It was a really fun but short trip. I really needed a change of scenery and this totally did the trick. Now, the Christmas holiday is officially upon us and I'm looking forward to what's to come next.  I might even blog about it!

Labor Day Weekend in Wallace

I made an interesting observation while we were in Wallace over Labor Day weekend.  Paige and Chris were in Hungary, Eric and Tanya were in Florida, Allison and Tate were in Nevada, and Tom and I were in Idaho.  Not one of us was in our "home" state.  I don't know if we've ever been so spread out.

BUT!  We were able to spend the holiday with John, Natalie, Daniel, John Sr., and Cathie.  A perfect family gathering.  I couldn't have asked for much more.

I didn't plan to blog so I didn't take any pictures of the family or our activities so, I'll just plug in what I've got and maybe it'll be interesting.

Here are some random pics of Wallace, Idaho.  Shoshone County.  The Silver Valley.  Northern Idaho. Some of the houses are perfectly beautiful and well kept.  Like this one.

This apartment building is classic.  I'll bet it hasn't changed since it was built--probably around 1910.

This one is for sale for $180,000.  Someone, please buy it!

And, finally, this one.  It's my favorite.

There are also PLENTY of dilapidated, run down, ruined, and awful places.

These steps go up to John and Natalie's house.  There are 80 of them!  Every time I'd start up these steps, I'd be thinking, "This isn't too bad.  I must be in good shape."  But let me tell you, those last 4 or 5 steps are KILLER!

Aren't these flowers beautiful?  Our friend, John Ruggles, is responsible for making sure they are up and maintained year after year.  I think they add so much to this cute little town.

And finally, I'm not even sure what this sign means, but it belongs to the house on the corner of our block. He's a very nice old man and, obviously, a miner at one time.  Just like 99% of the other residents of Wallace.

We had a great time in Wallace.  We went on a great ATV ride with our friend, Carol.  Went to the City Limits Pub with the family.  Went to the flea market a zillion times.  And ate at The Smokehouse. But my favorite part of all, was sitting around the dining room table with the family as we ate homemade meals and talked and talked into the night.  I felt so blessed.

It was a wonderful weekend in Wallace!

A-L-B-U-Q-U-E-R-Q-U-E

I can spell Albuquerque faster than anyone.  That's because my dad taught me how to spell it before I could even read.  It was very important to him that I know how to spell the name of the city where I was born.  Mom and Dad were living on Comanche Lane in Albuquerque when I arrived (many, many years ago). Dad was finishing his work on his Doctorate at University of New Mexico and was eagerly getting ready to begin teaching at BYU when I made my entrance into the world.

I was an infant when mom and dad packed their three little girls (ages 3 months, 2 1/2, and 5 yrs), a dog, a cat with three baby kittens, and all their household belongings into a station wagon that pulled a trailer from New Mexico to Utah.  Now THAT took courage.  I can only imagine how excited dad was to have been offered such a great job at a great university.  It must have been a dream come true.

Dad taught us to love the American Southwest.  In fact, every summer for as long as I can remember, we would pack up and head south for the annual Corn Dance at Santo Domingo Pueblo, New Mexico.  We'd camp and sometimes stay in hotels.  It was an adventure year after year after year.

Of course it's been years since we've made the trip.  So when mom suggested that Cissy and I accompany them for one last pilgrimage to Santo Domingo for the corn dance, we were all over it.

First stop:  Acoma--the Sky City.  We used to be able to park at the bottom and hike up through a rock staircase that dates back to the 12th century.  But that's all changed now.

Now, you have to pay a bunch of $$ and catch a ride/tour at a fancy visitor's center.  This is my dad, mom, and Uncle Bobby Stroud and Aunt Ella from Florida.

This adobe church was built in the 1100's.  Our tour guide was not at all shy about telling us his opinion of how the white men came and changed everything about their native way of life.  I kinda wanted to slink away and hide from him.

One of the main reasons why Cissy and I wanted to go to Albuquerque was to see the film locations for our favorite TV show, Breaking Bad.  We were giggling and screaming like teenages when we pulled up to Walter White's house.  There was another car of crazy fans at this house and, in fact, everywhere we went, there were Breaking Bad fans just like us.  We didn't feel so stupid after meeting so many others.

We went to Santa Fe and spent Saturday night at the nicest hotel I've EVER stayed in (in the US, that is).  The La Fonda.  When we were kids, we called it the La Fondle.  HA!

We seriously felt like princesses in this hotel.  We shopped and explored and went to bed that night feeling completely exhausted.  That's the BEST way to vacation.

I didn't take pictures of the corn dance because photography is strictly forbidden.  But let's just say that it was another great experience.  It was more crowded than in the past, and this year was particularly hot.  It was hard on my parents and dad, having dementia, didn't really understand what we were doing there.  But all in all, it was a great experience for me.  I loved helping my parents and aunt and uncle get in and out of the car.  I loved hearing Bobby and mom talk about their childhood. I loved that dad was there, even though he didn't know why.

I hope this trip to Albuquerque wasn't my last.

Our latest obsession

Our latest obsession?  Riding snowmobiles.

Last August, Tom noticed a "for sale" sign at the little grocery store at Lake Wenatchee for two used snowmobiles.  They are 20 years old but had very little mileage and had been well maintained.  We've always thought snowmobiling could be fun so, because the price was great and it included three helmets and a trailer, we decided to go for it.

Today we decided to head to my favorite lookout point in the whole Wenatchee National Forest:  Sugarloaf.

This weekend is the annual Cascade Quest Sled Dog Race hosted by the Lake Wenatchee Rec. Club.  We passed a few mushers and their beautiful dogs as we headed up the mountain.

I don't like to be cold.  Not. At. All.  Could the fact that I'm wearing about five layers be the reason why I look and feel like the Michelin man in this picture?  

This is our destination.  Sugarloaf fire lookout.  We rode up and around and around on 25 miles of nicely groomed trails to get here.  

Here are some of the things we saw along the way.

It was a beautiful day.  I think I'm obsessed with beauty.