Skiing fun in Utah

We had a long grueling flight to Utah . . . . didn't get to the car rental place until 10 minutes to closing, which was midnight!  The guys had planned to go skiing the next morning and got up early . . . . we thought it would be just our family skiing, but were surprised with a lot of the Stevens' men.  11 in all!

This is Marshall, Chancy and Lincoln on top of the world.

McKay  . . . .

Justin, McKay, Lincoln and Chancy . . . . all together again!

Halley and I shopped until we dropped while they skied.  She took pity on me . . . . we had great one on one mother daughter time.  Afterwards we went to Grandma Stevens' house for dinner.  Marshall and his family and all of our family was there.  GREAT times!

49th, WOW!

Happy 49th Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

Be careful what you blog about . . . .

A little while ago,

I mentioned on my blog that I had offered

in the past to help my mother complete the Sunbonnet Sue quilts

she is making for her granddaughters.

She didn't take me seriously at that time!

I guess she was ready for the help,

because the next time I saw her she gave me

an embroidery square . . .

then another,

then another,

another,

Yes, and another,

another,

And finally the last one.

 You know?

I didn't realize I had done this many

until I just posted all these pictures.

If she had handed them all to me at once 

I would have looked at her bUg EyEd!!

"By an inch it's a cinch, by the yard it's hard!"

as the saying goes.

I really enjoyed doing these.
I hadn't embroidered for YEARS!

Mom loved the help, (competition)

and was able to complete this quilt

a year earlier than planned!

Gettysburg

I want to share some of our Gettysburg pictures.

There are several options for viewing the battlefield.

We chose to buy a CD and do an audio tour in our own car.

Much to the chagrin of the person who sold us the CD

we chose the one that was more "entertaining" than "informational."

A dramatized version of the battle.

We had a fifteen-year-old . . . . we felt it needed to be "entertaining!'

There are many statues and monuments and memorials

strewn throughout the battlefield.

MANY!

The uniforms on display in the museum were so small.

I don't even think I could get into some of them.

I think we breed a bigger American these days.

I have heard that foreign soldiers think Americans are big.

Maybe it is the plentiful food we eat today . . . .

(This man looks big enough!)

I loved these fences.

We made McKay take out his earbuds

before starting our audio tour.

We wanted him "present" and not in some ipod world.

Even though his listened to the audio tour

It was cold enough that

he didn't want to get out of the car.

I had to lure him out  for this picture.

I did not have to "lure" him out of the car for this tower however . . ..

I,  on the other hand, DID need to be lured.

I could have quite happily sat in the car.

BUT NO!

I made the climb and froze my tootsies up there in that wind.

The view was worth the climb.

This statue kept fooling me . . . . I thought it was an actual man standing there.

He is overlooking "Devil's Den" on top of "Little Round Top."

I thought,

What a great photo op!

and had McKay run up and stand by the statue.

OOPS!!!!  I'm glad I didn't see this before I had him hop on top the rock!

These rocks are partly how this area got the name

"Devil's Den."

(well, not THOSE particular rocks, just the rocky area in general!)

This was a quick photo clicked through the windshield.

Did you know that more men died in the Civil War

than BOTH World War I and II.

over 600,000 men?

Men who fought for the equality of all men regardless of their race or station in life.

I have a whole new appreciation for what this means

having lived in the area in which we live at present.

I wish everyone had the opportunity to visit the places where history has been made.

It helps a person see things in a whole new light.

POWERFUL!

Yondering

Louis L'Amour has a book called Yondering

 I wonder if the word yondering is a combination of

ponder, and wander.

Pondering and wandering is

what our family is currently doing.

Wandering . . . . sitting (actually laying)

in a hotel in Gettysburg, PA.

Pondering, because of our experiences of the day.

My hubby has a retirement he is attending tomorrow here.

He wanted us to come with him.

AND

we need to redo some of the things we've done before,

because the last time we "did Gettysburg" our son McKay was only 3.

How could a three year old remember this experience?

When I find, I don't even remember this experience?

Today we did the museum,

which was not in existence when McKay was 3.

The museum was new in 2008.

It is an awesome museum.

What I don't remember,

although it did exist when we were here before

was seeing the Cyclorama.

(which is a painting)

AMAZING.

(to say the least)

From wikipedia:

The painting is a cyclorama, a type of 360° cylindrical painting.

The intended effect is to immerse the viewer in the scene being depicted,

often with the addition of foreground models and life-sized replicas to enhance the illusion.

I wasn't very impressed,

(because with modern technology it takes a lot to impress a person)

until I realized that this painting

was painted in 1883!

This painting is 27 feet high and 359 feet long

and completely surrounds you.

(the 360 degree thing!!!)

I started to take notice . . . .

It is absolutely beautiful and tells an awe inspiring story.

Tomorrow we "do the battlefield."

We are on hallowed ground.