Where there's smoke....we have been evacuated!

Yo ho, mateys!  Pirate captain JC here.  On Sunday, a fire started in the Jemez mountains about fifteen miles away.  Here is the view along our street.

This picture shows the difference in coloration.

This a neat picture of the sun, which was quite dim.

 Before long, the smoke was everywhere.  Here is a view looking opposite the smoke source.  Soon the sun was blocked out, everything smelled smoky, and it started to rain ash!

We have been evacuated.  These pictures were taken around 3 PM yesterday.

Happy Birthday B!

My, my.  The wheel in the sky keeps on turning.  And it has turned through a whole calendar year.  B is one year older, one kid more maternal, and in desperate need of an ice cream cake.  Ice cream containers, however, explode during the drive up to our elevated volcano town.  This means, of course, that ice cream never makes it up from the only town that can be abbreviated ABQ.  My dad had to make an audible and he went with the Irish pizza maker!  Look at the results below!

Here is JC reacting when we tell him what is on this 'pizza'.  "What?  Marshmallows, chocolate, more chocolate, graham crackers, and melted yummy?"

It sure is good.  BTW the dentist said I had no cavities.  Happy birthday mom!

What Utah-kin about Willis?

We sure had a fun-filled week in Utah.  We went to Charles Edward Cheese's with cousins R and H!  JC and I, M, won an Airhead candy with all the tickets we won (not too many).  R and H took home a disco super ball with the tickets they won (a ridiculous amount).  Here we are pictured playing the water gun game.  JC is a bit better at target practice then I am...

Then it was off to the Legacy Indoor Aquatic Center.  Here's a video of my dad waiting for me to exit the slide.  He sure had to wait a long time...I wonder why?

Because the slide looked like this!  I did it all by myself, the first time required a donut bribe.  I had so much fun I did it again and again.  JC was given the same offer, but after his first try down the slide, he sat by the pool side mumbling about sprinkles and chocolate while shivering in fear.

We went to a barbecue where we got to meet several of our cousins from all over, including the state of Louisiana.  That's where Tabasco sauce is made.

This was followed by a night on the town (i.e. a playground dinner date) with old friends from Ohio.  Look longtime readers, it's the tall pair of B and S and the blond pair of C and O.  What a happy coincidence.

How did we finish up our grand week?  By running a yard sale, of course!  We didn't work for free, we were given In-n-Out as payment.  I was feeling a bit constipated so I was disappointed when the burger didn't work as advertised by the restaurant name.  I guess it's back to flax seed sprinkled on All-Bran for me!

And, yes, JC wore his flannel dog pajamas the whole day despite temperatures in the 90s - that is what we call a dry heat, Easterners!

Livin' on the Edge!

The edge being the Wasatch Front, of course.  After a fun twelve hour journey winding through various towns celebrating Memorial Day weekend, we arrived in Provo (don't call it Orem!)  Here we are on our trip - I bet you guessed we drove!

Needless to say, some of us were tired.  Little SM had the best bed in the house - Grandpa!

While some of us were quite rowdy...

Despite the hardships of the drive and the unceasing "bucket-time" stops, we were happy to make our Great Grandma and Great Grandpa so happy!

We stayed a whole week!  What did we do?  Find out next time!