Winter in the Rockies! Or, "Let's go camping!!"

The first two weekends in June are prime time for the early trek to Bunker's Property. Since this coming weekend is Father's Day, last weekend was the time to get to the mountains. Turned out to be a very interesting trip. The first mishap occured when I proved the axiom -- always pay attention when pulling the trailer. Driving into the grocery store in Kamas to pick up a few goodies, I moved to the parking space too soon and creased the fiberglass on the outside of the trailer on the roof of the abandoned Sno-Shack. Lovely! We arrived at the property and found the ground sufficiently dry to put the trailer by the river. However, the ground sloped so much that when we put the trailer hitch on the blocks, the trailer rolled forward, the hitch came off the block, and pinned Lynnette's foot to the ground. I panicked (to say nothing of Lynnette, who implemented lamaze breathing, thinking that would lessen the pain), but the ground was soft enough that there was no lasting damage. We used the car jack to hold the hitch off the ground, cranked it up (having settled about 14-16 inches into the soft ground) and managed to place more blocks under the hitch (and the wheels this time). Everyone survived. We stabalized the trailer. And, settled in for a great weekend -- and WINTER camping conditions!! Snow.! Wind! Freezing temperatures! The water in the trailer frozen in the pipes! Brrr!!! Doesn't matter, though -- we were in the trailer, in the mountains. Life is good. We did a lot of reading, took a lot of naps, and just chilled (the word was never so appropriate). Scott and Lindsey came up Thursday evening. They spent the evening and most of the next day. Oliver accompanied them and was in all his glory. Dan and Tara were going to come up Saturday, but we called and warned them of the winter camping conditions. They opted to stay snuggy-warm in the valley. All of the misadventures notwithstanding, a good time was had by all (me). We were, let's remember, among the pines....

"chillin"

The Stews in Bunkerville

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful..."

Buddies!

How to read a book in a day

He looks so natural (R.I.P.)

Great Grandma's 90th Birthday Bash

90 years old! Holy Cow! That is a good long life -- and pretty darn healthy on top of that. I think Mom has only been in the hospital time five times -- three times to birth her boys, and 2 times for knee replacement surgery. We should all be so lucky... Anyway, we found out that Mom's favorite food was seafood (salmon in particular) and so the whole family (sadly, we missed the Halls) gathered Monday evening, the 19th May, at Market Street Grill in Cottonwood. Diane arranged a room on the lower patio for us to be together. It was a beautiful spring evening (one of the very few we had during the month of May). Cottonwood Creek was running nearby. The wisteria was out in fragrant bloom, just for the hay fever and allergy crowd. It was quiet and peaceful -- a perfect evening for Velma's birthday. As you can imagine, one of the highlights of the evening was the singing of Happy Birthday by the Stewart family chorus. Yes...In public. With Scott setting the pitch. And, everyone in fine voice and not holding back (it was her 90th birthday, after all). The resounding success of our celebration hymn was evident when the manager of the restaurant hurried to our patio room to see if there was anything wrong. Perfect! After sharing a few memories and finishing our meal (four families, approximately $300.00 per family = $1200.00 worth of food), it was time to call it a night. Mom was thrilled to have such a gathering for her birthday. Her only regret -- that the Halls had to miss the party, especially those two little great-grandsons. I think her only hope is to live long enough to see them again in August. Here are a few pictures of the gathering:

A frisky Great Grandma, getting her pose on...

'Da Boys!

The Michigan Ave. Stews

The Whole Stew Crew

Preparing for the feast -- a wonderful time was had by all.....!

Rockin' the Stewart Household

While some families spend their Sunday Evenings studying the Scriptures and testifying, what are the Stewarts up to? You got it! Rockin' the Casbah! Yes...we have become devotees of Guitar Hero and, especially, Rock Band. Dan has the official lead singer stance as he belts out the vocals. Tara is our master guitarist. Bruce and Lindsey tense up at the drums until our lips turn white, and we need a massage at the end of the performance. Scott is in heaven with the download of the entire Police package. Lynnette is the rythmn master on the drums. Lynnette and Bruce are appalled at the words of the songs -- NASTY!! All the neighbors wonder what in the heck is going on when the melodic strains of Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead or Alive blast through the open windows. For those who have never played Rock Band -- individual performances are rated on a percentage basis, according to the number of correct notes. I just mention this because Bruce scored an amazing, awesome, unbelievable 96% for his vocals on Roxanne. "ROXANNE....!"

Dan and Lindsey get their groove on...

As you can see, this is serious business!

Scott and Lindsey, about to get booed off the stage...

This is a scary picture!

The Landscaping Begins -- Also Known as Grandma and Grandpa Try to Blog

Hey!! First blog from the homefront. We thought we would join the crowd. We were feeling strangely out of it, and wondered whether old people are actually clever enough to blog. Most especially we will try to keep The Four Floridians up to date on all the family activities, since they never get to see any pictures from home. So...here we go! The only news for today -- sore muscles and blisters, for everyone, from all of the yard work. Probably about time to fill in the bare spots at the Stewart homestead. Here are the photos of progress so far (that means $1,000.00 spent in the various garden shops around town). More adventures to be posted later... That is, if nobody laughs at our blog-babysteps....

A good beginning, but anymore will have

to wait until we can afford it.

2 pine trees = $200.00 (also know as Drawf Japanese White Pines)

The new fountain (also known as Oliver's watering hole)

We love yellow Columbine!

Lucky you can't see our lovely garage!