Trek to Missouri pt. 3

We went to Lil Dixie where we enjoyed pizza and then took the canoe out on the lake.

 

 The boys couldn't wait to get on the water

Taking the youngest out first. Alex wants to do everything his older brothers do.

 Joseph and I taking our turn.

 It is really a pleasant little lake. There were lots of people fishing.

 

While there we wanted to go to a local Barbecue place.  Bill and Jessica had been told by several people that Lonnie Rays had great BBQ.  You have to call in advance to give them your order or they may not have any food left when you get there. This is 12 miles north of their home.  When we pulled up, I wasn't too sure of the place.

They were very kind people and had even put in the animated version of the Hobbit for the boys.  Their menu was hand written on brown butcher paper. The servings were generous and the BBQ was really good. They had smoked macaroni and cheese that the little boys really liked. The cook even came out and asked us how we enjoyed our meal.  Joseph let them know we had come all the way from Utah to try their BBQ.

  In front of Lonnie Rays.   A very unique place with very delicious BBQ.

 Jessica's old gals.

 The Kansas City Temple.  It was hard to get a picture from the beltway.

The week went by really fast and it was time to go home.  We drove to Sydney, Nebraska where we stayed at the Cabela's campground. The next morning we drove through fog until just past Cheyenne. Very strange for this time of year.

Trek to Missouri pt. 2

 One of the things we did while we were there was to go up to an Amish community where twice a week they hold an auction to sell their produce.  It was a very interesting experience watching the Amish come in with their big wagons loaded with produce.  All the vehicles belong to the gentiles who came to bid on the produce. 

Here is a cart sitting in front of the auction building

 This is the long line of wagons waiting their turn.  Each wagon load pulls into the building in front on the auctioneer.  He isn't Amish as for some reason they don't deal directly with the buyers. It was the first time I went to an auction.  The auctioneer talks so fast you have to listen very carefully to everything.  It took quite a while before I started following the bids and even then I don't think I caught all of it. 

 Waiting to go inside.

  I wish we would of had pictures of the actual auction.  There were little boys dressed in their Amish clothing all were barefooted and all were wearing straw hats.  After the bidding they helped unload the wagons into the vehicles. The little girls had simple dresses with pinafores on top.The Amish sold homemade ice cream and pie, so we bought some of that before leaving.  They had hot dogs as well.  It was surprising to see them cooking them in wood stove oven as there was no electricity, which we take for granted. The plumbing was primitive and they had a huge water storage tank to hold water for washing.  As Jessica's boys were eating their ice cream there were some Amish children that kept following them around and staring at them.  I didn't think her boys stood out from anyone else's children.  We didn't stay to bid on the smaller amounts that would have been available towards the end because the boys were restless.  I found it to be a very interesting experience.

 This is a field of haystacks that I found to be intriguing.

 

We went down to the Lake of the Ozarks and went through a cave there.

It has a feature that is in only 14 caves throughout the world and that is a shower formation where the water comes out like a shower and falls into a bathtub (or mineral formation) that has built up over the years.

This is the information station.  I love old buildings like this.

 This is a swinging bridge by the caves

 We stopped at the boys favorite ice cream shop on our way home.

 

Our trek to Missoui pt.1

We just returned from visiting the DeLeeuws in Missouri. The main thing Joseph wanted to do while there was build an outdoor play area for the grandsons.  He started with the sand box then built a fort over it and a swing set attatched to one side. 

 The little boys couldn't wait to begin playing in the sand.

 Bill borrowed a friends truck so that they could get a big load of sand.

 Joseph unloading the sand as the boys are busy playing.  He was dripping with sweat as it was so humid there.  One thing to our advantage that most of the time we were there it was in the 80's so it made it more bearable.

Inspecting the new fort.

 We hauled this part all the way from Utah, as Joseph got this part of the swing set for free.  It made a nice addition to the fort.

Relaxing and enjoying his labors. 

The night before we came home, Joseph, Bill and Zachary slept outside in the fort. Before going to bed all the little boys were out there, as Joseph told the little boys stories. In the darkness with the fireflies flying around and the lantern hanging from the top while Joseph told stories, Jessica said it was the perfect experience that all kids dream of.

Our quiet 4th of July

This year was a quiet celebration for us. We usually go to the City parade and enjoy those festivities.  Since it has been so hot we decided to go up the canyon and have a picnic.  We took a dirt road that takes you over to Cache valley and had intended to stop along the way to eat. The dusty road was causing breathing problems for Keith, so we stopped and ate in the shade at the local high school in Hyrum.  It was quiet and peaceful, which was something we needed.

 Eric came home that evening and we made our usual homemade rootbeer, which is always a treat. We barbequed beef kabobs and had our usual corn on the cob with potato salad and deviled eggs and of course watermelon.

 We got a few fireworks to let off.

 

From our front yard we could see the Clearfield firework show. So we didn't completely miss the fireworks.   

Summer happenings

The summer is passing by very quickly. Joseph got ahead of me in our postings, so I thought I'd better catch up on some of our adventures. Towards the end of June Joseph's cousins Michal and Suzie came and spent a week with us.  As they enjoy the outdoors we thought they would enjoy hiking to Timpanogas Cave.  We drove up around through Heber and down to Bridal Veil falls, then took the Alpine loop over to the cave. The conditions were great as it was in the 80's which made for a pleasant hike up the mountain.  

Debra, Suzie and Michal

Timpanogas cave is always an interesting experience.  

Some of the things we did while Joseph's cousins were with us included going to Logan where we met up with Joseph and Eric.  Joseph rode his bike from Layton where he met Eric in Brigham City and together they rode their bikes into Logan as part of their training for the Gran Fondo. While we waited for them we went to the cheese factory and then to the Logan Arts in the Park. Ashley and Audrey came with us as well.  That evening we went to a community theater in Ogden to see "The curious Savage. A friend of Joseph's was in the play.  It was a well done comedy with a very touching scene at the end that put a few tears in our eyes. Joseph went hiking with them to the top of Antelope Island but I didn't accompany them as I wasn't too thrilled to hike without shade in the summer time.  Joseph does this hike every year with his 11-year old scouts. At the top is a 360 degree view of the valley. We also celebrated Audrey's birthday with a barbeque.  It was an enjoyable week for us.