Family Memories Fall 2020

Last year Whitney was in a marvelous musical program around Andrew's birthday and so we planned to take a trip to North Carolina this year to hear her perform. But alas, Corona virus thwarted that plan. So we hatched another one and jumped on a plane and flew down at the end of September and spent a memorable week visiting at their home in Greensboro, and at our favorite, beach, Carolina Beach where we rented a beach house. We got there late at night and started hauling our gear into the house, and there were supposed to be four bedrooms, but we could only find three! We were even pressing on walls to see if there was a magic panel that would open. Finally someone walked through the garage area, and there was a door and a hallway and a bunk bedroom and bathroom and even a fridge! Whitney and Caroline had it all to themselves.When we arrived in North Carolina, I'd smacked my thumb joint on the edge of my nightstand (it already has screaming arthritis) so hard that I couldn't use it, and Dennis had developed a screaming toothache about an hour after we landed at midnight! So, first thing in the morning Dennis made an emergency dentist visit to Andrew's dentist (who solved the problem with antibiotics and a little temporary dentistry) and I went to Target to buy a hand brace, but as I was looking them over my thumb actually popped back into place right then and there, and the immediate pain vanished. And it had nothing to do with the fact that the thumb brace was $20!

Sunday stroll through a beautiful area leading to a sound, or inlet or something. Butterflies galore, a big creepy spider web, and even Venus Fly Traps! Dennis and I had found a nice bench to sit on by the time the fly traps were discovered so we didn't get to see them in person. Whitney and Caroline truly love each other and I loved catching them holding hands often when we were out on adventures.

Seems like Andrew and Andrea still love each other too!

Happy crew!

Who knew clogs were a thing again!  And Caroline has colorful Giblets stuck in hers. Or gromets. Or gumdrops, or something like that!

and Dennis and I still like each other too.

Mandatory beachhouse dinner - roasted vegetable medley and Andrea's ham fried rice. MMMMM!

Plus steak and chicken to boot.

Shell collecting....

Washed and dried and ready to come back to Utah and live in a dish at my house.

We made necklaces

The surf wasn't angry, but a little churlish - lots of wave action and even surfers riding big waves one day. I think everyone who boogie boarded had a little road rash from being smashed onto the ocean floor. But the water wasn't cold, and the weather was beautiful. It did rain a little off and on but that's great too.

Waiting for the big one!

So we went to a  couple of fun shops at Carolina Beach, and none more fun than the one where we found Donald Trump Facecards? Are you serious? They were $7.50 and worth every penny! And gold embossed, just like Donald.

I would say this was "hanging out" at the beach house, but I think it was Come Follow Me that brought us all together.                                                                                                                                             

Another annual tradition is crab at the Deck House! We missed watching Brandon's handstands on the beach and sharing crab with him and just having that wild and crazy guy along for the trip.

We had the place to ourselves on Friday! It was lots more crowded on Saturday.

Can you guess what I made? I was pretty proud of myself. It's a gorilla!

This was taken at first sighting of the beach. The excitement never dims no matter how many times I see the ocean for the first time on a trip.

Ummm, would you say Dennis has done more golfing than swimming this summer? :-)

Like I said, they really do enjoy each other.

It's unbelievable that there are so many Hiatt relatives buried in this cemetery in Greensboro. They were Quakers (or "Friends).

Carolina perfecting her unicycling skills. Man that would be so hard!

A teeny little chapel next to a regular subdivision. Open at all times for people to use for prayer or meditation or to write down their sorrows and prayers. Dennis was meditating I'm sure.

I made Andrea make a u-turn so I could take a picture of these cornstalks with purple flowers intertwined throughout them. This photo is actually not that appealing, but it looked awesome in person.

It was an unforgettable trip and I'm so grateful we were able to spend the week with them! Can't wait to do it again!

 

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And now for another great adventure!

On September 30, 2020, we flew back to Utah, did a couple loads of wash, and then hopped in the car and headed up to Park City for a beautiful conference weekend at Buffalo Lodge at Deer Valley. The fall leaves were at their peak and we were joined by Angie, Amy and Tony's families. We had a fabulous experience together!

The views were breathtaking. We were so high up in Deer Valley, higher than I'd ever been. This was the master bedroom.

 A view from the kitchen area before everyone arrived.

The first view upon walking in - kind of like my first view of the ocean at Carolina Beach. WOW!

And then everyone arrived. The kids are shown here building giant Jenga.

They also put together a really cool puzzle of the United States where each state was actually it's standalone size and then they all fit together.

We took a hike to Blood's Lake above Deer Valley between conference sessions on Saturday. It was just gorgeous.The little girls gathered fall leaves.

Here are the little girls decoupaging their fall leaves, Calvin putting together his toy (I should have got the boys Legos), Elise watching saturday afternoon session of conference, and Cindy and Eli working on the puzzle.

Look at the beautiful fall leaf creations they made!

I have to have squirt cheese and crackers available and Jack made his into a plate of nachos! The aforementioned Trump cards were used for rousing games of Up and Down the River.

I love this photo! Truman was so intense and focused on making this jenga tower!

This was the girls bunk room. Jane and Elise slept in there too. The boys were all sprawled out in the family room area at night.

Angie and Forrest perusing the library outside their 5th floor bedroom.

As we were driving up to Buffalo Lodge, I started wondering if they had a pool table and so I was so relieved when we got there and yes they had one. It provided hours of fun.

Macy's conference journal. I love how she stylizes the writing too. But mostly that she journals conference.

Carly likes to dance during the breaks for the choir numbers at conference!

Elise telling stories.

Jane diligently doing her pharmacy tech homework. She's taking a concurrent enrollment course to become a pharmacy tech just like Lauren did, so she's attending Springville HS for half day, and at the pharmacy tech school for the other half.

This became the favorite gathering spot for the adults.

And the hot tub at night was a favorite for the kiddos.

This is slightly hilarious - and slightly disgusting - the owners of the lodge had a BRA displayed in the theater room WHERE WE WATCHED CONFERENCE. There was a plaque proudly proclaiming it was worn by Selma Hyek. I draped it with my blouse

More hiking photos. It was a beautiful, memorable hike, but Dennis and I had to stop and catch our breath and wait for our hearts to stop pounding out of our chest a couple of times. Okay, four times.

We realized we won't be able to make that hike in ten years. Or, maybe we will!

Lauren and Zac came up Saturday after conference and spent the night with us. They were in the hot tub with the kids for lots of it and I didn't even know they were doing that! It was a 7,000 sq ft lodge!

And, well, I don't know why this is the copy of the group photo that I have, but I'm using it. I love this photo. It was an unforgettable couple of weeks and I'm grateful for the love we share and each child and grandchild, and for this beautiful world.