Electronic Dance pads

Aaron and Sarah went in together to buy these electronic dance pads. They choose the music and level of difficulty. Then they do their best to make their feet match the arrows on the screen.
I gave it a try at the beginner level. My first run through was pretty pathetic, but then I caught on. It's sure good exercise!
I need to learn how to make and post videos with my new camera that I got for Christmas. Until then I hope you can get the idea from still pictures.

December 26, 2007

It's the day after Christmas and Sue's family has gone back to Phoenix. Aaron is back in Provo. Joe is at work. It's just Sarah and myself here now. We had a great Christmas and it's always nice to have my children and grandchildren here. This week I have had the worst cold ever! It really is unfortunate. It has really slowed me down.
I took some pictures of my parents family party held last Saturday evening. I'm also posting a picture of the massive amount of knitting I did for Christmas. It took me a month.
I think Sue took pictures of Christmas day.
We both got new digital cameras, so we can keep up our Blogs in style now.

Thanksgiving 2007

Tonight we enjoyed seeing much of our extended family. There were several that couldn't be with us this year, but it was great to see so many others. I'd like to send a special Hello to my girl; Susan. She gets to have Thanksgiving in California with her In-laws and is also going to Disneyland. How fun.

Bonneville shoreline trail

At about noon Joe and I drove up to a trail head that began across the road from Hogle Zoo. We went for a walk on a trail that went behind the Pioneer State park. It also went behind U of U and cut through Red Butte gardens. The trail was dry and dusty, but it did have a nice view of the City in places.
We think this trail may be good in the winter, since it stays low on the hillside.

Bell Canyon in November

Well, here I am fresh from another hike. Actually I'm pooped and glad to be sitting. Joe got off work early today. We took advantage of a pretty descent day for November. We still needed to wear sweaters when we got higher on the mountain. At one point we walked into a frost zone. I could see my breath in the air.
Some of the trail was really easy, but like on most of our hikes we got to struggle over large boulders. I guess that just adds to the adventure.
There was one area that was still quite black from a forest fire this summer. It was kind of strange. One side of the trail was burned out while the other side was untouched and just fine. The trail was only about a foot wide.
We're lucky to have so many trails just a few minutes drive from our home. We're trying to use this great asset.
Even after winter hit's we should still be able to use the Bonneville trail on some days' . That one is low on the hillside.

Sarah cooking

It's been ages since I updated my Blog. My life is pretty uneventful.
I've managed to get a picture of my daughter, Sarah, cooking this afternoon. She wasn't to thrilled to have her picture taken.
We're making stuffed Bell peppers for dinner tonight. I prefer the vegetarian version of dishes, while my family loves to eat the carnivorous version.

Blanche Lake Hike

This turned out to be the hardest hike I've ever been on. It was only about 6 miles total, but it was a very steep and rocky climb. Sarah (age 18) was our little Gazelle: running ahead of us the whole way. She is amazing. Then came the two old Hippo's lumbering along as best they could. That would be Joe and me.
We had to stop short of our destination, due to some rain. It concerned us enough that we turned around. For a little while I wore my rain poncho. It only rained about 20 minutes, but for all we knew it could get worse. We didn't want to take the risk.
We've learned on these hikes that going up is a workout for the muscles, but going down just kills the knee joints. If I didn't have my handy treking poles it would all be impossible.
Sarah made it to the van 45 minutes before we did. She thinks we're slow. From her point of view it's true, but I didn't see many people in our age group up there, so I'm satisfied with what we managed to do.
The pictures are a bit dark, because it was cloudy.

10 mile Hike

Today Joe and I Hiked to Desolation Lake. It was about 10 miles up and back. Fortunately it wasn't quite as steep as the trail to Dog Lake, plus I had my handy new trekking poles to help me. Wow, what a difference a couple of aluminum poles make. It was so much easier to climb up the tough places and a huge help going down slippery and rocky slopes. They're my new secret weapon. I'll never attempt another trail without them.
Enjoy the pictures.

More hiking

Today was a day of more hiking. It was supposed to be less intense than last weeks hike, but ended up just as challenging. We may have even walked further than last week. Our bonus was seeing a Moose with a huge rack of horns. A doe leaped across our path and a chipmunk sat on my shoe while I rested. It was after my carrots, which I shared with the cute little critter.

I understand that there will be another hike on Monday, which is Labor day. Even though I have toughened up; I still would prefer a shorter hike ( somehow I doubt if I'll get my wish).
Click on the trail picture to enlarge it and see the Moose.

Hiking at Solitude

Today Joe and I (Lesa) went for a hike in the mountains above our home. We were in an area called Solitude. We hiked up a steep mountain then back down again, for a distance of about 8-9 miles. On the way down my muscles were shaking but with several stops we reached the bottom.
For a couple of middle aged parents (grandparents) it was an accomplishment. Personally, I'm pretty proud of myself. We may hike a different trail each Saturday; as long as our weather permits.

Sarah and Aaron in the Kitchen

It's Sunday evening and Sarah is busy here in the kitchen while Aaron looks on. This is my attempt at putting a picture on my Blog without help from the 'computer generation'. I almost succeeded. I like to think that not too many other women in my generation are blogging and I'm ahead of the curve.

Family Fun Day

With the help of Susan's brother Aaron, I am at last updating my blog. Today is our Stake family fun day. I helped with the bean bag game; Joe, Aaron and Sarah helped with snow cones. There was a huge turn out. I even bumped into Susan's old pal Charis, who is due to have her first baby in just 6 weeks. It was so fun too see her with her mom.
I didn't go early enough to see the little children's parade. Our ward's primary rode in a western wagon, pulled by a Clydesdale horse. How fun is that?!