Pirate Party

Don't you love the skulls? We kept the box of decorations in our living room before the party, and Miles would gingerly pull open the flap, take a gander at the pirate skull, and say in a low voice, "Ohhh!"

The party even featured some palm reading from an experienced gypsy. Thanks, Julie.

The beauties . . .

And the wastrels.

Arrr, ye scalawags!

The 19th of September be International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Don't be hesitatin' to check out this here glossary to brush up on yer pirate lingo. And here be some clues to lead ye mateys to the plunder we pillaged! (Pirate party summons by Madeline. Ain't she a beauty?)

Hoist the warning of pillage to come.
The sight of me will make land-lubbers run!

Fill ye tankards here, ye dogs.
And don’t be wishing it were GROG.

For vittles and drink, here we’ll gather . . .
Unless to the yardarm or keelhaul you’d rather!

Hang from my lumber the rigging and sails;
I’ll keep you from those fearsome whales.

Beauties and wenches will enter one door.
Mateys and wastrels, the other, fer sure!

It’s dark and dank, like the sty of a pig.
This foul storage is worse than the BRIG!

We ship out to sea at a future date.
Your order will come to a box by the gate.

The trusty plank is destined for
This funeral pire . . . or the shore!

Land ho! Ye scalawags, steer clear of these,
Or our ship will be dashed, and you’ll fall to yer knees.

(The internet, though fair she be, was sorely lackin' in clues to me treasure. So I took me ink, and jotted these down. Perhaps yer brains will be tellin' ye what they mean.)

First Flight

That's me hanging from that paraglider! I went last Tuesday on a tandem flight, and it was amazing! We launched at the Point of the Mountain North Flight Park. Everyone there was totally chill - it must have been the evening sun, gentle breeze, and great view of the Salt Lake valley. My instructor had just flown from Ferguson Canyon to the Point! I had no idea paragliders could go that far.

We strapped our harnesses on, spread out the glider in the grass, walked forward to pull the wing in the air, and then we were off the ground. The idea is to glide around, feel the wind, and when you fly through an updraft, start turning to stay in it, and slowly spiral upwards. We gained nearly 1200 feet. Intriguing.

It was so relaxing just floating through the air, seeing the houses and cars and mountain far below in that evening sun. The best part of the 45 minute flight was our descent - we did some "wing overs" where you swing side to side, and then you start spiraling downward.

Alvin was so kind to watch Miles (and me) from the flight park below. He's already done a tandem flight, so he didn't feel like he was missing too much. Miles had a ball at the park - the chill attitude must have been catching. Maybe he was as entranced as I was at the big, vibrant gliders inflating in the breeze.

I would definitely recommend paragliding - or even just go hang out at the flight park and watch the paragliders set up and take off.

Summer Fun

We love summer! Too bad there's only 3 weeks left. Here are a few photos from some of our summer activities.

The cabin in Fairview Canyon is always a lot of fun.

Laura and Miles on the cabin swing. Laura went off the platform for the first time and loved it. She's scared of heights but you would'nt know it by looking at her...she's even going paragliding in a couple of days.

Miles LOVES throwing rocks in water and would do it all day if we let him.

Miles doin' a little slack-lining...gotta start 'em young right?

Snowbird in the summertime.

Had to include some geology right?

We saw a nature-style documentary on babies the other day and I've decided that Miles thrives best in a habitat with plentiful rocks, water, and sticks.

He looks innocent...but don't let him fool you.

Miles' best photo yet.

Stuart flying my kite from the top of Notch Peak.

Pioneer Day!

Alvin and I ran in the Deseret News 10k yesterday. 43:49 and 48:17. The downhill course made for a fast, energizing race, and during the last mile, I waved at my cousins who were camped along the parade route. I'm not sure if they recognized me.

Alvin trained by running twice during the week before the race, and resting a lot. :) If I had been smart about my training, I would have increased my weekly running mileage to include some 6-milers starting a month ago. Unfortunately, we just decided to race a week ago. Consequently, my legs HURT today.

But it was so fun to race, we are thinking of doing the Skyline 10k. We'll be at the Anderson cabin down the street for a reunion, so it will be perfect.

We finished the day with a barbecue at Alvin's sister's house. I swallowed a quip for not bringing any meat with some delicious black bean-jicama-jalapeno salad. The evening shade and damp cool grass were elixir to my race- and summer-weary body. Plus it was so fun to watch Miles explore all his cousins' toys: swingset, trampoline, battery-driven jeep, sandbox, tetherball. He loved them all and was so absorbed that I could relax, eat, and enjoy some adult conversation.

Daniel Dean and Mom

My grandpa passed away a few weeks ago. I'm glad my grandpa was such a great man. I am especially glad that he brought my mom into this world. My mom is surely one of the greatest people on earth!My grandpa flew the Grumann TBF Torpedo Bomber for the U.S. Navy. He received his wings in July 1945 just as Japan announced its unconditional surrender. I'm glad the war ended when it did or this blog or me or this poorly diagrammed sentence may never have existed...

My mom and her parents. I never met my grandmother...she died of cancer in her 40's. However, my mom has told great things about her. Grandpa went on to graduate with a Master's Degree from Cornell and work in labor relations and management.

Mom, Aunt Sally...sweet car

Nice catch mom! Who knew mom could fish?

The Cirque of the Towers

Here are a few pictures from the land northward. Which reminds me . . . has anyone ever seen the movie Lost in the Barrens? It's a definite classic. Anyway back to the pics, my brother Stuart and I headed north for Independence Day weekend. We hiked to the Cirque of the Towers in the Wind River Range, then headed to the Tetons, Yellowstone, and on to Island Park for a little fishing. We stopped by Angela and Brian's place in Teton National Park. It was great to catch up . . . and Brian even made some tasty quesadillas. Life is good!

This first picture is the view from Brian and Angela's yard . . . not bad (it's Teewinot).