March, Part Two - Visits!

Stratford Visit

Yahoo! Late March 9th, Ryan, Emily and family came for a weekend visit before they headed up north for a week of skiing. One of the first things on the agenda, the kids love to hit the pool with their dad.

On Saturday, we took a little excursion into Zion National Park.  We hiked on a winding, scenic trail to the beginning of The Narrows. 

We were surprised at how many visitors were in the park in mid-March. It was a glorious, sunny day.

Push, Pete!

Don't let it fall, Becca!

We love this family!

It was cool to see the spring run-off.

Smile, Sarah Kate!

These pics are taken at the end of the trail, where The Narrows begin.

Ryan and Roger were snapping their cameras like mad; there was so much beauty all around!

I love this sweet little shot of Becca Sue!

Roger caught these two at just the right moment, bustin' up about something!

Ben was captivated with the awesome majesty.

Grandma had a few heart attacks, watching these athletic kids!

Ben found some pretty rocks for his collection.

We also hiked up to Weeping Rock - pretty steep incline!

We saw several deer just off the trail.

Free ride for Sarah Kate!

This is my favorite scenic pic of the day!

See the reflection of the cliffs in the rear window of our car?

Weeping Rock Falls

Ben had it in his head that he wanted a shot at the entrance, with his folks, so both cars pulled over, and they ran across the street to get this we were there pic.

On Sunday, after church, we had a big dinner, then they left to go up north to stay with Emily's brother, Clark, and family.

I made this blueberry crumb cake with blueberry creme fraiche and fresh raspberries for dessert.

St. Patrick's Day fell on Saturday, so we decided to invite a couple over to share our corned beef and cabbage dinner with us. I love green and had these green dishes from a long time ago, and we got this shamrock plant at Trader Joe's when we went for our back-to-back one to one lessons at Apple in Las Vegas, so I had fun setting a festive Irish table. 

Patty and John Abraham were our guests - they are converts to the church from California and have lived in our branch for about five years.

I made Irish soda bread and key lime pie for dessert.

Before dinner that afternoon, Dad and I went and parked on top of the old airport to watch the Blue Angels fly - read about it at my sister,Kay's blog, http://kenandkayhinton.blogspot.com/. Dad was in heaven and it was cool having him explain each maneuver and how very difficult each was.  Good sticks, he kept saying!

More to come in March, Part 3!