The Sanctuary

In October we will have lived in our house for 20 years. I can't even wrap my brain around that! I do love my house. One of things I love most about my house is the porch. But it has been under-utilized. For 20 years.

The east side of the porch has always looked like this:

 Nothing going on there. Walk right to end and there is a little alcove where I kept large rocks. Large rocks? Yes, to weigh down decorations by my front door. Such a waste of space. Until now.

 Welcome to: The Sanctuary.

 A lounge chair, some pillows, a rug, flowers and a cozy blanket. That's all I needed to transform an unused corner into The Sanctuary.

 If you can't find me, you know where I'll be. In The Sanctuary.

You Could Make A Wish...

This is my latest motto:

I'm really into making things happen lately. Maybe it's because I'm 50 now and I feel time passing. I guess I figure that if it's going to happen I'd better get on with it!

Some people think I'm having a mid-life crisis. I think changing your life and reaching goals might be called mid-life accomplishments!

Snoopy And His Pirate

At the latest Polo Field show, Shannon found herself in the harrowing position of convincing Snoopy that he really did need to step up his game and not be so lazy.

 Without her coat and wearing her (our) white shirt, I think she looks like a pirate!

 Snoopy decided to cooperate, without the added whip and spur weapons.

 We spent a lot of time trying to stay hydrated under the summer sun.

 Shannon had her shadbelly time too- placing 5th in her class, which included the younger riders and their very pricey horses. We won the same ribbon in our Classics!

Snoopy has caught sight of me here- he's looking at me with one ear and listening to Shannon with the other.

Another successful show!

A Crop And Spurs?

Our latest show was back at the Polo Fields in South Jordan, on the grass. Snoopy decided he was too tired to show, so I had a battle on my hands.

 We have to go fast enough to get the correct number of strides between jumps, and well...Snoopy just wasn't feeling it, no matter how nicely, (or not), I asked.

 This is unusual for us because Snoopy likes to be speedy at horse shows and it's normal for me to feel like I'm being run away with. The solution: carry a threatening riding crop and borrow some spurs. I have never worn spurs. I really don't know how to use them, so I think I just tickled him a bit. I guess I'll have to practice with them at home. Poor Snoopy.

 I got to wear the shadbelly again- I feel pretty fancy when I wear it.

 We came in 5th in the Classic- not bad for a lazy pony day. :)

 (Thank you, Shannon, for documenting my day!)

Our Temple Is Back!

Our Ogden Temple is back! I am so excited- I've missed it so much! Last month I think I ran over several old ladies at church to be first in line to volunteer to help in the temple during the open house. Bruce and I filled that assignment this morning.

We were assigned to help direct people through the baptismal font area. Our temple is beautiful- filled with stained glass, marble, crystal and mahogany. I went with the YW through the temple last night, so I've already been through twice and I'm going again with my kids later this month. Yeay for my temple!!

A Hiking We Will Go!

My sisters and I added a new activity to this year's girl's weekend- we went on a hike.

It was early morning and the world was colorful.

We slogged our way through a sometimes soggy trail.

We will definitely go on more hikes in the future.

Here are the last of the nature shots from our fun weekend:

Thanks, Sis, for hosting such a great get-away!

Flower Overload

It was amazing how many flowers were blooming in the mountains by my sister's cabin. They were everywhere! Here's a mountain flower overload for you:

 Even Sego Lilies were in bloom. Hard to believe that my great, great, great grandmother would send her kids out the door in the morning to dig up the bulbs of these flowers to eat for breakfast because they had nothing else to eat.

 What a beautiful place!