Zion Pics

Things have been CRAZY around our house; I'm only now getting around to editing and posting our pics from our Labor Day trip to Zion.

You know what they say - better late than never :)

This post has a TON of pictures. However, I wanted to include as many as possible since Bronson was with us and we really don't get to see much of him anymore.

We hiked two trails. The first was the West Overlook Trail, located by the top entrance of the tunnel. To get to the trail head, you have to drive through the tunnel, which our kids really enjoyed. I had fun as well, as it's been several years since I've been through it.

Dad and the kids:
Mom and her brood:
The craziest thing happened; as we were crossing a bridge near an overhang, another hiker pointed out a mountain goat resting beneath it. The goat was literally right under our feet!
The Beatty kids at the beginning of our hike:
We also hiked the river trail. We brought our swimsuits so we could splash around.

No trip to the river is complete without a good stick:
I like the perspective in this photo:
Our oldest and youngest:
Believe me, the water was cold!
Bronson and Jefferson spent nearly the entire time playing in the mud:

Mat and Kris went exploring together; Mathison adores his older sister!
Del and two sons (I'm not sure where Jeff was):
Krissia found a scaly surprise when she headed back to gather her shirt:
We had a great time and feel blessed to live so close to such beautiful scenery!

Full of "Glee"

About four weeks ago, DEl threw his back out pretty badly and was flat in bed for 3 days.

It wasn't the best of times, but one good thing did come out of it:
We finally got around to watching "Glee."

Those of you who know my husband well are probably surprised we hadn't yet watched this popular show; after all, DEl was the founder and director of the college performing group "Acclamation" for over a decade. When Glee first aired, it looked cute enough, but for some reason, it seemed like we always had a conflict whenever the show was on.

After the first few episodes, DEl began to get several inquiries from former students who'd ask if he'd watched the show and if it reminded him of the good old days from "Acclamation." We decided to start watching Glee, but by this time it was nearing the end of the 1st season and we didn't want to jump in blindly at that point. We promised ourselves that wait until the season came out on video and watch it then.

However, we never got around to it.

Until DEl found himself bedridden and bored out of his mind :)

After the first episode, he was hooked. He watched the series, then re-watched it with me when I had time to view it. We were both hooked!

Okay, I'll admit the show is a little cheesy at times and some of the characters can be over the top. However, the music is fantastic - and it is quite fun to root for the "underdog" Glee club. Not to mention, this show has one of the best antagonists that has been on TV in quite awhile!

Now, on to the big question - does Glee relate to DEl's experience with Acclamation? In many ways, the answer is.....yes. The in-group romances, the heartbreaks and triumphs, the jealousy and politics of others in the school administration are all reminiscent of the "Accla" days. However, I would like to point out a few obvious, important ways that they differ:

First off, there never was the conundrum of who fathered so-and-so's child. While there have been plenty of "Accla babies", they'll all come legitimately :) And secondly, I've never faked a pregnancy to save our marriage (that is one of the story lines I find a little hard to believe!).

The short, second season of Glee recently came out, and DEl and I have plans to watch it over the weekend. After all, we want to be fully up-to-date when it returns this fall :)

Smirk

This week's challenge at iheartfaces is "smirk."

And boy, do I have a child with a world class smirk!


I caught this picture at the end of an impromptu shoot with my three year old son; the batteries in my camera were running low and I was just about to call it quits when - voila - this perfect smirk came out of nowhere. I was able to shoot a picture or two before the camera totally died on me. I wish this expression could have been caught at the first when I had fresh batteries; as a result, his face is a little more blurred than I'd like. Oh, well - you just never know what to expect or when to expect it when working with children :)

To see more darling smirks, click on the button below:

On With the Show

Our teenagers in the above photo are both honing their stage abilities this fall.

Jefferson auditioned for "Hello Dolly," being produced by Desert Hills High School. He was cast as "waiter #4". I think he was a little disappointed at first, but I reassured him it was quite the feat to even be cast, seeing as he's not in high school yet :)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Krissia attends Dixie State College in the mornings. Although our daughter seems very self assured, singing and/or dancing in public has intimidated her since she became a teenager. Krissia decided to push out of her comfort zone and audition for "Ragin' Red," a performing group at Dixie. With the help of her dad, Krissia prepared an awesome audition piece. She has such a darling personality that we felt if she'd only relax and be natural, there was a good chance she'd make it. Krissia felt great about her audition - and she ended up being selected as one of the group's members! She seems to really enjoy rehearsals, and it's fun to watch her try something different.

I know our kids would love to see family members at their performances..."Hello Dolly" runs the Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday before Thanksgiving; I don't have a schedule for Ragin' Red yet, but will post later when I have more info.

Remember This?

Remember this post about Mathison's "date"?

DEl recently received the following photo from one of the the student leaders, showing Mathison and his Dixie College "lady friends":


I remember getting a phone call once from Jefferson's kindergarten teacher - she was concerned because he kept trying to kiss the girls during circle time.

Looks like we might be headed in that direction again!

Dances, Reunions, and Zion - Oh My!

Our Labor Day weekend was full of fun family activities!

On Friday, Desert Hills had their Homecoming football game. We played North Sanpete High School, and it was a blowout. In fact, I began to secretly cheer for the other team the last half of the 4th quarter in hopes they could at least score a field goal or something.

We took Mathison along for the second half of the game, and he loved watching the players tackle each other on the field. Near the end of the last quarter, the announcer stated that both teams were taking a timeout. Mathison looked at me with huge eyes, then exclaimed, "Mom, those football players are in time out!" I quickly explained that they weren't in trouble and only needed a break.

DEl and I had a good laugh at that remark :)

Saturday was Peach Days in Hurricane, and also DEl's 25th class reunion. We had a fun time hanging out with family, then attending his reunion dinner. The classmates and their spouses had name tags with their senior pictures on them; what a riot! Let's just say that hairstyles certainly have changed. At the end of the dinner, the reunion chair brought up an interesting proposal - a cruise for the classmates 50th class reunion. Now, a cruise sounds like fun.....but why wait for 25 years when some of the classmates might need canes or walkers to get around with at that time? Not to mention that few will be in the condition to proudly wear swimsuits...so after discussing these concerns, it was decided that they will schedule a cruise for their 35th class reunion, ten years from now.

Saturday was also the Homecoming dance for Desert Hills High School. Why they chose Labor Day weekend for this event is beyond me; as we were in Hurricane all day, we unable to help Krissia with her preparations for the dance. Luckily, a few of her friends from Dixie College stepped in to save the day :) These pictures were taken by one of those girls:





Krissia with her date, Austin. This is the first dance where she's had a date taller than herself:
Krissia had a great time, but came home with a raging case of pinkeye. This happened at the last dance, too; she's going to have to stop dancing so closely with her dates :)

We spent Sunday visiting our families for dinner and FHE, and Monday morning we headed to Zion:

Bronson had the day off, and we enjoyed having his company. I plan to post later with more pictures and details of our Zion trip.

All in all, we had a wonderful time....but come Monday evening, we were all worn out from our non-stop weekend. In fact, I caught a cold the next day; but it was worth the time we were able to spend together!

Goodbye to a Good Friend

One week ago, we said goodbye to a very dear friend.

Ji Hye returned to Korea:
Our family had a wonderful time with Ji Hye while she was here; she is a very sweet with a great personality.

Some of our favorite moments with our Korean friend include:
*going to the shooting range for her very first time (where she out-shot us all!)
*our Temple Square trip
*playing "Yahtzee"
*comparing American animal sounds to Korean animal sounds (yes, they are different)
*introducing her to both of our large, extended families
*our overnight trip to the cabin

We are SO glad we offered to become a host family; otherwise, we would have missed out on getting to know such a great person. Ji Hye, we know that you will be a wonderful English teacher in Korea and will do well in whatever you decide to do in your life. Please know that your American family misses you and wishes you the very best for your future!