DownPour on My Birthday

I recall a few of my birthdays were cooler than normal – requiring a sweatshirt or summer jacket.  Never a rain slicker!  Not quite a monsoon but certainly not what I’ve grown accustomed to.  I can’t see to drive on the roads.  There’s not enough light.

          Corey and Joh offered to pay for new glasses – but I don’t know that a stronger prescription is really the answer.  The way the doctor explained it to me is that I have weird shaped eyes that just don’t seem to let in the right amount of light needed for me to see throughout each day.  I’m certain that I will go blind eventually. 

          Besides I’d rather have spent the money on shoes or new pants for Roland or something that seemed to take precedence for me.  And we have been blessed in major ways.

          On Saturday Jenna spent the day with her friend August.  When we pulled up in front of the driveway, we could see items being set up for a yard sale.  When the sale was over, the family loaded up a bag of clothes for Jenna.  Three pairs of shoes that appear as though they’ve never been worn. 

          And last night my youngest niece also sent us home with a bag of clothes and a box of shoes.  And I really have been needing shoes – so this is great!! 

          I think the majority of shoes are too big for Jenna, but she’s at the point where she likes wearing big shoes.  Her feet will eventually get bigger than mine.  And then her shoes will be big on me.

          This weather right now reminds me of a time twelve years ago, before Roland and I were married.  I had taken the boys to see my mom at the place where she was working.  At least two of them had their heads hanging out the window and made comments as though they were pirates or sailors fighting off a storm.

          There was also the many times that my family went on vacations – didn’t matter where.  We’d have rain.  We’d have car problems.  Often both.

          The wettest family vacation rain that I remember was the year dad drove us to southern California and enjoy Disneyland and Universal.  It poured the day we went to Universal. POURED!  And it is still one of my greatest memories.

          We had gone on a tour bus.  When the driver dropped us off, he told us that we had to be back by 5:00 pm or we would have to find another method of transportation back to our motel.

          Our experience was awesome.  No lines to wait in.  We got to see EVERYTHING.  Universal never sold so many raincoats and umbrellas on any given day.  As we did not bring rain gear and couldn’t afford six coats to wear, either mom or dad suggested garbage sacks and so we put them over our heads and cut holes for our faces. We spent the entire day going from exhibit to exhibit in our garbage sack ponchos.  It is a really great memory for me and Corey in particular.

          We returned to the bus at 4:30 – the last group of people to arrive.  It seemed that everyone else had been waiting on the bus for at least two hours and were a bit perturbed with us for taking so long.  Hey, we arrived a half hour earlier than the designated time.  And we definitely got our money’s worth.  It was fun!

The (not so) Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island

Recently Roland and I watched a video called “Redemption” As I watched I wondered just how much was accurate and what other history I might find on the web regarding John Baptiste,  Antelope Island, and the Great Salt Lake  (which may have been great at one time but really isn’t all that great now - at least in my opinion)

          I find it interesting that early settlers were interested in making a community on Antelope Island and grazing cattle as stated in this post but it isn’t mentioned that it was used to prison John Baptiste – but then it isn’t explained what the island was used for during the 1862 which is when the grave robber had been banned to Antelope Island.

          I’d heard of Antelope Island, but had never been to it until after I was married.  I don’t think it lived up to the hype found here.  It probably did at one time.  But not in this decade. It was okay. But I don't think it lived up to the description.

          Roland and I took the boys there before we were married.  We went to a barren area and enjoyed a picnic.  We were inland as we had no view of the water except for coming and going.  And actually did see a beach on the way out.  So the second time we went to the island, I had invited Sunny and her children to go with us. 

           The kids enjoyed playing in the sand.  They buried each other and made sand sculptures. I think only three or four of them ended up in the water.  Biff and Randy teased Tony and said he looked like a poster child for "Feed the Hungry" 

          There was quite a bit of space between the beach and the water.  We took Roland’s sister and her husband out there the year Jenna was born.  There was even a greater distance between the beach and the lake.

          Ooki arrived in the states two or three weeks before school started.  We decided to show him the sights.  We never took him to Antelope Island but did end up at Bonneville Salt Flats and Saltair.

          Saltair was once a prestige place to go.  There used to be boat rides from what I understand.  Now it’s a ghost town.  I don’t recall seeing this set up

But this building was still there with the still boat in front – set up as a gift shop as I recall. 

The building had kind of a haunted theme to it and had been vandalized over the years.

We walked out to the lake and Biff carried Houdini (which was funny) as Houdini was not willing to cross the water on his own. Ooki took lots of pics and posted them to his website (which may have just been for his senior year; I don’t have access to it anymore - I'm thinking he took it down)

I think we spent more time at the salt flats.  Three of the boys walked out quite far

The only time I ever saw Ooki wear sunglasses was when we were at the salt flats.

The lake continues to shrink – or so it appears to my eyes – though it looks more impressive from the road than the beach of Antelope Island.

When Jenna was younger, she really wanted to go to the beach.  Wasn’t in our budget to drive to California and so we started out for Antelope Island and invited Kayla to go along. 

I forgot about the smell and the flies which seemed much more poignant upon our return.  There wasn’t much in the way of people.  I don’t know that we even saw any other cars.  It was desolate.

Jenna did enjoy the beach. 

The water had evaporated even more and it was a very long walk (I bet it was at least one mile from the beach to the water) This is one of my favorite pictures of Jenna and my sister entering the water

Jenna was so excited to test her inflatable tube in the water.  I'd forgotten that she had a cut on her upper thigh.  She screamed in pain when she squatted down in the water.  The salt cut into her wound like a thousand daggers.

Getting out there and returning took much longer than the time we spent there. Both the lake and the island itself. I remembered that we were charged to cross the road to get out there.  When we left, I remember thinking they should have paid us to come.  What a disappointment. 

I took more pictures on our way out so that the time we spent there was not a complete waste. I haven’t returned nor do I plan on returning.

 The picture of the bus – a thing of the past.  I don’t think they do bus tours anymore. Or at least it wasn't offered that particular decade.

After watching “Redemption” and reminiscing what once was, I wonder how anybody who has been in the Great Salt Lake can think Baptiste drown in it.  Okay, maybe he didn’t know how to swim, but come on.  That water is so full of salt that one can’t help but float in it.

They say that Baptiste was relocated from Antelope to Fremont – which I had never even heard of.  It is explained somewhat in this post.  And I just found me a new site to follow.

Having our Christmas Dinner in July

          Family has grown.  We used to do a dinner on Christmas Eve. We would gather at the house where Aunt Gertrude and Uncle Ted live.  That was a tradition for years.  My grandma Helen and her three kids and their children - we started out with just three of us -  I was the eldest, then my cousin, Michelle, my brother Patrick and then Michelle’s brother came along.  It was another seven years before Edmund and Corey were born and then Rosa and then Kayla. 

          Daddy’s only sister, Chrissy got married to Kim.  Eventually they had four boys and the family continued to grow.  Both Patrick and Michelle found partners and married. And the family continued to grow.  It seemed like there were more people than room. 

It got hard for Trudy to host not one, but two dinners each year.  Not that she was supplying all the food.  All of the families chipped in. Trudy and Ted had hosted at their house on Christmas Eve for the families of one of their brothers and Christmas day for another.  After a while she no longer felt the need to do Christmas day as (I would guess) other family members took over – and I suppose it wasn’t as meaningful to Don’s family as it had been to ours.

          Each year Aunt Trudy would tell the family that it would be the last year that she would have it. And then she would call us the following year to make arrangements until one year mom said we could do it at her house.  But still, the families all continues to grow.  In-law obligations.  Too much running around.  So one year Michelle had suggested that we start a new tradition.  Instead of having a family gathering in December, why not have a pool party in July?

          So that’s what we do now.  The weather is a lot more inviting for driving.  Everyone is more relaxed.  There is a Christmas tree next to the gate to the pool and Christmas music plays in the background. We no longer have the ham and turkey, the funeral potatoes and glazed carrots.  Hamburgers, hot dogs and salads fill our plates. Instead of bulky sweaters, we have on swimsuits and trunks and enjoy our Christmas much differently than we have in the past.

          This Christmas Eve it will just be Roland, Jenna, mom and I.  Possibly Biff.  It will be the smallest Christmas dinner that I remember.  But that can be nice.  It’s a matter of attitude more than it is people.  Later on today I will call Aunt Trudy and Uncle Ted and see if they would like to attend also.  They come to the pool parties – but never come into the pool.