4th of July Weekend

For the 4th of July weekend we headed up North to Salt Lake to visit with two of our children. Our oldest son is moving to New York and it was our last time to see him before he leaves. Bitter sweet trip.


We shared the evening with our dear friends The Fenlons. Lots of good food and fun.


My husband is known for putting together huge firework displays. Every year he would put on what was know in our neighborhood as "Cul de Sac of Fire!" This year because of traveling he had to downsize.

We still had a lot of fun being with friends and family as we lit off our fireworks.

Of course, I had to get a little quilting in while we were on our trip. I went with my girlfriend Pam to "Quilts Etc." in Sandy for their block of the month. I used to attend these every month before I moved and it was so wonderful seeing old friends.

Pat and her staff do such a great job on Block of the Month. The best I've ever seen. They come up with ways to make the block interesting, teach new techniques, and offer great sales. When I was living here they had around 1,000 people sign up for their Block of the Month. It used to be called "First Saturday", but because of the turn out they had to offer classes through out the first week of each month. The fire marshall would only allow so many people in the room!

This year the theme was "Political Threads". This month they featured "Roosevelt's Tie" and "The Great Depression Block". They asked questions about Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Depression, and those who knew the answers were given fabric prizes. Made me wish I had studied my history a little better!

Roosevelt's Tie and The Great Depression Blocks
Roosevelt was known for the saying "The only thing to fear is fear itself". ( Do you think that applies to trying new quilting techniques? ) He was the only president voted in 4 times, and he served for 13 years. He died while in office during his 4th term. It was nice to get caught up on a little trivia.

Show and Tell

Pam said this lady brings something amazing every month. A very prolific quilter.

This woman brought her Show and Tell and said it was a Mystery Quilt. When asked if she had fun doing it she shouted "No!" We all got a good laugh out of that one.

I think Quits Etc. has the best offering for looking at quilt books. A room is set aside where you can sit down at a table and relax. Who ever designed the wall feature for displaying books gets an A+ in my opinion. It offers a great inventory, and you can see most of the covers at a glance. I could spend the whole day in there and be happy.

On Saturday afternoon we went with our kids to hike "Lake Mary" above Brighton Ski resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon. We love to hike as a family, and this is a relatively easy trek.

Because it's July, I wasn't expecting snow! We even had snow at the trail head, and wondered what we were in for. Turns out it wasn't too bad, with only patches along the way.

I have a daughter attending the University of Utah, double majoring in Japanese and Linquistics. She has really emersed herself in the Asian Culture. For snacks to eat along the trail she shared with us "dried squid". Eeewww! Everyone tried it but me. She said it's considered an Asian Beef Jerky type treat... but only made with squid... thanks anyway, but I think I'll pass.

The rest of my family was more adverturous. Hiking along, they would look at Elizabeth and say "Squid Me!"

Not only did we have to hike through patches of snow, but creeks that were formed from the run off. The scenery was spectacular.

The majestic view of Lake Mary once we were there was breath taking!