RetroSpeak

For the past couple of weeks I have been working on something that I have wanted to do for a long time--make greeting cards! A few years back, I ordered some old photo albums on eBay for some projects I was working on, and some of the pictures were SO funny. That's when the idea to do the greeting cards was born. You can check out my new line of greeting cards, RetroSpeak Vintage Greetings, at www.etsy.com/shop/retrospeak. The card pictured at the left is one of my favorites. The picture is so funny and random. A sign on the cemetery gate in the picture says "Car Washing Not Allowed in Cemetery." So the caption on the front of the card says: "The car has been looking a little dirty . . ." and the inside caption reads: "It's your birthday--break all of the rules!" If the cards start selling, I'll probably add some more card styles (I have many more funny photos). Even if they don't sell, it's something I've wanted to do for a long time, so it's fun no matter what happens. Be sure to tell your friends!

Home Improvement

Since it has "cooled off" a bit outside (meaning it no longer feels like 100+ degrees), Greg and I decided to get some house projects done that we've been wanting to do for quite a while. In this "before" picture, you can see that things looked okay outside, but our shutters were getting really faded, and the dark wooden blinds that were in the windows when we bought the place made it kind of dark inside (and some of the blinds were broken). Also, our front porch light was looking pretty bad.

So, we went to town on the house, and now it looks GREAT! We painted the shutters and the door frame, and we installed a nice new front light. It's amazing what a coat of paint can do! Also, while I was in the State Fair Parade last week, Greg installed some nice new white plantation blinds which really brighten the look of the condo inside and out. Greg also put a new faucet on our kitchen sink, which looks very nice.


And, we installed a new light on our back porch. It is a really cool carriage-style light. It looks a lot better that the spotlight we had back there before. Now, if it would just rain here, maybe our dead grass would come back to life!






Though we have been busy working on things, we have also had time for a little fun. On Monday night we went to a Peoria Chiefs baseball game. It was neat because during the game they announced that Jim Thome, who plays for the Minnesota Twins but is from Peoria, had just hit his 600th home run--the place went wild! He's a hometown hero there in Peoria, so that was cool. Then, on Tuesday, we went to the flag-lowering ceremony at the Lincoln Tomb.

Every Tuesday night during the summer, the 114th Regiment, a regiment of Civil War re-enactors here in Springfield, lowers the flag at the Tomb. It is a really cool ceremony, and it was especially fun to see our friends Richard and Don from the museum participate in the event. It's been a busy but good week!

A Fairly Great Time

The Illinois State Fair has officially begun! Fair time is always exciting, but it was especially fun this year because I got to participate in last night's Twilight Parade, which officially kicked off the festivities. Here I am all geared up for the parade. As in the 4th of July parade, I once again got to ride in the Jeep with the really big cannon mounted on it. It's crazy that I get paid to do this kind of thing, right?

Here are all of the vehicles getting ready to leave for the parade. We made quite the procession driving through the city on our way to the parade route! We had about 25 volunteers and employees in the parade, either riding in the vehicles or walking alongside handing out candy to the kids.

Here's the view from the Jeep as we pulled into the fairgrounds. The entire parade route (about a mile long) which ended at the fairgrounds was absolutely PACKED with people--I couldn't believe it! It was a beautiful evening and a really fun experience. My favorite part was waving to the kids along the route--they were so cute. One little girl looked up at us and said, "I love the Army and I love candy!" The Jeeps did great until the very end of the parade when two of them died. Fortunately the Jeep I was in did not break down. The Humvee and one of the other trucks ended up having to tow the broken down vehicles back to the museum. At least they made it to the end of the parade!

Today at work I received some free passes to the fair, so Greg and I decided to go check things out there this evening. We only live about a mile from the fairgrounds, so we were able to just walk over. (Our proximity to the fairgrounds is good for walking there, but not so good for road closures and fireworks noise--they have fireworks every night--but I suppose it's all good fun.) Here is this year's butter cow! She wasn't quite finished, but we thought she looked pretty good anyway.

I found some delicious sweet potato fries! Yummmmmmy.










This year's "fad food" was fried Kool-Aid. It sounded so bizarre that we had to try some. So this is what fried Kool-Aid looks like. The closest thing I can compare it to is a cherry doughnut hole. It was quite tasty.




And here is Greg eating his fried Milky Way candy bar. He says that if heaven was a type of food, it would be a fried Milky Way. We also ate some yummy Jamaican chicken, but my favorite thing we had all evening was the watermelon lemonade--it was so delicious and refreshing.





We had a great time just walking around and seeing all of the animals and displays. It was a perfect evening at the fair.









And the walk home wasn't too bad either--since we got to enjoy this amazing sunset. I'd say the last couple of days have been fairly great.

Farewell to Friends

I am sad because tonight I had to say goodbye to my dear friends Crystal and John :-( We had a really fun dinner at Coz's Pizza (Greg was going to come, but then someone died so he had to go pick them up), but I was sad to say goodbye to them. They are off to Nashville for some fun new adventures! It stinks though, because now all of our fun friends who are our age have moved (or are moving) away: Crystal and John, Melissa and Matt, David and Teal, Rose and Chris, and Ashleen and John.

I realized that I never posted this picture of Crystal, Melissa, and me from Melissa's farewell dinner back in April. The one thing that all of these good friends of ours have in common is the Lincoln Home. Though working there ended up being pretty bad news, some of my best friends came out of that experience, so I'm grateful for it. I remember my very first day there, Crystal was so nice to me, and later that week, before I had even met Melissa, Crystal told me that Melissa was having a movie night at her house, and they wanted to invite me. They made me feel welcome right off the bat, and the three of us had SO MUCH fun together--even when times were rough at the Lincoln Home. I could always count on those two for a good laugh. I've been sad since Melissa moved away, but now that Crystal is moving too, I'm totally bummed! But the great thing about friendships is that they last through moves and changes, and I'm grateful for all of my wonderful Lincoln Home friends.

I am also grateful for my wonderful family! Today I received some copies of the family pictures we had taken while Greg and I were home in Utah. Now that's what I call a cute family! (Be sure to click on the picture so you can see the larger version.) I am a very lucky person.

Pioneer Day Trip

It has been quite the last couple of weeks--traveling, having fun, visiting family and friends! It all began on Friday, July 15, when Greg and I headed out for southern Missouri. We first stopped at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in Republic, Missouri, site of one of the first major Civil War battles in the west. I especially wanted to stop there because one of the Confederate generals in the battle was Sterling Price! He was one of the Missouri militia people who drove the Mormons out of Missouri back in 1838, and I've written a few papers about him. Wilson's Creek is also where the first Union general was killed in the Civil War: Nathaniel Lyon. It was a really neat battlefield! After Wilson's Creek, we went to George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Missouri, where my Natchez friends Jim Heaney and Tim VanCleave now work. Jim was the supervisory ranger during my first summer in Natchez--I loved working for him! And Tim was one of my favorite friends and fellow rangers in Natchez. We also got to see Jim's wife Michelle who is SO NICE! They are such great friends, and I had really missed them. It had been five years since I had seen Jim and Michelle, so it was great to catch up with them. Jim gave us a nice tour of the park, and then we all went to dinner at a cute little place called the Diamond Cafe. It was such a fun afternoon, and seeing them brought back so many good memories.

Jim and Michelle live in Joplin, Missouri, which was hit so hard by the tornado a couple of months ago. We didn't see much damage from the freeway, but we did see a couple of downed buildings. That evening we drove on to Tulsa, Oklahoma. We spent the entire next day driving to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where we spent the night. In the evening we went to Old Town Albuquerque, which was SO COOL!! I loved walking around and seeing the old buildings (this church was built in the 1700s) and the neat little shops.

The next day we drove to Phoenix to visit Greg's parents. We were pretty tired after three days of driving, so we rested up on Sunday, but had some fun adventures on Monday. On Monday afternoon there was another big dust storm. It was smaller than the one you may have heard about that blew through earlier in the month, but it was still pretty dusty! Greg and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie during the first part of the storm, but we caught part of it when we went into downtown Phoenix that evening with Greg's parents. We ate at a fun restaurant called Alice Cooperstown, featured on the Travel Channel show "Man vs. Food." Greg wanted to try the hot dog that we saw on the show: a two-foot long, three pound beast! Needless to say, we shared the hot dog, and it took us the next three days to eat it--and we still didn't finish all of it.

On Tuesday we all headed out for Tombstone, Arizona. Along the way we stopped at Saguaro National Park, home to a large population of Saguaro cacti. It was pretty amazing to see some of the huge Saguaros, especially considering that it takes them at least 75 years just to grow one of their arms! So they are really old, and a lot of them are really tall.

Our next stop was Tombstone, Arizona. There was a lot of neat stuff to see there, including the haunted Bird Cage Theater and all of the cool shops along the main drag. Greg took this cool picture of the stagecoach coming down the street with a storm in the background. One of the interesting/random things we saw in town was the world's largest rose bush.




We also got to see a re-enactment of the shootout at the O.K. Corral between the Earp brothers and the McLaury/Clanton brothers. Here are Greg and I with Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil Earp after the gunfight. It was quite exciting!




On Wednesday we went to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument just south of Phoenix, which was really cool. Later that day we went to an Arizona Diamondbacks game at Chase Field in Phoenix, which was a lot of fun! Here I am with former Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson. The real Randy Johnson is 6'10" tall, but this guy was even taller! I was able to get autographs from about eight Diamondback players before the game (three of them were pitchers who ended up pitching in the game). It was quite the exciting game--we even saw Diamondbacks player Stephen Drew break his ankle, and one of the Milwaukee Brewers guys got hurt too. The Diamondbacks had a chance to win the game, but unfortunately they lost. (We were especially rooting for the Diamondbacks because the Brewers are ahead of the Cardinals in their division.)

We had a lot of fun staying with Greg's parents. It was really hot there in Arizona, but we kept hearing on the news how it felt even hotter back in Illinois with a big heat wave that rolled through the Midwest while we were gone, so we were glad that at least it wasn't humid in Arizona.

On Thursday morning we headed for Utah. We drove through Las Vegas and then stopped to see Grandpa Dick and Grandma Maurine in St. George. It was so great to see them! We had a nice lunch with them and enjoyed visiting and catching up on everything. I was sad to leave! But we had a good rest of the drive up to Orem where we arrived at Mom and Dad's house just in time to catch the end of their neighborhood party which included some aerial fireworks (now legal in Utah)!

A couple of years ago my family started the tradition of having a family reunion on Pioneer Day weekend. (Pioneer Day commemorates July 24, 1847, when the pioneers, including Brigham Young, first arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.) On Friday morning we began the reunion festivities by heading north to Logan, Utah. Along the way, Mom, Dad, Rich, Greg and I stopped at the Hill Air Force Base Museum in Roy. It is a really cool museum. I was especially happy to see Dad looking so good after his gallbladder surgery just a few weeks ago! After the museum, we headed up to Logan where we met up with Sarah, Joel, Eliza, Leo, Nate, Lindy, Camden, Riley, Sidney, and Ben. We spent a fun afternoon swimming in the pool at our hotel--it was especially fun to see the two little guys, Ben and Leo, give swimming a try for the first time. That evening we all had a fun dinner at Olive Garden, and then we went for a nice walk around the Logan Temple. It was a beautiful evening!

The next morning we went to the Richmond City Cemetery (Richmond is a small town just north of Logan) where our ancestor Amanda Barnes Smith is buried. Here are the Barrett girls: Sidney, Riley, and Camden, at Amanda's grave (Amanda is their fifth-great grandmother). Amanda Barnes Smith is well-known in LDS Church History for what happened to her and her family at Haun's Mill, Missouri back in 1838. On October 30, a group of armed men confronted the Mormons staying at Haun's Mill. In the end of what became known as the Haun's Mill Massacre, 17 Mormon men were killed, including Amanda's husband Warren and their young son Sardius. Another of Amanda's sons, Alma, had his hip shot out. Over the next several weeks, all the while harassed by the mob, Amanda cared for Alma's wound. She prayed and was instructed by the Lord on how to construct a poultice to be placed in Alma's empty hip socket. Over time Alma's hip healed, and he lived a full life without even a bit of a limp. Amanda Barnes Smith is just one of our many pioneer ancestors who is a true example of faith and fortitude.

It was wonderful to have the whole family there together at the cemetery to remember our pioneer heritage. Mom and Dad told us stories about Amanda and her family, as well as some of the other pioneers buried in Richmond. We were able to take a picture of the whole family with Amanda's headstone in the lower right-hand corner. It was such a great morning, and a wonderful way to celebrate Pioneer Day weekend!

After the cemetery, we went to a fun harvest market at the Rockhill Creamery in Richmond. It is such a neat place! It turns out that the main building there was once owned by members of the Burnham family--and we are descended from the Burnham family! It was a Pioneer Day coincidence. After the harvest market, we all went to LD's Cafe there in Richmond for lunch, home of the world's greatest hamburger (as judged by Mom and me). It was, as always, delicious! After lunch we went to the Pepperidge Farm outlet store, and then made everyone's favorite stop at Fat Boy Ice Cream, also in Richmond, where we all enjoyed some tasty ice cream treats. Then we headed back to Orem.

Sunday was officially Pioneer Day, and we enjoyed going to church together and hearing more pioneer stories. As you can see, Leo especially got into the pioneer spirit! That evening we all had a nice dinner together at Mom and Dad's house, and then one of their neighbors came over to take some family pictures for us. As soon as I have the pictures, I'll be sure to post them. It was great that we could all be together!



On Monday, Greg, Rich and I went to the big Cabela's store in Lehi. Rich and I had never been there before, and it was quite exciting! We especially enjoyed lunch: Greg had a buffalo burger, I had an elk sandwich, and Rich had a wild boar sandwich--very exotic and quite yummy. That afternoon we all had a nice visit with Grandpa Taylor and Grandma Cathy. Here we all are with Grandpa. It was wonderful to see them! After our visit we had a nice dinner at Cracker Barrel.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we enjoyed spending more time with family and friends. On Tuesday Greg got to meet Matt Davis, director of the new Utah Valley Mortuary. Matt is a really nice guy, and we hope that someday when business picks up for him, he will be able to hire Greg! Also on Tuesday Greg got to see Nate and Lindy's nice new home in Highland. On Wednesday we loaded a bunch of the stuff (mostly books and more books) that I had left at Mom and Dad's house into our car. We wanted to clear things out for Mom and Dad's upcoming move to American Fork. We barely fit everything into our car, but we did it! That afternoon Mom, Greg and I had a fun lunch with our dear friend Yevon at the Bangkok Grill. It was wonderful to see her and catch up on things! After lunch we met Dad and went to see a movie about the 1856 Willie and Martin handcart company pioneers called "17 Miracles." It was so good! We also have some pioneer ancestors, the Hartles, who died along the way to Utah with the Willie and Martin companies, so the movie especially hit home for us. On Wednesday evening, we enjoyed just spending time with Mom and Dad. I was REALLY sad to leave the next morning! Greg took this picture of Mom, Dad and me right before we left. I must admit that it's really hard for me to live so far away from them. But, I knew that our fun vacation couldn't last forever (unfortunately).

So Greg and I headed out Thursday morning and drove to North Platte, Nebraska for the evening. We stayed at a really nice hotel right on the banks of the South Platte River. Greg and I braved the mosquitoes to get this nice picture of the sunset over the river--it was beautiful! We ate dinner at a place called Runza, which I had never heard of, but I read about it on the Nebraska page of our road atlas. A Runza is kind of like a Maid Rite--it is ground beef mixed with onions, cabbage, and spices, all cooked inside a tasty roll. It was quite delicious.

On Friday, July 29, two weeks after our road trip began, we made the last leg of our trip from North Platte to Springfield. Our trip took us over 4,000 miles through 12 states! (It would have only been 11 states, but we got diverted down through Kansas due to road construction in Nebraska.) Capping off our Pioneer Day trip, it was neat to travel along much of the same route the pioneers traveled back in the late 1840s and early 1850s. The highlight of the day was when we stopped at Haun's Mill in Missouri, site of the Haun's Mill Massacre. Today Haun's Mill is just an empty field along Shoal Creek, and it is far off the beaten path, but it is very peaceful there. It was especially nice to be there after hearing all of the stories about Amanda Barnes Smith and her courage in the face of such a horrible tragedy. I am grateful for my pioneer heritage and for the wonderful time we had visiting family and friends!