Greg and I are very excited to embark on a Civil War adventure tomorrow! We are off to visit my fun Mississippi friends, Angie and Matt (and their little guy, Mr. Ben) who now both work at Gettysburg. I have to work tomorrow morning, but then tomorrow afternoon we'll drive to Ohio and arrive in Pennsylvania on Thursday. We are also excited for a Baltimore Orioles game with Angie and Matt on Friday! It should definitely be a good time. I have been to Gettysburg before (but it was in the winter, and it was FREEZING outside, so this will be a different experience), and this will be Greg's first visit. There will surely be many pictures to post when we return next week!
Speaking of freezing, we were doing the opposite of that today. It is SO HOT here! The heat index was 110 degrees this afternoon, and I tell you what--110 degrees and polyester pants do NOT make a good combination. I am going to wear only shorts on our vacation.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Dog Days of Summer
Today has been a bizarre day filled with dogs. It began when I first got to work and saw what looked like a giant pair of ears with little stubby legs running around. It was a French Bulldog named Brutus, and he was ADORABLE! A little later I saw a fluffy Pomeranian who looked just like Aunt Karalie's sweet little Cooper, who unfortunately passed away last week while I was at home :-( It made me happy and sad at the same time to see the little guy. He had a big puppy smile just like Cooper's.
Then I was in the office working on some things when one of the Living History volunteers came in and told me a disturbing tale. He said that he was in the house and overheard Ranger Kyle (my replacement starting October 1) saying this to a tour group (which included some very attentive children): "After the Lincolns left Springfield, they left their dog Fido here with some friends. One day Fido found a homeless man on the side of the road and went over to put his paws in the man's lap." [Keep in mind the attentive children.] "Then the homeless man pulled out a knife and STABBED Fido in the heart, and he bled to death. So, ladies and gentlemen, Lincoln's dog was assassinated before he was." Our Living History volunteer said that the children (and their parents) were mortified! Some of the kids looked like they were on the verge of tears. Now, I've heard a couple of stories about how Fido met his end, but you don't tell the kids about it! Kyle may have been hoping to elicit a laugh from the visitors with his assassination line, but nobody laughed. When Barbara learned of the situation, she asked Kyle to not include that story in his tour ever again.
Then this afternoon some visitors came into the Visitor Center and told the rangers that they had seen a distressed dog in a van with all of the windows rolled up in the parking lot. (It has been very hot outside all day.) So Barbara called me and asked me to go check on the dog while she looked for its owners. I went out to the parking lot and was looking in people's windows (which felt kind of criminal-ish, but it was for a good cause), but by the time I found the right van, Barbara had returned with the dog's owner. He opened the van and let the puppy out--she looked so hot and thirsty! The owner did not think he had done anything wrong, but Barbara explained to him that being in a hot car like that can kill a dog (or a person). The pup seemed happy to be out, and she got a nice drink of water. So all was well.
Then I was in the office working on some things when one of the Living History volunteers came in and told me a disturbing tale. He said that he was in the house and overheard Ranger Kyle (my replacement starting October 1) saying this to a tour group (which included some very attentive children): "After the Lincolns left Springfield, they left their dog Fido here with some friends. One day Fido found a homeless man on the side of the road and went over to put his paws in the man's lap." [Keep in mind the attentive children.] "Then the homeless man pulled out a knife and STABBED Fido in the heart, and he bled to death. So, ladies and gentlemen, Lincoln's dog was assassinated before he was." Our Living History volunteer said that the children (and their parents) were mortified! Some of the kids looked like they were on the verge of tears. Now, I've heard a couple of stories about how Fido met his end, but you don't tell the kids about it! Kyle may have been hoping to elicit a laugh from the visitors with his assassination line, but nobody laughed. When Barbara learned of the situation, she asked Kyle to not include that story in his tour ever again.Then this afternoon some visitors came into the Visitor Center and told the rangers that they had seen a distressed dog in a van with all of the windows rolled up in the parking lot. (It has been very hot outside all day.) So Barbara called me and asked me to go check on the dog while she looked for its owners. I went out to the parking lot and was looking in people's windows (which felt kind of criminal-ish, but it was for a good cause), but by the time I found the right van, Barbara had returned with the dog's owner. He opened the van and let the puppy out--she looked so hot and thirsty! The owner did not think he had done anything wrong, but Barbara explained to him that being in a hot car like that can kill a dog (or a person). The pup seemed happy to be out, and she got a nice drink of water. So all was well.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Homepage News
Today I pulled up the National Park Service homepage (nps.gov), and wham! There was my "Polygamy vs. Popular Sovereignty" program listed as one of the nation-wide park events for the day. It was quite a pleasant surprise. I expect that I'll have a pretty good crowd there today--not necessarily because of the program itself but because we have about a three-hour wait for tours right now, and people are looking for things to keep them busy. It has been a crazy busy day here!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Flash Floods and Pioneer Picnics
I had such a wonderful, relaxing, enjoyable trip to Utah! It is hard to have to come back to reality (aka work). I flew home to Utah on Monday, July 19. That evening Mom, Dad, Rich and I went over to Springville and had a nice visit with Grandpa Taylor and Cathy. My favorite thing was when someone called and asked if Cathy was there. Grandpa, who had answered the phone, said, "Are you wanting to talk with her or just find out if she's here?" :-) I'm glad that he still has his funny sense of humor! On Tuesday Mom and I went back over to Springville to check out the now world-famous S.O.S. Drug Store (made famous by a feature in the Country Living magazine). It was so cute! We also had a delicious lunch at the new Magleby's restaurant in Springville. And I got to see the Barrett girls that afternoon!
On Wednesday Mom and I went to the fun Blue Lemon Cafe in Alpine to have lunch with some very fun people I hadn't seen for a while. The food was delicious and the company was even better! I also received this neat post-birthday present from Aunt Karalie and Mom and Dad. It is a literal TIFFANY BOWL! Perfect for Tiffany Bowles. I have always had a special liking for things from Tiffany & Co., so this was a special present. Thanks Mom, Dad, and Karalie! On Thursday we got ready for our fun family trip to Southern Utah.
The Barretts left for St. George on Thursday, then Mom, Dad, Rich and I took off early Friday morning. After a tasty stop at the Cheese Factory in Beaver, it was off to Grandma's house in St. George! It was so nice to seen Grandma and Dick. Here's a picture of the girls :-) We had a nice visit there and then headed over to Zion National Park.
On our way to Zion, we found a place for Greg to work!
We had a fun dinner with the Barretts at Pioneer Lodge that evening. They have something for everyone on their menu. It was such a beatiful evening there in Springdale. Every time I go there, it brings back memories of all the fun trips we had there throughout my childhood.
After dinner we took a walk over to the Springdale cemetery to visit Aunt Elsa's, Uncle Calvin's, and Baby Calvin's graves. You have to admit that for a place of rest, this one has about as nice of a view as you can get! It was so beautiful and peaceful there at the cemetery, and the girls enjoyed putting flowers on Aunt Elsa's grave.
We had a nice evening at our favirote Zion Park Motel, and then got up bright and early on Saturday morning to head up the canyon. It was a nice, overcast morning which helped with the heat. We drove into the park, parked at the Visitor Center, and caught the shuttle up to the Narrows riverside trail. Here is the cute Barrett family along the way.
At the end of the trail, we decided to venture into the crystal clear river! Here are Lindy and Cam enjoying the cold, refreshing stroll.
And Dad (Grandpa to the girls) and Riley enjoyed it too!
Even Mom (Grandma) and Sid thought the river was fun!
We had fun looking for tadpoles, skipping rocks, and getting our picture taken together at the river. We were just missing Sarah, Joel, Eliza and Baby Leo! We met some very aggressive squirrels when we stopped for a little snack. It was such a fun hike!
Mom and I are still pro's at self-portraiture. When we returned from our hike, we had a delicious lunch at Mom's and my favorite Springdale restaurant: Oscar's! It was delicious as always. Our post-lunch plans included naps and then swimming.
We got the nap part in, but our swimming plans were changed by . . . this--a storm (actually more like a monsoon). It started thundering, then the lightning came, and then the RAIN. It POURED!!! They even issued a flash flood warning for the area. The motel parking lot bacame a river, and we could only imagine what this unusual storm had turned the Narrows into. We were grateful that we had gone up the canyon in the morning instead of the afternoon. It was a fun and exciting storm to watch.
Thankfully the storm ended just in time for the July 24 Pioneer Day picnic over in Rockville. After attending the picnic last summer, we decided that it should become a Taylor family tradition. I love being in Utah for Pioneer Day because they don't celebrate Pioneer Day in Illinois! Pioneer Day commemorates the arrival of Brigham Young and the first company of LDS Pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. And Rockville is an appropriate place for us to celebrate such a holiday because we have ancestors who lived there. As you can see, Sid loved the baked beans.
The perfect picnic ends with the perfect blue snow cone! It turned my mouth quite blue. In fact, my mouth was still blue the next morning--even after brushing my teeth numerous times. We also enjoyed the candy canon. The girls made a candy haul!
Since the weather had cleared, we were able to enjoy the pool after the picnic. The water was perfect!
Riley and Cam especially enjoyed catching some air in the pool. It was a perfect pioneer day!
On Sunday morning we got up, had breakfast, and went to church in Hurricane. Then it was time to head back to Orem. We did, however, have time to stop at Cove Fort for a fun picnic together. Sid was stylin' in her cool shades. We even enjoyed a fun pioneer-ish tour of the fort. Then we continued on home. What a fun trip we had! On Monday morning I hung out with Mom and Rich, then Dad came home from work early to take me up to the airport in Salt Lake with Mom. It was sad to leave Utah, but I'm grateful for the wonderful time I could spend with my family. The best part of the trip was just watching movies with Mom and seeing everyone there at home. It was such a great week! I arrived back in Springfield late Monday evening, and it was really hard to get up for work on Tuesday morning. But it's good to be here with Greg and the animal children. They have all been extra cuddly! (And it's been fun to be back with my friends at work!)
On Wednesday Mom and I went to the fun Blue Lemon Cafe in Alpine to have lunch with some very fun people I hadn't seen for a while. The food was delicious and the company was even better! I also received this neat post-birthday present from Aunt Karalie and Mom and Dad. It is a literal TIFFANY BOWL! Perfect for Tiffany Bowles. I have always had a special liking for things from Tiffany & Co., so this was a special present. Thanks Mom, Dad, and Karalie! On Thursday we got ready for our fun family trip to Southern Utah.
The Barretts left for St. George on Thursday, then Mom, Dad, Rich and I took off early Friday morning. After a tasty stop at the Cheese Factory in Beaver, it was off to Grandma's house in St. George! It was so nice to seen Grandma and Dick. Here's a picture of the girls :-) We had a nice visit there and then headed over to Zion National Park.
On our way to Zion, we found a place for Greg to work!
We had a fun dinner with the Barretts at Pioneer Lodge that evening. They have something for everyone on their menu. It was such a beatiful evening there in Springdale. Every time I go there, it brings back memories of all the fun trips we had there throughout my childhood.
After dinner we took a walk over to the Springdale cemetery to visit Aunt Elsa's, Uncle Calvin's, and Baby Calvin's graves. You have to admit that for a place of rest, this one has about as nice of a view as you can get! It was so beautiful and peaceful there at the cemetery, and the girls enjoyed putting flowers on Aunt Elsa's grave.
We had a nice evening at our favirote Zion Park Motel, and then got up bright and early on Saturday morning to head up the canyon. It was a nice, overcast morning which helped with the heat. We drove into the park, parked at the Visitor Center, and caught the shuttle up to the Narrows riverside trail. Here is the cute Barrett family along the way.
At the end of the trail, we decided to venture into the crystal clear river! Here are Lindy and Cam enjoying the cold, refreshing stroll.
And Dad (Grandpa to the girls) and Riley enjoyed it too!
Even Mom (Grandma) and Sid thought the river was fun!
We had fun looking for tadpoles, skipping rocks, and getting our picture taken together at the river. We were just missing Sarah, Joel, Eliza and Baby Leo! We met some very aggressive squirrels when we stopped for a little snack. It was such a fun hike!
Mom and I are still pro's at self-portraiture. When we returned from our hike, we had a delicious lunch at Mom's and my favorite Springdale restaurant: Oscar's! It was delicious as always. Our post-lunch plans included naps and then swimming.
We got the nap part in, but our swimming plans were changed by . . . this--a storm (actually more like a monsoon). It started thundering, then the lightning came, and then the RAIN. It POURED!!! They even issued a flash flood warning for the area. The motel parking lot bacame a river, and we could only imagine what this unusual storm had turned the Narrows into. We were grateful that we had gone up the canyon in the morning instead of the afternoon. It was a fun and exciting storm to watch.
Thankfully the storm ended just in time for the July 24 Pioneer Day picnic over in Rockville. After attending the picnic last summer, we decided that it should become a Taylor family tradition. I love being in Utah for Pioneer Day because they don't celebrate Pioneer Day in Illinois! Pioneer Day commemorates the arrival of Brigham Young and the first company of LDS Pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. And Rockville is an appropriate place for us to celebrate such a holiday because we have ancestors who lived there. As you can see, Sid loved the baked beans.
The perfect picnic ends with the perfect blue snow cone! It turned my mouth quite blue. In fact, my mouth was still blue the next morning--even after brushing my teeth numerous times. We also enjoyed the candy canon. The girls made a candy haul! 
Since the weather had cleared, we were able to enjoy the pool after the picnic. The water was perfect!
Riley and Cam especially enjoyed catching some air in the pool. It was a perfect pioneer day! 
On Sunday morning we got up, had breakfast, and went to church in Hurricane. Then it was time to head back to Orem. We did, however, have time to stop at Cove Fort for a fun picnic together. Sid was stylin' in her cool shades. We even enjoyed a fun pioneer-ish tour of the fort. Then we continued on home. What a fun trip we had! On Monday morning I hung out with Mom and Rich, then Dad came home from work early to take me up to the airport in Salt Lake with Mom. It was sad to leave Utah, but I'm grateful for the wonderful time I could spend with my family. The best part of the trip was just watching movies with Mom and seeing everyone there at home. It was such a great week! I arrived back in Springfield late Monday evening, and it was really hard to get up for work on Tuesday morning. But it's good to be here with Greg and the animal children. They have all been extra cuddly! (And it's been fun to be back with my friends at work!) Sunday, July 18, 2010
UTAH!
Tomorrow I'm heading out to Utah for a much-needed break and family visit! Greg will hold down the fort here (he has to work) and take care of the animal children. I will be sure to post lots of pictures when I return.
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