Brian had his picture in the paper today. He is playing the part of Polonius in the Shakespeare play "Hamlet". We saw it last night, and everyone did a great job. If you are local, you would probably enjoy it. Brian is very funny in his part and also did a great job. It is at Lone Peak High School at 7:00 and runs through Jan 29, except Saturday and Sunday.
Scott and Sue Family
Twas a Couple Days after Christmas…
and we went on a surprise trip, something that we hadn't ever really done before. Mark and Brian knew that the trip was going to part of our Christmas this year, but didn't know where we were going or what we were going to do. Everything was revealed on Christmas morning (despite attempts by Brian to find out, saying "Does it start with F and end in L-O-R-I-D-A?").
So on the 27th of December, after Mark had his doctor and dentist appointments in preparation for turning in his missionary application to serve a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we left to drive down to Las Vegas to see the 9:30 show of Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian. Set in a $40 million theater built exclusively for the show, Phantom was an amazing show. From the music to the theater to the sets, it was well worth seeing.
After sleeping in the next morning, we headed to St. George, Utah, where we went to see National Treasure:Book of Secrets. After the movie and dinner, we headed out to Springdale (which is just outside the west entrance to Zion National Park. There we stayed at the Bumbleberry Inn. We had hoped to be able to sample bumbleberry pie and bumbleberry pancakes, but unfortunately, the resturant was closed.
Saturday morning we got up, had breakfast, and then headed to Jacob's Ranch in Virgin, UT where 
went on a horseback adventure ride. To quote Jack,
"This is not your typically nose-to-butt ride where you just sit on an old nag who knows the way and you don't have to do anything."
He was right! We each got the opportunity to know our horse and for our horse to get to know us, working with them in a round corral until they followed each of us around like puppy dogs. After grooming and getting the horse saddled, we took off into the surrounding area. We went through streams, up and down hills, saw the first oil well in Utah, old 
pioneer rock fences and much more. This was a first for us as none of us had ever really been on a horse for an extended period of time. We got to ride for 90 minutes and had a great time.
After riding horses, we headed over to Zion National Park to do some hiking. After visiting it several times in the summer, it was different to be able to hike in cooler temperatures and see the ice on the canyon walls.
Sunday, before heading back to Alpine, we took some time to visit some of the cemeteries in the area.
Some of Scott's ancestors helped settle southern Utah and some are buried in the Rockville cemetery. They include John and Clarinda Langston, and their daughter Mary Emma 
Langston, who married Alfred Fisk Stout. Mary Emma Langston was actually born in Alpine, the same town that we now live in (although it's changed a bit since then).
Also buried in the Rockville cemetery is Alfred Joseph Stout, an ancestor who 
came across the plains with the Mormon pioneers.
We 
also visited Grafton, Utah, which is now a ghost town. My grandfather has many memories and stories of visiting relatives there. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid was filmed here, although the house that they built for the movie is no longer there (although I do have pictures somewhere of that house).
Grafton used to be a bit of a hidden secret, known mostly to descendants and locals, I suppose, but it is now being restored by the Grafton Heritage Partnership Project and appeared to be attracting a bit more traffic than in previous visits.
We also went to the cemetery in Hurricane, Utah, and then headed back to Alpine, driving through one of the many snow storms we have had this winter. Monday (Dec. 31) was the last day of our vacation, as we went to see three different movies (and they were very different!):
We highly recommend all of them, "August Rush" if you like music, "I Am Legend" if you like thrillers or science fiction, and "Enchanted" if you like the Disney stories, or have kids.
We had a great trip and a great time and lots of fun. We hope you had an enjoyable Christmas as well!
Visiting the Palmyra area
In early November, I went to an educational conference in my position as Family Life Commissioner for Utah PTA. I went with my friend, Holly. The conference was in Rochester, New York and we were able to rent a car and venture into the countryside to visit some early LDS Church historical sites. I have never been to New York, so this was a wonderful opportunity for me to see some of the places I have only read about. It was fall and absolutely beautiful with all the changing leaves and the rolling hills and I just loved it.
Here we are at the Grandin Printing Museum in Palmyra
The Smith home in Palmyra
The Whitmer farm in Fayette
Sue at the Hill Cumorah
Protect your brain
I received an email from my college son, Mark, with a quote from his American History professor, “You want to be open-minded, but not so open-minded that your brains fall out.” After I picked myself up off the floor and stopped laughing, I began to reflect on the deeper meaning of this phrase.
- Can considering every side of an issue actually damage your brain?
- Can you be so protective of your brain that your mind remains totally closed?
- If you argue with a closed-minded person, will your brains fall out?
- Can you be so open-minded that you never come to a conviction about anything?
Cautionary statement: Just because you have closed your mind, doesn't mean that your brains haven't already fallen out.
A Walk down Memory Lane
I have been walking every morning for the last several weeks and using the old iPod shuffle as my companion. Some music listeners only listen to one genre, as in "I only listen to classic rock from the 1950's and 1960's", or "I only listen to opera", etc. I have a very eclectic playlist, in fact it looks like a musical acid trip as it ranges from the 18th to the 21st centuries. Many of them have some sentiment attached to them. Like today when I was walking and admiring the scenery in my beautiful mountain home and into my ears came Billy Joel singing "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant". I was instantly transported to Southern California and saw palm trees, the ocean, and my good friend, Jane. This is because that song comes from "The Stranger" album and I remember us spending lots of time listening to that vinyl LP and memorizing every word. So it should come as no surprise that I can still sing every song on that record. Now I do not currently own that vinyl platter, but rather a digital version downloaded from iTunes about 3 years ago when my teen son asked me about some good albums from the 70's and 80's that he could purchase. With a gleam in my eye, I directed him to my favorite teenage bands: The Eagles, Styx, Journey, Foreigner, Billy Joel, you get the idea. So now we own all those same songs in a digital format that I used to own on vinyl and cassette once upon a time. Fun!
But I digress. "Scenes" came on my iPod and I thought of Jane. All the really wild adventures I ever had in high school were in the company of my friend. I would probably be safe in saying that all the really wild adventures of my whole life were with her. She took seriously her self-imposed responsibility to save me from my sheltered upbringing and introduce me to the great outside world. It's a good thing I survived in one piece.
We still regularly correspond, but have not actually seen each other in person since our high school days. Recently she sent me a darling picture of her family and as I looked at my computer, unbidden came the disloyal thought, "Jane is a real, grown-up mom and not a kid anymore." Then I looked in a mirror and said, "Yeah, look who's talking!" So that caused me to reflect that nobody wants to be a teenager forever. But this morning it sure was fun to look back and smile at those two teen girls and think about all the fun we had. And all it took was a simple tune to put me in another time and place.