Green with envy

A quick update on a couple of cakes I did this last month. Oddly enough both centered around the color green.

This one was a spring green cake with white satin ribbon, white scrollwork, and white draperies, with coordinating flowers. (fresh of course)

This one was a porcelein white base with green satin ribbon, and cream scrollwork, handpainted with gold luster dust for an aged look.

I really liked how they both turned out.

Well, back to life. I am shopping and doing food for the baptism tomorrow, and of course raspberries went on sale the day I had a ton to do, so the yearly stockpile of Jam is being put up today.

For anyone who is interested, the springville Reams has cases of raspberries for $10. WOW!!!

Please Come!

Another month has flown by, and I have been enjoying my relatively "unplugged" status. Posts on my blog have been relatively few and far between as we have attended
orchestra concerts, piano recitals, dance festivals, carnival, and all the other exciting and busy events that herald the end of the school year.

And so here we are again. The school year is over. Desks have been cleaned out, and their contents strewn about my just-cleaned laundry room, backpacks thrown into the corner with a heavy sigh of relief, and we are all feeling a sense of exhilaration.
No more lunches to make every morning, no more tearful evenings agonizing over 4th grade homework and missing assignments. Our days can settle into a lazier succession of trips to the pool, late night movies, library trips, evenings spent outside, and warm weather picnics.

Oh, and did I forget to mention whining, Otter pop wrappers, "I'm bored", Otter Pop wrappers, chores, and oh yes, Otter Pop wrappers.

It's going to be grand.

So come on over, pull up a chair, and enjoy the relaxing sounds of summer.

Take your pick,

Crickets or Crying.

And by the way, please come to Ryders Baptism on Saturday if you can.

Can you believe he's gotten so big?

Schizophrenic Seasons

If Spring were a person, it would be the mentally unstable member of the family. You know-the crazy Aunt everyone loves to have to dinner.

We woke this morning to a thin blanket of snow,

by noon it was gale force winds and rain,

and by five o clock it was sunny with blue sky!

The mercurial nature of spring is such that the golden glow of early blooming forsythia is often peeping out of snow and ice, like a cheerful sign- Hold on just a little bit longer. Warmth, green and blooming things are just around the corner!

I've often wondered if this dichotomy of spring has contributed itself to my personality. Being born in March has it's ups and downs. Minute by minute.

And like March I am constantly swayed, first one way and then another. A whole hearted devotion to the project of the moment.

Until the next.

A jack of all trades and master of none.

A bright hint of sunny yellow peering out of a blanket of gray.

Spring.

Crazy Days

The last 10 days or so has been crazy at our house.

And not just ordinary, pull your hair out getting the kids to school in the morning crazy. But fill every spare minute of the day crazy.

Nothing evidenced (is that even a word?) this as well as our family home evening last week.

At Walmart.

Buying yogurt.

This of course made perfect sense at the time.

Dinner was over. Homework was done. And some items were desperately needed.

When my husband announced his intention of running out to "pick up a few things" a chorus of me too's sounded throughout our house. So there we were. 4 kids, 2 adults and a wobbly cart. And thousands of items to beg for.

(hint: never take more than 2 kids to the store at a time-or you WILL spend the whole trip replacing their "necessities on the shelves.)

It was an uplifting experience.

FHE this week was better. We learned about planting a garden. This involved much dirt spilled on the kitchen floor while the kids planted seeds in tiny egg cartons.

We also learned about animals.

Namely these.

Aren't they cute? (the chickens too!)

Just call us Farmer Joe and wife. Organic farmers extrodinaire. Self sufficiency personified.

Channing looks a little worried. (Unlike her younger sister she is very worried about the poop factor.)

So R is deep in another project- a chicken coop to house our new egg producing machines.

And meanwhile they live in the kitchen. Cheeping. Scratching. Driving the dog insane.

A true indication of the state of our lives.

Just the crazy chicken people down the street.

Create!

This is for my sisters, and all the other lovely and talented women I know. You truly are amazing!

Elder Uchtdorf touched hearts at the last Womens Conference, speaking of what we as women try to do in our lives. Create homes, create relationships, create beauty!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

How to beat the Winter Blaahhs!

January is an interesting month. I love the cold, and the white winter scenes. But when white descends into grey, I always get what I like to call the Blaaahs. A state that defies explanation, although I know you all have experienced it too.

At these times a change becomes imperitive.

A new dress.

A change of scene.

Or. . .

The relationship a girl has with her hair is complex. Love it, hate it, it becomes an integral part of your identity, defining the way you choose to percieve yourself.

And it was time for a change.

(And yes, I let my husband do this. In truth I don't know if I would have dared with anyone else.)

Serious. Chic. Dare I say a little bit daring?

Thanks Lindsay, for giving me the courage to be BRAVE!

Holding the Moon and dancing in the Kitchen

The moon in the Palm of his hand.

a few weeks ago we got this neat email with pictures of people and the moon. Ever since Ryder and sutton have been wanting a picture of themselves "playing with the moon".

Every time the "big" (full) moon has come up they have dragged me to their bedroom window to see it, and take their pictures.

What we found is that you have about 10 minutes to line up a shot before it is too dark. So we will keep trying.





Isn't this one great?



When the winter weather howls at the door, and the snow piles up we get a little stir crazy. So this was the scene after dinner this week.


Waltzing through life. ( I love that evie dipped ryder)

And I give Ryder 2 years before he refuses to dance with his sisters.

We made bird seed bagels and pinecones for family night. It was Ryder's turn to plan it. We got the Idea off this website, Here.

She has great ideas for things to do with your kids.

Another place I get ideas is from this blog.

She inspires me to slow down and enjoy my kids.

Here is a picture of the wedding cake I did this weekend. It was for the new rentors in our basement, and she wanted something simple and elegant, so we went with a wide red ribbon, and swiss dots, traditionally stacked, with a white grosgrain accent ribbon.



It was beautiful.

I hope you enjoyed this snapshot of the last week in our lives.

Hope you all are doing well.

Snow, Snow, Snow

21 Inches of Snow.

That is how much snow we have gotten since the 1st of January.

Imagine my surprise when I found these oddly shaped tracks when I went outside to shovel.


And these cute little tootsies, padding through the snow.
5 year olds.
What can I say.


Snow Angels.

And beautiful snow laden trees.

A New Year has begun, and with it a deep and dark confession.

I took not one picture of my kids over the holidays after this charming one of them sneaking down the stairs christmas morning.

Bad, Bad Mom!!!

So as the peaceful, gentle snowfalls of December fade into the frigid, icy winds of January, I though I would share some of the highlights of our year.

But first-the few pictures I did take.

Evie's Bad Elf attitude at the christmas sing

Ryder. Actually singing. Way to go!!!!

The kids at their piano recital. We Love the Sacketts!!!

Cupcakes for everyone!!!

Recycled wool christmas gifts. WooHoo!

And now, some highlights of 2008;

Evie got glasses!

Channing discovered clam chowder on fisherman's wharf,

Ryder started piano lessons,

Sutton got to ride a pony!- and is learning his alphabet!

Ryder played with spencer-a lot.

Evie read, and read, and read.....................

Channing got a guitar,

Sutton spent a LOT of time with mom,

I learned to Ice Skate,

and was terrified by a release from primary and a calling to Young Women's.

Ron got to tour Battle Mountain Nevada,

And was an incredible husband and father!

Happy New Year, and I hope everyone has as good a year in the month's to come as our family has this last year!

Gotta love SF!

Sing a song of Christmas

One of my favorite things about the Christmas season is being constantly surrounded by unapologetically religious music, music that testifies of Christ, and his birth. Music that uplifts the soul with beautiful melodies, and carols of the season. Today was our choir program at church and we sang some beautiful arrangements of songs by John Rutter. For the first time the girls sang in the choir with me, as did Ron. It was a lovely way to kick off the week of christmas.

Some of the other music we have been enjoying is :

Gloria, by Michael W. Smith. (Channing is going to wear this one out!)

The new christmas album by Celtic Women,

Josh Groban-Noel,

Anything by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir,

Enya,

Sarah Brightman- A Winter Symphony

And I have enjoyed the new Casting Crowns rendition of I heard the bells on Christmas Day.

Somehow I invariably end up staying up late through the Christmas Season putting the finishing touches on handmade gifts, and I love to be able to catch all the great musical specials of the season. Tonight was one of my favorites. Promise you won't tell?

I love the Nutcracker. I know. Ballet.

It was stunning. So as I tried to finish knitting a pair of gloves I did it to the timing of the sugarplum fairies, and the Nutcracker prince.

Knit one, Purl Two, Leap and spin.

What are your favorite Christmas Songs?

Snow Days

After a balmy fall, and downright warm early december winter has finally fallen. Just in time for the arrival of you know who.

We are eagerly awaiting Christmas day, (or frantically trying to finish everything, as the case may be)

And the snow does something magical to me around the christmas season.

It makes me want to put a log on the fire, bundle up and stay home.

It makes me want my children all around-however loud they are in the evening, and however many nerf bullets get aimed at the ceiling fan.

It makes me love knitting and sewing, and simple cooking like chicken soup and white beans and ham.

(Pause while I put on the beans for tonights dinner!)

I look outside and see the white blanket carpeting everything in sight-even the weeds I didn't make time to pull this fall.

I get weepy at the sight of my tall oldest daughter singing with the fifth graders, because next year she will sing with the sixth graders, and then she will be in junior high.

I want to freeze everyone and wrap them up like a picture postcard, giftwrapped with a bow on top.

So Merry Christmas everybody.
Hope to see you over the holidays, but if not you can find me snuggled on the couch with a lapfull of wiggly kids all trying to get the most lap space.

P.S.- our basement apartment is available, so if you know someone who might be interested check out the pictures here.

Ouch!

Merry December Everyone!

I know we are all feeling the holiday push, gifts to buy, projects to finish, concerts and school events to attend, so I wanted to lighten things up with a quick update.

Things are busy at the Spotts house. We decorated for christmas this last weekend, and now I am officially in the Holiday mood. Despite the casualties of the weekend. (#1 being the fact that I broke my nose trying to get the christmas tree down instead of waiting patiently for my husband, who was on the roof putting up christmas lights.) No one has ever accused me of being terribly graceful!

I have gotten into recycling wool sweaters for some of my projects this year. The above picture is of Evie styling a pair of slipper socks/boot liners.

And we found this great site that the kids have loved playing with.

Ever wanted to walk on the moon?

Be on a billboard?

Grace the pages of vogue?

Just go to Photofunia.com.

One of the kids favorite things this time of year is a felt advent calendar, with toys and elves, and santa, where you put the toys in santas bag for christmas eve. Every year they fight over who is going to put the last toy in, which is one of Santa. It is funny to see the mathmatical manipulation that occurs as they figure out who has to start the calendar to achieve the desired end result.

What are some of your favorite family things this time of year?
Have a great day!

Ahoy!!

Last tuesday was our Young WOmen In Excellence evening. It was great, themed as talents to treasure, with a pirate theme. The evening went great, and I made this cute cake for dessert.

Pirate ships complete with torn sails and cannonballs.

And swedish fish swimming in the icing ocean. (suttons idea.)

Just don't ask how long it took. I have made 7 layer wedding cakes in less time.

38 days!

38 DAYS!! until the holiday. You know the one. The one with the decorations and the food, and the trees. The one that you look forward to for half the year, and dread for the other half. The one that just wouldn't be the same with out your kids to get excited, and ask for everything in the world.
In celebration of the upcoming holiday I am doing a few things. I am finishing projects. Yep. Don't laugh.
You know the pile of fabric in the sewing/dining room? Yeah. That one.
And the scrapbook paper in the laundry room?
And the cut out placemats on the sewing machine?
And the knitting in the baskets?( including the gloves I made for myself-all but two fingers. )why?
Because not one thing is coming into this house before organization rules.

So get out the list. Check it twice.
Put on some music.
And settle in for the long haul.


I just realized that the way my boys wrestle on the floor in an apparent attempt to squeeze the life from one another is normal.
Sutton can have wrestling matches with his stuffed animals.
And sometimes the animals win.

And by the way. Whoever replaced my children with Aliens who do not complain about practicing the piano, and actually get up at 7:30 am to do it, (instead of watching curious george)
you can keep the originals. Really.

AAAAAAHHH!

It is past eleven here at my house, on Sunday night. And sunday at my house means chaos. Whomever (look at that proper grammar! ) said that Sunday was the day of rest had never been at my house on a sunday!

We attended Church, and my kids had a giggle fest. I remember this as a child. I also remember the LOOK of DEATH that would be aimed our way every time we would smother a giggle in our hands. Who knew I would have the need to master the Look of Death for myself? It was one of those Sundays when you are sure the entire congregation is staring at your pew, and heaven only knows what they are thinking! And after church we had choir, (1 hour) and meetings, (2) and visits to young women, (2) and dinner guests, (also 2), and loud children, (4) and a sick dog, (1).

So as I sit here at a little after eleven, (which is really a little after twelve, which is the way I keep time for a good two weeks after the time change. As in, we need to be there at ten, which is really like eleven, so I have plenty of time! Ha Ha.), as I sit here and the quiet breathes around me, I am reminding myself of the things I love about motherhood.

1. Fairies. Who doesn't love a good fairy now and then?

2. Princesses. See #1 above.

3. A strong hero on standby. (Just look at those muscles!!)

4. Someone who's always ready to protect you.

5. Beauty everyday.

6. People to enjoy it with.

SO goodnight. I am now going to bed, at 11:30, which is really 12:30. And when I wake up my children will politely ask me if I would like breakfast in bed, and what (matching)socks they should wear with the neatly pressed clothes I laid out for them. Daisies will bloom, and bluebirds will sing. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Smile.

Ponies, pinatas, and pumpkins, Oh My!

Sutton Turns 5!!!!!

When people ask me about our kids, I start with, :well, our oldest is 10, and the baby is almost 5", and they ask, "So you have just the two then?" And my reply,

" We have four wonderful, amazing kids. Four kids in Five years. And yes, life is nuts. And yes, I love it. " And now my "baby" is 5.

Too old to be carried around, too old to call the baby, too old to stay at home with Mom all day. But as he threw his arms around me yesterday and laid a big old smooch on my cheek I thought, definitely not too old for some snuggling in the morning, never too old for bedtime stories, and heaven help me if he ever gets too old to be my little boy!

But in celebration of this landmark event, (no more diapers at our house, Hooray!)

We threw a carnival shindig of epic proportions.

One pony, one pinata, seventeen pumpkins, 32 hot dogs, 2 cans of hot chocolate mix, 22 kids, and lots and lots of fun! Painting pumpkins, punting pinatas,
and Playing with ponies!!

Ride em cowboy!!
All the other kids got into the action, including the older "kids" of all ages in our neighborhood.
Lots of fantastic friends, and memories for when they really are all grown up!

Self Portraits al la van gogh!

This is what happens when your daughter figures out that the viewfinder rotates backwards on the digital camera.
YAAAAAWWWWNNNNN!!!
Imagine my surprise when I downloaded pictures this weekend. There are about 32 of these charmers!
Is this her librarian look?

I hope you enjoyed these as much as I did.

Serendipity! (Or why gossip is BAD!)

Last friday I had a wedding cake for Dawn. Dawn was a cute girl, who called me because I had done a cheesecake wedding cake for her cousin Kathy. And in conversation it came out that she was Evie's teacher's roommate until August. (Ms. Hackworth we love you.) This is one of the reason's I never gossip about anyone in Utah. EVERYONE knows someone who knows you. It is like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, only WORSE!

Dawn had a very definite idea of what she wanted.

Hatboxes.

Now, I normally don't do hatbox wedding cakes. To me a little bit of fluff and flowery victoriana goes a LONG way. But these sounded neat.

So I sketched out three contrasting hatboxes, with antique gold accents, and cabbage roses on top.

This is how it turned out. What do you think? I love the gold braid handles. (not real fondant, I cheated and went to the fabric store. ) And the gold touched scrollwork.
And the stripes. The stripes were cool. Dawn and Jon's names were done in gold scrollwork around the top band, with brown and pink accents. It all went really nicely with her centerpieces, which were actual hatboxes, and gold runners.

Just don't ask me about the pink food.

MotherHood

Last weekend I made a cake for a very good friend of Ron and I's. It was a beautiful autumn themed wedding in a backyard in Orem. It was a lovely day. and although I had to rush through some of the week to get it done, it was a beautiful cake. Four small bottom layers, a larger second layer, glass pillars and a small top layer. All were done in a dusty pink, with white crown borders, and brown ribbon accents.
The flowers were red zinnias, gerbera daisies, alstromeria, white mini zinnias, and some awesome brown, red, and green foilage I purloined from someone's overgrown shrub. (Thanks, it was just what I needed!)
It was all balanced on a plexiglass square, on four glass vases, filled with red petals. It did turn out quite well, and I was pleased. I knew I wanted to take pictures, so I took the girls with me, set up, and the boys came later to wish them well. (Congratulations Noelani!)

While I was there, in a beautiful setting, with my four kids, all reasonably mess free, camara dangling from my shoulder I thought, "hey, why don't I take some pictures of the kids?" As I look at these pictures now, I wonder why I wait for some special event to take pictures. Aren't the every day events just as special? (If a little more messy) My kids are growing up faster than I would like, and I would like to freeze them all, just an hour, and sit down. Forget cakes, and lessons, and homework, and just laugh, and treasure the little moments we have together.
"Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less”
So this is my goal. Play with the toys, don't just pick them up. Laugh with my kids everyday. Let them help, even if it makes a mess. Let them be themselves. Make time just for time. And hope they don't grow up too fast. I love you guys!

Birthday Party Fun!!

Evie's birthday party for friends was this last weekend, and she wanted to have a fairy bash. Right now she is into anything tinkerbell.
Her birthday cake was a fairy world, with tinkerbell on the top. (she got to keep tink, of course)Her friends all came, we colored fairy pictures, had a fairy treasure hunt, and ate pizza and fairy cake. Then they decorated picture frames, which we sent home with a picture of each girl with evie. (I love digital camaras!!!)
But by far the biggest hit of the afternoon was the "wrap sutton in tiolet paper" game. By the time they were done the family room resembled a blizzard. All the tinkerbell theme was fun, and it got me thinking about disney, and how successful they have been.

Walt Disney once said that " Age old entertainment based on the classic fairy tale knows no young, no old." That is certainly true. While looking for cake ideas for the party I found these pictures, a series done by Annie Leibovitz for a disney promotion this year. The entire series can be found on the disney blog, here. But these are two I especially loved.

Beckham as Prince Charming. I mean, how cliche. But a great picture. You can just imagine the dragon just out of the frame.

And this Cinderella is fantastic. If you check out more, look at Beyonce as Alice in Wonderland.

I can tell it is just about time for another Disneyland vacation. Sutton does not remember going, (he was only 18 months old the last time we went) and he is just at the age where it is so fun to see them enjoying themselves.

On another front, check out this game. Quiddler.

It has become one of our favorites. A combination of scrabble and gin rummy, you play seven hands, trying to make words out of the letters you have been dealt. Try it, you will like it!

Skating through Life!

Fall is in the air . . . the smell of leaves, the cool, crisp morning air, the sound of skates swooshing across the ice. WHAAAAAT? Skates?
Yes, I have taken up the time honored olympic sport of figure skating. As a "non-traditional" student at BYU I am mere inches away from my Bachelor's degree. The only classes I have left to take are biology, an exercise class, and my senior lecture.
SO, I signed up for . . . Ice Skating!
Yes, just like anyone raised in North Dakota I skated my way through the winters. I have regaled the kids with stories of how they used to flood the soccer field at my elementary school, and we skated for P.E.
But that was 15 years, four kids, and a few pounds ago.
Yesterday was the first day of class, and after two hours on the ice I am happy to note that unlike others in the class, I DID NOT fall down. Hooray.
Now just 14 classes to go.

What a Party!!!

Today was Evie's ninth birthday. Convenient that it was Labor Day, so she got to do the thing she loves the most-SLEEP IN!!!

We had a great time today. We went to Borders, where she got to pick out a CD and book.

Her book pick was this one, about a mermaid. (just knew it was mermaids or fairies!)
And her CD was the new Cheetah Girl's One World Soundtrack.

Afterwards we went to Mamma Mia!!!! (OK, this was for me, but it's not all about you on your birthday, is it?)

If you haven't seen it, do!! Such a relief to come out of the theatre smiling and happy, singing and dancing, rather than dreary and depressing.

We had the fam over for dinner, Grandma and Grandpa Spotts, Grandma and Grandpa Baxter, Nana, Papa, Lauren, and Britt. Evie got to pick the meal, so of course it was pasta with cheese, but she has upgraded from good old kraft mac an cheese, to pasta alfredo.

Grandma Spotts made a coconut cake, and everyone else chipped in too.

Evie is determined to make her birthday last all week, so Saturday is her friends birthday party.

I better get out those balloons!

Have a great week everybody!

Back To School

DO you remember the first day of school? Do you remember the nervous butterflies, the excited anticipation, the dread? Do you remember seeing old friends again, and making new ones? Packing a school lunch, and getting up an hour earlier than you needed to? Mom fixing a great breakfast, when the rest of the year you eat cold cereal?
As I watch my kids get ready to go back to school all of these old feelings come back, along with new ones. Will they be okay? Will they be loved and cherished as I can love them? Will they be permanently scarred?:) No one warned me that being a mother was so full of emotional pitfalls, or that I would be going through elementary school four more times. (like the first time wasn't bad enough) But it is an exciting time.

Channing and Evie planned their wardrobe VERY carefully. Channing and her best friend were chic in Black and white, (always one of my favorites) while Evie was stylish in Red.
Ryder was excited to see Spencer and Cassie. (of course he has played with Spencer everyday all summer long.)
And I never can get them to all smile at the same time. (thank you Evie!)

And here is a little line that made me smile. Don't forget your apple for the teacher!

School
A little girl had just finished her first week of school.
"I'm just wasting my time," she said to her mother.
"I can't read, I can't write and they won't let me talk!"
~ Author Unknown ~

Summer Fun, Over at Last.

Yesterday was back to school night (??? it was at 3 in the afternoon) at the kids elementary school. We got to meet and greet all the teachers, and all of the kids are going to love their classes. They have great teachers, who I have gotten to know through the PTA, and who love the kids.


We also ran a booth for Orchestra sign ups. We have 37 students signed up so far.


There is a definite cooling trend in the air; paper, pens, and pencils are floating through our house; backpacks are packed; and lunchboxes are ready and waiting.
Until this week, the summer seemed to fly by, and I wanted it to be longer and longer, but now that we are looking forward to a new year, I am read to move on. Earlier bedtimes, schedules, and lessons. The crisp scent of fall in the air, sweaters and jackets in the closets, and time inside to sew. I love the fall.

But here is a quick view of some of the end of summer hilarity. Sutton and all of his friends in the pool, channing, Evie, and Brenna. They spent all summer in their swimsuits with hair pulled back into a ponytail. Here come the real clothes, neat hair do's, and organization. Gasp! Maybe I am not ready to go back to school!!!

All Aboard

Is there anything a little boy loves more than trains? From thomas the train, to SLC's trax, my boys are fascinated with any mobile unit of transportation that travels along a track, and occasionally emits a piercing whistle, designed to rupture the eardrums. One of our favorite places to eat in northern Utah has always been the "train place" otherwise known as Dairy Keen. I have been going there since I was yea high, and it was little more than a sidewalk burger joint. But for all our love of all things "locomotive" we have never taken a ride along the heber creeper. That is the Utah equivalent of living in San Francisco and never visiting Alcatraz, or New York, and never seeing Staten Island up close.
So this week we corrected this grevious oversight. Grandma and Grandpa Spotts, Sutton, Ryder, Channing, Evie, and Ron and I boarded the Heber Creeper at 10AM sharp, bound for a round trip journey to Vivian Park. Whomever nicknamed the train the Heber Creeper did so for obvious reasons. It CREEPS! But it was a lovely morning, accompanied by birds, squirrels, a multitude of cows, and bugs in veritable locust like proportions. Halfway down the canyon it came to me. Despite summer heat, an excess of sagebrush, and sometime shortage of water, we live in a LOVELY area. Wide blue skies, green mountains, cascading waterfalls, and the slowmoving waters of the provo river accompanied our trip through Provo Canyon.
And the slow pace of a nineteenth century mode of transportation was the perfect antidote to the all encompassing, headlong pace of modern concerns. It was like a deep breath of pine scented air in a stuffy room. This is the Place!!