Signs of Summer Slumber

Signs of summer are coming to an end -

Colors of Autumn can be found brilliantly splashed through the trees....... as the shimmering leaves turn from their beautiful green to red, yellow, copper and brown.

For me, the beauty of fall is mixed with a sort of melancholy sadness. Though the skies turn to a beautiful clear blue with a biting crispness that can be invigorating.....

My heart feels sad as I see the remaining leaves clinging hopelessly before the final chill encircles them causing them to fall and join the many others that have floated to the ground before them.

Such a mixed emotion that goes along with the change of season.

The beauty still remains....it's everywhere I look.

But it can feel empty.

Birds fly and dive in the wind. They seem to be having fun. Are they aware of the new season that is upon them?

The gray squirrels are scurrying from tree to tree collecting pine cones to store for the winter.

The Stellar Jay as well as the tiny chipmunk scavenge

for food that proves to be much more scarce now that

the summer residents have all left.

These two happened to come into some luck because of

the peanuts that were put out especially for them.

As if on cue, wild turkey's wander through as

they scratch and peck for seeds and bugs.

The temperature states 27 degrees. Could THIS be a sign of summers end? I think so. So I say goodbye to summer knowing that she is not gone. . . . . she will just be slumbering for a season.

This Is Dedicated To The One I Love

His name is Michael Taylor Walker

He just had another birthday and I want

to share a few pictures, past and present with you.

Last year at The Melting Pot with

Paul, and Grandma, Natalie and Lon,

he must have dozed off waiting for the food.

One of his favorite places to go.....

Southern Utah!

A very dedicated father.

Fixing things up at the lake property.

So happy to finally be a grandpa to this

adorable little girl.

Enjoys any time spent with his daughters.

Loves to have fun.

He used to hunt animals......now he feels

badly when he thinks he hurt one.

He is the Captain of 'The Bad Debt' - he just

doesn't have a lot of time to enjoy it.

But when he can, he'll arrange a great outing

to Newport Beach where he treats us to lunch.

He has fallen in love with Hawaii

and loves Hannah so much he's willing to brave

the cold water of every swimming pool.

He reassures her that the fish will not hurt her

as she snorkels off of the Kauai coastline.

He is a tender, loving daddy. That knows how to have fun.

His daughters have him wrapped around their fingers.

His wife sure is lucky to have such a great guy.

We love you M. T. Walker!

Viola Girl

Miss Hannah Taylor Walker

Instrument of choice:

Viola

Did you know the string instruments

bow is made of horse hair?

LOOK AT THAT FORM! I THINK SHE'S A NATURAL!

We expect all of you to be there for her first recital ;0)

Somebody Had A Birthday

I dare you to guess who had a birthday.....

It's possibly someone in this picture....

Hint: It wasn't Kayley.

Hint #2: It's the person who looks like he's

having the most fun.

You know it's NOT Bumblebee.

Yep - it was CAMERON!

He turned "4" in August.

Happy Birthday buddy!

I just LOVE these guys.

THIS IS THE PLACE & PIONEER VILLAGE

While we were in Utah visiting Ellie, we drove to the

"This Is The Place Monument".

It's a beautiful monument that depicts the pioneer history

as well as the people who were influential at that time

in history.

These are a couple of tourists that let me snap a picture

of them as they were walking around the monument.

These two cute little girls must have been from Hollywood because they had no trouble striking a pose when I asked for their picture.

I found them again later at the entrance to

Pioneer Village playing in the water.

What a fun and beautiful place this was.

After I took a picture of our group under this nice shade tree,

Hannah and Sasha played in the area directly in front of it

while everyone relaxed.

There were so many cute little playhouses and miniature

stores that were set up as a child size village.

Sasha and Hannah had a great time running from one to the

other checking them all out.

There was even a tee pee set up that they were able to go into.

If you don't know about Pioneer Village; it's a reconstructed

"village" that the LDS church has created by bringing in and

restoring the old original homes that some of the members of

the church lived in when the Salt Lake Valley was settled.

They have a main street with a boardwalk, working blacksmith,

tinsmith, farm animals, etc. that take you back in time. People that

work there volunteer their time in order to explain some of the

attractions and home sites. They even dress in clothes from that era.

Becky got up close and personal with this

handsome guy. I thought he had a rather large nose though.

After browsing around in the heat of the day we

decided it was time for some lunch. Since it was such a warm

day we thoroughly enjoyed the air conditioning as we ate. It was the only building that had A.C.

I know mother would hate me for putting this picture in.

Let me explain. Have any of you had an embarrassing

moment where you walked out of the restroom with toilet

paper stuck on your shoe?

Well, this was one of those moments; except the paper wasn't

stuck to her shoe!

Becky noticed it first and had me snap these pictures as she

was breaking the news to mother.

Unfortunately for mother, we were laughing so hard that it

attracted the attention of everyone else around us. One of the reasons I love my mother is because she has such

a wonderful sense of humor. She even had a good laugh about it.

It was almost as funny as the time she dyed

her eyebrows; but that's a whole other story. After we ate lunch and had our laughs we enjoyed watching

Sasha lick her Play Dough ice cream cone.

I don't think it tasted like play dough. Look at that tongue....it almost looks as though the

ice cream is an extension of it.

By the time she got down to the best part

(in my opinion) she was done. What a treat that

was.....for all of us.

While we were there the girls rode the ponies and the little

train. Sasha had her hands up in the air the entire trip around

the track. Notice the cute little girls dressed in "Little House on the Prairie"

attire. Becky and I fell in love with them.

Here we are boarding the trolley on main street.

These are a row of original wooden cabins that

were brought in. One of them was the home

that Marjorie Hinckley's father grew up in.

This was Mary Fielding Smith's home.

We colored paper dolls here while a woman shared

stories of Mary Fielding with us.

It was too hot to look at everything so we decided

it was time to head home.

I would love to go back some time and do it all again

and see the things I didn't get to see on this fun day.