School's Out For Summer!

Who is more excited for the last day of school? The teacher or the student? My vote is for the teacher and here are six reasons why. Hopefully you get a laugh at them. You probably need to click on them to read them. Please excuse my penmanship and grammar.


P.S. The names have been changed to protect the GUILTY.

No I do not wear thong underwear.

Wickedly Hot Date!

Every once in a while I treat my woman the way she deserves to be treated.  Unfortunately, I usually require a little coaxing.  This time was no exception, she actually had to buy the tickets.  However I did give her the go ahead on her first request.  If you didn't figure it out from the title of the post we went to Wicked at the Pantages.  It was the best broadway musical I've ever seen.  Heck, it's the only one I've seen. 

    

Sara was smiling so wide the whole night I thought she was going to pop!  It was cute to see her so excited for the show. 

The usher was happy to take a picture of us.

Sara was happy to take a wicked close up of us.

To quote NKOTB the show was "Wicked awesome!"  Even if you're a guy.  So guys do one better than me and buy the tickets yourself.  You'll look like a hero and you would have probably ended up buying them anyway. 

Smart's Invade St. George!

Over Memorial Day weekend we met all of my immediate family in St. George (and even some of Sara's.)    It was a blast.  Here are some pics.

The highlight of the trip had to be Zion.  We spent two days there.  It was awesome.

Rick and Cher with all 6 grandkids.  In 8 months that number will be increased by 33%.

The always stunning Beetle and Mindy with a view to match.  (In three pictures this is the one where Beetle's eyes were opened the widest.)

Our hotel was a little questionable but the price was right and the kids had a ton of fun in the pool.

The adults had fun too!

Rig got in his last swimming of the summer.  Bummer man!

Livi and Annabelle were using the buddy system.

Caroline and myself were on the buddy system, because Sara forgot her swimsuit.

We got a visit from Steve and LeeAnn who were delivering Joe's bug to SLC.

Rig at the petting zoo ouside of Zion.

Our kids wear their helmets to zoos just in case.  I think they have both seen one too many episodes of

"When Animals Attack."

Caroline with Grandpa Ricker. 

We snuck in a visit to the St. George temple visitor's center.

I had to count it as my visit for the month. 

 

This is the only proof I have that we were all there.  Grandma Phil took us all to Larsen's for custard.

Rocky and Sara are enjoying the last of the easy life.

We rode our bikes to the end of the main Zion Canyon.  It was beautiful.  Like everything the pictures don't do it justice. It was 16 miles round trip.  Who was the first one done?  Grandma Cher of course. 

Rachel and Roman were both non-finishers.  They saw the whole canyon only by bus.  Better luck next year guys.

Livi put in two miles of uphill and three miles of downhill, but she looked so cute I didn't mind pulling her and her bike up in the trailer.

Rigdon matched his feat of two years ago by making it all the way up on his own again.  He is an animal!

The whole Smart clan put a hurting on the Godfather's Pizza Buffet like only the Smarts can.

The last three chances to marry into the Smart family.  

Get one while they're still hot!

(Roman forgot his shirts so he had to wear his garments.) 

If Zion wasn't the highlight, then the Bearclaw Poppy Trail was.  Here are my two riding partners.  I don't know who looked more girly Roman in his girlfriend's cut-off jeans and pink shirt or me in my spandex. 

 

Yes, it's as steep as it looks.

Roman taking the plunge. 

Beetle isn't hung-over.  It's just really early in the morning.

Beetle had a sweet wreck right after this, apparently he didn't read the fine print.

I can't decide which is more lame.  That we posed for this picture or that I am putting it on my blog.

Sara woke up early for a dawn patrol Bearclaw session, and when she finished she said "Gimmie some more of that!"

Not bad for a guy in cut-offs so tight they might limit his posterity and if they don't, the landing will.

We went on an awesome hike in Kolob Canyon with Beetle and Mindy and co.

Nursing with a view.  Mindy is a true granola.

P.S. I don't know why the underline is randomly showing up.

Father's and Son's

Because our internet was down for the last two weeks, I am a little behind on my blogging.  Don't worry, I am going to catch up one blog at a time.   Watch in this one as Rig's hair gets progressively worse. 

Father's and son's this year was somewhere up the Angles Crest Highway.  It was a beautiful spot and Rigdon and I had a blast.  Here he is eating his first ever freeze dried meal.

He found the world's largest pine cone. 

(We are checking with Guiness.)

We were planning on doing some biking but the trails were a little out of Rig's league.  So we stopped at Bonelli Park on the way home and found some single track.  It was roughly a thousand degrees.   

After sweltering in the single track we found a swimming beach to cool off in. 

Then we decided to rent a kayak.  That was Rig's favorite part of our trip. 

I am embarrassed to say that after eight years of calling myself a surfer, the first time I shot the pier was in a kayak on a lake. 

Sara is a Beast!

The trip to Havasupai was a major success.  Sara dominated.  For the five people who voted on my survey (one of which was me) she was somewhere between "making me look over-the-hill" and "managing without complaint."  She passed 29 people climbing the switch-backs, I counted.  Here is a short scrapbook of the trip for the four people who actually check my blog.  

The first night was spent in the parking lot.  Under the stars in a mummy-bag is tough to beat, even on asphalt, but sara beat it by moving into the car after an undisclosed amount of time.  

 

Sara is all smiles as the hike begins.

Who wouldn't be all smiles with a pack discrepancy like that.  (To be fair to Sara, hers was heavier than it looked.)

The hike down was beautiful, even carrying your wife's gear (shampoo, conditioner and make-up included.)

The first set of falls.  A larger woman showed me how to climb up and jump off.  I figured if she could do it, it must be safe. 

Sara got this pic of my entry.  Pretty sweet, I guess.  If I was a real man I would have dove. 

Havasu Falls, one of the two big ones.  Pictures don't do it justice.

After the trip Sara told me her favorite part was swimming in these pools.  She was one of the few girls to brave the cold water.  After watching her play in the water, an older lady told Sara she had a "hearty soul."  I couldn't agree more. 

This was my favorite part of the trip, Dinner with a view.  Freeze dried Turkey Tetrizzini overlooking the 210-ft Mooney Falls, a backpackers delight. 

  

A hot date to go with the hot food, a backpacker's bonus. 

One of us enjoyed breakfast in bed, on what she called her best night of sleep ever. Big statement huh?  I guess the mummy-bag was worth the 45 bucks.

Sara descending at her own risk to Mooney Falls.

Sara is the queen of corny picture poses. I think she is suppose to be falling in this one, but you would have to ask her. 

A rope swing along the hike to Beaver Falls. 

I bet you didn't realize it was this lush at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Our break overlooking more cool pools. 

Sara tried the rope swing on our way back from Beaver Falls.

Mooney Falls, again.

Sara remembered my birthday and even managed to pack me down some presents and a card.  Of course when it was time to leave, it was my turn to pack them out.  

 

Sara was on a mission on the way out.  She was seriously pushing the pace a good part of the time.  She is a BEAST!