Reasons Why I Haven't Posted Lately

Hello to you! ;) It has been brought to my attention that I've missed blogging for several days in a row. Actually, I was aware of that fact . . . it has just been a really crazy couple of weeks. To atone, I will share a few pictures that will help illustrate why I've been away from my computer.


First, my husband took me on a surprise trip to Shoshone Falls near Twin Falls, Idaho. The Snake River is about as full as we've ever seen it this year, so the falls are spectacular, as you can see above. It was my birthday that week, and this was a fun way to celebrate.

After enjoying the beautiful Shoshone Falls, we drove into Twin Falls, crossing Snake River Canyon over the the famed Perrine Bridge.

We stayed in Twin Falls that night, and wanted to hit a session at the fairly new Twin Falls Temple. But when we arrived, we learned that the sessions only run every 2 hours. So we settled for doing sealings instead. It was a wonderful way to start out my birthday.



After spending time in this beautiful temple, we changed, ate a bite of lunch at an impressive Chinese buffet, then we went exploring. We found the Perrine Falls. This waterfall is one of the longest I've ever seen. It starts at the top of Snake River Canyon and plummets to the ground below. This is what it looks like up close at the bottom:

We headed next to explore the Shoshone Indian Ice Caves, located north of Twin Falls. This was a fun adventure. It was so hot that day, the ice cave felt wonderful. It is about 40 degrees inside this cave. For a while, I felt like I could live there. ;)




We eventually headed home, after meeting up with Kennon's siblings and spouses at a favorite Greek Restaurant for dinner that night in Pocatello. Then we geared up for the weekend.



That weekend (July 10-12) a huge reunion on my mother's side of the family tree took place. My son, Derek, his wife, Kristen, and their cute little girl, Aari, came down on Friday. Saturday morning, we headed to nearby Bear Lake to enjoy a picnic, and to play in the sand and water. As you can see, Aari had a blast. So did her grandmother. =D



My mother then arrived at our abode that afternoon with her brother, his wife, and his m-i-l. We enjoyed a good visit, fun food, and prepared to head up to Star Valley for the annual James Lowery & Genevieve Sibbett reunion. A good time was had by all.



Above you can see some of my cousins, and their mother, one of my favorite aunts, singing a touching number. (Music is huge on this side of our family tree.)



After the reunion, we prepared for the annual girls' camp adventure that took place this past week in our stake. (July 14-17)This year we journeyed once again to Camp Honock, located near Soda Springs. Once again a good time was had by all.



And you'll be happy to know that there weren't any serious injuries this year. (Yep, we put up our huge cabin tent without it caving in on my head.) My oldest son, Kris, pictured above with his cute mommy, helped us out a ton as we put our campsite together.

All in all, it has been a crazy couple of weeks---and the craziness continues. In a few minutes, I'm leaving for Ashton, Idaho for my 30 year class reunion. Wow, how the time flies by.

I wish you all a safe, fun weekend, and I'll be back sometime next week.

Favorite Shots of Summer 2008

Summer is winding down. We've endured two frosts this past week that finished off
my zucchini plants, tomatoes, etc. I suspect this is a hint that fall lies just around the corner. As such, I thought I would celebrate the final week of summer by sharing some of my favorites pictures---shots I took at varying times and places during the past few months. We'll call this one of my traditions---savoring fun memories that were a big part of summer 2008. (The sunset shot above was taken from the east shore of Bear Lake . . . in case any one was wondering.)


Take a wild guess about what we found in a wildlife preserve located just outside of Zion's National Park---something I'd never seen before. I'll give you a hint---here are the proud parents:


Yep, ostrich eggs. Way cool, and again, something I'd never seen before. How about you?


And since I mentioned our trip to St. George, I'd best show off a picture from the famed Zion's National Park. I was excited to see that the road matched the color of the gorgeous red mountains. Wouldn't it be neat if this type of thing was evident all over the world?! Highways colored to match the local scenic beauty. That means in Bear Lake County, our streets would be an aquamarine color to match our claim to fame, Bear Lake. ;) We spent quite a bit of time in this location this past summer. Can you blame us?!


Summer wouldn't be complete without mentioning family reunions. We attended our share of those this past summer. A highlight: floating down Portneuf River in Lava Hot Springs at the Crane Reunion. Aside from a few bumps and scrapes, everyone survived that adventure.


Here's a shot of my husband and I at yet another reunion, after enjoying delicious smoked pork and a plethora of salads, desserts, etc. (Note: that's a bottle of water in my husband's hand, just in case you were wondering.)


We also spent quite a bit of time camping this summer. Our small camper is fairly easy to drive around and we enjoy spending time in the forest. True, I pretty well out-fished my husband this summer, but in way of good news, he didn't make me walk home. ;)


Girls' Camp was another whole adventure in and of itself, something I'm still recovering from. (See the blog post entitled "Climb Every Mountain . . . or not" posted on Aug. 6, 2008 ) Pictured below are the girls from our ward shortly after a performance of the traditional camp skit. They did a great job of hamming things up.

And one of the final adventures of the summer, the traditional huckleberry gathering. We've been out about 4 times now and I can safely state that we will have plenty of huckleberries for the holiday season. I may even be able to stash a couple of pints for our youngest son's missionary homecoming next spring. ;)

All in all, I would have to say that we thoroughly enjoyed this past summer. I don't recall sitting in a corner being bored. ;) And I took enough pictures to document everything. They don't call me the family photo-bug for nothing. ;) Now I'll have to shift gears and prepare for the fall foliage shots. I can hardly wait. =)

Return to the Neighborhood

Revel in Reunions =)

A huge summer tradition for most families is the ever-popular, (oft-times made fun of) reunion. Mentioning this word can trigger a variety of memories. ;) Truthfully, some of my fondest recollections of past summers involve reunions. As I was growing up, I always looked forward to the annual Sibbett reunion. This meant camping in a cool location like Alpine, Wyoming, eating lots of good food, and the yearly program. The Sibbett program involved a lot of music, humorous readings, and dancing. It was usually concluded by my grandfather and his brothers getting up to sing funny songs like, "My Nose Stuck Out a Feet," or the traditional: "Pinto Pony," a song written about the Grays Lake area, the place where they grew up.



I think one of the things I liked the most about this particular reunion was the camaraderie. It was a fun, joyous gathering of relatives. Held in a relaxing atmosphere, there was no set schedule of events, we winged it. When the food was cooked, we ate. If some people wanted to fish in nearby Palisades Lake, they fished. If others wanted to hike around, they explored the numerous trails available. Sometimes we even went swimming. It was understood that on the final day, there would be a huge luncheon where pot luck dishes would be shared. After that meal, the program everyone looked forward to seeing took place. True, our family was made up of lots of hams. We all seemed to have inherited the ability to play musical instruments by ear from my beloved great-grandmother, Genevieve Sibbett. (My mother is named after this awesome woman.)



Genevieve Hocking and her husband, James Lowery Sibbett Jr., established a ranch in Grays Lake. They had ten children, nine of which lived to adulthood. When my grandfather, who was a middle child, was 14 years old, his father passed away unexpectedly of something they called "telescope gut." Now we know it was due to complications of a hiatal hernia, but I digress. My great-grandmother courageously took over running the ranch in 1922 and raised her children on next to nothing. From what I understand, she was a compassionate, fun-loving woman who could play the piano by ear. When the people of Grays Lake gathered for a dance, it was my great-grandmother who provided the music.

I think one of the purposes of family reunions is to keep memories alive of our ancestors. This information doesn't have to be presented in a dry fashion. Each year as we heard stories about the original Genevieve Sibbett, we grew to love and admire a woman we look forward to meeting someday.



Times have changed and with it, reunion formats. Each family is different. Through the years my husband and I have attended a plethora of these events. We have even helped to plan a few of them. In my opinion, the best reunions are those held in a relaxing environment. This gives relatives a chance to unwind, visit, and share tasty food. Sometimes we play games. One year, my husband and I bought a pinata and filled it with pieces of candy. After the big dinner, we hung it up, gathered the young children together, and let them take turns at it with a soft bat. They couldn't break it. So we went to the next generation, giving the teens a chance at it. It was our youngest son, Mr. Athlete, who finally gave it a whack that showered candy on the waiting children. This event provided quite a bit of entertainment for everyone who attended that year.



This year my family is in charge of the annual Glenn Sibbett reunion. (this reunion involves my mother's siblings and their families) We decided early on that we were meeting at Lava. People can either camp in one of the local campgrounds, or rent a room, or show up on the "big" day when we will once again enjoy yummy food, perhaps a short program, and something that we've recently started doing, an auction. Everyone brings craft items or things like home-made fudge for this event. During the auction, people bid on whatever they want and the money raised goes toward next year's reunion. (This money is spent on food, pop, etc. for the main meal)

The main thing we're after is a chance to relax, visit, and enjoy each other's company. We may even share a story or two about great-grandma Sibbett in the hopes that our posterity will keep her memory alive.

In the rush of these busy latter-days, we are unfortunately seeing a decline with this important tradition. What can we do to keep family reunions alive and well? What are some of your favorite memories of past reunions?



Return to The Neighborhood