Zion Canyon Music Festival

A while ago I signed up to be a vendor for the Zion Canyon Music Festival. (Selling my Scrabble Tile Pendants. ) Actually, I was recruited, so that was fun to have someone want my items there. Anyway, it ended up being the same weekend as a lot of other things, so we felt bad leaving, but it was sure a fun weekend. My parents watched the kids for us, so it was just Chad and I. We drove down Thursday and stopped in Cedar City to visit my friend Lisa and her family. It was so fun visiting with her and it seemed as if it hadn't been such a long time since we last saw each other. After that, we headed down to Hurricane for the night. The next morning, we got up and headed to the park to set up our canopy for the festival that night. After doing that quickly, we headed up into Zion Canyon National Park for a quick hike. Because of the time constraint, we chose a shorter hike, up to the Emerald pools. We made good time and were able to go all the way to the top. I know this wasn't exactly hiking food, but we had taken chips and salsa to eat on the trail. It was a fun snack and the extremely brave squirrels weren't afraid to come close for a nibble. Chad was nice enough to spill a few chips for them. We headed back down the trail and made it back to the show with plenty of time to spare. The music Friday night was really great and there were a decent amount of people there. It got pretty cold that evening and I was pretty happy to leave that night when it ended, at 11! For our hiking outing Saturday morning, we had talked about attempting Angel's landing. But, my foot was just troubling me too much and I figured I would really struggle with the distance. So, we headed back up the canyon and went to the Narrows. We figured we would just hike in as far as we could with our time constraint. For those of you that haven't been to the Zion Narrows before, there is a paved path that goes up about a mile, if you want to go any further, it's in the river. We weren't afraid to get our feet wet, although we were not prepared at all. I was wearing chaco's, which aren't great for walking through riverbeds, we forgot our hiking poles and didn't have a change of clothing. Needless to say, we didn't make it very far. We probably hiked up another 1/2 mile, before the water got deep enough to swim through. We were really bummed to have to turn around. If we had brought a change of clothes with us in the car, we probably would have gone further, but the thought of spending the rest of the day in damp clothing wasn't ideal. It's probably just as well anyway, since by the time we hiked back to the shuttle bus and hiked up the short walk to the Weeping Wall, my foot was so sore and stiff, I could barely walk. So frustrating! Anyway, we headed back down for lunch, ice cream and to get ready for the show that night. I don't think the music groups Saturday night were quite as good as the night before, but the crowd was great and I ended up selling much more than I had expected for the show. Sunday morning, we headed out and decided to drive back through Zion and take the tunnel road home. There was also a little hike at the top of the canyon we went on. It was a bit of a struggle for me, since my foot was still stiff and sore, but well worth it, with such a spectacular view. We really enjoyed our little trip to Zion and I sure wish we could go back soon to do a bit more hiking, not like I'd make it very far or anything, but it's fun to dream, right?

Fishing

Last year, Myra and Lexi received fishing poles from their Grandparents. We aren't really into fishing, so here it is a year later and we finally decided to take the kids fishing. We headed up the canyon with some KFC for dinner and a few fishing supplies. It was a lovely evening and even though there were no fish to be caught, we had a fun time. We lost about 8 hooks, weights, several worms and a pink butterfly toy in the river. But, no one was hurt by Myra's crazy casting, no one fell in the river, Lexi has stopped crying over the pink butterfly toy and several days later, the bruise on Noah's head is starting to fade. I just can't wait to go "fishing" again!

Good-Bye Grandma Austin

On September 2nd, my dear, sweet Grandma passed away. Grandma had dealt with a lot of health problems the past few years and she was most recently living in a Care center and was wheel chair bound. So, for her this was a blessing, but it has been hard for me to have her go. I was always very close to Grandma, even living with her for a while in St. George after High School. I have so many wonderful, fun memories of her. She was truly a wonderful woman.On September 6th, we had a viewing for her. There were so many people that came to share our love of Grandma and to tell us their memories of her. It was a great experience seeing so many family members. On the 7th, a Graveside service was held for Grandma. I was asked to speak at the service. It was a good experience for me to be able to spend time, remembering Grandma and to share those memories with everyone else. It was a very nice service.My Grandpa Austin passed away 16 years ago, so I am so happy in the thought that Grandpa and Grandma are together again. I have missed Grandpa all these years and now it's hard to think of Grandma being gone as well. However, I am so grateful for all the memories I have. I love you Grandma and will miss you dearly. Rest in Peace.
Grandma's Obituary

Joyce Barton Austin
1932 ~ 2011
Joyce Barton Austin
Our beloved Mother and Grandmother returned to her Heavenly Father on September 2, 2011. Joyce Barton Austin was born January 22, 1932 to Tyler H. Barton and Elsie Layton Barton. Joyce was the 3rd oldest out of 5 kids. She grew up in the Sugarhouse and graduated in 1950 from East High School. She married the love of her life Donald S. Austin on May 17 1951 in the Salt Lake Temple; they were married for 44 wonderful years. During their time together, they lived in Bountiful, Holladay, and Ivins, Utah. They had 2 children together, a daughter Diane and a son Blaine. They enjoyed many wonderful years together and when he passed away October 16, 1995, life was never the same. During Joyce's lifetime, she held many positions in the Relief Society and enjoyed volunteering as a Pink Lady with both the LDS Hospital and Dixie Regional Medical Center; she held the position of President of these organizations at different times for both hospitals. Joyce had many hobbies, including traveling, spending time in the outdoors, reading, making porcelain dolls, as well as doing other crafts. She especially enjoyed spending time with her family, particularly her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was very proud of each and every one of them. She is survived by her sisters Barbara Davis, Lucille Barnes, daughter Diane Newman (Gregg), son Blaine D. Austin (Diane), 7 grandchildren Alex, Shannon, Richard, Breanne, Paige, Jan, Sara; 9 great-grandchildren; her constant dog companion Koty; and Stepdaughters Shirley and Suzanne and their families. She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, and brothers Rex and Jack Barton. Goodbye Mom and Grandma, we love you and will miss you.
A viewing will be held Wednesday evening September 7th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Wasatch Lawn. Graveside services will be held Thursday September 8th at noon at Wasatch Lawn Cemetery, 3401 So. Highland Drive.

Lexi Starts Preschool

Lexi started preschool today. I decided to actually put her in a local preschool. I've just been so busy, I didn't feel that I would have time to do a joy school again, plus, I think Lexi will need a little extra help this year to prepare her for Kindergarten. Anyway, she was so excited! She got to pick out a new school outfit and has been waiting for a couple of weeks to wear it. She was so excited today. She seemed to have a wonderful time and has been talking about school all day today. Her preschool is called Little Cahoots Preschool academy and their "mascot" is an owl. Which she was super excited about. I think this will end up being a great experience for her!

Preschool Year 2 Stats

Age: 4 years 6 months

Height: 39 inches (3ft. 3in.)

Weight: 29.8 lbs.

Hair color: Blonde/Brown

Favorites

Animal: Baby Kitty

Food: Spaghetti & Garlic Bread

Game: Hungry, Hungry Hippo's

Toy: Collie (Lg. Stuffed toy horse)

Thing to do: Play at Marley's house

Book: Sleeping Beauty

Color: Light Pink

Movie: Sleeping Beauty

Primary Song: Sunbeams & Teach me to Walk in the Light

My best friend is: Myra, Maddie & Sadie

Other friends I like to play with: Sara

Things I like to do with my friends: Play

If I had a pet it would be a: Baby Kitty

named: Sally

What people like about me: My hairstyle's pretty and when I wear pretty dresses

Things I can do really well: Vacuum, clean up my bedroom (yeah, right, Haha!!!!!)