Walking the Manthua Labyrinth

I have always had a passion for Labyrinths. I have walked indoor ones, outdoor ones, paved ones, and ones made out of rocks. Walking the outdoor desert labyrinth at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale... was something I really enjoyed when we lived in Phoenix. Since we moved to UT, the only labyrinth I've come across is at the St. John's Episcopal Church, in their main lobby. So, when I found an outdoor one (15 minutes away) I got pretty excited.

While Carolynn was up here visiting this past week, we decided to take a morning for ourselves and check it out. It was just lovely!

The Manthua labyrinth (named Anan Cara Agape) is in the backyard of a private residence, which coincidentally, is right across the street from a gun range. Go figure. We called in advance to make sure that we didn't need an appointment, but the owner, Jean Gilbert, told us to come by anytime.


The structure of the labyrinth is identical to the one in Scottsdale, which is the same as the famous Chartes Cathedral Labyrinth in France. Jean did a wonderful job, constructing her labyrinth out of cement and stones. She has also incorporated a Medicine Wheel motif and has 4 signs up depicting insights from the East, South, West, and North.






In the center, is a small gazebo-like structure with benches and a beautiful crystal on a pedestal. On the "floor" is a glorious bed of sand, making it seem like very sacred space. It is a wonderful spot to meditate or just be!




To complement the playfulness of the backyard, Jean Gilbert has a glorious Indian tipi. You can tell this lady is in touch with her inner child, from the beautiful paintings of children & trees on the tipi. In addition, she has a "Fairy Garden", a big fire pit, and free ranging chickens.

The whole place had a wonderful energy to it. As if to say, "here lives a person who really enjoys life". I am soooooo glad that I stumbled across this awesome place.

I know I will be back... again and again.

Summertime is... Cousintime

After our trip to Las Vegas, Carolynn and the boys (Edan & Ehman) followed us back to Logan for the week.

The cousins all had a really fun week of doing what boys like to do best: PLAY, EAT, & PLAY SOME MORE.

The were on the Wii game system non-stop. They watched silly movies on the computers in the school room. They played Mega Monopoly. Threw around a football in the back yard. And read a lot of Fox Trot comic books.


One day, we took them over to the Logan Aquatic Center, where they had fun swimming and going down the water slides.

One night, we had a big campfire in the backyard and they all sat around roasting those mega marshmallows. Very sticky! But, very yummy.






Another day, Carolynn and I got them all out walking along the Logan River. It is our most favorite place to walk and take in the wonderful sounds of the river running. After these walks, Carolynn and I are always recharged. I think the boys did too!



Best of all... all the cousins had fun skipping stones in the water. An age-old boy past time, that never seems to go out of style.



Another night, we all attended a nice Shabbat Potluck dinner at the Gellers. All the boys enjoyed playing with the other kids, and having another audience to dazzle with their magic tricks.

Probably the best day for the kids was the trip down to Layton. We went to a place called "Boondocks" with our synagogue's Youth Group. For four hours... the kids all played Laser Tag, rode Go-Karts, drove bumper boats, and played video games (which resulted in tons of reward tickets). Luckily, I only was only responsible for transporting there, Gary, our Youth Group Leader, stayed to play. So, my afternoon was spent surfing the web at Starbucks.

Not all of our visiting time was "play". We put poor Edan to work twice while he was here. One day he came with us to Ogden to help excavate the front yard of our synagogue (as part of Joshua's Eagle Project).


Another day, he worked with our scout troop to serve breakfast to 400 people at the Lions Club Pancake Breakfast on Pioneer Day. Lucky for us, Edan has a good work ethic and never has any problem with lending a hand.

All in all... it was a great week. All the boys got along real well and had a great time together. How fortunate that they area all so close in age and have the opportunity to hang out with each for a week or so each summer.

Viva Las Vegas!!!

Had a really fun 4 day holiday in Las Vegas this weekend.

My in-laws just bought a new condo and so we thought we'd meet up with them and the "other grandsons" for the weekend. Since they haven't had the furniture from the Gold Hill, OR, house delivered yet... it was a BYOB (bring your own bedding) deal. As a matter of fact, we also brought our own table and chairs too! But this just all made it funner for the kids and dogs.


The drive to Vegas is about 8 hours for us. So we headed out in the late afternoon, stopping for dinner in St. George. Yes, you guessed it... "In N Out Burger".

With the time change (Mountain to Pacific), we arrived in Vegas at about 10:00 pm. Coincidentally, my in-laws, who were driving from San Diego, pulled up to the entrance of the condo at the exact same time as us. Couldn't have timed that better if we tried.

Our weekend was filled with all sorts of fun activities. Like a huge pancake, eggs, and bacon breakfast... courtesy of the mother-son cooking team.

Next activity on the list, was shopping at Trader Joes. We really liked their new red wine from Italy. And, I now have enough Yogi Ginger Tea (about 30 boxes) to see me through any apocalypse.

Other things we did...

Swimming in the outdoor pool.

Chilling (well, not really when it's 115 degrees out) in the Hot Tub.

Shopping at Costco --- because in Nevada, their Costco's sell liquor.

Walking our poor little wiener dogs on broiling hot pavement. Poor Max, quickly learned how to walk on his toe nails to avoid getting the pads of his paws burnt. There was very little grass at the condo... not too dog-friendly.



We visited the Las Vegas Strip on Saturday night. Wow. Way too many people and way too hot. We felt like we were all going to pass out from the heat. It was a good night to be one of those folks that sells water... I know we bought a bunch.

When we arrived on "The Strip", Devon left us to go try his luck at the MGM Grand Casino. Carolynn, Phil, and I decided that it would be fun for the boys to see all the outdoor shows... such as the Pirates at Treasure Island, Volcano at the Mirage, and the Fountains at the Bellagio.

Unfortunately, as soon as we arrived on the strip, we lost David. One minute we were all heading down a pedestrian escalator and when I did a head count, I came up one kid short. Joshua and I flew into alarm mode. He double-backed to where we last saw him and I followed. Panic gripped me at the thought of how on earth we were going to find him. It has been so long since I've been in a lost child scenario... that I thought I was immune. Wrong.

After a few minutes, Phil & Carolynn found David up the street a bit. It seems that instead of getting on the escalator with us, David decided to take an elevator and got turned around when he reached the bottom. Poor David had to endure with his mother yelling at him for wandering off... in the middle of the sidewalk. Later I explained to him that I was more afraid than angry... I think he was a little afraid too. I spent the rest of the night/weekend ALWAYS knowing where David was.


As for the shows. None of the kids liked the show at Treasure Island. They thought it was more of a girly show and less of a pirate adventure.

The Mirage was disappointing. Phil said that they've cut back on their special effects, so we only got half of the usual spectacle.


However, the Bellagio Fountains exceeded expectations. The kids all loved how the fountains move in time to different music played. We ended up staying for several songs.


On Sunday, we went back to the strip in the day to check our Circus Circus. The boys all wanted to ride the indoor roller coaster. To which they all gave it a big thumbs up.





They also had fun making flat pennies there. Such a simple little gadget. Guaranteed to produce a cool souvenier.

Next it was across the street to the Riveria to visit their famous magic shop. This was an awesome shopping experience. They not only have a gazillion cool magic tricks, gadgets, etc. for sale... but the proprieter did all sorts of tricks for us. None of us left that store empty handed.

When we got back to the condo, the magic shows began en masse. All the cousins had become closet Houdinis.






Poor Grandma, she was the lone member of the Magic Show audience, who had to watch each and every trick. Luckily, she enjoyed them all.


Even Devon got in on the act. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Hmmm... did I just call my husband an "old dog"?



Before we left the strip, we did a quick tour of the Luxor (which really is a one of kind hotel ... in more ways than one).


Finally, it was time to grab some dinner. Yes, you guessed it, "In N Out Burger", once again. We could eat there every day and not get sick of it. As a matter of fact, I think we did eat there every day. The real trick to eating at In N Out Burger was finding enough seats so we could all eat together.




Oh, and what was the outcome of Devon's trip to the MGM Grand Casino? Let's just say that "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas". Which includes all the money he brought to "play" at the casino.

Monday morning, we were up bright and early, and heading for home. One benefit of packing up in the wee small hours of the morning ... was getting to see this awesome sunrise.

Brandi's 21st Birthday Visit

Just got done having a great visit with Brandi ... where we got to be with her to celebrate her 21st birthday (a wee bit early).

Devon and the boys, met up with Brandi and Nate's family at Lagoon over the July 4th weekend. They had a blast camping and doing the amusement park. A few days later, Brandi and Nate came up to stay with us for the week.

On this trip we finally got to meet little Damien. He is such a little doll. I have never seen a baby that is sooooo happy. He just smiles and kicks his little legs up in the air. Just enjoying chilling on life.

Little Damien (with Max on guard).

We had a non-stop week. Brandi got to go target shooting with her dad (their version of a "Daddy/Daughter Date"), and spend the day cooking chinese food. No complaints from us... we all loved it!

Other activities included: roasting marhsmallows out back, a trip to Willow Park Zoo, Ryan's Place Playground, Logan Aquatic Center, Caspers Ice Cream, and the Cache Valley Fun Park.

Nate & Brandi in the back yard.

Grandpa Devon & Ava lighting the campfire.

Nate, Ava, & David at the Willow Park Zoo.

Ava having a swing ride at Ryan's Place Playground.

Brandi and I got to sneak off for a few hours one day for some mother/daughter time. We roamed through the sidewalk sales on Main St. and then went to the Great Harvest Bread Company for coffee and a cinnamon bun. Yum.

On Brandi's last night here, we celebrated Shabbat and her 21st birthday, with an awesome Prime Rib dinner. Devon cooked this one to perfection!

David, Brandi, & Joshua.

For "old times sake" we even made her work for one of her birthday presents with a Whitney Family treasure hunt. It was a lot of fun... combing through the house searching for clues.

Reading clues.

Searching for the next clue.

Need a flashlight for this treasure hunt!

She found it!

After gifts, it was time for cake. The multiple flavored cheese cake was a bit hit with everyone.

Damien looking like he's ready to eat cake with the grownups. Denied!

Finally, we played a game of Brandi's choice ---- SPOONS. It was crazy as we all became "every man for himself" characters... ripping spoons out of each others hands. Devon was the ultimate winner. Luckily, the spoons survived all the wrestling.

Can you feel the tension?

One of the nicest things about the week... was all the grandparent quality time. By the end of the week, Ava had finally warmed up to Grandpa Devon, no longer requiring bribes of ice cream to hang out with him.

Ava helping grandpa wash the dishes.

Luckily for Devon, Damien seems to like him from the get go. He's probably got his little baby eye on that big Jeep in the garage. He must know already that good times with grandpa lay ahead.

Grandpa Devon and Damien.

The cutest "Kodak Moment" that I did not catch on film, was seeing Devon and Ava sitting on the front porch together. It reminded me of those touching Lifesavers commercials that used to make me cry... that would end by someone singing "... Lifesavers, a part of living."

As for me, I had a blast with the two little youngsters. It was so nice to just sit and rock with Damien. He's a cuddle bunny. And Ava seems to really like spending time with me. Most mornings, I was the first person she looked for. And, that's without bribes of ice cream.

Of course, I am known now as the "cookie grandma" now. Every time they come to visit, I always stock up on special cookies just for Ava. That way she'll always feel special about coming to visit her Whitney grandparents.