Summer Youth Symphony Summit

The kids had a chance to spend some time in Park City at an Orchestra Camp. The first day started at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake where they got to sit in on a rehearsal with the Utah Symphony and then that afternoon the kids had their first rehearsal together with Keith Lockhart conducting. After spending some time with the youth group, Keith Lockhart turned over the baton to the assistant director of the Utah Symphony, David Cho. He was their conductor for the next 4 days.

Here are the boys in front of Abravanel Hall.

This is the rehearsal with Keith Lockhart.

Here are the Nathan and Ethan with Keith Lockhart at a luncheon they had afterwards.

Here are the little kids inside of Abravanel Hall.

The next few days the kids learned the first and last movements of Beethoven's 2nd Symphony and two other shorter pieces. Pretty good, considering they had not seen the music ahead of time at all.

The boys loved working with David Cho. He's not only a great musician, but he is personable and fun.

The rest of us had a great time riding the ski lift and posing for pictures at the top of the mountain. The view was incredible.

One of the best parts of being in Park City was visitng with Debbie, Rebecca, Michelle and Allyson. We got to have lunch together a few times while the kids played on the playground. Then on Saturday, we were able to be together at Allyson's birthday party.

Here's Seth at the Park. He thinks he is a Pre-Kindergarten model.

Don't Debbie and Rebecca look great?

Caleb is Spiderman

Lizzy loved the outlet stores in Park City.

Here was some of the great food for the birthday party - These were Rebecca's gourmet addition

For one of the evening concerts performed by the Utah Symphony, Ethan's chamber group provided entertainment as people walked in. Here he is with his chamber group.

The kids worked very hard (Their teeth hurt from playing violin so much) and the final Concert was great. Here are the last few seconds of it. This is Manuel de Falla's Ritual Fire Dance

SR-12 Scenic Highway Trip (Southern Utah)

This week we went on a three-day trip to Southern Utah (Cannonville, Escalante, Boulder, Torrey) to experience the outdoors. On the way to our destination we passed through Bryce Canyon National Park. We paused alongside the rode to stretch our legs and take in some of beauty of the red mountains and spires that welcome visitors traveling along Highway 12.

CANNONVILLE AND GROSVENOR'S ARCH

Our first stop was Grosvenor'S Arch. Located about 18 miles from Cannonville (9 miles of the trip is over washboard worn dirt roads) Along the way you encounter beautiful desert landscape that changes from moment to moment as clouds pass over the red, grey, blue and green of the mountains.

Grosvenor's Arch is a magnificent monument rising from the desert floor. Here we took time there to eat lunch and then look for fossil sea shells on a nearby hill.

ESCALANTE

Here we stayed at the Slot Canyon Inn just a few miles west of Escalante. This bed and breakfast is located on a 160-acre piece of property. One of the amenities that we enjoyed are the hiking trails. Within eyeshot of the Inn are petroglyphs and pictographs from the Fremont indians.

Farther up the road are more. Also on the property is a beautiful valley with some spectacular scenery.  We loved the whole experience, except the bugs!!! Along the way we found some fossil seashells imbedded in a large stone, another petroglyph and a small rattlesnake. Never a dull moment.

That evening we were treated with a double rainbow over the southern horizon. 

Before we left on Tuesday the owner of the inn took us and another family to a "secret" location to see some really fabulous pictographs. One of them appears to represent a family or tribe in a circle holding hands.

On Tuesday morning we left the inn and went to the Escalante Petrified Forest. The area is made up of two trails, one is the main trail that is about one mile long and the other is a .75 mile loop that goes down into a steep ravine to the edge of a small canyon. This latter loop was really worth the time and the energy to hike. All along the way were huge trunks of petrified wood.

GRAND STAIRCASE NATIONAL MONUMENT

This is probably one of the most fascinating areas to visit. You travel through a variety of climate and ecological regions. There are deserts.

canyons and rivers.

CALF CREEK FALLS

Calf Creek Falls is one of the most amazing experiences. The six-mile round trip takes you through both a geological as well as a historical trip through time.  All along the path are evidences of the Fremont Indians, pioneers and cattlemen/farmers. The only hard thing about the trail is that a lot of it is sandy, so the going is a little slow at times. I am pleased to say that the WHOLE family walked the entire trail. Caleb and Seth were real troopers.

The scenery along the way is really amazing. Here are some scenes to contemplate.

At the end of the trail is a box canyon with a 126-foot high waterfall. I am not sure that the pictures will do it justice. The falls are just beautiful! Here is what it is like as you approach the falls.

We all had a good time playing in the water.

Jeremy decided that it would be cool to build a sand castle. I guess that he has spent too much time in Spain!!!!

As luck would have it we got caught in a rain storm just as we were reaching the falls. After getting back to the car we headed for Torrey to spend the night. Along the way we got the beautiful vista of the Grand Staircase area with thunderclouds and rain in the distance.

It was a great trip and time to be together as a family.

A Busy Week!!

July 7 - 12 was a very eventful and busy week. Here is how it broke down:

Nathan left for a week at Scout camp at Maple Del (in Payson Canyon). He had a great experience with his troop and learned a lot.

On Friday night Caleb, Seth and I went up for family night. Nathan shared his feelings about camp and his experience. He shared his testimony and how he had grown spiritually during the time he was there.

During this same week Jeremy had the chance to perform with the Lyceum Orchestra at Abravenal Hall in Salt Lake City. The concert was part of the Days of '47 celebrations. He was very handsome in his tuxedo and did a wonderful job playing his violin. In preparation for the two concerts he had some very intense practices. Here are a few pictures from the concert.

(Jeremy is at the far left, front row)

(Jeremy is in top, right-hand corner of photo)

On one of rehearsal days we took him to his practice and the rest of the family (Jannette, Ethan, Lizzy, Caleb, Seth and I) went to Temple Square and had a wonderful time. We went to the Visitor's Center.

Walked around the Temple grounds:

Took some beautiful pictures:

Reminded the boys that they will have the Aaronic Priesthood some day:

And enjoyed the Main Street Plaza in front of the Temple with its reflecting pool:

We had a wonderful time together.

Later this week Ethan took off for an 11-year-old overnighter at the Roney Ranch. He and his friends had a lot of fun.