Remember when . . .

. . . you had that moment when you realized high school was really over and you were not coming back. I had a flashback of that last night at Melissa's Extravaganza Concert (cue the Mandy). I'm not saying I loved high school by any stretch and there were a lot of painful moments, but it did have some definite high points. One of which was this fabulous group of girls I ran around with most of whom I am still in touch with today. This is a shout out to those girls who helped me through the tough times and who I still find hilariously entertaining. Love you girls.

Anyway after my moment to wax philosophical below are some pictures of Melissa's concert. Laytones are the show choir at her school which she participates in. Sorry the sign was hard to get a clear picture of.
Here's the whole group when they are not moving. Most of the time they sing and dance and we all know how well I take pictures when the subject is moving. Melissa is in the very center.

Here's the up close shot. Look how gorgeous she is. I can hardly believe next week she graduates from high school. This happened for me exactly ten years ago and now it's her turn.

Congrats to by baby sister and stayed tuned for the official graduation pictures.

Green Thumb Possibilities

Despite the blogging hiatus Matt and I have been keeping busy the past couple of weeks or months with some gardening chores. We removed some ground cover in this bed and added columbines and standing phlox. Hopefully the bark will make this area low maintenance and the flowers will give us some more color.
Last year we got rid of this humongous bush, but now we have a gap. Any suggestions? My ideas include a garden bench, a dwarf tree, and a hanging plant stand. The trouble is, whatever it is, can't be too big as it ruins the curbing, but it does need to have some substance to fill the space.

Check out these bushes. Matt trimmed them back quite a bit and I'll admit I thought he had butchered them, but look how gorgeous they are now. It is great when you end up with gorgeous landscaping as a result of your home purchase. I had no idea these would flower so beautifully and Matt really unlocked their potential.

How tall does a sycamore grow? We are going to find out. This is our most recent purchase to get some more shade in the back yard. This is Matt's baby and so far he has been tending with loving care. We sure are enjoying the spring weather now that its here.

Puzzled

So Matt wanted to try a 3D puzzle and here she is in all her glory. All I can say is man these are tough. All I can say as a puzzle nerd is that fully interlocking pieces are much preferred.

Bryce Canyon--The Finale

It's hard when you go to a place as scenic as Bryce Canyon to limit the number of pictures. Believe it or not I have only selected a few favorites.

This formation is called the queen. Get a good look because she is already beginning to erode away.

Pierce and Michelle are under that overhang.

I love these last two upward shots. The trees just look so cool against the red rock.

Bryce Canyon Part 2

Here's the next round of shots from Bryce Canyon. Matt and I are the reference point. Look how tall the walls are.
Check out this slot canyon. Michelle and I thought it was awesome, except for the mud we were stepping in.

Look out below. We hiked all the way up from the bottom of these switchbacks to the top, man it was a workout.

Home Away from Home

We stayed in a KOA cabin on our little adventure. I didn't realize how fabulous these things were.
Here's a little shot inside. It also had a set of bunk beds, a desk and chair, pegs to hang your coats, and even a space heater. This is the kind of camping I could get used to.

Did I mention the porch swing? This place was fully loaded. I would highly recommend the KOA cabin. KOA's a pretty great anyway because they usually have a pool, laundry room, and showers that are clean. Love the KOA.

Bryce Canyon

I think these speak for themselves. I will have to post another set because there were so many great pictures.