Burney Falls

This weekend, as per tradition, we went camping at Burney Falls. It's a nice little state park between Mt. Shasta and Lassen, about 50 miles east of Redding, CA. I loved finally being there with Jon and my kids. We all had a ton of fun hiking and fishing and just enjoying the outdoors.

Dawna had a new fishing pole she got for her birthday, and she loved dropping the little fish into a little dribble of water off or Hatchet Creek:



Papa Severson loved helping the little girls do "tricks" by balancing on rocks and walking on logs:



This was Dawna and Adele's last hurrah together. Em and I realized that their time living in the same house has been bookended by camping and lake trips--last July they were together in Yosemite; and last weekend in Burney (I thought I had a picture of the two of them together in Yosemite, but I don't, but here's a compare and contrast picture anyway... amazing how much different they both look):





Anyway, all in all, it was a great weekend! Poor Jon now has to face up to his extra busy week. But as a true graduate student, he just accepts guilt as an inherent feature of relaxation :) He even caught a couple fish while we were up there :)

one last story from Utah...

My favorite clever Dawna moment came on Sunday, our last day in Utah:

First, you have to understand that Dawna is in the phase of "Whatever is the last you you say I will repeat." For example: Do you want to ride in the car or walk? Walk. Do you want to walk or ride in the car? Car. Etc.

Second, you have to understand that my sister Heather has a kiddy swing in her backyard that looks like a dolphin (modeled by Eli):



So, here's the story. We were all sitting around having dinner and Paul says, "Let's see how smart Dawna is. Dawna, is a dolphin a fish or a Mammal?" He put a little extra emphasis on the second option, even though she was known for choosing it anyway. At first, she just smiled and looked a little puzzled, so he asked the question again: "Dawna, is a dolphin a fish or a Mammal?"

She looked at him squarely and said simply, "A swing." I guess she was showing us how smart she really is, not falling for such gimmicks :)

On the Sixth day in Utah...

The main event of today was, of course, Abbie's baptism. It was a wonderful service. Four kids in their ward were baptised. My dad gave the confirmation talk and we all enjoyed it!

Afterthe baptism, we ate home made lasagna, then lounged around and watched the kids play in the backyard. Later, we went to Cabella's to watch the fish be fed and shop around. Dawna loved watching the fish and looking at the waterfall and seeing all the stuffed animals there.

When we drove in to Heather's house, we were met with a surprise next door: the neighbod had three little lambs that they were taking care of for a week. We all went over to take turns feeding them a bottle and petting them. Dawna loved baa-ing at the sheep and petting their soft fur.

On the Fifth day in Utah...

I got to play photographer for my cute niece Abbie. She'll be baptized tomorrow! I think she's quite the photogenic cutie pie :) But then I'm a very baised aunt.

On the Fourth day in Utah...

We woke up this morning, MAY FIRST, to quite the surprise...



I thought winter was over... it was 80 the first day I was here... and now it definately is below 80...It's exciting anyway... however strange...

On the third day in Utah...

We got to see Valerie, Charles and baby Sydney! That little girl is such a little doll! My baby Lawrence is the same size as she is... and six months younger :) Valerie and I went shopping. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of batteries, so there is a temporary lapse in photos :( On the way back to Heather's house, I stopped by Terri's house in Orem and got to give her a quick hug before she went to a football meeting. Our duplex looks great...although the dandilions are flourishing int he fround yard... It was a good day.