26 miles across the sea....

..... Santa Catalina is waiting for me.

Even though I grew up in So California, I had never been
to Catalina. . . until last weekend. I don't really know what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised. The little town of Avalon was like a cruise port with cute restaurants and shops, charming little street and houses, and lots of boats. Even the boat ride from Long Beach to the island was nice - saw at least 3 groups of dolphins along the way.

It took about an hour to get to Catalina on this boat.














Postage stamp size beach.
















Even smaller and rockier snorkeling beach.
















The popular mode of transportation on the island is golf carts - even if you have kids. Is this really what this seat was intended for???

















Nice walking trails to see the sights.



























Notice the golf carts on the streets, not on the golf course.















Charming houses.









































Interesting tile artwork everywhere.
















Boats and more boats.















Notice the dog with yellow life vest.
















Pelican waiting for his next meal.
Maybe he's waiting for the dog to fall off the boat. : )






























Catalina - A nice day trip!

What city?

My work travels took me to a new city last week.
What city has sandy beaches and big skyscrapers?














Did you guess it?
Another hint....















It's Chicago.














Lake Michigan on the edge of the city.

Other Chicago highlights.









































My question is: Why is there a huge statue of Marilyn Monroe in front of the Chicago Tribune building. Any ideas?

Explosives

So many fun things to do in July.

In Tucson, they cancelled the usual fireworks show due to the extreme fire hazard there. But don't worry - we had another fun explosive activity in Kevin's backyard. All you need are bottles of diet soda, mentos candy, some friends and family.

Here are the results. Get ready.....














Get set.......














GO!!!!!!




























The kids just got a little bit STICKY!

Also, while the boys were camping, the little girls spent some time at Yaya's house
















Back in Utah, the Farmington Days run is always fun.
This year Suzy and Casey and kids were here to join us.





























Suzy and I walked the 5K with strollers. We didn't come in last!



















Claire had fun getting candy and other treats at the parade.















Quinn is getting so big!














And July is not over yet!

Baseball and Mary Tyler Moore

Being here in Minneapolis by myself for the weekend, I had to find something to do, besides walking the paths by the Mississippi River.








I figured out that the Minnesota Twins baseball field is within walking distance of the hotel and they were actually in town playing this weekend. Yesterday, some guys who are also attending the work training here said they went to a game and got tickets for cheap from a scalper outside the stadium. So, today I went WAY out of my comfort zone and not only went to a baseball game by myself, buy I bought a ticket from a scalper! WAY WAY out of my comfort zone!
















It wasn't the Dodgers, but it was good baseball.
The Twins scored 5 runs in the first inning and won 8 - 1!





























And for something completely different....
Did you know there is a statue of Mary Tyler Moore throwing her hat into the air on a street in Minneapolis? If you remember her old TV show, you know why it's here.
It doesn't really look much like her.
















Ohhhh, Mr. Graaaant!!!

Cheaper by the Half Dozen

Kevin and family were in Utah for a visit last week.







Somehow got all 6 of the grandkids to sit still for a picture.
(Kevin's 4 plus Suzy's 2)
Can you believe there are 6 already? Can you believe I am their Yaya?

Time for a train ride.
The big train and.....




















. . . the little train.

















Kevin did a great job holding on to 4 kids.















The caboose?















Cute 2-year-old cousins!















Coming and going.

Minneapolis

Surprisingly, Minneapolis is actually very nice.









Yes, I took this picture.

I'm here for work, staying just a block away from the Mississippi River, complete with walking paths, waterfall, shady trees and this stone bridge.




Also it's 103 degrees today - unheard of in this neck of the woods!














In case a boat needs to get down river around the falls, there are locks - sort of like a small version of the Panama Canal.








The locks are closed.















The locks are open.
















I don't think I would want to be here in the winter, but June in Minneapolis is very pretty.