Really Love Your Peaches Wanna Shake Your Tree...

Well, it's almost fall and with that, comes the harvest. Almost everyday, Mom and Dad Z have been saying stuff like; "You want to do peaches?" or "Would you like us to help you do peaches?" "I'd hate to see the peaches go to waste...", etc, etc,- I guess we better do peaches. We not only did peaches, but we also bottled tomatoes. It was a busy weekend.








There was a bright spot for the weekend though, we got Emery as well and it's always fun when she comes. Brenda and I like to go for a walk with her on Sunday mornings- she strolls, we walk. On our way around the block, we stop at the school and let her play at the playground. As she slides down the slide, she builds up a charge and then when she touches the metal poles she always gets a shock. Her poor little face- so sad! I had some really good video of it too, but the funny thing is, I guess I got a bit confused at how many times I pressed the record button... "I know what you're thinking. Did he fire five bullets or six? Well, in all the excitement I just plumb forgot! So, you have to ask yourself, do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" Anyway, I didn't get her best face, but, you get the idea. I did get some great footage of inside my short's pocket though...

West and Wewaxation at Wast...

Ahhhhh... and I'm not talking the Castle of Ahhhhh. The whole family has been looking forward to this the entire summer- Lake Powell, here we come! Luckily, we have wonderful friends like the Krebs that were kind enough to invite us to join them. Otherwise, our vacation would consist of going downtown to look for a job, then hanging out at the drug store. We spent our days eating, skiing, eating, skiing, tube-warring, playing games, then uh, eating some more. As we passed the Sabbath in one of God's wonders, we took time out of our hectic schedule and did some sight-seeing. One of the places was Hole-in-the-Rock. That's where the Mormon Pioneers dropped down there wagons and cattle. I always thought it was a hole in the rock, but it's not- but still, it's just crazy that they were able to do that. Most days, we had about 18 people on the houseboat- what fun! We got to know each other real well, real fast. The food was great; banana pancakes, bacon and eggs, cold cereal, yogurt, sandwiches, fajitas, fruit, etc, and stacks of snacks of course. At night, we slept on top, out under the stars "Under the Milky Way", it made me very pensive, at least, I thought a lot. Brenda would be reading in her sleeping bag with her book light, and bats would be flying just above our heads. I think we all had a lot of fun... too bad we had to come home. Oh well...Here are some highlights.

1 Year Older & Wiser 2 B Sure- Even @ 96

A harder working guy- I know of none. This guy runs circles around the Energizer Bunny. Still likes to shovel his walks in the winter, out in his garden everyday from spring to fall doing something. Digging a hole and filling it up again? Maybe. That's what he told my sibs and I to do growing up under his tutelage- at least, that's how it seemed. And when he's not in his garden, he's out in his shop making pens or mending something, perhaps amputating a finger of a worn out glove, only to attach it and give new life to another- nothing wasted. Here are a couple pics of his precious little playground, and a sample of his wares. Check out the "tamatas" hanging off of each arm. The guy is truly amazing- Happy Birthday Dad.

And Mom and Dad Can Hardly Wait for School to Start Again

School Daze! Carson, the wee babe of the family is starting high school this year (he is a Syracuse Titan), and Sydney is starting college (she is a Utah State Aggie). How did we get to this stage of life so quickly? Where has time gone? Sunrise, Sunset, quickly fly the years... etc. etc.? Gosh, it's quiet at home... :)

Rush at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre

On August 16th, Brenda and I had some great fun... well, more me than her probably. It all started back in April when I found out that Rush was going on tour again- the TIME MACHINE tour. I was very excited as the last time they came I missed the show as I was too busy running the restaurant- yeah, where were my priorities, right? A while ago, I had read a book that Neil Peart (the drummer) had written and he mentioned that one of his favorites places to play was at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver, CO. I thought to myself, "self, why don't you just go there to see the show? Denver isn't too far away". So, I listened to myself and did just that. I thought that in that amount of time, I would be able to find someone to go with me- but that fell through, and I couldn't get anyone else to go with me, so Brenda reluctantly acquiesced. I think she had a good time though... "Excuse me, excuse me. I'm afraid you're just too darn loud." While there, Brenda and I met a group of guys that meet at a venue around the country and do a show together... they called it a "man-cation". It sounded like a lot of fun and Brenda thought I should do it (a sneaky way for her to get out of going with me next time, I'm sure).

The show was great- from the opening Spirit of Radio, they played a couple new songs off the upcoming album, the entire Moving Pictures album of course, all the way through to Working Man, the crowd was way into it, on their feet the whole time- it was awesome. And the videos that the group put together and showed before, halftime, and at the end were quite funny as well.

What a place to see a show- I must say Redrocks was very cool, an excellent venue, the company sweet, as was the show. I hope that Rush will rock on for many years to come so that I can do a "man-cation" some day... not saying Brenda was not great company :)

So, here are a few pics from the show- enjoy. I wish you all could have been there with us. After the show (about 11:30 pm), we hopped in the Cadi and drove all night to get home for work the next day- nuts ya say? Yes, but I was still so "wired" from the show that I wasn't going to be sleeping for quite a while anyway. I've come to understand a little bit better that old primary favorite that was a big hit way back when on the plains of Wyoming during the migration to the west- "... pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked and walked and walked and walked and walked, etc. etc.", I felt like I drove and drove and drove and drove and drove... oh good gravy! But we made it OK and made it to work just in time for a nice nap ;)

As an added bonus, on the 5th of August, my brother was kind enough to ask me to go to the Rush show in SLC. He didn't get a date, so I guess I came in a close second- "Always the bridesmaid, never the bride..." as they say. He asked if it would just spoil the show that I would be going to at the Redrocks, I said "how could it, it's Rush!" It also was a fine show, although the section we were sitting in was full of dead heads- no life at all, but I think we livened it up enough for all- thanks Russ! Here are a a couple pics from that show.



All the world's indeed a stage
And we are merely players performers and portrayers
Each another's audience
Outside the gilded cage

Limelight-RUSH

Happy Birthday Sydney!

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Sydney, happy birthday to you! She couldn't decide on which restaurant to go to... Macaroni Grill or The Cheesecake Factory. She "chose" to go to the Cheesecake Factory :)