Strawberry Days Rodeo

Wow!  This was my first time to attend the Strawberry Days Rodeo in Pleasant Grove, Utah.  It was the 90th anniversary of Strawberry Days, and the rodeo was a real treat.  Here are just a few pictures I took...

Aren't these horses beautiful?

Ride 'em, cowboy!

This was the most amazing evening!

After the rodeo, the fireworks...

My first rodeo definitely will not be my last!  This was AWESOME!

Life is good...

Osmond Concert

Boy, did this bring back some sweet, wonderful memories!  I've been an Osmond fan since I was knee-high-to-a-grasshopper, so it was a thrill to me to be able to attend this year's Utah concert in West Jordan, Utah, at the West Jordan Arena.

Alan's sons, Osmonds 2nd Generation, opened the concert... and Alan even came out to join them for a few songs!  What a treat!

The picture's blurry, but Merrill was this close to me when he came out into the audience!  (Too bad Jay went down the other isle... he's my favorite! ha!)

Ah, Jay.... :)

"... it's got to be rock and roll music, if you wanna dance with me..."  Jay's drum solo was FABULOUS!  He's still got it!

At the end of the show, Jay, Jimmy, Merrill, Virl, Tom, and the 2nd Generation came onstage and performed together, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother."  What a treat!  When they got done and left the stage, Tom came back out and worked the audience.  "One more song!  One more song!"  He got the guys to come back out (some of them were already changing clothes, ha!) and sing another song.

After the show, I got to talk to Tom.  He has the mostly bubbly, friendly personality of anyone I've ever met!  I told him I'd gotten my first Book of Mormon from them in 1975 and joined the Church in 1976... and I thanked him for that.  He hugged my neck and posed for a picture.  Such a sweetheart!  That just made my night!

Thank you, Osmond family, for giving me so much joy throughout my life, and for giving me the gift of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  I'll love you all forever.

Life is good...

Timpanogos Falls

Having achieved a certain amount of confidence after successfully maneuvering Timpanogos Caves, I decided to try another local adventure:  hiking to Timpanogos Falls.  I went with a friend from work, Christine, and we spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon climbing our way to this beautiful waterfall...  This was our starting point.

The view on the way up...

I love the metallic sheen...

The waterfall....

Isn't that waterfall breath-taking???

Look at the play of light on the shrubs outlining the ridges above the waterfall!  Wow!

I never get tired of exploring Utah.  There's always something to see and do here!

Next photoshoot:  Strawberry Days Rodeo in Pleasant Grove.

Timpanogos Cave

While my son Russ was out here for Memorial Day this year, we decided to hike up to Timpanogos Caves.  What a hike!  I thought I would die by the time we got up that mountain.  Here are a few pictures you might enjoy seeing.

This is Russell.  He's my youngest son.  I'm so proud of him.  He's a pre-med student at Central Michigan University.

The views increased with beauty as we climbed higher and higher...

Russ took this picture of me huffing and puffing my way to the top...

Isn't this breath-taking?

I made it to the top!  I thought for sure they'd have to life-flight me off that mountain, but my sweet Russ kept saying, "Come on Mom, you can do it!"  Thank you, Russ, for encouraging me to keep going.

The view on the way down...  What a fun experience!  I highly recommend this tourist attraction to everyone.