For the Liechty's

"Happy Painting, and God Bless!"

Ketchum and beyond

 After Twin Falls Steven decided to put the peddle to the metal...

(if you look close you'll see the fuel reads completely empty,

yeah, the electrical in the dash of his parents car has gone haywire. We

were really only going like 40mph...)

 

This is the ranch that Steven's dad grew up on.

 Danny, Jesse, and Jane, and beyond them is the ideal playground for an adventurous little boy to grow up exploring. Also a great place to baptize chickens :)

John and his boys (minus one)

Surveying his boyhood.

 

 That would be such a neat place to grow up.  I'm glad we got to see it.  

If you head north up the road from the ranch you come to Hailey, where John went to school.  We saw these neat bridges:

 

 And up the road from Hailey is Ketchum, where we stayed.  It's a nifty resort town that is fun to browse around, but kind of on the pricey side.  We ate at Whiskey Jacques, a bar with delicious sandwiches, and walked around the town.

 Danny searched for his inner ch'i

 The LDS chapel at sunset. 

 

This is where all of Idaho's power comes from.

 Since I'm usually the one taking the photos, I have to take shots 

like this to prove I was there too.

This was another nifty church in the area; it was huge.

This was such a beautiful valley.  There was a lot of driving involved in this trip, but it was totally worth every mile.  We got to be with family we hardly ever see (who I'd never even met) and we got to experience places and learn more about John's growing up years.  We're very grateful to Steven's parents for making this trip possible!

John R. Powell

 As I mentioned, the reason we went to Idaho was 

to scatter the ashes of John Roy Powell, Steven's grandpa,

at Silver Creek near Picabo, Idaho.

 While Steven's dad, John R. Powell the third, was little his family

owned a ranch in this area.  Steven's grandpa spent a lot of his time

fishing this river.  It was such a special spot to the family that he

wanted his ashes scattered here.  The ashes of his wife, Bobby, and 

daughter, Peggy, were also scattered along this river.

 

 I got to meet Steven's Powell-side aunts, uncles, and cousin

 for the first time.  They were so nice, and I'm so glad I got to finally

meet them.  I never did get the privilege of knowing Steven's Grandpa.

It was very simple, a few words were said and he was 

laid among the river he loved.  

It is such a beautiful area.  Although I never got to meet him, John

was an amazing man.  From the stories I've heard he lived a rich, full life.

He fished and hunted this area with Gary Cooper and Ernest Hemmingway.

 He also made the best home-made soup.  He raised a beautiful family, and 

now he gets to be with his sweet wife and daughter once again.

Twin Falls

Back in June we had the opportunity to travel to Idaho with some of Steven's family so that we could scatter Steven's grandpa's ashes.

On the way up we made a stop in Twin Falls.

 We went from flat this, to

 this :)

 I guess it's good luck to throw coins on this rock, 

I wouldn't dare try to retrieve them.

 It was a very nice break from the driving, and only about an hour away from our final destination.

Subconscious

At some point this morning I had a dream that Steven and I were driving down to Cedar City for a visit.  We were talking about how Steven would really rather do grad school in Cedar right now than keep doing the new job he is at (which really isn't the case).  I think we even decided that we would do that and see if our old apartment was still available.  We stopped at the complex to visit our friends and they had all changed so much! Even though we'd only been gone a week or two, the kids were all grown much bigger and everyone was different in some way.  (to show how weird my dreams can be: little 2yr old Paisley was taller than me and had a long braid, and the Liechty's were hippies!:)  We hung out for a while and people kept coming by.  Then in my dream I was blogging about the experience and I became sad that things changed so quickly while we were gone, and sad because we miss everyone.

I woke up feeling kind of sad (mixed with the 'what the heck is wrong with my subconscious' feeling that I get with most of my dreams). So I had to follow my dream and blog about it :)

We're doing well here, even though it still feels like a really long Salt Lake vacation.  Steven is doing well with his new job; it's a little overwhelming as most new jobs are, but he's learning quick and doing great.  I got a job with a Jr. high doing special ed.  It was kind of sudden, so that's all I really know about it at this point, but I'll start at the end of August.  It's nice being close to family, and I'm glad we were here when little Packer was born.

We still miss Cedar and our friends. Everyday I have a moment where I think about the long drive we have to do and all we have to get done when we go back...then I realize we don't have to make that drive because we don't live there anymore.  It's a weird feeling.     

Tres! Drei! Trois! Tri!

 Three years ago today!

Pretty much the best day EVER!

So glad this amazing guy is mine for eternity.

Happy Anniversary Steven!

I love you!

Baby!

 Packer Worth Jackson

Born July 9, 2012 around 6:50pm

7lbs 10ounces, 20 inches long

 He's the first baby boy for my side of the family, 

and we're already fully smitten by him :)

My brother Jameson, Katie, and baby Pack Man

Such a beautiful family!

Congratulations guys!

Happy DeAnne Day!

 On July 8th Steven's Mummy turned one year older :)

She is the most generous person I've met.

She even made her own birthday dinner and cake as a

birthday treat to her family, even though she's the one who 

is supposed to be spoiled! 

 We had a family dinner where we all enjoyed her delicious 

cooking.  Even though she made her own food, I'm glad we

got to get together to celebrate this amazing mom!

She loves her family and will do anything for them, 

and she is an expert engineer and a phenomenal gardener!

She's pretty much amazing, and we're so lucky to have her.

We love you Mamma Powell! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! 

City Folk

I really really dislike the word 'hate,' but I hate moving!

The actual moving part, like packing boxes and hauling stuff out wasn't too bad (except for the kitchen) because we had a lot of much appreciated help from amazing people. It's the leaving what has been a great home to me for the past five years, and all we've known as a married couple for the last three years, and saying goodbye to everything and especially everyone that we've come to know and love; that's the part I hate.  

I kept it together pretty well, except for when it came to our last night in our apartment, and when we drove away from it for the last time.  I think my fatal flaw is sentimentality, and when it hits I have this annoying reaction that causes moisture to pour from my eyes.  It usually results in a runny/stuffed nose and puffy eyes, depending on the severity.  Lets just say my face still hasn't quite recovered.

As we drove through and out of Cedar City we said goodbye to all of the many things we would miss, and to a few things we were happy to leave behind(which wasn't a whole lot).  We were still saying goodbye about half way through our trip.  Eventually, it morphed into the things we are looking forward to in the 'big city.'  Maybe I'll post those lists later. 

I know that this is the right move for us, and I'm especially grateful for the new job that Steven starts on Thursday. We've been extremely blessed that he's found such a great job in his field, right after graduation.  We're also very happy to be close to family again.  It is hard to leave Cedar City.  We really love it there and we especially love the people.  It has been an amazing place to start our married lives and gain the education that we did.  We are really going to miss it. It will always be a special place to us.

We also wanted to thank everyone who has made the Cedar City experience what it was, and to all our family for their support and help in our move.

We is City Folk now!