Come on baby light my fire

Way back in the early fall of '08, we noticed an odd addition in the orchard behind our house. It was a collection of large pieces of wood, some as long as 15-20 feet, arranged so that they looked like the preparation for a large, and I mean LARGE, bonfire. The teepee shaped pile was probably 15 feet at it's peak.

We were trying to imagine the marshmallows one would roast on such a fire. Or perhaps the enormous boar that would be turned on a gigantic spit suspended 20 feet in the air. Or worse yet, some sort of tribalistic ritual involving naked dancers, head dresses and long spears.

The pile had been there so long, now, that we really didn't notice it anymore, in spite of the fact that it lay there a mere 75 feet from our back fence.

But when we came home one day last week, we couldn't help but notice it again.

It was ablaze. Ignited. Flame on.


There was a mild curiosity about this sudden conflagration. Why was it being burned? Why now? Was our house going to smell like a summer camp devotion? Was anyone going to monitor said fire lest it spread past it's already substantial boundary?

But mostly, it was rather mesmerizing. Peaceful, even, in a this-force-could-destroy-you-and-everything-you-own kind of way.

So I post it here to share with you. Feel free to burn some mallows over the stove, make some instant hot cocoa and play the video.

And enjoy the lack of smoke smell clinging to your clothes.

Martha Stewart look out!

Anya has finished her first creative masterpiece from the sewing class she's taking this semester at school.She's been working on this messenger bag since the beginning of February (and working on a quilt at the same time. It's getting close to finished...check back in the next few weeks for its reveal). She picked out the fabrics back in January, so we've been waiting excitedly to see it completed.

Inside there's a pocket and zippered compartment.Pretty spectacular, especially since she'd never used a sewing machine before January!

Stylish and practical. Loving it.

Snow Days!

Karen's brother, Bruce, and sister-in-law Barb came to visit us for a few days, so we seized the last few moments of winter to squeeze in some snow fun.

First we headed up to Daniel's Summit on Friday while the girls had school. Daniel's Summit is about an hour west and a little south, and there are miles and miles of snowmobile trails that go from 6,500 ft all the way up to about 10,000 ft.

Here we are up at the top of the trail, overlooking the simply gorgeous view.Me, Barb and Bruce poised by a snowkid that someone previously made.The weather was simply phenomenal! It was maybe 40 degrees, no wind, bright sun. We had such a good time.

And experienced some snowmobile love...Then, on Saturday, with the girls, we went to the Soldier Hollow Tubing hill, just 30 minutes west of us. It was another gorgeous day; we actually took off our coats it got so warm.You get pulled up the tubing hill by a tow rope as you sit in your tube, then at the top you plop down and let gravity do its wonderful work!

Bruce and Barb at the base of the hill, overlooking Heber Valley.
Here's a racing showdown between the oldies (Karen, Bruce and Barb) and the youngies (Anya, Emily and Jenna).

Oh, and young Brown cousins? The girls all want to take you here if you ever come visit in the winter! No pressure, parents.

Not enough to do...obviously

Evidently, Karen and I do not give our children enough to do. They have too much spare time. They take possession of the camera. They go a little nutty.There is no explanation.Or if there is, I really don't think I want to know what it is.
I can see these coming in handy one day though.
Leverage. That's what we'll call these pictures. Leverage.

Utah...This Is The Place!

In Utah, fourth grade is the year when you study Utah history. Everything from the early Native American tribes, to the explorers and trappers, to the Mormon pioneers who settled the state through it's journey to statehood and modern American life.

The most famous phrase tied to Utah history is when Brigham Young led the first Mormon pioneers through Emigration Canyon and emerged to behold the Great Salt Lake and what is now the Salt Lake valley. As they stepped forth from the canyon, he said, "This is the place!"

And apparently it still is.

So as a wrap up of Jenna's Utah history unit, they did an adorable program singing songs about Utah and it's history.

Here she is in the midst of the fourth grade throng. She's dressed as a railroad worker.The golden spike that finished the transcontinental railroad was driven near Tremonten, Utah. Here, Jenna and the other railroadies lay the track that would connect our country east to west!
It really was a great program. And I think this little video snippet sums up the night.


And for all of you who live elsewhere, I'm sorry for you that you can't live here. Because life is great in Utah and there's no place like Utah. The song says it. It must be true.

So put on your brightest smile, bravely step forth into whatever substandard environment you must face, and face your day with the dim hope that one day perhaps you may at least visit this glorious state, even if you can't live here.Utah. This IS the place.

Taking in the beauty

Karen spent a few hours up at Sundance Nordic Center again.

Incredible.

Perfect day, glorious surroundings. Just had to put some of her snaps from the day out here.
Yes, this is an actual cabin that people can stay in.
Not right now, I don't think.
I know all you non-Utahns are jealous!

Scientists in training

You might think from our many posts about science, experiments and the like, that our girls really love science.

You'd be wrong.

However, they are all involved in curricula that seem to emphasize science, and this year at Em & Jen's school, they were each required to do an experiment or research of some sort and enter it into the school science fair.

Let's just say, there was not a lot of rejoicing at this prospect.

However, each of them was able to find an experiment they could tolerate, and the research began.

Jenna's involved the ability of our fingers to feel warmth when some fingers are feeling cold. She put two pennies in the freezer, and had the subject hold a third penny in their hand to make it warm. After a few minutes, all three were put in a row on the counter, with the two cold ones on the outside, and the warm one in the middle. The subject put three fingers on the pennies, and she asked if they could feel the warm one or only the cold.If you look in the center of the poster, Jenna drew a diagram to show how each subject touched the pennies.

Most of the subjects could only feel the cold. Evidently, the cold sensation is strong enough that for most people, they are unable to distinguish that the middle one is warm. Kind of an interesting discovery, I thought.

Emily's experiment involved the ability of our brains to ignore what we read and only identify a color that we see. She made a list of color words (red, green, orange, etc) and wrote each word with a colored marker. Most of the colors she wrote with did not match the color of the word itself. (i.e. red, purple). She asked the subject to say the color of the word (not what the word said) as they went through a list of 20 words, and she timed them. Then she gave them another list of words also written in various colors, however these were nonsense words (i.e. nghy, ftrs), and again asked them to say the color of the word. Every time, the subjects were able to complete the nonsense word list more quickly than the list with color names. Substantially faster. Evidently, our brains have a hard time setting aside what we read in favor of a color we see, when the two do not match.

Emily won 2nd place for the 6th grade at her school, so she went on to the district science fair and competed against about 80 5th-6th graders from other schools.

Alas, she did not move on from the district fair.

And she was really glad about that. Because in reality she wasn't all that hip on going to the district fair, so the thought of having to do it all again at the next level was utterly unappealing to her.

Although they won't admit it easily, I think both girls enjoyed their projects.

At least a little.

And they're also glad it won't happen again for at least a year.