The Wicked Witch is in St. Louis!

Anita and I were foxy ladies all dressed up and off to the persian-design Fox Theatre in downtown St. Louis right by Saint Louis University where former Ute coach, Rick Majerus, coaches. It is quite a breathtaking theatre, it reminded me of the Epcot Center's Morocco. My favorite was the spectacular ceiling design on a blue background. Our seats were on the front row of the loge; we had a perfect unobstructed view of the stage. And what a view! This is a wonderful show and I was so excited to know how the story fit the music that I know by heart. I must say that I hated the book and blissfully, the show barely followed the book and it is MUCH better. I was delighted with how it tied in all the tasty tidbits of L. Frank Baum's story - the genesis of the flying monkeys, the tinman, and the scarecrow. It ended up a lovely, tender story of true love and friendship. I was emotionally touched as the play ended. I spent most of the evening hoping it wouldn't end because I could have watched it another two hours! The emerald city scene was the most spectacular I've seen on a stage since the Ascot Races scene when I went to "My Fair Lady" in Lost Angeles with Uncle Will when I was 12. Well, Wicked was MAGIC and I have been changed for good!

Robert graciously let me have his ticket (he's seen it twice before) and the guys all went to watch the Cardinals beat the A's at Busch stadium (in $150 super seats).

Anita sent her kids her first- ever text message. That's a big deal! Now we need to get her an iphone so she can keep it up!

Meet Me in St, Louie!

Anita and Bob are hosting Jeff, Rick and me in St. Louis for Father's Day. They are leaving next week to visit Rob & Deb in Seattle then onto Hawaii.

Friday was Anita's last day at work, so we hung out then went down to cute little Lebanon, Illinois for lunch at Dr. Jazz's soda fountain. There were charming little shops along the main street for shopping. Rick and I found Halloween things there! Really cute ones! We HAD to buy them. Jeff refused to take the 12 scoop ice cream sundae challenge at lunch - if you can eat it all in 30 minutes, it's free. Instead he had a pineapple/coconut sundae. Rick and I got our old-time favorite chocolate ice cream sodas.

About 5pm we loaded into the car and headed for Busch Stadium to watch the Cardinals play against the Oakland A's. The new stadium takes full advantage of it's view of the famous expansion arch. The arch looks surreal to me; like someone put it into the skyline with computer graphics. One neat thing about the field, the groundskeepers have mown a reflection of the arch into the outfield. Very cool.

We got ballpark bratwurst for diner and found Jeff some sauerkraut to go with it. The last time I went to a major league baseball game was in 1976; when I was expecting Nicole. The game was much more fun that I remembered; there was lots of action and scoring beginning with a 2-run homer by the Cardinals in the first inning. The guys are going back tonight for game 2 of this match-up. Anita and I are headed to the Fox Theatre to see "Wicked"! I've wanted to see this play for years! I'm excited.

The 50's Golden Oldies - but Goodies

Time for the Wasatch Group get together! Fred and Jill planned a 50's Golden Oldies party for us. Their home was turned into a hamburger joint complete with menus - we each gave our order to poodle-skirted waitresses, Lauren & Hannah (Their darling granddaughters). Our placemats were record albums. We got to choose creme soda, root beer or black cherry soda to drink. The scary looking grill master wore a black leather vest - but he grilled up some mighty fine burgers and dogs. Homemade french fries and onion rings came to us in paper-lined plastic baskets. After sufficiently stuffing ourselves, we adjourned to do a little 50's dancing on the Wii. We were really hot stuff - just like the old days. What a fun party!

Gardner Village Witches

Happy Times! Anita, Bob and Deb Snyder came to town to spend Halloween with us! It was time to party, so we headed out to Gardner Village to see their witches and shop about.

Lobster Fest - into the Tribune

For years we've said we should join in the costume contest at the annual Halloween Hi Jinks Symphony. This was the year. I spent two days sewing 4 lobster costumes to go with Nicole's original that she made in San Diego. We finished sewing 8 lobster claws about 30 minutes before we had to leave for the symphony because Uncle Rick came early and helped us stuff all of them.

We lost the costume contest, although the judges gave us kudos from onstage. The symphony mascot, seagull, asked if he could have pictures taken with us. But when we all showed up at Red Lobster for dinner after the symphony, several staff members came out to greet us and asked us to come in and visit our relatives in the tank. It was hard to know what to choose when you found yourself on the menu.

The Salt Lake Tribune asked readers to send in pictures of their Halloween costumes. I sent some along and a reporter responded back to me that so far, ours were their favorites. Surprise! Halloween morning, our picture was on the front page of the Utah section!

Phantom Cannons

The annual Cannon Family Halloween fest was based on Phantom of the Opera The masquerade was accessorized by everyone's feather mask and the little girl's sequined tiaras. Dessert featured a chocolate fountain with fruit and cake to dunk in dripping chocolate. Instead of bringing down a chandelier, the kids all got together and brought down a mirror-ball pinata.

Noma's 85th Suprize Birthday Party

Last Saturday afternoon we had a beautiful ride down to Mapleton, Utah. Norma's son Clint, and his wife, Wylene, had planned a surprise party for Norma's 85th birthday. They had a lovely dinner catered and invited us all to come. The food was wonderful and each table had a centerpiece that depicted some special aspect of Norma's life and interest. They had requested pictures and we sent several down which they used also.

Norma lives across the street from a lovely home that covers two lots. On one lot is their dwelling and on the other is a huge recreation building. It has a weight room, an indoor wave pool room and a big hall for basketball and sports with a kitchen off one corner. This is where the party was. As the dinner wound down, Rustin and the others wound up and decided to give the chin-up bars a try. Jeff was sure if his neck was only a little bit longer he could have suceeded. Only one person made it all the way to an official chin-up. Look below for the star athlete!

Canyon Picnic

Nicole called me late last Saturday afternoon and asked if we could have our traditional Conference picnic in the canyon one week early. She and Rustin had plans to go to Lake Powell with their bishop's family over Conference, but they didn't want to miss out on our picnic. So we took off after church for the Alpine Loop. The canyon was super crowded. There were no picnic spots available. Luckily Rustin knew of a picnic area above the Tibble Fork reservoir that was unmarked. We kept going and going and found one of the most lovely spots shrouded in autumn glory I've ever seen. It was chilly but very beautiful! Rustin and Nicole had brought their Ranger, so after eating they took off up a dirt road and the two cars followed slowly behind. We took turns driving and riding in the ranger going quickly through the trees and leaves. At one point Carole and Clark took us on wild rides around another lake high in the mountains. We loved it so much that Jeff and I met Nicole and Rustin back at the same place Monday evening and took the ranger all the way to the top of the mountain. It was exhilarating to be outdoor and submerged in the autumn colors. Oh how glorious. As it turned out, that was really a good idea, because this Conference weekend it is dark and gray and cold and raining. We would have missed a spectacular experience in Utah's mountains.

Corbin Came to Visit ! ! !

Scott & Mitzi came down with Corbin to visit because Kat & Richard Ethington were home from Dubai for a visit. They had a wonderful time seeing their old friends again. And I had a wonderful time taking Corbin on walks in Murray Park with Barkley. Cute little Corbin galloped all through the park, lickety split. He galloped at least a mile as our pathway wound all through the park. As you can see, there were times Barkley and I had to giddy up to stay close to him! He brought such delight and happiness into our home, although he didn't much like the Halloween witch that screams and cackles or the hanging spider that drops down to scare people.

The Lord's Tenth

September 26th was a beautiful autumn evening. Jeff invited members of the ward where he was bishop (The University 10th Ward) to bring their children to our home for dinner on our back patio. We called the members of his ward "The Lord's Tenth" in deference to their spirituality and service. They are some of the most wonderful young people in the world.Sister Cannon and Bishop Cannon Brenda & Ben Thomas (our dog, Wilbur's caretaker) and their three boys. Lindsey (Boyer) and Dr. Dan Kaelberer and their lovely children. Sarah & Jared Johnson and their six children. Gina & Brian Taylor and their two girls. He is a sports announcer on the radio. All the usual suspects. Camille and Bruce Killpack with Sage & McClean (who takes care of our yard all summer.)