Some Old Friends

Dad, Mom, my friend Jessica, and I went to Cody, Wyoming this week to visit our old friends the Dovers. They were serving a mini-mission there, so we were able to tour a lot of Wyoming.

Thursday we traveled around Yellowstone. That was very fun! Old Faithful wasn't as cool as I thought it would be, but that was okay! There were lots of other fun things to do there.



We don't have hardly any geyser pics, which is really a shame because they were pretty awesome. But this one was my favorite. It's called the Dragon's Mouth Spring. It was blackish water, and it growled like a dragon. There was a little cavwern in the back, and it kept on looking like a dragon was going to come out, because smoke was coming out of it.



Jessica and I had a fun time wading in the stream!

Friday, we were around Yellowstone as well, but we did a lot of other things too. We fed fat chipmunks, went to the top of the world (no joke!), and went to a beautiful cascade we renamed Dishwasher Cascade. There was a really pretty trail there that went a little ways up it, and traveling on it, we discovered giant mushrooms! That's why we named the trail Passage to Fairyland!



Help! We're falling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



"I'm on top of the world!!!!"



BFFS!




The first evidence of fairies...



I "Rock"!

We ate lunch in Montana. I know that sounds crazy, but we did! There was a little part of where we were driving where we cut into Montana, and there was a pretty picnic site there, so that's where we ate! Beyond the trail, there was a creek with lots of rocks. My dad skipped them really well, and Jessica and I attempted to, but ended up throwing in big rocks to hear them clunk for the fun of it!



Dad's a pro!



I found a rock that sort of looked like a gun, and I couldn't help myself!

Another fun thing about that day, was that there were tons and tons of buffalo! They were everywhere! They were even really close, and sometimes walked slowly across the road (though, none of us complained about the hold up. It was so funny!) We did see a bear, but it was really far away, and you couldn't see its front...




At the end of the day, we saw a lot of scenic water falls that were really incredible!







Saturday, we went to the church where the Dovers work, and saw the mural painted there. It was wonderful! We also went to the Buffalo Bill Museum that day, and found it very interesting. That evening, we watched Miss Potter (a movie about the author of Peter Rabbit) in the church theater.



This is one of my favorite shows!




Sister Dover moved into our ward in Georgia when I was only three. She was my first piano teacher, and I can't tell you how glad I am because of it. The Dovers have been delightful friends, that we are still blessed to keep in contact with. Thanks so much for letting us come by, and thanks, Jessica! I hope you had fun. I look forward to our next get together (we ARE still thinking about Scotland, right?!?!?!?!).

I Thought this was Important enough for its Own Post!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! For the last month I have my braces on, I have to wear rubber bands! Oh well, it will straighten my teeth even better, and I get my braces off the day before school starts!

Ohio Standage's and Cedar Hills Standage's Family Updates

I am extremely sorry this is so belated. But if you didn't get it from my last post, we went to Cincinnati, Ohio to hang with my brother, Stephen, sister-in-law Laura Beth, and their kids, Rachel, and the twins Maren and Michael three weeks ago. We did a lot of fun stuff while we were there.



Daddy giving a scripture



Maren and Michael chilling with Grandma!



Rachel chilling with Aunt Lar-Lar!



We went up to Kentucky to spend the night there and go see Mammoth Caves the next day. Upon our arrival, we went out for pizza. Yum!



I thought this picture was priceless!



Some pool fun at the hotel!



The next day, we went to Mammoth cave, which was really fun and interesting, and...didn't have HUMIDITY! The air felt cool and great!



Also that day, we went to the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln. I think the kids' favorite part was making creations out of the lincoln logs!



Pretty inspirational, huh?







Monday was our "Fun"-day at an Amusement park called Coney Island. It was mostly kid oriented, but it was still really fun. Rachel went on a rollercoaster, and I overcame my fear of ferris wheels, and we went swimming at the end of the day!





Tuesday, we went to the airforce museum! I just love that picture of Stephen! That day, Great-Grandma (well, Grandma to me...) came up to spend some of the trip with us. We love you!



Wednesday was completely devoted to Harry Potter. I'm so happy we got to see it on opening day! Stephen and Laura Beth went first while we watched the kids, then we traded off!



Thursday was kind of another hang out day, but we went to the library and got a book that I had been looking for to read. My sister Juli and her kids listened to the audio book and loved it, so tried to read it to Rachel, but she's a little younger than Emily and Sadie, so she wasn't interested. I read it in only an hour or so, and loved it. Then I read about twelve chapters in the car to Mom and Dad, and finished reading it with Mom that day, Dad finished it on his own. We all loved it! I recommend it to everyone. You're kids will love it, and so will you, and you will learn a great deal! It's called "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane", by Kate DiCamillo.



Friday was zoo fun! This was one of my favorite parts, since I love animal interaction. This little guy started playing with my hair when I tried to leave. How cute!



Is this guy adorable or what? I can't believe Stephen thought he was ugly!



Eating lunch with the peacocks!





These three manatee pictures are dedicated to Alien! Rock on!



After the zoo, we got to tour the hospital where Stephen works! We're so proud of you!


Our last big day of fun: we went to Amish country. The kids loved playing on the homemade swing sets and gazebos, and we got some pastries!



Another fun highlight was that the kids enjoyed playing human bridge with me in the girls' room. Maren especially liked this, and kept asking me to play that and "Teddy Bear" in her room!



Can't wait to see you guys next summer! I sure love those kids!

So Far...So Fun!

Hi from Cincy! We made it here safely! So far it's been great, and I've had an awesome time with the kids. Yesterday, Rachel, Maren, Michael, and I played dolls, Earth Vs. Aliens with these strange block thingeys, hide and seek, and a pretend game outside. We haven't gotten very far into it, but once the wizard comes out of my bag and unlocks the door to the abandoned castle, then we'll be able to find the pin and give it to the magic orb, so it can tell us more about our quest!

Today, we're going to hike in some caverns or something like that and spend the night up there, so I'll update soon!

Love you!

Stuff in July so Far

Sorry it's been a while, but I have three major updates. I'll try to be brief.

First, we went to Maple Grove on a family camping trip with the two Billingsley families (aka, Aunt Janet and Uncle Charles, and Donovan and Becca) and Daniel and Stephanie, as well as the Gustafsons (yay! Cousin time!) A few of my favorite highlights from that was, the tree swing dad put up, the treasure hunt and crown craft Brinlee and I did with the kids, and the awesome creek. Unfortunately, we don't have pictures of any of those things. Hopefully, though, we may go camping again next summer when my brother Stephen and his family are visiting from Cincinatti. Speaking of which, we're leaving to go visit them tomorrow! YAY!!!!!!!!!



We hung out with Daniel and Stephanie for Independence Day, and played a really fun game...ugh...trying to think of the name...I know it starts with a B...nope, don't know what it's called. But afterwards, we watched the Stadium of Fire fireworks from a distance. A lot of it was down low, which was surprising, but what we could see...STUNK! This was the year I would have preferred to go because of the singing group at it this year, compared to Brooks and Dunn, and Miley Cyrus from the years before. I'm not crazy about the Jonas Brothers, and I don't listen to their music, unless with a friend or something, but they're my favorite singing group out of those. And I was kind of wanting them to sing their new song "Paranoid" (Hey! I heard it on the radio at Seven Peaks, ok?)



Anyway, probably the best event that's happened lately was that on Sunday, Heather got blessed! It was awesome, but my favorite part would have to be that Stephanie's family, the Coleman's came up!!!!! We knew them in Georgia, and Charles (basically 13, as he puts it, since he's turning thirteen the end of this month) and Jessica (11) were like, my best friends ever! They're still really great friends, and still up at the top, even though I don't see them as much anymore. The funnest part was, they were allowed to come over and spend the night!!!!!!!!!!! IT WAS SOOOOOOOO FUN!!!!!!!!



Yep, that's what's happened. I had to hurry and tell about those before we left for Cincy so that I would have to update FOUR things in one post.

A couple of minor things going on: I'm loving the Cry of the Icemark, the book I'm reading. I read it in 6th grade, but it bored me to tears, and I skimmed it. Then, during 7th grade, I found out it was a trilogy, so now I'm rereading it, and I'm surprised how little I remembered! But it's soooo good, like a classic fantasy with battles and creatures!!!



Lord of the Rings, in my opinion, is better than classic fantasy though. I can't really remember those books either, but I wanted to read those again this summer as well, even though the writing is hardish, because the story is like, one of my favorites. However, we left the first one at my brother's old house, so we don't have it any more. But I read the first chapter of the second one yesterday night and loved it. Maybe I'll get the first one at the library...
Anyway...Alien was trying to show me something from the last book yesterday, and got her own copy, and started to look through Appendix B (there are appendixes up to F, by the way, in the back of the last book). We learned SOOOOOOOO much!!!!!
Sam was elected mayor of the Shire 7 times, he had like, over ten kids, when I thought he only had Elanor and Frodo!!!!! Oh, oh, and...Pippin's son (I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW HE GOT MARRIED!!!!!!!), who he named after Faramir, married one of Sam's daughters!!!!!!!!!! IT WAS SOOOOOOOOO COOL. And Merry lived to be 102 I think.

I want to be like that, so detailed with my stories like that. I mean, I seriously used to draw pedigrees for fun!



I would go on to talk about my new story, but I don't want to be a bore. I'll just tell you the names of my characters. Each one is a representative of each of the different kinds of people in this world I haven't named yet.

Sira Aquaris Quenzdaughter: Water Kingdom, Creek Tribe

Cassandra Stardust Falcondaughter: Sky/Air Kingdom, Cloud Tribe

Alio Treeroot Buckson: Earth Kingdom, Tree Tribe

Nymph Somethingorother Dunnowhosdaughter: Human

Frorin Firesparks Fransson: Last of the Light Kingdom, Sunlight Tribe

Jet Shadow Constanceson: Last of the Darkness Kingdom, Shadow Tribe

I don't know if I'm going to keep all the tribesey thingeys, I just sort of added them on there on the spot...

Anyway, that's about it. Oh, I forgot! ALIEN GOT A BLOG! Let's all give her a warm welcome to the blogging business.

So long for now, talk to you soon, love you all!