Peyton's baptism

Congratulations to Peyton, who was baptized on Saturday. We're so proud of you!

The kids loved having a chance to see their cousins. The weekend ended far too quickly, because we didn't have nearly enough time to talk, Jodi fed us very well, and Juli let us stay in her house. Noone wanted to come home.

We especially enjoyed traveling with Heidi and G.K. The scenery was amazing and the company even better. We need to do another road trip soon.

Labor Day

So Heidi reminded me that I'm a little behind in posting to the blog...3 months or so since the last one...so I'm backtracking a little.

We took the kids to Jackson Hole and saw the two Pink Garter productions we hadn't seen, "Who's Playing the Sheriff" and "Singin' in the Rain." We started the notorious Longstroth Family Waffle cone Hike, but only went a couple of miles, and it's a good thing, because as soon as we turned around a storm blew in (it rains every time we go to Jackson). As we walked, the wind blew the trees, many of them still blackened from the 1988 fires, and three of them fell with a deafening crash just off the path. We walked a little more quickly after that.

We got back to camp, started the fire and made lunch, just in time for the downpour. We ate our hamburgers and hot baked beans standing in the rain and put away the wet tent and went to stay with friends...Dennis said "I will always remember this as my last camping trip ever." I'm sure we'll get him to go camping again, but it makes a great story.

Viva Italia!

Dennis and Wendi travelled to Milan, someplace we've never been. There aren't many tourists, everyone on the street looks like they belong on a fashion runway, and they have the most beautiful duomo! You can climb to the top and walk all over the roof.

Then we went to Cinque Terra, after hearing glowing reports from Tom and others...we certainly weren't disappointed. This is our new favorite place. We hiked to all five towns, and finished off (just in time, as it was getting dark) in Vernazza, where we ate at a little restaurant at the top of this cliff. We got a little worried because Dennis had to start teaching in Rome on Tuesday and there was a railway strike Monday so we couldn't get out. The wonderful woman we rented a room from piled us in the car and drove us to the next major town so we could catch a 1:24 am train to Rome (which was, of course, delayed, and didn't leave until 2:30 am.) We were sunburned and exhausted, but we made it!

Once the students arrived in Rome, things got busy fast! Dennis and Nancy were teaching classes and taking students to ruins, fountains, and churches. It's hard to keep up with those two! Once the students finally got a day off, you'd think they'd collapse, but no, they followed their crazy professors to Pompeii (WOW!) and Naples. Pompeii is an ancient Roman city that was buried under 30 feet of ash until the mid 18th century. They've been excavating for 250 years, and they're about 2/3rds of the way done.

Monday was Wendi's birthday and after spending the day at the Vatican Museum, everyone surprised her with an ice cream cake (ummmm....dessert before dinner).

As much fun as we're having, we miss the kids (though they're not missing us, apparently! We got an exciting update from Kate about the fun everyone had in Wyoming. We're jealous). We've been horrible about keeping in touch because Internet has been spotty (our hotelier in Rome limited access to 15 minutes during your entire stay...unless you are a cute female college student, of course).

Summer?

We took the kids to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone National Park over Memorial Day weekend. It was cold and rainy, but we got enough sun to enjoy the Memorial Day parade (something about throwing candy in a parade that requires every participant to enter a horse is just not right. it was a very interesting combination of smells) and to hike to Fairy Falls.


The kids worked hard on the set for "Who's Playing the Sheriff" at the Pink Garter before we enjoyed the park. They did a great job and learned some cool scenic painting techniques. One of the highlights was seeing a tap dance rehearsal for "Singin' In the Rain."


School ended and the pace didn't slow at all. MarKaye and KateLind spent a week at music theatre camp, with a cool standing room only performance at the end.

We were so lucky to get a chance to see Chris and Abe on their way back to Sandy after seeing the Wyoming branch of the Longstroth clan. We weren't on the ball enough to get any pictures, though. And mom came up and stayed with us this week while she attended a special education conference at Utah State University.

We did get a chance to at least walk through the Summerfest Art Faire. DeLane is in the picture if you look carefully behind MarKaye and KateLind.