After leaving Fish Lake we headed down the mountain and into Richfield to spend a few days with the Steck side of the family. It is always a little different pace in the small metropolis of Richfield and most of the time we welcome it. My sister-in-law Sabrina threw this little photo shoot together on a moments notice and gave her friend Dee a call. We went through our suitcases and tried to find a coordinating color in which Sabrina could then match her family up to ours. Considering the very short time period we had, I think our colors turned out great and the coordination couldn't have been better on any shorter notice. We met the photographer over in Glenwood (my mother's home town) at the old Mercantile, which was the original United Order building. Brian being recently read up on my side of the family recognized that it was the most successful United Order in Utah at that time. The old building there on main street and just up from my grandparents home provided a nice back-drop for our family pictures. We got some great shots, just wish that Spencer would cooperate a little bit more. Dang that kid, he just has to be different and he just can't look at the camera and say "cheese". The cutest pictures are the ones of his back side. I still haven't come to terms with his avoidance of strangers and cameras, but seriously, Spencer, just once, I'd like to see you prove me wrong! After completely wearing every kid and man out at this location we still drove up to the old mill and took a couple shots there as well. I remember going up there to pick apples as a kid and also to buy fresh pressed apple juice. I also remember hiking down from the Glenwood Fish Hatchery into the orchard and then walking on down to grandmas house. These pictures are more than just a cute family photo, they are taken in a place of meaning to the Payne/Bagley side of the family and taken this month of July and remembering our pioneer heritage, made these that much more special.
Sometimes, I just can't help but include a few pictures that I myself find cute and the fact that these ones were taken with my camera, makes me even more happy!
Kelsey does have the best grandparents and we don't have nearly enough pictures of them with her/us, so it was fun to take a few today and I was happy that Brian actually took the camera in his hands and snapped a picture of Spencer and I. These photos are going to make a great Christmas card, can't wait to see what becomes of it!
How many times are we going to say, "look at that beautiful red hair?"
The handed down story that has been shared is as follows and is why Grandma Irene took us on a little hike up Indian Creek while we visited the Richfield/Glenwood areas this trip home. "This was in the summer of 1866 while in Glenwood. George (Powell) was a guard and went to the hills near Indian Creek every morning to watch for Indians and herd cattle. He always took his lunch with him and remained there all day. At noon he would spread out his lunch and give thanks to the Lord. As he was praying this day, an Indian crept up behind him and had his tomahawk raised ready to kill him, but seeing him talking to the Great Spirit, the Indian became frightened and crept away. George didn't know anything about this until after the Indians became friendly and one day this particular Indian came to him and told him the story." This is a faith promoting story of the power of prayer. This ancestor took the time to pray aloud to thank his Heavenly Father for his blessings. Because of his belief in prayer, his life was spared. It was great to take Kelsey up here and for Grammy Irene to tell this story. The location is just up from the Glenwood cemetery and a short hike. However, the horse flies were biting strong and the weeds quite tall. The girls found all kinds of animal bones to collect and were ever so interested in this story. After the little hike, we stopped at the cemetery to see George Powell's grave as well as many of our other ancestors and family members graves. The Glenwood cemetery is a true pioneer cemetery with many of the early Utah settlers buried there. My grandfather Reed J. Payne took great care in this little old cemetery for many years and made sure that each Memorial Day every grave was decorated with a flower. He would collect the discarded flowers from year to year and save them for the next year to place on the graves that didn't have anything. I remember helping him to go through the cemetery trash to locate flowers that could be salvaged for use the next year.
After leaving the Glenwood Cemetery we traveled over to the Richfield Cemetery and decorated Logan's grave. It isn't often that we are there on a holiday and are able to decorate it ourselves (the grandparents take great care of him for us), but this year we were and the kids enjoyed putting the flags on. Spencer has usually been asleep in the car when we have visited the cemetery before and so this is one of few pictures we have with him at his older brother Logan's grave.
Happy 44th Birthday Daddy Brian! Brian's birthday is on July 3rd and often is celebrated while we are in Utah. Let me just say, I think all the kids were more excited about his birthday than he was!
Kelsey, also known as Cheetah decided to run the Liberty 5K race in Richfield on the morning of the 4th of July. It was a fantastic race and she was the youngest entered participant. She started out way in front and I had a heck of a time trying to catch her. She was doing a zig zag pattern to try and keep runners from passing her, it was hilarious watching from behind! Once I caught up to her, we ran the rest of the race together. She finished in 32 min and 32 seconds, an outstanding time for her age. She makes me proud and it was so fun to have our own cheering section waiting for us along the route and across the finish line. Thanks Grandma, Grandpa, Brian and Spencer for greeting us upon completion. It was also fun to catch up with an old college roommate and friend, Amy Cornaby who drove over from Beaver to run with us. We are already looking forward to another race, thanks Kelsey for seeing to it that your mother gets some exercise, you are incredibly motivating.
I love the 4th of July in Richfield, it is so rich with tradition. It all starts with the 6:00 a.m. cannons going off and then the parade and all kinds of food and fun at the city park. The kids loved the parade, even if Kelsey did get mowed over by a grown adult trying to pick up candy! I love that everyone dresses in red/white/and blue and Spencer was so excited to have a flag on his shirt. These are the memories that bring smiles to kids and parents faces! Happy 4th America!!!
I couldn't help but grab my camera and snap this shot of the Mormon missionaries in the parade. I said to myself, only in Utah would this be a parade entry. Good for these guys, it did make me smile and who knows, maybe that www.Mormon.org did spark some interest?
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