Flying High

Yesterday Sarah turned 17. For a family celebration we headed up to the Zip Line at Sundance Ski Resort (thanks Diane and Lant). The zip line opened just this year. It is the 3rd longest zip line tour in the US, is 1.86 miles long and has the most vertical drop of any zip line in the US. The above photo is what happens when you loan your i-phone to your children to take a photo of their father.

First step, ride Ray's lift up the front mountain. This is the lift where Marie and I skied on a re-kindling date (in the final months of dating on and off for 13 years) that finally led to our marriage. It is also the lift where on the first ride of Joel and Sarah up this lift, I forgot in the confusion of the moment to help a young Joel (age 5 or 6) off the lift at Ray's Summit. When he saw Sarah and me below he jumped off from about six feet up. He was unhurt and I was very relieved. The lift then descends to its final off load point which meant I would have had to leave Sarah at the top and ski down to get Joel. No mishaps this time.

 Spectacular Mt Timpanogos.

 Short practice run.

 First Span--Ray's Span

Then ride Arrowhead lift up to Arrowhead Summit with this view down Provo Canyon to Utah Valley.

The view eastward to Deer Creek Reservoir (where Will broke his arm tubing).

The view northward.

Sarah flying high down Bishop's Span

Will following behind

The end point is the bald hill top in the distance. Bishop's bowl is below.

 Joel

and then Marie

Marie and Joel

Dad coming in a little too fast at the bottom of Bishop's Span. Truth be told my increasing fear of heights made me a little nervous dangling at the top waiting for the word to go. But once I was moving I had no problem.

Marie and Will coming in at the bottom of Flathead Span.

Solo Sarah in the middle of Flathead Span

 Outlaw Span--the longest. Marie and Joel.

Joel

 Will

It was two hours of beautiful scenery and rushing fun.

Last Thursday I arranged to have piano movers bring a player piano and an old pump organ from my parents' house in Logan (papers were signed yesterday for its sell). The movers could not get the organ out of the basement so all that was delivered was the player piano. The two local guys who brought it to our house could not muscle it around and on to the upper landing so this afternoon two bigger and more experienced movers muscled it around the turn and down the stairs in an impressive feat of shear will and brawn. 
 

We are now a two piano family. Mom needled pointed the green bench. The piano rolls fill up the lower shelf.

The kids and their friends had fun playing it this afternoon.



Joels' new favorite song is "Secret Agent Man."

With the addition of the piano, the "extreme make-over" of our basement family room is now almost complete. It all started a year an half ago when Santa delivered a ping pong table. This was the beginning of a move to make the room more teenager friendly, a place where our kids could hang out with friends. In the last few weeks, I have shuffled out our old computer and filing cabinet, bought a new TV and moved out a dinosaur of a TV (salvaged from Raintree Apartments for our youth yard sale), moved out and/or shelved and organized stacks of book, moved in a new bookshelf from my parents, gotten rid of an old couch and replaced it with a couch from my parents basement, looked for a love seat (still pending), hung new pictures, moved all of our CDs into the bookshelves for easier access, dusted and vacuumed. 

The last thing still to do is to hang lots of family photos on the wall behind the ping pong table now decorated with Indonesian water colors. We also need to figure out the best place for Marie's treadmill. This makeover and the clean out of my parents house has had a ripple effect throughout the whole house as other rooms have been cleaned and organized to receive other items (book shelves, bed, posters and paintings, quilting frames, CDs, piano music, storage shelves, tables and chairs) from my parents house or from the family room.

The mustard colored chair in the distance is Joel's inheritance. It is a commode my dad salvaged from the old Logan Hospital complete with a central hole, circular lid and receptacle below.  

This was all completed just in time for Sarah and a few friends to enjoy a birthday movie last night on the new TV.  I envision many more such gatherings in the new basement.

Last Thursday--Saturday Joel and Will both competed with their Utah Storm soccer teams in a local tournament (Utah Showcase and Cup).  Neither team made it to the finals but they both had fun playing, Will with a bubble wrapped cast (it was cut off two days ago) on his left forearm and Joel on a new division A team that plays harder and faster than his former team. Will and his team's best game was the second game on Thursday when Will scored three of the five goals, with two assists. At one point we could hear one of the soccer mom's from the other team yell to her defensive playing son to "guard the bubble boy!"

Joel controlling the ball with a chest.

Saturday Grandma and Grandpa Tueller and Aunt Martha came to watch. Earlier support came from Aunt Jan and Uncle Winn and then Aunt Diane.