Grandma Barb

My dear grandmother died unexpectedly last week at age 84. We went to the funeral in St. George this weekend. Despite the sad reason for getting together, it was great to spend time with so much family. Throughout the service, I was inspired by my grandparent's lives. But my favorite was when my Aunt Rosi read a few passages from my grandma's personal journals. In one passage my grandma wrote about a morning, when she was about 80 years old, when my grandpa woke her up and told her he had a song in his head and then sang her "Have I Told You Lately that I Love You."

I am so grateful for her beautiful life. She deserved it.

Remembering Peru

Day one: Lima

Magical Churro-like things.

Picture that could have been taken anywhere but it was taken in Lima. Look how happy we are.

Day two: Cuzco

On the way to Cuzco, Mike slept in the airport using every item of clothing we brought as a blanket.

Overlooking Cuzco.

Weaving lady.

Mike getting energy from a rock at Sacsayhuaman (aka sexy woman).

Day three: Pisac & Urubamba

Pisac. And how cool is Katie's hat? So fancy.

Pisac.

Pisac.

Mike feeding a llama on the way to Pisac.

We spent the next two nights in magical eco lodge called Las Challpus where there are ruins with wild calla lilies.

And they let us use the kitchen to make our own dinner out of the wonderful produce in the town market.

The whole place was whimsically decorated with random reclaimed materials.

Day four: Moray & Salt Mines

Day five: Ollantaytambo

On the way to Ollantaytambo, we stopped at a festival in Chinchero and ate a wonderful lunch.

The ruins in Ollantaytambo are right above the town. It was quite dramatic.

We also hiked to some ruins a few miles away and had them all to ourselves.

Day six: Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu was a spectacular capstone to our wonderful trip.

Yurt

Two mile hike uphill in the snow in the dark to a canvas dwelling = so much fun.

Above: Mike's contribution to the guest book.
We didn't even think to bust out the camera until after Nik & Noah left. Trust me, they were there and looked fabulous.

fake real flowers

Mike must have a thing for those flowers that they dye unnatural colors. He buys them for me and then apologizes that they are "fake." I am not complaining.


Also if you have a camera that has different modes for different lighting, take a minute to figure that out. It will make a huge difference in the quality of your photos. Notice how orange the photo below is (before I remembered to change the setting) compared to the one above. Both are straight out of camera.

a picture a day

Mike challenged me to take a picture a day this year. Here goes...

January 3, 2010: Attempted self portrait on a twilight walk.

holidays