Boulder, Arsenic & The Chosen One turns 16

As promised, I finally uploaded all my pictures from our family trip. I won't go into a lot of exposition about the trip since I'd rather look at pictures than read a narrative myself, but warned, there are a lot of pictures (though not half as many as were taken)! For those who don't know where Boulder, UT is, you're certainly not alone. About 90% of native Utahans don't know where it is either, which is why its so special to us. In fact, the only people in Boulder have either lived there all their lives, or are tourists from Europe who have been lured by tales of the unparalleled vistas, hiking, hunting & fishing, mountain biking and more.
We go because my grandpa Church worked summers in high school carrying mail to Boulder from his home town of Escalante by mule train (actual picture). In 1963, he bought a summer home there where he ran a cattle ranch, raised horses and enjoyed the place he had become so fond of as a youth. That ranch house and land has been in our family ever since and his vast posterity enjoys it to this day.

John gleaned some new found courage from that ridiculous Mic Dundee hat he found in a closet and boarded this less than reliable vessel in the pond out back where we made a fire and had s'mores. Ask him how long it took for his boots to dry after that incident.

Let the horse shoes tourney begin! A Boulder tradition.

Notice the concentration and follow through here. I think this was the game where Dane and I beat dad and John 21 to 1.

Just being lazy.
Our first hike of the trip up to the toad stool. See it?
The last time I did that hike was 12 years ago as you can see by my name (Kelly F '96) carved into the sandstone at the top.

Fast Sunday dinner.
The 4th of July festivities began with the 5 minute parade. This small town parade made the weekly arrival of the garbage truck seem like Thanksgiving Day in New York. The highlight of the parade (aside from the Garfield county ambulance and the pickup truck full of kids spraying people with a hose) was the "freedom dragon". We knew it was called the freedom dragon because of the girl walking ahead of it shouting, "Feel the power of the freedom dragon!" Oh, we felt it alright. Sweet.
After the y'all come BBQ at the town hall, there was a town talent show open to all. The talent included a mime show, local bands, harmonica performances, a one man Monty Python show, and a little girl named Willow who recited 'The Highway Man'. There was 3 hours worth of such "talent". My dad actually entered and recited a cowboy poem he wrote and won $50! Way to go dad!
Let the stream fishing begin. I caught 5 fish in an hour and a half using one worm. Here is the Bono approach to fishing. Unfortunately for Layne, wearing cool shades and urging the fish to do their part to help fight AIDS in Africa was not enough to coax them out of the water.

The great Risk game of the trip (which Dane won) interrupted by a little early birthday celebration (for Dane) with a cake I made.

Our second hike up sugar loaf mountain.



Swimming and playing catch at calf creek.
The Moqui cave dwelling.
A local
We did a LOT of this on the trip.
Here I am killing everyone at Scrabble.

It was a great trip! Too bad coming back to work wasn't so great. In part of the lab where I work, an engineer was working with sodium arsenide years ago and part of the duct work got contaminated with arsenic. That duct work was closed off and quarantined, but not removed because of the danger and expense of having it cleaned out. Since then it hasn't been a problem...until the arsenide alarm went off on Friday as I was undressing in the entryway. They locked it down and had environmental health and safety come down with the nuclear holocaust masks on to run tests in the lab. Boy, arsenic poisoning really would be the icing on the cake of my 3 days back from vacation!
Saturday was a very special day because it was the 16th birthday of 'The Chosen One' aka my little brother Dane Addison Flaherty. Dane is 10 years my junior and I often felt like a 2nd mother to the boy when he was little. We've been close ever since the days when I'd sing him to sleep at night, and watching him grow up has been an absolute pleasure for me. To this day, Dane is one of my best buds!

(A surprise party for Dane at the Gilbert theater where they saw a 3D movie)

Some things you may not know about Dane:

1. He has the most nicknames of anyone I know. Some examples: The Chosen One, Boy, Squeege (short for Squeegie) and Booger.
2. Dane is a music stud. He plays the piano, the jazz saxaphone, the guitar and has in recent years developed into a true bass (I couldn't be more excited about that).
3. Dane has often been called John's mini-me, but don't be fooled, there is nothing mini about this kid. Mark my words, before Dane's mission, he WILL have outgrown his older brother in both height and girth. Buckle up John, its coming.
4. Dane is a gaming fool. My dad (the English major turned poet, author, playwrite and journalist) hasn't been able to beat this boy at Scrabble in ages.
5. Dane is relatively mild mannered, but he's a competetor! This Christmas during our family basketball game, he established himself as a force to be reconned with. Dane is also a budding volleyball stud.
I'm so proud of the incredible and upstanding guy that my little brother has become. Happy birthday boy! I love you!