Happy Birthday Dad and Abram

Dad blowing out 6 + 3 candles on the birthday cheesecake (before the cherry topping).

A & A & A

The Stansbury Barker Bunch

Where in the world is Carmen Lasagna? Look carefully...it will soon be devoured!

Smiling because the French bread is ready and the feast is about to begin.

The birthday boy opening cards and presents.

Most all of the presents were "Retirement" themed. Yes, Dad's last day at work will be March 31st.

What a haul...thanks everyone for thinking of the old man. Lots of creativity here.

Jack Butler comfortable shirt and slippers, soap opera guide to help plan the daytime TV viewing, chocolates to eat while watching the Soap Operas, new hobbies to take up...paint by numbers and model magic presto dots(?!), geocaching gear, ear plugs (to sleep through Mom's early morning alarm), lots of Barbeque equipment so dinner can be served when Mom walks through the door after work, Marionberry jam for toast if he gets up in time for breakfast, and a straw hat in case he decides to do any yard work this summer! There's also a bottle of windshield cleaner to help him have a clearer view of the future and what lies ahead. Congrats on your retirement...you've earned it!!!

The other birthday boy, Abram, who has turned 27!

Sunday was the nicest day we have had all year...warm enough for the spin in the jeep in the back yard before the party. Hey the lawn is starting to green up!

Look out Brielle, here comes Colby, wheeling and dealing.

Colby, the Leprechaun!

Randy and Melanie Lewis's new, second home in Midway (by Heber). They invited us and Rob and Naida Stayner up for a "sleepover" on Friday night. We ate lots of good food and talked until 1:00am.

Ice sculptures at the Zermatt Resort in Midway.

Ice sculpture closeup.

Naida, Rob, Melanie, Randy, Laur and Paula

The sleepover gang clowning around and wondering when the camera is going to click!

Shen Yun

On Tuesday, March 16th, we drove to Ogden after work for a great dinner (chicken piccata and salmon) at The Artisan Grille. (The primary chef and owner of this restaurant is the man I took my cooking class from last month.) Then we went to see the Shen Yun Performers present a 2-1/2 hour show of classical Chinese dance (which is a combination of ballet and gymnastics) at the Egyptian Theater in Ogden. It was amazing and very entertaining. There were 16 dance numbers (with up to 20 male and 20 female dancers and one little girl,) plus 4 vocal soloists (in Chinese with subtitles, 2 sopranos and 2 tenors accompanied by a pianist on a Steinway grand.) Two narrators told about each performance (in Chinese and English) and the orchestra had a mixture of eastern and western instruments. Scenes of China (sometimes animated) were projected across the back of the stage which also had 3 risers and they used dry ice machines to produce clouds/fog for several numbers. The costumes (often including head gear) were unbelievable, different for every number(!) exotic and very colorful. Several of the dances depicted stories of Chinese myths/historical events and many were regional “folk dances.” Props were sometimes used including lanterns, bows (archers), handkerchiefs (one of our favorite numbers), etc. We really liked a dance called “In a Miao Village” done by the women wearing elaborate headdresses and ornate silver jewelry that included jingling bells which started faintly and increased in volume and exuberance. We also liked the dances with costumes that had flowing silken sleeves, about 5 feet longer than the arms, swirled like banners, etc. The music was great. Some of it sounded like Kitaro. There was a lot of percussion. The leaps, the front and back flips, the synchronization, well it was all impressive and the themes included the importance of family, hard work, endurance, and religious concepts. Some pointed out the intolerance that exists in China today. The performers were probably in their 20s, ethnic Chinese, born in the United States and trained in New York. They have three companies on tour. The one we saw will be in Portland this weekend, the other two are in Japan and Switzerland! The narrators said that the performance we saw could not be seen in China…not allowed. We had fabulous seats on the front row!!! This allowed us to see all the details of the elaborate costumes as well as the faces of the charming and talented performers. We could peek into the orchestra pit and we also felt the fog/clouds rolling out over the stage. We truly enjoyed the evening. It was something out-of-the-every-day, impressive and memorable. Thanks to B&R for the tickets!