The Old Tee-Pee

I found this old picture and I thought a few of you might get a kick out of it. When I was a kid, we had this play Tee-Pee and we loved that thing. It was ripped and I think one of the poles was broken, but it was always fun to play with. In this picture is (l to r) Jeremy, John David Curry (I think?), Carrie, and Me (check out those awesome blue shorts I was wearing). This picture was taken at "The Yellow House" in Aberdeen. As a bonus you can even see the headlight of the old Chevette that our family had growing up. We had this car when my youngest sister Lillia was born and for a short time we fit our whole family in the car (Three kids in the back seat, each with another kid on a lap and Mom (with a car seat on her lap) and Dad in the front seat. Some have likened going to church in the chevette as sort of a clown car routine.

The Lowder Family...minus two

For Labor Day weekend I went to Aberdeen to spend some time with Grandma & Grandpa and I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Aunt Peggy and Uncle Ronnie's house for Ronnie's birthday. In this picture is Chelsey, Ronnie, Peggy, and Celest (Cindrie and Chantae weren't born yet). I'm not sure exactly how long ago this photo was taken, but it has to be somewhere between two and three decades. That sure was a long time ago.

For Cammie

My cousin Cammie just moved to Texas to go to school and so this one is for her. We miss you Cammie and hope you are doing well. These pictures were taken when Lillia was being blessed so this is around September of 1987 in Aberdeen Idaho. The first one is of Cammie and the second one is of Cammie and Kimberly.

Happy Birthday Lillia!

Today is Lillia's birthday so today's pictures are from Lillia's baby blessing. In the second picture is Dad, Mom, Grandma & Grandpa Nash, Jeremy, and Lillia. This was taken in our old house in Aberdeen, Idaho.

Girly Photos

Recently my sister and my cousin were talking about blogs and they agreed that when I posted some old family photos that I scanned from Dad's album, I neglected the girls in the family. I would argue that the best photos were of the boys, but I love my sisters and so I'm going to post some girl photos (don't worry Katherine I won't post any of the pictures where you're wearing nothing but a laundry basket). The first one I'm posting here is of... the girls, Mom, Grandma Pierce, Katherine, Laura, Lillia, Sharon, and Carrie. The picture was a little bit wrinkled, but I think it was pretty awesome; especially the matching dresses and Aunt Sharon's hair.

The Scenic Route

For the last week I've been on vacation in Loveland, Colorado with my friend Abe and his family. We spent a lot of time on the lake and had a great time. Yesterday I left in the morning to go home. I left early so that I'd have enough time to go the scenic route (I'm tired of going through Wyoming...no offense to any Wyomingites, but I-80 Is a snoozer in WY) and end up in Salt Lake in time for work. I intended to take I-70 through Colorado and I goofed. I took a right when I should have taken a left and ended up going through Rocky Mountain National Park. Rocky Mountain National Park is beautiful, but I didn't want to have to pay $20 just to get through at a tourist's pace, but I figured that it would be faster than going another route. The sights were amazing and I enjoyed it, but I missed work (luckily the guys at work were able to cover my shift). Sometimes I feel like the scenic route is like a metaphor for my life. Eventually I get where I want to go, but it costs more money and takes more time. I sometimes hope for the days when I'm able to achieve my goals in a more direct and efficient way. I've had plenty of distractions. It's time for the main attraction.

Summer Travels

Grandma and Grandpa said they were planing to drive to Oregon for my cousin Melanie's high school graduation and I decided to go along. I had a great time. I have the most awesome family! The day before Melanie's graduation Haden and Cynthia showed their lambs at the county fair. I was impressed. I hope to go visit again soon.

For Christmas my sister Katie and I went to visit our family in Mesa, AZ and on our way back home on the 29th I decided to take a scenic detour/shortcut on Cottonwood Canyon Road, which is a dirt road that goes to Cannonville and eventually connects with Highway 89. At first we didn't have any problems on the snowy road, but after more than an hour we got stuck. To make a long story short, we ended up spending the night in the freezing cold (luckily we had warm clothes and blankets) and the next morning after a prayer I started walking and found a couple who helped us get turned around and then up a steep hill. This first picture is on the steep hill. By the way, my car is awesome in the snow and if I would have had two pairs of chains I would have been nearly unstoppable (or in deeper trouble). I'm really grateful for our rescuers Alex and Kathleen (I think that was her name but I can't remember for sure) and for the guy from California who just happened to come by after we got my car up the hill who supplied chains for Alex's truck so that they could get it up the hill. After we made it up the hill we were able to make it to 89 without any problems. When we finally got to the main road I didn't want to clean off my car because it looked so awesome covered in snow and mud, but the wheels were off balance with all the mud and slush in them. Almost exactly 24 hours after we turned off the highway we were turning back on the highway and on our way home. W