Personalized Funerals

Recently I read an article about how people are going more and more towards a personalized non-traditional funeral. Being as my dad's funeral was a week ago I found this very interesting. Some of it kind of made me laugh like do-it-yourself preparation of the body. No thanks, I'll pass on that one. But what really struck me was not so much the article itself but all the comments posted about the article. So many of them were so cynical. A lot of them said, "just throw me in a plywood box and call it good." Some even criticized those in the funeral business and claimed they were scam artists. I'll admit that my feelings on this subject are still quite raw so it isn't surprising that these comments hit a nerve in me. I wanted so much to respond to those comments but didn't feel like that was the right time or place. So I am taking the opportunity to express my feelings here. When it comes to grief and funeral arrangements when a loved one passes away, you just don't have any idea what it will be like and what you will need until that time comes. Grief is a very individualized personal experience. There is no secret recipe or magic formula to make it any easier. You have to do what you feel as things come. As we planned my dad's funeral I was so grateful for the love and support of my family. All nine of us children were involved in the planning and execution of my dad's funeral and viewing. The day after he died we had a family meeting and planned who would talk at the funeral, who would pray, who the pall bearers were, etc. The following day we all met at the mortuary and picked out his casket and other services the mortuary would provide. We each prepared a tribute to our dad to display at the viewing and funeral. We laughed, we cried, we mourned, and we loved. My dad had made some requests about what he wanted when he passed away and we did our best to honor his wishes. We picked the casket that was the closest we could get to a simple pine box. My sisters went to the mortuary and colored his hair because he wanted to be buried with red hair. My dad lived a plain and simple life and that is how we planned his funeral. I will agree with one comment and that is the funeral is not really for the one who has died but for those who are left behind. Originally I was going to talk at my dad's funeral but then my older brother got here from New Mexico and said he wanted to talk. I graciously stepped aside and let him talk because I felt it was something he needed to do as part of his grieving. Alex and I prepared a video presentation of pictures of my dad. Putting it together was both heart wrenching and very therapeutic. Every picture I looked at reminded me that my dad was gone but it also brought back the memories of happier times. I took great pleasure in picking the songs for the video. My sister's gave me a few suggestions but they all kind of seemed to be the same. My dad had many different aspects to him, he wasn't just our dad. I chose Song of the South by Alabama, Love Me Tender by Elvis, Daddy's Hands by Holly Dunn and When I Get Where I'm Going by Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton. In the end I was happy with what we were able to put together. I felt like we were able to capture the essence of my dad's life in that video. Does it matter to my dad that he had a video at his funeral, probably not. But it mattered to me. It was a way for me to channel my grief and deal with it in a healthy, productive way. Some of the comments said that people would regret the money spent or how they did things. But I am fairly certain that ten, twenty or even thirty years down the road my siblings and I will still be happy with the funeral we did for our dad. We will not regret a single thing. So yes, we went with a more personalized funeral for my dad. It was our way of expressing the love that we have for him. Certain things were done differently than I first expected but in the end it all was a great celebration of my dad. And those things that I thought we would do but ended up different actually brought a great measure of comfort and peace to me. My cousin posted some pictures of the viewing set up on Facebook. A friend of mine who came to the viewing posted a comment that I think sums things up nicely. "What you guys did was so personal and amazing. The viewing was perfection and I could see how much you all loved him. It brought me to tears."

Oh How LUCKY!

Once again it is the greenest day of the year; a day that is much loved in the Lundquist household.  After the smashing success we had last year on St. Patrick's Day I didn't know what I was going to do to top it.  So I decided not to try and top it; I would just do something totally different.

Our local grocery store, Maceys, bakes green bread for St. Patrick's Day.  I hurried to the store on Friday morning to ensure that I would get a loaf.  The funny thing is that when I called my little sister, Karolyn, she had picked up a loaf of bread for me.  So this year I was guaranteed a loaf of green bread.  But what to do with the bread?

On Friday Karolyn and I made green lunches for our girls to eat at school but that still left the actual day to celebrate.  I decided that a green breakfast was in order.  With a little help from Alex and Karen we had a green meal prepared complete with green place settings.

We kept the kids out of the kitchen until everything was ready.  Then I made them hold hands and close their eyes as I led them into the kitchen.  The looks on their faces when they opened their eyes were priceless.  Both Lorenne and Michael were so excited.  It was hard to wait until we took pictures to eat but I really wanted to capture the day in pictures.

One thing you don't see in the pictures is the gold chocolate coin that is hidden under each cup.  Before you could eat your coin you had to tell something that you felt lucky to have.  Lorenne said she felt lucky to have her ipod touch.  Michael said he felt lucky to have his toys.  Somehow we didn't quite make it to the adults to tell what they felt lucky to have.

As for me, I feel very lucky to have such a wonderful family.  We have so much fun living with Jak and Karen.  My kids have a special bond with them that the other grandchildren don't have.

I feel very lucky to live so close to so much of our family.  Yesterday we got to have Papa Red over to our house for a few hours.  It was so wonderful to have him with us.  We sat outside and watched the kids play and just enjoyed being together.

I feel lucky to have a sister like Karolyn.  She has been my rock the last several months.  She has been there whenever I have needed her no matter the time of day or night.  I am so grateful that we are spending more time together and trying to be there to help each other out.

I feel lucky to have 5 other sisters and 2 brothers and many brother and sister in laws in my family.  Each of them brings different blessings into my life.

I feel lucky to have Alex as my husband.  There aren't words to adequately describe my feelings for him.  It has been amazing the last year and a half to watch him transform.  He is a new  man and I love him more for all the changes he has had the courage to make. 

And last but certainly not least of all I feel so lucky that in August we will welcome a new baby into our home.  I thought our time had passed for adding to our family.  But sometimes it takes a series of unfortunate events to help you realize just what you truly want in life.  I couldn't be more excited to be a mom again!  We are all so excited to meet our new baby.  Even though I will be having an ultrasound in 2 weeks, everyone is going to have to wait another 20-22 weeks to find out what we are having.  Whether it is a boy or a girl we just feel lucky to have him/her coming to our family.

I hope you all have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day and take some time to realize just how LUCKY you are!

St. Paddy's Day

The Lundquist family in our various shades of green.

This is the table setting for our St. Patrick's Day breakfast.

For breakfast we had green french toast, green butter milk syrup, and green whipped cream.  We complimented our green breakfast with fresh strawberries, blueberries and black berries.  To drink we had plain old orange juice and green milk.  It was such a yummy meal.  Michael said, "This is the best meal EVER!"

Don't you wish you had been a guest at our St. Patrick's Day breakfast?

Our whole meal was watched over by a wee leprechaun.

Lorenne started her holiday spirit on Friday.  We made a cute hair accessory out of green felt to ensure that she wasn't going to be pinched.

Michael is wearing a hat that Lorenne made at school.  He was so excited to have a leprechaun hat to wear. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Hardest Part of My Dad Being Sick

I love my dad!  I have been Daddy's girl from the moment I was born. 

My dad is sick.  He has cirrhosis of the liver.  He was diagnosed about 3 years ago, maybe 4.  But in the last year his illness has progressed rapidly.  At Christmas a year ago I felt like I still had my dad.  Over the next few months his health declined rapidly.  He is now a shadow of the man he used to be.  It is especially noticeable when I see the looks on relatives' faces when they see my dad for the first time in a long time.  They just can't believe the change in him.

Overall I feel like I have dealt with my dad's illness fairly well.  I have made more of an effort to go and see him or just call him on the phone.  When the time comes that he dies I don't want to have any regrets.  I want to send him off with all my love.

But there are moments when the reality of his illness really hits me.  It never fails that when I have a problem with my car I end up crying and so frustrated with my dad being sick.  Why?  Because the hardest part of my dad being sick is that I can't go to him with my car problems.  He can't tell me what we need to do.  And we can't go get the parts and then work together to fix it. 

Now that may sound really selfish.  It may sound like the only reason I want him healthy is to fix my car.  But that isn't it at all.  My dad doesn't fix my car, we do!  Some of my most cherished times with my dad are sitting by his side as he taught me how to work on my car.  I love saying, "my dad didn't raise me to be a wimpy girl."  I have taken quite a bit of pride in knowing that I can work on my car. 

But there is so much of it that I can't do on my own and don't want to.  I want to get covered in grease and try and figure out what my dad is going to do next.  I want to have him teach me more about the way my car works.  I want to get totally frustrated with him because he moves so slow.  But that is never going to happen again.

I took my car in today because we had a flat tire and ended up needing to replace two tires.  But they also told me that my CV boot is torn and so the axle needs to be replaced.  After paying for the tires I went and sat in my car and cried because Dad and I have replaced the axles before.  I know it is something I can do with him but not without him. 

And on a day when everything else has gone wrong a little girl needs her dad to come and rescue her.  Only my dad can't rescue me anymore. 

A Spider Has Taken Up Residence In Lorenne's Hair

Today when Lorenne left for school I noticed she had a little problem.  There was a spider in her hair.  Now I'm not talking about a little itty bitty thing.  This thing was BIG, easily the size of a small mouse.  I tried not to freak out.  I didn't want to scare the poor girl.  When I told Lorenne she didn't really believe me.  I had to make her look in the mirror to prove I was telling the truth.  This was her reaction when she looked in the mirror and saw what I was talking about.

Actually it was just Crazy Hair Day at Lorenne's school.  It is Red Ribbon Week and they have had dress up themes all week.

I did a little research last night on ideas for Crazy Hair Day.  I came across a picture of a girl with a barbie in her hair.  I thought that was pretty cool but I felt it would be a little bit too distracting in a 3rd grade class.  So this morning I found Lorenne's Littlest Pet Shop spider in her room.  I figured that was small enough to not be too big of a distraction but big enough to get noticed. 

I didn't tell Lorenne what I was doing.  I just made her look in the mirror when I was done.  She didn't notice the spider at first; she was too busy looking at the ponytail I had twisted with a pipe cleaner.

When I pointed out the spider she went totally nuts!  She was so excited.  That was just what I was going for.  I wanted Lorenne to feel like she had the coolest hair of all.

The Back View

When all was said and done I was really glad that I only had one daughter to get ready for crazy hair day and not three like my sister whose girls go to Lorenne's school. 

One Year

It has been a year since Alex had weight loss surgery.  So much has changed in our lives because of his surgery.  If I had known then what I know now I would have encouraged him to have the surgery a lot sooner.  They say hindsight is 20/20.

Alex has lost upwards of 150 lbs.  150 POUNDS!  That is equal to about 3-Lorennes or 5-Michaels or 1-Katy and a 25 lb bag of flour.  He has dropped 14 sizes in pants and gone from an XXXLT in shirts to an XLT.  The weight loss is great but that is just the cake.  The frosting on the cake is his overall health.

Alex no longer has to take medicine for gout.  It has been several months since he has had a flare up.  He goes to the gym six days a weeks and does a two hour work out session.  For the first time in years he is running again.  My kids know what it is like to have their dad play with them because now he has the energy to do so.  We are hoping that when he sees the sleep specialist in December that they will be able to adjust his cpap for his sleep apnea.

Alex's weight loss journey has benefited our whole family.  As a family we eat so much better now.  I seldom buy white bread, which is my major weakness.  We eat very little red meat.  Salad is a regular on our dinner menu.  A lot of our meals don't include meat.  I had a small garden this year and it was so much fun to pick produce out of the back yard to eat. 

I will be eternally grateful to the one who provided this opportunity for Alex.  I have my husband back and he is in better shape than when we got married.  He even had to exchange his wedding ring because it had gotten so big. One day his ring caught on a door knob at work; it flew off his hand and across the room. That was when he knew he needed to get a new ring.

Alex would never have been able to lose weight with out the surgery.  He was born with an extra large stomach and then had stretched it out.  By the time his body told him he was full he had already way over eaten. 

While weight loss surgery isn't for everyone it is a good option.  But surgery is just a tool to help lose the weight.  It really takes a total life change.  I am so proud of Alex for all his work and determination over the last year.

Before (Sept. 2010)

After (Sept. 28, 2011) 
He looks HOT and he is all mine!

Hot Dog Roast

Our awesome hot dog roast!

Last Saturday we took the time to get away from it all and have a hot dog roast.  I have been taking care of Lorenne's piano teacher's yard occasionally this summer.  One of the perks to that is being able to use her fire pit.

Sister Allen has a beautiful yard.  It is right off a busy street but you would never know it when you are in "The Glen."  There is a beautiful stream that runs through her yard and it is nicely secluded in a bunch of trees.  It felt like we had gone up the canyon to have a camp fire when really we were right in the middle of town.

We had a fabulous time.  We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows.  We ate fresh fruit, potato salad, chips, hot dogs and s'mores.  I tried something new with the s'mores.  There are these Nature Valley Granola Thins with chocolate on one side.  For my s'more I used two of the granola thins instead of graham crackers.  It was so YUMMY!

It was so nice to have time with our family and just relax.  It seems like the simple things are the best things in life.

Karen and Mocha

Alex, Katy, Lorenne and Michael

Lorenne and Maya, her best friend

Nate and Nicole

Facebook Status

If any of you happened to catch my Facebook status today you might be wondering why I would say, "I love my kids! They bring so much joy to my life." It isn't anything big just the little things.

Last night Lorenne went to a play with a friend. There was some confusion over how long the play was and she ended up not getting home until almost 10:30 pm on a school night. What could I do at that point but just get her in bed and tell her I would let her sleep in some in the morning? So that is what I did.

Lorenne was really quite good getting up and getting ready for school. Since I let her sleep in I drove her to school. I parked at the house next to the school, got out with her and told her to run in to school so she wouldn't be late. I hollered at her a few times to run. Just when I thought she had made it in a car moved in the parking lot and I saw her standing there watching as the sixth grade kids raised the flag.

I guess I could have gotten upset but it really just brought a smile to my face. No matter how hard I try Lorenne is going to be just who she is. For those of you who know him, I think Lorenne has a lot of my dad in her. She loves talking to people and gets easily distracted by things she finds fascinating, like raising the flag.

But that is who she is and I love her for it!

Tangled

Today I took the time to go and get pampered. I went to the Aveda Academy to get my eyebrows waxed. While I was there I heard them say that haircuts were free today. I was so excited because I really needed a haircut but I didn't want to spend the money on it just yet. Fortunately the girl who did my eyebrows had an open spot for a haircut. So I called Alex to make sure I had enough time. Things were under control at home so I was free to be pampered.

I love getting my hair cut at Aveda. They start out with a scalp and shoulder massage. Then when you go get your hair washed they have these massaging chairs at the shampoo bowls. It is a great place!

While I was waiting for my haircut my phone rang. I was surprised to see that Alex was calling me right back. But I was even more surprised when I answered and heard this sad little voice say, "I want you to leave your hair long." It was Michael calling. Because it was loud in the salon I had to make sure I heard him right. Sure enough, he said again, "I want you to leave your hair long."

I was thrilled when I married Alex and he wasn't one of those guys that is obsessed with long hair. I always hated it when guys would tell me not to cut my hair. I married a guy who isn't obsessed with long hair only to have a son who is.

I assured Michael that I wasn't cutting my hair short. Apparently Alex had been teasing him that I was going to cut all my hair off so Michael had to call and make sure that I didn't. When I got home I held my hair up so it looked short and went and asked Michael if he liked it. He looked at me with this really skeptical look and then started to walk around to look at my hair from the back. I let my hair fall down long and the biggest grin spread across his face. He came over and gave me the biggest hug.

Maybe when he is older I will have to introduce him to Rapunzel.

Six Months

How much difference can six months make in a person's life? Well, in Alex's life, about 115 lbs worth of difference.
On September 28, 2010, our lives began a drastic change when Alex had weight loss surgery. It took us almost a year to make the decision for him to have surgery but it has been one of the best decisions we have ever made. Alex is like a new man. He has so much more energy and is happier than he has been in a long time. We are so grateful for the circumstances that allowed him to have surgery.
And now for the pictures!

Luck O' the Irish

St. Patrick's day was so much fun at our house. It all started with a leprechaun trap.

I realized this year just how few St. Patrick's day decorations I have. So I searched the web and came across the cutest leprechaun trap. I just knew that I had to have one to add to my decorations. I showed Michael the picture of it and he got so excited by it. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew my sister-in-law was helping my kids build a leprechaun trap about a week before St. Patrick's day. This sparked the fire of interest in my kids about leprechauns.

Fast forward a week to the night before St. Patrick's day and I still hadn't built the leprechaun trap that I wanted to. For that night we forgot all about doing homework and took our time building a leprechaun trap. Lorenne and Michael were so excited about it. They just couldn't wait to find out if they would catch a leprechaun. So we set the trap out and went to bed.

Well, during the night a sneaky little leprechaun came in our house and climbed up the ladder to get the gold on our trap and fell right in. Only problem is that he found a way to get out. He was not very happy about being tricked so he decided to play a few tricks of his own.

When we poured milk on Lorenne's cereal the next morning it was GREEN. She was so excited about the green milk. Then when she went to the bathroom and found green water in the toilet she just couldn't stand it. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world because she got to be the one to use the green toilet water. The rest of the morning came and went with out discovering any more leprechaun tricks. So off Lorenne went to school.

When Lorenne and her classmates came in from morning recess they found that a leprechaun had been there and left them some leprechaun kisses. It seemed that Lorenne's leprechaun had decided to be nice.

Boy did she get a BIG surprise when lunch time rolled around. I had sent her to school with a home lunch of a ham sandwich, an orange, animal crackers and money for milk. But when she opened her lunch she had a ham sandwich on green bread, celery, green grapes, cucumber slices, avocado, and apple juice in a green box. That sneaky little leprechaun had turned her lunch green.

That night at dinner Lorenne said the prayer. In her prayer she gave thanks for the fun St. Patrick's Day that she had had. I couldn't help but smile.

I wonder what our leprechaun will do next year?

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

Have you ever heard the song, I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas? I always thought it was a funny song. Whoever heard of a kid wanting a hippo for Christmas? Well this year Michael wanted one. Fortunately for me he didn't want a live one like the kid in the song but he wanted a hippo all the same.

A few weeks before Christmas we went to Ikea. In the kids department Michael saw a stuffed hippopotamus. He so wanted to take it home. But like all the other things my kids had been asking for at stores I told them that maybe Santa would bring it to them. I figured that would be the end of it.

But later when I asked Michael what he wanted for Christmas he only told me two things: an ipad and a hippopotamus. Santa obviously wasn't going to bring him his own ipad so I figured I better have a chat with Santa and tell him to bring Michael the hippo.


Oh what joy and what surprise
when I open up my eyes
to see a hippo hero standing there.

Michael Quotes

Some of you may know that I am Michael's primary teacher. I taught his class for about 6 months last year and then moved up with the class this year. The lessons this year will focus on choosing the right. Sometimes I wonder whether Michael and the other kids are listening when I teach; they are only 4 years old but given yesterday's quotes from Michael he must have been listening.

"Mom, you're being grouchy. You're not choosing the right."

"Mom, I lost my ring. I can't choose the right now."

He had lost his CTR ring that he got on Sunday. But don't worry, we found it.

Dinosaur Boy

It's Sewing Time!

It is that time of year when I break out the sewing machine and go to town.

It started 4 years ago when my mother-in-law was going to get Lorenne a Mulan costume for Halloween. But then they sold out. How could I disappoint my daughter who had her heart set on being Mulan? I couldn't. So I went to JoAnn's, found a pattern for a kimono and bought fabric.

It was a wonderful challenge creating that first costume. Since then I have made Snow White and Belle costumes for Lorenne. This year it is a witch costume. Of course I could take the easy way out and buy one or do a simple dress, but where is the fun in that?

Lorenne picked out her pattern and fabric for her witch's costume. It was a much simpler project doing a witch costume than last year's Belle costume. But one thing I truly love about this year's costume is that it is more Lorenne. It is what she wanted entirely.

I find great satisfaction when the costume is done and it is time to go to my mom's house for the big family Halloween party. Seeing all the grandchildren dressed up and having so much fun is truly the best treat of the holiday.

People are always telling me that I should make costumes and sell them. But how do you put a price on love? I can't. And that is what making Lorenne's costume is; it is a labor of love. I hope someday she will look back and realize how much love went into each and every costume I made her.

Music Man

Two years ago Lorenne was in a musical called, Promised Land. Her Aunt Sara was directing it so she didn't have to audition to get in. Since doing the show Lorenne has wanted to be in another show. Last year she auditioned for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. She didn't make it in, but that hasn't deterred her from wanting to do another show.

Last week Lorenne auditioned for Music Man in American Fork. Sara was auditioning and wanted Lorenne to audition with her. I ended up taking Lorenne to the audition this time. I really didn't know how she would do. Sometimes she gets so shy.

While we waited for Lorenne's turn to audition we talked about what she wanted to sing. We needed to find something that she knew all the words to and could stay on pitch. She finally decided to sing the ABC song.

We went in the audition room with Sara. Sara did her song first and then it was Lorenne's turn. Sara held one of Lorenne's hands and I held the other. They asked Lorenne what she was going to sing. She told them and then she started to sing. I was so proud of her I was trying really hard not to just bawl. She stood up tall and sang loud and clear and mostly on pitch. They applauded for Lorenne and thanked her for auditioning.

Lorenne was so excited after her audition. She wanted to know when the rehearsals started. I told her that we didn't know if she had made it in yet. But she just talked on like she was in the show.

Well, today I got a message from the casting director. Lorenne made the ensemble for the show!!! I am so excited for her. I can hardly wait for her to get home from school so I can tell her. She is going to be ecstatic. Her first rehearsal is tonight. Fortunately Sara made the show as well so most of the time they will go to rehearsal together.

I will keep you updated on the progress of the show so if any of you want to come and see it you can.

I am so proud of Lorenne for having the guts to audition. This is going to be such a great experience for her.

The Little Grand Canyon: Pictures

The kids and me at the Little Grand Canyon. Do I look scared to death?

The kids and me chasing the lizards.

Michael with a chip in one hand and a cookie in the other.
The river at the base of the canyon.

The Little Grand Canyon

The Little Grand Canyon

After we were finished at the dinosaur excavation on Saturday it was time for lunch. We were planning on just eating there at the site. But Alex got talking to a lady there and she said if we drove about 10 miles further we could go see what is called the Little Grand Canyon. We had all day ahead of us so we decided we would do it.

We followed the lady and her family. After 20 minutes on a bumpy dirt road I was beginning to wonder if we were ever going to get there. Finally we pulled over and got out to look. The view took my breath away; mostly because of the beauty but partially because I am afraid of heights. It was gorgeous! There was even an eagle or hawk flying overhead.

But that stop was not our final destination. We got back in and drove for about 5 more minutes and came to the lookout area. I really had a hard time there. It was a cliff that jutted out into the canyon. There were no barriers on the edge. I wasn't so worried about myself, but Michael is constant motion and worrying about him getting too close to the edge about did me in.

I took a lot of calming breaths and looked out to enjoy the view. It was absolutely amazing! The way the cliffs were carved and the different layers and colors. It is amazing to me that I can drive two hours from Provo and its rolling mountains and be in the desert with majestic cliffs and plateaus.

I tried hard not to show my kids how scared I was. I don't want them to be scared of heights because I am. I offered Lorenne my camera and she took a bunch of pictures. That got her over her nervousness. Yesterday she took the pictures with her to school for show and tell.

We found a big flat rock back on more solid ground and spread our blanket over it for a picnic table. As I was setting up my chair I saw something move on the ground. I was already jumpy so the movement really startled me. I looked down and saw two little lizards running around the rock. I got the kids to come over and look. The two lizards scurried over to the next big rock and then the next as we followed them.

The kids loved the lizards. Michael wanted to catch one, of course. We didn't catch one, but I did manage to get a picture.
After eating we got back in the car and began the drive home. On the way back Lorenne asked Alex if they were going shopping for Mother's Day. So when we got back to Provo Alex and the kids dropped me off and they went shopping. So I had a few hours to myself. A great end to a wonderful day.

Gooseneck Site

Alex, Michael, Katy, and Lorenne at the Gooseneck Site.The Gooseneck Site

Michael holding the allosaurus tooth.

Allosaurus tooth: notice the serrated edge.Rib bone of the sauropod

Drawing of the fossil as found in the site.

Dinosaur Excavation

On Saturday we had the rare opportunity of going to a dinosaur excavation. In November a partially articulated allosaurus fossil was found just outside of Castledale, Utah. Last week the College of Eastern Utah began the excavation of the fossil. Because the site was so accessible they invited the public to come and view it. This is not common practice.

When I saw the article in the Deseret News about the excavation, I knew we had to go. Michael is such a dinosaur fanatic. A few nights before I heard about the excavation Michael had watched a documentary on Allosauruses. When asked what he wants to eat it is almost always dinosaur chicken nuggets. He is always playing with his toy dinosaurs and reading books about them, too.

Bright and early on Saturday morning we set out for Castledale. The night before Alex and I had packed lunch for us. Our lunch included dinosaur sandwiches (sandwiches imprinted with a dinosaur shape).

I had to laugh at Lorenne. With in just a short time she was asking, "are we there yet?" It was about a two hour drive to where we turned off the main road. Then there was a 9 mile drive on a graded dirt road to the Gooseneck site. It is called the Gooseneck site because of how the head of the dinosaur was pulled back and tucked under, kind of like how a goose tucks its head under its wing.

Once we reached the site it was about a five minute hike to the excavation. There were quite a few people there. Not tons, but the flow of people in and out was steady. I was really surprised at how close we were to the actual fossil. I reached down and picked up a fossil that was right in front of me. They had a large part of the fossil cast in plaster. They use the plaster to keep all the pieces together as they transport them.

It turned out that there were actually two dinosaur fossils there. One was the allosaurus and the other was a sauropod, like a brontosaurus or brachiasaurus. It was totally fascinating to see the way they worked. They mapped out and drew each bone as they found it. They used little umpire brooms to sweep dirt away. It is a slow and tedious process. They had found a piece of a tooth, the edge of which was serrated. This was the tooth of a meat eater that was designed to cut and tear flesh. When Michael held the tooth he started to bury it back in the dirt.

Michael was pretty excited about being there. It was a little abstract for him to understand because a big portion of the bones were covered in plaster. But he still enjoyed it. I think he enjoyed digging in the dirt as much as anything.

We had such a wonderful time and felt truly blessed to have such a unique opportunity. It was more than worth the time that we invested in the trip. After all, how many dinosaur loving boys can say that they have been to a real dinosaur excavation?