And now, a Christmas poem from William Tait

Tait's">http://vimeo.com/81965988">Tait's Christmas Poem

from Jeremy">http://vimeo.com/user3539927">Jeremy Stewart on Vimeo.https://vimeo.com">Vimeo.>

Happy 7th Birthday, Tenny!

And now a poem from your momma:

Tenny, you're turning seven today!

You're seeing the world in a whole new way.  

No more a babe.  Net yet a man.

You're asking all the questions you can.

You're learning the truth about life on this earth.

You're feeling the truth of your own divine worth.

I never will doubt you.  Your heart is pure gold.

So don't be afraid to be different.  Be bold!

Tenny, I love you, but it is bittersweet,

to let go of the boy for the man I will meet.

So no matter how tall, how grand you become,

remember your mother and from where you have come.

And these arms that cradled you once before,

will comfort and hold you once again more.

We love you Tennyson!  Happy birthday.

Sometimes we walk around the Utah Capitol Building

And it reminds us of being in DC.

Though there are a lot more beehive statues in Utah, and a lot less tourists.

Also, does anyone think we should change our kids out of their pajamas someday?

Teton Star Trail

No, we're not dead.  But, the program we use for our photos--Lightroom--was just about dead.  And we finally got around to fixing it.  And now we can access our photos and post again.  And I'm particularly excited because I finally recovered my photos from our big backpacking trip to the Tetons last August, and now I can start editing and posting some of those.

Now I just need to find the time to do that.  But for starters, here is my shot of the star trails over Buck Mountain, as seen from Alaska Basin, shot from 3:00-4:00 a.m.  And I was almost trampled by a moose while setting up this shot, but he got one good look at me and decided he better not mess.  Smart moose.

4MM - Yesterday was hike day (2.5)

Yesterday was the final hike day of the second successful season for the Four More Miles Hike Club.  Another beautiful day in the wilderness.

This month we did the Indian Trail in Ogden Canyon (from the Coldwater Canyon Trailhead), and we were treated with beautiful autumn colors and, for the first time, the presence of cousin Bronson the Magnificent.  Does it get any better than that?

One of the greatest joys in doing the hike club is knowing that we're passing on the love of hiking to the next generation.  Either that, or we're making them hate hiking.  It's hard to tell with kids.

Tennyson loves it when I take his picture.  Also, go Nats!

And this time even Tait got into the action.  He was so excited to take his backpack, and he insisted on loading it with all of his favorite things.  But, shockingly, he kept it on his back the entire hike.  Granted, he spent most of the hike on daddy's back, but at least he kept his backpack on the whole hike.

We may do a bonus hike this winter.  If you're interested in snowshoeing with us, just let us know.  Otherwise, we'll see you next season.

Yesterday was hike day, wasn't it great?!

Think of all the dust you ate.

And as you ponder upon your trials,

Just remember there are four more miles!

Hopefully.

A quick trip to NYC

 

Jeremy recently had some meetings in NYC, and, as luck would have it, the meetings happened to coincide with Jeremy's dream concert.  So we left the kids with grandma Julie (thanks mom!) and we packed as much as we could into a few days in the big apple.  We probably should have used the break to get more sleep, but we ended up filling our days and nights with fun.  Shopping, museums, movies, food, sightseeing, catching up with friends--oh, and, for Jeremy, hours and hours of accounting and finance.

 

But the highlight was definitely watching Valerie Gergiev (Jeremy's favorite conductor) conduct the Mariinsky Orchestra playing three masterpieces by Igor Stravinsky (one of Jeremy's favorite composers), including The Firebird, Petrouchka, and The Rite of Spring.

Oh, and the concert was in Carnegie Hall.  It really was an amazing night, one that we will never forget.  And this picture of Suzanne posing is now on the Internet, so we'll never forget that now either.

 

It was a quick but wonderful trip.  If you want to catch some of the excitement, spend some time listening to these:

 

 

 



Pure genius.

Recently Seen on Jer's Instagram Feed

St. George Temple, where Ye Stewart Clan began.



Sharing a cob at the Enterprise Cornfest.

Tenny started first grade and quickly found himself studying for his first test (which he aced).

Julie is perfect.

Happy birthday, mom.  You have beautiful children!

Ice cream sandwhiches for crazy kids.

Swinging at the family reunion in Cache Valley.

Wrestlin'.

Tenny decided to add some graffiti to our fence, and we're hoping it doesn't say anything bad.

Before going to bed, Tenny was kind enough to remind me I was about to stay up all night reading these documents "just to keep being a lawyer."

Julie is dad's little helper in the gardnen.

U.S. Open Cup game between Real Salt Lake (0) and DC United (1).

4MM - Yesterday was hike day (2.4)

 

OK, hike day wasn't yesterday, but it was last Saturday.  We've just been too busy to post any pictures until now.

 

Our intention was to hike the Pfiefferhorn, but due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances, we had to call an audible.  And that led us to discover a great little family-friendly gem at the bottom of Little Cottonwood Canyon -- the Temple Quarry Trail.

As the name implies, this trail (paved, wheelchair accessible) is a short loop that circles the site of the old quarry from where the granite (actually quartz monzonite, as we learned) for the Salt Lake LDS Temple was quarried.  It's a really pretty area, but the highlight is finding the large stones that bear the chisel marks from so long ago.  And we even found  one piece of an old chisel that apparently broke off and remains enshrined in a huge boulder.

Oh, and this is where we realized that autumn is coming.  Hurray!

The kids loved climbing around on the odd-shaped stones that were left behind by the quarry workers.

And Tennyson is definitely entering that "tough-guy" stage, which, we're informed, lasts for the next 40ish years.

We had a lot of fun playing in the dry riverbed, throwing and stacking rocks, and just relaxing in the shade.  Great little hike.

 

And the 4MM Club is hoping to fit one more hike into this season, hopefully timed to take in the autumn colors in all their glory.  So let us know if you're interested in joining!



Camp Loll 2013

 

We recently returned from our second annual pilgrimage to Camp Loll, our new favorite Labor Day tradition. In the words of aunt Tammie: "How often do you get a gorgeous mountain lake to yourself?" It really was amazing, and here are some of the highlights:

 

Roasting everything but our flesh on the campfire.

 

This year we made it a family affair -- about 25 members of Ye Extended Stewart Clan, meaning even more fun and even more exagerated stories around the campfire.

 

This stump has become our family's measuring stick.  See previous pictures here.

We can't believe how fast they grow.

Tait didn't want to participate in the family pictures, but at least he went on the hike to Terraced Falls in Yellowstone.

OK, so he didn't do much hiking.  But thank you grandpa for being his Tenzing Norgay.

 

Terraced Falls

 

Snacking on top of the cliffs.

Cooling off in the swimming hole on the return hike.

This was Julie's first hike in Yellowstone.  She rocked it.  (As did her momma.)

Daddy took the boys fishing early in the mornings and in the evenings as the sun was setting.

We didn't catch a single thing.  We didn't even get a bite.  But it sure was fun.

Julie bonded with Tammie...a natural fit, though the cookies probably helped speed up the process.

We sure do love Camp Loll.  We're already missing the peace, the forest sounds, the exploring and the starry, starry nights.  And we're already looking forward to Labor Day 2014.



Free Legal Advice - Utah Code § 63G-1-601(6)

 

 

"Utah's state cooking pot is the dutch oven."

 

No, really.  That's the law.  Word for word.  And I really hope I get to litigate that section of the Utah Code some day.  And, when I do, I hope I represent the crock pot.

Happy birthday Suzy!