A Week on the Riviera Maya. . .

To make this trip possible, I had 2 things going for me--

a friend named Monica who found a deal to the Riviera Maya

that was way too good to pass up and an amazing husband

who said. . ."Go and have a great time with your friends"!!

The Carribbean sea is so beautiful AND warm!!

Our home away from home---The Grand Palladium

My roomie for the week was Annette, we had a

great time AND we're still friends!!

It was fun to experience some Mexican culture on

5th Avenue in Playa del Carmen

Loved the pool . . .

Loved the beach . . .

OK, I loved it all!!!

We took a tour to the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza

with Helamen Tours. Helamen is an LDS tour

guide and so it was fun to learn about the culture

from an LDS point of view.

After Chichen Itza we stopped for a swim in this

Cenote. It was quite a treat.

On Sunday we attended church in Playa del Carmen.

I couldn't understand a word they were saying

but did feel the spirit as testimonies were born.

Ready to go snorkeling in Aku Mal

Off on our 3 hour tour!! OK-- it was only a 2 hour

tour and we made it back safely Gilligan . . .

8 Mermaids all in a row. . .

The day before we were to head for home

"Hurricane Paula" was headed for us!!

But really it was nothing more than a few

clouds and a little bit of rain as it turned

and headed toward Cuba instead.

In spite of that when we got to the airport, we found

that all of the flights that day had been cancelled

or delayed except for ours and one to New York.

All because of the Hurricane that wasn't!!

What an awesome week I had with my friends.

Yep---I am VERY lucky!!

Diesel the "Mighty Bruin"

Ever since he was little boy Derek has looked

forward to the day when he could be a

Mt View Bruin like his brothers Jeff & Nic.

This year he finally got his chance!!

He started out playing running back and was the first

LeChem to score a touchdown in a game. (seriously, he can run)

Later he ended up as the quarterback and just as his Grandpa

always said-----he seemed to be a natural in that position.

Way to go Derek, it was a fun season and we

are looking forward to more "Bruin" Football!!

A Denver Week-end

We took advantage of a long week-end recently

and headed to Denver to visit Jeff & Julie.

The drive was beautiful going over the

Rocky Mountains near Vail.

On Saturday we headed down to Colorado Springs.

The guys allowed Julie & I a short visit to the Current

Factory Outlet before we headed over to the

Air Force Academy where we had a picnic lunch

and then walked around the campus.

We were really impressed with the

Red Rock Amphitheatre just outside

of Denver where they have alot of

concerts. It is simply a huge seating

area built right between these

2 massive red rocks.

We decided we need to come to a

concert here some day!

Trey doing his best Micheal Jackson move on stage.

Thanks for a fun week-end Jeff & Julie!!

Park City Week-end

Between baseball, work and knee surgery there

is no time for a summer vacation for us this

year and so we decided to "get-away" to one of

our favorite places over the 4th of July week-end.

We started up at the Utah Olympic Park where

we enjoyed the Flying Ace Aerial Ski Show.

You've got to be crazy to do this but it sure

is alot of fun to watch!!!

Derek "endured" a night out at Deer Valley where we

listened to a Patriotic performance by the Utah Symphony

No trip to Park City is complete unless you ride

the Alpine Slide (and I beat him down the mountain!!)

Really the best part of a Park City week-end is that while

the guys enjoy a day on the golf course, I take my

"green fees"and do a little "putting around" at the outlets.

Aaahhh . . . everyone comes home happy.

Summer Celebrations

Our summer started off with a trip over Memorial Day

week-end to the Bay Area to attend Jeff's graduation

from Podiatry school. It was held in Oakland at the

historic Paramount Theatre

Congratulations Dr Jeff!! We are very proud of him

and realize how much hard work and sacrifice went

into this accomplishment, really we congratulate

Julie and the kids too as it was a family effort!

After graduation we headed up north to Windsor for a

LeChem family reunion and to celebrate the soon to be

80th Birthday of Grandma Chem

A fun packed few days and alot of miles covered in order

for everyone to make it but it was well worth it.

Our new Granddaughter

I just returned from spending a week in Albuquerque with

Jeff, Julie, the boys AND our new granddaughter Avrey J

We had a fun week . . .

At the park. . .

And at the Zoo. . .

But the best part of the whole week was holding this

sweet little girl!!

Isn't she the cutest??!!

Conference Doughnuts

It is a LeCheminant family tradition to make doughnuts

every Conference Sunday. Today we were trying to

remember how long we have been doing it, probably

for over 20 years since it began when we still lived at

Willowbrook. Over the years we've made alot of

deliveries to friends, neighbors, home teaching

families, scout leaders, coaches, etc.

We have had people bribe and beg us so they

can be included on our special delivery list!

Dad gets up early to get the dough started and then

the rest of us show up to do the glazing and the tasting!!

The grandkids love Papa Chem's doughnuts

and the chocolate milk that goes with them

Nic and Derek enjoying their doughnuts after

making the deliveries for yet another year