New Blanket

While we were on our trip, Aunt Kathy was busy making another blanket for Audrey. This one was made out of some of her wrestling t-shirts and I think it turned out awesome! Audrey loves it!!

Utah Trip - Day #8 - heading home

Today was our drive home day, but first we wanted to try the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers again so that we could get the pictures for my mom. We timed our arrival so that we would be there right at opening and went on a tour of their Pioneer Memorial Museum. Wow they had a lot of displays (4 floors worth). We were trying to figure out where we were to actually go to get the pictures printed of our ancestors when we passed a bunch of file cabinets and saw the order forms. And then saw the hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 9-4pm. Oh well, at least we enjoyed one last museum before heading home. We got on the road around 10:30am or so and headed home. We stopped in Pocatello to get gas, but decided to have lunch in Idaho Falls. Unfortunately, we blew right past Idaho Falls without stopping. Do you know that there is not much between Idaho Falls and Dillon, Montana in the way of restaurants? Probably good places to eat if you know the area, but just from looking from I-15 the choices did not appear to be many. So when we got to Dillon, it was about 3pm and we were starving. McDonald's? Subway? Safeway? Safeway won and John & I had one of their signature sandwiches (The Western - delicious by the way) and the girls had Mac-n-cheese, chocolate milk and fortune cookies. After being well fed we got back on the road for quite awhile and stopped at the last rest stop in Montana to clean off the bugs on the windshield. The girls were horrified at John's special recipe - he swears by it... spit. He says it works every time!
Having been born and raised in Spokane, there is just nothing that compares to driving on I-90 headed west, right at the Montana/Idaho border when you just get to the top of Look Out Pass, heading down into Idaho - - what a beautiful view! Especially after driving in desert areas this past week. I remember when I lived in Utah during my young adult days and I just plain missed the trees. Tonight we hit the top of Look Out Pass right when the sun was a beautiful orange, starting to set. We got into Coeur d'Alene with the sun at the pink stage and the lake at a peaceful blue shade. Home - sigh... (I'm sure everyone has their view that feels home to them, but for me it is the pine trees and the lake).

Wow, what a fun trip!! Put 1930.4 miles on the car and now I'm ready for a nap.

Utah Trip - Day #7

We certainly did not think we could have any more fun, but - here we go! Today we had to stop by BYU Campus again. On Wednesday while we were in the BYU bookstore I saw they had some $5 special on football t-shirt. Thought it would be fun to buy 3 and have all of us looking like crazy tourists wearing the same shirt. Audrey did not want one, so I bought one for John and one for me. Well, yesterday she tried mine on and loved it and then told me, "Mom, we need to stop and buy you your own since I already sweated in this one". So that was our first stop today and no, they now were completely out so mom did not get herself a t-shirt : ( We headed out to Provo Canyon stopping by Bridal Veil Falls, then Sundance Resort, and then winding roads and winding roads and winding roads until we got to Mt. Timpanogos. We stopped at the base of the mountain, looked straight up, and then made the decision that 2 very tired teenagers (we had been running them pretty hard during the trip) and again, very hot weather, would probably not be worth the 1 & 1/2 mile climb straight up just to see the caves. So it was 3 votes 'no' and 1 vote 'yes'. Sorry to John who was out-voted. We headed out the canyon (the drive out was much shorter as we were headed out the other side of the canyon) and continued to our next destination. As we were on our way there John told us about the time his whole family climbed to the Mt. Timpanogos caves and left him back at the motel because he was too small. So then we felt bad for ruining his childhood dream of finally getting to climb there. (Sorry honey). The next stop was to my childhood friends' house. We have not seen each other for 30+ years, but found each other on Facebook earlier this year. She had heard we were in Utah and had invited us for lunch. When we got to her house it was as if we had seen each other yesterday - it was the highlight of my trip! We adored her family and loved getting to see them. They were wonderful hosts, delicious meal and delightful company!! On our way back to our hotel we stopped into shopping center that was originally a mill and was renovated - Gardner Village. Fun specialty stores (Christmas decorations, Halloween decor, kitchen shop). In fact, one of the stores even had a live cat just laying on the display boxes. We stopped at the Hanson's Grocery store for a quick snack as we were still full from our luncheon. Then we headed to the hotel and started to pack for our drive home. Cannot believe how much we have packed into this trip!

Utah Trip - Day #6

One thing John and I tried to do on this trip was to experience things that we personally had not experienced when we lived in Utah. I had never been to the Great Salt Lake, so that was our first stop today. Hot. Stinky. Dry. But very interesting. I'm afraid it is probably something you only have to do once...however we did get quite interested in the history of the Saltair Pavilion. Saltair was the largest resort in the US in 1893 and was built right over the water. Trains and automobiles brought hundreds of people daily from Salt Lake City for dancing, dining, picnics, plays and concerts. Or just to breathe in the ocean-like salt air and to swim in water so salty it was impossible to sink. Fire completely destroyed the first Saltair pavilion in 1925, but it was rebuilt within one year. In the 60's the Saltair resort was abandoned and left to rot. Fire completely destroyed the building in 1970. The frame of today's Saltair building was once an airplane hanger. It was moved to it's present spot about 25 years ago and remodeled to represent the original one (though not anywhere near as fancy/large). Today it seemed a little deserted, but they evidently do have rock concerts there during the summer. After checking out the grounds, we headed into Salt Lake. Today we planned to do Temple Square. We started with the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and watched "Joseph Smith The Prophet of the Restoration". Would highly recommend seeing this film if you have not done so already. We then stopped in the lobby to listen to a wonderful piano player, went thru the Beehive House tour and then snuck back over to the Lion House Pantry for a snack. Afterwards we headed to the Church Offices as we wanted to go to the top floor. With all the new security procedures in place, you have to have an escort. Ida Mae Smith was our escort. She was great! She is 92 and has lived in SLC all her life. In fact, when we were up on the roof she pointed out the house she grew up in which was just a block away. She also pointed out a lot of interesting things, we were probably with her for 1/2 hour or so. Sweet lady. It was getting later in the afternoon and I had promised my mom we would go over to the Daughters of the Utah Pioneer building to look up some pictures of our ancestors. We asked Ida Mae where it was located and then she went on to tell us how she loves that place and that we certainly did need to spend some time there. I asked if she knew when it closed and she thought 5pm. It was 4:40pm. We wondered out loud if we could make it and Ida Mae said "Honey, I know I can't, but maybe you can?" so we hustled out of there. The address was 300 North which sounded like 3 blocks north, right? Well, 3 very long city blocks with a couple streets thrown in, straight up the hill toward the capitol building (in about 98 degree heat). We race-walked up the hill and could see the building just 1/2 block away when I crumpled to the ground, immediately overcome with intense nausea and sweating profusely. Evidently I was having some heat stroke issues! I rolled up in the fetal position on the sidewalk while the girls ran up to the DUP building to get me some water. I probably looked crazy to all the rush-hour traffic whizzing by... Audrey has a great tale though. She said she asked an older lady for some water because "my mom is having a heat stroke" and the lady took awhile for it to "register". Then she started bustling around trying to locate it quickly. Audrey offered to pay, but she refused and the girls came running back to me. After resting and hydrating, we did make it to the DUP building only to find it locked - well, it was past closing time by now. Sorry mom! We slowly made our way back to Temple Square and relaxed in front of the temple and the water features until I had regained my energy. Then we checked out the Visitor's Center, the Church History Museum and the Assembly Hall. John really wanted to see the Conference Center so we headed over there and took one of their tours. Bob Lee was our guide and again we had a wonderful time. He told us about his wife (who passed away from cancer) and his job (airline industry in security). In fact, he often was the escort on airplanes for various Presidents of the Church during his 38 year career. He also told us about a time when he was head of security and one of the planes was high jacked. We had a hard time breaking away from him as his life was quite interesting, but our final stop for the evening was the tabernacle to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir practice. They practice on Thursday nights from 8pm-9:30 and it was already getting 8:45pm. We said our goodbyes to Bob (took a picture since he felt like family by now) and then finished our evening listening to the wonderful MTC sing. Whew!

Utah Trip - Day #5

Today was Brianna's birthday, so we made sure she opened her remaining presents from her folks. Love the expression of surprise! Then we headed out for our day - first stop? Lehi Roller Mills (you know, where Footloose was filmed). Bought some muffin mixes and then off to a discount Provo Craft store in Lindon. Hoping for some Cricuit stuff (none) but did score some other discount scrapbooking items. My buddy Kathy T was in Provo to see her daughter off for college, so we met up at Applebee's for lunch! We made sure the server knew it was Brianna's birthday so she got a special treat, though she was thankful they did not sing. Afterward we headed over to BYU to check out the campus. It was Freshman & Parent orientation day so was massively crowded. We spent some time in the bookstore and a little bit on campus before heading to the BYU Creamery for treats. The girls found a treasure: Barq's Red Creme soda. At the Creamery we had a little ice cream and a brownie. I was on the hunt for a "BYU" brownie, but did not find any at the bookstore. Found a brownie at the Creamery, but not sure it was an official BYU Brownie or just an impostor. Either way it was pretty tasty. John and I then took the girls to downtown Provo to try to find our old stomping ground (as this was where we fell in love). Wow things change after 20 years - we could not find anything that seemed familiar! The Goldsmith Co Jeweler's was not in the same location, we could not find the park with the cool gazebo, and we could not find my old apartment (thus could not find the famous bridge where John gave me my first kiss). By the way, that is a good story - the first kiss. Anyway, we headed back toward our hotel for a quick swim and some relaxing. Later that evening we went to the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate Brianna's birthday again : ) Her dessert choice was a Red Velvet Cheesecake. They decorated her plate with chocolate syrup spelling out "Happy Birthday Brianna" and did come over and sing to her. We are pretty sure she had a good birthday!

Utah Trip - Day #4

Today was our 2nd day of the Salt Lake Pass and we wanted to get in more than the 3 attractions we got in yesterday! Well, that was our plan. So we started out early and went to the Living Planet Aquarium. We were pleasantly surprised by how large the displays were, since the outside of the building looked a little "small". The aquarium was set up in different rooms such as wetlands, coral reef, local Utah aquatics and the ocean. Brianna was able to pet a sting ray in the touch pool (the rest of us did not want to!!) and then we went into the Journey to South America room. They had a display next to the electric eel - you touched it so you would know how it felt to be zapped by an electric eel. John touched it and basically said it was no biggie and he did not feel a thing. So I touched it. OUCH! Imagine sticking your finger in an open electric socket and holding it there for awhile... The girls thought that it was pretty funny that it hurt me so much and not John at all - I think he was faking when he touched it (or maybe so many callouses over the years?)
Next up? The Utah Museum of Natural History. They had some really cool displays: Dinosaurs, minerals, native animals, archeology, and a Frog display. John especially liked the minerals (as he used to be a jeweler) and Audrey seemed to like the dinosaur exhibition. I liked the frog display, particularly the "frogs in literature" section.
After the museum we headed downtown to eat at the Lion House pantry. The pass gave each of us $9.99 toward a meal (which was more than plenty). The Lion House pantry is on the lower level of the Lion House and the food is served cafeteria style. Today's menu included a choice of bean and bacon soup, Santa Fe chicken, soup in a bread bowl, or ham & potatoes = and that's basically what we had (each of us choosing a different meal). Of course we all had a Lion House roll (with honey butter) and tried a couple of desserts as well.
After our meal we headed to The Gateway (a retail outdoor mall) that housed our next attraction, the Clark Planetarium. The entrance to The Gateway is the old Union Pacific Depot, which has been renovated to now be a location to hold special events in the grand hall. As you can see, it is a rather nice, large, open space to have an event or to spin & spin:
After a little shopping in the stores we headed to the Clark Planetarium. Our ticket allowed us to see an Imax 3D show as well as a star show in the Hansen Dome theatre. We started running short of time so picked one, the Imax 3D "Under the Sea". After the show we checked out some of the displays and, of course, the souvenirs.
For dinner we stopped at a local grocery store (Harmon's) that served fresh, daily made items in their deli case like twice baked potatoes, lasagna, frog eye salad, etc. John and I got some Hotel Utah rolls & some chicken salad, Audrey tried their mac&cheese and Brianna had a twice baked potato. It was a yummy dinner and we then went to our hotel to crash - what a busy day!!

Utah Trip - Day #3

We started our first official day in Salt Lake by heading downtown to purchase a 1-day Salt Lake Connect Pass (which allows you to choose between 13 attractions). We took advantage of their buy-one-day-get-2nd-free deal. So for $20 a person we got to do a TON of things - what a great deal! We started out by visiting the Tracy Aviary, an eight acre bird zoo in downtown Salt Lake. They had some fascinating birds and we enjoyed walking the grounds:
Next we headed to This is the Place Heritage Park, a living history "town" showing various Utah settlements from the 1800's (such as a very small cabin to a school house to a boarding house). We even had a sarsaparilla to help quench our thirst at the ZCMI store:
Afterward we went to the Hogle Zoo and enjoyed seeing everything it had to offer. My favorite was the giraffe barn which included the new baby giraffe.
After a fun filled & busy day, we headed towards our hotel and stopped for dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. No one else liked seafood (can you tell by the bored looks from the girls??) but I appreciated them allowing me to choose the restaurant so I could get some crab cakes that I was craving.
All in all a fun day!!

Utah Trip - Day #2

After breakfast at the hotel, we were back on the road. It was overcast and cooler today, which was nice for the drive. We stopped at Idaho Falls to see the temple and then Pocatello for lunch. We crossed into Utah and about Brigham City it started to rain very hard - you know the kind where your windshield wipers don't go fast enough? But do you pull over (you cannot see) or keep going 70mph (you cannot see) and what about everyone else who cannot see?? Thankfully a semi-truck was right in front of me and I could see the top right corner of his trailer. I followed it, white-knuckle, until the rain slowed down. The evening news said it dropped 2 inches of rain during the storm - I can believe it! Once we were to Ogden we were past the storm and the remaining trip to our hotel was without incident.

Utah Trip - Day #1

We decided to take a drive-trip for our last summer adventure. Cousin Brianna came with us so that Audrey would not be too bored hanging with her folks for an entire week. We had planned to start a little earlier in the day but had to wait for a package to come in the mail. The mail arrived, but not the package, so we headed out on our trip anyway. We had to stop in CDA for the Wooden Boat Show (a request by John) before getting too far on our trip. Wow there were some beautiful boats!
After the boat show we were hungry, so stopped at Tito Macaroni's across from the CDA Resort for lunch, got gas and finally were on the road by 2pm. Brianna's birthday was going to happen during our trip so her mom had sent some presents and a birthday-party-bag with her. She had given me instructions that one of the presents was to be opened before we got too far on our trip (as it was a video camera), so we stopped at the very first rest stop in Montana to have a birthday present opening session. Afterwards we headed on down the road but did not get quite as far as originally planned - only to Butte, Montana the first night. We drove up to the old part of town where there were some fantastic fixer-uppers! John drooled as he saw all the for sale signs and the "potential", even saying he would not mind living there : ) We finished the evening by having dinner at the Montana Club and then heading back to our hotel.

Kitchen Window

In our dining area we had a window that had lost it's seal, so John replaced it - thanks! But then I suggested (hint, hint) that it would be great to have different window sills in the kitchen (white instead of wood). Look what he made!!

Miss Saigon

The 4th and final musical for the CDA Summer Theatre was tonight. Audrey and I headed out, ready to have a great time and experience a new show as neither of us had seen Miss Saigon. We were hoping for a repeat of "Les Mis" which we loved last season. As we were walking into the theatre they had a sign to warn patrons of things they would experience during the show... gun shots, language, adult situations and ...cigarette smoke!?! I am highly, highly sensitive to cigarette smoke and was not prepared for this = you go to a bar, you expect cigarette smoke - you go to the theatre, you do not. I thought maybe it would not be too bad so we took our seats. The very first scene (in a brothel in Vietnam during the war) EVERY ONE that took the stage was actually smoking a cigarette. I covered my mouth, tried to breath into my shirt sleeve, anything to help - it was getting too bad that I was not even paying attention to the play. I got up and left. One of the ushers followed me out and we went to the box office. They apologized (evidently did not know it was going to happen until opening night?) and suggested I try to sit up in the balcony as it might not be as bad up there compared to our seats that were on the main level. I tried it, but it was not better (air rises??) so I sat in the lobby the entire first half. (The ticket office did fix the issue financially for me so they get an A for problem resolution but an F for judgement. Pretend to smoke, I still "get" the experience...) During intermission Audrey said she wanted to finish watching the show (and I did not want to ruin her evening) so she gave me her Palm and I played solitaire in the car during the second half. Audrey said the whole play was very serious and tragic and was not one of her favorites. On a lighter note, they did announce a couple of their shows for next season: Cinderella and Hair Spray. I think both of those are safe bets!!

Rock Garden

We have two egress windows in our basement with very nice window wells thanks to John's efforts quite a few years ago. At the time we cut out the windows and installed the stone window wells, we planted some ivy. It was pretty for a number of years but kept growing & spreading to the point of not looking very good and taking over everything. We yanked it out earlier this summer and then did not know what to do with the space - buy more ivy or some other plant? Then I decided I liked the dry-river-bed-rock look and put Audrey to the task. She went up to Grandma's to harvest round, pretty rocks. Then she started to place them. She did not have enough, so we had to go up to get more rocks. The end result is quite lovely - thanks Audrey for doing such a good job!!

Pineapple Zucchini Bread

PINEAPPLE ZUCCHINI BREAD
3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini (squeezed dry in paper towel)
8 ounces crushed pineapple (drained well)
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped nuts

Beat the eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla until ight and fluffy. Stir in zucchini and pineapple. Combine dry ingredients and add to batter. Pour in nuts and raisins and stir. Pour batter into 2 well-greased loaf pans (or 4-5 mini loaf pans). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour (less time for mini loaves) or until firm. Cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Perry Street, Julie and Julia and The Scoop

Another day to fill with family activities! We started off by having breakfast at the Perry Street Cafe on the South Hill. Audrey and I actually shared our meal and when the waitress brought it out, I questioned her (whether she had just doubled our order). It looked like too much food! But it was correct so Audrey & I were thankful we shared - and then we did not even finish all of it. Tasty food, reasonably priced and large portions.

Then we headed downtown to see Julie & Julia. I really enjoyed the movie and especially loved how both characters had great marriages - you don't see too many movies that focus on married couples (in a good light). Good movie!

Next on the agenda - Ice Cream! We had heard about The Scoop ice cream shop and decided to check it out. My coconut ice cream was quite tasty and John & Audrey both enjoyed their choices too. I liked that they had outdoor seating so we could enjoy the rest of our beautiful summer day. Good family fun day!!

Carrot and Raisin Salad with Pineapple

Had lots of carrots in the garden and had not made a carrot salad in a long time. I used golden raisins which looked ok the first day. The second day after they had absorbed some moisture, it was a little sick looking, so I would suggest regular raisins just for asthetics : )

CARROT AND RAISIN SALAD WITH PINEAPPLE
2/3 cup raisins
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1/3 cup Miracle Whip
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar

Toss raisins, carrots and pineapple together - set aside. Stir together Miracle Whip, lemon juice, salt and suagar. Add to raisin mixture. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Rockin B Ranch

We met up with the McLaughlin's at the Rockin B Ranch. It is a dinner/show located near the state line. They start off with a pre-dinner skit outdoors, which reminded me of a Carol Burnett skit (where the actors are trying hard not to laugh). Afterwards we headed into the barn and got ready for dinner. They serve your dinner on a pie tin and your drink in a mason jar - ribs, chicken, beef, baked potato, corn bread, applesauce (to keep your tin cool), beans, sheet cake and lemonade. Dinner was yummy and you could go back for as much as you wanted. After dinner they started the show - country western songs with fiddle, bass and vocals. Part way through the show they had a Patrick McManus performance by Tim Behrens. This was probably the funniest part of the evening. The one actor plays multiple parts simultaneously, going back and forth between characters by changing facial cues, voice inflections and putting on a hat. I had to wipe away the tears I was laughing so hard! Thanks McLaughlin's for going with us - we had a wonderful time!!

Killer Bees!

I put "hedge needs a haircut" on the honey-do list today before I went to work. John went out later that morning with the hedge trimmers and trimmed our side of the hedge. Unfortunately, you can only reach over to a certain point so there were stragglers on the other side. Being a good neighbor, he went around to the neighbors yard and started trimming up the rest of the hedge. About 1/2 way thru a swarm of bees started to attack him. He was stung multiple times, dropped the hedge trimmer and made a race away from them. He hurdled the picket fence, ripping his pants and breaking off one of the picket tops on his way out of there! He called me at work after he had gone to the hardware store and armed himself with $15 worth of spray and wasp traps - this was war!! When I got home he showed me the offending hedge and the trimmer (still leaning where it had been dropped) with bees swarming all over it. Later that evening the neighbor retreived the trimmer for us (using a long pole so as not to get too close to the nest) and John fixed the fence.

Frank's Chopped Salsa

We wanted to use our fresh, vine ripened tomatoes (that taste like candy, by the way). There is just such a difference with the taste of tomatoes grown in your garden vs anything you can purchase. I found this recipe that looked great. Tasted great too. I think next time I might add a little salsa to make it more sloppy & give it a little more depth, but that's just me.

FRANK'S CHOPPED SALSA
7 Roma tomatoes, diced
6 Garlic cloves, minced
6 jalapeno peppers (used Anaheim), seeds and ribs removed, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped cabbage
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Blackberry Jam

Needed to make something with all those beautiful berries!!

BLACKBERRY FREEZER JAM
3 c blackberries
5 c sugar
1 box Sure Jell
6-8 half pint freezer safe containers

Crush berries coarsely. Add sugar to berries. Stir well and set aside. Put 1 cup cold water in a small saucepan. Dissolve Sure Jell in it and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Add this to the berry mixture. Stir vigorously for 2 minutes. Pour into containers leaving a little space at top. Put lids on immediately and let sit for a few hours or overnight. Place in freezer. Remove an hour before you want to serve it.

Our Garden

Look what came out of our garden!!

Silverwood

We met up with Kathy, Brianna, James & Cameron at Silverwood today - another fun way to spend a week-day off from work!! While Kathy & Cameron did the low intensity rides, the rest of us did the main roller coasters: Timber Terror, Tremors and Corkscrew. Then John, Brianna and Audrey did the newer roller coaster, Aftershock. They loved it! I was not sure I was ready for this. (Here is the website description: Once you board, the cars will slowly move backwards up the starting tower until you’re staring straight at the ground at nearly 190 feet in the air. Then gravity will take over and pull you 177 feet straight down as you reach speeds of 65 miles per hour! You’ll twist and turn though mind-blowing loops and rolls until you reach the second tower. This time, you’ll be looking at the sky as the coaster pulls you upward at a 90 degree angle, only to release and send you barreling through the whole thing backwards!) While I was waiting as they stood in line, the ride operators had to clean up something on the coaster. Then I saw it happen again. Note, that when they clean they had the ride shut down for 15 minutes or so (to make sure they got everything). Not sure what bodily fluid was being cleaned up - someone said nose bleed, but I was thinking loosing-carnival-food-type-issue. I just couldn't get myself into trying that after watching the clean up twice - figured I would be next! We met up with Kathy & Cameron to rest and watch the Magic Show. Afterwards we headed to Thunder Canyon and got nice and wet. Then we did the Round Up to dry off, not sure that worked really well, though I did get some great grate marks on the backs of my legs. Audrey thought it looked funny. We went on a few more rides before stopping at Lindy's to eat. After dinner Brianna went on Timber Terror - this time with Cameron. He got off and you could just tell he LOVED it! Brianna was spending the night at our house so we split off at that time to head home, but the line in front of Roaring Creek log flume was short so we went on that ride. John and I pretended it was the tunnel of love - the girls did not appreciate that too much. We had a great time today and could not believe we did not have time to venture over to Boulder Beach at all - another visit! On our way home on I-95 (right where all the businesses are) I stopped (from 45mph) because I saw something on the highway - it was a mama deer, 2 babies and then the dad following shortly behind. Stopped 4 lanes of traffic for a few minutes while they crossed, almost literally in the cross walk. Cute.