A little Brat Day goes a long way

I really do wish every day was Brat Day. Here's Paul, giving a shout out from the East Coast. It's been an eventful summer and the time to blog about it has arrived.

Shortly after Mark and Jana's wedding, I was off to Europe on a tour of pleasure. This journey took us to London first, then to Corsica, Switzerland, Normandy and Paris. Highlights include Corsica and Normandy.

Corsica was much more rugged than I expected. As we hiked along the coast of this island, we

gained and lost over six thousand feet in six or seven miles. While it is only one hundred miles long, it has peaks high enough to be snow capped throughout the year.

At sea level, numerous castles guard the island's bays against pirate attacks. Communication was near impossible in most of the tiny villages we waked through, but somehow I managed to try the local cheeses and dried meats (most of which were scrumptious).

Here's a picture of Normandy. Normandy is wonderful because of its quaint medieval villages and WWII sites. This is the American Cemetery on Omaha Beach. If your American citizenship ever has you down, I recommend spending some time in this part of France. Its crawling with American veterans/tourists and packed with French monuments which memorialize American greatness.

Now, as all of you undoubtedly know, Saturday, July 31 was Brat Day-- the commemoration of both the bratwurst and the approaching end of summer. A proper Brat Day celebration starts out with a dip

in the drink. (To facilitate this, my roommates and I invested in an above ground pool this year). After that, bratwursts are enjoyed by all participants. Finally, the Brat Day Song should be sung throughout the day (see video at bottom).

Brat Day started in 2002. That first Brat Day, there were three of us--Scott, Emily, and myself. This year, conservative estimates put worldwide observance of Brat Day up around 70 with reports still coming in. It has also appeared on networking sites such as facebook and twitter.

Well, thats just about it. I love all of you, so keep in touch.

Eliason Family Taco Bell Challenge

Hey Everybody -

I am issuing a challenge for the week. Jana sent me a text on Monday, saying that she was craving Taco Bell, and then she went and bought it. Paul then proceeded to text me today, and he was eating Taco Bell for lunch! So the challenge has begun, and it is as follows: can we get an Eliason to eat Taco Bell every day this week? The challenge is on, and the goal is to have all of us eat there, and then post (and if possible, post a picture) about your Taco Bell experience.

If that doesn't bring the family closer together, who knows what will!

Mark

More pictures

The brothers...

Mark and Jana

Relaxing at Scott and Emily's...

September 15

We are in Williams, Arizona, where Clair will work one month. I just wanted to send you a cute picture of Shannon, dressed for our BYU celebration party when they played Oklahoma. Quite a game!

The other pictures are of Ben, Bela, and Chandler's sealing day. They were sealed September 12, 2009 in the Boise Temple. It was a very special day. The sealer gave a very nice message in which he spoke of the "power" that comes with this temple ordinance. He also talked of the need for husbands to cherish and honor their wives, to be able to say, "I'm sorry," and for the wife to forgive. He reminded us all that this life is only a short part

of eternity and we should remember all that came before and look toward all that will still come. If any of you remember more, please share with us. Thanks to all who came--and tried to come... We missed those not there.

Love,

Mom

The Rockin' Weekend

Howdy everybody!

It sure was great to see almost everyone this weekend. It's always fun when our family gets together, because there are just so many people to talk to. And, you should all know, Jana had a GREAT time with everyone. And, she asked me to post on the blog the fact that SHE JUST ATE TACO BELL TODAY. She ordered a chalupa and a soft taco; apparently, all of our talk about TB endowed her with a hankering for some authentic Mexican food. So it looks like she's been officially initiated.

Teton Hike photos

Here are some photos of our hike.

Mom

Hike in the Tetons

Paul, Dad and I took a 20 mile (or more in my estimation!) hike through the Tetons from the Driggs side to the Jackson side. We hiked for 12 hours with only a half hour rest at lunch. In fact toward the end we were jogging in spurts because we had to catch the last boat across Jenny Lake or we would have to walk another two miles.
It was a beautiful hike. We started out when it was barely light. Early in the hike we saw several moose. One pair of moose tried to block our path, but after watching them for a while we made a circle around them and continued on down the trail. At one point it seemed like the male would charge at us, but then changed his mind. Moose can be mean.
We climbed up through fields of wildflowers as tall as our shoulders. When we got to the top of Hurricane Pass we sat just in front of the Tetons and had lunch. Table Mountain was to our left and the Tetons to the right. After lunch we climbed down into the valley of the South Cascade Fork. We passed glaciers which melted into small streams. At one point the glacier water formed a green lake, then the various streams combined to get larger and larger, all the time cascading down the mountains and passing through green meadows of flowers. It was beautiful!
I hope you enjoy our pictures! Sorry, only 5 pictures were allowed. I am not sure they loaded. I will try later.