Santa began to worry. He couldn't remember all the addresses he had to deliver presents to in Cincinnati. 

Santa grumbled. He hemmed and hawed. After a few weeks of brain games he remembered Cincinnati, but had forgotten Little Rock.

Mrs. Claus gave him a new phone with a GPS.

Rudolf was not happy about that.

Santa was feeling poorly this summer so he went to his doctor. Dr. North recommended exercise and smaller portions.

Santa took his doctor's advice very seriously. He wore out the reindeer practicing his driving. He wore out the elves wanting more and more toys. Finally Mrs. Claus baked him two dozen chocolate chip cookies, three dozen frosted gingerbread cookies and a suite of fruit cakes.

Every thing is back to normal now.

A promise is a promise, and I promised we'd go on a plein aire trip this year. Finally it came together in middle November. We stayed at the Adventure inn in Moab - my favorite motel in Moab, and painted for three days. The weather was perfect - until the wind came up the last day. Everyone worked hard and created lively and great paintings. We had a ball, ate a lot of good food, and saw the sites.

Arches National Monument is one of my favorites. We spent the day there; in the morning at Double Arches, and in the afternoon at Balanced Rock.

Balanced Rock is one of my favorite land forms to paint. I've done it before and I never tire of its grace and endurance. 

Following  are photos of the painters at work, and some of my balanced rock paintings. Teressa Carlton

Barbara Allen Amy Daniels

BALANCED ROCK IN THE SNOWBalanced Rock in a snow storm. You never know what the weather will be when painting plein aire Balanced Rock in the Snow

Balanced Rock fugue

Balanced Rock- fugue setting

BALANCED ROCKPainted in pastel in three values. Light orange, medium blue, and dark navy. Arches National Monument The assignment was to use three pastels  (plus colored paper) to create a composition. Light, middle and dark values. A challenge but I had fun teaching it - and doing it. Atmospheric conditions let us see the La Sals behind the rock.