A few for the road~

As a teenager I use to love picking the apricots. I had to climb up on top of an old house (we used it for storage and a shed) that was next to the tree and pick them while sitting on top of the roof. I would sit up there for hours and tan while picking fruit (had to eat some too)...you know, like the saying, "killing 2 birds with 1 stone". Well, picking fruit or veggies of any kind isn't as much fun now that I am older. But we do what has to be done, don't we. Todd had a few extra apricots on the tree and he said we could go and pick some...so I took Kimberly down to reach the ones up higher (surprisingly enough, she is a couple of inches taller than me) and we picked a little container full. We thought about making a little bit of jam, but just ended up getting enough to eat! I don't think that they would last long enough in our house to do jam anyway...they are getting gobbled right down....now I can't wait for tomato's and squash and plums and green beans and the rest of the fruits and veggies from the garden...its only just begun.

Apricots popping on the Apricot Tree~

Until this summer, I thought all apricots were generic and the same. Was I wrong!!! I have since learned that apricots come in all sizes, shapes and tastes. Todd and Dana moved into their new home back in December and after the snow melted this past spring, we browsed through the yard to see what they had growing in it. That's when we discovered that they had an apricot tree. It looked just like ours, I didn't see anything special about it, other than it was a GREAT apricot tree. An apricot tree is an apricot tree right?...Wrong! As the months have passed and their apricots have grown and ripened, I have been watching mine "grow and ripen." Mine look like tiny little "nothings" (those are mine next to the nickel) growing on the tree compared to the great big ones that Todd and Dana have on theirs. Theirs are the size of a small peach...seriously. On Sunday, I went down to take a look at the fruit and got to sample a taste of it ....ahhh yumm...if you like apricots, these are cream of the crop. Mine just don't compare. Is it wrong to covet the neighbors "Tree"?

A tad bit of a drive, but worth it!

Our Temples are some of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen. Not that I've seen alot of places, but the Temples and their grounds rate right up there at the top of "MY" list of... GORGEOUS places that I "HAVE" seen! On Saturday we took our family (everyone except Erik, who had already made other plans...and Jack who had to work) out to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. Kim had been wanting to go and see it ever since they had announced the open house. As parents, we thought, "what a neat experience for our children", so we planned a day, got the tickets and went. (who knows, maybe someday that will be the temple that she gets married in.) There were a lot of people there, some old, some young, some in wheelchairs and others who weren't. There were teenagers, tweens, little kids and babies. It was so sweet to see all of the little kids walking through and asking questions quietly and doing their best to be good. There is something about being on the temple grounds, as well as in the temple, that just brings a feeling of peace and happiness, and this temple was no different. It was beautiful! I love the temple. Its always been import to me and has been a great deal of comfort in my life. I'm glad that we took the opportunity to go, even if it was a little bit of a drive, it was worth it.

Life's too short...so enjoy!!!!

I love to hike. I'm not the serious kind of hiker that likes the rough terrain and the backpacks upon my shoulders, with sleeping bag and tent in tow...just the "DAY hiker that goes for a stroll along a well beaten path where someone would miss me and come looking for me if I didn't show up for dinner"... kind of hiker. There is a really nice hiking trail up at Moon Lake, which I've hiked a few times but have never made it very far up the trail. Also, I am not sure (I haven't stopped to read the signs long enough to know...) how far back into the mountains that the trail goes, or where I might end up if I kept going on it. But since we were right there at Moon Lake, I wanted to hike in a ways and "partake" of the beauty that the mountains behold. There is just something that I really enjoy about hiking and seeing the mountains close up, instead of just from the outside...I don't know what it is, but I love hiking. Deron didn't want me to go alone and he

wasn't up to going with me, so Todd and Dana decided that they would venture into the woods too. We had a blast...not like an "entertaining kind of blast"...but like "just fun being together" kind of blast. We got to see the lake from way up in the mountains. Which was really neat. We saw how the water rippled when the wind started to blow. We saw ferns and fresh moss growing on the rocks. We saw mounds of rocks that had,

at some point- maybe a thousand years ago, tumbled down the mountains in maybe an earthquake or a rock slide, we saw chipmunks, butterflies, beautiful scenery and things that you just don't get to enjoy from looking at the mountain straight on.

We spent time walking along the trail talking and laughing. Doing things that you do when you're with people that you love.

Dana and I are both wanting to dive into photography and learn more about how to take pictures correctly, with the right light and technique and have them look really cool, (maybe someday we will both be doing it professionally, who knows it could happen...more likely with Dana than me...but you never know)...so we stopped along the way and practiced our skills at taking "still life nature shots" and then even a few fun shots of all of us being "mighty hikers" and posing for the camera. (really, what good is it too go and see

all of this if I am just going to forget it all when I get old...hence the many photo's that I take, I want to remember it all FOREVER or at least have proof that I SHOULD remember it...). Todd was very patient with us and even took a few himself. We hiked for about 2 hours, an hour in and an hour back out. We didn't see any bears (guess we didn't go far enough back into the woods to see them), or anything bigger than a chipmunk, but we enjoyed what we saw. Life is too short to let the little things pass by and to not stop and smell the roses...in this case, the wild flowers! I can't wait to go hiking again!!!

Ants, Mermaids and the Pioneers...only on the 24th of July!

Being a Holiday, and a Friday as well (you know the theme...field trip Friday), we decided to take a break from the hum drum life at home and venture out into the wilderness (yes...we quickly learned that we were not alone in our plans...everyone else was looking for a get away too and we ended up feeling like we were in the city... because there were SO many people). We packed a picnic lunch and jumped in the truck and drove up the mountain to Moon Lake. Todd and Dana didn't have any plans for the day, so we invited them to go along too. We found a nice sandy place on the beach and pulled out our lunch and started eating. After lunch we sat there and just looked like a bunch of lost sheep. We hadn't made any specific plans on WHAT we were going to do when we got there, besides eat, so everyone just sat around watching all of the other people do THEIR things. We saw one guy floating around the water on an air mattress (the kind your supposed to sleep on), we watched a young dad take his kids for a little ride on a raft that someone had lashed together (we were actually waiting for it to sink..it didn't look "float worthy")...we watched ants "un-bury" themselves after Cameron covered them up...we just "people watched", which is sometimes more fun than anything else. Then one of the kids grabbed a spoon and started digging and that got everyone digging in the dirt, making tunnels, sand angels, turtles, castles...sand stuff, you know~ the kinds of things that we all make when we are in the sand. THEN...after that lost its excitement...the boys decided that they should bury Dana and make her into a Mermaid. She played along and let them bury her...she kept laughing so the sand on her belly kept cracking, so they decided not to cover her that far up...at least for now. After they got her fins made they decided to go ahead and completely bury her~but to give her "boobs" this time...well that brought in a crowd of onlookers to see what was going on. Two little old ladies got a real good laugh out of it as they were walking their dog along the beach, I think that we made their day. Cameron was the only one that took a dip in the water. Moon Lake is always really cold and poor Cameron discovered that the hard way, he ended up coming out of the water just about as fast as he went in...which was REALLY QUICK! A day at Moon Lake, with the family, lots of food, sand and many people sure beats the days of the pioneers when they spent their days walking through mud, heat, and rain. Dealing with the trials of sickness, death, mobs and then wondering if they were ever going to get to the end of their journey. The 24th of July is a fun family holiday for us, but its also a day that I try to reflect on my Utah heritage and the blessings that I have because of the sacrifices that my pioneer ansestors made.

Many hands make light work....

A lot of rain, hot temperatures, 2 able bodies (for 7 hours) and 3 more able bodies for the rest of the time, equalling 8 straight hours of weeding...and what do we get......

...a garden that looks like we have a real "gardener"!

(you know, the kind that you hire to keep your yard looking in tip top condition all of the time?...No we don't have one of those, but for just a minute it looked like we might!)

I should have taken pictures before we weeded so that you could appreciate how it looks now. Honestly, there was no telling where the plants were and where the weeds were, it looked like one solid weed patch. Over by the fire pit/picnic area was completely covered with weeds. The kids thought that we had sent them to a prison camp when I told them we were weeding for Family Home Evening....(you see no one who abides so strictly by the laws should be punished in such a harsh way, that's child abuse...don't you know) Halle and I had spent the day outside weeding and there was still more to do, so Family Home Evening sounded like a great time to get it finished up. After it was all done and the weeds were banished and disposed of, we took advantage of being able to see the fire pit again and we roasted marshmellows and made S'mores for refreshments. All in all, the kids didn't complain TOO much. I will have to say~ that they were troopers and tried to put a smile on and dig right in... but I would be lying if I said that they were thrilled and excited and loved pulling all of those weeds...BUT the end results made the journey well worth it....at least it did for me!!!!

Its A knock off...

As many of you out there, we (the girls) love to go to The Olive Garden. But since there isn't one very close (within a 10 minutes range) and its a little pricey, we don't go as often as we would like, to partake of their delicious food. But the other day I was surfing the internet and looking for recipes and I came across a recipe for Olive Garden Salad and their yummy dressing (sorry I didn't remember to get the site address...I will try and remember to do that so that I can give them credit next time) that goes with it. I was having problems with my camera and so I didn't get any pictures, so you will have to use your imagination to visualize this yummy dish! On a scale between 1-10...I give it a 9. Its not exactly like The Olive Garden's but its a really close match. Try it out and let me know what you think of it...I'm curious if everyone else likes it too.

Knock off...Olive Garden Salad and Dressing

Salad-

1 large head of lettuce, leaf (I don't like Romaine so I used red leaf)

1/2 red onion, sliced

whole black olives

4-6 Peperoncini Peppers (the hot hole peppers that you find in the salad)...buy them by the pickles at any store

3 tomato's, cut in quarters

1/2 c. croutons

freshly grated Parmesan cheese ( I just used some of the Romano cheese that we used in the dressing)

Dresssing-

1 c. mayonnaise

2/3 c. white vinegar

2 tsp. vegetable oil

4 T. corn syrup

4 T. Parmesan cheese

4 T. Romano Cheese

1/2 t. garlic powder- or 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 t. dry Italian dressing from the package

1 t. parsley flakes

2 T. lemon juice

Mix all dressing ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little too tart for your taste, add a little extra sugar. ( I didn't...we thought it was just right)

Add the dressing to your salad and enjoy!

Twenty Two years...and still going~

Each year for our anniversary, Deron and I try to do something memorable and special...after all when we got married it was a big deal, why not make each anniversary a big deal as well?! In the past, we've gone on a cruise, we've gone to Seattle, we've gone to Hawaii, we've gone up north, down south, we've gone to Yellowstone...we've been many fun places. Every time we go somewhere I think to myself that "this was the best". This year was no different. We didn't go anywhere big,

or too far away, we didn't spend alot of money or even have to pack...but our anniversary was just as much fun as it ever has been! I think I just love spending the day with my wonderful hubby doing whatever, and having him all to myself. We took the day and drove down through Crouse Canyon, through Brown's Park, over to Jarvie's Ranch and then over to Flaming Gorge and back onto to Vernal. We took the scenic route on the way down and went through Crouse Canyon. It was mostly a dirt road and a little narrow in some places, but so

GORGEOUS scenery. The rocks and the mountains plus all of the green trees and shrubbery were just breath taking. It was well worth the long trip! I couldn't believe some of the formations that the wind and the weather had formed through the canyon. If you ever get a chance, take it...its beautiful. I kept wanting to get out and take pictures, but found out that the pictures really

don't do it justice. It was just beautiful!!! Then we drove into Browns Park and had to drive across a "Swinging Bridge" ...yes you read that correctly, it was a swinging bridge. I had decided that I would opt out of driving across it because it terrified me. The bridge is really narrow and just had wood slabs across the bottom (although I am sure that they were bolted in), but when you drove a vehicle across it they moved and swayed back and forth...anyway..I decided I would be much safer if I just walked across it...WRONG..I started out across and looked down between the slabs of wood (there was about 3-4 inches in between each slab) and you could see the Green River below...quite a ways down there, the bridge rocked a little with the wind...at about that time I ever so carefully walked back to the truck and opted to ride...at least I would get to the other side quicker. It was pretty tense and got our hearts pounding...but we lived through it and we're here to tell about it. Next we drove down to Jarvie's Ranch. (In 1880 John Jarvie built a ranch along with some stores where he offered store bought goods to those who lived or traveled in this part of the country. He built a ferry that took the wagons from one side of the Green River to the other.) They still have some of the original buildings there and some of the historic things from that time period. It was a nice little place with alot of history. I suggest if you plan on going there, to look up the history part of it first so that it will have some meaning. Deron did and was able to tell me the stories behind the ranch, so it made it more interesting. We then drove on over to Dutch John and down to Vernal where we stopped and had dinner at Canton City. We both love Chinese food and Canton City has some of the best around. Deron went on his mission to Taiwan and said that alot of the food is very authentic there.

After a long day

we were tired, but we both had such a great day together. We could have done anything, anywhere and still had just as much fun. We just talked and laughed and talked and laughed and took pictures and drove and I couldn't have asked for a better anniversary! Twenty Two years is a long time, its longer than I was ever single. BUT its been the best 22 years of my life.

Guns+Guys= loads of fun!

Cameron and Deron love to go shooting and do "guy things" without all of us girls hanging around sometimes. Not that they don't love us girls to go with them, but sometimes they like to have "guy time", which I understand. So a couple of weeks ago Cameron talked his dad into going camping. Cameron spent the entire week getting the camper into tip top shape, fixing all the leaks, a couple of bad tires, a broken pump and a dead battery. By the end of the week it was almost like new. They loaded up

enough food to last for 2"weeks" and headed up the canyon for a few "days" of R & R. The found a beautiful place in the trees and set up camp. Deron told me there was loads and loads of wood everywhere, but I had no idea how much "LOADS" were until he showed me a picture...WOW. They roasted hot links and ate smores, but the funnest thing that they did (guys do weird things for fun) was go shooting. Cameron and Deron both love shooting their guns. They reload their own bullets and then have to "go test them out". They had fun blowing up cans

, loaded pop bottles and logs. I love the picture that Deron took of the pop bottle full of rootbeer being blown to pieces....it was pretty cool. They had an awesome time just hanging out with each other and doing fun "guy" things. Our neighbor and one of his sons came up and spent the last night with them. They love camping and shooting as well, and joined right in on the fun. Cameron and Deron both came home beat and dirty, but full of lots of great stories of the fun experiences that they had together. Deron is an amazing dad and loves to spend time with his kids...I hope they realize how lucky they are to have him in their lives because he is a wonderful dad!

"The Wicked" deal...

(Halle, anticipating The Wicked...she doesn't look very thrilled!)

Saturday came around with a bit of excitement in the house. We had been planning a family trip out to Lagoon since about June, and the day had finally arrived. We anxiously got up and were planning on being out the door by 7:30am so we could be out there and ready to crash through the gates when it opened at 10:00am. But after the late night (check previous post) the night before, we didn't actually leave until about 8:30-8:45, which put us running a tad bit behind schedule. We haven't been able to take the kids on a "BIG" vacation this year (this is probably the biggest its going to get this year) so we wanted to make the most of our day there. Deron has been trying to get Halle to go on "The Wicked" for several years. Its his very favorite ride there. Halle is a bit of a chicken and doesn't like too many rides at Lagoon. We were sure if she would just try some of them out, she would change her mind and really love them (they are so much worse to watch than to really experience them) and want to go on them over and over. Finally Halle made a deal with her dad. If she went on The Wicked, he had to go on any ride with her that she wanted him to go on...the deal was then made and they shook hands on it. The closer we got to Lagoon the more Halle was trying to get out of the deal, she begged and pleaded but we decided that we also needed to teach her that once you said you would do something, that it was your word and you needed to follow through. We all went down and got in line, Halle too (not without her letting us all know that she was not going to go through with it). She continued through the line and we all tried to convince her that it looked so much worse than it was and to just have a good time. Finally we were on the ride, buckled in and ready to take off. Halle started to cry and said she was scared...and that's pretty much what happened before the car took off and went up the hill and down and then around and around and pretty soon it was all over. She was crying and screaming the entire time. When our car finally came to a stop the girl in front of us turned around and asked Halle if she was okay, which she said that she was. Then she told me how embarrassed she was for crying and wanted to go on it again....Moral of the story- "stick to your guns!" We ended up not going on it again because the line had become really long and we had many more rides that we all wanted to go on. Kim and Cameron took off on their own for a good part of the day, and Deron and I hung out with Halle. Everyone but me (I'm not a water person, when it comes to rides...I like to stay dry and warm vs. wet and cold) rode down the Rattle Snake Rapids and got wet, then we went over to the Pioneer Village for a scoop of ice cream from their little ice cream shop. We all had alot of fun. This year they had a "Monkey Show" at the park that everyone could go and watch. It wasn't as exciting as we thought that it might be, but it was interesting to see baboons out of their cages and experience their personalities. Some of them had been in different TV commercials and some movies. The trainers did some role playing with them and showed us some neat things that they could do. They are really welled trained and it was fun to watch. By the end of the day we were beat and exhausted and ready to come home. I think back on the years when all of our kids were young and came with us to Lagoon, those were good time too. It won't be long and we won't have any kids left at home to take. So I guess we'll just take in all of the time that we can with our kids, do all that we can with them, and make the most of the memories that we have made! Isn't that what life is about anyway...making memories?!

I'm not in the drivers seat...

(the lights of the long, long line of traffic)

Our Friday Fieldtrip this week, consisted of an afternoon spent with my hubby in the city. We were actually going to take the kids away on a "fieldtrip" to Lagoon on Saturday, so we took advantage of 1/2 the day on Friday for ourselves. We needed a little "get away time" by ourselves, so we took it. We went to Cafe Rio and had dinner, did a little shopping, picked up a manuel that Deron needed for some computer programing and started to head home. Just outside of Heber on our way up Daniels Canyon, a highway patrolman came zooming around us with his lights and sirens just blaring. We new that there must be some type of accident up ahead. Not too long after that, we saw vehicles coming down and flashing their lights to everyone, warning them to slow down. My heart sort of sunk, thinking that it must be bad. As we came around the corner, in a distance you could see that right across from the camp ground there had been an accident. There were lots of cars stopped, lights flashing from the police cars...but no ambulance. As we got closer Deron said that since he was and EMT (and the ambulence wasn't there yet) we better stop and see if he could offer some help. A motorcylist had lost control of his bike and wrecked. It didn't look like he was wearing his helmet because it was on the back of his motorbike. Someone was doing CPR on the man and we could see from his broken up motorbike that his outcome wasn't going to be very good. Deron ran over to help, but about that time the ambulance arrived. They had traffic stopped, so we had to wait it out. They brought in the AirMed helicopter, which gave me hope in thinking that the man had maybe given some signs of life, but later we found out that they pronounced him dead at the scene. We sat there and watched as the EMT and paramedics raced around trying to save this mans life. The longer we sat there the sicker I got. I just kept thinking about the fact that somewhere, someplace, many peoples lives would be changing at the moment. He was someones friend, someones son, brother and maybe even someones dad and husband and they would all be very sad and missing this person in their lives. He was there alone without any loved ones around as he passed from this life into the next. I thought about how he probably got up that morning doing what he needed to do, maybe just decided to go for a nice peaceful drive (I don't know what he really did, I was just speculating in my own mind as to what he might have been doing) and enjoy the beautiful evening. Maybe he was returning home after a long day at work...I don't know, but regardless of what he was doing or had been doing that day, his life had taken a major turn. I am sure when he got up that morning he never dreamed that it would end the way that it did. It made me sad for him, for his family and for those left behind to mourn his death. Being in an accident is awful, but having that be your last moments on earth, to me would be the worst. Life is full of surprises, full of change- some good change-some not so good, I guess thats all just part of life. Death is just another part of life, and I believe in life after death, so I know that this man is living on the other side and his life will go on. But the sadness comes when I think of the family that he left behind. What if he didn't have a good day and did or didn't tell them all that he loved them. What if he had unfinished business that he still needed to do. What if he had some things in his life that weren't right yet...it all just made me think about where I am in my life. What if my life took a turn like that. Would I be ready? WOW...what a powerful thought. I still have alot I need to do to be ready to meet my Savior. I still have alot to do before I am ready to part with my family and loved ones. I guess, in most cases, we aren't really the one in the drivers seat of our lives. The Lord takes us when he is ready to take us...ready or not. Anyway...we sat there watching for at least 30 minutes, I am thinking more like an hour...but I felt a saddness and grieved for this man that I didn't even know. Life is short. We don't know when our time will be up and we are called back to live with our Father in Heaven. I guess I need to make sure that I am living right and then when my card comes up and my life is over, I can be ready. As we left the scene...and the lights faded into the distance... I hoped that his family would know that he still lives and that this isn't the end of his life. Even though he isn't here with them anymore, he will be waiting on the other side for them. And I hoped that would bring them comfort in this very trying time for them. Deron and I had a good day together, and even though it ended with a long line of traffic and the saddness of seeing another person lose their life, I hoped that it would be a constant reminder to me that I needed to get my life in order and be ready for the time that my life takes a turn, and remember that I am not in the drivers seat here....there is a higher being, my Heavenly Father, that is in control of when my stay here on this earth is over.

I tried...again!

...just for the record, I tried to put my 4th of July story in order as it happened, so you could read it as if it were in order BUT of course I still haven't figured out how to do that...so in order to read it in story form, you are going to have to scroll down a couple of post and then scroll up as you read...sorry...I am still a little dyslexic when it comes to the "blog posting" thing! Thanks for bearing with me...

...and It went out with a BanG!

...after a wet and wild time at the Wave Pool, we parted ways with Dayna as she headed home to Orem... and we headed home to over the mountain to a nice hot shower...then we moved onto the "evening events" at Todd and Dana's house. They bought a nice grill last weekend and invited us to come over for a big BBQ and a 4th of July Firework party. I don't know how Dana pulled it all together in an hour (we got home later than we had originally planned...sorry Dana) but she did. She had dinner out and on the table, ready to eat when we got there....plus she looked like she had been home with hours to get ready! (She always looks stunningly beautiful anyway). Todd was cooking burgers and hot dogs and looking like he was born to be in front of the grill. Everything tasted fantastic as we sat down for a relaxing dinner and informal visit. Cameron was eyeying his Uncle Jon's (Deron's brother Jon...not to be confused with my brother John...we like to play name games in my family) motorbike that was sitting in the back of his truck out front. He assured me that he knew how to drive a motorbike (moms don't like to think that their kids do reckless and crazy things like ride 2 wheeled bikes with motors, but dad's are a little more realistic), so Deron let him at it. I think that riding motorbikes and messing with engines and all of that stuff is something that boys are just born to know how to do...at least most of them. Cameron rode up and down the road with a big grin on his face and entertained us for a minute. As soon as the sun went down and the mosquito's came out (I actually only got bitten once...great job Mosquito Abatement!) we started the fireworks. Todd and Dana got some really good fireworks, right here locally. I think the entire neighborhood was out lighting fireworks because there were blasts and sparks flying in every direction. Todd and Dana put on a great show. Not too long after our show ended the city put on their display of bangs and booms and sparks flying off of the hill. We are lucky enough to live where we can just sit on our lawn and watch the fireworks display off of the hill. Todd and Dana live just

down the street and have the same luxury as we do. There were a few trees in the way, so we pulled our chairs out into the road (another luxury is that cars don't travel during the fireworks show, so we could sit in the road without the fear of being run over). All in all, we had a great day and topped it off with a great night! I'm glad that I live in a free country where I CAN sit in the road if I want, I can wear my swim suit without being arrested and I can sleep in through a cannonball blast. I am glad that I have the right to do as I please, worship

as I please and enjoy the wonderful luxuries of living where I do. I am grateful for the servicemen who sacrifice so much so that I can enjoy the freedoms that I do. It was a great holiday, a fun celebration shared with family and full of making memories....and I am grateful for that!