Last weekend we held our 4th annual Weight Family Reunion. I don't come from a large extended family on either side- combined, I have 4 aunts (thats 3 from my dad's side and 1 from my mom's side) and 5 cousins (4 from
my dad's family and 1 from my mom's family). After my grandparents passed away, we knew that it would be harder to get together to see each other because we weren't going to all be meeting at grandma's and grandpa's house for special occasions. So we decided that in order for our family to try and stay close we were going to have a reunion with my dads 3 sisters and their 4 children, and all of my brothers and sisters and their families. Each year we rotate who will be in charge of 
the reunion, between my dad, my brothers and sister and me. This year my dad and I were in charge. We chose to have it at Hardings Hide Away over by Myton. The owner is a close friend of my dad's so we were able to get a really good deal on it. The kids look forward to the 
reunion every year. Its always a blast. I love getting together with my family and laughing and goofing off (yes, we grown ups do crazy things like that!) and just having a great time. We decided to shake things up a bit this year and camp over night. We had a fun talent program, roasted marshmellows and made smores, sang campfire songs and visited. The next morning we got up and made 
a big breakfast, cleaned up (yep...we have to do that at reunions too) and then headed for the water. My niece Avery and I went on a frog hunt. We usually spend hours looking before we find any (we've had the reunion here 3 out of the 4 times) that we are able to actually catch. But this year we caught 2 in about 10 minutes. The little kids all loved our frogs, but Dayna wasn't very amused when we showed her how our frog liked to jump in her hair....(hysterical for all who were watching) but she was a good sport and we all had a fun laugh. Also, at Harding's they have a great big pipe that they have converted into a water slide. I've always had so much fun watching the kids slide down it...because it is really high and quite terrifying... they usually scream at the top of their lungs the first couple of times that they go down it and sometimes they even wipe out when they get down to the water. The slide is great entertainment for everyone to watch, as well as slide down. I had decided this year that MAYBE I would try to go down the slide after lunch when it
was warmer (last weekend was a chilly one). My brothers had been trying all morning to get me to go down and I kept telling them that I didn't want to get wet until after lunch and then MAYBE I would try the slide, but I hadn't decided for sure because it looked so scary!!!! Not too long after that my brothers decided that I "needed to just get wet now" and go down the slide. You know how brothers are...so persistant! Th
ey proceeded to chase me down, pick me up and toss me into the water....and OH SO COLD water at that!!! After I was wet anyway I decided that I would be brave and try the slide. I have to admit...I don't know what got into me because I am scared of heights, I don't swim very well and the water was so cold...plus I really don't like swiming in ponds, lakes or rivers as there tends to be things (tadpoles, fish, SNAKES, water skeeters...etc...) that swim around your legs and feet, and frankly~ it freaks me out!!! So honestly, I don't really know what I was doing!!! I climbed up to the top of the slide and just kept telling myself to "not look down". I climbed on to my boogie board and looked at my brother John and then looked down the slide, and then I started to realize just how far I was up there...I started to 
get scared so I told him to let me go (I knew I had to do it before I chickened right out) and down I went....TERRIFIED all the way to the water. I have to admit, it was really fun, still really scary, but it WAS fun. I even t
ried it a couple of more times after that. We all had such a great time. Everyone was entertained in some way or another. Some paddled around in the boats on the pond, some of the little ones played in the sand, some of the grown ups goofed off on the slide, and some just wanted to watch, but I think that everyone that was there had a wondeful time. Thanks to everyone that was able to be there! Reunions are the best!!!! The food was great, the company was great...and I can't wait until next year when we do it all again!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Sometimes you feel like a nut~
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Chewy, Chunky...YUM
We had the missionaries over for dinner last night which is always fun, but I was having a bit of a problem figuring out what to fix for them. You know the dilemma ...I wanted them to enjoy and eat whatever I fixed, yet I didn't want to spend hours in the kitchen...well, the 2 don't mix, something good usually takes hours in the kitchen I've discovered, anyway...SO I fixed Navajo Taco's and Cookie Dough Brownies. I will have to admit that the brownies were a NEW RECIPE and so I was a little nervous to serve them to company. Erik came over to eat as well and was the first to sample the brownies. He isn't much of a "sweets" kind of person so he just had a nibble, but then he kept coming back for more...thats when he said that he "really liked them"...so that was my que that they were going to be a hit. I actually had to steal one off of the plate really quick before they were all gone...because every time I turned around they were disappea
ring quicker and quicker. My point being....IF you make these, make alot~ because they don't last very long.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Trying to do better~
JUST a note...I am going quit being a slacker and get back to planning and following a "menu," so I will be trying a few new recipes again and I will post them on my blog! For all of you "foodies" out there that love to eat good food like me...it will something to look forward to!....I hope to get it planned out today and start with a new recipe tomorrow....I CAN'T wait!
An Artist in our mist!
The County Fair always brings back fun memories, some from my childhood but most from when my children were little. It use to be such fun, and a BIG DEAL that we looked forward to all summer. We use to take the kids to look at all of the animals, to the Derby, the Rodeo, the parade, and for a walk around the fair building to look at all of the Arts and Crafts Exhibits. The kids loved it. It was usually a very busy, fun week. As the kids have gotten older we haven't really participated in any of the fair events. The price to get into the events has gone up significantly over the years and it all adds up with a family of our size. When we were spending $80 to get into one event, plus the food (it always smells so good inside of the rodeo grounds and it all entices you to come and eat some of it as well)...it just got a little too much for us to afford. If I had the amount of money that we were spending at the fair just laying around to blow, I guess I would choose to take a "mini-vacation" instead, to someplace other than my back yard. So the fair has actually become a week that I dread instead of look for
ward to anymore. Being so close to the fair grounds (no its not right out my front door like some people, but its still close) we can hear everything that is said from the announcers stand, the music, see the fireworks and smell the exhaust from the Derby Cars and Motor Cross...its just like 
being right there in it anyway. Although we don't participate much in the other events, we've always still tried to go and look at the Arts and Craft exhibits, we've missed a few years, but we enjoy it when we are able to attend. This year Halle wanted to enter some of her drawings into the Arts and Crafts exhibit. She had worked hard on them and was excited to have them judged and win premium money for her ribbons. After waiting a day for the judges to look over all the entries we ran down for a peek at what they awarded her with. She got blue ribbons on all of them! She was thrilled. Its fun to see her face light up when she feels successful and a sense of accomplishment. Although she didn't get any premium money (I guess they don't do that anymore?), she was happy that she entered her drawings and is going to start working hard for next year. She is a wonderful artist and has alot of potential. There were alot of wonderful entries this year and it was fun to be able to take a quick peek at them all. We were in a hurry and didn't get to look at all of them, but I was really impressed with the talented people in our area that share what they are able to do, with those of us that aren't so talented. NOW that the fair is over we are well into the fast moving count down until school starts.....I might be a little strange, but I am not looking forward to sending my kids back yet! Where does all of the time go, summer just goes by way too fast!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
ThE "TANK"!!!
Erik is my one child that has always loved animals, creatures and things that creep and crawl. He was always bringing home lost, homeless animals, birds, and strays. I remember one time when he was about 9-10 years old, he was down at the fair grounds...I think to go fishing...and he came home with a rooster. It was pretty mangy looking an
d was missing feathers sporadically over it body. Erik begged and begged us to keep it. Finally we relented and let him put it in a cage outside and told him that he could keep it if he fed and watered it. Well, it wasn't 2 days later that we noticed that the rooster had LICE...and so did Erik! It was awful! Erik got his head shaved bald, a massive dose of RID and we hauled the rooster off and "took care of it". After that, Erik didn't bring home strays, but always begged for this pet or that pet. He had Guini pigs, rabbits, parakeet
s, kittens, puppies and even a salamander. Lately he has been wanting another pet...a Doberman Pinscher. He has talked about it often and said how "one day" he was going to get one. I guess an opportunity arose and his "one day" came. Yesterday he brought over the cutest little Doberman puppy. We all fell in love with him. He had quite the funny personality. We all cuddled him, played with him, made him chase sticks and wore him right out. He
fell asleep on the grass with his paws over his eyes...(he put them there all by himself ) AHHH..isn't he so cute!. His name is "TANK"...which is a big name for such a little guy, but I have no doubts that he will grow into it before too long. Erik was just like a proud parent, showing him off to his family and friends. He is really good with animals and I know that he will be a good "dad" to baby Tank.... I am excited for him and that he finally has his dream dog!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
OH What do YoU do in the SuMMeR TiMe?....CaNnING!
I'm not a huge fan of canning...of any kind. I love when it's finished, I love looking at everything that I made sitting on the shelves, sitting in the freezer or on the table, but I don't like doing it AT ALL. But alas...I do it anyway! With the apricots that Todd and Dana gave us and the ones from our tree, I had more than what we could eat so I had to do something with them, I couldn't stand to se
e them go to waste....What to do, what to do???...JAM...I've made the "cooked apricot jam" before and vowed to NEVER do it again. It was a long drawn out process and took all day long. So I hunted on the Internet for an "apricot freezer jam" recipe, and lucked out in finding a really good one. It was fast, easy, quick clean up and tasted really good...so I made 5 batches. My only 
complaint is....it wasn't very cheap! The fruit was free (we love free stuff!), but the pectin was $3.00 + a box, it takes 2 boxes per batch, and 6 cups of sugar per batch...and I used almost an entire 25 lb bag ($16.00), then I had to buy the containers to put th
e jam in...it all added up to be about $50+ ....I'm not sure that it saved me any money, but I guess at least I know what went into my jam (no preservatives, additives etc...), although I am sure that it would have been cheaper to just buy it from the store....the things that we do to have the "all natural" stuff. Would I make it again? Yes...I probably will. The moral of my story...pretend that you aren't canning by just "freezing" everything.
Day off!
Having a birthday at my age isn't near as exciting as it was when I was little, but it beats the alternative (being dead)~ so I hope to continue to celebrate them for many years to come. Cameron was going to be gone on a back packing trip with the scouts on my birthday and so he and Kimber and Halle pla
nned a little surprise dinner for me on the night before my birthday, so Cameron could be there to help celebrate too. It was so sweet. Deron took me for a ride (which we sometimes do for my birth
day), down through Strawberry River. Its so pretty there. I just love that ride. We even saw a cave...we poked our heads in it but it didn't go anywhere, it was still cool though. When we got home the kids were all hiding in the kitch
en and jumped out and yelled "Surprise!"...I loved it! I haven 't had a surprise party in years. We had Stacked Tacos, and chocolate cake and chocolate chip mint ice cream!! It was so good. And the best part was that I didn't have to cook it. The kids did it all!!!! We ate outside and had a great time visiting. Todd and Dana and Erik were able to be there too. I think that I have the best family ever!!!!!
