Bird's the Word

Food from Andy's Kitchen

2012-01-16T22:13:00.004-07:00

Well, it has been a while since I posted the latest and greatest to come out of our kitchen courtesy of Chef Andy.

With all the recent holidays, it seems like we have been cooking like crazy around our house. This called for us to mostly prepare our usuals, but once in a while we snuck in something new.

Meaty Meatless Chili:

Eggnog Oatmeal:

Homemade White Bread:

White Chicken Chili:

Sweet Potato Pie:

Enchilada Lasagna:

Chili Verde Potato Soup:

Weekend in SLC

2012-01-15T19:18:00.008-07:00

This weekend Andy and I headed up to the big city (Salt Lake) to spend the weekend together and have some fun.

We started our Saturday with stopping by and having lunch with Andy's Grandma & Grandpa Bird to celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary. It was fun to see them again and enjoy a good meal together!

After lunch we headed into downtown to check into the Little America Hotel where we were spending the night. We relaxed for a bit and then headed out for our first adventure:

The Leonardo Museum

Here is a quick description of what The Leonardo is:

"The Leonardo is a contemporary Sci+Tech+Art museum, where today’s big ideas, questions, inventions and discoveries are connected in a whole new way. Our mission: to inspire creativity and innovation. Our tools: a transdisciplinary fusion of art, science and technology.

It’s a museum, but not like any museum you’ve ever visited. It’s an active exploration that shines a light on curiosity and allows your mind to wander."

Here is one of the art pieces/displays that hangs up above:

Andy and I also decided to participate in a genetic study of "super taskers".

In order for them get our DNA we were required to spit in little cups. We had to get so much spit in them. It was actually quite difficult to come up with enough!

After also taking a test on the computer, our results came back that we were both Multi-taskers. Andy was more likely to be a "Super Tasker" than me, though. Guess I can expect more out of him then!

They also had a section where you could attempt to draw a self portrait using lights and mirrors. It was SO hard.

Here is Andy taking a crack at it:

They also had a big animation section. Here they had a Green Screen and a place where you can make Stop Motion movies.

Andy creating his movie:

And here is the genius work:

After thoroughly exploring the museum, we headed out for some dinner.

We had decided to go to Settebello Pizzeria. And what a good choice it was!

Look at that awesomeness:

The pizzas we got were SO good! We ate ourselves sick!

We then stopped by the Gelato Bar that was in the same building, where I was lucky enough to have the best Gelato ever! It was Lemon Biscotti and it was fabulous!

Hanging out in the Gelato Bar:

After all that food we headed back to the hotel to chill and watch a movie. We ended up watching The Big Year which was quite good.

The next day Andy and I got ourselves up and headed over to the Coffee Shop at the Little America for breakfast. We then headed out to a few gourmet markets to see what we could find.

After all our shopping around we headed to the next big adventure:

The International Auto Expo

We especially liked seeing the Volt since we are big into alternative fuel vehicles.

And the new Jeep Wranglers since we want to get one someday.

We enjoyed getting to see all the new cars on the market and being able to sit in the ones of our choosing. Man! It made me want to get a new car!

After the expo we headed back to Utah County and stopped for some yummy dinner at Red Robin.

What a great weekend it has been! I have enjoyed every minute I was able to spend with my honey! It makes me very happy that we take the time to go on these little "adventures" together!

2012 Goals and Aspirations

2012-01-07T13:26:00.003-07:00

Here are my goals I have put in place for 2012:

(of course some of these are going to be rollovers from last year)

Complete a Blog Book for 2011
Lose at least 10 more pounds
Scan in the rest of my hard copy photos
Update the documents in my fire safe
Organize and clean out my files
De-clutter and organize the house. Everything from bathroom drawers, to closets, to the garage. (This is going to take some creative storage ideas on our part!)
Frame the mirrors in the bathrooms
Build our TearDrop Trailer!
Read at least one classic novel
Start sending more greeting cards and thank you cards
Put together more photo books
Print out more of my created photo books
Figure out a new way to store my earrings
See more of my dad

I think this should be plenty to keep me busy this year. Hopefully when I revisit these next January I will be able to check them all off as done!

(Here's to hoping!)

2011 Goals Revisted

2012-01-04T17:18:00.003-07:00

I figured with it being that time of year again, I would go ahead and revisit the goals I set up last year and see how I did. One nice thing about writing down my goals here in this blog is that I have the ability to look back and see how I did.

Well, here is how I did:

Complete a Blog Book for 2010 -- DONE!

Lose at least 15 lbs. -- DONE! And then some!

Start printing out all the photo books I have created -- DONE! Well, I got 3 printed out of about 10.

Redo the picture arrangement in my front room -- DONE!

Scan in the rest of my hard-copy photos -- FAILED. I don't think I did many at all this year.

Update the documents in my fire safe -- FAILED.

Organize my files (again) -- I will count this as a FAILED. The year started out promising.....

Read a couple of classic novels -- FAILED. I only got about 1/2 way through one.

Jog a majority of the Nestle 5k -- FAILED. I walked.

Frame the mirrors in my bathrooms -- FAILED.

Paint at least one room in my house -- DONE! Plus a LOT more with the whole kitchen remodel getting done!

Well, it looks like I accomplished about half of my goals for 2011.

Let's hope I can do better in 2012!

Laynee's Blessing Day

2012-01-03T18:57:00.008-07:00

This past Sunday was the day that the Levanger's newest arrival, Laynee Allyson Levanger was blessed.

Andy and I traveled down to Las Vegas along with Andy's mom Chris and Jon's family to attend this special event.

Most of the day on Sunday was filled with the cousins fighting over who got to "man-handle" Laynee.

But we finally had to pull her out of the grasp of the kids to get her ready for her big moment.

Here she is in her pretty little blessing gown. I guess the kids must have really wore her out.

She just wouldn't wake up for pictures.

The happy Levanger family:

Proud mama:

Then we had to get some shots with all of the cousins. Well, we did our best......

After church we all headed back to the Levanger's to devour a yummy lunch that Katie had provided. This lunch included hoagie sandwiches, salads, chips, dips, and some scrumptious desserts.

Then it was back to more of Laynee being fought over by the cousins.

Congrats Laynee! Welcome to the family!

Andy's Birthday part II (with a little New Year's Even thrown in for good measure)

2011-12-31T11:00:00.006-07:00

Saturday, also known as Andy's 30th birthday, also known as New Year's Eve, dawns bright and sunny for us in Las Vegas.

We started our day with a trip to the Premier Outlet Mall with nothing but spending some money on our minds.

We got some great deals and walked away with lots of good items including shoes, a jacket, a coat, some t-shirts, and some jewelry.

After spending plenty of time shopping we headed over to Katie's house to celebrate Andy's birthday with his family.

We started the party out with a smorgasbord of pizza, salad, and garlic bread!

We then moved on to a little gift opening.....little and purple? (gotta love the wrapping!)

Then it was time for cake! Andy wanted a lemon cake with chocolate frosting, and that's just what Katie made for him! We all sang loud and proud to him!

Then since it was also New Year's Eve, Katie had prepared a spread of all kinds of yummy treats to get us through the night. (Thank goodness it was a "cheat weekend".)

We spent the time leading up to midnight playing different games.

Farkle:

Speed:

Some kind of Cranium game:

We also watched a little of the "Dick Clark New Year's Celebration":

And then the moment was upon us!!

HAPPY 2012!

Katie was also nice enough to provide party poppers for our entertainment.

And of course what is a New Year's celebration without some beverages?.....

Look at that party animal!

(please ignore that the bottle says Martinelli's.......)

It was a great Birthday/New Year's Eve spent with family. We had a great time just hanging out together. I hope this is a good sign for the year to come. A year filled with lots of fun family activities and time spent together.

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVERYONE!

Andy's Birthday part I

2011-12-30T08:48:00.006-07:00

Andy turned 30 on Saturday. I know he probably doesn't want the world to know this, but it's true.

I decided that since your 30th birthday can be a bit of a downer, I would try my best to make this one special for him.

It started on Thursday night with me allowing Andy to open his gift from me. Now I know his birthday wasn't until Saturday, but since we were heading out of town (and the gift was a bit too large to take with us), I let him open it early.

He's smiling pretty big:

Here is what he got! A 3-in-1 electric pressure cooker, slow cooker, and rice cooker, along with some grains and cookbooks by one of his favorite chefs.

Now you might not think this is an exciting gift, but Andy was elated! (Traci did good!)

The next day Andy and I headed down to Las Vegas. We were heading down for the blessing of Andy's sister's newest addition (more on that later) and decided that we would head down a day early and celebrate Andy's birth in the "Bright Light City".

We got checked into our hotel and then got all "gussied" up to go out:

Andy chose to go out to eat at Mesa Grill in Caesar's Palace. This is a restaurant by Bobby Flay.

Wow! Was it a great meal! It was so fun and yummy that I just had to take pictures of the food!

Appetizer: Goat Cheese Queso Fundido

Traci's Entree: Sixteen Spice Chicken w/ Jicama Slaw

Andy's Entree: New Mexican Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin w/ Sweet Potato Tamale

Dessert: Apple Pie Sundae

Again, the meal was FABULOUS! We especially loved the Queso Fundido and the Nutmeg Ice Cream that was in the sundae. As Andy put it: "That was probably the best meal I've ever eaten."

After eating all that glorious food, we headed out to roam the ginormous mall at Caesar's Palace. We stayed and wandered that one mall until almost midnight. Andy found some great deals on a pair of pants and a shirt. I also found some cute earrings.

After all that fun we went back to the hotel and crashed. We had another big day planned for Andy's actual birthday.....

Am I Helping Kill Print?

2011-12-28T19:57:00.003-07:00

The day after Christmas I used my Christmas money to purchase a Nook from Barnes & Noble.

Since I am such a big reader, everyone has wondered why I haven't purchased an eReader before now. I guess it is just because I love physical books so much. There is just something reassuring about walking in and seeing shelves full of books.

My problem is that I am running out of room to store all my books. So, with that in mind, I headed out to research eReaders.

After lots of back-and-forth (seriously, ask Andy) between "do I buy one?" and "maybe I shouldn't buy one" and then on to the choice between a "Kindle" or a "Nook", I came to the decision to get one. After comparing the two kinds I had narrowed it down to, I decided on the Simple Touch Nook.

I like how the screen looks just like the page from a book. I didn't go with the bigger Nook Color, because it is like a Tablet with a screen like a computer. I stare at a computer all day at work, I don't want to read on one.

I also bought me a cute little cover to keep it in. (This also helps it feel more like a book since you can open it.)

I haven't used it much yet. I am in the middle of reading a book right now, but as soon as I'm through it I will attempt my next one on the Nook.

Here's to immersing myself more in the "Digital Age"!

Christmas Day 2011

2011-12-28T18:39:00.007-07:00

Sunday was Christmas Day!

Andy woke me up promptly at 5:00 am to the lovely sounds of "December the 25th" from Albert Finney's Scrooge issuing from his iPod.

(And I was lucky to have gotten to sleep in until 5. Andy had basically been up since 3.)

We hurried out to the living room and quickly sorted out the gifts into piles.

Andy's:

Traci's:

Boy! We must have been good this year! Santa really spoiled us!

We started out by emptying our stockings.

(have you ever seen anyone so excited over Chapstick????)

Then we moved on to the big stuff!!

Again, we were super spoiled! We got so much good stuff between the two of us! I think this was one of the best Christmases yet!!

Traci's haul:

Andy's haul:

After all the presents were opened, we cleaned up all the paper and bows, along with ourselves, and headed down to Jon's house to see what the kids got.

Andy had also made cinnamon rolls for part of our Christmas breakfast and was nice enough to take them with us to share with everyone. They were loved by all!

We then came home and had the second part of our breakfast: Christmas Morning Oatmeal

We spent the rest of the morning and afternoon relaxing at home.

Then we had to start working on our Christmas dinner. We had invited Andy's dad over to share dinner with us. On his request we had a do-over of Thanksgiving. (I guess we must have really impressed him with our brined turkey!)

We had mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and rolls.

And of course, the turkey:

Yum!

We topped the night off with a visit from Jon and family. We shared our pies with everyone and sat around watching sports and chatting.

What a WONDERFUL Christmas it was! I loved every minute of it!

I am so grateful Andy and for all of the family I have around me to spend these holidays with!

They really do make it great!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-26T21:08:00.008-07:00

Saturday was Christmas Eve!

It was such an exciting day!

Andy and I headed up to Harrisville to spend a majority of the day with my family. We had a big dinner planned and then of course our traditional gift exchange!

Our meal included things like this beautiful Honey Baked Ham:

Along with cheesy potatoes, rolls, salad, the ever present bean dip, and some of Andy's scrumptious pies!

After dinner we spent some time just hanging out and chatting with everyone.

Jessi and myself:

Garrett and Kaydee (who we don't get to see very often):

After letting the kids get overly antsy, we decided it was time for the opening of presents!

Here are some of us patiently waiting for the presents to be passed out:

Here we go.......

Allie:

Josh:

Claire:

Garrett:

Andy:

Mickey:

Lara:

Mel:

Kaydee:

Gavin:

Mitchell:

Jessi:

Traci:

Mama Jo:

We had a blast opening presents. Claire was especially excited to open the GIANT present that we brought her. She was very confused when she first opened it, but when she realized it was a big art easel she was pretty happy with it and started drawing away.

I think all the kids were pretty spoiled this year, and Andy and I hit the mark on a few of the presents we gave out. (Love that!)

It is such a great thing to see the people you love smiling wide when they receive a gift.

Of course the kids had to then spend time playing with all their new goods:

After we wrapped things up at my Mom's, Andy and I headed down to the Murray area to visit with the Birds. We spent a good chunk of time chatting it up with them and enjoying some lovely peppermint dessert that Grandma had made.

After that, we headed home to make our own yummy things for the next day, to stuff some stockings, and watch Muppet's Christmas Carol (a new tradition)!

What a great day!

White Elephant at the Office

2011-12-25T16:16:00.004-07:00

This past Friday we had a little Christmas breakfast potluck and White Elephant gift exchange at my office. It was fun to "let loose" for a bit and have some fun with my co-workers.

We brought in Gandolfo's breakfast sandwiches and had people bring in other breakfasty type things to go with it.

After we at our fill (and then some) we played the White Elephant game.

Our little tree with the gifts around it:

Melanie opening the "Matt-in-a-Box":

Megan picking a gift:

Matt stealing the "Matt-in-a-Box" (he didn't want it to fall into the wrong hands):

Jaime and her gift (yes, please note that that is a picture of me and Andy that was stolen from my desk and given as a gift. stolen items also included Whitney's cell phone.):

Christian trying to decide:

My plethora of small items in the gift I chose:

We played a little twist on everyone at the end and read a story with "lefts" and "rights" in it so people had to pass.

Here is everyone:

*please note that I ended up with the "Matt-in-a-Box"

What a great mini-party we had! A good way to start off the holiday weekend!

Dance Recital

2011-12-21T19:13:00.002-07:00

Last night Andy and I were able to attend a dance recital for Kennedy.

She is so into dance right now and we were happy that we were invited to see her in action. She is doing Hip Hop dancing at the moment.

We did have to sit through quite a few acts before they got to her section, but when she was finally on stage you could tell that she was one of the best in her group.

Here are a few quick shots while she was performing:

Great job Kennedy!

The Gift of Giving

2011-12-18T22:18:00.003-07:00

Today Andy and I enveloped ourselves in the Christmas Spirit and took some time to make lots of scrumptious goodies to deliver to neighbors.

Our treats included:

Peanut Butter Popcorn

Reindeer Feed

Orange Almond Toffee Sandies

Millionaire Shortbread

After spending the better part of the day cooking and baking we packaged everything up in cute little boxes.

And hit the town to deliver them!

We found a few people home, but most were out. It made us feel all warm and fuzzy inside to be able to share a bit of homemade goodness with the people near us. I am grateful that we live in such a great area and are surrounded by good people. I am also very grateful for this wonderful time of the year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Ferguson Christmas Party 2011

2011-12-18T22:01:00.004-07:00

Saturday night was the annual Ferguson Family Christmas Party.

Most of the family was in attendance and everyone seemed to have a really good time.

We started the evening out with a fabulous dinner that included roast beef, cheesy potatoes, a variety of salads, rolls, and of course tons of desserts!

Then, for something new this year they had a magician come. He performed quite a few tricks for us and got lots of people involved.

Even Chris:

Watching the magic show:

Then of course we had our "guest of honor" show up: SANTA!!!! He lead everyone if a few Christmas Carols, and then got down to business passing out gifts and asking the kids what they wanted for Christmas.

Kennedy:

Bailey (yeah, he's a little old for Santa's lap!):

Ethan:

Then it was time for the White Elephant gift exchange. This year we did a "speed" version of the game. It basically came down to assigning people different colors, and then when that color was called you rushed the table for a gift.

Of course Chris went for the biggest one:

Opening of the best gift there: Handerpants: underpants for your hands. (Brought by us of course!)

I'm pretty sure almost everyone thought they were the coolest thing ever!

So the party was a success and it was so good to see all the extended family on the Ferguson side. It seems like the family parties are really the only time we seem to get together.

Thank goodness for the holiday season and having a solid excuse to see family!

Visit to Temple Square

2011-12-11T21:56:00.005-07:00

Last night Andy and I headed up to Salt Lake with Jon's family and Chris. We were on a Christmas "adventure" to have dinner and see the lights at Temple Square.

We started out with eating dinner at The Lion House Pantry:

There was a bit of a wait out in the cold, but the food was well worth it! So yummy! And Chris' treat!

After we had eaten our fill, we headed over to Main Street Plaza and Temple Square to view all the lights.

The night was cold but the sights and company were great!

We also took a little time to wander through the Visitor's Center and sit for a bit in the Tabernacle. What an incredible place Temple Square is! They have so much crammed in one little area, and right in the middle of the city.

It was a great night to spend with family! And just the thing to get you into that Christmas mood.

Warm and Cozy

2011-12-06T23:08:00.002-07:00

Our newest acquisition:

An Electric Fireplace!

We decided to get an electric fireplace because our front room just stays so cold in the winter. The combination of vaulted ceilings and the thermostat being in the hallway makes it so that the front room is cold while the rest of the house is toasty. We were looking into a space-heater of some sort, but those aren't very visually appealing. We have always wanted a fireplace, so we started looking into the electric ones. And of course looking lead to buying.

We LOVE it! It puts out just enough heat to keep that room warm. And the nice cozy glow of the fireplace is an added bonus! Plus, now we have a place to hang our Christmas stockings!

Gingerbread Houses 2011

2011-11-28T22:34:00.004-07:00

Last night we headed over to Jon's house for the annual decorating of the Gingerbread Houses.

The kids really seem to like to decorate the houses every year, so it has become a Bird Family tradition.

Here are Kennedy and Ethan gearing up to start:

Bailey taking on his:

Jon and Ethan working on their "BYU" house:

Andy and I were given a tree this year. There's only so much creativity you can use on a tree, but Andy did his best!

Kennedy concentrating on her frosting:

Our finished tree!

Everyone's finished products:

It was fun to spend time with family and eat ourselves sick on candy. What a way to wrap up a wonderful long Thanksgiving weekend!

Now bring on Christmas!!

Photo Shoot 2011

2011-11-26T21:18:00.006-07:00

Recently Andy and I decided that we needed to get our pictures taken.

It has been literally years (8 1/2 to be exact, since our wedding) since we had professional pictures taken of ourselves. We thought this would be a good year to get them done.

(And just in time for Christmas, wink, wink)

Here are a few of the ones that I really like:

A HUGE shout-out goes to Shalmai Littleford who did the photo shoot for us. She was recommended to us by my sister-in-law Cristy and she was wonderful to work with! She was so kind and easy going and was willing to work with our schedules even when we needed to reschedule due to the weather. I love these photos she took of us!

I highly recommend her! Check out her blog if you'd like to see more of her work.

Thanksgiving Day 2011

2011-11-24T18:20:00.003-07:00

This year Andy and I took on the task [challenge?] of hosting Thanksgiving dinner.

We decided to invite over Andy's dad, Aunt Jane, and Grandma & Grandpa Bird. We felt that Grandma especially needed a break from cooking on Thanksgiving.

Since I now have a wonderfully talented cook for a husband, I knew we could do it.

Now don't get me wrong. There were plenty of doubts, fears, and nervousness building up to the big day. We have never hosted anything on this grand of a scale before and with this high of expectations.

But all the worries were unnecessary.

The bird all ready for the oven:

We decided to brine our turkey and it turned out wonderfully! (thank goodness we did a test run about a month ago to work out any bugs.)

The day was filled with lots of busy prep work, but it was well worth it.

The table all set:

Carving the turkey: (Now that's a good looking Bird. Oh and the turkey too)

The spread:

We made the turkey, potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and chocolate pie all from scratch. The rolls and veggies were all provided by Glenn and G. & G. Bird.

What a scrumptious looking plate!!

Dessert time:

Grandpa and Andy even worked together to wash a good chunk of the dishes:

The dinner turned out to be a HUGE success! Everyone left full and happy. No complaints by anyone. Favorite quote of the day by Aunt Jane: "Not one thing was putrid. Not even slightly putrid." Thanks Jane.

Here we are after the crew has left. Two happy and content people.

I do want to take a moment here to express how grateful I am for the family that surrounds us. We are so blessed that we have family that are excited to come and spend holidays with us. I am also grateful for this wonderful holiday season. There are so many wonderful things that surround us!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Lunch with Good Friends

2011-11-24T16:37:00.002-07:00

Yesterday Allison and I were able to meet up with Rachie to get together and have some lunch.

It was also our first time meeting little Wesley.

It was SO good to see Rachel again. I have really missed her since she moved off to Arizona. She is such a blast to be around. Luckily my boss also was kind enough to give the department the afternoon off, so we weren't pressed for time.

We just ate and chatted up a storm.

And they talked me into holding little Wesley.....

(they just HAD to get pictures of me with the baby)

I'm glad I have such good friends in my life! Thanks for all the good times girls!

Kitchen Remodel part III

2011-11-18T22:18:00.000-07:00

Today Andy and I finished the third (and for now final) phase of our kitchen remodel:

A Tile Backsplash

We wanted to make sure we had it done before Thanksgiving, so we have been cranking away on the project this entire week.

First we installed a new kind of "sticky mat" to adhere the tiles to. This is a much simpler and cleaner way to adhere the tiles to the wall than using mastic. You just cut to size, peel off the backing, stick it to the wall, and when you are ready you peel off the front plastic and adhere your tiles.

Then it was on to placing the actual tiles. I have to give a HUGE shout-out to Andy's brother Jon. He helped us a ton with the cutting and placing of the tiles!

Next it was on to grouting.

And of course the clean up of the grout.

And then we were done!

Here it is without all the small appliances and decor:

Before the tile:

After:

Wow! What a difference a little tile can make!

We LOVE it! I am so excited that we could make the visions in our heads turn out so well in real life.

Christmas Craft Time!

2011-11-13T17:15:00.003-07:00

My latest and greatest craft project:

Cute, huh?

(thanks Pinterest)

Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-11-07T22:07:00.009-07:00

Today I turned 32.....

But the celebrating of the blessed day of my birth began 3 days ago!

It all started on Friday with Andy taking the night off of work so he could take me out properly to celebrate. We went to eat at nice little restaurant in the Riverwoods call La Jolla Groves. We had a yummy dinner there which included their Lemon Cake. (Which I am pretty sure was my favorite part.) After dinner we headed over to the mall to do a little shopping. I mean, what better way to spend the night than with dinner and shopping? Then, when we got home we enjoyed some s'mores made with Andy's homemade graham crackers. Wow!

Andy also gave me a WONDERFUL present of a complete outfit:

(he is SO good!)

The next day (Saturday) Andy and I had made plans to head down to the Red Barn in Santaquin for some Aggie Ice Cream and to pick up some pies for Thanksgiving. We were then going to head over to Brick Oven to have another lovely dinner.

Little did I know that there was a Surprise Party in the works for me. We stopped by home to drop off the frozen pies and when I walked in the door I was AMBUSHED!

People in my house yelling at me and shooting me with paper streamers!

It was great!

They also had taken some time to spread the joy around my house with decorations!

What I walked in to (plus Jessi who is taking this picture):

I guess Andy had arranged the whole thing. I must say I was pretty surprised by the whole event! I have never had a surprise party before, so this was incredibly fun!

They had also ordered my very favorite pizza from Zubs for dinner. So when the pizza arrived we all settled in for some good food time!

Then I got to open a couple of presents:

And it was on to cake! Andy made me a cake of my choice which was a Tres Leches!

Yum!

So good!

The party scene:

It was definitely a great day! I am so happy my family was eager to drive down here and throw me a surprise party. I truly felt loved!

The following day (Sunday) was our traditional birthday dinner at Jon's house for me. We had a superb dinner of chicken and rice casserole, homemade rolls, green beans, and salad. (Big thanks to Chris, Cristy and Andy for all the yummy food!)

After gorging ourselves we were able to play a game of my choice. Which game you might ask?

Why Farkle of course! One of my very favorites!

Then after I graciously lost the game it was time for cake! Andy was awesome enough to make me ANOTHER cake of my choice. This time I chose a cake of our own design.....

a Golden Oreo Cake!

Just look at that!

And we wrapped things up with another present for Traci!

That brings us to today. My actual birthday. Of course it is Monday, so I had to go into work.

But here is what I was greeted with when I opened my office:

I had a great birthday at work thanks to the wonderful people I work with. They decorated my office, had lunch brought in, and even got me a cake. Well, got US a cake. I just happen to share my birthday with another co-worker: Rachelle.

Our cake:

(In case you can't tell [which I don't know why not] it has our names as they are pronounced in Japanese on the cake. It's a long story......)

We finished up the day with a lovely dinner with Chris at a little Mexican place in Orem called Maria Bonita and a bit more shopping. (Gotta love birthday $$!)

All-in-all it has been one terrific birthday ride for me!

I am surrounded by such wonderful and supportive people! I have been given the best gifts of all in my wonderful husband and all my loving family and friends!

I'll take this birthday and many more to come if they are all as great as this one!

Halloween 2011!!

2011-11-01T22:07:00.011-06:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Yesterday was my annual Halloween Party! I was so excited for Halloween this year and it was a BEAUTIFUL day!

Here is the spread for the party:

A few of the "Deadly Delights":

A little Swamp Water anyone?

Other treats included a yummy "Slime" Trifle, homemade Black Licorice Caramels, and Orange Candy courtesy of Andy. We also served up some pulled pork sandwiches, chips and dips, and a cheese ball and crackers.

Of course once everyone had arrived we had to do the most important thing first: PICTURES!

Everyone knows that the main reason you dress up on Halloween is so you can take pictures to remember how silly..........I mean awesome you looked!

The Horrocks':

Josh and Claire:

Allie:

The Ericksons:

And last (but certainly not least)

Andy and Traci:

Here we are in all of our silliness:

I mean glory?

Precious:

After the photo shoot we headed back inside to partake of the scrumptious spread and hang out.

Lara and MamaJo:

Gavin eyeballing the goodies:

I think Allie might be getting a little TOO into the Halloween spirit.....

Cute!

Everyone loves good eats!

Once we had filled ourselves to the brim, we headed out for the main event:

TRICK-OR-TREATING!!!!!!

I have probably said this before, but I LOVE our neighborhood during Halloween! There are always tons of kids out running around and lots of people decorate up their yards. Sometimes it feels like it has come right out of a movie.

One house was giving out Cotton Candy. I think Claire found her favorite treat of the night....

When we got back from Trick-or-Treating, we discovered that Jon's family had come to visit.

Gotta love these kids costumes!

Ethan, Kennedy & Bailey:

We finished up the night withe the kids enjoying some candy time and a little door answering with Andy.

Josh and Claire had a blast answering the door for other Trick-or-Treaters.

The party was a HUGE success this year. I had great attendance and tons of good food. We had perfect weather and everyone was full of the Halloween spirit.

A big thanks goes out to my FMIL Chris for her wonderful work on the dress for my costume!

Once again:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!

Halloween at Prosper 2011

2011-11-01T20:55:00.006-06:00

Halloween was pretty fun at work this year.

Almost our entire department dressed up!

Matt & Todd :

(as Carl and Matt)

Whitney:

(a Minion)

Whitney & Jaime:

(2 Minions)

The accounting department:

Randy, Megan, Derrick, Whitney, Traci, Todd, Matt, & Allison

Neal Jenks:

(more cowbell!)

And the best part of the day..................

Traci won for "Best Female" in the Costume Contest!

(Me with Ethan & Randy getting my award)

Rainbow Brite rocks!

Pumpkin Walk

2011-10-30T10:40:00.004-06:00

Yesterday Andy, Chris and I checked out the Pumpkin Walk at the Central Utah Gardens in Orem.

We received a mailer about it and decided it sounded like a festive thing to do. Plus, we had been wanting to check out the gardens to get ideas on what we could plant in our yard.

Here are a few pictures from the Pumpkin Walk:

They also had free donuts if you were in costume (which we weren't) and lots of games for kids. They also gave us each a free T-shirt or tote bag if we filled out a short survey, so we walked away with a freebie. All-in-all a pretty good little outing!

New Library!

2011-10-29T20:16:00.003-06:00

Today was the grand opening of Springville's brand new library!

Andy and I have been so excited to see the inside of it. Springville has been in desperate need of a new and improved library for years. Finally we have one!

The front:

One of the reading areas in the adult fiction section:

Looking across some of the adult sections:

Part of the children's section:

Upstairs meeting room:

Me on the balcony:

Walkway along the creek side of the building:

We were very impressed with the new building. It is so much larger than the previous one, and has so much more to offer. It has multiple meeting/conference rooms, reading areas, multiple computer labs, and more.

Love it!

Pumpkin Carving Time!

2011-10-27T22:25:00.004-06:00

Tonight we carved pumpkins!

What a great tradition to do every Halloween! I fully embrace practically anything that represents All Hallow's Eve.

Our masterpieces!

(Traci's on top, Andy's with the big round eyes, and Chris' looking up)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Happy Birthday Ethan!

2011-10-27T22:08:00.004-06:00

This past Sunday we headed down to Jon's house to have our traditional birthday dinner.

This time were were celebrating for ETHAN!

We started the night off with a super yummy dinner including roast, cheesy potatoes, salad and rolls.

We then moved on to one of Ethan's choice of games: Pirates Dice

Here's Kennedy taking the pirate role quite seriously.....

After our exciting game (of which Ethan won) we moved on to dessert.

Again Andy made his offer to make any cake or dessert of choice for the birthday-er. Ethan chose cheesecake for his!

Here is one version of the delicious cheesecake:

And another:

After devouring our dessert, we let Ethan open a couple of presents:

After presents we all headed outside for Ethan's second choice of game: Night Games!

Now, Ethan chose this last year as well and it was a blast. So, I think we were all a little excited to play again. We played "Sharks & Minnows" (which I tried to rename "Zombies & Humans" given the season). We then wound the night up with a few rounds of "Ghost in the Graveyard".

What a fun night!

Thanks for having a birthday Ethan!

Kitchen Remodel part II

2011-10-23T13:59:00.003-06:00

This month Andy and I have worked on what I like to call "phase 2" of our kitchen remodel:

Refinishing the Cabinets

We decided that we wanted the cabinets to be white, so we purchased a Cabinet Refinishing kit made by Rustoleum and got started.

Our first step was to install bead-board on the front of the peninsula.

Before:

After:

Then we had to deconstruct the cabinets and lay out all the doors and drawers to ready them for cleaning and painting.

The refinishing was a three step process. First we had to "degloss" the surfaces, which required scrubbing them with a special solution and a scratch pad.

Then we had to paint on the "bond coat", which is the color.

We painted:

And painted:

The last step was a protective top coat and then we were able to put everything back together.

TaaaahDaaaah:

It has made our kitchen look so much brighter and bigger! I am really liking it!

Before:

After:

Next month we will move on to the next (and probably last for a while) phase: the tile backsplash

Happy Birthday Lara!

2011-10-23T09:23:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I traveled up to Harrisville to participate in a birthday party for my sister Lara.

Lara now lives in Vernal, so I don't see her very often anymore. I was happy to have a chance to visit with her and her family.

We started the party with lots of yummy food including sloppy joes, chips, and salad.

Then we promptly moved on to the cake!

Andy continued with his tradition of making the cake-of-choice for the birthdayer. (Even though he couldn't attend the party. What a great guy!)

Lara couldn't choose a cake, so she told him to surprise her. Andy decided he wanted to try a Red Velvet Cake.

The cake:

"Happy Birthday to you...."

Inside the lovely cake:

The cake turned out fabulously! Everyone seemed to really enjoy it. Even Alley couldn't seem to get enough!

Then we had Lara open a few presents:

I think the biggest deal of the day was that all of Lara's kids showed up for the party. I guess it had been FOREVER since they were all together, and it seemed to add an extra specialness to the party for Lara. We decided that since everyone was there we just HAD to get a picture or two!

It was also good to have mom and all us sisters together. We decided we needed a pic of us as well!

The party was a good one. Lots of time spent chatting and just hanging out.

Gotta love family time!

Who you gonna call?

2011-10-21T22:12:00.003-06:00

GHOSTBUSTERS!

Last night Andy and I went and saw Ghostbusters on the big screen. They decided to release the original Ghostbusters in theaters for limited showings and Andy and I KNEW we had to see it.

It is one of our very favorite movies! And perfect for Halloweentime!

It was so fun to see the old classic on the big screen. I'm pretty sure I was too young to see it the first time around.

I hope they continue to release the "oldies but goodies" into theaters!

Autumn Color

2011-10-21T22:05:00.003-06:00

The color of the Autumn leaves this year have been fabulous!

This past Sunday Andy and I headed up Hobble Creek Canyon to eat at the Timberwolf Grill and enjoy the leaves. We had good food, good company, and a lovely day.

The view of Grindstone Canyon from the balcony at the golf course is spectacular!

And the leaves down in the valley are starting to change as well. I love the bright colors!

Hiking to the "Y"

2011-10-15T20:21:00.006-06:00

Today we went on a grand adventure to hike up to the "Y".

It was Ethan's pick as a "grandma activity" and Andy and I were invited to come along. It ended up being Chris, Ethan, Jon, Andy and I.

Ethan in front of the gate at the trailhead:

It was a beautiful day for a hike. The leaves were all changing colors on the sides of the mountain, and the sky was nice and blue with a few clouds here and there.

Me with Timpanogas in the background:

Ethan and myself:

Andy:

I really couldn't believe the views! It was so pretty and we were much further up than you would think.

A look at Mount Nebo:

Then after many a steep switchbacks we made it to the "Y"! What an accomplishment!

Looking up at Ethan and Jon (they are right in the middle):

Andy at the top:

Me sitting on the top of the "Y":

Jon and Ethan:

The view from the top of the "Y":

Spectacular!

I just loved the colors of the leaves mixed in with the green:

Heading back down:

Chris and Ethan with the "Y" in the background:

Now, I will be honest. The hike almost kicked my butt. I had to rest a few times when I started to get lightheaded, but I was determined to make it to the top! And I did! Yay for me!

Unfortunately, Chris was not so lucky. She made it a little more that halfway there and then had to stop. Maybe she will get another shot at it again in the future.

I think Ethan had a fun time and was able to cross one more thing off his list of "to-dos".

I really enjoy hiking. Especially when you get to see beautiful things along the way, and you get to feel that sense of accomplishment when you reach your destination. I hope we can do more hiking in the future!

THRILLER

2011-10-14T22:35:00.004-06:00

Last night my friends Allison & Whitney accompanied me to Odyssey Dance Theatre's THRILLER at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo.

Now we all know what a HUGE fan of anything Halloween I am, so I figured the Thriller show would be right down my alley! Luckily I was able to talk my good friends into coming along.

We started out with mingling with a few of the resident zombies in the lobby:

I think Whitney has made some new friends!

Allison & Whitney waiting for the show to begin:

Whitney & me:

All three of us girls:

The show was a pretty neat one. Some of it got a little "artsy-fartsy" for me, but most of it was really good. There was plenty of monsters, serial killers and killing at least!

I tried to take a few pictures. Of course they are not the best, seeing as the theater was dark and the dancers were constantly moving. But here are a few semi-decent shots:

The Frankensteins:

Jasons:

Scarecrows:

I would have to say that my favorite acts were:

Frankenstein & Frankestein
Dem Bones (this was my VERY favorite)
Children of the Corn
Salem's Mass
Thriller (of course)

I had lots of fun with my girly-friends and hope we can do more things like this soon!

Thanks girls!

Weekend Getaway

2011-10-12T21:05:00.005-06:00

This past weekend Andy and I planned a mini-getaway to Park City.

I had scored a deal to the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Deer Valley and so we thought we would use that as an excuse to get away for a bit.

We started our Sunday afternoon off with a visit to the Outlet Mall in Park City. With the colder weather coming on (and our reduced sizes) we were in need of new winter coats and jackets.

It was a beautiful day to be wandering about an outdoor mall:

After getting our fill of shopping, (well, maybe not our fill, but we had expended our budget), we stopped by The Blue Iguana for some dinner. We are always in the mood for Mexican food and are always looking for new and fun places!

Here's Andy walking into The Blue Iguana:

After dinner it was time to head over to Deer Valley to the lodge. I guess the Stein Eriksen is the only 5-Star, 5-Diamond hotel in the state. We were feeling pretty excited to be staying somewhere so nice. And thanks to Travelzoo.com, we could actually afford it!

The front:

Our room:

I think we were mostly excited that our room had it's own fireplace! I think that was my favorite part!

It was so pretty up there in Deer Valley! There was snow on the mountains and the leaves were still colorful. And the views were spectacular!

View from the driveway:

View out of the upper floor window:

View from the road up to the lodge:

Trees in Park City:

The next morning Andy and I decided to continue our fun with going out to breakfast. (Now, you have to understand that between Andy's schedule and our counting calories breakfast is not a common occurrence, so this was a big deal.)

We checked some reviews online and decided on Wasatch Bagel. It was an excellent choice!

After breakfast, we headed over to Historic Main Street in Park City. Neither of us had walked Main Street Park City for years, so I really wanted to see what there was.

We got there a bit early, and it was the off season, so the place was pretty dead.

But fun just the same! We spent a few hours perusing the little shops and galleries.

I had a wonderful time with Andy! I am so glad we could get away and spend some time together. (Not to mention a day off from work!)

Halloween Creations

2011-10-08T17:13:00.003-06:00

I've notice some suspicious creatures around my house this weekend:

At least I know they are of my own creation!

Happy Halloween!

More From the Kitchen

2011-10-08T17:03:00.004-06:00

Overnight Oatmeal:

Homemade Pizza:

Cottage Cheese:

Vanilla Spice Oatmeal (aka Oatmeal Cookie Oatmeal):

Scones:

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal (yes Andy has been on an oatmeal kick lately):

Baked Potato Soup (I helped w/ this one!):

Salsa:

First attempt at Bread (turned out great!):

So good!

Turkey White Chili with Cilantro and Lime:

Salsa Verde Turkey Burgers:

Good Day

2011-10-02T11:49:00.003-06:00

October 1, 2011

What a good day!

Andy and I started the afternoon off with a few errands with Chris and a stop by a new eatery called Center Street Deli in Provo.

The sandwiches and homemade chips here were spectacular! Highly recommended if you are looking for a good sandwich. Andy and I also tried our first Egg Cream there. An egg cream is a drink popular back east which is made up of seltzer water, chocolate syrup, and ice cream. One of Andy's friends told Andy that this place made them just like back in New York, so we had to try one. Consensus was that it was different, but we could see how you could start to like it.

We also went and picked out our annual pumpkins from the cute house on Main Street.

We have made it a tradition to buy our pumpkins here since we like to support local farmers.

(And they have a GREAT selection!)

After we made our pumpkin selections, we traveled down to Santaquin to the Red Barn.

We went there for Honey Crisp Apples and Aggie Ice Cream!

(Oh yeah! Love this place!)

Then, since it was the first day of one of my favorite months, I decorated for my favorite holiday!

Which included my newest project:

BATS!

HAPPY OCTOBER!

Birthday Baking

2011-10-01T08:54:00.004-06:00

Andy has started a wonderful tradition:

Letting people pick any dessert they want for their birthday, and Andy will make it for them.

It all started back with Jessi & Mel's birthday's, and we hope to continue it with everyone else we have a party for!

Last weekend we celebrated Cristy & Chris' birthdays. Andy made his offer and here is what they chose:

Cristy: Chocolate Cake w/ Chocolate Icing

Chris: Coconut Cream Pie

Andy makes sure to make everything from scratch. No store bought Costco/Sam's Club cakes for us!! Everyone sure seems to enjoy the homemade desserts.....

Blowing out the candles:

Yay!

I hope this is a tradition we can keep alive. Andy really seems to enjoy making good food and sharing it with those he loves.

Fall Baking

2011-09-25T11:54:00.003-06:00

I know I've said it about a MiLLiOn times, but I LoVe Fall!

And I love all the flavors that come around with Fall!

These past few weekends I have made something yummy every "Cheat Day".

Here is what I have made:

Peach Cobbler:

Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Muffins:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies:

And they were ALL fabulous!!!!

Girl Time in O-Town

2011-09-25T11:43:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I headed up to the Ogden area to spend some time with my sister and mom. I haven't been up there to visit for quite a while, so it was really good to just go out and have some "girl time" with them.

Since we are closing in on Halloweentime, we spent a majority of the day looking for costume items. We visited D.I. and a couple of Halloween stores.

We also stopped for a bite to eat at a new diner in Ogden called Pop's. It is a 50's style diner that mom wanted to check out.

Here we are waiting for our food:

The diner was obviously a work-in-progress, but the food was delicious!

We also took some time to look around the Harvest Moon Celebration going on down on Historic 25th Street in Ogden.

Mom and Jessi wandering amongst the booths:

I had a good time with my family and was happy to see them! I'm so grateful to have so much family relatively close by. (No pun intended.)

Utah State Fair

2011-09-22T18:37:00.003-06:00

This past weekend Andy and I attended the Utah State Fair.

I haven't been since I was young, and Andy had never been. We thought it would be something fun take up a Sunday afternoon.

There were quite a few people there for a Sunday. I guess since it was the last day, everyone who had been putting off going was there.

There were mainly lots of vendor booths. (A lot of the same things over and over again.)

One booth had a guy who was selling belts and would cut them to length right there. Andy was wearing a belt that was a bit too long now that he has lost so much weight. He asked the guy how much it would be just to trim his existing belt. The guy did it for FREE. Andy was so excited! He talked about it for quite a while afterwards. I guess there are still generous people in the world.

There were also a ton of food booths.

Including:

(No, we did not get anything from this one!)

There were a few animals there, but it seemed like a majority of them were gone. We did get to see quite a few cute bunnies.

This was one of our favorites:

There was also a neat antique tractor display:

We topped off the day with food, of course!

Chocolate Covered Twinkie anyone?

Mmmmm.......fair food.....

It was a gorgeous day to spend outdoors at the fair! I am so glad we have had such nice weather so late into September. And I am especially glad that I get to enjoy it!

Look What I Made!

2011-09-17T15:18:00.002-06:00

Super easy.

Pretty creepy.

LOVE IT!

So starts my favorite time of the year......

More Good Eats!

2011-09-12T22:52:00.006-06:00

So much good food! I am so spoiled!

Tacos on homemade soft tortillas:

Orange Toffee Almond Sandies:

(these are definitely a keeper!)

Chicken Tortilla Soup:

Tacos on homemade hard taco shells:

Red Beans and Rice:

Southwest Chicken Burrito:

Southwest Skillet:

Graham Crackers:

Granola/Power Bars:

(these are SO good!)

New Found Favs!

2011-09-11T10:12:00.010-06:00

Amid Andy and I's wanderings and search for fun and new foods (thanks to Andy's new found hobby), we have come across a few places that we have deemed our favorites.

PIRATE O'S GOURMET MARKET

11901 S. 700 E.

Draper, UT 84020

This shop was a great discovery for us! They carry all kinds of cheeses, meats, sauces, candies, you name it! Since Andy and I have become self-proclaimed "food snobs" this is a great store for finding all those specialty items you might need for certain recipes! To us it is definitely worth the trip to Draper.

BOSCH KITCHEN CENTER

176 W Center Street

Orem, UT 84057

Andy and I visited this store thanks to a tip from one of my co-workers. We went in looking for some baking stones, and found they carried all sorts of cooking items and even some ingredients. Great place to find cooking "hardware"!

THE RED BARN

300 West 900 South

Santaquin, Utah 84655

They have a wonderful little shop full of fresh produce, Aggie ice cream, and all kinds of candies. We discovered they also carry different kinds of grains. Love it there!

New Countertop!

2011-09-07T22:16:00.005-06:00

Over the past couple of days Andy and I have been able to continue our project of remodeling the kitchen by refinishing our countertops.

Trust me. This has needed to be done since we moved in. Who in their right mind would put white laminate countertops in a kitchen? They never seem to look completely clean, and they stain SO easily! I have been wanting to change them out for so long!

After Andy and I discussed the possibility of redoing our countertops, we started researching prices at the local hardware stores. We soon realized that if we wanted to install solid surface, it was going to cost us. At least $3,500 we estimated. We didn't want to go down the road of Formica again, so Andy started looking into other options. He was looking into granite tile on the internet when he came across the website for Artistic Bath and Kitchen Refinishing Inc. Here he discovered that you could get your existing Formica coated to look very similar to solid surface and for a fraction of the price. We discussed this, had them come out and give a quote, and decided it was definitely the way to go!

Then, thanks to Andy's generous mom for giving us our birthday and Christmas presents early, we were able to schedule to have it done! Much earlier than we had anticipated!

Here are the countertops before:

All masked off awaiting the coating:

With the base coating on:

And the final product:

I don't know if the photos do it justice, but I simply LOVE it! It turned out so well! I am so excited that we were able to have it done! No more ugly white countertops!

Now that we have this big portion out of the way, we can move on to painting the cabinets and installing a tile backsplash. Then our kitchen remodel will be complete!

I'll keep you posted as other projects happen!

Maple Canyon

2011-09-05T22:46:00.013-06:00

For Labor Day weekend, Andy and I went camping down to Maple Canyon. We also invited Jessi and the fam to join us. We planned on camping Friday thru Sunday. Unfortunately, Jessi and crew couldn't make it down on Friday, but arranged to meet us there on Saturday.

Maple Canyon is just outside of Fountain Green, Utah. I had never been there, but I had heard great things from Andy and my brother-in-law Mickey.

Andy and I arrived just as it was getting dark Friday night. We hurriedly set up camp and then started up a lovely campfire.

Here is what I spent the rest of the night doing:

The next morning dawned bright and chilly. I was able to look around more and see the amazing rock that makes up Maple Canyon.

It was some pretty interesting looking rock. The walls are filled with thousands of imbedded cobblestones, which makes it a rock climber's paradise. To me it most resembled a giant pile of gravel with cement poured over it. It is a beautiful canyon!

After a little bit Jessi and the gang arrived!

Here is Josh with his moose binoculars. (Since Josh cannot pronounce "binoculars", he would refer to them as his "moose knockers". Of course this lead to many a laugh!)

Allie promptly began her favorite past time of late: playing in the dirt

Andy and Claire:

After a yummy lunch of sandwiches, the boys were ready to go climbing. (One of the main reasons we chose Maple Canyon.) Mickey is an avid climber and will use ANY excuse to go.

Here they are getting all geared up:

There goes Mickey leading:

This is how Josh was the entire time his dad climbed. (It was the first time he had seen his dad do it!)

Mickey topping the trees:

Mickey at the top of the climb:

Then it was Andy's turn!

Here is is starting out:

Andy topping the trees:

Andy at the top of the climb:

So proud!

And then came Traci's turn.

Yes, Traci tried out rock climbing.

Here I go:

Traci still going:

Traci at the top of her climb:

As you can see it is not the top of the climb. But I think I did pretty well for my first time!

After all that fun, we decided to take a hike up to an arch near our campsite.

Claire and Jessi resting along the trail:

Here is the arch:

After viewing the arch, Andy and I decided to try climbing up a crack in the cliff behind the arch.

It was well worth it for the view at the top!

Andy heading back down the crack:

After all that hiking and climbing, we were ready for some dinner.

Here is Josh all excited to get the fire going. (Mainly so he could roast peeps.)

Roasting our dinner: hotdogs and brautwursts

The rest of the evening was spent hanging out around the campfire. Telling silly stories and such. We roasted some peeps and enjoyed some of Andy's homemade graham crackers. Yum!

By the end of the night we were pretty bushed.

This sums up how we all felt:

But the excitement wasn't over after we went to bed! We had a furry little visitor in the early, early morning who thought he deserved some of our food. He was a smart little bugger and worked at getting our food tote open. We heard him trying to pull the lid up (which was latched) and so it would bang back down. We let it go on for a bit (thinking the food was safe) until we heard the crinkling of a potato chip bag and realized the smart little bugger had found a way in! Andy got up and scared him off.

We realized it was a raccoon when Andy discovered his little paw print left on the tote:

It turned out to be a really fun little trip! I LOVED Maple Canyon. I thought it was beautiful there. And where it is so close, we should definitely be able to visit often.

Yay for long weekends!

Bees Game

2011-08-28T12:46:00.004-06:00

Last night Andy and I were able to attend a Bees baseball game thanks to Andy's mom.

Andy's mom likes to do activities with the kids, and Bailey's choice was to go to a Bees game. Since Chris is so nice, she also invited Andy and I to come along with her and Jon's family.

I haven't been to a Bees game for years! Actually, the last time I attended a game was back when they were The Buzz.

It was a lovely evening at the ballpark! It was a bit hot for a little while, but once the sun went down behind the stadium it wasn't too bad.

The Bees were facing off against the Las Vegas 51's.

Andy and I:

Bailey all stoked to be there:

As the night when on some clouds started rolling in, but it just made for an even prettier view!

After the game (which the Bees lost unfortunately) they were to have fireworks. Since the wind had picked up a little, we had a bit of delay. Of course this meant killing some time with pictures!

Then finally the fireworks show began!

I must say it was a pretty good showing! I wasn't expecting too much since it was just an after-game show, but they did a really good job!

It was a fun night at the ballpark! I think Andy, Bailey and I had the most fun. It seemed like the other got a little bored after a while. Oh well! You make it what you want!

This is the Place Heritage Park

2011-08-24T18:23:00.005-06:00

This past Saturday Andy and I decided to visit This Is The Place Heritage Park.

I had never been to the park before and Andy hadn't been since he was young, so we thought it would be a fun activity.

The park is set up like a small town.

It has all the main buildings you would likely find in a working town from the time period of Brigham Young. There was a hospital, bank, mill, tin smith, black smith, general store, printer, and many homes among the buildings located there.

They also had a few Native American dwellings set up.

Here is Andy inside a hogan:

It was so pretty up there on the mountainside! It was the perfect backdrop for this quaint little town. It also had a spectacular view of the valley.

We were able to witness a duel:

Of course we took a couple of little breaks for drinks and food.

Here I am sitting in the shade outside of the general store:

We also were able to check out the Deseret News printing office and they let us work the press.

They also had a bunch of little cabins set up that were historic homes. They were all so little. And to think some families raised up to 13 kids in them! Where would you put them?

The apprentice blacksmith working:

They also had some farm animals that you could mingle with.

I don't know what this goat did, but it looks like he is in Time Out:

(he stayed this way the ENTIRE time)

Me and some goats:

I was also able to learn about the Deseret Alphabet. (of course Andy already knew all about it)

It ended up being a pretty fun trip up to the park. The only down sides were that it was quite warm that day, and a lot of the buildings were closed up.

I guess that means we will have to go back again to see what we missed!