9 Years and Counting

On August 14 Wes and I headed down to Logan to celebrate our 9 year anniversary a few days early. We decided to stay at the Anniversary Inn. We chose Nefertiti's Court for our room. The room was huge and Wes was certain that it was larger that the first floor of our house. The room was decorated in an Egyptian theme. It felt like a mummy would come around the corner at any moment.

The bathtub was very large and even had lights that would change color. Talk about high tech. The shower had 6 shower heads. It was a little like being in a warm waterfall.

They really went all out with the decorations.

We had a hard time finding a place to eat that was open since it is a small town and it was a Sunday. We ended up going to Texas Road House. The bread was so good! I could have eaten it all night. After dinner we went for a drive and had the funnest time talking and laughing. It is always wonderful when we get time alone together. We ended up driving all the way into Idaho before we turned around.

The next morning we were served ham and cheese croissants, and yogurt parfaits.

Instead of rushing home we decided to go to a few antique book stores. Wes was trying to find some books that he really loved when he was a kid. We didn't have any luck finding his specific books, but we did find a few things to buy and bring home. I love the smell of old books. The old, worn covers are almost magical to me.

We also had lunch at a local restaurant. The food was marvelous! I had a yummy blue cheese salad and an amazing sandwich!

We really did have an amazing time together and I'm always sad to see our date end. It is always good though to come home to my girls.

Losing Wisdom and Park City Art

Early in August I had my wisdom teeth removed. My dentist has wanted to remove them for some time now and I finally gave in. It wasn't a very pleasant experience but it could have been worse I'm sure. I was stuck eating soft food for several days and the worst part, I thought, was making sure to remove food out of the gaping holes in my mouth. I ended up with the beginnings of dry socket and had to get that taken care of as well.

While I was resting up I won 10 tickets to the Park City Arts Festival! We shared some tickets with my sister and a neighbour. I really wanted to go, but since I was still feeling pretty tired and weak I stayed home and watched vampire movies and Wes and the girls went up to Park City. I entrusted Wes with the camera. He did manage to capture a few shots, but just a few.

They said it was pretty fun.

Lydia and Young Womens

With Lydia turning 12 this year she has begun attending the YW program in our church. She absolutely loves it! We have starting working on personal progress and it is something we enjoy working on together. Being a mom I can actually earn a medallion as well. I never finished personal progress when I was a YW which is something which disappointed me. I am so grateful for the opportunity for Lydia and I to work together to complete the program. It also allows us to discuss gospel principles and to be closer to one another. I have felt how important this is especially as she has begun Jr. High. I can see her slowly changing and I want to make sure her bonds are strong with our family and that she remembers who she is.

She had an opportunity at a YW activity to learn how to decorate cakes. She had a really fun time and I think she did a pretty good job!
Her hands were dyed blue from the food coloring.

She is growing up so much and I'm so grateful to be her mom.

Lizzy, Lizzy how does your garden grow?

Here are a few more pics from our garden harvest. This really is very small sampling of our bountiful harvest. We have especially been overwhelmed with tomatoes. I really wish I knew how to can. So far I have made homemade salsa (using our garden tomatoes, tomatillos, and jalapeno peppers), homemade spaghetti sauce (tomatoes), and homemade Cafe Rio dressing (tomatillos and jalapeno peppers). The Cafe Rio dressing was especially marvelous!!!
We have also cooked up squash in various dishes and sliced cucumbers to munch on. I have an especially large bowl on my kitchen counter that is overflowing with tomatoes. I will need to buckle down soon and find a way to preserve them so we can continue to enjoy their marvelous flavors!

Did you know hiking is a natural mood booster?

The morning after our Pioneer Day celebration we decided to go hiking. When I went up to Cub Country Camp with the boys in our ward we had a chance to hike Desolation Trail. I was absolutely enchanted and wanted to take my family on the hike. Most of the family was enthusiastic to set out on our grand adventure.

Lydia on the other hand was NOT. She was tired and did not want to do anything, especially hike! You can tell by this picture how unhappy she was with this idea.

Wes was kind enough to carry Violet. He is always so wonderful with her. He talks to Violet and tells her all about the world around her. She enjoyed holding onto rocks, leaves and sticks.

The trail is pretty steep when it starts out. Then it suddenly opens up!

Then you are suddenly thrust into glorious, green scenes. I felt like I'd stepped into Lord of the Rings.

Adelle liked looking at the moss that covered the rocks. It sure didn't feel like dry Utah.

By the end of the hike Lydia was in a great mood and apologized for being such a crab. I was glad that the hike had heightened her spirits.

We didn't get out into nature as much as I would have liked this summer, but I am glad for the trips that we did make!

Pioneer Day

We decided to gather together for Pioneer day. We held our celebration at our modest home. At least it is warm enough in the summer to sit outside so we are not cramped. Wes' family joined us and my brother was even able to join us after work. My wonderful mother in law, Ellen!

Wes' brother Jeff. He had recently become a blonde.

Wes' dad, Bill, was busy taking video.

I don't usually put pictures of myself on the blog, but I need to every so often just to prove that I am still around. Wes captured this picture and honestly, I'm not sure what I'm thinking here.

We figured Lydia is old enough to light some fireworks. She enjoyed the snakes.

I did the barbecuing this time and it was pretty good, if I do say so myself. You've got to love kabobs!

We tried something new with Violet. She usually gets upset when she's outside stuck in her highchair, but it is hard to let her run around since we don't have a fence. She did pretty well hanging out in her play pen. We hadn't used it in a long time.

Lydia and Adelle had fun putting the snake soot on their faces. Lydia didn't want her picture taken, which is usual.

Violet enjoyed playing with Grandpa's hat. She is quite the little cowgirl.

Adelle imagined she was making a fire with sticks. No spontaneous flames occurred.

We finally decided to get the fireworks show going even though it was still a little bit light. Violet was happy enough to see some of the fun!

We again let Lydia light some fireworks. She was very responsible and it was probably her favorite part of the night.

Adelle kept creeping closer, and closer to the fireworks, but thanks to my nagging she stayed safe.

After a while Violet wanted to get closer too. She wanted to get down. When I told her "No" she was quite upset. We figured she was tired so she went to bed.

Adelle was quite pleased that we had soda in the house! She had several helpings until we finally had to cut her off.

We were also brave enough to let Lydia and Adelle try sparklers. The grown ups got involved too.

It ended up being a really fun evening. I was able to see a lot of aerial fireworks when I drove my brother home as well.

Oh My Cauliflower!

Our garden has done very well this year. We have always struggled to grow things, but for some reason our garden is very happy this year. We put down a weed barrier and Wes installed a drip line. Some of the plants also received some plant food. The cauliflower did not though. They were perfectly happy without any of the extras. Unfortunately not growing cauliflower before I let it get overripe. Also the earwigs were quite fond of them. They just kept dropping out of the giant heads when I was rinsing them.

You can tell by their yellow color that they are overdone and they were just starting to go to seed :( It is sad that I wasted such huge heads of cauliflower, but it is a learning experience. We haven't had a shortage of other crops though!