Autumn in Utah

The leaves are starting to change in the mountains. Here are few pictures. I'm sure they will be getting much more brilliant but I may not get to see them.

September Utah Trip

Another trip to visit Maya has come and past. It started off with a pilot who did not make it to Baltimore so they had to rebook my flights. I ended up having to go through San Francisco and back to Salt Lake City. The leaves are starting to change on the mountains which is always nice to see. I like autumn. I'll some more pictures in another post. Here is the short list of some of the things we did during the visit. The family gathering with scones and Navajo tacos. We spent an evening at the zoo with Isabelle, Gracie, (and Mindy), Parker, Payton, (and Jeff). Somehow Jeff made it from Tooele to home, picked up the the boys, and drove to the zoo in about an hour and 15 minutes! Here are the rest of the Hogle Zoo pictures. Played at the park. Here are more playground pictures. Went to the Clark's Cabin. Chris and Mindy invited us to spend the evening at the Clark Family cabin. The cabin is located in the mountains near Strawberry Reservoir. The dirt road up to the cabin made a few people very nervous. Especially my dad. The cabin has a pretty nice setup and is just rustic enough to give that cabin feel. Generator, propane water heater, spring water, potbelly stove and stuffed heads on the walls. I ended up driving Sharlie's van back down the mountain when we left. More pictures. Even though we were only able to stay for a few hours, it just reaffirmed my desire to a family cabin some day. Dare to dream.

No, I'm not a visitor!

Am I a forgettable person? Do I have one of those faces that just blends into the crowd and you don't remember me 5 minutes after you have met me? Over and over again I am in a place where I have been several times before and people do not remember who I am. This happens a lot at church. I am routinely singled out as a new visitor - 'Would like to introduce yourself?' - No thanks, I already did that...several times. Annandale Ward, Herndon Ward, Frederick Ward, my parent's ward that I have visited close monthly for the past 4 years! Maybe I should look into clandestine work. Maybe I would be a natural chameleon.

Leni has Arrived

Leni Jane S. Birth date: September 19, 2007 Time: 6:09PM Weight: 5lb 11oz Length:19in Congrats Shane and Hailey

Good Luck Sara, Nate and Evander

The Stielers are packing up their stuff and moving it all to Iowa so we had a bunch of their friends over for one last hooplah. Brittany, Mike, and baby Camden, Dave, Kerry and baby Lacey, Kerry's cousin Seth, Nate, Sara and baby Evander, Corey and Jill, Jason and finally Kim (without Carter). Kim thought that she had missed the part on the invitations that said she was supposed to bring a baby to this party! Jill made some yummy stuffed mushrooms and I made four variations of fresh salsa. We had two salads and Kim brought bread sticks. For the main course, we spiced up two soups - Broccoli Cheese (we added more broccoli, more cheese and bacon) and Minestrone (with more noodles, assorted veggies and a big sliced kielbasa). Everything was delicious. We will miss the Stielers but wish them the best of luck in Iowa. Especially with finding a job quickly. Here are a few more pictures.

Exploitation

So I guess I had this false impression that when we decided to enroll Maya in a public school instead of a private school that we would actually be saving money. And maybe it is still true, but it just feels like 'they' get the money out of you one or the other. Maya has not been in school yet for a full month and already she has been enlisted to extract the hard earned funds from her loved ones - TWICE! And I have no false sense of security that this will be the last campaign of her youth - or even this year. First is the Happenings Entertainment Book. This has been a mainstay of the Utah school fund raising campaigns for decades. I remember trying to sell this book of coupons when I was a kid. And I remember many books going mostly unused as the expiration dates went by. Sign me up! And the second is Innisbrook which is a large selection of wrapping paper, accessories, chocolate, and even magazine subscriptions along with other assorted crap. This campaign seems to be gaining favor as my young nieces and nephews have tried to peddle their wares the past few years. Do I really need expensive 'Masculine Gift Wrap'!? Of course I will be buying in order to bring a smile to Maya's face. Or maybe it is to avoid the scowl of disappointment. If you wish to support her and her fine school by purchasing a Happenings coupon book just send her an email at mayabug01 at gmail dot com If you would like wrapping paper click on the link above and she will get credit or be sure to enter the below info. Seller: MAYA Seller ID# R46987C School Number: 104327 Let the exploitation begin!

Birthdays

We celebrated a few birthday's recently. First was Tara's. A small group gathered at Nick and Lara's new pad for some yummy burgers, chicken, pasta salad (mine) and deserts. It was nice to catch-up with everyone. More pictures here. Next was Sara's. Another small group met up Nate and Sara's place for build-your-own spring rolls and ice cream cake. More pictures over here. And finally, there was a big hoorah for Jill's dad. Donna planned a Route 66 themed party for Bruce's 60th birthday party. Why Route 66 you ask? Well, Bruce was born in Needles, CA as the family was traveling from Arkansas to California on Route 66. Apparently, Bruce's dad was dead-heading straight through with no stops. And by no stops he really meant no stops. Bottles were provided for Bio Breaks and Bruce's sibling were positioned for action. The who was in labor for most of the trip. Bruce's brother (Richard) was instructed on what to do in case Bruce decided he wanted out of the womb in the back seat of their unconditioned car. The younger siblings (Judy and Faith) joined their dad in the front seat while 19 year old Richard was in the back with mom. They made it to the Needles train station where the family pretended to be getting off of the train in order to gain access to the first-aid station. They were then transported to the hospital where Bruce made his entrance into the world. Bruce's dad and the younger siblings went on to California while mom and Richard stayed behind. In order to pass the time away, Richard went to the movie theatre and watched Forever Amber multiple times. When he got back to the hospital his mother asked him what they should name the new baby and he suggested the main character from the movie, Bruce Franklin. And that's the rest of the story... So anyway, back to the party. We had a rib cook-off complete with 5 separate 'secret' entries and ballots for everyone. Everyone had a plate full of side dishes and another plate with 5 numbered pieces of meat. We rated our favorites based on 1) Tenderness, 2) Flavor, 3) Messiest, and 4) Most Unusual. There were two recipes that were baked, one in the slow-cooker, and two that were a combination of oven and bbq. Both of the bbq versions were also the only two that were dry rub recipes. Toby won the Flavor category Toby also won the Most Unusual category Donna won the Tenderness category Linda won the Messiest category Toby and Donna tied for the Overall Winner Since Toby won two categories and the Overall, he was declared the Winner! YAY, TOBY! My dry rub ROCKED but unfortunately the small pieces of meat just dried out too quickly. The rest of the evening was spent enjoying the backyard games of horseshoes, badmitten, and croquet. The final challenge of the day was watching Toby and Linda race to assemble my small camping chairs. It was quite entertaining as the repeatedly reviewed the instructions with much frustration. I finally had to give them hints in order to finish the assembly. Here are the rest of the pictures. Hmmm, we need to do something for my dad's 60th. Folks, put on your thinking caps. It is time to plan a party for Cec's big 6-0!

Maya's Sick Again!

Maya's second week of school and she is sick again with strep throat and an intestinal virus! Which means she is contagious and can't go back to school until the antibiotics do their thing. She has had a rough couple of months. Strep twice, pneumonia, flu, and the public pool virus that has been plaguing the SLC pools. No fun at all. Maya and Emily have been passing this sicknesses back and forth between each other. Time to bump up the vitamin C, garlic, and whatever else will help rebuild their immune systems. Hope you guys get well quickly.