Christmas Bear

When I was eleven my mom started a tradition that I think even she didn't imagine that would go on this long. In 1989 my mom gave me my first Christmas Bear and continued giving me Christmas Bears until I got married. She only missed one year, I think it was 1990. When I got married I told Jon that it was now his responsibility to continue on with the tradition. He has done this faithfully, never forgetting a year. Most of the time he picks it out and buys it on his own, which he does a fabulous job. One year he even took me to Build-A-Bear and I built my own bear. Two years ago this tradition had slipped his mind and he was having a hard time finding a bear as it was so close to Christmas. That year he enlisted my help and we found a cute little black bear. I love displaying my bears around my tree. With just the two of us we don't have many presents around the tree so the bears pull the attention away from the bare tree. I am running out of room for my bears so I may have to just start getting smaller bears to fill in the gaps.

2008 Chrismas Bear



The tree with my bears

Christmas Lights

Last weekend we went up with some friends to see the lights at Temple Square. As always the lights were beautiful. It was cold and crowded, but that's to be expected. We were with a bunch of friends who are in their early twenties and we ended up eating dinner at the Gateway and then bowling afterwards. We stayed out till 1:30 am. This thirty year old is not accustomed to staying out so late. Everyone could tell how tired I was. Needless to say, Jon and I slept in till 9:30 the next morning.

This tree is located at the Gateway. The tree is constantly changing, this is only portion of it.



MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Thanksgiving Wheelin'

This year our Black Friday was spent traveling to Moab. When I was younger I thought it was crazy to get up early just to go shopping, well now I get up early just to go wheelin'. We got to spend a few days with good friends wheelin'. It was such good weather. The trails were muddy from the rain in previous days but we had sunshine the whole weekend. My father-in-law, who sat in the back of our vehicle, even got a little sunburnt. It was one of the best wheelin' trips we have had. The weather was nice, there wasn't too many people and there were no major breakdowns.

You can see the mud on our tires. This makes it really hard for the tires to grab the rock. We made it up though.





My father-in-law had the great idea of having a contest to see who could throw a wood airplane over the cliff and have it go the farthest. This cliff overlooked Moab. Here's a picture of some of our group wathcing an airplane. Most didn't make it too far, the planes would hit the wind and the wind would take them back into the cliff.

Sharp Shooter

Thanksgiving day Jon's dad, Jon and I decided to go shooting. The morning didn't look like the weather would cooperate but by mid-mornign the rain had stopped and the clouds were starting to break up. We went to the west side of the lake and when I got out of the truck I looked across the lake and it was a beautiful scene. The mountains on the east side looked like they were floating in mid air. The picture doesn't do it justice. Anyway, I always seem to forget how much I like to shoot rifles till I actually do it. It always takes me a minute to refresh my memory but near the end I didn't do too shabby. Here's some picture from our fun outing.

Merry Christmas to Me!!!

The other day Jon came home from work and announced that he wanted to get a carpet cleaner/steamer for Christmas and he had already found one he liked at Costco. I had told him a few months ago that I wanted to get the carpets cleaned and I guess he decided that instead of paying someone to clean the carpets we would just buy one instead. He always seems to suprise me when I least expect it. The best part about the cleaner .... Jon put it all together and even cleaned the carpets himself.

It did such a great job on the carpet that he cleaned his hoopty ride as well. Those seats were filthy - I can't believe I sat on them that way as long as I did.

Now our carpet looks almost brand new - Merry Christmas to me!!!! Thanks Babe!!

Halloween Fun

Jon and I both could do without Halloween. I like getting together with friends, parties and carving pumpkins but I could do without the whole dressing up in costumes and passing out candy thing. I remember that the last year I went trick-or-treating I only went because all my friends went and I didn't want to stay home with my parents. Yeah, I admit it I gave in to peer pressure. So to celebrate the holiday Jon and I made reservations for the night at Little America in Salt Lake City (thanks to the company I work for getting me a getaway package that included dinner). I've never stayed at Little America, boy was it nice. We spent a relaxing night at the pool/jacuzzi and watching Halloween movies. Saturday we got up and headed up to Lagoon. I won a ticket to Lagoon on the radio earlier this year and we were finally able to use it. I couldn't believe how nice the weather was. It was warm enough that I didn't need a jacket at all. We had a great time riding all the rides, walking throught the haunted houses and watching a hypnotist show. I like going to Lagoon in the fall because it's not too croweded and it's not hot. Once we had our fill of Lagoon we headed home. I think I could spend every Halloween like that.

I love Wicked. I'm anxious every time I ride it but it is a good thrill.


Now I know that Odysea isn't really a big attraction for teens and adults but Jon and I sat and watched this ride for about 20 minutes and it just looked like so much fun. So later on in the day I decided that we needed to go on it. Jon and I laughed the whole way through it. Jon had control of the joystick but I made him promise that he wouldn't get me wet - on purpose anyway. We only got sprayed two times - not too shabby.


I also really enjoyed the bumber cars this year. There's just something fun about bumping into complete strangers and laughing about it and not getting into trouble for it.

Happy Halloween!!!

Blessed

This morning as I was driving to work I was grumbling because it's getting darker in the morning and that means that summer is really over and I really hate driving with headlights shining in my eyes. Anyways, as I get on the freeway I look up towards the mountains and I see one of the most beautiful sunrises. The clouds were all pink and orangey (sunrises and sunsets are about the only time that I really like the color pink). I have learned to recognize that the time I feel the Spirit the strongest is in nature and through music. So I turn my radio down and I just take in this beautiful sunrise. Then it hits me. I start thinking about all that I am blessed with.

This year Jon and I have truly been blessed. We have a home that we can be proud of. Sure, it's not a big home and we wish we had more land but it's ours and we have don't have to stress each month over our mortgage payment. I can open my pantry or fridge and there is plenty of food there and even little splurges of treats. We have cars that are in working order. We both have wonderful jobs that we enjoy. I could go on and on listing our many blessings but I won't.

Then as I'm thinking about all these blessings I recognize that they come from the Lord. I know that we have been blessed financially because we have been faithful in paying our tithing and we have also really strived this year to follow the counsel of our church leaders to get out of debt. Besides our house I would say our debt is small but even so it is amazing the peace of mind and freedom that comes as you get out of debt. I know that if we are faithful tithe payers the Lord will take care of us. Bad things may come our way but we will be given the necessities we need to relieve our burdens.

Here's to many more beautiful sunrises!

Boston

Last weekend Jon took off to visit his brother in Boston. Even though he wouldn't show it (you know how boys are), I knew Jon was really excited to hang out with his brother in Boston. He said he did a lot of walking and he came back with blisters to prove it. Besides the constant rain, the red eye flight and being squished on the plane by a rather large man he didn't have any complaints. I really hate being alone at night - I am such a scaredy cat. I am proud to say that I made it through the weekend without having to go stay at my parents house. Here are some highlights of his trip.

Some of the architecture - this building is supposed to be imploding on itself


And here lies the Boston Tea Party. Jon searched and searched for the Boston Tea Party and then he finally figured that this was it. Apparently it is being restored.


One of the cobblestone sidewalks. Girls, try walking on this in high heels. I couldn't do it - my ankles would be in bad shape


Look hard - there's a city kitty (aka rat) They are everywhere


One of the many churches


Jon hanging out on the coast


Evidence of the infamous Boston Bump


That is one little door


Puddles left over from the rainstorm

O'Keefe Campout

Every September Jon and I go camping with his parents up to the Uinta's. We have gone every year since we have been married. It is something I look forward to every year. It kicks off the fall season. This year we didn't get to camp as long as we normally do, but we still had a great time. Some of our wheelin' friends joined in the fun this year. It did rain on us, but that's expected as it rains every year. The best part was the fishing. Jon was catching them left and right. He probably caught at least thirty the whole weekend. I wasn't so lucky but I came away with eight, but I did loose about six lures. Good thing lures aren't that exspensive. Here are some highlights of our trip.

Just as soon as we pulled up a moose came out in the clearing and gave us a show


Jon's dad and I went out in the canoe and here he is with one of many fish he caught


Jon and Scott after their fishing excursion in the canoe


The others hung out on the dam to fish


Jon hiding from the camera


Jon's mom cooking us dinner


Jon with one of many fish that he caught


Me, with my beautiful fish

Canning

Despite all the work it takes I really do love canning. I really love it when you take the jars out of the pot and you hear the popping sound. This sweet sound tells me that it actually worked and my jars have sealed. This year I canned tomatoes and raspberry jam. Since I didn't plant any tomatoes this year I had to buy some. The one year I really need to can tomatoes is the year I don't plant any. Oh well that's how life goes. I spent a good part of the day last Saturday dedicated to canning. I made a mess of my kitchen and my feet were killing me for several hours later but it was worth it. I got 16 pints and 3 quarts of tomatoes and 10 pints of raspberry jam. I really love the sense of accomplishment that comes with canning. So here's some pictures of my accomplishment.


Before


My big mess


After

State Fair

It is tradition that Jon and I got to the State Fair each year with Jon's parents. I look forward to this every year. The animals are always fun to watch and pet. I also enjoy looking at all the crafts, food, pictures, etc. that people in our state submit. My mother-in-law and I were looking at the canned items and it was really interesting to see what people made. For example, geranium jelly (who knew you could do that and how do you make it), basil jelly (I can't imagine putting that on my morning toast), pickled watermelon rind (I would never think to do that with a watermelon rind), but there were also items that were a little more common like raspberry jam. Besides all the usual items you look for at the fair there is also the joy of people watching. That's a joy in itself. So here's my tribute to the Utah State Fair!

The sheep sleeping on each other


All the cows in a row - so well behaved


Here Bessie!


The goat is trying to escape


Jon petting a goat


Now that is one ugly chicken


This one was just singing away


Lop eared rabbit


One of the tigers from the India Tiger show


Cute little piglets


That is one big pig

LABOR-less Weekend

Labor Day Weekend Jon and I went down to St. George for a little fun in the sun. My parents have a timeshare down there and it was their week and since they weren't going to be down there till Sunday night (along with my sister Nancy) they invited us to use it for the weekend. It was nice to get away and just relax by the pool and play a little miniature golf. Our main reason for going was to scuba dive Sand Hollow Resevoir. This dive experience was much better than Blue Lake. We could actually see where we were going. Sand Hollow has a section roped off for just swimmers and this is where all the scuba divers go. In this section a local dive shop has sunk an airplane and then they also have an obstacle course which is pretty fun. We went with my sister Nancy and met up with our friends Steve and Tiffany. It was a great weekend and just nice to get away.

Here's a picture of the sunken airplane. This was taken about two years ago, now its covered with a green film.