Labor Day

Labor Day Weekend was spent in St. George at my parent’s condo. We left Friday night and got to St. George around 10:00pm. Jon had to pick up a trailer for work so by the time we got it all hitched we didn’t get to the condo till about 10:30pm.


Saturday we planned to go to Sand Hollow to scuba dive. We really wanted to find the van that was sunk about two years ago. We have seen the plane that was sunk and this dive we were on a mission to find the van since we couldn’t find it back in June while we were there. We picked up our tanks and my regulator from Dixie Divers as well as directions on where to find the van and headed out to the lake. We couldn’t have asked for a better day. It was nice and hot and that means that the water was warm and not murky. We got all our equipment together and started to swim out towards a buoy which would help us find the van. We descended and started swimming around trying to find the illusive van. We swam around for a bit and we didn’t see anything so we gave up and just started exploring. We eventually found a piece of rope and started to follow it. This rope took us right to the van. We swam around and admired the van and then we stood on top of the van for our safety stop and then ascended to the surface. We wanted to get to the surface so we could see exactly where the van was so we could find it in the future. The van wasn’t too far away from the plane so we descended again and searched for the plane. The plane is in deeper water than the van and as we were going deeper there was a thermocline and it was too cold for us so we decided to head back to shore and have lunch.




When we got out of the water several other divers had showed up and asked us if we knew where the van and plane were located. We talked to them for a while and then had lunch and rested for a bit before our second dive. We decided that for our second dive we would just swim around and explore. We found a couple of hoops to swim through and I got to watch a fish chase Jon around. This fish would follow Jon and if Jon stopped the fish stopped and wherever Jon would go that fish would follow. Jon had no idea until we surfaced but I sure had a good time watching. We had an awesome dive experience. Sand Hollow is always fun to dive. It really has become a destination dive spot in Utah because of all the things they have put in the lake to do and see.

After cleaning up our gear and dropping off our rental equipment we headed back to the condo. My parents were coming down on Saturday to spend the whole week and when we got back they were already there. It was decided that Jon and I would clean up and then we would go to the Chinese buffet that my parents like. We got there at just the right time. We were mostly done with our meal when a couple of tour buses arrived. Boy was that place busy. After dinner we went over to Walmart to get food for Sunday and Monday. That night we sat in the hot tub and it felt nice.

Sunday my parents went to church (we didn’t go as we didn’t bring any church clothes). After my parents got back we took a drive to the site of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. It was a nice drive and on the way back we went and drove through Pine Valley.




When we got back to the condo we ate lunch then my parents and I played a card game while Jon took a nap. After the game my mom and I went for a walk. We ate dinner and then after dinner we watched “The Power of One”.

Monday Jon and I got up and packed. We wanted to get home early as there were some things we needed to do at home. It was a great weekend and we had a really nice time with my parents.

Peach Time

It’s peach time again. This year I received help from Jon. It sure made the canning process a whole lot faster. Peaches are by far my least favorite thing to can, mostly because of the whole syrup thing. This year I tried a new recipe where you just dump the sugar in the jar, add some tap water and then process the jars. This was so much easier and I will be making it this way from here on out.

tuh-MAY-toh / tuh-MAH-toh

Anyway you say it we have a lot of them. This year we planted eight plants. I know what you're thinking - for two people that is a lot of plants. Well this year is a tomato canning year so I made sure I had enough plants. We got them planted at the perfect time - just after the frost and they were growing great. I could see the blossoms coming on the plant. The problem is I could see the blossoms come and then go and no tomato. Our little blossoms weren't getting pollinated. It wasn't just my plants our neighbors were having the same problem - at least I wasn't the only one. During this time the plants kept growing and getting bigger and bigger. We have never had tomato plants this big and we didn't even use any fertilizer. Then all of a sudden new blossoms appeared and eventually turned into tomatoes. They are everywhere. Don't get me wrong I am thrilled with all the tomatoes but now the weight of all the tomatoes has bent our cages and the plants are falling into each other. We have now tied back the cages but the weight is still pulling the plants over. Now I just hope all my green tomatoes will ripen before it gets too cold.

Our biggest plant falling into another plant

Our crop of tomatoes

The bent cage - boy those plants are strong

Apricot Jam

Growing up my parents had an apricot tree in our backyard. This tree did not have a problem producing fruit. It produced so much fruit that we couldn’t pick them off the tree fast enough before they would fall to the ground and make a mess on the lawn. Of course our job as kids was to pick up the spoiled fruit off the lawn. It was a stinky, sticky mess. Despite the smell and stickiness I enjoyed those apricots and still do. With all those apricots my mom would make apricot jam. I loved loved loved apricot jam and still do. It is my favorite on peanut butter sandwiches – yummmm.

Last year I wanted to make apricot jam but decided too late as they were all gone from the fruit stands. This year I had mentioned to Jon that I would like to make apricot jam and then one Saturday he calls me up and informs me that he and his dad had stopped at a fruit stand and they had apricots and asked if I wanted a box. Of course I said yes but soon after hanging up the phone I then realized all the work that I would have to do in the coming week to get the jam made.

When Jon got home he suggested that since we weren’t doing anything else that day that we just go ahead and make the jam and that his dad would be able to help us. How could I say no to two helpers? Jon washed and cut up the apricots, Jon’s dad crushed the fruit and helped me with the actual making of the jam. It made a mess of my kitchen (canning always does that) but it only took us about 2-3 hours. Altogether we got 23 pints of jam and then 17 trays of fruit leather.

I have strawberry, raspberry and apricot jam; now all I’m missing is the grape jelly.

Lehi Round Up Rodeo

Even though we don’t live in Lehi any longer we still enjoy the Lehi Round Up Rodeo. We invited some friends to come along and join in the festivities. It was the perfect night for a rodeo.





By this picture you can't really tell but he really did have a good time at the rodeo

The Summer of Jon . . . and his cast

This summer was going to be great. Jon and I had it all planned out in our minds. We had no major house projects that had to get done so we were going to go camping, fishing, off-road trips, play at the lake etc. Then Jon decided he had to go to the doctor. When Jon decides to go to the doctor it has to be bad, and it was.

For a while Jon’s foot had been bothering him. Eventually it got to the point where it hurt to walk. At that point he knew it was time to see the doctor. It can never be good news when a doctor looks at an x-ray and gravely says “Oh, wow”. Jon had a bone spur on the back of his heel and it was big enough that it was cutting into his Achilles tendon. Jon was given the choice of wearing a brace for the rest of his life (which Jon and the doctor both knew that this was not an option) or surgery. Surgery it was. I was then reminded of a Seinfeld episode entitled “The Summer of George”. This summer was now going to be our “Summer of Jon”.

We received a call the night before letting us know when to arrive at the hospital. Jon had requested an early surgery so he didn’t have to wait around all day. I didn’t think Jon expected it to be as early as it was (neither did I). We had to show up at the hospital at 5:30 am. It was early to bed and early to rise for us that day.

When we walked in the hospital we were welcomed with a surprise to see that one of the nurses is our neighbor. We didn’t know that she was a nurse. It was nice to have an acquaintance take care of you, and she let us know that if we ever needed anything to give her a call. Jon got prepped for surgery and when they wheeled him off it was my cue to hit the waiting room. I was the first one there so I got the prime choice of seats.

The surgery took longer than expected but that was because the bone spur was bigger than expected and tore more of the tendon than the doctor originally thought. I may have been the first one in the waiting room but I wasn’t the first one out. When he was finished the doctor came out and explained what they did and what medication he was prescribing. Soon after a nurse came and took me back to see Jon. He was still all drugged up but was starting to come out of it. It took about an hour before we were able to leave.



They put a hard cast on Jon and the doctor told him that if he wanted he could walk around on it. There was no walking on it that day; it hurt too badly. Jon decided that instead of risking injury he would just use crutches. I’m glad he has the sense not to reinjure himself. The first week or so I got to wait on him hand and foot. It was hard for him to get around and it took him forever to get anywhere, especially with all the stairs in our house.

Because of his cast and his inability to drive a manual transmission we missed a rock crawling trip over the 4th of July. Instead we went up to Trial Lake and went fishing. It was nice and cool up there; only about 60 degrees. I only caught one fish but Jon caught four and his dad caught five. For some reason the fish just don’t like me this year.




After five weeks Jon was able to get his cast off. He then spent about two weeks in a walking boot. Now after seven weeks he is able to walk but with a limp, but he doesn’t care he is just so happy to be back in his shoes. He has been told by others that it will be months before he is back to normal.

Maybe next summer can be the “Summer of Jon” . . . and Wendy.

Memorial Weekend in Moab

Memorial weekend was spent in Moab - one of our favorite spots. There were many who stayed at a camp park but there were a few of us that stayed in a hotel. When it is hot I prefer to stay in a hotel; you can at least escape the heat at night. We ran Pritchett Canyon (off course) and Kane Creek. Kane creek is fun because in the spring there is water at the bottom and the trail weaves in and out of the water and through the trees which provides some great shade. Our friend Zack found some deep water as you can see. For the most part we had a good and even better nothing broke!


We were at Moab at just the right time. All the wildflowers were out. I took more pictures of the wildflowers than I did of us four-wheeling. I only have a point and shoot camera so I couldn't get great pictures but it was still fun searching out all the different wildflowers.








One of the most memorable parts of the trip was when Jon's dad almost rolled. He was going up a hill and no one was there to spot him. We had gone ahead to park in the shade for lunch and luckily our friends Brittany and Rob came around the corner and spotted him on the verge of going over. They hollered to us and we rushed back to see what was the commotion. Of course once we found that everything was ok we had to take some pictures.