Festive Yard Art

I know, I know Christmas is over but I just had to show off what Jon made for me. Before Thanksgiving I came home with a magazine clipping of some Christmas yard art that I just loved (except for the price). I thought we (meaning Jon) could make these and Jon agreed. So I served as the creative director and Jon did all the work (however I did make the templates). I got to do all the fun stuff like decide on paint and buying the trinkets for the embellishments. Jon made the three items shown for me, a stocking and Christmas tree for his parents, and a stocking, Christmas tree and two presents for a friend. With the help of his dad he got these all done the first week of December. This was much less expensive than buying them online and I love how they turned out.

Jon spray painted the metal from my templates

Jon welding away - this is why I didn't do the work

Jon finishing up the painting
This one was a beast to paint because of the stripes I wanted
He is even multitasking - notice the phone to his ear

Aren't these just perfect?

Christmas Lights at Temple Square

Christmas came so quickly this year and December was just flying by that I didn't think Jon and I would be able to see the lights at Temple Square but we did. The Saturday before Christmas we actually had a free night so we headed up to Salt Lake to enjoy the lights. On the ride up Jon and I were debating whether or not to ride Trax. We hate finding parking in Salt Lake, but the Trax trains are always packed this time of year. Going up on the trains isn't too bad, it's the ride back that I dread. We decided to drive into Salt Lake and the parking situation wasn't that terrible (probably because everyone rode Trax - bet they hated their ride back).

Being out in the crisp air was a nice break from all the hours spent indoors. The rain even stopped by the time we made it up to Temple Square. The lights at Temple Square are always exquisite. After having wrapped my miniature cherry tree in lights I have a new respect for those who put up Christmas lights. I loved the luminaries they had (sadly I didn't get a picture) but some of those bags were so ornate. I also loved all the different nativity scenes.

I love that they put this over the pool, it always draws a crowd.

I love how the cascading water is all lit up
and the Christmas lights just enhance it

After strolling around Temple Square for awhile we decided to go over to the Gallivan Plaza; 30+ years in Utah and I don't think I have ever been to the ice rink. Wow there was a lot of people skating on that little rink. It was fun to watch everyone, especially the little kids basically walking with their skates on and holding to the side for dear life. We did get to see a dad slip on the ice and drag his tween-aged daughter down with him - that was kind of funny, mostly because the dad was just a little drunk.



Since we were already at the Gallivan Plaza and it was almost 10pm we headed over the KUTV studio to check out the news. The studio was smaller than I had expected, come to think of it so was the news anchor that night. I didn't expect him to be so short. All in all it was a great night.

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