25th Annual Gingerbread House Decorating

I was so glad that in the hustle and bustle of getting ready for Christmas and the wedding at the same time we were still able to get together and continue the tradition! In the essence of time, I compromised a little with graham cracker houses, but I don't think it compromised any of the fun. A great time was had by all. Caitlin had several of her roommates over, and for several of them and Stephanie, it was their first time decorating houses! We have loved this tradition and have so many fond memories from it. We wished Jordan, Andrew & Starrie, and Nicia & Joe could have been with us!

Surprise Breakfast

This morning Emily was ready for school a little early and didn't want me to come downstairs for quite awhile. I needed to get ready for work anyway, so I didn't mind. I could hear noises coming from the kitchen so had a little clue about what might be going on. When she was ready, she had me close my eyes, led me down the stairs and into the dining room where I opened my eyes and saw this:

On the menu:

blueberry bagel w/cream cheese; orange juice smoothy
made with orange juice & berry yogurt mixed together

She had made breakfast for me! Notice the creative "coasters" under the mugs (paper towels). It's hard to see, but she made little name cards for each of us, Mom's Place and Emily's Place, written in her version of cursive (which is actually pretty good!). Of course the inside of mine had hearts decorating it and telling me she loved me. A melt your heart moment - really special for me. After hugs and a prayer, we enjoyed our little breakfast together while reading about Helaman and his army.

Apparently, she had done the same kind thing for Dave this past Saturday while I was at my sister, Karen's. I know why she is doing this thoughtful deed - it's from years of watching her older brothers and sisters make breakfast for us on Mother's Day & Father's Day, and sometimes just because, in addition to doing lots of other thoughtful things for us on a regular basis. (I seriously have the best kids!) So thank you to her sweet siblings who have shown her such a great example!! And thank you Emily for a your love and a yummy breakfast!! Love you!

The Wicked Witch of the West

Emily wanted to be something "scary" this year for Halloween. She said she had always been something "good" and wanted to be something bad and scary this year. Dave did her makup the first night for "trunk or treat", and I did it the 2nd night for trick or treating. I was really pleased with her outfit. Got the dress and cape at DI for $4.50 and the hat at Big Lots for $3.49. Here's our own Wicked Witch of the West:

She insisted on wearing fangs part of the time

Without fangs

Pumpkin Carving

The week before Halloween we were fortunate to have most of our gang over to eat sausage potato soup and homemade crockpot applesauce, carve pumpkins and make carmel apples. Our brother-in-law, Lee Holdaway, was visiting and got to get in on the fun too. Here's everyone diligently working to get their pumpkins cleaned out.


Dave hates the feeling of the pumpkin guts - he's trying to look cheerful here as he digs in.....


At times people would get a little carried away:

Justin getting knife happy

Emily wanted to "carve" her own pumpkin like everyone else.

We let her have the knife for about 3 seconds.....

Becky and Jared even brough a pumpkin carving design book and special carving tools - serious carvers!

Some of the finished products:

Becky's pumpkin - says "Trick or Treat!"

Dave's pumpkin - the headless horseman

The night wouldn't be complete without making carmel apples:

Justin & Stephanie

We've done this a couple times before, and it's so much fun that I think we definitely need to make it a yearly tradition!

Gardner Village

A couple of weeks ago I got a phone call letting me know my niece, LaNita was in town with her hubby and little boy, clear from Oklahoma! We wanted to get together, and since Emily was off from school for fall break and I wanted to do something fun with her, we decided to meet at Gardner Village - it was great to see LaNita, and her little Dallas is just the cutest, most handsome little guy!


If you live in the Salt Lake area, you MUST go to Gardner Village. Such a cool place. My description wouldn't do it justice. It has lots of shops with way cute stuff, mostly home decor, but so much other stuff too. Way cute stuff. They go all out for Halloween, so the atmosphere is just so fun. We started with pony rides and a petting zoo:

Dallas McDonald

Emily and her friend, Maddie

With Emily's love for horses, this pony got lots of attention!

Around the village there were lots of lifesize witches, all throughout. They had a scavenger hunt which was fun for the girls (and us) to do, going around finding the different witches listed on the hunt. There were clues to help them know the different witches to look for. Great fun for all of us. We didn't spend too much time in the shops since there's was LOTS for little kids NOT to touch. But it was fun to look here and there.

The witch who was "ready for a hug"

My own little witch

Dallas & LaNita

We found all 14 of the witches and went to the bakery to redeem our chocolate chip cookies for turning in our completed scavenger hunt sheets. What a fun way to spend the afternoon. The weather couldn't have been better, and it was wonderful to see LaNita, Josh, and Dallas again!

HELP! Getting unwanted presents from Chipper!

CHIPPER

I need some help and advice - if you have any experience with dogs, maybe you can give your thoughts...

As most of you know, we have a sweet little dog named Chipper. He's 4 1/2 years old and has been housetrained for about the past 3 1/2 years. Several months ago he started doing his business behind our big screen t.v. We wouldn't find it until way later when we'd be back there working with wires or something. A real bummer. I've tried to be better about keeping track of what he does when he's outside and sometimes putting him in his kennel if I know it's been awhile since he's done #2. Well, this morning, I found that Chipper has moved his location to Emily's bedroom - a pile from a day or two ago and a fresh pile this morning. AAAGGGHHH!

If he hadn't been a member of our family for the past 4 1/2 years, I would put an ad in the paper TODAY to find him a new home. But he is Emily's best little companion here, our primary reason for getting him the first place, so I need advice on how to solve this problem quickly! Do I have to totally start over with housetraining and keeping him kenneled or with me at all times? Do I only put the food out for a little while and then take it away? Any help would be appreciated! I'm totally grossed out and can't handle much more!

Signed,

Desperate Dog Mom

Hike to Santaquin Peak

SANTAQUIN PEAK

Length of hike: 11.5 miles

Elevation: 10,685 feet

Completion time: 8 1/2 hours

Two weeks ago, Justin and I went on our annual "killer" hike. This year it was Santaquin Peak, just south of our home a few peaks over. Justin invited Stephanie to come along. This was Stephanie's FIRST real hike! She didn't know how long the hike would be until the night before, and I was surprised she came, but she was a real trooper and actually led the group most of the way up. Our day began by leaving the house at 6:15 a.m:

Justin & Stephanie Garrison

One of the beautiful views

Stephanie and Kathy catching a quick rest

Stephanie, Justin, & Kathy at the TOP!

Did I mention we were a little tired?

Justin & Steph looked great - I looked a little worse for the wear

Thankfully, I didn't feel that bad

At the top we met a lady who had actually passed us earlier on the trail and was kind enough to take pictures for us. She looked like she hadn't even begun the hike, and was talking about how she had hardly had to drink any water so far. Turns out, she'd hiked Mount Timponogos 2 days before! (a 14-mile hike) Talk about a serious, hardcore hiker!

Smiles before heading back down the mountain

We enjoyed lunch at the top and rested for a little while. It took us about 3 hours to get back down the mountain. The last couple of miles were the worst. I had a great big blister on each of my big toes, and by then it was much warmer down in the valley, so the further down we went, the hotter it got. We had taken quite a bit of water with us, but the last mile, we were sipping the last few drops of our water. If we'd taken any less, we probably would have been in trouble! But all's well that ends well.

Orange tongues from the mango icees we got after finishing our hike

There are many amazing things about doing a strenuous hike. Amazing scenery, amazing views, amazing that I make it to the top, a real feeling of accomplishment. Overall, fun company and a great hike! Thanks for going Justin and Steph! I'll be resting up for next year.......