Family Christmas Party 2012

Today we went to the annual family Christmas party at mom and dads house.


Samantha (niece):

Peter (nephew):

My brother, Brad, and his daughter Piper.

In the corner is my Aunt Karen:

Dad told stories about our family history. His people did come on the Mayflower. He is also related to the famous Chief Massasoit. His family were among the early pioneers to cross the plains into Salt Lake valley.
On moms side we are related to many famous Indian Chiefs, adventurers and fur trappers:

Mom and my Aunt Linda:

Debera (my oldest sister)
Shes a school teacher:

These two boys belong to my nephew, Shawn.

That's Shawn on the left and his wife Lilly.
My brother, Brian is sitting between them.

Three of Deberas four grown kids; Devan, Ryan and Stefanie.
Debs husband, Dave, is on the end:

Me and Sarah.
The rest of my little family will join us in about a week:

Joe

Merry Christmas (almost)

Thanksgiving

This is my gang :

Everyone pitched in and made a really nice dinner.
Thanksgiving isn't until Thursday, but by then everyone will be gone.

On Monday ' The Guys' got the tree up and the lights on.
On Tuesday morning the kids did all of the decorating:

On Monday afternoon some of us went to the zoo.

Sue and her family leave in the morning (Wed.) to go back to Arizona. They will come back again shortly after Christmas.

Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Ready with the sugar:

Aaron helped his sister make dinner:

We only had 18 kids at the door this year.

We had a  late dinner.
Sarah made potato soup with bread bowls.
Aaron made fresh squeezed lemonade and caramel apples:

Alexander Basin

This is another Mill Creek Canyon trail.
It was 4.4 miles round trip with an elevation gain of 3,106 feet.

Joe coming over a ridge.
One of the few places where it  leveled out:

Looking back over the trail:

There was a spot on the trail that was so steep,  I actually had my hands on the ground!

We had lunch while sitting on this flat rock.

We didn't hang around up there too long.
Once back down in the trees it was more comfortable and we could take our sweaters off again.

We will squeeze in a few more hikes before winter. After that we switch to snowshoes. That's fun!
Now we've got some chores and house painting to do. Can't just play all day (that would be nice though).

Yellow Leaves

It was a busy Monday.
When Joe got home he asked if I wanted to go for a walk.


Sometimes we like to take this little side trail that goes along a pipe through the trees.
The bikes can't run us down here:

We were waist high in these big yellow leaves.

On our way home we stopped at Sub-Zero and replaced calories (Oh well. It was yummy).

Canning Tally

I made an inventory of my Fall canning. With today's little project, minus what we've already eaten, this is the Tally:
Applesauce; 21 Pints
Peaches; 14 Quarts
Pears; 2 Quarts
Salsa; 20 Pints

It's about all we need with just three people living at home now.

Pumpkin Patch

 Pumpkin patch in Riverton.


Stefani, Aaron, Sarah;

Picking out pumpkins:

Sarah with her dad:

I bought a corn stalk for Halloween decor.

After putting our pumpkins and the corn stalk into the trunk of the car, we walked through a short corn maze.

A Day Out With My Folks

I went on a drive with my mom and dad.
We went over Gaurdsman Pass, through Midway and then down Provo Canyon.
We picked up my Aunt Linda in Pleasant Grove. She wasn't expecting us at all.
Dad took us all to lunch at Los Hermanos in Lindon.



Dad and Mom:

Thanks for a great day!

Pink Applesauce

Here's my latest canning project. I made 12 pints of Pink Applesauce.
It's made by adding melted (Red Hot) cinnamon candies.
My first time trying this, the color was too dark, although still good in taste.
This time I got it about right:

Anniversary Tradition

Several  years ago I packed a picnic lunch and a white table cloth.
We climbed a hill in the Solitude area and marked our anniversary (We've been married 31 years).
Every year since, we head for the exact same table.


Up the hill:

Our table:

At least my hair is longer than last year:

We drove over Gaurdsman pass to Midway:

In Midway we got Ice cream cones and ate them in the park.
Then we drove to Park City. We found a new place to explore:
First we walked on a dirt road. We found a mine that was in operation in 1920.
Further up the road we found a trail that went above the mine:

This is the bridge we had to cross, to and from the road:

On the way home we stopped one more time. We finished our sandwiches at George Washington park, by Mountain Dell just off Parleys.
We used up the day with just a packed lunch and some gas in the car.