It's beginning to look alot like Christmas... even in Vegas!

Merry Christmas! 

We just got back from a long weekend down in Las Vegas to visit with Roger's brother and his family.  It was lots of fun...we went to the Bellagio to look at the Christmas scene in the Conservatory... amazing!  Thought I would share a few pics with ya!

These ornaments are easily 15 feet tall !

What a sweet polar bear.... he was made with white carnations!This is a huge postcard made from flowers and pinecones and evergreen branches... it was really cool !

Well, I need to hit the sack..gotta get up early to help Mom decorate some more!  Sweet dreams!

Kitty kitty Chickenshit AKA "Boone"

I would like to introduce you to the world's most timid and shy cat. He was a stray when my parents found him in California before they moved back home to Utah. He was very skinny and scraggly looking when they found him and took him under their wings... his hair was coing out in clumps and he did not look well at all.  After packing up the house and doing the final clean up before Mom and Dad moved to Utah, Dad was able to get Boone into a carrier and Dad transported him in his truck with Boone yeowling the entire way!  Here  is a picture of my parents' quirky cat, Boone.  I have not met a cat quite like him... ever!  He lives in the garage and doesn't go outside much unless Dad is out in the garden.  When he is out with Dad, he is much braver than usual. Strangely, this summer, he has kind of come out of his shell, so to speak, and at one point, actually came out onto the back deck when my dog, Tinker was out there as well.  As timid as Boone is, he walked right past Tink and laid down on the deck not 3 or 4 feet from where Tinker was laying... he was watching Tinker like a hawk, but as long as he didn't move, Boone was fairly comfortable to hang outside with us all !

Boone is quite good at giving dirty looks, too, as this picture shows!

He does love to get his treats and get a good head rub daily too!

Halloween deco

One thing I have really enjoyed since being back home in Utah is all the fun ways the folks here decorate for the holidays... not that people in Georgia don't do a fantastic job too, but I have seen some really cute ideas in yards and front porches here!
Simple, but very cute, find branches and put blackbirds on them!

I have seen "crashing witches" for years done all different ways, but they always seem to be the same for some reason. Today, I came across this witch in Mona (Mom's town), and just loved her cape!






This bear is quite the festive fellow... apparently, he dresses up for nearly every holiday ( so I've heard ). In July, he looks alot like Uncle Sam... :O)






Last, but not least, I found this idea at a house in Nephi... I am trying to convince Mom that she needs one of these bikes in her yard, too! I think these people did an amazing job with this yard decoration!

I have GOT to get into a house... I need to decorate for holidays too!

Just a quick little post to show what fall is looking like here in Utah. Mom, Roger and I took a ride on the Nebo Loop last weekend to see the leaves and we were very impressed with the show! I couldn't decide which picture I liked best, so I just posted a bunch... you decide what pic you like best!

You have to beware of the wild cows on the mountain... nah, not really.. but they aren't sure about having their picture taken!
Tinker is enjoying the sun... this is the best I could do with him... he usually gets up, walks over to me and lays down right next to me. What a baby!




Many of my friends that know me well also know I like to be the one behind the camera... I actually stepped in front this time and allowed Roger to take my picture for a change...

This is about the prettiest spot to take a family photo... it is really nice!




Hope you enjoyed these as much as we did finding them!

I'll try not to let so much time pass again before I blog! BYE!

So... I am staying with Mom taking care of her needs since her knee replacement surgery has incapacitated her for a bit. Dad is in Nebraska haulin' combine heads, so I am trying to keep up his HUGE garden. After a day of planting, watering, raking, weeding and "harvesting", Mom and I decided we had better do something with the strawberries before they went bad.
So.....



Here are the beautiful sweeties I picked so lovingly...




And here we have berries cleaned and prepped...






Now the fun part ! Squishing, mashing, mushy pulpy messy --however you describe it!








Add a little lemon juice, sugar and pectin... warm it up so the sugar dissolves well




Put it in cute little jam jars and let it cool before sticking it into the freezer....


And don't forget to keep a jar out to try on some toast in the morning!


What a great feeling knowing it was home grown and hand-made!

Whenever I feel blue....

The days are beginning to consistantly feel warm and the sun peeks out from fluffy white clouds on a daily basis now. I really think that Spring has made it! The lilacs are blooming now and their scent is probably one of my best memories of living on our farm in Idaho. Of course, they had to compete with the dairies around us and the smell of silage coming from up the road in the early morning hours, but those smells were ignored when those lilac bushes where in full bloom!


The other day, I took some pics of my little nephew Johnny. My camera always seems to fill up with images of him... I just don't understand why!
> wink, wink !< The day was perfect for it, and I think I got some good ones. The wonderful thing about digital cameras is I can just delete the ones that he would hold still for. He just loves it when I try to get on the ground and take candids of him... he always comes straight toward me, usually reaching out for the lens, and yes, he has caught it a couple of times!



He is 22 months now and has almost made it to 19 lbs. lol. I am always telling him that it is my goal to get him to 20 lbs. by his 2nd birthday.





He really does make my life brighter. Anytime I feel blue, I just pick him up and I feel sunny again. I don't guess anyone has ever felt that way when holding a young one ?


His genetics appointment is at the end of the month... please keep Johnny, Katie and JD in your hearts and prayers, every little bit helps!

Tulip Days

It's tulip days at Thanksgiving Point, and I spent an afternoon wandering through the gardens to see most of the 250,000 tulips that are planted and on display now until May. I went alone to scope out some possible areas that we could take photos of Jd, Katie, and Johnny. I have to say, there are so many photo-op places here that we will need to spend hours here! (Okay by me)



In this shot, I tried to show both Winter and Spring with Mount Timpanogos in the background and the tulips in the foreground. I wish the leaves on the tree were out, but hey, you take what you can get!



This pic I couldn't resist taking. These parents were trying to catch that "perfect shot" of their beautiful little girl... she seemed more interested in playing with the grass. I finally got around the bend and they were attempting a family shot with Dad trying to hold the camera out and blindly shooting. I offered to take one and got a giggle out of the wee one. I thought it was a perfect shot of a beautiful family. There is just something about flowers that brings out the happiness in me!






Okay, just a few more.... hope you have Spring fever too after seeing these wonderful flowers!




Now I can't wait to see what the Summer blooms have to offer!

Stop and smell the flowers !

Springtime is finally here!

Wow! It has been a wild ride here in the Mountain West ! Warm for a day or two, then just as I think it is going to stay that way, I wake up to SNOW on the ground! Then it melts, and the warm temperatures come back for a few more days then boom.... more snow !



Last week, I took this shot the morning after we hit nearly 70 degrees the day before. It melted by 10 a.m., but still.... ! I want warm weather! (Did I yell that loud enough for Mother nature to hear?)






I'm just glad that we are not having "snow" forcasts again this week... I think Spring has finally come to Northern Utah! Yay!

Twi- hards !

My phone rang last nite at 9 'o clock. It was my dear friend, Rachel. She was calling to tell me that she must be crazy. It was 11 PM in Atlanta and she was at the Walmart near her house with about a thousand of her closest friends waiting in line for the Twilight movie release. The line was out the door, and she was convinced that she had lost her mind. I didn't blame her, because in just about 2 hours would be doing the exact same thing!
We chatted for a minute, then she said her goodbyes, and my heart was pumpin' ! I was so excited to go get in line myself... I was so worried that if I didn't get in line, I would surely miss my chance at getting THE movie I have been waiting for since I first picked up the book and read the quote by Bella in the first chapter
"I had never given much thought to how I would die. but dying in the place of someone I love seems like a pretty good way to go." I was hooked. Plain and simple.
I am not a reader... I struggle with a voice in my head that reminds me that I should be doing other things when I sit down to read. It would say "you know, you really should be doing dishes, you really should be taking the dogs for a walk, you really should be folding laundry.... " the list goes on and on. But when I picked up this crazy book that my niece Kaylee asked if I had heard of, I couldn't put it down. There were nights that my husband would literally take the book out of my hands, turn off the lights and say "It is time for bed...Edward will still be there in the morning!"

So, I got myself ready to go last nite to Walmart. My brother, JD was teasing me and saying that I would be waiting in line and then Walmart would probably still have DVDs available the next day, and I probably wouldn't have to wait in line! I didn't care. I was going regardless! I asked Katie if she cared to join me, as she was just sitting at the computer smiling at me and my temporary insanity. Amazingly, she agreed! So off we went up the street to Walmart. We arrived about 11:10. We found the beginning of the line, and began following it toward the garden center... seeing all sorts of Twi- hards in this never-ending line.
Finally, at the garden center far wall, we found our place... the end of the line.
No matter.... it didn't last long. Before too long, we found ourselves ahead of many many more "crazies" that were willing to stand in line for a DVD that would still be available in the morning. I was surprised to find so many men in line... I didn't see that in the theater in each of the three times I went to see the movie. Maybe there are many more "closet" Twilight men than we think!

At 11:50, they made the announcement that they were releasing the movie, but that we wouldn't be able to pay for them until 12:01 AM. Statements like, "Please be courteous" and "Get your movie and then move out of the way so others may be able to get theirs" were repeated over and over. Yay! The line began to move. And so we were on our way ... butterflies cannot even describe the feeling I got when I knew I soon would be holding Edward in my own arms! Well, not Edward, but as close I could get!
Got him! Ah, sweet! Then we headed for ANOTHER line! 10 more minutes, and we were out the door on the way home. Quick! Open it! Put it in! Ok Ok... got it. ...and the music begins... > sigh < Why was I not born Isabella?


Then today I found out that Rachel LaFevre (Victoria, the bad vamp) was making appearances around Salt Lake last nite... one of which was just down the street from where we live ! Now Roger is majorly bummed! lol !

A walk after a snowfall.

Well, the weather here in Utah is very interesting. One day it will be warm and sunny and a couple of days later you wake up to snow on the ground. I'm not talking just a little dusting, I am talking 3 to 4 inches! Crazy !
Last week, we hit a record high of 69 degrees. The next day, it was so windy that the weatherman said there were hurricaine-force winds recorded on some of the peaks in the mountains.
Roger and I took the dogs out on that windy day...it was starting to get cold, but we needed to get some of the energy these two have out! When I took this pic, a gust of wind blew Tink's ears straight up and I thought it was such a cute shot!



While they were in the mood, I got all the boys together for a photo... that wind kept the dogs ears from laying down... they sure look alert, don't they?

Well, we woke up that next morning with snow on the ground and I made Roger get up and go to Wheeler Farm. He hadn't been there before, but I had taken pics of JD, Katie and little Johnny a year ago at the farm, and thought Roger would love it as much as I do. It was cold, but the dogs really don't care about that the way I do.

The geese were flying overhead as we started on the trail and there wasn't much time, but I got them before they disappeared behind all the trees.

Roger with the Wasatch mountains in the background.




The trail we were walking...



I liked the reflection of the geese on the water.

I guess I have to put in one of me (even though I hate being in front of the camera!)


...and then he actually threw it at me! The brat!


The snow was melting off the trees by the time we finished our walk, so we headed home and the dogs crashed. Tink is 11 now, and he is such a busy guy... he doesn't stop the whole time he is out on the leash, but when we get him home, boy !


Bandit crashes, too. He always takes his place in the luvsac... glad we got that for Roger and I ! LOL.... but how can you push him out when he looks so comfortable?