Utah's burning

So, you may have noticed Utah is on fire. One of the newest fires hits closer to home- figuratively, not literally. It is burning in central Utah in Nephi canyon between Tim's sister in Nephi and Tim's parents in Moroni. More directly, it is burning right where Tim's aunt and uncle have a private campground, Hop Creek Hideaway. We are actually supposed to be camping there in two weeks for a family reunion. It is just east of the KOA that burned to the ground- just around the next bend in the road.

ksl.com has some amazing pictures of the fire. Pictures 18 & 19 are at the entrance to Hop Creek Hideaway. Check it out.

Please be careful with your fireworks this week!

Canning

My neighbor brought us two large buckets full of apples from her tree, so we decided to try our hand at canning. My friend, Lisa, has access to a machine that makes applesauce, so we decided to try it. (You put boiled apples in the top, turn the crank and applesauce comes out one end and all the seeds, skin, etc come out the other!)

It was fun! Tim set up his propane camp stove on the deck, so we did all the cooking outside, which kept the house a bit cooler. When it was all over we had 21 pints of apple sauce, 5 quarts of apple slices, and one random quart of grapes- for experimentation purposes.

Thanks to all who helped, lent equipment, gave advice, or cheered us on. we are trying to learn how to better produce and store our own food. This was a good way to learn. For future reference, boil different types of apples separately for even cooking. Don't put the quart jars in the wire rack. Get some bigger bowls.

Family fishing outing

To escape the sweltering afternoon heat, we went on an adventure up American Fork Canyon. We have fished at a little lake called Tibble Fork in the past, but it was very crowded, so we decided to venture up the dirt road a few miles to Silver Lake Flat.
This is looking down the canyon to Tibble Fork Reservoir. The mountain in the top right of the pic is Mount Timpanogos.

Tim and Jenna practice casting. Jenna got a real pole for her birthday and she can cast as far as Daddy! She LOVES fishing. We only caught one fish, but it was on one of the first casts, so it teased us enough to stay and keep trying for more!
The sun setting over Sliver Lake Flats Reservoir.Tim took this picture the week before from Tibble Fork. It is Mount Timp with smoke in the background from the Milford Flats wildfire in Central Utah.

How do you celebrate?

I am curious about what other people do on the 4th of July. We usually go to Moroni for all of their festivities.

This year it started with a bang- or in this case 10 bangs from a cannon- at 6:oo am followed immediately by Danny Dyches driving around playing country music on the loud speaker of his truck and inviting everyone out to the Fireman's breakfast at 7:00. We've never quite made it to the breakfast! The bangs and small arms fire continued for quite a while. This year there was the added noise from a helicopter since they were offering helicopter rides at the park. It would have been really cool to see Sanpete from the air, but we decided not to go.

We headed down to Main Street by 9:30 for the ping pong ball drop. An airplane flies over the parade route and drops ping pong balls that you can redeem for prizes at the carnival later in the day. The girls thought that was pretty cool!

We enjoyed the parade and tried to find a small piece of shade for Lydia. The small town parade is different from what I grew up watching, but it is very fun. The girls love the candy and Otter Pops that they throw out to the crowd! They stand on the edge of the street and wave right back at all the princesses. There were floats with royalty from the surrounding towns as well as the Ute Stampede and other "cowgirl princesses" (as Jenna calls them) on horse back. We always have nervous girls when the ambulances and fire trucks blast their horns and sirens, but overall the parade is fun. It was also fun because many of Tim's cousins were there with their kids, too. The family is kind of spread out so we don't see each other that often. Our kids are all close in age, so that makes it fun for everyone!

After the parade, we usually go the carnival. It was TOO HOT this year! We had a BBQ at Norma Lou's and the kids played on the slip and slide and in the pool. It is always fun for the kids when all of the cousins are there together! Each of the four families has a two year old, so they ran around in a pack doing all sorts of fun stuff. They are going to be trouble as they get older! Two boys and two girls terrorizing the older kids!

We decided not to stay for the fireworks (which are always excellent, by the way) so we bought a variety pack of fireworks to do in the driveway with Sam and Janika, since the others had left. It was a fun day packed with lots of action. The drive home was fun, since we could see firework shows all along the path home. It looks like the people at Stadium of Fire got their money's worth! As soon as we entered Utah county we could see the fireworks there and they kept going until we were past Provo. Impressive!

Let us know what you did on the 4th. I love to hear other traditions!

Some things are just better left unsaid.

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A trip to Connecticut

Here are some pictures from our trip to CT. Lydia and I went to stay with my sister and her family after she had her appendix out last Monday. Thanks to everyone who helped my family so I could leave for a few days. I knew they were in good hands so I could focus on helping Hill. Thanks, especially, to Tim for all his hard work and sacrifice! He's the BEST!

I know my link to Hill's blog didn't work, so here are the same pictures. (I still don't know exactly what I'm doing as I blog.)

Lydia was a perfect angel as we traveled. She never cried on the planes and slept most of the way there. Every one around us on the planes and in the airports was very helpful and accommodating! I even got lucky on a few legs of the journey and had an empty seat next to me. I was incredibly blessed to be able to get there on a direct flight flying stand-by on a plane that should have been over-full. Thanks, April for making it work!

On our way from Newark to Norwalk, we stopped in Stamford to pick up the girls from my friends' house. It was fun to see Jake and Allison for a few minutes. Even more surprising was seeing Jake's mom and sister who live in Salt Lake! Small world!

Lydia slept in Emma's swing each night and LOVED it!

She would sleep for 9 or 10 hours a night. She's always been a pretty good sleeper, but nothing like that!

Here she is enjoying that swing! As a side note, she had a little growth spurt and grew out of those pjs while we were there.

I gained a new appreciation for parents of twins! Lydia and Emma are exactly two months apart, so it was almost like having twins. It keeps you hopping! Lost of diapers and bottles!

It was so much fun to get to see Abi on her turf. What a riot! She is such a sweetheart! You can see Hill & Steve's great influence on here- and a bit of a wild streak, too. Who know where that came from! Ü

It is probably a very good thing that she and Aubrey live on opposite sides of the continent right now! She was so helpful all week and made it very easy to help Hill.

Some one was always crying when we tried to take pictures.







When Hill was feeling a little better towards the end of the week, we ventured out to Shady Beach in Norwalk. Lydia even went for a swim in the Atlantic Ocean. (OK, so I just dipped her toes in Long Island sound, but same thing)

We gathered sea shells for Jenna and Aubrey and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings. I couldn't get over how green everything is! Utah is in such a terrible drought that I felt like I was in the Garden of Eden there! Looking out over the Sound at the islands covered with lush greenery- not just sand- and the boats and little light house, it was gorgeous! They are lucky to have this time in their life to have a new experience. What a contrast to Utah!

Since Hill was on pain killers, I got to drive their new 4Runner, too. Fun car! On Saturday Hill, Abi, Lydia and I went to White Plains for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. I was amazed to come around a bend in the freeway where you see nothing but thick trees lining the road and suddenly we were in a big city with huge office buildings. I never saw them coming. (I am easily impressed.)


In a nut shell, there's my trip to Connecticut. I am so glad I was able to go and I couldn't have done it without the help of family and friends on my end, so thanks again! I miss Hill so much, so I was ecstatic to spend a week with her there. They were great hosts and Steve is taking great care of his little family. I was glad to see first-hand what a wonderful ward they live in, too. People called everyday to see how Hill was feeling and asking how they could help. I know they would have survived without me, but I am so glad I got to go!