Apple Hill November 2009

Jeff and I made our way up to Sacramento for our annual Apple Hill family reunion. The weather was great and the company was even better! It hasn't been to long since we've seen the family last but it was still long enough in between visits. its hard to be away from everyone for so long. I wish everyone was close so nobody would be out of touch......I can dream cant I!
The day started at High Hill, the most popular spot in Apple Hill. Had some awesome apple doughnuts and Madison entertained us when riding the pony. She wasn't afraid at all. She was waving and smiling like she was in a horse show! : )
Then off to a few more spots before we stopped for our family picnic. Everyone brought something different to contribute to the lunch and OH MY!! There was some good eats!!!!
Had some fun watching Gramma Pat try to organize everyone for family pictures and then the kids took a train ride around the Lake at another favorite spot on the hill... All in all it was another great year at Apple Hill and already can't wait for the next one!!

Camping Trip!!!!

We just got back yesterday from a fun filled weekend. Jeff and I headed to Knoll Lake just 1 1/2 hours outside of Winslow to go camping. We went with Ed and Mel Gutierrez, Eric and Cece, Paul and Rachel and Ava and the Powell Family (Rod, Lisa and their daughters Katie and Laura and Granddaughter McKenzie) We had such a great time! It was fun and relaxing. We took out the quads and adventured around the area, did some shooting, played games and ate constantly!! We got to take the canoe out to the lake on Sunday and Jeff, myself and Jeremy paddled as far as we could, It was gorgeous!! Its so nice having something this beautiful this close to home! See...So if you think Winslow is only ugly....Think again!! There is more beauty than you would imagine! and its very close by!!! We had fun and we are already planning our trip for next year!

Lake Powell

There has been an annual for some of the friends in the Winslow congregation that started decades ago. Going to Lake Powell is what I did virtually every summer of my childhood. We would go for about a week every time and even that didn't seem like enough time there. There are so many things to explore! My family had a boat, it was fast and we had SO much fun with it, I wish we still had it! But about 10-15 years ago everyone transitioned from camping on the beaches to using a house boat. More civilized I guess, I personally prefer a good old fashion tent but I have to admit it is a lot of fun!! Jeff and I were excited to get an invitation to go with the group this year. It had been FAR to long since I had been on the Lake and this would be Jeff's first time to Lake Powell and first time on a house boat so needless to say he was excited too! We had such a great time! Played volleyball till our arms were bruised and went swimming every chance we could. They have a slide on the back of the boat so that was fun to so what trick you could pull flying off that thing! hehehe.. We had great dinners every night courtesy of each guest (we each had a night to cook for everyone) Nolan made outstanding home made pizza, Emma made her Arizona famous Mexican dishes, We brought lasagna and there were so many other good things to pig out on. We also got to adventure out to different coves and beaches. There are such beautiful places there and it seems never ending. So with all that, a Hawaiian theme night, some tubing, wake boarding and a lot of sun Jeff's first Powell trip was a hit and we hope to go again next year!

A Special Interview

So last weekend we all went to Phoenix to see my sister Chrissie and her husband Amiri. They were being interviewed at their assembly because of the efforts they have made to regular pioneer together as a couple. I'm so proud of them and it makes me so happy to see them so happy together and making such good choices. It really has been a good influence on myself and I know they have been and continue to be such fine examples to others. I love my sister very much and I'm happy I get to be closer to her now.

My marketplace

Well......It's been a while, yes I know. But I've been very preoccupied with the outdoors! I've been having so much fun planting my herb garden that I've lost track of everything else. The weather has warmed up so nice and its been perfect for planting. So far I have planted a large variety of flowers including poppies, daisies and sunflowers. I've also been transplanting trees and then just the general care of the lawn has been a huge job in itself. But my newest project has been my herb garden. We wanted all fresh herbs so we have basil, mint, garlic chives, cilantro, dill and then we have fresh veggies to, cherry tomatoes and 5 different types of chilies! Can't have enough of those right!!! Well I've been able to use the fresh ingredients in salads and in dinner preparation and let me tell you! It makes all the difference! I love going out with my scissors and deciding what I want to clip that will make my food even better!! I encourage everyone to do it because not only for the culinary value of it but it really is an awesome stress reliever and you get a nice tan too!

Why are pretty places always so high!

There is a place between Lake Powell and Grand Canyon called Glen Canyon and in it are some amazing places!! So much color, so beautiful! But.....SO HIGH!!! I almost had a heart attack taking these pictures because a few steps away from where I was standing was a shear drop to certain death! AAHHH!! My heart pounds just thinking about it! This place is called Horseshoe Bend. I'm not sure how high above the river we are but I would guess almost 900-1,000 feet high. Next time I visit this place I hope to be looking UP instead of down!

Special assembly day (weekend)

Last weekend we had our Special Assembly "Day" but as it turns out we had to make a long weekend of it due to the fact it was 3 hours away! It was held in Page, AZ which is also the location of a great vacation/boating spot called Lake Powell. I spent my summers as a child here at Lake Powell but never really spent any time in the town seeing as I was there to be on the lake and all. But Jeff and I spent quite a bit of time in town this trip. Jeff and I had the privilege of Aux. pioneering for the month of April and it happen that we needed that weekend to make our time, (see we would be driving up Fri. night and setting up so we would have missed that day too) So our solution was to drive up Thur. night and stay with some friends then head out on a long service day Friday. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and we got to swing by the lake, of course, to show Jeff since he had never been there before. We stopped and had a little brake lake side. That's nice huh?! :) And then met up with everyone else at the Hotel later that evening. It turned out to be fun service day! Then off to the assembly on Sat. I saw so many old faces there. It was kinda weird being back to one of my old assemblies. There are so may new faces but I sure had fun finding some old friends again!

Meet the new member of the family

Over the weekend we adopted a little puppy from the animal shelter. This little guy was the one we both fell in love with, especially Jeff. He's got a new little best friend to play with. Jeff named him Jeremy. He's a little rambunctious at times but over all a real sweetheart and I can already tell he will take to some house training pretty well.

He's a stinky little fellow, sometimes its like a punch in the face!!! But he's not used to the change in food yet. We've been fortunate enough not to have to clean up any poopies yet, he's pretty good about letting us know when he has to go. We have not had him for very long but it already feels like he is a part of the family, like he always had been and the best part is him and my parents dog Rusty get along great, they are becoming best friends!
Puppies.......how can you resist!!!

Oak Creek Brewery

Jeff and I were able to stay in Sedona and we decided to eat at a brewery located around the resort. The Oak Creek Brewery is on the upper level of the shopping square and the view is awesome! Right outside the window was a view of the Red Rocks. Even better was the view on our table when our food came. They have great gourmet style pizzas and we could decide on beer so we ordered what called "The 7 dwarfs". All 7 of their own beers brewed right there at oak creek. Its brought to you on a wooden plank numbered 1-7 so you can read and track which beers you like the best. A perfect match to the pizza we ordered!!!

You know me, I love food and especial something that makes it a little special or different.

A spiritual shot in the arm

This last week we had our Circuit Overseer visit. This was their last visit to the Winslow congregation so Jeff and I got here just in time to see them. They are such a Wonderful couple! Rick and Dawnia Quartermain...They are a young couple and this is their first circuit. Rick is a wonderful speaker, his talks really reach your heart and more often then not leave the audience with tears in their eyes because the way a delivers his talks are so touching. We also got to spend some time with them outside of meetings and service. They were staying at a friends house and we went over to have lunch and played quite an entertaining game of Cranium. Its always nice to see a C.O. couple in their comfort zone because you feel that much closer to them. Jeff and I were able to sit in on the first half of the pioneer meeting because we are auxiliary pioneering together for the month of April. It has started out to great because the winds have been so bad (up to 72 mph) that we had to cancel our service plans because the roads were closed and well....it was WINDY!!!! But the pioneer meeting was very encouraging, I wish I could have stayed for the whole thing...Maybe I will be able to in the future. Weeks like these are always much needed and it was very encouraging for us!

An old friend..

When I was still a young teenager we met the Drayton's. A family in Sedona Arizona. With Rachel, Chrissie, Tasha and myself we were always up to no good : ) But we always had fun! And we remain friends even now. Tasha has long been gone away from Arizona same as I have but a couple weekends ago she came out to visit her parents and all of us here. So we went...Yet Again...to Sedona. Not like it's something I mind doing, I wish we lived there! We had a long night catching up and making margaritas. We had a great time. then Sunday Tasha's brother-in-law (also visiting from Michigan) gave the talk, and WOW!! It was one of the most captivating talks I've heard in a log time. Such a very good speaker! Afterwards we all jumped into our hiking clothes and set off to find what was called the "Hidden caves". We traversed rocky terrain and boulders and crossed a creek on a wobbly tree log and not much to anyone's surprise, Tasha's mom Karen fell right in. What made it funny is that everyone had already crossed and immediately got the camera's out because they NEW she wasn't going to make it out of this dry! Once we got to the caves, which were between 30 and 50 feet in the air, we started our climb into the caves. They were a window to some of the most beautiful view's I've seen in Sedona. Truly breathtaking, and I don't say that only because I am mortified of heights and had trouble standing near the edge! But really...What a sight! I wish Tasha could come more often but we didn't waste the time we had!

A Gourmet Adventure! mmmm.....

Jeff and I headed down to the city to visit Chrissie, Amiri and Tee. They had some work for Jeff to do so we figured while we were there we would go to some of their favorite places to eat. My sister has good taste, she is a chef and I've never eaten anything that she suggested without loving it! So their gift for our anniversary was to take us to a hot spot in downtown Phoenix called "Cibo" (pronounced "chee-bow") and it was nothing short of FANTASTIC!!! Downtown has converted some of their charming little houses into restaurants or bars, this makes them a little hard to find but its an eating experience like no other. We sat out on the patio where there were lights strewn around trees, water fountains and candle lit tables. We shared an appetizer consisting of kalamata olives, mozzarella, large basil leaves, prosciutto, roasted peppers, tomatoes, marinated cucumber and focaccia bread to load your topping onto. Then for dinner we enjoyed an amazing prosciutto, mozzarella and basil pizza with a bottle of Syrah........Oh I'm not done yet!!!! Then it was time for dessert! We had chocolate filled crapes with vanilla ice cream and a sauce drizzled over the top...I don't know what the sauce was but it was so good!

Then we headed off to yet another cafe!! Like we didn't eat enough already we stopped at a little cafe that sold some awesome Gelato. The owner was a odd little fellow but nice, it was a very friendly place and the gelato was amazing, I had the tiramisu gelato, Chrissie had the Blood orange sorbet which was also REALLY good!!

OK...Next stop....Different night!!! I'm not that bad!! : ) Chrissie and Amiri took us to this Vietnamese restaurant they love "Da Vang". It has been awarded one of the Best restaurants in Phoenix and the place was packed with Vietnamese people so you know it had to be to their standards. It was both interesting and delicious! From build it yourself wraps with rice paper wrapping, pork, sprouts, peppers and mint with a dipping sauce to a seafood soup that had shrimp, squid, pork, fish meatballs and a special Vietnamese clear noodle it was an adventure to my pallet, I have to admit though that the fish meatball scared me a little...but I now can say I tried it!

Our Last stop...."Pane Bianco" A little Bistro we went to after service. I wish I could go there every day! Pronounce (pan-a bee-on-co) It is a sister restaurant to the World renowned "Pizzeria Bianco" where if your looking to make a reservation don't expect to get anything for at least a month. Even Jerry Seinfeld has commented on how great this pizzeria is. So...since we didn't have a month we settled to have a small taste of what we could expect by eating at Pane Bianco and It was fantastic! Wood-fired focaccia crust topped with mozzarella, basil and tomatoes, it was mouth watering and we washed it down with a vintage labeled Ginger Ale........I wish I had a bigger stomach! But if I'm not careful I just might get my wish! :) I can definitely say that we explored a wide variety of flavor and with great company and atmosphere its something I wish we could do EVERY weekend! So till next time I'll be exercising,dieting and saving money for our next binge!

SURPRISE!!!!!!!

So Saturday after service Jeff and I got home, I'm still all dressed up...I had to use the ladies room so I figured I didn't need to pull my nylons all the way up since I was just going to go to my room and take them off again.....Why am I telling you all this you ask?? Well Much to my surprise when we opened our bedroom door Jeff's family was hiding in there!!!! They made a surprise visit and my first thought was.."WOW, I have my pantyhose hanging half way down my legs!" But then that feeling was overwhelmed with feelings of joy as little Maddy ran to give me a hug. It had been way to long since one of those! It was soooo nice of the family to surprise us like that!

We had 2 days with them so we did as much as we could. This was my brother-in-law Patrick's first trip to Arizona so I wanted it to be a good first impression. We went to see the "little painted desert", explored a little of the reservation to show him our service territory and went out to Clear Creek where I spent my summers as a kid. We all had a fun time. It was great to have such an unexpected fun weekend!

Before the family had to leave we headed to Flagstaff and went to Cracker Barrel for brunch and OH MY!!!! I LOVE the breakfast there! Usually I would just order lunch seeing as it was around 11:00 but their breakfast is way to good to pass up. After breakfast we looked around the gift shop and Maddy found the perfect lolly pop. She was in search of one piece of candy that Judie said she could have so when I showed her the White flower lolly pop with a yellow center, that was it!!! Who would pass it up?! Its the size of 3 candies!!!

(Maddy playing "Peek-a-boo")

It finally came time to part ways..That's always a hard thing to do but it made it a little easier being the fact we weren't expecting them so even though they had to leave it was an unanticipated treat so we were just grateful that we got to see them, even just for a little bit. What a great weekend!!!