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!