Fifty and goin' strong

Too bad about the only rhyme that goes with turning fifty is the one that starts with "nifty, nifty..." - I've never liked that one. When someone turns 50 you really want a catch phrase, but I'm apparently not clever enough to come up with one, so we'll just go with "John turned 50 this year!" Catchy - I know!

But, as he could really care less about a lot of fanfare, just let me say we're glad he's still going strong. He is a wonderful provider for our family; he presides in our home; and he protects us from the seen and unseen dangers in the world. As the song goes..."We're very glad that he's our dad, and we know he loves us too."

The weekend after his birthday, his brother, Kip, showed up in Walla Walla, so we climbed in the car for a quick visit before Kip heads off to Afghanistan for a year. (Safe journey, Uncle Kip.) I was happy for the photo op. The last chance I had for a picture of the two of them was about 6 years ago!So, I realize that they look basically the same 6 years later, but its nice to have two photos of the both of them. Who knows how long it will take to get the next one?

Spring Break FINALLY!

Spring Break has finally arrived. Along with that comes a week full of Adventure, Projects, Deep Cleaning, and Fishing.

We normally don't fish, but Trevor likes to, and with a beautiful Spring day like today we just had to go to the park and give it a try. We had good luck, and caught a total of 8 fish Trevor and I wanted to make it a competition to see who could catch the most fish and with the fish biting it seemed like it was going to be a great day for fishing. We had great luck and caught 4 fish in a half-hour. After a while the fish would bite but according to everyone I was paying too much attention to the little 4-yr. old that was catching fish right when he would cast his line. I admit that I was jealous of his skill or should I say his grandpa, that would actually put the worm on the hook for him.
Note: Worms move a lot when you put sharp objects in them.

Trevor Caught this beautiful Rainbow Trout

I caught this Rainbow Trout, and in the middle of the
picture it decides to splash me in the face with
the nasty slime.(see pic. below)

Trevor's 3rd or 4th fish.

The Little Boy that ended up catching the maximum
amount that you can get in a day- 6 Fish.
Note: Don't start conversations that will be Never
Ending!

In all the Fishing Trip was a lot of fun and now that I have my Fishing License, I think that I might have to start fishing more to understand that you have to pay attention to the bobber for when the fish are nibbling at it. I must say tho that I caught just as many as Trev that was concentrating on the bobber the whole time. Unfortunately Kristin was in Coeur d'Alene with her friend: rock climbing and swimming.

The Last Fish Caught that tied the Competition 4-4.
It was small enough that dad told me to swallow it.

Trevor and Dad watching the fish as it is released to hit
the rocks, not intentionally. Fish was unharmed.

The way that Trevor Fishes, and then the way that I Fish.:)

Notice how I have my pole straight in the air. Maybe that is why I
wasn't catching anything. Hmmm. :)


On Monday Kristin and Trevor (after much convincing and bribing) got me to help them build a bridge across the ditch where there used to be a stream in our backyard. We got as many 2 by 4's as we could find and found 2 long pieces of wood as we could find and started to hammer them into the 2 by 4's. After that plan didn't work, we switched to dad's power drill and got the job done quickly. After that we sanded it and made it smooth, and then told mom what we had done. She was impressed that we did it. I must say that the bridge is pretty sturdy and held me jumping on it. It also held all of the kids without it breaking.:) that's a plus.



The Finished Bridge.

The BEST Mom in the WORLD!

So I'm supposed to be doing a post on Spring Break right now, but I though that my mom deserves a post about her, since she does a post about everyone else, but herself. So sorry mom that I am doing this, but it's time.

Things that She is Wonderful At:
-Quilting
-Cooking
(I'm sure my friends only come for her cookies)
-Being Patient
(even when we push her to the edge)
-Serving in the Church
-Being a "Doctor"
-Being motivating for Personal Progress
-Loving Everyone
-Listening
-Teaching Home-making Skills
-Understanding High School, Jr.High School, & Elementary Homework
-Laughing at all of Trevor's Pick-Up Lines
-Just Being There
-Cheerleader(Tennis, Soccer)
-Lifeguard while at the River
-Getting the Whole Family Together
-Being the Perfect Height to give (& receive) Great Hugs
-Making Us pay the Consequences of Our Actions :(
-& Just Being The Most Understanding MOM!

Everyone Who knows Our Mom knows that this list doesn't give her the slightest amount of justice. Mom- I Love you more than you can know. I'm so happy Heavenly Father sent me to live with you and Dad. Thanks for all that you do for me, from bringing me food at tennis matches, or motivating me to "tackle" my closets as the project of the week. Thanks for just being you with your laugh that brings a smile to my face. Thanks for letting eat that whole cake in a week even tho you knew I would later regret. Love you TONS, more than the Mega Loads:).
LOVE, Amber

All-American Boy

This picture came up the other day when my computer was in Screen Savor mode. I didn't remember it, and seeing that big smile made me smile.
It was taken the last part of summer. It was a day of working on the rock wall. The day, his dad let him drive a Kubota tractor. That could account for the huge smile on his face. In fact, I'm pretty sure being able to drive the tractor was the source of more joy than he'd experienced in a long time!
From the top of his cap (BYU, of course) to the tip of his chin, this picture is just perfect of my boy and his 10 year old self.

What do I love about this picture?
- his freckles sprinkled across his nose and cheeks
- his ears which stick out just perfectly
- his teeth he needs to grow into
- his smile (see above)
- and, his eyes, which have just enough twinkle to make you wonder what he's planning next.

I'm really so happy that this picture came up that day. Its so easy to take a bunch of pictures with a digital camera - no film to develop, etc - that sometimes really great photos like this get uploaded to the computer, never to be looked at again.

We love you buddy.
Just a note - Trev picked BYU to go all the way in the NCAA tournament. After the win against Gonzaga, he's one step closer to winning the whole enchilada! Go Cougars!

Ten Pictures from Yellowstone National Park

Last month John and I went to West Yellowstone, Montana for a Vision Source "Meeting". You'll be glad to know that there was a little meeting time for the docs with the Vision Source top hombres and a few vendors, but the majority of the weekend was spent playing! Day 1 was spent on snowmobiles, and Day 2, after the "meeting", was spent in a Snow Coach seeing Yellowstone National Park.
Yellowstone is a beautiful place in the winter. As we drove through and saw the amazing natural wonders, I was so grateful to live on this beautiful earth.

Photo #1 - Here is an example of the snowmobile I rode on day 1. I ended up with a two person machine, which meant I shouldn't have been able to climb this really big hill, which I did climb because I didn't know I shouldn't have been able to do it! :-) Also, my machine didn't have "GUIDE" plastered across the windshield. We would have ended up in Canada if I had been in the lead.Photo #2 - Meet Bill, our Snow Coach guide. He was a great guide, has done it for a long time, and is very knowledgeable about all things Yellowstone. We did later find out, he was not going to take us to Norris, which was amazing, but involves a bit of a hike, and we think he probably doesn't like to do it in the snow. Luckily, Sherry, the other guide, thought Norris is about the coolest part, so she convinced him to meet her group there, and she lead us down the trail. So happy Bill was along, and so happy Sherry was along!

Photos 3, 4, and 5 are from Norris, the place we almost missed! Soooo glad Sherry took us there. You can see from these few pictures it is a most unusual place. The barren wasteland shot (#3) is to show where they filmed part of the first Star Trek TV show. She said now channels like Discovery, National Geographic, etc, are allowed to film there. I also thought it was amazing that the rest of the park has many feet of snow, but in this geothermic region, there isn't a flake on the ground in some areas. Photo #4 is ice that grows from the ground up. We can't remember the exact term for it, but it has something to do with "fingers". And #5 is where the steam from one of the hot springs comes up. The minerals in the steam color the ice blue. Hard to see in the picture, but take my word, it is pretty.




Picture 6 shows the herd of buffalo we had to drive through on our Snow Coach tour. They just moseyed around us and watched us go by, then they followed us until we left them in our 20 mph snow dust! We saw elk, swans, an eagle, coyote, ducks, deer, but mostly we saw buffalo. Apparently, because of the wolves, the moose population is almost non-existent, and the elk numbers are a fraction of what there were pre-wolf reintroduction. I got the distinct impression that the wolves are considered uninvited guests.



Picture 7 is one of several waterfalls we saw. The picture doesn't even begin to do it justice. Seeing it in person is truly awesome! And I mean that in the pre-everyone says awesome just because it is the trendy word of the moment way. Spectacular!



Pictures 8 and 9 are from the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone National Park. This is another case of non-justice due to photography! Again, it is truly beautiful and awe-inspiring. Picture 8 is taken from Artist's point. This is the most photographed spot in the park. Artists come to paint here and photographers snap many a picture from here. Picture 9 is at the same place, but I thought it would be good to throw one in of John and me to show we were really there! :-) I think it is the only one with either of us in it!



Picture #10 is a fellow we met on our way home. He was just standing in the middle of the road as we came upon him, and he stayed there the entire time we drove by. We practically stopped to take his picture. You can see the side mirror in the bottom corner of the picture. Obviously, no stranger to car traffic. A nice final image of our trip.

Happy Birthday Kristin!!!

We were a little short on teenagers in our home, so its a good thing Kristin had her birthday last month and turned 13. She has been a good teenager so far, so we'll keep her on the family role for the time being!!! :-)

Of course, we'll keep her around regardless, but it is nice she's nice to be around.

Her birthday consisted of a few presents that were either needing to be ordered, socks that didn't fit, and a calculator for school. Kind of a bummer to be frank. But she was excited about her birthday menu which was the following:
- Bulgogi
- Twice baked potatoes
- corn
- store bought crescent rolls (heaven help me!)
- jello
- ice cream cake


Hopefully the food made up for the crummy present haul.


And, in keeping with tradition, the sign on the house proclaimed to all that she is 13. She was pretty excited about that too! (Not).

We're glad to have Kristin in our family. Actually, not just glad, we're blessed!

Welcome to the Food Channel...

What? Is this becoming a food blog? You know, one full of wonderful recipes, step by step directions for said recipes, witty commentary and of course, pictures?

Well...not on your life. I just chose two photos that are pretty darn tasty looking. Although, I'm not sure there isn't witty commentary on every blog post. Its a little hard to be objective.


I've been working on really making a good homemade pizza over the last year or so. Not there yet, sometimes the crust isn't cooked, sometimes it sticks really bad to the pizza stone, sometimes it really tastes good, just doesn't look so good. But every once in a while, I make a pizza pie that really shines, and here is the proof. I honestly can't remember if the pizza even tasted good, but boy, it looks great. I just had to snap a picture.



And you say, what is on the cake? Is that really fondant? Well my friends, I'm happy to report it is. And, I'm even happier to report that the above cake is Amber's first attempt at decorating with this smooth, shiny frosting.

She decided she wanted to learn to make fondant for a YW project. I have to admit I wasn't completely on board. Fondant cakes look so cool, and even though the website she was looking at assured its reader's that fondant isn't hard, I was skeptical. So, on a quiet Saturday, she undertook the project, and the cake is her finished product.

And, in case you are wondering, it was a pretty painless project. Of course, you can't factor in the messy floor, sticky refrigerator handle, dirty bowls in the sink and powdered sugar all over the place. Those are just casualties of war when it comes to fondant. Especially since all of that can be cleaned up. :-)

All joking aside, I'm very proud of her for tackling this challenge and coming off the victor. I'm always in awe of my children when they do something that either I'm too chicken to try, or that I think is hard, or that I think someone their age isn't capable of pulling off. Amber sent me straight to AWE with her pretty polka dot cake. Simply lovely.