MONTICELLO PART 2

The next morning was Saturday & the big day in Monticello. Apparently, they have a big celebration every year for the 24th. Only they waited to celebrate it on Saturday the 25th. The day began with a pancake breakfast at the Lion's House in town. (Which we missed - it was so early & we had a HORRIBLE night's sleep.) After that was the parade. Always a highlight for kids & our kids were so happy that we didn't miss it sleeping in. Lucky for us, it didn't start until 11 am. Almost every "float" (it was a small town parade - mostly people riding quads, etc.) threw out candy to the crowd. Luckily, my girls wanted to wear their hats, so they were able to gather candy in their hat. They even had the fire truck spraying & cooling off the crowd. They had a line of tractors at one point & I had to take a picture of every one. I knew I had to get pictures of them for my nephew Carter who loves tractors. This one was the coolest...

And what small town parade is complete without the unicycle? (Although, these are pretty crazy!)

After the parade we walked around their little festival for awhile. They had food booths & a few vendors. It was crazy crowded - I guess people come from neighboring towns for the festivities. We saw the booth for fried candy bars - have you seen those? Basically anything can be fried. Even a dill pickle. Weird, eh? I wanted to try a fried Ding Dong. Ha! We told ourselves we were going to try it after we ate something, but then we forgot. We were so mad later when we remembered. That's just not something you see everyday.

We then headed to our meeting spot again & were able to hang out a little with my cousin Terry & his wife Brooke. Along with their kids. Their daughter was so stinkin' cute! I wanted to eat her up. She was not shy - which fit right along with my girls! Check out this cutie...
This family was the main reason I wanted to come to the reunion. Sure, I was excited to meet everyone, but it's been years since I've seen my cousin Terry Jr. My Uncle Terry Sr. came as well, but unfortunately my Aunt Vi & other cousin Tim couldn't make it. They live across the country, so it makes getting together difficult. Here's a pic of me & my cousin..

I spent a lot of this afternoon helping my Granddad scan pictures. My Uncle Terry brought some albums with pictures I've never seen. My Granddad was nice enough to sit & scan things for me so I could have copies of them. While I did this my sweet Aunt Vee played with my girls. She made bracelets & necklaces with them & they even had a little drawing lesson with her in the backyard...

At this point everyone was taking off & doing their own thing. We went for a little drive up the mountain & found a look out point that overlooked Dead Horse Point in the Canyonlands. Erik having fun with the camera...

The look out point had these cool poles with plaques saying "Dead Horse Point", etc. When you looked through the metal pipe then you were looking directly at the spot that the plaque said. There were 4 or 5 of them & I thought that was a cool idea. Again, something I had never seen before. (I had a lot of firsts this trip!) Kylie looking through one of the pipes...

I'm sad that I don't have any group shots. Somehow I ended up being the designated photographer for geneoly purposes, so I have a lot of headshots of everyone, but no fun group shots. Other than this said tale - it was a fun trip! According to my Granddad this may be the first of many reunions. I hope so!

MONTICELLO PART 1

For the 24th of July we headed up to Monticello, UT for a Carroll family reunion. My Granddad Carroll & his brother quickly pulled together a reunion & I was excited to go! This is my Mom's dad & a side of my family that I don't know very well. It was fun to meet people & to see some I haven't seen in years. We were one of the first to arrive into town. My Granddad pulled into town close after us, so we decided to meet at the temple & we would follow him to where we needed to go. It was fun to walk around & it was the first time I had been to a small temple. It was small, but really pretty!

The first night we just hung out & had dinner up the mountain. My Great Uncle Bob's kids all had rv's & were camping on the mountain. We headed up to them for dinner.

The next morning we headed to Uncle Bob's & Aunt Vee's house for breakfast. (This was our general meeting spot.) After breakfast was the "geneology time". While I uploaded pictures, etc. for my Granddad the girls had fun playing outside. My Great Aunt Vee has an awesome garden (at her neighbors house because her beautiful flower garden backyard ran out of space) & she let the girls go pick cherries, apricots & apples. As sad as it is - I was excited about the cherry trees. I'm not a fan of cherries, but I've never seen a cherry tree before. Ah - the little things in life!

After breakfast & geneology time was over we headed up with my Mom & Alan to the Arches in Moab. Yet again, another thing that I've never seen. I have to say - it was cool, but for some reason I was thinking things were bigger & closer. We didn't do any hiking, so I guess that probably made the difference. Don't get me wrong, it was still neat - just not what I had envisioned. Delicate Arch....

After the Arches we drove by the temple again really fast to show my Mom & Alan. Next to the temple was this awesome field full of wheat stalks & sunflowers. I was all excited to get some cute pics of my girls - but, of course, my battery in my camera died. (Alan took some - maybe my Mom needs to email them to me - wink wink!! :)) I did however get this cute pic of my Mom in the field....

Seriously, this pic doesn't even do the field justice. It was so cool! I'm tempted to make the 7 hour drive again just to do pictures here. I loved it!! After the temple we headed back to our meeting spot & had dinner with everyone. I laughed so hard at my Mom's cousin Kevin. He has a very contageous laugh & funny stories to go with it!

TOOTH FAIRY

Jadyn lost her 3rd tooth on the 21st. It was very wiggly & Erik kept begging her to let him pull it out. He hasn't been able to pull out a tooth of either of our girls & he was dying for the chance. She was in bed & came out to tell us her tooth was bugging her. I wiggled it & it was beyond ready to come out. After MUCH cohersion Erik got Jadyn to stand still for him to pull on it. (He actually pulled on it once earlier in the day & it didn't come out.) He told her to let him try it once & if it didn't come out she could go back to bed. She was crying & very nervous. But, one pull later & it came out! Erik was a pretty excited that he got to pull it out! Jadyn was also very happy to have it over with.


It was also a sad day because Jadyn learned that the Tooth Fairy was not real. She kept asking me all day long of the tooth fairy was real or not & I kept telling her to go ask her Dad. It's one thing to let your kids believe in the tooth fairy & another to flat out lie to their faces telling them it's reality. I couldn't do it. Plus, she's too smart & thinks too logically to believe otherwise. Eventually, we told her it was fake. She probably asked 30 times - which to me meant that she was ready. She didn't even care. She just moved on. Then, the next morning when she found her money she asked who gave it to her - me or Dad? It was me! heehee


Now, though, I'm nervous for Christmas. Kylie figured out the tooth fairy & Santa Clause in the same year. I'm afraid Jadyn will do the same. Then, that will mean, I have no more babies in my house. I will just have big kids! Whoa!!

PAPA'S 60th

We had a nice little surprise party for my Dad on Saturday the 18th. It was a stressful couple of weeks trying to get everything into place. But, it was worse for Mimi as she lives with him & had to lie like crazy all the time to Dad. We were lucky enough to reserve a church building to accomodate all the people & everything worked out great. Here's a pic of me & the birthday boy.....

(Yes, I know there's something on my shirt. Sorry. I'm too lazy & have no time to photoshop it right now. I had no time to take care of it while we were their either. I was too busy running the whole time!)

So, here's the story....

Mimi told my Dad that they were invited to an anniversary party for a couple they're friends with & that she was asked to help out with it. Well, 2 weeks before the party this poor wife of the fake party had a stroke. Luckily, she's recovering well! But, a couple of days before the party my Dad finally put 2 & 2 together & asked Mimi if she thought they were still going to have their party. She replied saying of course they will - it's been planned for a month. (Clue #1 my Dad didn't catch.)

My Dad had to help take youth from his ward to the temple this Saturday morning. He told Mimi that he needed to bring kids home before the anniversary party - all the way to Maricopa. Mimi got on the phone right away & told whoever was in charge that he could not be allowed to bring kids home. (Clue #2)

We also told my Dad that we were planning a party for him & my brother Jackson (Jackson's birthday is the day after my Dad's) that Saturday afternoon at 4pm. After their anniversary party. Yet, we met for dinner the night before for Jackson's birthday & even gave Jackson his birthday presents. My Dad didn't even think twice about that one luckily. (Clue #3)

Not to mention the countless hours talking on the phone to Mimi - especially the week of the party. One conversation I had with her while she was at work (she works with my Dad) & she would randomly change the subject asking me which Bed Bath & Beyond location I was looking for. Then, asking me another time which step stool I wanted. Huh? Apparently, my Dad kept coming into her office area to make copies. I don't know how she kept a straight face because everytime she did that I was laughing on the other end of the phone. (Clue #4)

Poor Mimi had some anxiety over the whole process & I can't say I blame her. She had to do a lot of lying to pull it off. Again, luckily for us, my Dad's not the most observant. It definitely worked to our benefit to pull this off. It's also something I couldn't have done without the Queen of parties - Mimi. She brought all kinds of fun stuff to make the party a real party! Check out part of her display on the stage....

Every table was decorated with Dad's sports memoribilia. It was wonderful! Mimi - you're the best! I bow down to the Queen of parties & scams! Thanks also to all the girls that helped bring food! And to Allison for making a rockin slide show for us! Especially considering we didn't get all the pictures to her until a few days before the party.

Just for kicks - here's a picture of me & my sis Robin with my Uncle Tad. He's such a nut!! I love this guy!

Another fun part of the party was the little surprise we cooked up for Jackson. Ok - Allison did all the work, I just sent some pics her away. At the end of my Dad's slideshow she added a slideshow of funny faces of Jackson. We didn't want to forget him on his birthday! It was hilarious!! No one can make crazy faces like him. I was laughing so hard I was crying. Allison - you rock!!

TEMPLE WORK

July 16, 2009 marked a special day in my family. Not only was it my Dad's 60th birthday, but it was the day we were able to do temple work for my brother Michael. What a neat experience it was to be in the temple with my family knowing my Dad was acting as a proxy for my brother. I wish everyone could have been their. But, it's just too hard to work out schedules for a lot of people. It was a day we were excited for & we had a lot of anticipation for it this past year. It's comforting to know that his work is now done. Now for the day that we can be together again!!

NATALIE BREE SMITH

Meet my new niece Natalie Bree Smith.....

This little beauty was born on Tuesday July 7th, 2009! She was born healthy & just too dang cute! I was so curious to see this little girl. My Jadyn, to me, looks like my brother Jeremy. So, I was curious to see if he would have a little Jadyn look alike. The funny thing was that she looked more like Kylie when Kylie was born. She definitely has Jeremy's eyes though. I'm excited to see how much she'll change in the next few months & to see what she will look like.

Here's a proud Daddy.....

Here's my girls with Natalie when they were home from the hospital....

Congrats Jeremy & Tamara on this beautiful little girl!!!

CIARA

I haven't had the internet at my disposal the past couple of weeks. It's been a little nerve racking. In a way, though, it was nice not being a slave to my computer. As a result, I now have another slew of posts coming your way!!

A few weekends ago we had my niece Ciara come spend the night. She is a cutie!! My girls just love her & she & Kylie are two little peas in a pod. They act & look alike even though Ciara is 2 years older. We wanted to do something fun while she was here. We decided it would be fun to decorate cakes with her. I made each of them their own cake & they helped color the fondant. Then, we split up the fondant & I let them have at it. It's so funny to watch how each of them felt like they had to use every piece of fondant they had.

Here they are with their greasy hands from coloring the fondant...

The final product....

MJ 2

Today I find myself watching the Michael Jackson funeral out of curiosity. What I didn't expect was to find myself balling my eyes out during it. Laugh all you want, but it's true. Again, he was strange & extrememly eccentric. Can you imagine living his life, being as well known as him & not being a little crazy? That's gotta do something to your "psychy". The shot of his brothers carrying his golden casket was beautiful & I was crying from then on. It was a beautiful tribute to an amazing performer. I loved seeing his brothers & sisters wear their sunglasses through the whole thing. Seeing the brothers all wearing the white Michael Jackson glove was awesome! My heart breaks for his kids that no longer have a parent. I watched shots of his daughter with her head just leaning on her grandma's & her aunt's shoulders. Then, there's grandma - mom. As much as this family is under a microscope it's almost as if they're not human. But, this family lost a brother & this poor mom lost a son. I can't imagine her pain right now. At one point the camera went by & she had her face buried in a handkerchief. Obviously, I don't know this family & maybe they really are as crazy as all of the accusations, but they've lost a brother, son, & dad. Maybe it has affected me so much because I know the pain of losing a brother & how hard it is. Again, that's probably why seeing the siblings is what made me the saddest. Watching the casket being carried out of the building hit me too. It just makes things so final & that was one of the hardest parts of my brothers funeral for me. I hope this family is able to find some peace through this experience & maybe even put a little better perspective on life.

ENABLERS

This is my SIL Rennie....

(Please ignore my ugliness in this picture. This was from when we were in Hawaii almost 2 years ago & we waisted no time on getting ready. We were too busy playing!!) I love her dearly, but she is an enabler in my life. Even though she doesn't know it! She always makes the most delectable quick treats. She always has quick, easy, kid-friendly recipes that I usually salivate at until I try. As I've mentioned before she made the best recipe books for all the girls for Christmas. Luckily for me, it had the yummiest caramel corn recipe in it. She's made it for us before & we craved it afterwards. Little does she know that it's created a monster at our house!! We eat this stuff up! It's so easy & YUMMY - you gotta try it! Thanks again Ren!! My thighs & lack of willpower love you for it! :)

SOFT CARAMEL CORN

Ingredients

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cube of butter

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk
**This is actually half of the original recipe. This makes enough to cover 3 batches of popcorn popped with an air popper.

Instructions

1. Mix sugar, butter & corn syrup in a saucepan & bring to a boil. Once boiling stir constantly for 2 min.

2. Add condensed milk to mixture & bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce to low heat & stir constantly for 2 1/2 minutes.

3. Pour over popcorn & fold until evenly coated. ENJOY!!

Then there's my SIL Ruth (who I sadly enough couldn't find a picture of) who is an amazing cook! She just recently shared this recipe with me that she found on the internet. These muffins really are the best! And keep in mind that I hate bread, but love these! (Yes, I don't like bread. And yes, I know it's weird!)

THE BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

**If buttermilk is unavailable, substitute 3/4 cup plain whole-milk or low-fat yogurt thinned with 1/4 cup milk.

Ingredients

Streusel Topping

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

Pinch table salt

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

5 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and warm

Muffins

2 cups fresh blueberries (about 10 ounces), picked over

1 1/8 cups sugar (8 ounces) plus 1 teaspoon

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon table salt

2 large eggs

4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly (1/2 stick)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk (**see note)

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

1. FOR THE TOPPING: Stir together sugar, brown sugar, salt, and flour in small bowl until combined. Drizzle with warm butter and toss with fork until evenly moistened and mixture forms large chunks with some pea-sized pieces throughout. Set aside.

2. FOR THE MUFFINS: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 11/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)

4. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion. Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over muffins.

5. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.