It's MARCH!

This was our Christmas party! Bryce and Alicia were able to spend Christmas in Boston and then the weather was too awful when they got back to come to Vernal. So in middle of January we went to Provo. We had a great dinner and Alicia has turned into a Canasta fool after their stay with the Burts.

The family pic with the auto button on the camera. Brock's next beard picture will be on St. Patrick's Day. Stay tuned!

I did my first try at machine quilting, make that successful try, using the right foot. This is an XL hot pad to use under 9x13 pans. I love it. It was so fun to do the quilting.

This quilt had been on the frames for months. Was supposed to be off to use for the Fall, but I guess I meant 2011.

Decided it was time to do something extra for a holiday. Did a Valentines dinner of salmon which even for me (who does not like fish) tasted ok.

And probably the most exciting picture of all!! Bryce and Alicia came out over President's Day and she wanted to make something. She finished her Halloween project (also 2011) and I had some bunnies that I had cut years and years ago and she started painting them. How cool is that that I now have someone who wants to do something like that!!

Still can't get my pics to line up with the text. I need a tutorial....

GRATITUDE

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! We had a great one. I have a saint of a sister (actually two saintly sisters). One who has to put up with us when we come to town. We had great food. Brock lost at the game of Quiddler but made up for it the next day during the Santa run! Our nieces and nephews (I guess, grand-, it is) kept us entertained.

It was a lot of fun. We also were able to attend the Carl Bloch exhibit at the BYU MoA. It was very nice. I would highly recommend it. A great holiday and the weather cooperated.

Bring on Christmas!

All of us Santas before the race, cold but ready to run.

I had a better time than I thought I would!

Scott would have had a much better time but he ran with me a lot of the way. Brad and Jorrien ran together some of the way but Jorrien poured it on at the end. Are Tandi and Brock still friends? There was a lot of trash talking going on the weeks before the race. Bryce did great even with very little training. We missed Alicia but she had a very good excuse, her bosses needed her help with the parade!

Road Trip

Elise and I finally took a road trip before it was too late in the year to do it! We left for the west coast on a Thursday afternoon, made a quick trip to say hello in Mesquite and then on to Barstow that evening. The next day we made it to Cambria. This was the seaweed that was on the beach. I had no idea it looked like that. It was like big long tubes with bulbs on the end. Elise's sister, Amy, drove up from LA to meet us in San Simeon for the evening. We stayed in a little motel called Silver Surf(?). Kind of a dive but clean. Elise went out to the car to grab something (which was right outside the door)and some guy tried to follow her back into the room. It was just the first of a few weird experiences.

The next day we did a couple of tours at Hearst Castle. This is Elise and Amy in front of the outdoor pool. The day, all of the days, were overcast and foggy.
Here is the indoor pool. Incredible. Gold leaf in the tiles on the bottom of the pool. The skylights to the right of the pool (you can see the light above the diving board) were actually on the tennis courts above.

These were eucalyptus trees in San Simeon. Nature is amazing!

We left San Simeon and Amy and headed north. Along the way we stopped at the elephant seal beach. Hundreds of seals were sleeping and fighting along the beach.

We drove Highway 1 in the dark (which is a little scary, parts of the road are falling away or under construction, glad we were on the inside lane). Made it to Monterey and stayed in the Holiday Inn Express there. Nice hotel. You can tell we are getting old: we went to Chilis to dinner and split a meal, but it was 10 o'clock.

The next day we walked around Monterey, lots of shopping, saw Fishermans' Wharf. Had an excellent dinner there. Then did the 17 mile drive through Pebble Beach. Here is a shot of one of the fairways. That night we moved to a hotel about 2 blocks away that was right on the beach., a Best Western. It was beautiful. That evening we sat at the big windows and read as we watched the waves come in. I love the ocean!

On Monday we drove all the way back to Salt Lake. Elise has been watching Drive Inns, Diners and Dives and picked up this restaurant in Truckee, California. It was an old diner that they had moved across the country to Truckee. The chef is from out of the country. The food was great. Definitely not diner food.

I drove back to Vernal early Tuesday morning. This is my odometer reading for the weekend. It was a lot of driving but went by quickly when you are with a good friend who you haven't talked to for some time!

A few months ago I saw in a fabric store a self-binding baby blanket and fell in love with it. I searched on the internet and found a pattern. I gave the fabric to a friend's daughter at her shower and told her the blanket was coming. I was a little confused at the instructions so her mother did some more searching, made one herself, and then showed me how. It was as much fun as I thought it would be and I was very pleased with the results. I hope to make more. It was the first time that I thought maybe it would be fun to sew for grandbabies!

So we had a great time in St. George. Thanks to Tandi for running and giving us an excuse to go down. We stayed in a great 3 bedroom, 2 bath condo, all 10 adults and 4 children. More pictures of kids at the end. The girls went to Tuacahn to see Crazy for You on Thursday evening (30th). That was my first time and it was wonderful!

Ella kept us laughing all weekend, especially when she would wake up Papas with a scream!

This was race day, the 1st. Scott, Brock and I went to the north entrance of Snow Canyon to see her at Mile 16. She didn't know we were there and was in the zone, because she ran right in front of us but didn't see us. There were a lot of people lining the street, and a LOT of people running!

She looks like she is enjoying it waaaay too much.

This was her cheering section at Mile 21 just as they came off the diagonal into downtown St. George.

Here she comes and there she goes! She makes it look way too easy!

The rest of us just enjoyed the sun and water!

How gorgeous are all of them?

Especially the stud on the right!

Tandi qualified for the Boston marathon with her great time. We can only hope . . .

What a great weekend! Football, quilting, tennis and we ended it with a lunch at Split Mountain on the Green River in the Dinosaur Monument (that's a lot of prepositions!). We had some birds visit, some chipmunks who got very close and liked the peach and strawberries, and a squirrel that was too scared and didn't get anything! I love Fall! But hate to see summer leaving.

On Folly Beach

I just finished that book and loved it. It is by Karen White. It is a little slow to get into but I enjoyed it. I'd love to hear suggestions from anyone else . . .

Also, my dinners are getting a little boring, so if anyone wants to share something . . .

Stuff

TO BE CONTENT WITH WHAT WE POSSESS IS THE GREATEST AND MOST SECURE OF RICHES - Cicero











This is Brock's best new friend, Gavin Ayotte (who is about 9) because his father has this cool car that he actually let Brock drive. What a nice and trusting man he is! Yes, he actually has teenagers of his own. Even more shocking.

Bryce took Alicia up to Red Canyon Overlook at the Gorge on the 24th. Is Utah a great state or what? And I love Vernal in summer. If you know me, you know that love and Vernal in the same sentence is a big statement, but I truly mean that. The nights are cool, the days don't get too hot. It is beautiful here.

Brock came with us also. He has been a frequent guest of his family's this summer but it is because he has no other friends in town. We'll take him however we can get him.

I have two sets of amaryllis (I think) plants, one by the house, the other by the road. They are absolutely gorgeous and are just now blooming. The stems grow about 3 inches a day, no lie, when they first start out. They are beautiful flowers and I thank whoever planted them.