it's almost OVER - 2010 "dinner in the tetons"

Shortly before Grif and Katrina needed to head back to Hollywood (Beverly Hills!), we were invited by Katrina's mom (Kathy) to come and stay at their home and have New Year's Eve-Eve dinner!!! Grif and Katrina needed to fly back to reality the following day! We were super excited but then 'nature' stepped in - snowed and blizzard moved in and closed roads to their home nestled below the Tetons! Reminded me of the situation we faced several years ago when Grif and Katrina attempted to get married! Roads closed for days and days! Later in the afternoon, roads were reopened and we headed their direction for a memorable, mouth-watering dinner. Prime rib was on the menu, scalloped potatoes, fruit & nut green salad, chabata bread with creamy butter. Dessert was assorted handmade cookies from a local bakery that once resided in Sun Valley. I immediately recognized the cookies as I would frequent that bakery whenever we would visit that amazing mountain town. Most important, we enjoyed the fun company (Katrina's family) and the sights from the windows - the Tetons!

Pictured below you'll see Katrina assembling the potatoes with Reese, her niece! The sampler you see in the lower right was a 'find' from an antique shop - I just LOVED it!

After dinner, Grif and Reese nestle into a chair and with a little coaxing, Reese falls to sleep. Did you notice Bella in the photo? Well, Kathy was gracious enough to allow us to bring the dogs with us as our 'dog-sitter' fell through! It worked out just fine and no accident I'm happy to report!

When we woke up in the morning, these were the sights we saw; breath-taking!

anniversary

coming soon

christmas eve 2010

EVERYONE SLEEPS IN

The "inn" was full for the night! All beds and couches taken. I remember the last time that happened - everyone in the house came down with the flu - ALL at the same time! Luckily, all was well this time. Everyone was in a relaxed state-of-mind and slept in until after 8:30 a.m. - even the kid-os. Schuyler stayed behind doing school-stuff and drove up later in the day.

HEADED TO CABIN - LUNCH BY 12 NOON

Ashley and Whitney were in charge of lunch for the afternoon and cooked in the kitchen before heading up to the cabin. Bob, Cortney, Cam and Whit loaded everyone up in their cars including Grandma and headed north. I stayed behind as I need to wait for the UPS man who came early in the afternoon - Cameron was expecting a last minute package for Leah - he finally showed up and I was excited to head north myself.

DOG SITTERS

The only way our "Christmas" could happen was to hire (2) dog sitters - Tyler and Blake - both neighbor boys who really do well with dogs. The interesting thing was we had (5) dogs in our home (((((yep, you heard it))))) - it's just a darn good thing they all got along and knew each other! We paid Tyler Christensen and Blake Adams to come in 3-4 times per day to let the dogs out and make sure they were fed and watered. This was the only thing that kept me from 'loosing it' and basically . . . I had NO choice!!!

So many fun things going on - just so I don't forget:

• We had a fun Christmas eve
• Kids were 'off the charts' happy with the play rooms
• Shade brought snow machine up and unloaded
• Temperatures were unbelieveably frigid-cold (double-digets below zero most of the time)
• Preparations for Christmas Eve dinner going - turkey, potato casserole and all trimmings
• White elephant gift exchange put on for kids by Tyler and Nicole - it was so much fun for everyone. Especially generous for Tyler and Nicole - they love kids.
• White elephant for adults as well but was done on Christmas day - super funny!
• Christmas story read and kids put on annual play - costumes and all. Super cute.
• Bob and I head home to take care of dogs and wrap presents - super stressed!
• To bed super-late and up super-early to head back to cabin at 6 a.m.
• When we got back most everyone was still in bed (what!)
• It was -15 to -20 outside - burrrrrr!

OUR CHRISTMAS CABIN - PART 1 - let me show you around

In November Ashley, our daughter, had a brilliant idea: Let's rent a cabin for Christmas! Our family had 'outgrown' our home - just too many people to fit into our small home in the frozen north-country!



Not far from the mighty TETONS (view from rear of cabin), our family spent December 24-26th nestled in "Our Christmas Cabin" - secluded from the world. ALL of our (7) kids came home with their families - grand total of 30 family members! I now know what 'heaven' will be like - surrounded by people you LOVE - nothing like it in this world!

The place was perfect - build like Fort Knox, family friendly, huge - with lots of room to run and play, rest, eat, sleep and bond! It was located on 100 acres of land yet we were less than 5 minutes away from a store if we needed one!

Every inch of the cabin was well thought out - room for a active family to move without fear of breaking something. For summer they have access to basketball courts, softball field, lake with canoe, tennis court, play area for the kids nestled in the trees and a gorgeous view of the Tetons!

And then, there was that 100 acres a teenager (and adults) could go out and snow machine and not run into other people - how cool is that?

A warm welcome - split entry - downstairs bedrooms (8 total), play room, bathrooms (6 total).

A huge family room where we had a lot of fun . . . (view 1)

other half of family room - thought I'd show it to you while things were quiet!

Kitchen area - Christmas Eve dinner preps underway . . .

Can you smell the turkey in the roaster? This kitchen had everything you would ever need/dream - all furnished.

Every family was assigned to bring (2) snack foods (1 healthy/1 not-so-healthy!!!) . . .

Every family member was assigned to prepare a meal as a team. Food $ was collected from each family and Kandee (daughter) and I went shopping for the food. We were pretty 'spot-on' with the amount of food we needed.

In every corner of this "Christmas Cabin" there were things for kids & adults to do - closets filled with games . . .

Basketball hoops tucked away in a hall (below) - all space was well thought out and put to good use . . .

Climbing wall for the kiddos, ping pong, ice hockey game table. The most fun for the kids was stairs (left by climbing wall) the kids could climb up from downstairs play room. Then, they would run across to the other side of the room (right side what looks like a doorway) and then SLIDE down back into the play room . . .





One of my favorite spaces - plenty of table space for all families to sit and eat with each other . . .

This room was LIFE-SAVER for all parents/adults involved! It was size of a triple-car garage! Chalk boards all around the entire room, basketball, big wheel bikes - room to ride skateboards, blocks - everything you could imagine for a kid to play with . . .

Here is the downstairs - the kids favorite place to hangout - they would slide from upstairs. The room was filled 'wall to wall' with bunkbeds, blocks, dress-up clothes, connect-blocks, bins of toys - but especially the building blocks you see all over the floor . . .




Another SLIDE from kitchen to playroom - adults took the stairs (how boring!!!) . . .

Ohhhhh, to be a kid again . . .

Tyler and Shade - being "kids"!!!!!

Part 2 coming soon!!!!

christmas eve-eve 2010

Thursday:

Family started showing up today - those from Utah and Nevada! Bob and I ordered a queen bed from Utah so everyone would have a bed to sleep in! It was a good feeling as I don't like some having to sleep on the couch. We now have (2) queen sized beds and a trundle bed with (2) twin sized. I really think we're going to need more eventually. It's SO expensive to buy beds and then all the linen, blankets, pillows and bedspreads you need to go with it. But, once you DO get it all purchased - it's pretty cool to know you have enough room for almost everyone. We not only our kids and families show up but we now have (5) dogs living here too!

All families sent in their money for food and Kandee and I went food shopping several days ago! Mom was still not feeling well enough to go with us due to contracting Shingles at the beginning of December. We bought A LOT of food - food for 30 people for three days but oddly enough, we figured the food almost to the penny! Pretty awesome.

HUNG OUT

FOOD PREP

EVERYONE SO EXCITED ABOUT GOING TO CABIN

CAM & LEAH ON COUCH! / WHIT ARRIVES EARLY

win some, LOSE some!

Several weeks ago, Baby Bella-Boo lost her battle with a broken leg and tragically had to loose it! It was a tough go for her - 4 months of struggle with pins and such through her bones in a valiant attempt to save it. I don't have time right now to show her 'post-surgery' photos but she was a sick little puppy! Bella's vet felt so bad that he wasn't able to help her, he operated on her at no charge!



Monday she had her stitches out and FINALLY a bath/grooming. Everyone in the clinic knows and loves Baby Bella. The groomer had NO appointment openings until after the New Year but when she saw Bella (a mess and knew what she had gone through) she made room for her and worked her into her schedule - she's squeaky-clean and feeling great. She is so much happier now, not dragging the weight of the pins and 'cast' around with her. She's adjusting well and seems so much happier and healthy.



Bella-Boo weighed in at 4 lbs and now I think is a whopping 3.75 lbs!!!!
More on her 'journey' after the holidays.

light and darkness

(((((please scroll down and turn off music before viewing))))))

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Aup9M5HZawI

reflections

JUST SO I DON'T FORGET - details coming soon

• Tayo disappears and the outcome
• Baby Bella looses her leg
• Flood at gma's house
• Preps for Christmas weekend
• Trying to get motivated
• Storms and fog reside
• Want to hibernate (spend the winter in a dormant state)!
• Gma diagnosed with "Shingles" today - ohhhh, ouch!

Don't give up on me - there's a lot on my plate right now.

not exactly ancient history - but getting close!

For our Thanksgiving, FAMILY had a tough time getting to our house - weather was not cooperating in the least bit. What would have been a 3 1/2 hour trip (for some) took 5-6 hours and the same for those living closer. I've never seen such a traffic backup in Idaho - it made the evening news! We were praying constantly that they would make it safe and our prayers were answered! I don't remember snow this early in the season but we got zinged and it really hasn't stopped snowing since!

As is our custom, we were assigned a food item to bring and everyone got busy and got er' done!!! We have such great cooks in our family and and we dined in style.

(click photo for a closer look, this is a recording ! ! ! )

Shawn and Kandee hosted Thanksgiving again this year as our family has out-grown our small home. Kandee cooked her first ever turkey and she did an amazing job - the bird was beautiful covered with herbs and spices - delicious. I heard Morgan washed down all the cupboards in the kitchen and they were super sweet looking not to mention the tables were set with perfection - even paper and pencils for the kids to draw and scribble.

Cousins just hanging!

Everyone wrote what we were THANKFUL for on the turkey feather and Mr. Turkey feathers grew and grew (see small inset photo, lower right)



My favorite part of Thanksgiving is just sitting around talking and catching up.

Lots of fun and games for the kids. Check out the photo of Henry 'mastering' the stairs - hold your breath until he makes it to the top!

Thank you Shawn and Kandee for hosting an amazing "Turkey Day"!

m.i.a. - aka: missing in action

Okay, enough is enough - I've been ditching my responsibility of 'journal-keeper' for a little too long. So much has happened around here and I need to get caught up. It's been two weeks since I signed in - but I have to confess, it felt freeing to let things slide a bit. I discovered so much more during my time away - like the vacuum, dust cloth, mop and bucket and the washer and dryer - I actually got some house cleaning done for our Thanksgiving company. The bathroom kind of sparkled for the first time in a long-while! That's one thing I have discovered over the 3-4 years of blogging - you can really get side-tracked and sometimes derailed from what's important in life. So, I'm trying to show that I can live without blogging and the computer for any given period of time! Have you heard of the word "moderation" before? I'm still trying to figure it out - moderation in all things! Yes, it was a 'self-imposed' exile - but I'm back.

More tomorrow on our Thanksgiving and more importantly, Bella! I'll write more about this tomorrow.

team up thursday - "NIGHT"

I'm posting this a tad early today because I have a busy night tonight. So here you are!

COREY choose our theme for this week AND did a great job getting her photo (top) in such a low light situation - nice and crystal-clear and clean! Corey said her photo was boring - "I don't think so!" If anything is 'boring' take a look below . . . .



I didn't even leave my home for this shot (now that's a tad boring!) - last week 'someone' in the world passed on their cold germs to me and I felt like hibernating the entire week especially with our 'balmy' weather we've been having (see below). "This" lamp does brighten up my life especially when it gets dark at 5:30 p.m. these days. Every time I turn it on I marvel at all the color that greets me - it's so cheery!

Head over to Megan's place AND Christina's place for more CHEER and Team Up Thursday!

Just as a side-note, this snow (above) DID melt and we have MORE heading this direction this week with temperature HIGHS in the 30's - so, this next batch will NOT be disappearing anytime soon . . . ahhhhhh, April!!!!!

journal updates

saving a place to 'catch up' on what's going on around these parts.

back soon!

i won't FORGET you

This poster is a little older (as you can see by the dates) - commemorating the anniversary of WWII - but I JUST LOVE the image that was captured on it. How touching. I'm not sure the current generation appreciates fully the sacrifices that were made for us to enjoy what we have today. So many today don't even vote - something that makes our country unlike others around the WORLD. It makes us special, different and STRONG. I love those who serve our country and who have served in the past. Our family enjoyed living in peace because of the efforts and sacrifices of so many - those we don't even know and some we do. We must STAND FOR SOMETHING in this life and standing for FREEDOM and LIBERTY seems something I'm willing to suppport! Thank you veterans!

who would have 'thunk'? ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Yep, one of my color photos of the Tetons will soon appear on a billboard just off of I-15 and I-20 (for you locals)! I hardly ever pay attention to billboards (well maybe some of the clever ones) but now the Teton mountain range is going to hit you in the face as you get off the freeway to I.F. - how funny is that? We'll (my assistant and I) travel and get a photo of it when they get it up. It's at the billboard designer as we speak - and I'm pretty much speechless at this point! It's for the 'regional tourism' campaign - trying to catch people off the freeway, on their way to Yellowstone, to stop and visit other local points of interest! She asked if I had a suggestion for a slogan for the campaign - she said it had to be short and sweet. I thought a second (while she was talking) and I said yeah I do, "How about . . . . . "COME!" I think she went with it - but we'll see when the actual ad comes out! They also want to buy 20-30 other photos of our area for brochures and travel shows around the country.

Okay, someone wake me up from this dream . . . . come to think of it, Shhhhhhhhh, I'm sleeping!!!!!!!

(Note: please don't think I'm boasting, as I'm extremely humbled by all this 'stuff' going on - but remember, this is my journal and I'm just getting it down for posterity AND I ALWAYS, ALWAYS want to THANK my trusty-assistant who gets me where I need to go!)

my quiet place

(click on photo/it will take you to Flickr/then click on photo again and it will enlarge!)

go past "GO" directly to . . . .

go past "GO" directly to . . .

WINTER

Hubby and I went for a ride after church on Sunday and couldn't find anything 'pretty' to shoot - then we came home, took the dogs out and found our yard still in the "fall mood"!!!

Sunday night . . . winter hits . . . .


This morning - check the leaf-action on the trees (still)!

Oh, dang - I'm crawling back into bed!

i got the gig & I got the gag!!!!!

It's early, quiet and snowing outside - the perfect time to get caught up with journaling. Yes, you read it correctly - it's snowing outside - nice contrast with the orange leaves still clinging to the trees! But, I think I'm about to go into a panic as it is now getting DARK at 5:30 p.m., the fireplace is going full bore and there is snow on the ground. I now know why bears hibernate - so they don't get depressed! This is the hardest season for me as I crave sunshine and when it gets dark so soon - well, it takes some time for me to get used to!

I haven't written about this until now - three weeks ago I was working the church Halloween carnival when Bob walked in. My immediate thought was, 'Who died'?!!! Well actually, he had a slight smile on his face so I knew it wasn't that bad. My first question for hubby was, "Did you let the dogs out?!?" He replied, "No!" and I knew we were going to have a problem when we arrived home. He leaned over and said, I have some news for you! He told me that Gerald from the college wanted to talk to me. Gerald just happens to teach art at BYU-I, travels around the country purchasing ART for BYU-I (our local university) and is theeee most amazing artist/painter there is. His works sell in some of the most exclusive galleries in Jackson, WY and his murals can be found in local temples, businesses and all over the world for that matter!!!

I was 'shakin' in my boots' just thinking about what Gerald might want! Remember: I had just walked in from the Halloween carnival (it was dark) when Bob handed me the phone - it was Gerry! This was the biggest thing ever . . . I couldn't even sit down, I had to pace back and forth! So, I headed down our long, dark hall as we conversed. Then ((((((all of a sudden)))))) it happened! My bare feet landed on something soft, cold and stinky! Remember, when I asked Bob if he let the dogs out . . . and he said, "No!" Well, my bare feet found the "No!"!!!!! How could this be - I'm talking to Mr. Art himself and I have poop on the bottom of my feet! (((((I had to stay composed - I just couldn't gag now))))) So, I headed to the bathroom thinking I could stick my foot in the bath tub and run water over it - and it would be gone! No such luck - it stuck and wouldn't budge. (((((I had to concentrate on what was going on - but there was poop on my foot - Gerry would never know - don't gag, concentrate))))))

He said he saw some of my 'stuff' (photos) on Facebook and would be interested in seeing more! (((((heart attack))))) He said he had gone through thousands of photos - how many did I have to show him? I told him probably 50+ and he said, "Let's see them!" So, after frantically scraping poop off my appendage and searching through hundreds of photos, I was able to narrow the photos down to my favorites!

A fews days later, Gerald called and wanted to come over! He announced he would be coming over in his pajamas - would I mind? Gerald paints in a studio in his home and he was just starting a painting that evening and he needed a break! I said, "PJ's are good with me! When he arrived he had a list of (20) photos the college wanted to buy/purchase/acquire from little-ol'-me! They would then be printed 24x30", framed and hung in the NEWLY REMODELED (massive) Manwaring Center on campus! To say I was excited would be a total understatement of the century! A more appropriate word would be honored!

"I got the gig!"

Dedication is scheduled for mid-December and we get to go search through this massive building for those photos!!!

teton country

"Teton Country"

(note: If you click this photo, it will take you to "Flickr" where if you click the photo 'again' it will show a larger photo on black background - pretty cool, ha!)



We ventured into the 'high country' Saturday (literally) and wondered everywhere in the mountain tops. Ohhhhh, and what we saw was amazing! I'm loading the 'other' photos on the foto blog and I'll post a link here shortly - I'd love to share them with you! CLICK HERE and I'll take you into the high country with us!!!!

Hugs!