Thanksgiving 2009

It was a great day with a large gathering of family & friends. The food was delicious, as usual, and I ate way tooooo much! I will count this as training for Christmas when I will eat just as much, if not more.

A highlight of the day was the following three-generation picture of John, Travis & Ethan.



After all the hoopla, I treated myself to a piece of pumpkin pie served up on my new plate. Looks almost too good to eat... I said almost!!



Now to search for those pants with the stretchy waistband. So much to be thankful for, and I am!

Pumpkin Patch Pics

Pumpkin Patch Pleasures

It was my first visit to the Lendt Pumpkin Patch, but it will now be an annual event! Yesterday, Shawna & children kidnapped me, along with Jen Beckman & children, and we had a marvelous time. The sun was shining and the day was a perfect 64 degrees. There were tons of pumpkins to choose from and much to see. I had such fun watching and listening to the little ones decide on which pumpkin to get... Too big, too small, not orange enough, flat on one side, no stem (Jen did you break another one off)!?!

There were awesome painted wood cutouts to look at and play with too. Next year I'm going to bring a picnic lunch and stay all afternoon!!

Unique

Wow, it has almost been a month since my last post! I think Facebook was a distraction to me... perhaps that should be avoided by me.

Anyhow, I continue to learn from my garden. This photo tells a lot. How can one pepper grow so big and another one grow so small?! They started as seeds from the same packet, were planted in the same soil, were watered and cared for the same, had the same sun shining down on them, but... turned out very different.

So I can't help but relate this to children from the same family(parents). Even though they have many similarities, they end up being quite unique. They are raised in the same environment, have the same basic family rules and values, are loved and nurtured the same, but... they turn out very different. I love the uniqueness of all my children! It's makes them very special.

Abandoned Homestead

We call it "Early Mormon Architecture" - it's definitely a fixer-up-er! Whenever John & I travel west, we look for old abandoned places such as shown in this picture. Then we imagine the family that use to live there... what they did, how they survived, why they left, etc. It's great entertainment to pass the time away, and it leads us to other very interesting discussions about our past, present, and future.

Out For a Walk

Just for kicks, John & I decided to tour the very small western town of Malad, Idaho. We weren't expecting anything super, but we saw a treasure! On the sidewalk a boy (about the age of 9) was riding his bike. Walking along side him was his sister (about age 5). She was holding a leash to a sheep! It was the cutest sight to behold. We stopped the car and asked if we could take their picture. They were happy to pose... the boy got off his bike and the little girl just beamed! They told us they were taking the sheep to a fair in a couple weeks, and they walked it twice a day - morning and night. I sure hope they get a purple ribbon for their dedication!!

Road Trip Memories

I wish I could say our last road trip was uneventful, but that would be a lie. Our family trips usually bring about memories that last a lifetime, or more! This trip was no exception, for it provided the making of the "Venison Vaporizer". While very disheartening at the time (we didn't know if our car was repairable and we had a difficult time securing a rental car to proceed with our vacation), we now have quite a few laughs over the whole incident.


So how was the Venison Vaporizer born?


1) Ignore certain road signs.




2) Find a victim and introduce it to your car, up close and personal!



3) After all the hysteria, take the next exit that named their town after you.

There is no picture of the deer, because according to a nice young man who stopped to see if we were alright... he said, "Hey dude, you totally vaporized it"!

So there you have it, the making of a Venison Vaporizer.... And memories to last us forever!