Thanksgiving Dinner!

Thanksgiving was the big holiday for our family this year.  We had everyone home, and it was the loudest bash ever!  Such a great time.  I always love hanging out with them.  Some people go on vacations to exotic places when they get time off of work.  I go home.  It's the best vacation anyone could ask for.  Don't believe me?  Check out these pics and see what I mean:

It started out with a visit to Clarks Hill restaurant.  BEST ONION RINGS EVER!!!!  And I don't like onion rings that much.  Mom and Dad found this little gem and took Jess and I out on their anniversary.  Don't worry, they didn't pay.  :)  Can I just say that I have the best parents ever?  It's the truth.

 

Nine Irish Brothers: Round 1.  This is the owner, Jerry.  We told him how much we all love his restaurant and how it is a family tradition for the kids to come here every time they are in town.  We also discovered one of the best appetizers ever on this trip.  Nine Irish Brothers Pots O' Gold.  Hollowed out potato skin, sauerkraut, corned beef, and a slice of swiss cheese on top.  Add some thousand island for dipping and you've got an amazing bit of food, people!

 Jess and I were trying our best to get on PeopleofWalmart.com.  We tried and FAILED!  How could they not want us?!

 After a *slightly* stressful round of family pictures (we got kicked out of our first and second spaces and settled on another fireplace scene), the kids took a break at Arni's.  They have some great pizza and some AWESOME salads!  Green onion, swiss cheese, turkey.  That's what I'm talking about!

 JC, you become more like your mother each time I see you.  And that's a good thing.  :)

Gorgeous ladies, just gorgeous.

 Seems like Curt & Cole have similar tastes in wives: petite, beautiful blondes with bangs.  Love you, ladies!

 Addie proved how much of a girly girl she is.  Here she is checking out People's 'Sexiest Man Alive' edition with Aunt Emily.  And she wasn't just looking . . .

 Watch out, Matthew Morrison!  Addie is coming for you.

As for dinner, Sarah made the BEST stuffing I have ever tasted.  And coming from a Stove Top lover, that might not mean that much, but the fact that it was Braden safe made it all the more delicious.  Oh, and Sarah broke that wooden spoon right after this photo when she tried to stir the stuffing.  It was pretty hilarious.

 Have I ever told you how much I love fried turkey? I'm kinda like the dad on Christmas Story.  Turkey fiend.  This Thanksgiving was heaven for me.  We had a fried turkey, and two different roasted turkeys.  Yeah, Dad went a little overboard.

 I have to say that the food was especially good this year.  And most of it was safe for Braden with his milk allergy.  Yay!  I think he liked the food, by the by.

 Rick was ready to bust a move on that plateful of food!

 Pooma and Judy sat at the Bad Kids table, away from the adults.  Pooma is usually the ringleader when it comes to trouble.  Don't believe me?  Check out that mischievous smile!

 Addie couldn't stop eating the bread.  Here she is with a huge mouthful of the stuff!

 After dinner, Trin shared some stories, poems, and drawings with us.  She is quite the little performer.

 I have the cutest nieces and nephews.  Seriously.

 And the tryptophan kicks in!

 The ladies in the family all made little hot chocolate ornaments.  Miss Vanessa found the craft online.  Isn't it cute?!  Although Jenny thinks hers isn't as nice as she wanted it.

Here we all are, hard at work.

 

Love this!

 Cole and Emily cornered Jessie, serenaded her with a rousing rendition of 'Happy Birthday', and then pulled out the ultimate gift: an exclusive edition of her favorite story, Beauty and the Beast.

 This was the funniest thing I saw all vacation.  Addie was picking her 'ickies' out from her toes.  She likes to have clean feet.  And then she went to go get the 'ickies' from her mom's feet.  EEEEEWWWW!

See what I mean?  So cute, yet SO gross!

 The dogs found the best seat in the house.  Don't you worry, Boompa gave them little tidbits here and there.  Even he knew that we wouldn't be able to finish THREE turkeys.

 JC said the potatoes were his favorite ever.  I think we will need to make this recipe again next year! 

 This Thanksgiving was the first time ALL the kids were able to make it together to Nine Irish Brothers!  We finally were all there and had a heck of a time.  Since Curt failed at 'downs' last time, and we kept trying to convince him to eat more by goading him, "Kyle could do it!", we decided to let Kyle have 'downs' and show Curt how it's done!  This is round 1.

 

Round 2

 

Round 3

 

Round 4

 

And FINALLY, round 5!  Kyle ate it ALL.  Take that, Curt.  You are one Salty Dawg.

 I think Todd liked his sandwich.

 And the couple's pictures begin.  Curt and Vanessa.

 Cole, Emily, and . . . a bottle of malt vinegar?

 Sarah and Todd (with his mouth full).

 Kyle, Ash, and of course, Cole in the corner.  He always get us with that!!!

 Awww.  :)

 And last but not least, the single ladies.  I wouldn't take a couple's pic with Jess and she was trying to convince me.  I think I look like I'm about to kill her here.

 

The whole gang!  What a great end to the trip!!!!

REALLY?!

It's snowing outside.  And my car slid in the road on the way home from school.  It's freezing.  What happened to last weeks 70's weather?!  It should NEVER snow before Halloween.

Really?!

Oh, and I finished my Hogle Zoo post.  TONS of pics.  It's a marathon post, but there is something in it for you if you finish!

Hogle Zoo with the Kiddos

This Is Halloween, This Is Halloween!

Jessica had the great idea to get a bunch of friends together to go on the Heber Creeper Railroad for some Halloween fun.  We have wanted to do that for awhile, so we made a night of it.  After going to Ogden in the morning for a session in the temple (for our Utah Temple Trips 2010!), we came home and frantically started shopping, cleaning, and cooking.  We went to Walmart and split our shopping list between the two of us so we could get our groceries faster.  We were in and out of there in 20 minutes!  I think it was my fastest Walmart trip ever.  After coming home Jessica started throwing together chili, and I cleaned up around the house.  Between the two of us we managed to get everything done before people came.

Quite a few people showed up beforehand for chili and a scary movie, so we had a full house.  I don't normally like chili, but I will say that Jessica's may have converted me.  It wasn't too spicy, and had a good taste.  We also popped in a classic Disney Halloween movie- Watcher In the Woods.  I had never seen it before, but it was so CREEPY!  There were a lot of people who had seen it before, but loved it.  It was gun to see something a little different for Halloween.  Even if it was a little older, it still was a good movie to watch, and you can bet we turned the lights off for it!  There were some jumpy moments, but no one spilled anything on themselves, thank heaven!

After the movie we headed up the Provo Canyon to Vivian Park.  The train was waiting for us, and there were creepy people running about, scaring unsuspecting people. We got on the train (which was decked out with spider webs and black and blue lights), and started our journey.  There was a narrator over the speaker who was telling of some of the scary things that have happened in the canyon over the last hundred years or so, and out the window we would catch sight of some scary things.  We drove past a cannibal camp, a ghost bride, a zombie girl that had fallen down a well, some electrocuted convicts, and an old lady ghost.  Then . . . the train "stopped" working!  By this time, we had moved from an enclosed car to the caboose, which was an open-air car with benches.  We were able to see things a little better from there. 

The group that went to the caboose

While we were waiting for the train to be "fixed", the creepy people came on the train and ran about scaring the passengers.  We saw some of them coming, but one sneaked up behind me and I almost jumped off the train when he spooked me!  My friend Joe managed to grab me, but I was pretty freaked.  Here is a picture of me with the headless spectre. 

You weren't supposed to see me, but the person taking the picture couldn't get a good angle with the poles on the caboose.

All told, the ride was about thirty minutes, but I had a lot of fun.  We were all joking and laughing, and were a little bit cold when we were done!  Here is a picture of the entire group that went:

Like I said, they are a fun bunch.  We headed back to our place for hot chocolate and chatting.  We were laughing like crazies until 1 a.m.!  I'm getting too old to do that, but it was too fun to pass up.  What a great way to kick off Halloween season.

Utah Temple Tour 2010- Ogden

This morning, Jess and I got up a little early and headed up to the Ogden temple to do a session. They are closing it for renovations for a long time, so we knew we had to get it done quickly. It was built exactly like the Provo temple, so it was nice to know exactly where to go. We had a great session, and as we were leaving, we asked a family to take our picture. As we found out, their son was leaving on a mission soon, and he had received his endowment, but wanted to go to the temple where both his parents had received their endowments, and also gotten married. It was fun listening to their story, but the Dad was definitely glad to see the temple get a face lift- he kept talking about how ugly it was! We laughed together, and then Jess and I stopped by a few historical sights on the temple grounds. After visiting those, we headed back to Provo, stopping at Denny's (our favorite) for lunch. I wanted something quick, but not fast food, and we ended up sitting in the restaurant, waiting for our food for almost 45 minutes. We didn't have much time, so we scarfed our food down, and booked it to Provo.
Another one down, ladies and gents! Just a few more to go in Temple Tour 2010!

It's Just A Bunch Of Hocus Pocus!

Tonight we had our monthly Relief Society meeting, and we had a scary movie and popcorn.  We went to the clubhouse and snuggled up in the comfy chairs to watch Hocus Pocus- it isn't Halloween time until I've watched that movie!  Jessica had never seen it, so it was fun to hear her laugh out loud every so often.  Afterward, I sang along with the closing credits and serenaded everyone with a rousing rendition of "I Put A Spell On You".  Believe me, it was bad.  So, I will just let you see the pro do it.  Happy spooking, everyone!

Jane Austen Night!

I think I gained ten pounds just looking at this yummyness again!

Every Saturday during the Priesthood session of Conference, Jess and I host a Jane Austen and decadent dessert night at our house.  The last few times we have had a hard time deciding which movie to wathc, so Jess and I came up with a survey to help us.  Each girl wrote down their answers to questions like, 'Which Jane Austen movie character has the best/worst hair?", "Which curate is the best?", and "Which proposal was the best?".  Then we discussed and mooned over the answers.  As it turned out, the movie choices came down to Persuasion and Mansfield Park.  Mansfield Park won out and we started the movie.

 Here are some of the ladies discussing their surveys.  We laughed and debated for 15 minutes!

That is when Jess and I pulled out a little game for the ladies- Jane Austen BINGO!  We made bingo boards with spaces made up of cliche Jane Austen moments that are in all her movies.  Things like "Getting caught in the rain", "A musical performance", "going to a ball", and some more creative ones.  The best ones were:
1. Improper behavior (running, yelling, not being married by 16)
2. A close up of a hand
3. Longing glance toward an object of affection
4. Cinematic interlude of walking
5. Meaningful thought or conversation in a carriage,
and the one that created tons of shouts of "BINGO!"-
6.  Someone takes to their death bed

We had a blast, and used peanut butter M&M's for markers.  Oh geez, it was fun.  And I think everyone got a Bingo at least once.  We even had two girls get a blackout (they have every space on their boards marked out).  SO GREAT!

We had a little time left over afterward, and some of the ladies hadn't gotten enough ooey gooey loveyness, so we popped in the Young Victoria.  Another fantastic flick!  It was just a night for period dramas. 

And the whole time we were gorging ourselves on the most amazing desserts!  We had Swiss Cake Roll Cake, Texas sheet cake, cheeseball and crackers (thanks for the amazing recipe, Mom!  The girls LOVED it!), Chocolate Mousse Trifle, among other things.  I made a recipe that I recently found, and is definitely a keeper!  They are Strawberry Napoleans, and they are fantastic!  A pastry layer, then vanilla creme, then strawberries, pastry, creme, strawberries, pastry, chocolate sauce, and topped with a whole strawberry.  Deliciousness, I tell you!

This was a night for the books.  Heaven on earth!

Timp Fires

There is a pretty large wildfire that is burning in the hills behind Herriman, Utah.  It was set accidentally by some National Guard soldiers that were practicing with machine guns, and a shot ignited the dry grass by them.  It was so dry that it got too big for them to stop it.  My friend posted this on her Facebook page.  Her friend took it of the Mount Timpanogos temple at night.  He entitled it "Heaven & Hell".  It's beautiful!

I hope the fire is stopped before it gets to any homes.  I will be praying for those families.

Hogle Zoo- The MARATHON post!

All right, walk up o the start line.  Make sure your eyes and fingers are stretched out, warmed up, and ready to do some SERIOUS scrollin'.  This, ladies, is my MARATHON POST!  If you make it to the end, there might be something fun headed your way . . . 

On your mark . . . get seeeeeeeetttttt . . . . GOOOOOOO!!!

I FINALLY MADE IT TO HOGLE ZOO!!!  After 8 years of living in Utah, you'd think that I would have been to the zoo in Salt Lake, but this was the first time I was able to make it up!  Jess and I had wanted to go to the zoo with the kids, and it was such a blast!  We were able to see quite a few interesting creatures, and I LOVED the bird show.  But lets just look at some of my fave moments, shall we?
The Elephants

We went to the Elephant show first, and got to see an adult elephant and a baby elephant do some tricks.  The show was really informative and fun, and the kids kept wanting to stand up to get a better look.  I couldn't believe how BIG those guys are!  They just towered over the ten foot fence.  I just started rethinking my goal of riding one in the future.

The Carousel
I took pictures the first time the kids got on the ride.  They had so much fun!  Just look at the smiles!

Addie didn't want to get off at the end, she was having so much fun.  Even Jessie got to ride one!

The Bird Show:

I have never been to a bird show before, so this was my absolute FAVORITE part!  The birds were just sitting in the trees at first, and then one of the staff came out to spray them with water.  I don't think this guy wanted her to stop:

Oh, and then they had the birds swooping over our heads to get pieces of meat on stumps and things.  It was SO neat!  Addie loved the amazon parrot that was near us.

**Phew!  You've made it to the quarter mark.  GREAT job!  You're starting to work up a sweat, aren't you?**

Then came the biggest eagle I have seen!  They had him go around, picking up meat from stumps and there was one directly in front of us.  I can't remember exactly what type of eagle he was, but he was HUGE!!!

 After this, they brought out a Bald Eagle.  They even had a bird pull a string to unravel the American flag in the background.  So fun!

Then they brought out a donation box and had birds flying around to drop money into the boxes.  I had no idea that birds were so smart!  Braden was brave and handed the bird some money for the box.  He didn't startle or anything!

**Bravo!  You're halfway there!  Check your watch to see how your pace is, grab a cup of water, guzzle it down, and toss the cup over your shoulder.  Keep up the pace, though!  You can DO this!**

The Monkeys:
When we entered the park we kept hearing this loud whooping noise.  Turns out, it was the monkeys and they were having a good old time!  I kind of, maybe, just a little bit, encouraged them by whooping back.  Hey, don't judge me, it was for the kids!

And this one kept coming to the glass to make faces at Addie and Braden.  I only got my camera out in time to snap one picture.  :(

Fun Photo Ops:
We were walking around, and they had a large scale that you could step on.  It listed things at different weights like, "You are as big as a baby elephant", "A flock of geese weighs about this much", "you weigh as much as an adult donkey!", etc.  We wanted to do the scale, but none of us wanted to be the last one off or on.  That way people could tell how much we weighed!  :)  This is us jumping on really quickly:
**Three-quarters of the way done.  This is the home stretch.  Keep those eye and finger muscles moving!**

And then there was the Isenbarger Gorilla family picture.  Too cute!

We capped the day off with another carousel ride (I got him on his favorite- the blue frog.  How great of an aunt am I?!),

 

**ALMOST THERE!**

and an exhibit of scary creatures.  This bird stood like this so long that I thought he was stuffed- then he decided to swoop down to the bottom of his cage and scare everyone.

Last but not least, fruit bats.  They were all snuggled up together in the crook of a tree.  Now if they would just stay up there, I don't have a problem with them.  When they fly around, that is when I put my foot down! 

 It was a great way to spend the day, and I will admit, I fell asleep EARLY that night.  That stuff WORE me out!

WOO HOO!!!  You made it across the finish line!  You can fall off your chair, to the floor, and get your breathing even again.  Make sure to cool down your fingers and eyes, and walk off the fatigue.  I know, it's hard work going through marathon posts like this!  Now, leave a comment on the post saying you finished, and you will get a surprise.  No, really!  I have something for you!