Today

Today, July 29th, is National Lasagna Day! I just thought I'd let ya'll know so you can do some celebrating!

On the Road Again....

We made the road trip out to visit family recently. We had a marvelous time, as always! The drive out was....okay. I have never been a great car rider. In fact, after about 2 hours, I start to get a little crazy. However, just for the record, I think I have improved in my car riding abilities. I don't know if it's maturity or the fact that we have made several long drives in the past couple of years, but I really think I'm getting better.Okay, now for the report and update of what we did while visiting... We drove to G-town and hit the annual Gundersen picnic party at my aunt's house. It was fun to see some of my cousins (and it was nice to be out of the car in a position other than sitting). We usually have races by age categories but this year, the turn out wasn't as great so the races didn't happen. It was still fun to catch up and see all who were there. We also watched fireworks that night at my parent's house. We enjoyed homemade raspberry ice cream and adorable cupcakes in USA colors. I don't know why I don't have pictures of these events. I guess I just forgot!

We drove to Logan for Creed's baby blessing the next day. We didn't know it would be that weekend so it was a lot of fun to be able to be there. My brother did a great job on the blessing and it was a special day. The baby is adorable and we were glad to meet him.
We then went to Alpine where Mark's cousins live. Mark's parents and Chris and Tishelle came up. Croquet is always a game that is played when we hang out with the Tews. Mark is a good croquet player. He may have even won a game or two. My skills are lacking in the croquet department but it's still fun to play. {side note: check out these glorious mountains...talk about gorgeous! We miss the mountains.}
{Tishelle and Myself...we had a good time chatting and hanging out together. Mark thinks this hairdo of mine looks a little Amish. I usually think it looks cute but after looking at this picture, I would have to agree with him}
On Monday, Tishelle and I met my mom, sister, and aunt for a ladies lunch at Gardener Village and did a little shopping. While with Mark's fam, we played Ticket to Ride several times, which is always fun. While staying with Mike and Tina, we were invited guests to their neighborhood's annual cul-de-sac of FIRE and BBQ. The food was spectacular and the fireworks were shockingly REALLY good. We realized the Alpine folks just go all out or nothing. We enjoyed the temple with Mark's parents and then headed back out to Grantsville.
My mom rented a big blow up water slide that we played on pretty much all day. I decided that Mark won the "coolest adult award" for going all out on the slide. Enjoy! {I couldn't figure out how to flip it, so just turn your head 90 degrees to the left. ha ha ha!} In the afternoon, the boys went golfing while the girls had a Hawaiian Luau party with the water slide. My grandma, aunts, and most of my girl cousins joined in the fun. We had a great time together playing, eating, and chatting! Check out these cuties...
Chris gave us a great tour of Miller Motorsports Park, where he works. We had a fantastic time! He gave us a ride in this mountain climbing jeep. We both couldn't believe how steep of grades this thing can climb! We also sat in a Mustang and raced on the Go-Karts. Now, mind you, these things aren't your little kiddie play karts, they actually go pretty fast. Mark even managed to spin out off of the track! We enjoyed dinner with my parents at Applebees that night. The next day we went to Family Day at Heritage Park in Salt Lake City. I was really glad we went because I had never been there before! We rode a train, did crafts, watched a magic show and toured historic homes. Mark and I ditched out a little early to get some Cafe Rio and to go shopping at Costco.

We always have a great time when we visit our family!!!! Thank you Mike and Tina and Mom and Dad for your great hospitality! We love you all.
We were glad to see Kimi and her family before they move to Hawaii! Good luck, Tripps!

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary...

...How does your garden grow????

We are definitely amateurs in the area of gardening but we have thoroughly enjoyed our garden experience so far. It has been a wonderful project and new hobby for us to work on and discover together. It is fun to see miracles occur in our little garden every day. It is incredible to me that a tiny seed can become a huge plant! We are now enjoying cucumbers, tomatoes, and cilantro.

The beginning stages of preparing and planting...

This is what our garden looked like when we got back from Utah, weedy... but the plants were a lot bigger than when we left. So we had to take some pics anyway.
We bought green and red bell pepper starts for our garden....and soon discovered that one of the plants in the pack wasn't a bell pepper but a hot pepper! Expecting the big, round bell peppers, we couldn't figure out why the peppers were so skinny. We both tried a bite of one and about drank a gallon of water each right after. It was pretty funny. Anyway, we have been finding new fun ways to use the spicy peppers in our cooking. We tried making a version of grilled pepper poppers filled with cream cheese, mozzarella, and several spices. They turned out tasty!!!! We are planning to make them again soon.{Just FYI: Mark is becoming a fantastic grill master}

Happy Independence Day!!!! We are proud to be Americans. It has been a humbling experience to live near and associate with many military families. They make such huge sacrifices for us. THANK YOU!!!