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!!!

The "Q"

It is full on heat of the summer and we are happy to have purchased......a BBQ!!! It is a used one and it works like a charm. We've done shish kabobs a couple of times now and that seems to be our favorite.

The Surprise AKA "Royals Game"

I had to delete this post because it was messing up my blog. It was a long post with a great story. I don't want to type it all again because it took a long time. My mom and sister surprised me by coming out to visit a couple of weekends ago. The cover was that we were going to Kansas City for the Royals game. We went to the airport and they walked out!!!! We had such a wonderful time together!!!! It was the biggest and best surprise ever.

Check it....

I have been wanting to post this picture for a while but for some reason have put off this fine opportunity. This is Mark with.......THE WANDERLUST. His family went on a tour of the USA in this fine machine back in the day. Mark's siblings still talk about it today, and yes, the beaut is still around. I just hope you don't fall into the coveting trap that tends to occur when anyone beholds The Wanderlust.

Yardation Beautification Sensation

Hi! It's just me, Dorothy, here in Kansas. This spring weather is insane. From hail to wind to rain to sun, it's always an interesting place around these parts. "There's no place like home."

Along with spring weather (however loco it may be), we have moved from "indoor" projects to "outdoor" ones. We have been working on "yard beautification" for Monday Night FHE (and any other night we can fit in too) these past few weeks. Enjoy a before and after of the front of our house.

Before....

After...
Focusing on "yard beautification" has been a great experience for me. I have already learned many useful and helpful things. One, where did my muscles go???? I can't use a shovel for more than about 15 minutes without having to take a breather. Moral of the story: If you don't work the muscles, then they go bye-bye.
Two: I think if I HAD to choose a different profession, it would be landscape architecture. I have loved attempting to plan out our yard and it would be nice to know more about planning and creating a landscape. Moral of the story: there isn't one.
Three, all I need to put is Moral of the Story: Any house related project takes a lot longer than you think!
Last but not least, I have married well!!!!! This is the first time Mark and I have done manual labor yard work together. Mark is a git-r-dun kind of guy. But I didn't know he would be such a great yard worker!!! I was so impressed with his work ethic! He worked ALL day one Saturday digging out the grass so we could put in the dirt. I came home from a meeting and started helping him. It was about 8 at night, I thought we would probably be done for the night but he really wanted to keep working to finish. So we stayed out until probably ten or so finishing up tearing out the grass. Now mind you, this was a tough job. I tried doing it for about 5 minutes and told him I could help him but couldn't do the job myself. He had a very sore back the next few days but got the project finished! I was slightly surprised but completely impressed with my husband's ability to do manual labor and stick with it. Moral of the story: Sometimes you think you are married to someone absolutely great, but as you keep getting to know him, you realize he's magnificent, amazing, and Mr. Incredible.

P.S. We are also planting a little vegetable garden in the back, but I'm not telling anyone just in case nothing grows. shhhh! :)