Sledding Pics

It's A Hard Knock Life For Us

Well... not really. Last Friday, Michael and I got to take some of our children and grandchildren to stay in one of the Brighton Chalets (right next door to the ski resort thank you very much). Our "little snow house" as Carter called it could sleep about 20 people. Upstairs there was one private room - for us, of course. And then everybody else packed into beds that lined the walls upstairs. Carly referred to it as the Orphanage. We had a great time watching movies, playing table tennis and board games, eating (oh-the-eating) and then sledding the next day. Everybody loved Michael's Herman Munster boots. They're leftover from his ice fishing days. I hope we can do this every year Miss Hannigan!

The 3-C Highway & Counting

My Mother, Aunt Donna, Uncle Len and Uncle Joe have a favorite family ritual. It's called the 3-C Highway. Whenever my aunt and uncles (Ohio and Oregon, respectively) come to Utah to visit they make that pilgrimage. The thing is - what started out as 3-C is now 5-C. Let me explain: It's a day-trip that starts by driving north on Highway 89 through Willard to pick up some fresh cherries at one of the many rural fruit stands along the way. Then the caravan drives into Brigham City to visit the little-known, but World Famous Idle Isle for chocolate - Rum Balls, to be exact. From there, the group heads through Sardine Canyon to the Gossner Cheese Factory for squeeky cheese (fresh cheese curds) and that's how the 3-C's came to be. Recently these foodies added "cookies" from Pepperidge Farms and "Creamies" ice cream - both factory outlets outside of Logan. I've always wanted to go too, but have never been on this fun, family mini-adventure.

Michael and I decided to give 3 of the 5 C's a try. The original plan was to go to the Logan Temple, enjoy some of the 3-C treats, stay the night in town, hit Hardware Ranch on the way home and then stop and take my mom to dinner for V-Day. Plans change, as they do, but we still had a wonderful time in the northern part of the Great State of Utah. We did purchase cheese, cookies and chocolates, rode on a sleigh among the elk (over 500 of them) and took Mom to dinner. The important part is that we love spending time together. It seems that no matter what we do or where we go...we want to experience it together. Thanks Michael for a wonderful, sweet Valentine's weekend. I love you!

I'm Married to a Honker

I love my husband..even his quirks are adorable (yes, we're still newlyweds). Right now he has a little head cold and I noticed the other day that he honks when he blows his nose. Now the interesting thing about his nose honking is that 10 years ago when I was in Hannover, Germany at CeBit, with the State of Utah, I heard a lot of honking. Every morning and every evening, I would ride the train 30-plus kilometers to reach the trade show area and you could hear these very sweet, German people honking left and right. It always made me smile. After nine days in Germany, I traveled by train to Zurich, through the Alps and eventually to Rome. After a very short trip to Italy, I hopped back on the train headed to Munich and wouldn't you know it? As soon as I reached Germany, I heard someone honking on the train. And, since Michael has a fair amount of German blood in his veins -- my theory stands. Germans are adorable!

What Is It About Math?

Some people just have it...the ability to roll numbers around in their heads and come up with some square-root-divided-by-a-percentage-times-infinity equation. I am not one of those people - neither is Carly. Currently she is taking a few classes at SLCC and one of them is math - so we see a lot more of her. That's because Michael is one of those bright individuals who really gets it - and I do have to wonder why he does and I don't? It's natural to want to blame someone for this imperfection: my crummy 7th grade math teacher; the fact that I fell on my head at least a hundred times before I was three; or genetics. I'm going with the genetic-theory - it's just easier. Carly blames me - I blame my Dad (however he did gift me a fabulous smile) and so on, right up the branches of the family tree. So, if you need help with math, see Mike. If you want to watch someone fall on their head, see me.

Mike Likes Mud

One of the great benefits of having a fabulous daughter (thanks Carly) who is a Master Esthetician and a fabulous daughter (thanks Annie) who is a Cosmetologist is that there is NO excuse for not looking good. Occasionally, the girls will throw us some wonderful products...to keep up appearances. Last night, Michael decided to try out a mineral masque that Carly dropped by. And while I'm certain that the masque minimized his pores and was nourishing to his skin - I'm also fairly certain that his face has a strange orange-cast to it today.

Donut Falls

Michael and I decided that it was high-time for us to try snowshoeing. After all, we live in this beautiful, amazing setting at the base of the Wasatch Mountains. Yesterday was a cloudless, fairly warm winter day so we packed a picnic lunch, water, a camera and snowshoes. Carly has already gone snowshoeing this year - up Big Cottonwood Canyon on a 4-mile trek (roundtrip) to Donut Falls and that's where we decided to start. The scenery was spectacular; the snow sparkled and the hike was so invigorating. And Donut Falls - incredible! My hips, thighs and knees are screaming today but we've already decided that we are definitely going again. 

Ski Please!

This is just a little update on Carter's ski season. As you may recall, Michael and I got Carter skis and boots for his birthday in December. I take him up to Brighton every Thursday and after a month and a half, he's gotten to be a very good little shredder. Carter likes to ski through trees, hit mini jumps and ski past me while he yells out, "Ha-ha" and, "I love Brighton." It's been so much fun and what a wonderful way to spend the day. I'll be sorry to see the season end.

PB Addiction

I've always loved peanut butter - it's always been a staple in my life. On a sandwich, in cookies, brownies, ice cream or even the humble spoonful. Peanut butter is my friend. Recently Andrea introduced me to peanut butter and marshmallow creme sandwiches. Are you kidding me? These are ridiculously good. I even upped the ante by adding Nutella to the calorie-laden mix. Oh my; words cannot express...

Now I've been eating peanut butter sandwiches almost everyday for the last week and I noticed that my scalp has been itching like crazy. And I remember other times, in the past, when my scalp has itched and I start putting two and two together and I think...horror or horrors that I might be... allergic to peanut butter! Gasp. Isn't that just the way it goes - why couldn't it be brussels sprouts?