Egg Rolls

My SIL taught me how to make and cook egg rolls last Thursday. Oh, it was so good. (As I sit here writing...I realize that my life really seems to rotate around food...is that a good thing? I mean one must eat to survive but does anyone else get joy out of learning a new recipe? trying new food? eating out? eating in?...probably too many of us!!)
I was surprised at how easy the recipe was and wrapping them was fun. Now, my SIL manned the hot oil so I'll have a new experience when I try doing it by myself for the first time, but I think I can do it.
Look past my SIL...see all those egg rolls on the cookie sheet? We had so much fun making the egg rolls...I really would have eaten all of them if I could fit them in my tummy, but my tummy betrayed me and I was forced to stop eating way too soon. Oh well, isn't it better to not over due it in one sitting?

See, I really am working

I really have enjoyed canning peaches. Of course, I help my mom get everything in the jars and then I head home. She's the poor lady that has to spend then next four hours putting the jars in the sealing bath and then taking them out and then putting more in the water.
These aren't done with the typical half-peach look. We found that it is easier and faster to just cut up the peaches, sweeten them a little bit and then put them in the jars with their own juices. I believe most of these peaches will be eaten on top of pancakes during the rest of the year.
Above is the "before" picture and below is the "after" picture. For some reasons peaches look darker before being boiled...maybe because of the oxygen in the jars. Oh well, they still look very yummy.
Today we did tomatoes...and then I took my aunt to the airport while my mom started on pears. We've also dried peaches and hopefully will dry pears. My favorite dried fruit is the pear. And my favorite canned fruit is also the pear. I just absolutely love pears. (I think I prefer my peaches right off the tree...yum).

Working Very Hard

I decided to take the camera to my mom and dad's house today to show what I've been doing lately. (That's my mom in the top picture. We have to pick up all the peaches that have fallen to the ground before we pick them off the trees. That way, we know which peaches have fallen when we are picking them and new ones fall to the ground).
It's important to wear gloves while picking peaches unless you don't mind feeling ichy.
In the last two and half weeks, I think we've picked over twenty buckets full of peaches. We've frozen some of them, given them away to family and those that we picked today will be canned tomorrow.
And don't forget the rest of the garden. Corn, onions, potatoes, beets, zucchini, pumpkins, raspberries, strawberries, red peppers, yellow peppers, green peppers, okra, green beans, broccoli, Swish chard, beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, watermelon, AND tomatoes. And I'm sure I've forgotten something else. Mom also has an orchard with apples, peaches, apricots, pears, plums and an almond tree. She keeps plenty busy and I enjoy helping her out where I can.

Hair Cut

I got my hair cut. I'm not sure I like it...well, I think I do, I just need to get used to it. It can be done curly...like in these pictures. Or straight...which I've also done and feel like Frankensteins Bride. Or kind of straight and kind of curly.
I think I like it sort of curly and sort of straight. But this hair cut will grow out really nice. Don't you like the beautiful yard? My father-in-law has such a beautiful yard and garden.
I hope you like these pictures...I took them myself.

Hiking Timpanogos

This is the fearless group that went hiking the back of Timpanogos on Saturday Sept. 6th. SM went with his two sisters, their husbands, and the mother and brother of one of the brother-in-law's. (I hope that isn't as confusing as it sounds). The hike was known to be a tough hike, but none of them anticipated that it was as tough as it was. (Another confusing sentence...oh well). To put it directly, the hike was hard but worth it. The hike also had some very beautiful waterfalls. Also, for being the beginning of September, it was very green in some places. For those of you not familiar with Utah weather, because of the heat during the summer, a lot of the grasses turn yellow from all the heat. These are some very beautiful pictures.


The weather was warm when the hikers started, but as they continued up the mountain, increasing in altitude, it got cooler and cooler. As they got close to the top of the mountain, the mighty hikers saw snow patches that were still there from last winter.

These are SM's two beautiful sisters. I'm a lucky girl to have them as sister-in-laws. Especially because I always wanted more sisters and now I have seven additional sisters in my family!!

Everyone had to take occasional breaks to take pictures of the scenery or to take pictures of others' taking pictures.This was a close call...SM almost fell over the edge of a clif...or at least that's how he staged it. As you can tell, all the hikers were of a serious nature.
This is a picture of Emerald Lake, the turning around point for five of the hikers. After taking four hours hiking up the back of Timpanogos Mountain, and three more hours to get down, the hikers were very glad they did the hike! Nobody complained too loudly the next day as they hobbled around...at least not too much.

Trip West

Do you think they love us or hate us?

OH, they definitely LOVE us!!
Monday Aug. 18th Before we could start our trip west, we had to clean off the van. We know we will be missed and we will miss you all also...

After filling the van with all the little odds and ends that didn't make the semi, we stopped at Jiffy Lube to get one last thing done on the van and then drove to State College, Pennsylvania. I wish I had thought to take my camera out. State College is so green and beautiful. Plus I could have posted a picture of Sammie and Melissa so you could see how happy they are...but I didn't. Sorry! We spent the night in with Sammie and Melissa and had a great time visiting with them.

Trip West

Tuesday August 19th We got to Kirtland, Ohio in the afternoon. We stopped at the visitors center and watched a short video about Kirtland and also about Newel K. Whitney and his family.
Some sister missionaries took us on a tour of Historic Kirtland...
This was inside the Newel K. Whitney store. I really liked this picture...so you get to see this photo instead of the photo of the general store.
Aren't we a cute couple? I think so.
This is the Kirtland Temple. We got up there too late to go on a tour through the temple, provided by the Community of Christ, but I did get to walk around the outside.

Trip West

Wednesday Aug. 20, 2008 We drove from Ohio through Indiana and through most of Illinois before arriving at Nauvoo, Illinios. This is a picture of the Nauvoo Temple. Isn't it just majestic?!
We stopped at the visitors center, watched a short video and then went out to the garden called Monument to Women. It had many statues representing different times of a women's life, ending with an old women in her chair working on a quilt over her lap. It was beautiful.
Then we took a wagon ride through historic Nauvoo. Many of the missionaries there were dressed in time period clothing and played the part. I loved this picture of this woman waving to us.
After visiting Nauvoo, we drove to Carthage, Illinois to see Carthage Jail. The jail is the building you can see just behind this statue. In fact if you look at the upper left window, that is the window through which Joseph Smith fell through to his death.
And here am I...just had to add this picture because I love the beautiful lawn, flowers and brick pathway.

Trip West

On Thursday Aug. 21st we started the day in Missouri. We visited Adam-Ondi-Ahman. It was rainy and very green.
Behind me is a view of Adam-Ondi-Ahmn. As you can see, no houses, no buildings, no nothing!
We then went to Far West. Here is one of the temple cornerstones placed here by Joseph Smith. Someday...we'll have a temple there...I think.
Then we went to Liberty, Missouri and went to the visitors center to see the Liberty Jail. The floor is the original jail floor. Being there actually made church history real for me. I really enjoyed our trip.
This is the temple for the Community of Christ. SM says it looks like an upside-down conch shell. This is across the street of the visitors center in Independence, Missouri.

This was our last stop before we travelled the rest of the way to our new home.