Mom's Day Out...

For Christmas this year, Doug and the kids decided to give me a day out... isn't that cool? It is so fun to have Daughter-in- laws to help guide my darling husband in these directions! Yesterday was my day to spend with my cute daughters and do nothing but girl stuff. I have to say, I thought I have done stuff like this before, but turns out I have NEVER in my entire life had a girl day.
We went shopping for clothes, ( I haven't actually purchased clothes for myself since... well can't remember- thanks Mom for all your hand me downs, otherwise I'd be neked!) shoes, girl stuff, had a great lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, and the finale- pedicures all around!
It was fun to see the girls in thier own element away from the brothers, as this RARELY happens. It was fun to visit and giggle and I will admit- a time or two they actually embarrased me ( you know I am 42 years old and have never set foot in Victoria Secret!) As Amanda said last night when parting- if there were boundaries set before, they are gone now!
Thanks girls for the funnest day ever!! I can't wait until we can do it again! Having daughters is sooo cool!!

The dry spell...

When we put the Orchard to rest for the winter I really felt like I didn't have anything to write about anymore. So I stopped writing- then one day when talking to a family member about this, she got after me and said," you need to write everyday!". I laughed and shrugged it off as nonsense, write everyday, come on, that is nuts, I couldn't possibly think of enough stuff to write about every day.
Then I really thought about it. My life matters- everyday! Even the little stuff matters and quite grateful for it frankly-after all if it was BIG stuff all the time that couldn't be good! I have resolved to look for something good to write about every day, not that I will actually write everyday, but looking for the good stuff along the way and sharing it with you all when I can.
Today's good stuff came from home and followed me to church. Kasey and Natti and Jaqai spent the night last night. We stayed up too late playing games, visiting, and laughing. So with my game night "hangover" I dragged myself and the kids to church. We had a new family in our ward that talked about truth, family and personal revelation! Now don't those things all go perfectly together? It was an amazing spiritual meeting and just what the soul needed! Of course it made me reflect on my own family and the season that brings us all together!
I think I might just make it through the week!

Remembering Christmas...

As the holiday season approached this year, I found myself starting to feel the anxiety creep up my spine. I was feeling stressed about the expense of the holiday, ( you know we are in a "recession" after all!) also feeling overwhelmed with all the "to do's" that the season brings. It was one of these days when we recieved in the mail an unexpected bill, followed by an unexpected and expensive car repair while sporting the flu ( just the regular kind, not the swine kind) that I thought I might just forget about the season and let the family fend for themselves. They are totally capable I am sure, if left on thier own, Christmas would still happen- right?
Last year we decided to start a new tradition of going on a sort of mini vacation with our kids the weekend before Christmas. We had so much fun doing it last year that we decided to do it again this year. Everyone was so excited... everyone but me, I was still feeling a bit hum buggy and felt the pressure of getting everything ready to go... was there enough food, snow gear, sleds for every one, enough clean skivies to get us through the weekend(remember... FLU) and now, how were we going to get there as we still had the car repair issue? I thought we could probably fit everything into Doug and Jordon's cars, but it would be tight with all the food and gear... oh and the people that we needed to get up the mountain!
Being the fix it person that I am ( secretly, I am feeling like I am the only one with these concerns so obviously I am the ONLY one who could possibly fix the problem!) I decided the truck would be a much better choice, we could split the "people" up between the two vehicles and throw the gear in the back. Problem solved.. just about... we hadn't taken the truck outside of Tooele County in a VERY long time. There was the issue of overheating on me the day before when picking up the kids from school, but we decided that the problem was fixed as we noticed that the poor thing was dehydrated! Nothing that a few gallons of antifreeze couldn't fix. So we loaded her up and off we went.. all the way to Auto Zone on a 1000 North! An old plug was leaking so we hurried a bought a new one and slapped it on and THEN off we went...ALL the way to Flying J in Lake Point! You would think at this point we would turn around and go get the dependable car.. OH NO.. not us, we were sure after one more gallon of antifreeze we definitely could make it now. When approaching Bountiful (destination- Wolf Creek, Ogden Canyon) we noticed that the gauge was getting up there again. We kept plugging away and watching the temperature as we went, after a bit we were able to keep it managed by turning the heat up full blast and rolling down the windows so we could breath. I am sure we were getting the looks on the freeway as it was a whopping 30 degrees outside!
The good news is that we made it. The bad news is, the truck was getting worse and couldn't bring us home. So here is where the Christmas Miriacle happened- we had sooo much fun! We were cooking together, playing games together, watching movies together, sledding together, laughing, teasing, and generally enjoying each other so much it hurt (literally- sledding is brutal at 40!) . I felt ashamed for all bad Christmas feelings I was having previously, my heart changed, you know like on the Grinch when his heart grows up! My heart grew up and thank heavens! Think of what I would have missed, skipping out on Christmas! I could'nt bear the thought of going through the whole season without feeling that sweet spirit that only our Saviour can offer. It was in the midst of these feelings when we had all gathered together, our last night there, to decide on what to do about getting us all home. We had just started our discussion when my sweet daughter-in-law suggested we pray about it, this was not a new concept as Doug and I had just had a private prayer in the truck when test driving it one last time, but it moved me so much my little family of faith- yeah that's what its all about friends- really, we were working together, with our Heavenly Father, to solve the problem. We didn't run out to the truck and have it all of sudden start running, it didn't even matter quite honestly, but the solution we all came up with worked and we eventually all got home safe and sound. So turns out that little Miss Fix It doesn't have to fix everything on her own, I am also pretty sure she doesn't have to even worry about everything on her own either!
I am so grateful for the lessons I am still able to learn, I am ever grateful for a gracious Father in Heaven who is patient, loving and kind and is still willing to teach me when I am continually making mistakes.
Merry Christmas Everyone!

Attitudes of Gratitude...

Doug's brother Russ and his wife Jenni hosted Thanksgiving at their place. We are getting to place in our lives where we are torn between old traditions and a new season in our lives where we probably need to start new ones. Since we were first married we have alternated between Doug's family and mine for the Thanksgiving holiday. It has always worked out really well for the most part and we have always enjoyed the time we get to spend with family. I always get a kick out of watching the cousins do their cousining, it doesn't matter how long it has been since they have seen each other, they pick right up and play like it was just yesterday. I love it. So this year I was torn between spending Thanksgiving with Doug's family and staying here with our married kids that wouldn't be able to go with us. Doug really wanted to go because a sister who lives far away was going to be there this year. When I realized how much it meant to him to be with his family I decided it would be Ok to go, but still the mother in me has a hard time leaving her little ones no matter how big they are!
Russ and Jen live 3 hours away, we decided to just make it the one day... it was a long one day but nice. It was fun to see every one and to make another great memory.
Thanks again Russ and Jen!

Aunt Jeri's Sweet Potato Casserole
3 cups smashed sweet potatoes
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. butter melted
2 eggs well beaten
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. evaporated milk
mix all ingredients together and place in casserole dish.
Topping-
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. flour
2 Tbs. butter
1/2 c. peacan peices
mix together until crumbly and sprinkle on top of potato mixture. Bake uncovered at 350' for 25-30 minutes or until top is crunchy.

Forever Family...

I love our church- I think I may have mentioned this before- but its true, I love the sweet gospel principles that we believe and teach our children, the same principles that were taught to us by our parents. I love the fact that our Saviour loved us sooo much that he gave his very life for us, so that we can have the opportunity to live together forever.
Our Jordon and Amanda and their darling daughter Ellie were sealed together forever in the Salt Lake City Temple, Friday October 23rd. It was such a special day and an amazing Temple year for our family. We have had 3 of our children in the temple this year. AWESOME- it definitely makes all the yucky stuff worth going through to get to this point. I hope that we can continue on this path and one day be able to see ALL of my children in the Temple!

Apple Pickin' Fun...

I thought a cousin's "Apple Pickin' Day" would be a fun way to get all the apples picked and in for the winter. We had a fairly good turn out considering the rainy weather. Uncle Bill and I made Bill's famous white bean chili and for dessert- carmeled apples Aunt Jeri style! The kids had a blast, they picked the apples off the trees and put into boxes, picked apples off the ground to feed to the animals. The only kids that were dragging their feet and complaining about the whole business was my own. They didn't see how apple picking was a special treat and why the cousins seemed to be having such a good time at it!! While researching online about some other farm related activity, I came across the instructions for a homemade apple cider press. I was sooo excited. The apples were so good this year I have resolved to spray more dilligently next year and grind those apples into delicious apple cider, I even bought two more apple trees. I think this now puts our total up to 16 apple trees at the orchard, 3 peach, 1 nectarine, 2 cherry,1 choke cherry, 1 pear and a plucot ( a hybrid mix between apricot and plum). This will probably be our last Family Orchard day until next spring. I am sure though, it won't be the last of our Family gatherings- we love each other too much to wait that long to hang out with each other! It is not hard for us to come up with a good reason to get together- happy snow day... pancake cookoff... just desserts... snowmen and sleds... movie night... christmas lights... the list goes on and on!!
P.S. Thanks to everyone who helped out!!!

Man Cave...

"The Man Cave" was created several weeks ago when my 17 year old Cache and his buddy Dalton were in a creative mood and decided to design a space of their own! Above our detached garage there is an open space that we have always called the "loft". We didn't really use the space other than to store a few odd and end things. Cache and Dalton cleared out the room, managed to find some old recliners (as a couch wouldn't fit through the door), a big screen TV that they kifed from Elder Connor Englands bedroom ( he is currently serving a mission in Australia), a sweet surf board coffee table that Dalton's mom donated and a plethera of other stuff that I don't want to know where it came from.
Cache and his pal's ( including brothers Jo and Kasey) enjoy hanging out and not worrying about girl stuff, meaning mostly Mom bugging them. I think I need to interject a reminder here, that I am the only girl that lives here right now, if you ask me the whole freakin' house is a "Man Cave"!!(excuse my language). We have strict man cave rules- NO girls allowed- except Mom and if there are girls that are friends who contact the Mom and want to "tour" the man cave ... like with TP or spray string or some thing else girly... they are encouraged to do so and I will be happy to take them up there any time. NO one is allowed under 16 as Dalton just turned 16 and he is the youngest Man Cave member. NO illegal or inappropriate behavior allowed- as this would deem the Man Cave CLOSED forever!! So far they are OK with the rules. I don't know how long this will last, and then its a trip back to the DI to return all the acquired decor!!
Heaven Help Me!!!

* Note- the above pictures are Cache and Dalton jammin' in the Man Cave, Creepy Bob Marley looking out the Man Cave window!

YEGGS...

Last night Jaxon and I went to feed. I was sidetracked as I always am with all the many things there are to do down there when Jaxon comes waddling back up to the car with his shirt FULL of eggs! I asked him what the deal was, and he answered in his charming 10 year old way ( I believe his eyes rolled )- they're eggs Mom!! Well duh! I could tell they were eggs I just couldn't wrap my brain around that many. We have 15 ladies right now and apparently they all decided to lay yesterday!! 15 YEGGS! Our most bountiful production day ever!

News from the feild...

He sounds soooo good. We are so very proud of our MISSIONARY!


hey mom i am having fun here in tacoma we had a good week. we have 6 people on date for this weekend i guess we will see what happens. but the cool thing is that 3 of them are member referrals so we are finally getting 'one chuch' established. it is hard to work with the members when no missionaries have worked with the members before us. so it is a litle hard to do. but its okay. anyway im glad jordon and amanda are going though the temple soon. and im glad thatyou finnaly sent me a package! so about two weeks ago this lady moved into our ward and she is way pumped about missionary work she has already found us two investigators and one is getting baptised this weekend. so that is what has helped us in establishing 'one church' in our ward. so maybe you and the family should start establishing 'one church' in tooele 1st ward because i know you guys know nonmembers. it is important to know which nonmembers areprepared and which ones aren't. so something to think about. well i have to go now, love ya, bye

The sweet stuff...

We have been picking nectarines this week. We have one semi-dwarf nectarine tree next to the garden. It hasn't really done much in the past, it is in a spot that doesn't get much water. This year, however, it over loaded itself with juicy little nectarines. We even lost a branch do to the amount of fruit this year. I think it is because when planting the garden we thought a pea patch next to the tree would be awesome- it was, in turn the tree actually got enough water.
I couldn't think of anything else to do with the fruit but jam 'em! I called Danielle ( my ever faithful sis-in-law), and Brooke (the violin teacher), they brought their supplies and we made JAM. We made 70 pints of nectarine raspberry jam. It turned out YUMMY! I was soooo grateful for their help- we had no idea it would take us so long, we were exhausted and a STICKY mess ( this was mostly thanks to Ian(3) who liked to measure the sugar for us)!! I went back to the nectarine tree to see how much fruit was left... SIGH... probably another bushel. Jaxon and I picked and sorted and left the fence side of the tree for the neighbors! We took the boxed fruit to a neighbor who was excited to have fresh fruit but was a bit concerned when I unloaded ALL the fruit, she had never made jam before and was looking a bit dazed. I wasn't about to take the fruit back, I hurried home and grabbed my food processor, water bath canner, jotted down the recipe and assured her she could do it! I might mention the next day Doug and I were leaving town and so this left her totally on her own- She did great and said her husband even helped and was so thrilled to have jam on the shelf!
It is a busy time of year when the fruit and veggies are ready to be put up. I am grateful to my Mommy who taught me how to do these things. This year we have put up, cherries, summer applesauce, apple pie filling, pears, tomatoes, salsa, corn, potatoes, pickles, nectarines and we still have all the squash,beets, carrots, the peach tree, a fall apple tree, and hopefully, one more bushel of tomatoes.

It is always hard work, but extremely satisfying. As I sit here and write, the bucket of windfall peaches aren't going to freeze themselves- better run!

Cheeeeese...

I am going to try to post some pictures... I know what your thinking...well, just wish me luck I am going to try to put the pictures by the posts that they belong too. So if you missed the beginning go back and check out the pic's!

In the hive....

This is a picture of Chance and Jaxon dressed to smoke the Bees. Jaquai is cheering them on!

We have a neighbor who is a bee keeper. He asked if he could put a couple of hives down at the orchard. Of course we said yes- it has been something that I have been thinking about for awhile but didn't know enough to actually do it. This way we get to see how it is all done and see if we want to venture out on our own someday.
Chance and Jaxon were thrilled as well. They had taken a tour of a honey shop here in town for scouts and thought that it was some pretty cool stuff. They have even helped smoke the hives to check on the bees. I love having the bees there.

They pretty much mind their own business, if you get close enough you can hear them busy at work. Its like hearing the washing machine going- there is work happening without actually having to do anything. I contribute this years bountiful harvest to the bees, they have pollinated and sweetened our fruits and veggies to overflowing. We have had plenty for us and then some to share. Our bee keeping neighbor- who happens to be our Home Teacher- dropped off some of this years honey yesterday- YUMMMY! It tastes just like summer!

more news from the feild...

It is the highlight of my Monday to recieve my missionary mail... enjoy!

hey mom im doing good here in tacoma. about the baptisms they finally got baptized on tuesday they would've got baptized on monday but our ward mission leader thinks that family night is more important. oh well im just glad that they got baptized on tuesday or else i know that they wouldn't have been baptized at all. because on wednesday they both decided to look on the internet to learn more about our church. they looked on all the wrong websites, so we had alot of explaining to do. they are good now and we are hopefully going to baptize one of thier moms this week. so i am putting together a picture book of all my baptisms so if you could print out the ones that ive sent home already and send them back to me that would be good. also feel free to send some pictures of the family. also i want to see how the yard is doing. when is jordon and amanda going through the temple? it would be cool to get some pictures of that too. im way excited for them. oh and some pictures of ellie too. all the pictures of home that i had i sent home on that memory card. hopefully i will be able to send home the other memory card soon. i was wandering if you had the movie 'prophet of the restoration' its the hour and a half restoration movie that they show in the visitors center in salt lake. if you guys dont have it, then i have a copie that you guys can have. i was told that it isnt going to come out on video. but once upon a time a general authority brought a copy to our mission president, and a missionary got a hold of it and now everyone has a copy. so if you guys want a copy then i have one for you. oh and your cousin nathan mitchell is in it.its about time the daltons write me i havent heard from them yet. i know that cody leaves soon. thats probably pretty exciting. well i better get back to work now. love you bye.

Cornbread and Baked Beans...

I have had this life long desire to play the violin. I have always loved to hear the violin being played, whether it be a hymn or a peppy little fiddle piece. This last February my young neighbor friend asked me if I would like to be in her grown up violin class. I was overjoyed... then reality hit... I was scared. You know, someone MY age learning something new and difficult. I still really, really, wanted to learn the violin, I didn't want to back out of lessons even though I had serious doubts, there was really only one thing to do... call Danielle (brother Bill's wife) and beg her to take lessons with me. Lucky for me she consented and we have been practically faithful every week since.
We had our first recital in May- I haven't been IN a recital since elementary school, how do kids do it?? I was sooo, nervous and was sooo glad when it was over. Our poor Brooke (the teacher), her adult class, which includes, Myself, Danielle, Janet ( Brookes mom), and DorAnn (Janets friend from work), we were wound up so tight we had a natural vibrato going on with the bows!! Bill said we sounded good, but I am pretty sure he was just being nice. Since that memorable music debut, Brooke decided that we needed to play more in front of people. We have now started playing for small church gatherings- the Tooele 1st Ward talent show and DorAnn's Stake primary BBQ. We even had our first paying gig for the Tooele Master Gardeners, they were so sweet and gave us each a thank-you note with a $5.00 McDonalds gift card inside! I am sure that any day now our calendars will start filling up with many scheduled violin events.
Before we could play as a group, we needed a name. We were each to come up with a name for our group, something country, garden, herb, related, then we would all vote on it. Danielle wasn't any help at all, she couldn't think of anything, I thought of "The Rusty Hoes" but then retracted it thinking we wouldn't be able to play for church groups any more, DorAnn thought of "The Garden Mumms", very cute. I should mention here that this was all just before we were to perform, we didn't have a lot of time to come up with something before we were to be announced. Brooke grabbed a piece of scratch paper out of her bag to jot down our play list, on the back- an old banquet menu. On the menu that night.. "Cornbread and Baked Beans"... now introducing.... We are having a ball!

Under the Bartlett...

My baby brother Chris decided it would be a great fun to have a family cookout at the Orchard for Labor Day. Turns out, he was right. Keep it simple, is my living motto these days. I brought the hot dog fixin's and everyone else brought somethin' to go with. Easy enough.
We pulled the picnic tables under the Bartlett tree and threw up our camp chairs. Now we could set back and watch the cousins do their "cousining", this is my favorite part. We had Jake and his three girls, Brittany, Megan, and Jamie ( who won't move from Grandmas lap). Josh and his two, Kristine and Joe Ryan. Bill and Danielle and their kids, Isabelle, Brooke and Ian. Nick and Kelli and their two boys, Luke and Scotty. Chris and Darcy and their brood, Toby, Teagan, and Tucker (who also shared Grandmas lap). Of course we had our "home" crowd, Doug, myself, Cache, Trevor, Chance and Jaxon. I do believe a couple of neighbor kids found their way in as well. As you can see there was plenty of cousining to be done.
They had fun picking apples and feeding them to the neighbors horses. Chasing the roosters. Metal detecting (thanks Uncle Josh), climbing trees, and a semi rough game of football. The biggest treasure find was when a group of cousins came running into the orchard from the barn holding two duck eggs!! Yes, we found Albert and Gus' secret laying spot. Out back behind the barn we have an old feeding trough for the cows that is not being used right now. One of those small little cousins got themselves down low enough to look underneath and there found the treasure! It caused quite a ruckus and you would have thought it was the goose that laid the golden egg!
Things settled down and 'smores were being made, I looked at the family around me in my favorite little spot in the whole world, my heart was content.

News from the feild...

Our 19 year old son, Kolten, is currently serving an LDS mission in Tacoma Washington. He is able to email us once a week, I thought I would share his funny little letters. We are so very proud of him and are amazed everyday with the blessings that have been ever abundant because of his service and sacrifices.


hey mom im doing good. this week was probably the most stressfull week of my life we had to work with three people so that they can get baptized. they were supposed to get baptized on sunday but someone told them that they will go to hell if they sin after they get baptized.then they were going to get baptized yesterday but our bishop and ward mission leader didnt want to do it because of family night. we are trying to get them baptized tonight. so far they are doing good. we are going to fill the font for the 3rd time this week, right after this. so its pretty stressfull around here but hopefully i will get you some pictures of us in white soon. its good to hear that jordon is an elder now, and they can go through the temple soon. so i better get some pictures! i havent got pictures in a while and i gave you guys alot of pictures so you need to start sending me some. also i was wandering if you could get my priesthood line of authority from dad. it will be good to have along with my patriarical blessing. well i have to go get these people baptized now so i better go, ilove you. bye.

Some of those amazing blessings are- Kasey and Natti being sealed in the Temple July 18th 2009, Jordon being ordained an Elder last Sunday and will be taking his family to be sealed in the Temple next month. Having a missionary in the field... having all my children but one ( cuz he is too young) in the Temple. There are so many others, some to share and some that are so special I keep them in my heart. Amazing---life is good!

Rusty Hinges...

This weekend Doug and I headed out to the "4th Annual Adult 4-Wheeling Trek" (adult- meaning no kids allowed). These fabulous weekends are hosted by Kent and Heather (My brother and sweet wife). They lure us down to this charming town in mid Utah by reserving rooms at "The Old Pine Inn". This is an absolutely quaint little B&B that was built over 100 years ago. Every year the place settles a bit and adds more and more character as the years go by. Doug and I were lying in our bed last trip and we could see a 2 inch wedge that had been added to the door because our room literally sloped downhill. This year they have placed blocks of wood beneath one set of claw feet on the tub. This is in one of the two bathrooms that are shared by the entire 2 floor, I think there are eight rooms on this level. Only one of bathroom doors will shut all the way, you truly have to be good friends to stay there! If you aren't when you get there, you are when you leave, and that what makes these trips so stinkin' fun!

Doug and I arrived at dinner time Friday night. Everyone was already gathered on the porch waiting for us to go eat. We hopped right on the 4-wheelers and headed to a small ranch north of town.There we got in line for a chuck wagon dinner, while various guests were serenading us with some fairly decent country karaoke. The food was great, we met some new friends from Mesquite NV, Bob and Joycelyn. They are friends of Kents mission companion Steve. Also Kent and Heather conned their Bishop (Allen) into joining us and he brought his wife Connie. So all total, Kent, Heather, Allen, Connie, Bob, Joycelyn, Steve, LuAnn, Jake, Amy, Doug and Myself. It is so fun to meet new friends!

After dinner we decided that a short night right would be just the ticket, so we rode from our Inn to "Hoovers not Hooters" for some ice cream. We only had one small mishap when Jake's 4-wheeler started spewing oil everywhere!! It turned out to be a loose oil cap that we quickly tightened down and continued on our way.

The next day we decided to meet after breakfast- Jake made Amy, Doug and I a hearty breakfast fare consisting of, eggs, hash browns, and bacon. YUM! We stayed with Jake and Amy in their trailer this year because- no room at the Inn!! After this we met up with the "Inn" crowd and headed out for the trail. I will sum up the day as follows... Start point- Marysville 8:30 am.... lunch- Beaver 2:00 pm.... Dinner- Marysville 9:30 pm and 120 miles later!! We looked like a bunch of happy raccoons, we were caked with dirt, a little red from the sun and ALOT sore from the ride!! Doug and I had to leave after dinner to head home, we were sorry to leave our new friends,and the old ones too, and sorry to miss another two days of funness on the Piaute trail system! I wondered on the way home, while wishing for some heavy duty ibuprofen, that maybe my hinges are getting a bit too rusty for these sort of adventures.... naaw... see ya all next year, until then... HAPPY TRAILS!

Two little "Quackers"...

I forgot to mention our two free range ducks at the orchard. Chance and Jaxon used their own money to purchase these baby ducks in the spring. I even thought they were pretty cute, however they grew FAST and the expression "ugly duckling" I think comes from ducklings hitting puberty! Now they are full grown the boys like to chase them down and put them in the water trough for a swim. Jaxon looks every day for eggs- we think they are old enough to lay, but where we don't know. I think one day we are going to find a stock pile of eggs in some dark corner, ages old- uugh! This morning the ducks were playing in the neighbors sprinklers that were over spraying onto our property, I asked Jaxon what they named the ducks anyway... his reply, " Albert and Gus". Yes- they're female!! Those funny, funny little quackers- Chance and Jaxon!

the hardend exterior or surface part of bread...

I thought I would share my fav pizza crust recipe- I found it online (easypizzacrusts.com) , there wasn't a reference to who summited it sooo.... finders keepers!

Garlic Herb Pizza Crust
Oven 400 degrees

3 cups all purpose flour
1 pkg. yeast
2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs. Italian seasoning
1 Tbs. chopped dried garlic
1 cup low fat milk, warmed to 110 degrees
1/2 cup water, warmed to 110 degrees

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare pizza pan by spraying with non-stick cooking spray. Combine dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Add warmed liquids all at once to the dry mixture. Stir until well mixed, incorporating all the dry ingredients. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and set aside for about 20-25 minutes, allowing the dough to rise. Empty dough out onto a clean, floured surface. Knead by hand 6-8 times, it may be necessary to add additional flour to the surface to keep dough from sticking. Roll into desired shape and thickness. Place rolled dough onto prepared pizza pan, add favorite sauce and toppings. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, depending on crust thickness.

* Doug met with his Priest group last night and they decided to do the "Pizza Cook Off" for one of their activities- Caches idea!

Off the vine...

Cute Kids!!!

Grumpa and kids... taking a break!

"The Judge"!!!!

1/2 team 3.........

Team 2... focus!!!

Team 1.... Pizza in the oven!

Here all are... working away!

We have a rather large garden at the orchard, it starts out looking great in the spring but by this time of the year the vines have taken over along with the weeds! It has been good to us though, it has kept us fed and busy. My Dad decided to help with the garden this year- he is one of those old farmers that really knows his stuff. It does not matter if there may be a better way or what proof research has revealed- he just knows, not to mention stubborn! I do have to admit, his way has worked out pretty well so far, especially with the tomatoes. Oh my goodness TO-MAT-OES!!! They are just starting to come on by the groves, but have been providing us with scrumptious tomato sandwiches for about a month. We have two cherry tomato plants that have grundles of sweet little maters that I just hate see go to waste. So when reading an article on my new favorite blog page "farm girl fare" she mentioned picking the cherry tomatoes and freezing them in freezer bags for pizza sauce. This in turn spurred the FUNNEST family activity of the summer...
It was the Saturday before school started and we really wanted to do something FUN. Doug, Kasey and Cache had just spent the last 3 days in Jackson Hole river running for a youth activity. We knew they would be tired and not be up to a physical sort of activity like water park, lagoon, etc.. Also camping was out since the next day was Sunday. So I thought of the pan of pizza sauce I had just made and quickly called Natti and Amanda and told them to be at the house at 5:30 pm for "Kinsman Family Pizza Cook Off". I gave them a list of things that I would provide and they were welcome to bring any secret ingredient they felt necessary. Doug and I both worked at The Pizza House in high school, so of course I knew we really had an advantage over the others- hands down- no question. Amanda is quite the little gourmet, I counted on her coming with her game face on- she did. Natti married a great cook, he also came with his game face and two bags of supplies. Trevor (our 18 year nephew who is living with us now), Cache (17),and Chance (13), participated because we didn't give them a choice. Jaxon (10) was on Mom and Dads team, Jaqai (5)went with Kasey and Natti and Ellie (1 1/2) who technically was on Jo and Amanda team, sort of wandered around entertaining all of us! We had one hour to assemble our creations before our call in "judge"-Hope Young (18) would arrive to give us her fair and unbiased score based on the 5 star point system. There was fighting over pans, olive oil, knives, counter space and maybe a pepperoni or two. Eyes were watering from fresh cut onions and from laughing too hard! Hope arrived before all the pizza were cooked, so we had her face away from us and we all were taking turns giving her "judging instruction". Finally the pizza's were done, the Judges table was set with one slice of each pie placed in front of her with the creations name. Doug, Jeri, Jaxon team created the Traditional Hawaiian with fresh mushrooms, tomatoes and green peppers. I also might add... a stuffed crust! Kasey, Natti and Jaqai team created two different pies, a philly cheese steak and a BBQ chicken. Both were cooked out on the grill and looked fabulous. Jo, Amanda, Ellie team also created two pies, an artichoke chicken, and a margarita pizza with fresh tomatoes and basil- YUMMY! The boys team, Trevor, Cache and Chance, invented the "Heart Attack" this constituted pepperoni, bacon, mushrooms (sauteed in bacon grease), tomatoes (only 2 slices also sauteed in bacon grease) and then topped with extra cheese- I don't think I need to say anymore. Hope graciously takes her position and we are all standing there staring at her- talk about pressure- Jo even offered a prayer in her behalf that she might be fair and just, he was totally serious. Then we all gave up on Hope and started digging in ourselves, I don't even know of a pizza place that offers pizza that yummy!! We had so much fun, even the teenage boys relaxed and really got into it, all of us can't wait to do it again. After eating to beyond stuffed we all vegged in the basement for movie night! Final score- "The Heart Attack" won!!

Might as well laugh about it...now!

The goats. How we did ever get into the goat business... funny story. Jordon (21) was working as a surveyor last summer and ran across a pygmy goat farm ( after some research on KSL.com). I think he thought to himself- wouldn't a pygmy goat be fun to have, I think I will bring one home.. today!! So he calls me on his way home from work and that night he sets up a little corral for his new goat Gertie. I asked him what his plan was for this new addition and his reply was," I think I will build her a play yard and watch her play". If you could have seen the inside of my mind explode it would have been a shock, however I kept my cool and said with a rather large sigh... OK. I should mention here that Jordon left that very night for a 3 day camp out with the scouts. The next day Jaxon (10) and I went to feed and water and NO GERTIE!! I am sure that you goat experts out there are laughing your heads off because we thought we could corral a goat, yes with pig wire, what else? By now my mind is exploding on the outside, not just the inside!! I call his cute wife (Amanda) and she brings a friend and we search and search and search. I call all the neighbors and leave messages about the missing goat. That evening when I am thinking I will need to make a run to the pygmy goat farm and purchase a replacement before Jordon gets home... we receive a phone call. We have located the goat, so I grab Natti because she happened to be over helping me do string beans, and we run out the door. The goat had wandered into a nearby subdivision, made her way onto someones deck and found a cozy spot under a lawn chair. I thought to myself great, I will just grab her and off we go!!! Again the goat experts are laughing..its OK. Gertie gets spooked and jumps of the deck, that happened to be on the the second floor. The hosting neighbors freaked out and were so concerned about the goat they called the police... OH PLEASE!! I am chasing the goat, on foot, in flip flops, down a busy road.. are you getting the picture? I yell back at Natti and tell her to follow me in the car. I got the goat into the Orchard and thought I was on the home stretch.. OH NO! At this point the cop shows up with Natti.. I didn't know the neighbors called the police I thought Natti had gotten in trouble WITH the police, and wondered if this day could get any better. The goat ended up in the pasture, with the cow, with the sprinklers on, with me running with my flip flops through the sprinklers.... the goat leaves the pasture and heads back up the busy road with the cow who has just jumped the fence now following. The cop takes off after the goat I get the cow back into the pasture and fix the fence, Natti is looking for my cell phone that I lost in the chase and was ordered to call Jordons sweet wife and get her there immediately with a leash... See, goat herders, I am learning. Cop was able to pursue the escapee into a neighbors garage, he rings their bell and orders them to close their garage door immediately. The cop is then able to corner the alleged runaway and gets her into the back of the cop car for a ride back to the orchard. There we reconvene and discuss our options, we decide that a portable dog kennel is the solution, I know my brother who lives in town has one, so I call him to please, please drop what he is doing and bring it to us so we can get Gertie out of the back of the cop car. Thirty minutes later he shows up, the cop by the way was a really good sport as was Natti and Amanda ( whom I am just barely now speaking too, only because she married Jo she has to deal with it), it was still the longest 30 minutes of my life. I was hoping that our adventure wasn't going to end up in the police blotter the next week, as the cop did take down our names and birth dates! Everything ended up OK, Jo got an earful when he got home but nobody could appreciate our suffering and mental anguish but those who experienced it, Natti, myself, Officer Purdue and the few gracious neighbors who I know witnessed but were polite enough not to say anything.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

I thought I would try my hand at blogging... everyone is doing it right? A little about myself first- I am a small town girl, small meaning Delta Utah small... actually even smaller I lived seven miles west of Delta in an area called Sutherland. This is even smaller than Delta, I don't think it is even a town. I was raised on a dairy farm with a mom and dad and SEVEN younger brothers! I am not sure how many cows but at the time it seemed like a lot. We always had a dog and the earliest memory of this was a lovely mutt named Rufus- Where the name came from I couldn't even begin to imagine. A remember making weed forts, swimming in the irrigation canal (GROSS) and jumping off the haystacks... and getting into trouble for it if Dad caught us. It was a great way to be raised, we worked hard, played hard and fought hard! But I never, never, never wanted to be a farmer, I never thought I would have ALL boys, and I never thought that in order to raise them up learning how to work we would end up purchasing a small piece of property with an established apple orchard on it!!! Oh Boy- it is the thing I love the most and the thing that can frustrate me beyond good language!!! Our family... meaning my grown up family consists of a mom (me) and a dad (Doug) and SIX sons (Kasey, Jordon, Kolten, Cache, Chance- who was meant to be our LAST chance for a girl, and Jaxon), since our initial brood we have added two sweet daughter-in-laws (Natti and Amanda) and two of the cutest grandkids you have ever seen (Jaqai and Ellie) we have a dog named Buster, 4 goats, Gooner (who we sold and was returned for bad behavior!) Gertie, sort of Gooners wife, GiGi- the baby, and Xavier the new male goat. We have 14 laying hens - these are the only animals that I will claim as my own and 4 roosters that will be in the freezer soon. In the pasture we have four cows, T-bone, Cheeseburger, Porterhouse and Tenderloin. We bought the property without knowing what we were doing... and we still don't! Somethings work and somethings don't, but the journey has been amazing (and often humorous ), I thought it would be fun to keep sort of a journal on the orchard happenings along with the happenings in our ever changing family... more on both.