Utah road trip

We were fortunate to be able to travel to Utah this summer and stay with my sister Cynthia and their family. They are wonderful hosts - and we had so much fun! We love being with the Hasslers!

You'll get to enjoy some of our memories in this blog entry, but somehow I didn't get photos of everything - so a little bit of text is necesary too! Who could forget the smoked ribs and brisket done in Mike's smoker.... Will is still talking about those! I don't think he even touched the side dishes at that meal - it was a protein only dinner for him! We also loved Abby's new obsession - Yogotogo - a serve your own yogurt place with dozens of toppings. MMMMMM. Did we go there 3 times? YUM!

Dutch Blitz... I brought it with me although we didn't get around to playing this card game for a few days (too much fun shopping and sight seeing!), but after introducing it to the Hasslers, I have some converts and a few girls who have challenged their auntie to a competition for next summer! BRING IT ON ladies!

We got to see Spencer & Lori and their kids too - which was great! Including a visit to the park one day with the kids, and a Marvin Goldstein concert for the ladies. I'm so envious of all the cultural opportunties in Utah - imagine this - a posting at a mini golf course for a Hilary Weeks concert for free! Just down the street! Sheesh!

Anyways - it was a fabulous trip! Here are a few of our memories!

Mini golfing with the girls. The boys were out dirt biking - which Will loved! My girls loved eating their meals at the island seated by their cousins!

Jenna & Abby making puppets with the girls & Ethan.

Abby doing a 'make over' on the girls.

One of my FAVORITE times this whole summer was a double date with Cynthia and Mike to temple square one night. When we were at temple square earlier in the week, we had seen a posting for a free concert in the park with Mercy River - one of my favorite LDS music groups! I was so excited this happened during our stay and we were able to make arrangements to go. The concert was awesome and so uplifting. Great to be in a park setting too - so uplifting. Afterwards we walked over to temple square. We saw the temple display in the visitors center and then to our surprise, the actual grounds close to the temple were open so we walked in. We also at at the restaurant on top of the Joseph Smith Memorial building. Our appetizers included fried dill pickles - which I thought would be gross -but were really yummy! And dessert of course. I don't think I could have had a better night - good food, good music, beautiful setting and fabulous company! The Salt Lake Temple is so pretty at night!

We're just missing a white dress & tux!

With my fabulous sister, Cynthia - and Mercy River. What a great concert! So awesome to meet these inspiring ladies!

At Tree House museum. Cynthia was so awesome at showing us around and taking us to places that we would be interested in. Jenna and Abby were very patient too - which was awesome! Even though the activities weren't always up their alley - their good attitude allowed us to be together! Thanks! Architect at work!

On our last day in Utah - Spencer brought his kids and met us at a park. It was great to see Spencer, Sydney, Zach, Alex and Sam. Sorry we missed Lori. Fun to have the cousins play!

Before our triple date with Spencer & Lori.

Cynthia spent a lot of time with me shopping for jeans (and other items! Love the US deals!) I bought these sparkly jeans as a reward to myself for completing my weight watchers goal - 25 pounds. Cynthia found herself some cute jeans too!

Some of you know that Will loves watching the Food Network. In specific he likes a show called "Diners Drive-ins and Dives". When we were in California, we googled some of the episodes to see where to eat - and we tried one in San Diego. Yum. So - we decided to do the same thing in Salt Lake City - and settled on "Moochies" known for Philly steak sandwiches and meatball sandwiches. We went there on a triple date with Mike / Cynthia and Spencer / Lori. So fun! Mike ended up with meatball all over his face. Will ordered two sandwiches and still salivates over them today. Afterwards we enjoyed a movie together.

Just look at the joy in the man's eyes!

A visit to temple square with the Hasslers. I wanted our girls to know where the prophet lives / works so when they see conference they know. It was a really hot day outside - thus the red faces! We canucks are not used to the heat!

I love to see the temple, I'm going there some day....

Our forever family

Cousins!

On top of the conference center

In the children's musuem, the kids got to act out Lehi's dream - with the Tree of Life. Fun!

Will's gorgeous garden

Okay - so most of you know I am lucky to be married to a fabulous gardener. Will's garden is his joy, relaxation place, stress relief and peace & quiet after a long day at work. He loves it. Lucky me because I get to enjoy the result of all his hard work. Even when I'm not outside, I enjoy a lovely view out my kitchen windows every day. At the end of the year last year, I decided I needed to capture some of the beautiful blooms with my camera for summer 2010. I didn't get it all - but here are a few - enjoy!

These yellow ones start off spring with a burst of color that makes me smile. The green leaves and stems of this plant is the first green that we see in our yard -with the blooms following usually in May. I love this time of year! Apple blossoms!

Iris. Another sure sign its spring.

Dainty!

A gorgeous red one - bloomed right on Canada Day! Eh!

You gotta love peonies - especially these bright pink ones. Wow!

Our little apples starting to look like apples!

Delphiniums have been one of my favorites for a long time. The vibrant blue always catches my eye. These plants are still recovering from a terrible hail storm 2 years ago.

What's a garden without some roses!? These were all gifts from the girls and I to Will!

I love when the Tiger lilies and day lilies start. There's almost a new flower to admire every day!

These last three were still blooming in October! Although we didn't have much heat during the summer, we did have a really nice September and October. The yellow ones are from a plant that came from my Grandma Johnson's yard. It really flourished this year, and reminded me of the joy she always took in her garden. She would always tell me what flowers were in bloom each week - and she loved that there was something different blooming all the time. I think I have a little bit of her in me. Our garden is great! Thanks Will! :-)