Blue Lips

This week was my YSA Ward's summer activity. Around 50 of us spent three days in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Jackson is one of my favorite places, so I was really excited to go! We left early Thursday morning, and spent the afternoon setting up camp at the Big Elk campground. It sits on a lake that I never knew existed, and it is gorgeous!

On our way to dinner that night we drove through the center of Jackson and took pictures at the famous elk horn arch. I am the brilliant one who forgot to take off my sunglasses :)

We went to dinner at one of very most favorite places - Bar J Wranglers. For anyone who hasn't been there, make it a goal to go! They feed you tons of awesome cowboy grub, then do a show where they sing cowboy songs and make the audience laugh like crazy! Most of my group hadn't been before, so it was fun to see their reactions! The next day my sides hurt from laughing so much. I love that place!

Friday we rafted the Snake River. There were three rafts with 10 spaces in each, so we ran the river twice so everyone could have a chance. The first group to leave ran the river at 9:20 am. I drew an "R" so I got to go with this group. Though the day was beautiful, it was SO COLD that early in the morning. But we still got in and set off.

Though I have rafter the river several times (and fallen into the river several times) I have never gotten as wet as I got during this trip! Each boat had water guns, but found that the buckets meant to bail water out of the rafts were far more conducive to drenching the other boats! I was sitting up front and ended up getting the brunt of many bucketfuls of water thrown in our directing. We brought 2 other rafts into our water fight (in addition to the three from my ward), so it got pretty good! During the trip people kept telling me that my lips were blue. All I could think was "Of course they are! It's cold!".

The second group left in the afternoon, and since there was space I got to go again! We set off around 1:30. Though it was warmer, as soon as we got in the raft someone looked at me and said, "Katie, your lips are blue!" Shocker. It was a comment I heard over and over that day! Apparently my lips turn blue very easily.

The second trip down had water fights, though not near as intense as the first group. The river was ALOT rougher the second time down (funny how it can change so quickly!) so a lot more time was spent navigating the rapids. The "Lunch Counter" rapid was AWESOME (see picture above)! I was sitting on the back of the raft and had an awesome view. I always sit in the front of the raft and had no idea the back was so much fun! Towards the end of our ride we hit a rough spot of water where three people got thrown out and we lost a paddle. Chaos ensued. It was great fun! I love running the river!

That night we had dutch oven for dinner (YUM!) and warmed up around a HUGE bonfire. Then we had an awesome fireside.

Since we were camping on a lake we also had a boat with us. While one group was rafting the river, another group was water skiing and tubing. This morning I went out on the boat for a little while. It was so beautiful and relaxing! I was sitting at the back of the boat when someone went to throw the rope to the guy who was going to go water skiing. Somehow, when the rope was thrown out, it managed to wrap itself around my neck twice (don't ask, no one knows quite how it happened). It didn't throw me off the boat or strangle me or anything, but it did give me a nice rope burn. Try explaining to people why you have a rope burn around your neck! :)

We drove home this afternoon and I slept blissfully most of the way! I love Jackson!

Queen of the Mountain!

Do you see the path coming up the right side of this picture? That would be my summer nemesis. I have been riding my bike to work this summer, and this has been the hardest part! The last mile and a half of my ride are uphill, but this last little bit is killer! (this picture just shows part of the last hill, it kind of goes on forever!) Plus, by the time I get to the bottom of this hill I am worn out due to the hill I just climbed! The first day I rode my bike I pushed my bike up this entire hill - and make a goal to be able to ride to the top of the hill by the summer's end.

I had been making progress. Little by little, usually only a few feet a day, but last week I had got to half way up the hill before I had to get off and push my bike. I thought that there was no way I would ever make it up the entire thing! Last week my Dad decided to ride up the hill to see what I was talking about. He said that it was a killer, but that he had made it. Suddenly, I was more determined than ever to get up the hill!

So this morning when I got to the bottom of the hill I put my gears as low as they would go and began climbing, VERY slowly! I passed the halfway mark and was so excited! By this point I was so out of breath, anyone near me would have thought that I was about to fall off my bike. When I got to 3/4 of the way up the hill my leg muscles started to freak out on me. But I was too close to stop. And then, all at once, I was at the top! I DID IT! HOORAY! It felt so good! When I got to work and got off of my bike I had a hard time walking, but I did it!

Moral of the story: Slow & Steady winds the race! (YOU CAN DO IT!)

Moonraker's Bride

I have to admit, I was skeptical when I began reading ‘Moonraker’s Bride’ by Madeleine Brent. It had been recommended to my sister, who had read it and then gave it to me to read. I started reading it about a week ago, but it took me a few days to get into it. By the time I got to page 100 I was intrigued. By page 200 I was captivated. I seriously could not put it down. Moonraker’s Bride is about a young English woman (Lucy) who is raised in China after her missionary parents are killed (I think in the late 1800’s). At the age of 18 she moves to England and faces many struggles as she learns to fit into a culture very different from the one she has always known.

This book is incredibly written, and has lots of little twists and turns that keep you guessing (I was reading it at work and there was a part where I literally jumped up and yelled "WHAT!?!?) It is a historical/mystery/romance novel all rolled into one. It is also really funny, which I was not expecting! I would highly recommend it to anyone who is lucky enough to come across it!

It’s an older book (published in 1973) and completely out of print. Apparently it’s hard to find which makes me sad as I would really like to own this book myself (and I don’t buy books very often!) While Madeleine Brent did write several books, and most of them have incredible reviews, it seems they are all difficult to come by. I wish they would keep books like this in print!

Hooray for well written/entertaining/clean books!

I learned something from the TV!

I am not really a TV person, but my weakness is the Food Network. Lately I have gotten in the habit of watching “The Next Food Network Star” on Monday mornings while I run on the treadmill. It’s the first season I have ever followed it, but I have really been enjoying this show! A couple of weeks ago each of the contestants were challenged to explain a culinary technique to the audience in under a minute. They also had no idea which technique they would be teaching until they were on camera. One man was asked to teach how to peel a pineapple. The first thing he did was show how to remove the “leafy plume” of the pineapple, (aka, the top). He showed how on a ripe pineapple you should be able to just twist the top off easily. Then he went on and on about how you should save this part and use it for a garnish. (he then got docked by the judges for not showing how to peel a pineapple, just how to take the top off)

So yesterday I was helping my Mom prepare food for a baby shower. We were making fruit kabobs, and the daunting task of peeling a pineapple was in front of me. I remembered what I had learned on NFNS, grabbed the top, and sure enough, it twisted right off! SO COOL! Then as we were finishing our kabobs I got the brilliant idea to use the top as a garnish (I never garnish anything, so this was way different for me). I stuck the leafy plume in the middle, and it actually looked nice! We were really impressed with how pretty the tray turned out. It looked like this:

So the fact of the matter is that you CAN learn things from watching TV! Who would have thought? So good job, Aaron! The judges may not have appreciated your demonstration, but I learned something!

I also made a batch of some of my favorite cookies for the baby shower. I first tried them when I was a freshman in college, but I lost the recipe and haven’t been able to find it for years. I recently found it and have been looking for an excuse to make them. They were even better than I remember them being! They look simple on the outside, but they are incredible! They are always a huge hit at parties! Here is the recipe . . . (If you click on the picture you can really see the ooey gooey goodness!)

Rolo Cookies

1 Box chocolate cake mix

2 Eggs

1/3 cup Oil

Around 45 Rolo candies (unwrapped, please :)

Heat oven to 350*. In a bowl, mix cake mix, eggs and oil together. It will look dry, but just keep mixing until everything comes together (it will)! Take a small pinch of your dough and press it completely around a Rolo. Roll it in your hands to make a nice ball shape. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Continue until all the candies are covered or until the dough is gone. Makes between 36-45, depending on how much dough you use. Bake cookies for 10 minutes (don’t overcook). Leave on pan to cool for 5 minutes and move to cooling rack. The finished product will be a pretty chocolate cookie on the outside with melted caramel inside (and the caramel stays melted, even when they are cool!) ENJOY!

Tips:

-Make sure that you cover the entire Rolo. If you don’t, the caramel will melt out of the cookie.

-It takes hardly any dough to cover the Rolo. You want just enough to cover the candy. (Just a bit more than 1/2 Tablespoon)

-Don’t crowd the cookies on the cookie sheet. You don’t want them running into each other when they are baking!

-You can switch the Rolos with many other candies (like York Peppermint Patties or mini Peanut Butter Cups). YUM!

Welcome Home Eric!

Yesterday my younger brother returned from serving an LDS mission in Kentucky. He did an awesome job, and we are so excited to have him home!

Welcome Home Eric!

Behind the scenes . . .

The fourth of July is always a bit hectic in my family. Our friends own a local firework company that does firework shows. The fourth of July is super busy for them, so they need extra people to help with city firework shows. A few years ago my family offered to go and do our first firework show, and since then we generally do a fourth of July show for them. This year we were asked to take care of a small show in a resort town. It was awesome. Here are some behind the scenes shots of a firework show (Though I really don’t know any of the technical lingo, so bear with me!)

First you have to set up all of the pipes which will hold the firework shells. This part is pretty boring, so there are no pictures.

Mom and dad dropping in the shells

Me and mom putting tape over the top (an easy way to make sure the shell has gone off without sticking your face over the pipe!)

Ready to roll!

This year we did a really small show. This is what it looks like when it is all set up. Its about a three hour set up, a 10-15 minute show, and then an hour clean up. And thats for a small show! My brother Karl, and SIL Liz were in charge of a HUGE show about an hour away. They spent far more time setting up than we did - but it looked like it was so cool! The fun part about doing a small show is that you light the fireworks by hand. You use flares, and 2-3 people take turns lighting the fireworks, this time my dad and I lit the fireworks and my mom kept everything under control and lit the finale.

Playing with fire. So cool! (Dad in background, I'm up front)

Lighting them off!

My family all agrees that we have gotten spoiled. The very best place to watch a firework show is from directly underneath it, one of the fun benefits of lighting a show! The finale is all prepared, so you just light one fuse and the whole thing goes off. At that point you can sit back and enjoy the show. It's so awesome!

It's a lot of work, but it's also lots of fun! note to self - remember ear plugs next time!

Happy Independence Day!

Watching the fireworks with Madison (she loves them!)

I love the fourth of July! I love fireworks! Here we have our big firework show on the third of July, so last night I got to enjoy one of my favorite things of the year. The firework show is set to music, which makes it even more beautiful. Our family put blankets out on a church lawn, turned on radios, and watched the show. I wasn’t in the US last year, so I feel like I haven’t been able to enjoy the fourth of July in a while. Last night was such a perfect night for fireworks. There was a warm breeze, and as the fireworks were going off the song “God Bless the USA” was playing. It really touched me and almost made me cry. The lyrics are so beautiful and right on. I think that the more time I spend outside of the USA the more grateful I am for this country. No, it is not perfect, but we are so blessed with so many opportunities here that don't exist in other places.

“And I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land, God bless the U.S.A!"