Ginger Shortbread

(A Hint of)Ginger Shortbread. I only added 1 tsp ground ginger rather than 1 tbsp. I would have liked it with lots of ginger but I knew the boys wouldn't.

Froms Woman's Day Mag.

http://www.womansday.com/Recipes/Double-Ginger-Shortbread-Triangles-Recipe

Lemon Bars

Paula Deen's Lemon Bars. They are so delish! The bottom is like short bread and the lemon filling is perfect, not too sweet and just enough tartness. I'm going to be super chubby by the times 2010 gets here! :D

Ginger bread brownies.

http://christmas.betterrecipes.com/gingerbread-brownies.html
I haven't food blogged in forever! Get ready because it's that time of year.

If you don't like gingerbread you won't like these. Honestly if I make these again I'll put less cinnamon and clove and more cocoa. The clove is really strong. The cocoa is almost non existant. But they're still yummy. Wish I had some van ice cream

Anyone want some candy? I have at least 10 lbs of it. We got about 20 kids but they came in 3 groups and even though I gave handfuls away I still have half a bucket. :S I don't want this stuff in my house!!

First Snow

Knifty Knitter

I like this loom. Great for first time knitters/crocheters or people who couldn't get the hang of knitting like myself. It's much easier than knitting but just a little bit slower than crochet. Of course with a little practice I'm sure I can get faster at it.


Gee, I wish I had something to post other than knitting and crochet. I'm sure that my blog is getting very boring. But there's really nothing going on around here.

On the weekend we did have a nice family day out... Had our first experience of rudeness in Utah. We were leaving Applebee's and B got stuck holding the door for a group of people. Not one of them said Thank You or looked in his direction. Totally snubbed. I know WHY. These people around here while most are super nice some are not very diverse and exposed to or unwilling to welcome other races and cultures. The only time I see a non white person is in the back at McDonalds or at the Mexican Restaurant. But I've heard the further you get away from SLC it gets worse because of the LDS and we are about 25 minutes from the city.

We did see Where the Wild Things Are. Didn't like it and it wasn't a kids movie like I thought it would be...

Finished Slippers

Made from worsted cotton, in Camel.

Slipper

It took about 4 hours just for this one slipper! Not really the crochet part. The sewing part, ugh! I'm quite challenged at sewing. This one is not going into Etsy. I just wanted to see how one was made and now that I know I'm going to try to make them in a smaller crochet and with cotton yarn. Maybe even line the inside with fleece. :)

5 to Go

I'm so excited about the shop! Maybe this is finally my little niche. I've been searching so long for that thing that would catch and keep hold of my intrest. I really enjoy it. Even if I just make back what I put in I'll be happy. Not to say that I wouldn't like a little profit.

I need more practice in making full garmets, like sweaters and what nots. Maybe I'll start with children's. This weekend I'm going to take better pics of each piece and also finish off the last five. I think this is a good time to have the shop going since the holidays around the corner.

Wish me luck!

Etsy Store Coming Soon!

Another Scarf..

Last scarf! Time to do something different!! I tried to stick to the pattern but it wasn't working so had to do my own thing. I'll start posting patterns when I start paying attention to what I'm doing. :D Adding a button or pin later.

Hat

Maybe I should make this my crochet blog. :) I've just been crocheting like mad lately. I could always crochet a little since I was a teen. I just don't know why all of sudden I have an interest in it. Crochet bug probably. I do go through these little boughts of craftiness. Hadrien appreciates my hard work and wears all my hats and scarves around even if they're not finished--like his hooded pullover that currently has no sleeves or hood but he just thinks it's the coolest thing...

My new home: Crochetville

Camping @ Holman Flat

This was our first family camping trip!

Holman Flat is in American Forks Canyon. We chose a site that was off of an ATV/4x4 road. No bathrooms, no electricity, no plumbing, just a fire ring and the river. We got there around 4:30 PM Friday. Firewood was sparse in our immediate area and by the time we set up tent it was getting a little dark. That road that goes up to Forest Lake where all the good wood is is narrow with a drop off to the right into the canyon with ATVs and dirt bikes whizzing by so not ideal for night time driving so B had to make a quick trip down the canyon to Walmart.

The kids went through like five changes of clothes getting so dirty. We ALL got so dirty. There was a very nice man who let the kids ride on his horse down the road. We went fishing. Didn't catch anything. Roasted marshmallows and hot dogs. Splashed around in the ice cold river. There's just something about being secluded, especially at night with nothing but camp fire light and stars and also being bundled up in your warm sleeping bag in the cold.

The only thing I would changed is having everything more orgainzed and put in totes. Things would probably have been less dirty. And also ban the kids from rolling around in the dirty.

I lied. THE last hike of the summer.

Or maybe even FOR THE YEAR..

This hike is right near Snowbird. White Pine/Red Pine Trail 1 mile. Red Pine Trail to Red Pine Lake 3 miles. Round trip 7 miles. The continuous climb up, you start at 7000 ft and end at around 9000, was arduous. It was a pretty steep rocky trail and the altitude kicks your butt, at least it kicked mine. I am so impressed by my two little troopers. They hiked the whole 7 miles on foot. Of course that made us go at a snail's pace and we finished the hike in 8 hours.

This was the most strenuous hike. My legs feel like they are exploding. It really wasn't the uphill climb that got us. We were climbing uphill for so long on the down hill our legs just didn't know how to function.

At the top is another lake, Red Pine Lake. Much more beautiful than Silver Lake. The temp was at least 38 degrees which we didn't feel until we stopped for lunch. 1000 more feet up is the summit of the Pfeifferhorn. We wanted to climb it but really though...1000 more ft of climbing. No, thank you.

My pictures don't do the scenery justice.

Dust Storms

I've never experienced this kind of weather before. We've only had a little bit of rain but lots of high winds which is kicking up dust and lightning. Right now it looks so bad I can't even see the mountains. It's like the movie the Mist w/o giant monsters of course. Very eerie.

Forest Lake

Last hike for a while. We want to hike Moab or Flaming Gorge but not until Fall.

This time a year is not a good time to visit Utah. The snow caps are melted and the river and lakes are low or completely dried out. Everything is starting to turn dead and brown. It's hot and hazy. I would say October and June are the best times.

The road to get to the Forest Lake road was SCARY. It's mostly a one-laner with a canyon on one side that you can roll to your death too. lol Not only that it's not an improved dirt road which means it's bumpy as heck. You have to share the road with ATVs and other vehicles. One person has to stop and drive up onto the side of the hill/mountain to let the other by. Thank goodness for 4WD. I just don't know how people take their minivans and their dinky cars up this road. Maybe they just don't care about their tires and suspension?

The Forest Lake Road was worse. Strictly for Jeeps and ATVs. Very rocky. Lots of boulders. The Xterra would have gotten pretty messed up.

We decided to hike it. It was an easy 2 mi. hike to the lake and back, all in the forest. I would say this was one of the easiest we've done so far. We had to move over for all the ORVs climbing by. Pretty cool watching them manuever those big rocks. I so want to get us a Polaris Ranger one day.

The lake was nothing special. Half of it was dried up because the snow on the mountains has melted completely. There was a big mud pit in the middle for the Jeeps to play in where a dumb guy in a truck got stuck all the way up into his cab. Should've gotten a picture of that.

Campfire stories.

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Other than hiking.

V starts school Aug. 26th. Hoping. I drove by there last week and they are still building his school. Some laborers are out there protesting. For what I don't know. But I really hope they get it done on time. We don't even have bus schedules or supply lists and he doesn't have a teacher or a track. Most other schools started July 27th and Aug 3rd.

Speaking of V, he has been making leaps and bounds in behavior! It's like the last month he has matured a year. I guess leaving NC has done wonders for all of us. He's very active. B is home at normal hours which V has obviously been benefiting from. He's making buddies. He's helping out more with willingness and getting along better with H. I think he'll still need to be medicated to help him concetrate on his school work. But I'm optimistic he's going to have a better year this year.

Pine Hollow GROWL

Bear, or sasquatch?

The plan was to hike Cascade Springs. The drive to get there took us through the Alpine Loop near Sundance. Very relaxing scenic drive. Lots of Aspen and Beech. A ranger was stopped on the road looking at something off in the distance. Looked like a speck on my camera but I suspect it's the tail end of a moose.

This is Cascade Springs. It's an all paved and wooden trail that goes over a pond with lots of flowers and plaques identifying the different plants. Pretty. But we were looking for HIKE not STROLL. After a few minutes we got into the car in search of another trail.

Pine Hollow and Mutal Dell trails. The Mutal Dell trail went down hill. We prefer to go up hill starting the hike otherwise we have to go up hill coming back when the kids are exhausted. Pine Hollow goes the other way, up and through the woods. Pretty views. Though when we go to the part of the trail that goes into the woods and hiked about fifty feet we distinclty heard a growl which is funny because we kept saying, "If I was a bear I would hang out here." We made a quick u-turn after that not wanting to share our food or children with whatever that was. B saw a cub on the road the first time we visited American Forks so I wouldn't be suprised if it was a bear we heard.

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Tribble Fork Resevoir & More Silver Flat Lake

Tribble Fork Resevoir. The trailhead goes up that hill on the left. We only did 1 mil. I don't really care for trails that have no destination. It did have a pretty view of the adjacent mountain. This is where most people park their ATV and horse trailers. Chipmunks running around everywhere.

Silver Flat Lake is next to Tribble Fork.

We crossed this river with the Xterra. Too much fun. Yay for 4WD!

Falls

Bridal Veil:

We went to the falls during the 4th of July. It was very crowded. People were bbqing and had their whole families out. I guess this is where everyone flocks to since there's no beach. There were lots of people hanging out at the base of the waterfall with chairs pulled up and kids in bathing suits even though the water is ice cold an muddy.

Benny patched up a kid who fell and split open his leg. It was a pretty gnarly gash. He had to be taken to the hospital to get stitches. Luckily we come prepared with first aid.

This hike is supposed to be easy to moderate. I don't know about that. The path is made of loose rock which can be slippery and some of the climb is steep. There's one part of the path that is only about a foot wide with nothing to hold onto except brush. We got to that part and decided it wasn't safe for the kids and turned back around. B went to the top while the kids played in the waterfall. My kids love to get all muddy.

A girl from CO slipped into the river infront of the falls and drowned a week ago. Definately keep a sharp eye on the kids in places like this.

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Stuart Falls

Same day. 3.7 mi. hike. The trail is pretty easy because it goes through the forest mostly but the way back is a pain. Exhausted after this one. As you can see H got a free ride most of the way. Jealous.

Up Next: Tribble Fork & More Silver Lake Flat

Little Cottonwood Canyon

This hike is not as scenic as American Forks. It took us about an hour round trip, an hour and half with a lunch break. The other side of the canyon has a small waterfall and rock climbers scaling the walls.

Crack.

V is so special sometimes. :D

Up Next: Bridal Veil & Stuart Falls

Great Salt Lake

Most people go through the Salt Lake Marina to get to the lake. The place is very run down, very old, very spooky looking, almost like a dilapidated mosque. It has a tiny gift shop inside. If you can get past this eye sore and move on the view is pretty amazing.

The flat white sand stretches out for miles on either side and is about a quarter mile walk to the water. Cloud shadows scuttle across the sand.
I'm thinking to myself, wow this is beautiful.

Then, sniff. OK, maybe it's just a little acrid because of the salt or maybe there's some sulfur somewhere. Disregarding the smell I want to take of my shoes and run! Everyone else is. So off go the shoes. I notice some bones here and there. Are there fish in this lake?

Half way to the water I slip in something very warm and very slimy. What is that? Inspect closer. Sniff. Eww! The closer we get the water, the more it smells and the more our stomachs turn because there are streaks of orange goo all across the sand and those hundreds of fish bones are actually dead seagulls. At the water the sight of this beautiful lake is a bit dampened by the brine shrimp soup, rippling and floating 20 ft out. I had no desire to jump in and have a good swim and by the look of other visitor's faces I wasn't the only one. Benny though decided to make it an experience and took V out wadding while H and I stood on the sand with both of us trying not to gag, watching some kids joyfully splashing around in it. I couldn't stand it anymore and drug H with me for 'the experience' with him crying hysterically, "I don't want to go!"

Into the soup! It was as I thought it would be, warm, slimy and smelly. I am not even exaggerating one little bit.

At least I can say I went into the Great Salt Lake.

Not an example of why I love Utah. :)

You can't even tell how horrible it was.

Up Next: Little Cottonwood Canyon(bare with all the hiking blogs coming up)