Tuesday, December 15, 2009

ZIon-October 2009

Hello! No, I didn't fall off the face of the planet. I'm still here. Just been a tad bit busy. Sorry, again for neglecting you. I'm back tracking a bit to October and our annual trip to Zion National Park. Oh, The Desert Pearl Inn, how I missed you. We set up shop early Friday morning and headed out for a little hike. With Anthony in the baby backpack (thanks, Jana!) we headed to Emerald Pools. Here's my handsome honey.I gotta say, being on the inside of a waterfall is pretty spectacular.I realize this photo is a little blown out, but it's the only one I got of my little family on our adventures.And the Bone's with Wonder Baby. And a little Franny thrown in the mix.Then we ran into this little guy... Hello little guy! I made Bug Man put his foot next to this furry eight legged friend so you have an idea of the size of the spiders in Zion. He was just moseying along, trying to get to the other side of the trail, not bothering anybody (save for myself). The next morning we travelled a little way down to Grafton, a little ghost town, consisting of a school/church, a few little houses, our motorcade/entourage, serious-faced Bug Mana few goofy kids...Wait...Everybody's leaving me...in a ghost town. Hang on, gotta run to catch up to them.Also spotted in Grafton: my sister's hiney. (Sorry seester...I had to:)There's also this tiny little cemetary there, next to this little hill that everyone hiked up, Erwin and Drewby...Everybody wave!Of Course, this is where ol' Cedar Pete is buried.Pop and Wonder Baby had a grand ol' time together. That baby does not let his Pop out of his sight. Ever.
Ok, so this is pretty cool... my parents met a man, and I don't remember how, who said "Hey, come check out my cool toys if ever you're on the road to Grafton." We happened to be on that road, so we stopped to see his cool toys. His garage is every adult male's playground. He's got all kinds of stuff. He and his team/family set the land speed record, and are the current land speed record holders. Here's the latest vehicle he was working on.This one is the current record holder. It has a helicopter engine in it...how cool is that?!?You can read all about them here!
Then, of course back to the pool for a little fun! That's about all we did. Hike, Pool, and eat. I love our annual Zion trip, and would like to give a shout out to the sponsor of such luxury. Thanks Ma and Pa! I love you!

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Katie's Wedding Food and Paper

I know, I know, it doesn't seem logical to put food and paper in the same post, but stick with me, I won't lead you astray. It all comes together in my evil plot to blend the 2 worlds of culinary deliciousness and papery paperness. Have I lost you? Don't feel bad, I think I lost myself when I titled this post. But come along, and we'll journey through this one together! I have a little side gig that I call The Paper Giraffe. Most of y'all know that already. I do custom invitations. Wedding, baby or bridal shower, birthday...basically anything you'd invite a person to... I'm on it. Because I held Katie in a head lock and forced her to let me do her invitations, and really she had no choice in the matter, I also got to do her bridal shower invites and her rehearsal dinner invites. Unfortuately due to unforseen circumstances, the rehearsal dinner invites will not make an appearance in this post. Maybe another day. It was so fun for me to see a paper project for one event all the way through. As a result, everything was cohesive. All the paper coordinated, and I got a little bit of artistic liberty (again, because I had Katie in head lock) which was so great. Not to metion it was a seriously fun shower.Thanks again, Mama for letting me take over your house. Here is the wedding invitation.Isn't that picture so cute. They really are a darnit cute couple.I love that green paper, they call the patern "regalia." Doesn't that sound so...so...so...regal?!?The two inserts in there are Map & Directions and additional information about the ceremony.Now, you may at this point be asking yourself "Self, what does any of this have to do with food?" And speaking of food... here's some of it. I don't know how I missed getting pictures of all the food, but here's what I did get, and what I do know is that it was SO good.This was a bruscetta. I like to say brew-shet-a. My sister-in-law, Jill went on a mission to Italy and says brew-sket-a. I know she's right, but you can't teach this old dog new tricks. Sorry Jill, I will continue to embarass you! Anyway, it had a thin slice of fresh mozzerella (don't even get me started on the pronunciation of this one...it could last for days...) and some coarsly chopped avocado in it. It was mighty fine. And a spring salad that was good, but the honey dijon dressing...there just aren't words. And if you're still asking yourself what the food and paper are doing in the same post...here is where it all comes together. The universe will make sense again! There were cards for each dish, stating what they were, in an adorable (my opinion, of course) matchy-matchy kinda way.Then there was great fresh fruit and other goodies to douse in the chocolate covered fountain. One picture I didn't get, that I really wish I had was of about 5 young kids literally dripping in chocolate. Down their mouths, shirts, pants and hands. I'm sure their parents were none too happy, but I got a kick out of it.Then, Katie did the cutest "Candy Bar" with different candies, all in her colors. It was so cute, and delicious too.She wanted a sign that said "How sweet it is to be loved by you" All together now... "Awwwwwww....."It really was a great detail.We stamped these Chinese take-out boxes with a cute design and "P" and on the opposite side, it said "Thank-You" So the guest filled their own candy boxes and took those as their favors. It was really a beautiful event and I, again, am so thankful I was asked to be a part of it. I had so much fun not only participating, but having the chance to do all the paper. I loved every minute of it.Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

I Scream, You Scream...

We all scream for Ice Cream! Wonder Baby enjoyed a delicious ice cream cone on Sunday, his first. I know, I know, yes, I went ALL summer without giving the poor kid one ice cream cone, but believe me, he didn't go hungry. At all. He loved every second of this little Rocky Road wonder and gobbled one side all the way down. His silly mother tried to intervene to show him that he needed to TURN the cone to enjoy the other side. He threw a fit, held the cone as far away from me as he could and ran. I finally sat next to him to show him I wasn't trying to take it away, only help. Don't think he cared. He was perfectly happy to munch down only one side.
I'm sorry for the poor quality of this picture, just had to add that he is the BEST helper. Here he is assisting his Grandpa with bringing in the drinks for dinner. What a good boy.




Monday, October 5, 2009

Here Comes the Bride...

Oh, it was such a fun day... came and went so fast! Here is lovely Miss Bride, getting her hair done.
She got married at Heritage Gardens, in SLC, and it was beautiful! I never even knew the place existed and my, oh, my is it pretty!Here is the garden, and waterfall.And set up for the ceremony. Below is Alyssa, Levi's (the groom) daughter, just a-waiting for the show!Now, really I apologize for the quality of this photo...it came from my iPhone, and HOW, you ask, HOW did I not get a picture of just the bride in all her full, beautiful, bridal, bridalness? I don't have a reasonable, good, or even ANY real excuse for this, sorry. But, isn't she pretty?So, at this point, I turned my camara over to my mama, Franny, to get some pics of the ceremony. That was a great idea, in theory, but the execution... not so much. You see, I didn't actually take one single second to change my aperature, tell her anything about my super-fantastic zoom lens, or any of that non-sense. So, you see, the result is...well...you'll see.She spotted the Harts, waiting for the show, but apparently they didn't know. Just goes to show you, you never know just who's watching, like Franny, for instance. I can hear it now... "Ha-arts!" "Who...us?" Oh, sorry, gotta get back to my duties... Here's Tyson, Levi's son. Handsome little devil, isn't he?and the man of the hour... Mr. Groom!Bridesmaid #1, Liz. Yours truely...Blurry flower girls. But... notice the artistic spin she put on this one, focus on the plant, blurred the cute girls just a smidge... yeah, we won't blame Franny, we'll say she was going for "an artistic perspective." Mmm, hmm.Waiting for the star of the show, and her lovely escort.and, with the plant in the foreground... (wow, Franny, artsy!)And there they are folks... just come a little closer, please!Awww, there they are. Doesn't she look beautiful?A squeeze to her daddy. She's the baby, the last one to fly the coup. Well, she actually flew the coup, long ago, but she's the last to get hitched. The ceremony was so nice. Clark (the officiant, who lives doors away from my parents) said some really beautiful things to them, and kept is short, simple and sweet. Asked them if they did? And they do! Did? Will? Hmmm. Katie gave Levi a ring, then turned her head to flash a smile to those watching her get her pretty sparkler.And then, a nice BIG kiss. There they are, offically Husband and Wife! Then this cute little guy came walkin' down. He was the best ring-bearer!And Tyson and Alyssa.Here's Katie's mom, Judy. Katie looks nothing like her. Nothing. Ok, let's just say that if Katie ever wonders what she'll look like when she's her mom's age... this is IT. And behind Judy is Jack, Katie's step-dad. I made the mistake of asking Jack to dance with me. Thinking I was doing something nice. Oh, no...no, no, no. Jack, apparently IS a dancer. He wore in out in 10 seconds flat. I was huffing and puffing and dripping...and I run in 5 miles a day, I thought I was in shape. Don't they look a little more relaxed, now? It's a done deal! Please note, the little girl in pink, in the background, stripping. A little wedding exhibitionist. Here I am, talking to Megs, post ceremony. You may think that I'm wiping a tear, because I was so moved by the commitment that was just made. Sorry, not me. Remember, I don't cry. I have, and I will (maybe someday) but for the most part, I just don't. It was windy, maybe there was something in my eye. Havin' a little chat with Megs.And, giving my parent's a little squeeze.Here's Franny, now in front of the camara. Showing us a sampling of the delicious food. Which, by the way, will get it's very own post. All by it's self! Mmm, food post.The cake was so cute. And delicious. Again, I post the question...who can resist cute food? Who?Here's the sassy-pants bride, checking out the cake.And Franny and Jack...taking a little break.Then...at the end the end of pictures, after the ceremony, just at the perfect time... a little rain. Really, like 7 drops. Just enough to say it rained on her wedding day. It's good luck you know! Who gets a rainbow on their wedding day? Well, if we were in Vegas, I'd say NOBODY, because it NEVER rains here. But, Katie... she got one!

Then, I put the camara away and danced, danced, danced. It was SO much fun and so beautiful. I got to see some old friends and made some new. It was really a great day, and I'm so glad that Katie and Levi allowed me to be a part of it! They left for Mexico and I'm dying to hear all about it. Well, it was a honeymoon, so maybe not ALL about it. So, CONGRATS to the newlyweds!