October "Treats"

Our First House-Warming Party

For our October date with Kerstin and Alisha (and husbands), we invited them over to our new pad for a dinner date. Everyone contributed to the dinner: Kerstin brought the delicious taco soup, Alisha brought the awesome breadsticks and salad, and I prepared the caramel apples. I had never made caramel apples before...the internet discussions made it sound like some big feat to make the caramel turn out just right. I don't know what the big huff is about, caramel is easy....you just buy the wrapped caramel candies and melt them in a pot :)  Ok, ok homemade caramel may be the superior route, but I'm telling you...using the candy caramels is delicious and stress-free! We dipped them in a variety of goodies: candy bars, cinnamon dots, coconut, melted chocolate, powdered sugar, sprinkles, and then drizzled with more chocolate...they weren't the prettiest things you've ever seen, but they tasted great. Not bad for a first attempt.

Fishing with the Phillips

Fishing with the Phillips, or any time with the Phillips for that matter, is quite a memorable experience. Paul and Dan invited Jason to fish with them up in Heber. Of course, Jason didn't have to think twice about joining them. Since I was not there to join in on the fun, I can't say much of what happened...but they took lots of pictures to document the experience:

My cousin Dan 

My cousin Paul 

The following picture is not for the weak of stomach:

Who knew you could take so many pictures of fishing?!?

The fall colors are great, though!

Park City Coaster

Another October "treat" was our date with Jaleah and Bryton. Jaleah suggested we try out the Park City Coaster, so we went for it. After the first initial shock of the price of the ride (we should have done our research online), we decided since we already came all this way...we would enjoy the moment. Luckily, it did turn out to be REALLY fun. After waiting in a thirty minute line, we were welcomed into the carts by some witty employees. We were told that when our bodies tell us that we're going too fast and should pull on the brakes...DON'T....when our minds tell us we are being reckless and will probably die unless we slow down...DON'T...when our bodies feel like they are going to be flown from the car unless we pull on the brakes...DON'T. We were in complete control of the speed of our cart by pulling on the brakes...so you get the idea of how fast you could be going. Mine and Jason's goal was to go the entire track without using the brakes. In order to do that, we had to have the leaning down just right. There were many tempting times to pull it, and only once did I have to shout, "Don't use the brakes, you pansy!" (I get a bit brutal when I'm heated by adrenaline). Other than that slight moment of hesitancy, we were able to coast down the track successfully! Definitely a fun ride!

Me, Jaleah, and Bryton 

 Jaleah and Mark

Heading up the track 

Jason Finally Experiences THRILLER

That's right, I finally got to take Jason to Thriller! I had been trying to for several years...but this was the year. Great news....he loved it! Just as I knew he would! Anyone who doesn't, doesn't appreciate good entertainment. I recommend it to all; dancer or not!

APX Knows How to Party

With the season of summer sales over, it was time for the APX year-end party. They have always been pretty impressive in past, but this year's party definitely topped them all!

What do you get when you put mountains of dirt on the front lawn of the corporate building, all-you-can eat: J-Dawgs, drinks, popcorn, and candy, Travis Pastrana, and Nitro Circus? AMAZING!...and that pretty much sums up our night.

We invited Mike and Kaitlyn Pacada to join us on the night's adventure. After filling ourselves to our hearts desire on treats and J-Dawgs, we enjoyed an adrenaline loaded entrance with helicopters and skydiving. The Nitro Circus members landed on the arena with definite style. As if that wasn't enough, we watched amazing stunts, tricks, and flips on dirt bikes. Even the big time executives and sales managers hoped on miniature bikes and raced around the track. To top it all off, our own CEO landed an awesome jump!

It's kind of hard to put into words the truly amazing sight that it was....but lets just say... all the men in attendance were as giddy as school girls! It's not an evening that will be forgotten anytime soon.

Sadly, we didn't take any pictures...but I did manage to steal a couple online. Enjoy:

Thanks APX for another great party!!!

Peaches on the Porch

Anyone heard of that?...Peaches on the Porch?

We were welcomed into the ward with some new and interesting traditions. Apparently, every year one of the families in the ward puts on Peaches on the Porch at one of their guest houses (this is the same family with the huge cabin up at Sundance that I mentioned previously...very wealthy). Every year, they have an overflowing amount of extra peaches, so they make all kinds of peach dishes and desserts...all of which were presented beautifully and tasted divine. There was everything from peach ice cream, to peach salsa, to peach juice, to peach parfaits and fruit tarts. I was totally impressed! Oh, how I love peaches!

Just wanted to give a little tribute to all of the peaches that were eaten that evening...and to preserve it as a memory and idea for future use.

Thanks again Ashtons! 

Lake Powell 2010

That's right...we have to make it to Powell at least once a year. We almost didn't make it, but the end of September brought a great surprise. It brought my new favorite time of year to go to Lake Powell.

Lucky for us, Jason's friend, Richard, went to work at Lake Powell again for the summer. He invited us to come while his family was visiting...that way we could enjoy the free houseboat! Last year we got to take advantage of The Weekender...this year, a full scale houseboat.

Due to a new baby, Nate and Sarah could not join us (as is our typical company). This year we went down with Trevor and Krista Cook.  They were great friends to have along for the trip. Trevor was a sport driving all the way down and all the way back from Powell. They brought their laptop with lots of movies to choose from. After an hour or so of technical difficulties on the drive down, we finally got the video player working and we enjoyed the movie The Island...quite an interesting movie.

But enough about the drive.

Lake Powell at the end of September is perfect! Still hot, but not too hot. Not too crowded. The water is glass. Perfect!

It was a short trip...drove down Friday night after work and returned Monday evening. We spent Friday night in the girls' dormitories. Luckily, the summer season was over so we were able to stay their undetected...shhhh. Saturday, we got Richard to ourselves and rented a nice wakeboarding boat (free with Richard, of course). We spent a good part of the day wakeboarding and slalom water-skiing until it was time to check in with the houseboat. We loaded all of our stuff and ended the night watching Shawshank Redemption (a first for me).

 Richard, Trevor, and Jason

Me and Krista

Sunday was spent cruising on the wakeboarding boat and finding an awesome campsite for the houseboat. Once the location was secured, we drove back to the dock to pick up the arriving family members.We loaded their things, and blew up a bi-jillion water toys (no exaggeration). Once all was ready, we enjoyed a good three hour drive in the houseboat to the campsite.

 Not a big deal, just driving the houseboat...

The campsite

On Monday, we enjoyed more boat time and the famous Rainbow Bridge...I love it when it's a short hike!

 Krista and T

 Jason and me

Other activities included kayaking and a lot of fishing (more so coming from Jason and Trevor).

One memorable moment was Sunday night, after we were all laying down to sleep, the boys thought it would be a good time to go skinny dipping! All I can really say is I remember hearing three grown men giggling like three pre-pubescent school girls! They were shortly followed by a fourth (one of Richard's brothers). To set the stage right, imagine a full moonlit night in a canyon...their words echoing off the tall walls of red rock. Krista and I didn't have to strain too hard to hear what they were saying (not that they were trying to hide their squeals either). When Richard's brother crept up to them in the dark (catching them off guard), it was great to hear Jason exclaim, "Emily?!?"....as if I was crazy enough to join them. That one made me laugh pretty hard. Of course, Krista and I had to do our part, so we crept out of the houseboat and found their clothes lying on the sand, and moved them over by the fire pit (where a small fire was still glowing). That way they had no choice but to run by the glow of the fire to retrieve their clothes. It was evil I know, but it was hilarious to hear them shout out in confusion as to where their clothes had gone.

Now it's time to enjoy the water photos:

The trip was definitely too short, but I'm so glad we were able to go. Next year we better get at least a week!

More Wedding Bells

We're getting down to the end of the list of cousin weddings this year (still one to come in December).

This one, however, has a bit of a story to it. My cousin Paul married Mandy on Thursday, September 23rd...this was a long awaited wedding. They met in September of 2009. Mandy had just been baptized a member of the LDS church a week before they met. After a few months of dating, they were engaged and decided they were willing to wait until September of 2010 in order to be married in the temple.

After what seemed like eternity, September 2010 finally came around, and what was expected to be a small simple wedding turned into a fancy (and delicious) celebration! All thanks to her grandparents. After the initial shock and rejection from Mandy's mother and grandparents about her becoming and marrying a Mormon, they were able to get over their ill-feelings and contribute to the wedding plans.

Mandy had a ladies luncheon that afternoon at The Garden that I was able to attend...which was fabulous!

Afterward, they were married in the Salt Lake Temple.

Then, they had a beautiful reception at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in the Empire Room, where there were huge chandeliers, a live band, and a steak dinner!

Overall, it was another successful and beautiful wedding! Congrats Paul and Mandy! You guys are perfect for each other!

In the Name of Free Yogurt!!

Once upon a time, a new frozen yogurt shop opened in the city of Provo. This frozen yogurt shop was one that competed and dominated against all other frozen yogurt shops (in the renowned opinion of Jason and Emily). They visited the shop often and referred all of their friends. The location was great, the flavors were perfect, the toppings were outstanding, and the price was just right.

The night before the "official" Grand Opening finally arrived...the night that Emily and Jason had long awaited. The night promised great rewards if one endured to the end. The official decree stated:

If you are among the first one hundred customers when it opens at 10:00 AM Saturday morning, you receive a free year supply of frozen yogurt.

Jason knew just what to do. He arrived at 4:30 Friday afternoon and secured the #11 spot in line, which is great...however, that means he was in it for the long haul until Saturday morning.

Emily on the other hand, had a commitment at a Relief Society Retreat located at a cabin up by Sundance. She was amazed by the enormity of the cabin and the luxuriousness of the furniture. After a pleasant meal, an unexpected turn of events happened that blessed her luck. Her ride to and from the retreat began demonstrating signs of extreme food allergens. They had no choice but to leave the retreat immediately. As much as Emily hated to eat and run... :)... she had to do what was best for her traveling companion.

Emily rushed home, gathered as many blankets and pillows that she could, and joined Jason at the beloved EarthFruits Yogurt at 7:00 PM. What could have been a long grueling night for Jason, became a fun date/adventure for the both of them as they camped on the sidewalk outside of the shop.

They had hopes of watching Netflix on the laptop that they had brought, but the Wi-Fi was not cooperating. The nice lads who ran the shop allowed them to go inside and physically plug in to their network, which provided a good hour of LOST entertainment...but there was only so much they could handle with the hard seats and the loud commotion from the customers.

The first round of ticket call finally arrived. You were required to be present the whole evening (or at least when they did the random number calls) if you wanted to be awarded the grand prize. Any ticket/number that was not present for the call had their number put back into a drawing for those attending without tickets (Emily being one of them for her late appearance). Luckily there were some missing numbers, and Emily was later called and given a ticket. Things were looking better than the two had imagined. As long as they stuck it out for the night, they would both received a year supply of free yogurt!

As easy as it sounds, it came with its challenges. First there was the hard, HARD ground...the blankets only pretended to be padding. Then add the over one hundred people surrounding them...playing games and doing all kinds of "zoobie" things. Then add the busy street of cars passing by at all hours of the night. Then add the slight nip of cool breeze that was brought on by the month of September.

Given all of these elements, the night still would not have been so bad if it hadn't been for the tent positioned directly beside Jason and Emily. The tent was full of fifteen year old boys and girls who gave no respect to public decency. Emily and Jason heard more perverted comments and vulgarities than either of them had ever heard from high prepubescent voices. The F word was used as a filler word and they loved having everyone hear their obscenities at four o'clock in the morning.

As much as Jason tried to knock some sense into the fools, they only fed on the attention. The only thing to do became to ignore them completely (which was a hard task for the ever-rising temper of Emily).

The sun finally rose, the clock finally approached ten...they could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Event tents were being assembled for the grand day's events. Live music, face painting, animals, dancing...the list went on for the agenda for the day.

Then, the door finally opened.

Jason and Emily took their stacks of free yogurt cards (104 cards to be exact when you add the two together...two for each week of the year). They used one of their cards and filled up a bowl of yogurt...and needless to say, they were out the door as quickly as they had entered without a second glance at the festivities.

They had put in their time at EarthFruits Yogurt. (17.5 hours to be exact).

(Sadly we have no pictures to document the experience)