Christmas Confection Perfection

 

Mutilated apples can only mean one thing...



Phase two.

                                  



Ahh mini apples, it can be done!

 It happens every year, a panicked run to the store of confectionery genius results in a box full of chocolate, caramel and apple skewers.  The resulting project is the product of years of accumulated practice.  It started years ago with the candy coating of full apples which was losing its appeal somewhere around 70 apples in 2007 so came the transition to melon ballers and mini apples.  It took some trial and error but with some success we have turned out these beauties for the past few years, and at the risk of tooting my own horn, they are great, fantastic, stupendous... and down right tasty. TOOOOOOOOOOOOOTT.  So it is, that I now know the Christmas season of 2010 is in full swing.  

Epic Melt-down

Semi accurate depiction =)

In light of my previous post you might conclude that Lucy is on the verge of adult-hood, let me assure you that this is not the case. On Sunday prior to last I was privileged to be made the center of attention in the middle of sacrament meeting by two children who so dearly love their mother that in their consternation at her departure to the stand that I was forced to evacuate the building with not one but two screaming children firmly grasped in the football hold. So as luck would have it to accompany the youth centered meeting the musical number was being performed by the youth and their leaders. As Andrea is in the young women's she promptly left for the podium on cue, also on cue a (as of late) very codependent Lucy also started up on cue. So as Lucy's vocalizations escalated I decided to attempt to leave Will with our good neighbors the Collins who were conveniently sharing our pew. In the foyer as I started to calm Lucy down I heard the distinct wail of our little boy. So I hauled Lucy somewhat calmed back in hoping to be in the clear. Upon sitting down Lucy locked eyes on Mommy and my two monkeys reached a crescendo that drowned out the entire youth program in our ward. So grasping (as previously mentioned) them in the effective fatherly football hold out we dashed.

Disclaimer: This is out of character for either of our kiddos thus more alarming for Daddy and plenty entertaining for the spectators.        

Growing Up

Focus, focus...

What can be said when you see the little one you love so much striking out on their own. No Lucy has not moved out, but she has now denied me the right to help her button up her ni-nights. I suppose only a parent knows the bitter sweet feeling of letting go of such a simple thing as buttoning up a shirt. Silly it may seem, but it was a land-mark moment for me to see her venture into the future with this little piece of independence.

Fondant, French for Headache

Congrats Ricky and Mari!!

With ever increasing excitement we prepared to celebrate the nuptials of our beloved Ricky to his betrothed Mari. I in my exuberance agreed to produce a cake of unprecedented proportions (for me) which would set the beat for their new life. Having little knowledge of the working of fondant we called upon Naomi and Ambree the recent graduates of a cake decorating class to enlighten us. So with one practice cake under my belt we prepared for a week that promised to be full, nae bloated with activity. Allow me to paint a picture. Keeping in mind that cake gets stale, we had a cake to create on Mon., the likes of which shall remain unsubscribed, let me say it was also fondant practice. Then we had bachelor and bachelorette parties on Tue. Andrea baked two of the cakes on Wed and I iced and covered them in fondant. Thur. little sister Faith arrived home from her mission to Uruguay

Yea Faithy!!

we went to the temple for Mari's endowment, and I iced and covered another cake. Fri. we finished baking the last and biggest cake. Andrea went to little bro Ben's fiance's shower, and I attempted to cover the final cake with seven and a half pounds of fondant. Now if you have ever attempted to roll out that much fondant you may have some idea for the nature of the ensuing challenge. It was at about 11:30 pm that I was tempted to see what that lump of fondant could do to a window, or a wall. Regardless of my unbridled aggression, with some alterations the cake was completed, almost. After a morning of work on Sat. (taking me to 50 hrs for the week) I spent two hours finishing the trim and touch up. So after 13 cake mixes, 3 doz eggs, 5 hrs of oven time, 15 lbs of fondant and 8 lbs of butter-cream, the beat could finally go on. Once delivered it was as though atlas shrugged (borrowing the written imagery of Anne Rand) and the weight of the world rolled off my shoulders. That is to say the gauntlet was run and I could sit for a bit.

Ahhh now I get the drum reference!!

            

My Old Friend Got a Face Lift

I'm so sorry, I'll never do it again sniff....sniff

Devoted to Toyota doesn't even begin to point you in the right direction when you try to comprehend the pain of betrayal that was mine as I watched myself plummet into the back of a mild mannered driver (that is to say this gal had no gumption and I gently attempted to encourage her.) The resulting collision mashed the previously magnificent face of my old blue Tacoma to a point that almost moved me to start digging a hole in my back yard to bury my faithful friend, instead I set to work repairing the result of my betrayal. I am happy to report that with minimal therapy and makeup my old friend has returned. The only noticeable chance is what appears to be a permanently crossed set of eyes. I was hoping they would right themselves, thinking it was only due to a slight concussion. Now it seams more therapy may be in order. So sad and I have no one to blame but me.

TCU @ Utah

47-7 and the official let that one slip because he felt sorry for us. Gut wrenching, horrendous, tragic, still a fan. GO UTES!

But please show up for Notre Dame!

11-13-2010
Are you friggin' kidding me, PAINFUL!! 

All is Not Lost

Not a SPIKE, that there is a two point!!

As the pursuit of wild game drew to a close, and the sniping of critters seemed want to pass me by, I through a stroke of unplanned luck was released from work at 2:00 pm on the 21st of October to find, that on this the last day of the hunt, I had been gifted a small window of time. After considerable debate I struck out for a local canyon to seek the soothing balm of the successful hunt. Much thanks to Brad for considerable insight and precise directions to a location not 20 minutes from the house. I had scarcely crested the hill of opportunity and as I sought a place of comfort to rest my rear, I cast my eyes downward to see the twitching ears of an adolescent buck. So it is that less than 5 minutes into a hunt not 20 minutes from home I filled my first Mule Deer buck tag with a giant of epic proportions. Laugh not this fella tastes mighty fine, and may some day be the proud contributor to the legend of the jackalope.

P.S. The brotherhood of the traveling balls shall never forget!!       

Seven and OHHH

As the weather was so poor an 08 photo will do

I was delighted to take the wifey to witness the first half of the UTES victory over Colorado St. taking us (yes I said us) to 7-0 on the season. Due to inclement weather we departed at half time, while this is not in our nature (as we consider ourselves true fans) it worked well as the kiddos were needing Mom and Dad to return and get them home at a reasonable hour. Besides the tickets were FREE so we got our moneys worth. Also of note is the fact that the last Ute game we attended was Col. St. two years ago, twas fun to reminisce on such a fine season. Here's to a W over TCU and another BCS busting season. GOOOOOOOOOOOOO UTES!!   

Elk Camp 2010

Meat and potatoes for every meal YEA!

High mountains in the Rockies in early October can only mean one thing, ELK SEASON!!!! We set out with high hopes and fewer of us than last year thus we were determined that this would be the year, that is, this would be the year we saw more than one cow. We were also excited that this year four horses unwittingly cast in their lot with us thus we knew we were going to be the few the proud, public land elk hunters who had merely to pick the largest bull Sat. morn and pull the trigger. Well needless to say at least in my case dreams did not come to fruition. 17 miles on horse-back, including a brief stop at Deadhorse Lake in October!!

Spectacular.

We saw not a thing! My woes were great and only magnified as we were aroused from a pleasant Sabbath morning slumber, as we were not hunting Woot! Woot!, on Sunday to the sound of a large mammal standing on the tarp we had our tent on sniffing at the plastic bags we had left some apples in. It then snorted and ran off. Thanks to ample amounts of snow we were able to determine, once the sun came up, that it was AN ELK!!!!! Probably a bull based on track size and the fact that it was alone. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? Ah well it was a fantastic adventure, the company was great, the food fantastic, and getting skunked is part of the learning curve right? RIGHT?? Or is someone holding out on me? If so..................
Special thanks to Andrea for allowing me the time away. I love you! And Jacob for the horses, Greg and Spence for the commitment to fellas weekend. And Slide Rock I shall never forget 30 fish in under 30 minutes. That's right! and I have witnesses so don't scoff.

Operation Face Camo

Hey after three days of horse rides in the snow you would be a bit tired too

Nine weeks of growth to conceal a toothy grin should a magnificent (or not so magnificent but legal) bull elk or mule deer buck wander through my cross hairs. It was an arduous, sometimes itchy process, yet irrefutably the results were astounding and entirely successful as every animal I saw seemed oblivious to my presence (or in other words I saw nothing).

If you can't have fun cutting it off...

Fall Conference Traditions

Two fabulous fall traditions that coincide with the feast for the soul to be found as we listen to the prophets voice are, my delectably sticky, oh so spectacular sticky buns. Really eating a plate of these on a lazy Sunday morning enjoying conference with the fam is not to be surpassed. Thank you Naomi for starting such a fab tradish. 

Are you seeing this!! I feel like Homer Simpson with a box of doughnuts AHHHHGGGG...

Also not to be missed is the fall drive over the Alpine loop to enjoy the fall colors. What a wonderful time of year, though due to marvelously temperate weather the colors were not yet in full swing this year, it was a fantastic family outing.

Us, awwwwwww.

I love us

Getting Down and Dirty

A Victor Emerges

I am well pleased to announce that on Saturday the 25 of Sept. with the help of several friends (Team Swill) I competed in my first organized race.  Now for the shocker, wonder of wonders, with no encouragement from me, someone invented my perfect race. Hereafter known as the Dirty Dash, it consists of a 10K in mountainous terrain, (that's 6.3 miles people) various obstacles, and MUD!! Let me just say that as much as I enjoyed running around the neighborhood pushing Lucy and Will in the stroller, it did not prepare me as I had hoped it would. Yet it was awesome, really a fun experience. Official time 1:30:51!!  Andrea and the kids made it up just in time to miss our finish but I slugged through the last mud hole again for their enjoyment and photographic history. 

A Kiss For Mud Man

Team Swill

Wisdom on the Wall

Working in the world of construction it is often best to avert one's eyes when forced to use the outdoor plumbing (port-a-potty) due to the content on the walls. I was pleased to find the following on such a wall the other day. "When morality is removed from society, the world becomes sick, corrupt, and marches toward hell." author unknown. I searched online to find a source for such wisdom and came up with a big goose egg. Despite the lack of a profound orator, the phrase rings true. Ironically the individual that penned "your gay" under these words of wisdom only solidified the statement.

Bear Tracks & BTUs

So an eventful trip to see the folks in their corner of rural America is now over. We went out for the purpose of gathering the winter wood supply. It is really quite satisfying to take a trip into the forest, drop a magnificent old tree and reflect on the past generations who have participated in similar activities. Plus what guy doesn't enjoy wielding a large chain-saw to overpower nature. Also of note were the fresh bear tracks on the road as we pulled up to the ill fated tree. Exciting!!

Me making short work of the mighty Fir




The sign of the BEAR!!!

Also special thanks to Andrea for whipping up the finest authentic Italian meal ever served in Vernal. YUMs all around.

It Begins

So I have debated the need to join the lemmings in the blogging "leap over the cliff." As you can see I have lost the Unique Me argument, and I join the throng. I take comfort in the knowledge that according to Snopes.com the Lemming population cyclically builds to a point that in the search for new territory a mass exodus can result in a certain number of lemmings falling off of cliffs etc. Therefore as I enter previously unknown vistas I am in a sense a lemming, or is it lemm?