Christmas Spirtit

I love the Christmas season!  Part of the season is making stuff for people.  This stuff that I make can vary from stuff that I have sewn to stuff that I have baked. This year I am in a new state and I don't know anyone to give the stuff to.  I asked Travis to figure out who we could give Christmas stuff to.  He made a list and we went around sunday night in the snow to deliver.  It was a lot fun. We went to a couple of our neighbors (whom I had not met until we took them a Christmas treat).  We also took some to some of his co-workers.

I found some cute ribbon at the local general store and made the treats look as festive as I could.

Lately I have been trying new recipes.  I made a pumpkin roll because I had extra pumpkin I needed to use and it was very good.  I made a couple of them along with pumpkin bread.  We gave a pumpkin roll to a young couple in our ward. When I handed it to her the look on her face was shock.  I think the fact that it weighed 5 pounds was a little overwhelming. You would have thought that I gave them a fruit cake or something.

Between playing in the deep snow and making some new friends, it was a great way to celebrate the Christmas season.  I love this time of year.

What!!!! This is amazing...

OK let me start with, I Love my tree. If I could keep it up all year I would. The other night I made Travis go to the gym with me.  When we got back I went to turn the tree lights on and to my surprise and delight there were presents under the tree. I was very confused. Had his brother gotten into our house and put them under the tree? Oh I know, Santa came earlier? The reason I did not think it could be my husband is that he does not have the best track record for remembering dates like Christmas or my birthday.  For example last year over Christmas he did not get me anything and then felt bad so he wrapped up a mini stapler that he had at his apartment and gave it to me (to his credit we were not dating but he did spend Christmas Eve and day with me and every other day).  After processing how the presents could have magically appeared, I looked at Travis (who had a big grin on his face) and was overwhelmed with his thoughtfulness.  I don't even care what is in the boxes, I am just so happy that he put forth the effort to get me something and wrapping it himself. I check out the presents everyday and it gives me warm fuzzies just looking at them.

Tragedy at the Provo Tabernacle

My heart is full of sorrow. I woke up today and heard the news that the Provo Tabernacle was on fire. I have a lot of memories in that building from stake conferences to seminary graduations.  The last time I was there was when my father was being honored with the silver beaver award.

There is not much more to say. It is just so heart breaking.

http://www.mormontimes.com/article/18935/Provo-Tabernacle-burns-in-four-alarm-fire

The story of the witch and the bulls eye....

recurve bow
I did not always like reading.  In fact I hated to read.  I think it had to do with the fact that I was not very good at it and lacked all confidence in my abilities.  It was this way from the days at Peter Pan Preschool and by the time I hit jr. high I had the meanest (I still have bad dreams with her as the evil witch) English teacher who let me know that I was lacking in ability(in front of the class and sometimes classes I was not even in she would mention me). I would like to blame her for my overwhelming fear of reading which stuck with me up through high school and occasionally creeps up if I am caught off guard and asked to read aloud with no notice.  


(The picture is just representation of the witch and sweet, impressionable, 12 year old me.)

My interest in reading changed when I gave it a chance and I had no other form of entertainment. This happened the summer after High School when I moved to England. No T.V., no computer, and no radio (this is before mp3 days). I was there with long periods of time during the day by myself with nothing to do.  I started to read British classics (recommended by my sweet sister-in-law, Heather) and learn to love the written language. This love was rekindled when I started teaching jr. high. Kinda ironic. I wanted to be well read in the books that might interest my students. As I started to burn through adolescent literature, I found a common theme or should I say weapon that came up over and over again, The bow and arrows. I began fascinating about developing a sure shot.  Well tonight was the first night of my practice. Travis and I came across a bow club by chance. We wanted to check out the ice skating rink and wouldn't you know it, in the up stairs was a shooting range. 

Ice skating rink/shooting range

 A very nice guy named Josh invited us to come back and shoot. So tonight we did. For as much thought as I have put into the bow (through reading) I kinda thought I could just pick it up and rock the house. On my second shot the string hit my arm and holy cow it hurt. It left an impressive bruise and a small amount of fear to let go of the string again. As the night went on I did not get much better with my aim but Travis and I did have a lot of laughs.  We will be joining the bow club and returning.  I hope with time I will be as good on the outside as I am in my head.

How I envision myself. Who knows? It could happen. 

mmm... breakfast

In my husbands ideal world I would be waking up with him hours before dawn and make him a hearty man meal before he heads out for the day. Well we can't always get what we want. On the rare occasion that Travis has to go into the office before heading out to the field I get to eat breakfast with him.  Yesterday was one of those days. I made waffles (at the request of Travis) eggs and fresh squeezed orange juice.  It was a lovely morning with my love.

Weekend in Wyoming

Travis being a good sport and letting me take a picture right before the Christmas party.
Travis and I often find ourselves in Utah over the weekends. This past weekend we stayed at home and it was fabulous.  Friday night we went to the local theater and saw the movie Tangled.  Travis is a lover of a good animated movie and this one did not disappoint.

The Pinedale theater is attached to a car dealership.

We also got dinner at one of our favorite local joints, Wind River Brewery. They have really good onion rings

Saturday morning there was no sleeping in at the Wight home (well I guess we kinda slept in, Travis did not get up before 5:30 am). We threw our gear in the Ford and headed out into the great Wyoming wilderness.

Travis is madly in love with his truck. 

I was very nervous because I have limited riding experience and I was going with the big boys (Travis, Austin and Justin) into the powder.  Travis being the amazing husband and friend that he is, stayed with me. He could have left me in the dust to play on harder terrain. He was more patient than I could have wished for.  We spent all day riding and by the time we got back to the truck I could hardly walk.  All in all it was a fun day.

This was taken just after I flew off my sled because I was getting so tired. I made Travis stop so we could eat some food before I could go any further.

We spent a lot of time like this. Travis told me to pull hard when starting the machine and well I guess I  don't know my own strength because I pulled too hard. So anytime we stopped this is what it looked like to get started again.

We also spent some quality time like this. The deeper we got into the wilderness the deeper the snow got. I am glad to say that I was not  the only one who needed help digging out and as you can see it was not a one man job.

We did do a little hill climbing. Yes, even me.   This picture is not me.  It  is my super hot husband Travis., but I will take credit for taking this picture. 

When we got home I took a bath in my most amazing tub. Seriously I had no idea how amazing it was when we looked at the house but if I would have realized it would have been a selling factor.  I also added my new favorite oil (Thank you Logan and Tiff) Lavender. When I got out I did not think I was going to be able to pull myself together for Travis' work Christmas party. I was so relaxed. But for the sake of the holiday spirit I did. The party was fun. Tom and Sandy saved a seat and I think by the end of the night they wished that they hadn't. When I get a little nervous I talk way too much. Let's just say I got a little nervous and to top that off I have not had a lot of socialization since getting married and my skills are lacking. Travis won a Christmas wreath, and I'm not sure where I am going to hang it, but everyone loves to be a winner.

Tom and Sandy

Our weekend in Wyoming was wonderful. There will be lots more of then. Before you know it I am going to be not just able to keep up, but kicking some butt.

Tink

Dear Tiffany,

Do you remember a few Christmases ago you gave me a recipe book? In case you forgot I took a photo....

Well, as a single girl I just did not appreciate how fabulous this gift was.  As a married woman I fully appreciate it.  The time and effort you put into hand writing some of my favorite recipes was very thoughtful.  To be honest I forgot I had it and then my "super hot" husband wanted me to make him something (I can't remember exactly what at the moment) and I tried calling mom for the recipe.  Just my luck it happened to be during her church and so she did not answer. I proceeded to look through my cook books and voil`a, I found what I was looking. The point being your an amazing sister. Thanks for thinking ahead!

Tiffany and Samual

Quilts for the Babies

In high school I spent many hours in the clothing room. I loved it. I made many mistakes and Mrs. Price would laugh and then show me how to fix my problem.  As an adult I have had a hard time finding projects that grasp my attention. I decided that I could take on quilting a blanket for my two nephews Steven and David because my dear friend Linda offered to help.  Through her I found my sewing confidence and love again.  She not only helped me cut but she also let me use her machine quilter to quilt. I am in no way an expert at it but I really enjoyed using the machine. It also saved me a lot of money doing it myself. One day I hope to own my own and become skilled at it. These three quilts are out of the same pattern, which I love. When I decided to make the third blanket I let April (Anson's mom) pick out what pattern she wanted and she chose my favorite.

David's Blanket 2009. 

After I gave him his blanket he jumped on it and rolled up in it for a solid hour. I think he liked it. At the time I gave him his blanket he was unable to say my full name. So he called me Wee Wee. Cute? Yah, coming from that face it was.  Consequently he called the blanket his Wee Wee night night.

The boy's enjoying their blankets. It is funny how well the colors and patterns of the material suit their personalities.

Steven's Blanket.  2009

I love the material on the back.

Anson's blanket.  2010

 After picking out the material for Anson's quilt, I had a difficult time getting started. It was so loud that I was having trouble envisioning the final product. I finally broke down and went back to a different store (the one I should have gone to in the first place), where a very nice lady listened to my vision and then helped me find the fabrics to accomplish it. In the end, it turned out better than I had envisioned.

Baby Anson

Over Thanksgiving Logan and April came to Wyoming. We went to Jackson Hole for the lighting of the Christmas lights and then did a little window shopping. While shopping we got several complements on Anson's quilt. One lady said she thinks I could sell them for a whole lot of money... like $30.  I smiled and said thank you. I did not mention that the materials alone cost three times that much. We got a good laugh out of it. I am currently working on four quilts. I will post pictures when I am done with them.

P.S. Only one of them is a baby blanket and it is a different pattern.

Into the Woods

Christmas is a big deal to me, not the presents, but he traditions.  Travis and I started our first tradition this year and bought a tree tag. Which meant that we could go into the great wilderness to cut down our Christmas tree. Travis was excited to get out his sleds and warm them up for the season.

After searching and searching, we found the one.

When the tree came down, the reality of how large it was came with it. The sled we brought with us to transport the tree back on was a wee bit small.

With a little fandangling we get it to work.  The ride back to the car was slow going and cold.

This is my look of success.

We knew the tree was large, but when we got it into our home we discovered that it was gynormous.  We  cut the tree down three times before we felt like it was going to work.

Even after cutting the tree, it was too big for the stand. Good thing I am married to an engineer. It was a frustrating event but the outcome is this lovely custom made stand. Our 9 & 1/2  foot tree is not going anywhere.

It was a full day event for me to decorate the tree. This is the first time I have put all of my stars on a large tree and  a real tree. It was also tricky to get the tree skirt to fit around our custom stand.  Oh by the way the tree went up past the window when we first brought it into our house.

I love the way it turned out and with only one casualty (I lost a glass icicle to the tile).  Here are a few of my favorite decorations.

Purchased on my trip to Cape Code 2009

 P.A. 2007

A gift from Marianne

P.A. 2009

P.A. 2009

Pinedale Wy 2010

From beginning to end it was a great adventure. Travis has decided that we will start the hunt for the perfect tree next summer. When we find it we will GPS it and return after Thanksgiving to make it ours.



P.S. Stay tuned for the first installment of home projects.

Thanksgiving Fest

I was very excited when Logan and April agreed to come to my house for Thanksgiving. I love to cook and I now have my very own kitchen to do it in.  I planned the menu with Marianne over the phone. Having spent the past several Thanksgivings at her house, well, we have the dishes down that we like.  However, the favorite food on the table this year was a simple food; corn. Travis and I put up corn earlier this fall. Surprisingly it was not very hard and we are hoping to benefit from our labors throughout the winter.

One of the other benefits to hosting Thanksgiving is that I got to use some of my new dishes. A wedding gift from a good friend. I also found a great little store in Pinedale that has some very cool stuff. This is where I found the hand blown glass vases on my table.

My second favorite dish of the day was the fruit salad.

I talked Logan and April into staying an extra day and we drove to Jackson to see the lighting of the square. The temperature was a cool 5 degrees.  We stayed in the square just long enough to see Santa come in on his four-wheeler pulled by sled dogs.  Sounds kinda odd? Well it was. The dogs were not liking the job. Then we headed in doors to do some shopping. Logan found the gift of his dreams.....

I am not sure if Santa is going to leave it under the tree or not. Lucky April if he does. Oh, did I mention that it is a set?  You can get the tail to go with it for an extra 10 bucks.

Thanks Logan and April for a great Holiday and for bringing Anson for me to hold. He is a sweet baby.



P.S. So far so good in the winds of Wyoming.