The view from my tractor

Harvest is here and once again I'm in my trusty John Deere with loads of apples on the trailer. This year the apples were quite large so we the first pick about a week ago and are back to clear the trees. Usually second pick is quick bit this year we are following the pickets with the tractors an fork lifts so they don't have to walk so far. This almost doubles the work time since we have fewer pickers and fewer vehicles to transport the fruit.


It should be a good year though. With larger apples (although fewer in number) hopefully the size will make up for what we lose in quantity as far as price goes. The weather has been mild and fantastic!



These are my nieces Madi and Aurora. The cab of the tractor is pretty small bit the kids always want a ride so they sit in the window opening or anywhere they can put their little bums:)



Grant and Brock needed a ride too. They lasted longer than the girls.




Nearly 1000 pounds of apples in each bin! On 30 acres of galas this year we will probably be close to 1000 total bins so close to one million pounds of apples! Our orchard is just a drop in the bucket up here- I can't imagine having 5,000 acres! Some years we have picked a lot more than 1000 bins too but the weather was just crazy this year.

Next week we are on to the grannys which is one pick and will last only a couple days.

Congdon Camping Trip July 2010

We went on a little camping trip with the Congdon crew near Kamas, Utah. We had families come from Florida, Colorado, Texas, and us in Washington. The only two families that couldn't make it were the ones who live in Utah! (sorry guys, I have to give you a hard time about that:).

Our tent had a special little opening so you could reach out to a cooler without going outside. Roxy thought this was the perfect place for her to check out what was going on around her new territory. She knew this was her little home for the week and barked at every dog or squirrel who approached:)

We hiked Bald Mountain together. It was a very pretty view that was worth the 2 miles up and back. 

Such a pretty view!

I was loving all of the amazing colors. Oranges, purples, greens and pinks all on the top of a big, rocky, desolate mountain. 

Pirate's Cove Memorial Day Weekend 2010

Ever heard of Pirate's Cove? Well, me neither but for Memorial Day Weekend we had the chance to go down to Vegas and meet up with an old group of friends and enjoy the Pirate's Life for a few days! This place is like the real life Pirates of the Caribbean- no detail spared. If you ever get the chance to experience it firsthand you will know that no picture will do this place justice.

This is the huge waterfall that goes into the diving pool. You can dive off the mast of the ship if you're daring enough at three different heights. The top one was closed because of a recent accident. I limited myself to the water slide that wound its way through a sunken ship. It was surprising fast!

This was the seating area overlooking Lake Mead. We had about 50 people at the resort and we never felt like there were more than 15. There were 22 bedrooms and multiple kitchens, bathrooms, pools, and more. We were there for 3 days and couldn't take it all in.

The guys found a very fat lizard.

Hanging out at the 'Beach'

The Mariachi Band on the way to our villa. It would turn on and play every time we walked by.

Lake Mead

Share my Blog Button!

I just learned how to create a button and scroll box for my blog and to be completely honest, it was kind of tricky! Thanks to Jenieshell's Design Challenge I figured it out and now it works! If you want to add my button to your blog (which I would really appreciate:) it's really simple! Jenieshell explains is so easily with pictures and everything and you can visit her step by step tutorial by clicking here. Please add a button to your blog or website if you have space and I'll return the favor! Thanks:)

I love Freebies2deals.com!

So if you want to check out a great blog, I've got one! www.freebies2deals.com is constantly updating their blog with the best deals on the internet and in cities across the nation. I get an email every day with all of the current deals and you simply click on the links to view each one. I've gotten tons of free stuff in the mail this week. She also does different scenarios on how to get stuff at grocery stores completely free- sometimes you can even make money! I love this blog so check it out and make sure you sign up for the free email updates. If you check your email a lot like I do, you'll love getting this one every day!

Six months down...

Married for six months already. Where does the time go? We went up to the Grand America to celebrate and this was the view from our room. They had the best cookies at the reservation desk I couldn't even stand it. I tried to say no but the warm chocolate chips were calling my name and I caved. So good! Can't beat a homemade chocolate chip cookie.

Look at this amazing courtyard! Someday I want a house with a mini courtyard in the center of it:) The girl in the pink dress had just gotten married. Gotta love a fuschia dress!

On Sunday morning our great friends Jeff and Julie met us for the Sunday Brunch. Oh my goodness... soo good! I think I ate more shrimp than ever and if you like crab legs- this is the place to go. Chocolate fountains, crepes, bacon to die for, french toast, omlettes, and all the dessert you could ever dream of. There was even a sushi station. By the way, if you like Happy Sumo you need to try the squid salad. Sounds disgusting but it's absolutely amazing and you'll crave it just thinking about it. Hmmm, how far away is Happy Sumo....

We went to La Caille for dinner (somehow Jeremy ended up with a $100 gift card there) and it was soooo good. I love drive up to the restaurant. You feel like you're entering some other country or time period when you get into the gates. There are ponds with swans and ducks and the peacocks just roam around. They had the prettiest orchids inside the restaurant too. Someday I'd like to start growing them. My mom has such a green thumb- especially for things that are difficult to grow. My grandma was just the same way.

Motorcycle trip to Park City

We took a fun trip to Park City last weekend to enjoy the sunshine. I love Park City's atmosphere- especially all of the cute little stores on Main Street. We ate at Wasatch Brewing Company out on the porch in the sunny weather. Although it was a little chilly, the mountains and sun was just what I needed!

I had two t-shirts on, a sweatshirt and a coat and was still cold on the way up! Jeremy had a t-shirt on. Man, I'm always cold!

We're sure going to miss Utah! I think I've become pretty attached to the mountains and the beautiful scenery. You can travel just an hour and feel like you're on a mini vacation. If you're in the mood for some incredible, authentic mexican food I recommend El Chubasco- a locally owned little restaurant that has the best homemade salsa bar and quesadillas! Try it the next time you're up in Park City!

Easy Lava Flow Recipe

Here is my virgin variation for this recipe. So yum!

• 2 oz. fresh or frozen strawberries
• 2 oz. pina colada mix with coconut and pineapple flavoring
• 2 oz. coconut cream

Preparation:

Blend the strawberries and 1/2 the coconut cream in a blender to form a smooth paste. Pour this mixture into a tall (Collins or Hurricane) glass. Rinse the blender. Blend the coconut cream, and the pina colada mix in blender with crushed ice until smooth. Pour this mixture into the glass very slowly and watch as the strawberry mixture oozes its way to the top along the sides of the glass creating the flowing lava effect. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and paper umbrella.

Optional: add a small banana and pineapple juice for more flavoring

I love Spring BBQs with friends!

Last night we had the best BBQ with my good friends Bree, Nikki, and Becky. I attempted to make virgin Lava Flows which turned out pretty great if I might say so myself:) See below for the easy recipe! It was so great to catch up with friends again. Bree is prego and due on October 19th. She thinks she's already starting to waddle. I guess me and Jer better get going. I wish I could just have twins so that I could catch up to everyone! If you know a recipe for that let me know:) We've been working on some health insurance because I need to get a knee surgery and then we really do want to start a family. Man, is that stuff expensive! I thought that by doing a group rate it would be pretty affordable. $1900 a month? Ridiculous! So the search is still on- it's looking like private insurance rates aren't so bad.

We will be leaving for Washington in the next couple weeks. We got our place subletted out which was quite a fiasco but I'm glad we're semi-moved. As much as I hate living out of a suitcase, it just has to work for now.

So back to the BBQ! Saratoga Springs is so pretty and Bree has the cutest house. I'm going to need her to come decorate mine when we find one. I'll have pictures to post soon.

Moving, moving, moving...

So, it is official, we are moving to Washington! Jeremy and I both have some mixed feelings about leaving Utah and moving to the Tri-Cities. I know we will miss family here, the mountains, and being so close to great shopping:) but, we both feel that it's the right thing for us to do. We will also be moving Inspired Iron to good ole Burbank, WA. Things have really picked up despite a slow January and February and I feel like we will have a very busy summer in a new location and shop. I've lived in Utah for the last 11 years...wow, how the time flies. I think I'm ready for the change and I'm excited to be so close to my family again. It will be an adjustment for Jeremy having lived in Utah most of his life but I know we will be back and forth between Utah and Washington so we will be able to visit his family often. Wish us luck on our new adventure!

P.S. I would love any comments just so I know that someone actually reads my blog:)

On our way to Washington

On our way to Washington for the Easter weekend. Roxy is such a good little traveler. She hardly gets out of her bag at all during the whole trip. I think it makes her feel safe. Well only 8.5 more hours to go...hopefully it's warmer than Utah.

I heart Pantry Secrets bread making kit!

The best gift I got for Christmas this year was Pantry Secrets Bread making starter kit (I'm not even sure if that is what it's officially called). Anyway, there is one basic recipe that you use and with a few slight variations you can make tons of different things! But here is the best part, start to finish, it only takes 1 hour! That's right-I can testify. Throw all the ingredients in and mix, rise for 25 minutes, bake for 25 minutes. It's seriously the best if you like homemade rolls, wheat bread, cinnamon rolls, pastries, pizza, you name it. It's so quick, fail proof and most of all fun. If you're looking for an alternative to yeast that won't rise (because for some reason my old recipe would only work about 50% of the time), try this stuff out! Here's the website: http://www.pantrysecrets.net/

Spring Fever

These last couple days have been so nice that I can't hardly stand it! Yesterday I did some Spring cleaning because the sunshine just makes me feel energized. Hopefully we don't get snow again this week but who knows. Jeremy and I took Roxy on a little walk yesterday too. Looking out the window, I thought it was going to be so warm and I just had to urge to get out there. Well, it was a little breezy and not nearly as warm as it looked but we did a short walk anyway. Spring is just one of my favorite times of the year. Actually, I think it is my favorite. The sun seems to shine a fresh color and is such a nice change from the dreary, cold winters. I love the flowers and can't help but think of my mom and grandma when I see a beautiful daffodil or iris blooming. I have always loved flowers and I can't wait until a have a huge yard to plant and watch bloom. I love it!

Let's try this one more time...

So the blog thing didn't work out before I was married. Not sure why considering I probably had the time. But now that I am married I think it is what you're supposed to do. My goal is to blog at least once a week which I feel like I can do. I now have a website up and running with two blogs connected to that so this will be my third (not that I'm using that as an excuse:). Starting fresh then, here we go!

Currently, Jeremy and I (and our little pup Roxy) live in Pleasant Grove, UT. We really like it here. It's nice being out of the college towns of Orem and Provo; however, church was a lot quieter there. Now we have screaming 2 year olds which is very distracting when you come from a ward where you can hear a pin drop. I'm still not sure why they don't get taken out of church to scream in the hallway but maybe I'll understand when I have one of my own.

I'm still working at Inspired Iron which is a job I really enjoy (well, most parts of it). I love working with the customer, designing lights, figuring out what they need to look like and how to communicate that to the guys in the shop building them. I've been working with a lady in Maryland who found us on the Internet. We custom designed all of her light fixtures inside and out. She wrote to me one day and said, 'I can't believe we did all of this over the Internet and phone! I'm usually a person who has to see and touch everything before I buy it." Dealing with this scenario daily is normal for me so I thought back on the whole process. It is quite amazing that someone can trust you that much. I've always been confident in Inspired Iron's abilities and our product so I guess the possibility of disappointing someone doesn't cross my mind too often (though on occasion it does).