Dutch-oven at the Carters!

One of our favorite places to visit in Utah is the "Carter Family Farm"! My cousin, Shareen, and her husband, Kevin, have a fun, little farm that we HAVE to go play at every time we're in Utah. This time they invited us over for some good ol' Dutch Oven cooking. Shareen ran a 1/2 marathon that morning, but was still her usual, energetic self. Kevin impressed us with his cooking skills preparing not just beef ribs, but also pork ribs and some yummy potatoes. There were chips and fruit salad, and they topped it off with ice cream cones! We sat around the fire pit until 11:00 while the kids went exploring with their headlamps on. After hearing a blood-curdling scream from Aidan (just because he didn't get to hold the flashlight), David went to investigate what was going on. In the mean time, Kevin had a brilliant idea... he snuck over, hid behind the haystack, and waited...and waited...until finally, when the moment was just right, "RAAAAAH!!" He jumped out at David, who screamed like a little school girl! Needless to say, David was NOT allowed to sit on the "MAN LOG" after that.

Kevin, the cullinary master!

What do you call cheese that isn't yours?

NOT-YO CHEESE! (Nacho cheese)


Mmmmmm! These ribs are finger-lickin' good!

Check out these cute, matching aprons I made for Shareen and her daughter, Hadlie. Hadlie LOVES horses, so I found her a cute fabric with horses on it, and I HAD to make Shar one to match. They're reversible!

Utah trip June/July 2009

We just got back from an extended stay up in Utah visiting my family. We had a Hadlock family reunion, a wedding in Montana, and my dad celebrated his 70th birthday. I had to be there for everything, but I couldn't make three separate trips, so I just stayed for a MONTH!

The kids had fun getting to know their grandparents and cousins a little better.

Jolie and Grandpa are BEST FRIENDS!

Granny taught Jolie how to play the accordion.

We went to the 4th of July parade in Provo.

Blowin' Bubbles!

Silly cheerleaders!

Helping in the garden!

Check out these beets!

Here's Ethan mowing the lawn.

We were able to stop in for a visit with Jeff and Kristi's family in Rexburg, ID on the way to Montana for my niece's wedding.

Uncle Jeff let Aidan help make some popcorn in his cool popcorn popper.

My niece, Candice got married in Dillon, Montana on July 11th.

Good times were had by all, but there's no place like home!

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!

We are so lucky to have moved into the BEST NEIGHBORHOOD EVER!!! We have some of the COOLEST neighbors! Not only do we live across the street from David's sister, Amy and her family, but our next door neighbors, Richard and Nancy, are THE BOMB!!! Richard always takes our garbage cans in and out for us if we don't remember, and we don't usually have time to remember because he has already done it. He is a one-man neighborhood watch. He is the first one to offer to bring in your mail and water your lawn when you go out of town. Nancy is the cutest, tiny little lady with the BIGGEST personality! She is always so upbeat and happy. They have been known to go to the Grandparent's Day at the elementary school, even though they don't have any grandchildren that go there, just to be there for some of the little neighbor kids that don't have grandparents close by. They have started having these monthly FHE cook-outs with a few of us close neighbors. Here are a few pictures from the very first one back in June. They had another one the night we drove back from Utah. It was so nice not to have to make dinner after driving for eleven hours! We love our "new" neighbors!

Who you gonna call?

Three Smokin' Hot Ladies! Amy, Kayla, and Crystal

That's right, the men get to do the cooking!

A friendly, little game of football.

Jolie loves her a good HOT DOG!

BFF's

So, we were able to spend a MONTH in Utah visiting my family. The best part about staying for an extended period of time was my kids getting to know their grandparents a little bit better. Jolie warmed right up to my dad and now they're BFF's!