Marc's Birthday Party

Yesterday was Marc's birthday. I planned a little surprise birthday party at the park for him. I don't think he was very surprised though! A big thanks to Megan for helping me out with decorating the picnic table and surrounding area and also Melanie and Matt for providing the vegetable tray, Jennifer & Jason for providing the fruit tray and Ashly & BryAnn for providing the meat/cheese trays. It was fun being with family and friends and sharing Marc's special day with everyone. Enjoy the photos!



Marc's "Older Than Dirt" birthday cake!



Marc and Sherry



Wes, Ash, BryAnn, Florence & Marc



Jennifer & Jason



Melanie & Matt



Melanie, Matt, Craig, Marc & Wes



Marc & Florence



~~Florence~~



~~Florence~~



Lacey & Marc



Jenn, Jason & Emma



HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU VIDEO!!

Weekend Camping Trip...

We left for our camping trip Friday afternoon. We went to the grocery store to pick up some last minute items such ICE, soft drinks, food, batteries, etc! We decided to go to Currant Creek Reservoir and arrived there around 6 or 7 PM. I'm not really sure what time it was because I didn't have a clock. We found a really nice little spot and decided to keep it. We set up our camp very quickly and immediately began working on our feast for the evening. Marc grilled hamburgers with cheese and tomato. It was so good. We also had baked beans with jalapenos .... Mmmmmm so yummy! And corn on the cob!

After dinner we cleaned up the mess and sat around the campfire that Marc built. It was nice and toasty. I really couldn't believe how cold it was up there at night. It even rained a few times while we were out and had to take cover in out tent! We both brought our books with us so we were able to catch up on some much needed reading.

Saturday morning we had home-made egg, bacon and cheese on English muffins. After clean up we headed down to the lake to do some fishing. We took our camp chairs with us (I don't really like sitting on the ground ... mainly because it takes me forever to get back up. The area we picked out for our fishing expenditure was way cool. There were little tiny minnows (redside shiners, to be exact) spawning in the rocks.

Here is a quick video that Marc taped:



Here is our campsite:



Here is Marc ... getting ready to go fishing!



The beautiful scenery!



A 2-point buck -



Current Creek Reservoir



Currant Creek Reservoir



The fishing wasn't too good, unfortunately. We ended up with a few nibbles and we could see the fish jumping out in the lake but they just were not biting. It was still fun though. I enjoy fishing. Even if it means not catching a fish!

We headed back to camp - I'm still not sure of the time but it seemed close to dinner time. Saturday night we made chicken curry with rice! It had coconut milk in it along with green and yellow peppers, potatoes, mushrooms, onions and it was amazing tasting! I loved it! I definitely pigged out on it.

Right after dinner it decided to rain so once again back for shelter in the tent. We began reading our books and then it stopped raining. Marc went back out by the campfire and read and I stayed in the tent nicely snuggled in my sleeping bag, book light and book. Before I knew it I was sound asleep.

Sunday morning we slept in (I think) Still not sure of the time. Marc began breakfast. We enjoyed scrambled eggs, hashbrowns and bacon. We had to sit in the shade due to me getting yet another sunburn on my brand new healed skin (shoulder's are the worst) They actually have blisters. I don't know, it just didn't seem hot enough to get sunburned. I was wrong again.

We began cleaning up and packing things away in the truck. We decided to take a different route back home which was mostly gravel and dirt roads. It was very scenic and we saw a few deer, pot belly chipmunks ....

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. No television, no phones, no one to bother us and just the relaxation of nature.

What's New?

New Moon Movie and Twilight Movie

Happy Birthday, America!

Stadium of Fire 2009


Glenn Beck's "Old Glory" Speech

FIREWORKS!!

Stadium of Fire Choir - "Your a Grand Old Flag"

Stadium of Fire Choir - "God Bless America"

Stadium of Fire Choir - "This Is My Country"


I participated in the Stadium of Fire Choir this year and had a blast! I'm going to miss the practices and everyone that I became friends with. Our performances went smoothly and our conductor seemed quite pleased with all of us. I posted some video footage of the fireworks and our choir singing several patriotic music.

I was one of the lucky few whose name was drawn for a free ticket to last nights performance. Since Marc and Megan all ready had their tickets we decided to invite Jennifer. Megan and Jennifer were lucky enough to sit next to each other! Megan loves "The Jonas Brothers" - Their opening act was "She Daisy" ... All together it was truly a remarkable show. I know that I loved it.

Two last comments ... Friday nights dress rehearsal was with Glenn Beck. I was lucky enough to have him hand me his Aquafina water bottle to throw away in the trash can that was behind me! Of course, he asked first!

Last night, before our first singing performance began, Glenn was playing the part of "The Music Man" and he was in charge of leading in the American Fork HS Band ... while they played 76 Trombones. The choir too, marched in place and followed along singing. Before any of this took place though, Glenn walked a few steps towards myself and a couple of other women and began talking with us! He told us about a recent musical that he had taken his wife to and could have sworn when he agreed to be the host for this years "Stadium of Fire" he said 'absolutely not. I do not want to play the part of The Music Man!" Then he scratched his head and just shook his head. Then he says to all of us "Have fun, good luck" and puts his fist out and fist bumps my fist and the woman standing next to me! He's a true, down to earth patriot who loves his country. That is why I admire him so much. His conversion story is amazing, as well.

Happy Birthday to my younger brother, Joey!

Megan, Joey and Melanie

Joey & Mitchel (24 years ago!!)

A Little Bit Of This & A Little Bit Of That...

There's not much to blog about really. This next week will be a busy one. I'm participating in "The Stadium of Fire" choir this year. The show is this coming Saturday so we have several rehearsals between now and then. Thursday evening and Friday afternoon and then again Friday night. The cool part about it is Glenn Beck will be hosting and he'll be at our afternoon practice on Friday!

I didn't receive my certification from the Successful Life Management class. I missed 4 classes so I need to make those up beginning this week, as well.

The Orem Tea Party is also this Saturday morning. It should be really good. I'm looking forward to going to it.

My 25th year class reunion is sneaking up on me. It's July 31st and August 1st. I'm very excited to go plus I get to see my dad and my grandpa!

That's about all I have for now.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies...

* 1 cup canned pumpkin
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 1 egg
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon milk
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.