Festival of Trees

Our Y.W. had done a few projects to donate to the Festival of Trees and so we decided to take them up there and enjoy the festivities. We had a GREAT time. Jen pulled us out of a bind and she and Shaylie came down and helped us drive the girls up. What a lifesaver. The cute pics of Shaylie came, compliments of one of my Y.W. making her smile like that. What a doll that little girl is!

Thanksgiving

I missed getting a picture of mom and McKoy. A few "glimpses" of Todd. He's like "where's Waldo!" Kyle and Tif pretty much hid from the camera..what do you do!

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year. We had everyone here, except of course, our kids living in Alabama who were GREATLY missed. We have many blessings to be grateful for and our family is top on the list!

EASY Homemade Bread Recipe

I got this recipe at least 20 years ago. Maybe more. It turns out perfect time after time. I got it from a woman in one of my older wards. Her name is Loy Billings. Thanks Loy for the tried and true recipe that's perfect for winter baking!

White or Whole Wheat Bread
(4 loaves)
1/2 c. warm water
Sprinkle sugar
2 TB. yeast

5 c. hot liquid
7 c. flour
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. oil
1 TB. salt
add yeast/water, mix well
Add enough flour for soft dough (about 5-7 c.)
Knead, put in pan, let rise. Bake @ 400 for 30 min

Y.W. Fun Fall Project

These cute pumpkins were made from plastic dryer vent material. Who would have thunk!!

Blanding was GREAT!

We went to Blanding for a short little trip. It was fun to see Brian and Mallorys new home. We had never seen it yet, I think they have owned it for about 6 months or more! Shame on us. Anyway....it is a great house and has an incredible back yard. Fun for them. Brody was cute as he can be. The weather could not have been better. We went to some Indian Ruins, it was really nice. Oh, and Neal even managed to get a speeding ticket on the way down, you gotta love it!

Olivias contagious giggle, while enjoying Bryces comments about Jake.

Bryce just chillin' and Jake who could not leave Shaylie's little feet alone.

Jake enjoying his b.day cake

Fun Weekend

Several of the kids and their families came down for either a few hours on Sat. (Jen, Curtis and Shaylie) or to spend the night and attend church with us (Derek, Cindy, Bryce, Olivia, Jake, Kyle, Tiffany and Todd.)

We had a very nice time playing games on the Wii, including American Idol (which we actually got Neal to participate with one song! Simon didn't like it too well however! We also just played cards and just hung out. Thanks for coming down it was great fun. We also got to celebrate Jakes b.day. A day or two early but hey, he doesn't know or care. It was fun, look at the pics to see how much he enjoyed his cake!

Layered Dip for Chips

I got this recipe from one of my counselors. She made it for a Y.W. activity we had. It is incredible! Enjoy!


Layered Dip for Chips
1st layer: l-16oz can of refried beans mix with
1/2 can of Jalapena bean dip 2nd layer: 3 ripe avocados mashed with
2Tbs. Lemon Juice salt & pepper
3rd layer: 1 cup sour cream mixed with
1 cup real mayonaise
1/2 pkg mild taco seasoning
4th layer: Cut up tomatoes, olives, grn onions
5th layer: grated mozerella and mild cheese
use as much as you want.
Put in any clear pyrex bowl or pie plate

BRODY and GRANDPA

Brody was having a good time at the ball game the other night chasing around the football and any other ball that happened to come his way. Grandpa played with him for a while and I think Brody enjoyed that. I know Mallory did! I forgot to take my camera, or I would have had some posts of Shaylie, Jake and Bryce. This pic was compliments of Jen....thanks Jen!

SHAYLIE RENAE LANG has arrived

Our cute, cute, little granddaughter arrived on Tues., Sept. 16th. She weighed in at 8lb. and was 19 1/2" long. Jen had a c-section after pushing for three hours and no baby. BUT...Jen was a trooper and did extremely well with it, better than her mother did. So, here are some pics and I won't even excuse myself for how many I post, because you will enjoy every single one because she is so darling! She did have a little oxygen problem, but that is all taken care of now. Mom and baby went home on Sat.

A FEW DAYS OLDER

Shaylie about 1/2 hr. old

Brotherly Love!

Patiently watching as "Dad" works on a pinewood derby! Isn't that cute?

I've been tagged! I hate playing tag!

O.k., Mal, I will play once, but I'm pretty sure that is all I will play.

*Four random things I like (adore) about my husband?
1. His work ethic.....HARD!
2. How he puts up with me! unbelievable!
3. How much he helps his kids.
4. He gets along with everyone

*Four movies that I would watch more than once?
1. Bandits
2. While you were sleeping
3. The fugitive
4. John Q

*Four TV shows I watch more than once?
1. American Idol
2. American Idol
3. American Idol
4. The news. It's a "drama" isn't it?

*Four places I have been?
1. China
2. Jamaica
3. New York
4. Canada

*Four people who email me regularly?
1. Karry S.
2. Janice B.
3. Shannon B.
4. Dianne Y.

*Four favorite foods?
1. Anything Neal will cook!
2. Cereal
3. Old Fashioned Hamburger with all the trimmings.
4. Corn on the Cob

*Four places I would like to visit?
1. Tahiti
2. Any ole island off by itself with a beautiful cottage or mansion on it with just myself and my family. No other people anywhere to be found. (except the housekeepers and the cooks of course!)
3. Hawaii
4. Bilbao, Spain (think of all the cool name things we could come home with!) I stole that one from Mal, thanks, let's plan a trip!

*Four things I am looking forward to in the coming year?
1. Neal working soley from home.
2. Jen and Curtis new baby
3. Kyle and Tiffanys new baby
4. Buying the "lot" below us

Who's playing "Wii?"

Grandma Allen came down for the weekend and Dad and I decided to introduce her to the "Wii." She did pretty good. We did bowling, next time it will be boxing, Damon get ready for Grandma Allen!

Who is it?

This is a cute little guy. Just which cute little guy is it, is the question?

Labor Day!

We invited the kids down for a "Wii" little fun!!! It was great. Everyone that could, came. (that means Blanding folk and New Hampshire folk did not show!) Here are a few pics of the day. Sorry, I didn't really get a pic of everyone I guess. Oops! I'll get better at this I promise!

O.K., that last picture was Todd. At least dad and I think it was, we honestly weren't sure because it wasn't marked. But, if you'll look at the chin and the coloring, it has to be Toddy!

Go ahead and guess. This will probably be easy, but still fun. Who is who? Give it your best shot! I was surprised at how much they looked alike at this age. I know, this is an easy one but look how cute they are!!!!

Just so you know, Neal was called to be the financial clerk in our ward. He was sustained and set apart today. So, only a few more weeks of teaching gospel doctrine we are thinking. That's honestly too bad. How does someone get the church calling that they think is the BEST calling in the church? When he did it before, he would come home and say "I have the best calling in the church." I was enjoying watching him squirm while teaching sunday school. Oh, well. He will do a GREAT job just like he does with anything he is called to do.

I got in trouble by several people for "deleting" my last blog post, the one with Uncle Blaine. So, here is the pic again, but I'm sorry I can't restore the comments. Oopsy!

O.K. So, this pictue isn't a school picture, but honestly I think it is pretty funny and I am having a blast looking at these pictures also. It makes it harder to guess who it is too. Oh, by the way, the picture yesterday was Uncle Blaine. I tricked you a little by that. You'll die when you see the pic of Neal that I am going to post. But for now, who is this?

A day in the Uintahs with the boys!

Kyle got a tip on where a gold stash was in the Uintahs. So of course they had to make, yet another trip in to search for the treasure. Neal, Kyle, Brian, Todd, Curtis, Derek, Bryce and Joe all went. They were successful, they found MANY treasures, none of which were of any worth! This pic is showing off the beauty they get to enjoy while they are searching. It is pretty. Not worth the hike for me, but I can enjoy looking at pics. I'm sure someone will add more pics to their blog, they took some great ones.