Grand Canyon!

Our family lives in a beautiful place. Many people travel from all around the world to see where we live. Sadly, we have not even seen all of the beauty around us!!

This last week, Cory had a day off from work and we jumped at the chance to go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Its only a few hours away and I love the drive. We were all set! But..that morning...the refrigerator wasn't working. STRESS!!! AAHH!! Thankfully, my smart hubby was able to fix it by the end of the day. So, although we didn't go on that day, we were able to travel there a few days later.

Only YOU can prevent forest fires!

On the trail! We did a lot of hiking and I was so happy with how my feet held up.  Hooray for happy feet!

And a happy birthday to my hubby! 39 years looks good on you!!...so glad its not me.

Beefalo. Yep. That's what they are called!  Talk about breeding gone wrong!

My favorite boys.

I keep thinking back to a year ago when we had our pictures taken on the steps of the Idaho Falls Temple. James was about my height then. >sigh< they grow so fast!!

I love my family!

 We had a great time and I recommend the Grand Canyon to anyone who is even thinking about it. For me, the views were fantastic but the company was better.

Peach Days Ribbons

Peach Days is the local festival that my family looks forward to every year. There is great entertainment, lots of neat pioneer exhibits, the best parade in the county and yummy food...the food it SO very yummy.

Just about every year James tries to enter something..only once before has he been able to enter something in on time. This year he was able to enter his new favorite recipe. 

Brace yourselves..its a DOOZY!

Chocolate-chip-oreo-brownies.

It was intense! He has made it a few times at home to perfect it..and I guess he did because....

 

...because he took home the Sweepstakes Award for baking. He defeated ALL of the other baking entries--including the adults. 

 The Brownies were a huge success. Half of them were devoured by the judges. (if you look at the pictures, the other entries only had a small bit of them gone.)  and when James spoke with one of the judges later, she said that his was "TO DIE FOR!"

What a sense of accomplishment for James. He has some big struggles, but he has a heart of gold that makes his mama so happy. I love my James! 

Seriously though, these brownies were AWESOME. A layer of chocolate-chip cookies, then he placed Oreo's on them, then he poured brownie batter on top of that!

The other surprise of Peach Days was about my chairs. All day I had been pondering about placing one of my chairs to be judged. This was so huge to me. I love to paint my chairs but I don't feel like a "real artist"..more of a person who loves to doodle. 

 When I brought my one chair in, several of the ladies really liked it. I was flattered!....and then they asked me if I had any more. Of course, I laugh, my entire kitchen set is an assortment of chairs! And before you know it, they have me convinced to bring all of the chairs over for the show.

 All the way home I was trying not to freak out. Cory was just concerned on what we were going to sit on at the table. (Those food storage buckets really are comfy by the way.)

We cleaned them up and picked up a few on the way--since I have chairs all over the place..lol..

I was so happy with the response. At one point, during Peach Days, Cory took me to the display and had me sit next to it and listen to people's reactions. The positive feedback was almost overwhelming. It was nice to sit there anonymously and listen to what was being said. 

From the Judges.

It really boosted my love of doodling. I can't stop! And I love that about me. I love creating. I love making something thrown away into something beautiful again. I just love it. 

Thank you, Peach Days!