Fall Break Adventure #3: APPLES!!

You may remember that each Autumn, we press apples (APPLES!!!) and make delicious apple (APPLES!!!) cider with Andrew's family. And it is so delicious.

Cutting out the bad parts. 

Andrew got apple (APPLES!!!) poop on him from grinding the apples (APPLES!!!) up.

Elise, Hannah, Maren (Wes's woman), and Wesley cutting the bad parts out of the apples (APPLES!!!)

Andrew got apple (APPLES!!!) pooped on and Glenn got apple (APPLES!!!) peed on.

Andrew dripping apple (APPLES!!!) poop on Wes's neck.
Yes, an apple (APPLES!!!) poop fight did ensue.

Elise is sure to get a husband with that face.

Maren and Wes holding hands BYU-style. Since they aren't supposed to touch below the waist, they hold hands above their waists---proving yet again how awkward BYU is.

We love doing apples (APPLES!!!). And we are always shouting "APPLES!!!" in this ridiculous slurpy, singing voice, so by typing it in I have made you feel like you were there doing apples (APPLES!!!) with us.

Welcome Home!

Back in August when Andrew returned from Washington, I had a Welcome Home Party for him with our friends. We had a way fun time.

Audrey and Caleb eating their hot dogs.

Emma, Olivia, and Kaylee (this if from left to right).

Heather, Curt, and Christine

Heather, Time, Jacob, and Heather.

Mikey has triplets! Not really. Kaylee belongs to her. She was watching Olivia and Emma was just chilling.

Tasha is having a baby!! Sorry her face is whited out.

Andrew at the grill. He is so manly.

Abby, Maggie, and Spencer.

Laverna, Dan, Alice, and Eliza.

I am really glad that we had so many friends come over to celebrate with us. It is wonderful to see how blessed we are with all these friends!

Sisters, Sisters!

A few weeks ago, my sister Leslie came to Logan and spent the weekend with me and with Melanie. On Saturday we went to Hyrum Reservoir. There is a swim area, so we hung out there.

Leslie, me, and Melanie working on our tans at the beach. This is a great picture, and maybe I will print it out.

Our bottoms (covered, of course. What kind of a blog do you think this is?)

Melanie and Ross in their raft. We let Ross come even though he isn't a sister.


Me and Leslie in the water. She has a life jacket and I do not. I was trying to tread water and make the pose. Skillz.

It was a great day spent with the sisters. You should all hang out with your sisters cuz it is a fun thing to do.

Black Eye: A Journey

I had a tubing accident. It was epic and amazing. I was on the awesome fun tube (that seats four) and my face hit Uncle Paul's head. I think I blacked out and I just remember being in the water and thinking, "Oh my head kills." And then, "Oh my cheek kills." And, "Wow, I need to get in the boat." So I did.

Saturday July 30
Right after I got onto the beach and found a frozen waterbottle to ice my face with. I didn't cry. I am strong.


Later that night. Yes, I look stoned (this would be a lot of ibuprofen later). It was swelling and already starting to bruise.

Sunday, July 31
Time for Church! Oh, how it hurt to smile (please note the crooked grin).

Monday, August 1
I got a great response at work. No, my husband did not beat me. Maybe I was guarding the liquor store. My boss said he would beat us all until morale improved. I got a huge lecture from the co-editor at work about how dangerous tubing is and that I should never do it ever again. Yeah right, I'm going right back on next time the family goes.

Tuesday, August 2
Here the bruise is reaching it's best stage. My eye wasn't swollen but my cheek still was. You can see the yellow and it really was a black eye.

Wednesday, August 3
Here's another great day for the eye. I discovered why black eyes are often called "shiners"--get this baby in the right light and it reflects off the discolored skin. So cool!

Thursday, August 4
I was sad that it was starting to get better. I loved how strangers would stop me and ask what happened to me. I also have a strange fascination with bruises.

Friday, August 5
Still getting better, unfortunately. I think I bruised my cheek bone cuz it still really hurt to the touch.

Saturday, August 6
Here is a close-up. I think it is still pretty good. I went to Hyrum lake with my sisters and we had a great time. We didn't boat cuz we only had an inflatable raft and three life jackets.

Sunday, August 7
OK, so we all know that I am vain, but seriously, can I be any more babe-alicious? I'm so glad I'm hott even with a black eye.

Monday, August 8
I can smile again without pain! Now it is just red.

Tuesday, August 8
You can't really see it, but my face is classic. The bruise is mostly red and a little smaller than Mondays, and since it is Wednesday when I am posting this, it still looks pretty much the same.

I kind of wish it had lasted a little longer.

In sum, getting a black eye like that really hurts, but the beautiful colors are so worth it.

Chickens, Chickens, and More Chickens

***CAUTION: This post contains headless chickens and chicken guts. Look away if you get queasy or if you love chickens and don't want to see where the stuff you eat really comes from.***

On July 25, I went with the in-laws to slaughter 27 chickens with the extended family.

I made a Chicken Music Mix CD, which was filled with fun songs like "Chicken Fried," "Brown Chicken, Brown Cow," "Sic 'Em On A Chicken," "Chicken Dumplings," and "C-H-I-C-K-E-N" (which me, The Dad, and Elise are dancing to), along with the classic Bill Cosby skit, "Chicken Heart That Ate New York City." Everyone said the CD was great and helped make the chore more fun.


Uncle Dan (who cut off the heads) and The Dad (who held the wings down and got covered in blood) pulling the skin and feathers off of the chickens.


Me gutting a chicken. I am crying and I almost threw up. It was still warm inside! Grandma S. was helping me. She kept saying how proud she was that we girls would have skills needed when the Lord calls us to Missouri. Sorry, when the Lord calls us to Missouri, I don't think we'll be gutting chickens, and we might not even eat meat. I guess I have these skills for when our government and economy collapse, so Andrew and I have to feed our families with what we can hunt or raise.


That's me with the chicken that I gutted.


All I can say is that Andrew really missed out. And that was quite the experience.

Friends at Lake Sacagawea

We met some of our good friends in the middle. We drove from Washington and they drove from Oregon. We haven't seen them since last November, so it was great to spend time with them.

Jared fishing with N (on the lap) and J (standing). I love this picture. It is so cute.

I kept telling Andrew that this was the future. Just imagine: Andrew trying to get toddlers to fish but they just want to splash the water with the fishing rods.


Some friendly ducks. Sandra was throwing them some delicious tortilla chips.


J with his drum that we brought him from Hong Kong.


N kept sitting on the cooler and then tipping it so he would fall off. It was so funny.


After our friends left with two sleepy boys, we kept trying to fish. We fished for three hours. Andrew was determined to catch a fish. We could not leave until he caught one.

Frustrated, Andrew just started to run his lure along some rocks. This little fella just attacked the lure! Super aggressive fish can come is very small packages.

The fish.

It was a good day. I was happy and sunburned, even though I didn't catch a fish.

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

Andrew bought a kite. He really likes to fly it. Last Friday, we went to Mukilteo Beach to fly the kite and we had a good time.


Andrew flying the kite. He always makes me try. I did well this time! I'm not very patient so I make big moves, but you just need to guide it gently. I flew the kite the best I ever have. But, I always get frustrated cuz no matter how soft I am, it always crashes into the ground. Andrew is good at flying the kite. He is trying to learn how to do some tricks.


Andrew and the kite. It's very colorful. The model is called Jazz.


Andrew's cute girlfriend who wanted to fly the kite. Her mom said she couldn't.


The kite from Andrew's point of view.

He is very focused.

You might be able to see a few other kites in this picture. There were about six other kites up. Andrew has the coolest one! You can actually steer it cuz it has two strings. It is really fast and makes a loud zipping noise in the wind. I think Andrew just likes aerodynamics.

Swimming Party!

Our apartment area had a swimming party. We got into the pool for freeeeeee! Since I'm a fake-single for the summer, I went and tagged along with the people with kids.


Heather, Tim, Caleb, and Audrey were way excited to see me!


T-Roy and Kaylee. The sun was in their eyes.


Little Emma in her floaty toy.


The kids having fun! Such a great picture. I love Emma's face just peaking above her floaty. Audrey is jumping and Caleb is splashing.


Me with Kaylee, post-swim when it started to get cold. I'm such a great fake aunt.


For cutes!

If you didn't know, I just LOVE to swim. I could swim all day. I am definitely a little fish. I really would like to go water skiing and boating sometime this summer. We'll see if it happens. If not, at least I got to have fun tonight!