Since we need to uphold our status as the coolest aunt and uncle around, last Saturday Jason and I took a group of our nieces and nephews to see the new Pixar movie, Up. We invited all of my sister’s and brother’s kids that are old enough to sit through a movie. Of course, I’m defining “sitting” here quite liberally as: constantly moving around while your hind-end is relatively close to a seat cushion.
We unwisely seated the two youngest, Miles and Jadon, next to each other. The proximity of these two squirming beings seemed to increase their wiggles tenfold. Besides just being restless, Miles was also a little freaked out by the “scary” dogs in this movie, which surprised me because that boy seems like he isn’t intimidated by anything, but he settled down once he was safely snuggled up on my lap.
Me and the kiddies outside the theater
After the movie we walked a couple blocks to an ice cream shop and got the kids a treat. Benson had the oddest sundae: blue bubblegum ice cream topped with gummy bears and caramel. It didn’t quite look natural or appetizing to me but he was pleased to devour it.
Benson and his bizarre treat
Despite the mid-movie bathroom breaks and nearly constant fidgeting, we enjoyed our little Saturday outing with the kids. We’re glad we get the chance to indulge them now and then. After all, that’s what aunts and uncles are here for- spoiling kids and sugaring them up. We are more than happy to do both.
I’ve been sewing on a Brother XR-52 machine for about six years now. Over the last few years my Brother has become increasingly ill-behaved. First, its tension control dial stopped working correctly and constant fiddling became necessary to produce even remotely normal stitches. I thought maybe a tune-up would help- it didn’t. And then about six months ago the machine became completely incorrigible. It started doing all sorts of random bizarre stitches. Being the perfectionist that I am, I couldn’t handle the thought of something I spent hours meticulously sewing falling to pieces because of my Brother’s inadequacy.
This little blanket was the straw that broke the camel’s back. After sewing it I decided that I couldn’t stand making one more thing using my obnoxious Brother.
After my most recent sewing project, a baby blanket, took much longer to complete than it should have, thanks to my naughty Brother, I decided that that was it. I needed a new sewing machine and I needed it NOW! Jason caught my hints, well more like demands, and bought me a new sewing machine for our anniversary. My new machine, a Singer Confidence 7470, is lovely. It has an electronic display, memory capabilities, 225 built-in stitches, 7 one-step buttonholes, and one-touch stitch selection. But far more important than any of these other niceties, it has automatic tension control. Yes! No more continual tension adjustments; my happiness is now complete! If only all defective brothers were as easy to replace.
My sweet new Singer- if it’s good enough for Martha, it’s good enough for me.
Jason and I hit the eight year mark this month. Yes, we’ve had eight blissful years of marriage.
Jas under Hickman Bridge in Capitol Reef.
It was my turn to plan our celebration activities this year. After looking into a bunch of options I decided on a weekend getaway to Capitol Reef National Park.
A kind man took this picture of us. We are standing above Capitol Gorge.
We stayed in the little town of Torrey, just outside Capitol Reef, at the Red River Ranch Lodge, named one of the 25 best American lodges by Travel and Leisuremagazine. The lodge was built on an old stagecoach stop, which explains the giant ancient trees that surround this roughly 15 year old building. Its spacious interior is decorated almost entirely with antiques, giving the impression that you just walked into a bygone era.
Us standing outside the Lodge at Red River Ranch.
The balcony in our room overlooked a field with grazing bison, which added to the sense that somehow we had become lost in time. True to the atmosphere of the lodge, there weren’t any TVs in the rooms. While some would complain about this lack of ready entertainment, Jason and I found the change quite peaceful and relaxing.
Jas relaxing in the lodge lobby.
We spent the weekend hiking, horseback riding, reading books sprawled out under the shady aged trees in Capitol Reef’s orchards, driving over scenic Boulder Mountain, and stuffing our faces.
My horse’s name was Ruby. Jason’s was DK. He asked our guide if that stood for Donkey Kong. It didn’t.
Torrey, with a population of less than 200, isn’t exactly where you would expect to find fine cuisine, but believe me, we definitely found it. Café Diablo, located in an unassuming little building on the outskirts of Torrey, was just as good as our favorite restaurants in Salt Lake City or even San Diego. Yum! While the food at this southwest restaurant was presented flawlessly and tasted fantastic, the atmosphere was extremely relaxed. We came in straight from hiking all day in Capitol Reef, we were sweaty and sandy, but none of the restaurant staff seemed to mind at all. The owner, and I assume head chef, wandered from table to table greeting his customers while wearing his chef garb, shorts, and sandals.
This was what Jason ordered: trout encrusted with pumpkin seeds in a lime cilantro sauce. It was so good!
We ordered everything from spicy appetizers to desserts topped with their freshly made ice cream, and ate until we could eat no more. It was an unexpectedly delicious and refreshing experience.
We watched the sun go down at Sunset Point in Capitol Reef one evening. It was beautiful!
Another restaurant we sampled, which was also very tasty, was Hell’s Backbone Grill located in Boulder, 30 miles from Torrey. This charmingly serene little restaurant specializes in cuisine that utilizes locally grown produce. They have their own organic farm just three miles from the restaurant. Jason ordered chicken tumbleweed enchiladas; that may sound like something you would feed a cow rather than a person but it was actually quite flavorful and scrumptious.
Jas was eager to make a fool out of himself by posing as a crazy cave creature for this picture.
We enjoyed our little weekend excursion: lots of sun, beautiful scenery, and surprisingly good food.
Jason convinced me to also act like a derranged rock creature.
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