DAY 1 THE DRIVE TO UTAH

I left home about 5 AM Thursday to head to Hurricane, Ut for a family reunion.
The trip is fairly routine, same stops & the same scenery every time.

The only rest area on the road, just before Wickenburg, AZ

Joshua Tree  National Forest

Taken from the as station in Wikiup,AZ. When I first started making this drive from SLC to Phoenix in the 80s there was nothing here and after dark the ony evidence that there was a town was the drop in the speed limit.

Kingman is the next stop, There is a nice truck stop there, on the road to Las Vegas. I didn't take a picture.

After crossing Hoover Dam this is the 1st stop. I usually stop and waste a few quarters.

They have the best food. My favorite is the 1/2 ham steak, with eggs, hashrowns & toast. It tastes good any time of the day.

From there it is less than 75 miles to Hurricane.

COOKIES AND MORE COOKIES

I spent part of the afternoon baking cookies with Hunter & Jordyn. We baked 4 types and a total of 9 dozen.

First we made some Gluten Free for Papa.

Of Course, the best part of making cookies is licking the spoon.

After Papa's cookies we started making Pillsbury Shape cookies. Jordyn lost interest quickly, but Hunter was a trooper and put the cookie buttons on the pans.

We made:

Pumpkins

Ghosts

And black cats

And then the kids showed me their scariest Halloween Faces

Hunter

Jordyn

SURPRISE

I dropped by Dad's house Saturday afternoon

(Taken by Jordyn)

and found that Hunter & Jordyn had paid a visit to their Papa.

I stayed and played for a little while.

Culture Passes

Saturday after Conference I went to the Library and got my 1st library card in Arizona. I have had library cards in other places I've lived, but never bothered here.

One of the reasons I did it was that after months of hearing from the sisters in my ward about Culture Passes, I decided I wanted to be able to take advantage too.
For anyone that isn't aware of Culture Passes, they are a free pass to a number of kid friendly attractions in the Phoenix area.

They are availale through the City Library system (Mesa & Tempe included), good for 7 days from when you check it out, for 4 people. All you need is a library card.
They are 1st come 1st serve so if you want one of the popular attractions get there early.

TOY COUPONS

There 13 new toy coupons on coupons.com and they all don't expire until 1/15/2010! Remember you can print each one twice! I'm sure they'll be on sale before Christmas.
click here to read more.

Articles of Faith of Mormon Culture

1. We believe in SUVs and minivans, as the form of transportation, and in knee length shorts, which are always nice, and in the multilevel marketing.
2. We believe that church ball players should be punished for their own fouls, and not for unsportsmanlike aggression.
3. We believe that through bread crumbs, cheese, creamy soups, and rice all casseroles can be saved through obedience to ward cookbooks and creativity in the mixing bowl.
4. We believe that the first layers and ingredients of the Dip are: first, beans; second, cheese; third, chopped tomatoes; fourth, the gift of sour cream; fifth, olives; sixth, salsa; seventh, guacamole, that is, if you have it.
5. We believe that a Mormon should have a distinguished or a cute name, that it is appropriate to name a child after a church leader or a historical figure including an ancestor, that alternative spellings and French prefixes only add to a name, and that when referring to the names of General Authorities, middle initials should be a part thereof.
6. We believe in the same wall decor that exists in many Mormon homes, namely, framed family proclamations, vinyl lettering, inspirational word signs, family photos, pictures of temples and Jesus, and so forth.
7. We believe in the gift of the re-gift, church books, crafts, family photos, baked goods, emergency supply kits, and so forth.
8. We believe in sparkling grape juice so long as it is nonalcoholic; we also believe in bringing root beer and sprite to ward parties.
9. We believe in all that we have scrapbooked, all that we will now scrapbook, and we believe that we will yet scrapbook many great and important things pertaining to our family, friends, pets, and vacations.
10. We believe in the literal mixing of ketchup and mayo and in the generous application of ranch dressing; that CBAs (church-based acronyms) will be used to describe YM/YW, PEC, the Y, NCMO, and CTR; that Mitt Romney will get Mormons to vote for him any time he runs; and, that the Mormons will enjoy reading Twilight and The Work and the Glory.
11. We claim the privilege of trying to identify common acquaintances with any visitor at church, and allow all other people at church the same privilege, and let them name drop the names of Famous and general authorities how, where, or what they may.
12. We believe in being subject to scoutmasters, pampered chef hostesses, and the writers of the U.S. News and World Report Rankings for professional schools, and in obeying, honoring, and sustaining Glenn Beck.
13. We believe in being above average, good at crafts, optimistic, and being fifteen minutes late everywhere we go. Indeed, we may say that we follow BYU football. We believe rumors about famous people joining the church, we hope to meet the three Nephites, we have endured many pyramid schemes, and hope to be able to endure all pyramid schemes. If there is anything cheap, free, sold in bulk, or given away when somebody is moving, we seek after these things.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUNTER

8 years ago yesterday (September 26,2001) Hunter joined our family.

Hunter's 1st Birthday

Hunter's special friend

Hunter & Jordyn

Tonight we celebrated his 8th birthday.

We celebrated by having everyone over to Dad's house for Pizza and Chocolate cake. Sorry No pictures of either.

After Pizza we gave Hunter some presents.

Jordyn was anxious to help unwrap Hunter's presents.

and more presents.

This combined 2 of Hunter's favorite things, Sponge Bob and Legos.

Aunt Leanne picked out a musical card, that made everyone laugh.

Hunter was a good sport and let everyone give him Birthday spankings, although he resisted a little when it was Jordyn's turn.

Hunter is a good boy and a blessing to have in our family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUNTER!!!

I'M BACK!!!

My blog was locked yesterday. Apparently I was suspected of running a spam blog. After reviewing the content blogger.com is satisfied that I am not doing anything horrible. I'm glad they resolved the issue so quickly.

NEW BLOG

Since I have been posting a lot more book reviews lately, I have decided to move all of the reviews I have done, and the future reviews I will do to a new blog so that this one can be for other stuff. Come on over and visit.

 Click here for Mary's Book Corner  

Kaitlyn Glenn is alone in the world. Disowned by family after her baptism, her only friend is the beloved horse she rides as a champion barrel racer. But loneliness is the least of Kaitlyn’s problems. Her competitor’s jealous father has vowed to sabotage her success. And her former boss—the handsome, rich, and extremely dangerous Jace Landry—stalks every move of this beautiful and talented cowgirl.

Aided by a mysterious man in a black cowboy hat, Kaitlyn escapes Jace’s iron grip and flees. On the road, she finds protection and companionship with a loyal trucker named Celia. But when Jace puts seedy private investigator Myler Keegan on Kaitlyn’s trail, she must outrun two men who will stop at nothing to feed their violent obsession. And when her cruel stepbrother joins the hunt, Kaitlyn faces lethal danger from every angle.
With deft skill, master of suspense Clair Poulson serves up nonstop action that pulls readers into Kaitlyn’s pulse-pounding race to freedom—and love.
Clair Poulson retired after 20 years in law enforcement. Jobs have included Utah Highway Patrol Duchesne County sheriff.
This is his 16th published novel. Most of his novels are crime drama/suspense type. He has been compared to John Grisham in his style.
Clair Poulson draws the inspiration for his books from his time in Law enforcement and the court system.
Dead Wrong is very suspenseful, Kaitlyn has more enemies than even she knows about. During the book we follow her around the intermountain west, from Cheyenne, WY to Logan, UT, to Boise, ID and other stops, always 1 step ahead of the bad guys. She is helped in her attempt to stay alive by a mysterious man in a black cowboy hat, a truck driver and a very insightful 9 year old girl.
If you are into suspense, and crime drama I would recommend that you read Clair Poulson.
This book is available in all the usual places,Desert Book, Seagull book, amazon.com and inter library loan.
Clair Poulson doesn't have a web site, but you can find some of his books on amazon.com.