These are a few of my favorite things...

 

Utah peaches...

 

 

...and

Utah tomatoes.

I'm a very happy Utah girl right now.

 

Sliced peaches in my cereal, peaches and cream, peach shakes and just a plain 'ol peach eaten like an apple are making frequent appearances on the menu.

 

Sliced tomatoes on toast for breakfast, on my tuna sandwich for lunch and again on our BLT's for dinner rounds out the tomato appearances as well.

 

Takes me back to growing up.  Happy, yummy memories indeed : )

The Project...

After discussing a handful of Eagle Projects that Davis was considering, he ultimately decided he wanted to get the Stake ball field back into safe playing condition.

It was no small feat.

Davis organized and executed his Project a few weekends ago with great success.

To be honest, I was nervous.  Brent was only a couple weeks off his three day stint in the hospital and the forecast was HOT, HOT, HOT.  That's August in Arizona for ya.

I thought our little family would be the only ones to brave the temperatures and that Davis would have to pull an extra heavy load for his Dad.

But the helpers came and I was truly humbled by their service in behalf of a fellow scout and his family.

Five strong men and up to twenty Scouts at times were there working and serving.

Davis even mentioned to me that it made him feel really good to see his friends and leaders come out and support him in such great numbers.

You can see the disrepair of the field.  Grass had grown into the infield nearly 5 feet in most places.  There were large holes around home plate and the pitcher's mound.  And the ground had baked itself to like a stone in the desert heat.  Davis planned to fix all that.

Davis prepped the field the night before and then the hard work began bright and early the next morning to escape the heat of the day.

Cooper was more than willing to dig in and do some hard work for his brother.  I loved seeing this...

Wait!!! Who is that??? Can you believe Jana traveled all the way from Florida to help?!?!  Honestly, only a true friend indeed would take an hour out of her carefully scheduled visit to come and serve. Thank you isn't enough Jana. You absolutely surprised me and I felt so grateful : )

Brother T was there right from the start ~ the first on the scene that morning and one of the last to leave.  And you know what is so wonderful about Brother T... he only has daughters.  Four beautiful ones to be exact. Not a single boy or scout for that matter. This man is genuine, humble and serves his fellowman.  He is an incredible example of what it means to fulfill your Priesthood duty and be a faithful disciple of Christ. 

He let Cooper run the sod cutter for a bit.  Cooper thought that was pretty cool.

We think Brother T is pretty cool.

 Lots of spectacular Scouts working hard...

 



 

 

 Dragging the field turned out to be the most fun for Cooper and his two buddies.  Clate, our quad driver, was a great sport and hauled the boys around the infield countless times.  Even giving them a dump off the drag on purpose, which brought roars of laughter from the boys!

A completed project... 

 

 

 Everyone worked so hard that we were finished in only a few hours.  We had anticipated to be done around lunch time and then we would provide a pizza lunch for all of our helpers but at 10 a.m. there wasn't a single pizza place that was open so I ran to the store and grapped a bunch of ice cream treats instead.  I think the cool alternative went over very well with our hot and sweaty crew.

 

Davis ~ you were a super star today!  I didn't see you stop once.  You powered on the entire morning.  I saw you demonstrate great leadership and express your gratitude to your friends and leaders.  Thanks for setting such a great example for your little brother.  I love you.

 

Now...on to the Board of Review!!

 

Back up...

It's necessary to note that before school started full steam ahead,

we took a chance to be together up in the mountains.

 

The mountains are one of the best places to have your family gathered around you.

 

Woods Canyon Lake was our landing place this time.

It was lovely. 



Maddie's phone was put away (the battery lost it's charge - yipee!)
and so time passed while we enjoyed the finer things in life like...

paddle ball and more paddle ball. 



 

And watching the wildlife roam through the campground.

This momma elk had her baby with her but was not afraid at all to make herself at home. 

 

And building fires,

roasting marshmallows,

making s'mores (I've noted that it's not necessary to eat a s'more to enjoy a s'more.)

playing 5 fingers,

quoting Brian Regan,

staring into the blaze and getting lost in the flickers.

 

And then scurrying off inside the trailer when the rain begins to fall,

playing Mancala, 



 

playing UNO,

and playing them both again and again. 



 

And listening to the dripping rain fall on the trailer roof for most of the night.
It sounds like bacon sizzling in a frying pan.   



 

And waking up to a warm, crackling fire that our resident Fire Marshall
was all to happy to get going for us,

 

and practicing your tomahawk throw for hours on end until you are sure you can beat Brother Buck and challenge him to a contest on the next ward camp out. 

 

And don't forget the finer things like...

shooting your compound bow and being really good at it. 

 

And finding extra time to nap.

Any given spot, any given moment. 

Finding your inner Katniss and liking it! 



 and wasting away the afternoon shooting off more rounds of ammunition
than your dad thought possible. 

 

 

And then of course, there is the fine art of catching crawdads or crawfish.
(it depends on who you ask around the lake) 

 

a little left over chicken from our delicious dinner the night before and there you have it.
It requires skill to some degree. 

 

ahhh!!!  The finer things in life make me very happy : )



Going flying...

What is it about getting that picture of the kids heading out the door for their first day of school?

It just about does me in each year.

Fresh faces and fresh beginnings!

Absolutely beautiful and brave.

My sweet Senior

 My enthusiastic 8th grader

 My feisty 4th grader

I take this picture each year with a happy heart

but it's sprinkled with sadness...

because as any mom knows

when a bird learns to spread its wings

the wind will naturally take him flying!



Starting on the right note...

School starts for my family tomorrow!
Summer came and went, like always, in a flash.
We played hard at times and were lazy bums at other times.
To me that means our summer was a success : )

Sunday night we had a little back to school pow wow.
Just a family discussion about rules (the least favorite topic), schedules, goals, desires, wishes and the such.

I gave each of the kiddos a little something to hopefully get them thinking in the right direction each morning.  I realize we won't always have perfect mornings but these are great little reminders to refresh our minds, hearts and outlook.

My favorite part will come tonight when Brent will bless each of our children by Priesthood power with things like peace, strength both physically and mentally, courage, kindness, wisdom, an increased awareness of the companionship of the Holy Ghost and things specific for each child.  It fills my heart right up and I love to see my kids and their dad share this special time each year.

Whether you are a Senior, an 8th grader or a 4th grader  -  school is a pretty big deal and starting things out on the right note is always comforting.

Pinned it. Made it. Loved it.

You can find the recipe here at Closet Cooking but I'll copy it for ya 'cuz I'm nice that way!

Cilantro Lime Fish Tacos

• 1 pound white fish such as tilapia, cod, etc.
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 lime, juice and zest
• 1 jalapeno, finely diced
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 green onion, finely sliced
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin, toasted and ground (I left this out for no reason, I just did)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 8 (4 inch) corn tortillas (I used flour)
• 1 batch tomatillo pico de gallo (I didn't use this. Just 'cuz)
• 3 cups cabbage, shredded (I used lettuce 'cuz my family eats it better)
• 1 batch cilantro lime crema - see below
• 2 large avocados, sliced

1. Marinate the fish in the oil, lime juice and zest, jalapeno, garlic, green onion, cilantro, cumin, salt and pepper for 10-20 minutes.
2. Grill the fish over medium-high heat until cooked, about 4-6 minutes per side. The fish will be cooked when it flakes easily and it is no longer translucent.
3. Flake the fish and serve in tortillas garnished with your favourite toppings.

Cilantro and Lime Crema

Crema filled with the freshness and brightness of summer; the perfect garnish for fish tacos. (this is a must on the tacos)

• 1/2 cup crema or sour cream (I used sour cream)
• 1 green onion, sliced
• 1 handful cilantro
• 1/2 lime, juice and zest
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

1. Puree everything in a food processor (or just mix it all up with a fork)

Enjoy this one!  It's summery, bright and fresh. Brent and I put it in the repeat file. Cooper doesn't like all the stuff on it but he gobbled the marinated fish right up.  Davis and Maddie don't like fish, so they don't count : )