Thanksgiving 2011

Yao and I stayed in a hotel suite for the Thanksgiving holiday this year. It was super comfortable and nice and we had a great time doing nothing!


view from Olympic Park
simple meal from Whole Foods I didn't have to cook

74 degrees inside and Yao is 'cold'

post meal 'snack' at 8 p.m.

private hot tub on the balcony

Yao's baptism

We are so excited to announce Yao's baptism last Sunday October 23rd! Yao has been a faithful nonmember for 6 years and he decided to make it official a couple weeks ago. He put together a great program and it was a really special day for us. So glad to have shared it with friends and family (Although, we wish our families could have been there in person).

before the baptism

Bishop Hong, 1st Counselor in the bishopric
and a member of the High Council Brother Janmuhammad


Brother Jackson and his wife came to support Yao.
Brother Jackson was in the bishopric in our first ward 5 years ago.


Friends and neighbor Livia and Kevin Taylor

Ward mission leader Bishop Gao, Bishopric and another member

of the High Council Brother Alder

Cabo, Mexico

Yao and I finally got time away to celebrate our graduation in May . . . and go on a MUCH needed vacation. We went to Cabo San Lucas and stayed in an all-inclusive resort that we never wanted to leave. You'll see what we did, swim and sunbathe. It was fabulous!

Riu Palace Resort in Cabo

Yao in the pool moments after we'd checked in

Yao's idea of buttering bread, the Welsh aunties would be proud

our first morning poolside

life is hard

a snorkeling trip to Moreno Bay

dinner cruise around the city with the famous arch in the background

Yao in the daily ping pong tournament

at the pool

final night before dinner

Auntie Sarah visits

Auntie Sarah was in town before she went to Alaska to visit Jeff & Adrienne. We went to lunch with Mom and Graham. So good to see her!

Apricots!

I bought some apricots from local farmers in Willard, UT to make fruit leather and dried apricots. How domestic of me, right? It took about three days to dry them both but they came out dried and yummy! Take a look.

Before

. . . . After

yummy fruit leather and dried apricots!

No-canning jam recipes

I tried Sunset's no-canning jam recipes today, strawberry raspberry and cherry rhubarb. Tons of fun in the 80 degree heat! What was I thinking? The recipe is below if you want to try yourself.

Cherry rhubarb jam

Strawberry raspberry jam

Strawberry raspberry jam

Makes 4 jars (8 oz.)

2 1/2 tbsp. Sure-Jell pectin labeled "for less or no sugar needed recipes"

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups coarsely mashed strawberries

1 1/4 cups coarsely mashed raspberries

1 1/4 cups unsweetened berry juice blend (Santa Cruz Organic Berry Nectar)

1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. butter (prevents foaming)

1. Combine pectin and 1/4 cup sugar in a 5-6 qt. pot. Stir in berries, then berry and lemon juices and butter. Bring mixture to a brisk boil over high heat, stirring often.

2. Add remaining 1 cup sugar. Return jam to a brisk boil, stirring. Cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Remove from heat.

3. Ladle jam into heatproof jars and close with lids. Let cool to room temperature. Keeps, chilled, up to 1 month.

Alaska

I spent 10 days in Alaska visiting Jefferson & Adrienne. I had such a good time hiking, running the Mayor's half-marathon, seeing whales on a Kenai Fjords cruise, and just hanging out. Thank you both for such a great trip! Highlights are below although I didn't get pictures of many of the true Alaskan highlights, i.e. mullets and moose spottings.

Too cute! Emma wearing Grandma's Michaels find

Thunderbird Falls hike

Seward, AK

Pacific Humpback whale

Holgate glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park

glacial ice

bike ride with Adrienne's kids

Hatcher's Pass hike

Butte hike

Adelaide at Tball

Davis at Tball

Ainsley at the playground

Try, try, try . . .

A day on the farm at Zoe's Garden

I've worked two Saturday's in May at Zoe's Garden and I'll start working more now that school is out. Today we dug up red sunchokes; a lot of work for a small payoff. I hope to post about the work I do, the things I learn, and the good food I get to eat this summer.

Riding to pick up boxes and dig up sunchokes

Flowers that need to be planted next week

Digging up sunchokes

The weather was overcast and 60ish today, which is perfect for working outside. When the weather warms up I don't know that I'll look this happy.

CSA goodies

We got our first basket of fresh veggies this week from Zoe's Garden (http://zoegarden.com). I'm volunteering/interning this summer and I get their weekly basket as payment. The spinach was so good as were the radishes and microgreens! There were a couple things I didn't know what they were so I'll have to ask Farmer Dave next time I go out to the farm. We look forward to 15 more weeks of yummy, fresh, organic fruits and vegetables.

Ogden half-marathon 2011

I just finished the Ogden half-marathon this morning! It was a beautiful sunny day in Ogden, perfect running conditions. This is my 5th year running either the full or half and I hope to do it year after year.

I came in so fast that Yao could barely catch a photo!

finished!

We finished the morning off with breakfast at Jeremiah's-so good! Meg, I missed you today. We'll have to meet up and run it another year.

Double Graduation

WE DID IT! Yao and I both graduated last weekend. Yao with an MBA from the UofU and me with an MNM from Regis University in Denver, CO. We are so excited to be finished and hope to start our new lives with new jobs. (BTW: We're still looking so if you know of something let us know. We're willing to relocate to anywhere but Alaska . . . and West Virginia.) We spent 2.5 days in Denver soaking in the 85 degree sun. It was so nice and warm and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Yao: Masters of Business Administration

Arriving at the Denver airport

Emilie: Masters of Nonprofit Management