Trip to Elko

Alyssa turns 16 soon.

She really, really, really wants her license ON her birthday.

Unfortunately she only has 29 hours toward the 40 hour requirement by the state to get your license.

I have mulled this problem over and over in my head and asked for various opinions as to what I should do.

I thought that a good, long drive would be the answer. But where?

St. George? Too many mountain passes and the speed limit is 80.

Rexburg? Too many twists and turns in the road, lava rock everywhere if you go off the road, etc, etc.

Kevin suggested that we drive to Elko. He said that it is a pretty straightforward drive without a lot of twists, turns and mountain passes.

We set the date for Friday, pulled Alyssa out of school and set out for the great adventure that was awaiting us.

We invited Alyssa's friend, Tony, to come with us. I thought that maybe he could help make the trip more bearable.

If you have or haven't been to Elko may I forewarn you that the drive is BORING.

There are few things to look forward to. I did remember a couple of things to keep the enthusiasm building. One: the TREE, and two: Sergio's.

We finally made it to the TREE and I made Alyssa and Tony get out for a picture, just to prove that we actually did this drive.


We reluctantly got back into the car for the remainder of the drive to Elko. I kept reminding the kids that Sergio's was waiting for us. Good food, rest, seeing the sites of a new city...

Finally, after 4 hours we drove into Elko. Elko is just kind of...old. Run down. A bit disappointing.

However, we had the directions to Sergio's and we drove there with anticipation. After all, Kalie told us their burgers were to die for.

We walked into Sergio's and looked at the menu. There was a picture of a burger right in front of us. To the side of us was a lunch special that said chili burger with fries and a drink.

I asked the man who took our order, is the lunch menu the same as that burger? He said, "Yes".

I ordered the chili burger thinking that the chili was going to be green chilies on top. Tony ordered taquitos.

This is what came out from the kitchen for Alyssa and I to share:


A burger covered in chili, not chilies.

It was disturbing.

I was sure that they had brought the wrong thing. Then the light bulb came on. It was CHILI like the soup, not CHILI like the pepper.

Alyssa was a little freaked out.

I tried to be positive. I took several bites to show Alyssa that it wasn't really that bad. Tony even ate half of it.

Alyssa took two bites and refused to eat one more bite of anything. She was done. Her stomach was VERY unhappy. And she was mad. Mad that she had driven 4 hours and had 4 more hours to drive, mad that her lunch was disturbingly awful and mad at me that I ordered it.

So what does a sympathetic mother do in that situation? I got the giggles. I laughed and laughed until tears came out of my eyes.

Between being highly irritated at me for laughing and then attempting to find humor in the situation herself, Alyssa began laughing.

We still had 4 hours to drive home but it was OK. Even though Sergio's chili burgers are disturbingly awful, it was OK.

Alyssa drove those 4 hours like a champion and we made it home safely.

The best part of the day? When Alyssa said, "I am so sick of driving, I don't care if I never drive again."

HA!

Happy 75th

Boyd's dad turned 75 years old in May.

As Court put it, "grandpa is really crankin' out the years."

He and my mom were born the same year so this year we have celebrated two 75th birthdays.

It is quite an accomplishment, I'd say.

Boyd's mom asked us to put together a party for his dad.

As you may or may not be aware, there are a lot of Casselman's.

I don't have room in my home for that many people.

We found a really nice pavilion in a really nice park and decided to have our party there.

I had been watching the weather, religiously, in order to find out whether or not we would have sunshine on the day of the party.

All week the forecast for Saturday was sunny and in the 70's.

At last we would have some sun!!!

That morning, everything was set. Food assignments were made, the birthday cake was picked up, tablecloths and plates were ready to go. Even the day was bright, warm and sunny.

Lovely!

I drove to the park with all the party gear in tow and got ready to set up the party. Everyone that had come jumped in and started helping spread tablecloths and cutting rolls.

After the first tablecloth was spread on the table, a slight wind rippled the edges.

No! Not wind! I hate wind!

The wind started to blow harder, sending the tablecloths scurrying in every direction but on the tables.

And then the rain started. Light, sprinkly rain. And it got really cool outside.

By the time Boyd's parents came, we were huddled under the pavilion, starving and ready to eat.

Prayers were said, lines were formed, food was served and then devoured.

And then we had cake.


Boyd's dad loved his cake.


He loved the blue icing that turned your teeth and tongue blue.


When I asked him what he wanted to do with the rest, mom said, "Oh, don't send it with us, we don't have enough people to eat it."

Dad said, "I want my cake."

Being the birthday boy, we gave him the cake. He deserves it after all.

All of the siblings went in on this gift for him... the party and a kindle.

Despite the unpredictability of the weather, the party turned out really nice.

Happy birthday, Dad!!

Studio Five LIVE!!....NOT

Kalie found out that Studio 5 was having a live taping with a real studio audience on Friday afternoon.

She invited me to go with her so we could be a part of the audience.

We had to have tickets to get in, and in the words of KSL...

"We are excited to have you be part of our first-ever studio audience. We are guaranteeing seats, so a correct RSVP is important. We have a waiting list of people trying to get in, so if your plans have changed, please email Kim Milligan at kmilligan@ksl.com ."

We weren't worried about our seating at all. After all, we had tickets.

We got there right on time Friday morning.

We waited patiently in line...


We took our picture together...


We read this sign with excitement..


And we went inside the Hale Center Theatre.

Once inside we went up the stairs and walked to the curtains where people went inside the theatre.

There seemed to be a bit of a problem letting people in, but we were so busy chatting we didn't really notice, until we heard one poor girl get upset.

Yes. As you might have guessed, there were no more seats. None. AND we had tickets.

Not to mention that there were only 10 people unseated and we were 2 of them.

We were invited to watch the show in the lobby and sent away with apologies.

Kalie and I decided that we could watch the show from the comfort of our TV sets if we wanted to watch so we left and went shopping instead!

We went to Carter's first.

They had this cute little duplo table that children could sit at and play with duplos.

I popped Isaac in a chair and he was mesmerized.

He had one little duplo in each hand and watched the other children around him to see what they were doing.


Then Kalie suggested we get a cone at Maggie Moo's, an ice cream shop in the Sugarhouse shopping center.

Can I just tell you that their ice cream is the creamiest, best ice cream ever?

Isaac will tell you the same thing.


As we were leaving, we spied a little stream meandering through the shopping center.

I told Kalie that we needed to take Isaac there and put his little feet in a stream for the first time.

He didn't love it. The water was cold.

But he didn't hate it either.


I had such a great day with Kalie and Isaac.

So even if our plans were drastically changed, we still had a fabulous day!

Breakfast Pizza

I hesitate to add this latest post because I don't want to become a poor substitute for Our Best Bites or Mel's Kitchen.

It is very rare that I have an awakening in the kitchen.

But the past couple of weeks have brought meals that would cause the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to start singing the Hallelujia chorus.

I may be exaggerating but not really...

I made a breakfast pizza for dinner one night.

Here are the instructions for a delicious breakfast or dinner.

Preheat skillet on stove. Peel and grate five potatoes. Brown on skillet until tender.

Spread evenly on pizza stone or pizza pan.

Then decide on your choice of toppings to embellish the hash browns:
Browned sausage,
Crumbled bacon,
Scrambled eggs,
Onions and peppers sauted in olive oil,
Mushrooms,
and lots of cheese.

Spread toppings evenly around the hash browns and pop into a 350 degree oven and bake until the cheese is melted.


I think hear the Hallelujia chorus...

Mother's Day

I know that a lot of mothers out there really don't care for Mother's Day.

I know that they feel like they just don't measure up to that fictional perfect mother.

I, however, love Mother's Day.

I love the pomp, the circumstance and the praise.

I love that I don't do the dishes on Mother's Day.

I love the fact that my children adore me for at least one minute that day.

I love the chocolate that they hand out in church.

I love listening to the Primary children sing to their mothers.

I love receiving gifts of all sorts. This year I received a kindle, the Best Bites cookbook, and glitter toenails.

What more could I possibly want than reading while eating good food and having beautiful toenails?

Not much.

On Sunday I realized that I had four generations of people sitting at my table eating dinner.

My mother was there, I was there, my daughter was there, and her son was there.

Four beautiful generations of people.

And then the best part of the day...

Court called home from Washington.

I got to talk to my missionary son.


It is a true pleasure and a blessing to talk to your missionary and see how they have grown and changed and matured.

I thank God for my mother who taught me so many valuable character traits and life lessons.

I thank Him for my children who made me a mother and taught me humility and the need to rely on a higher power.


Hopefully I have passed something of value on to them.

And I thank Him for grandchildren. New life. Seeing things through new eyes. New teeth. Tiny arms reaching out for grammy. And seeing my daughter be a mother to the most adorable child ever.

Weekend Getaway

Boyd and I have a coin jar that we put all of our change into.

When it is full, we take the coin to the bank and find out how much money we have in the jar.

And then we go for an overnighter for some Casselman together time.


Our coin jar is empty now but we are working on filling it again.

We started our evening with our friends, the Stenquists, in Mikado, a Japanese restaurant in Bountiful.

They have a Friday night special where the Vegas and the Playboy sushi rolls are half price.

Boyd and I ordered two of each.

I can't describe the delicious flavors that we enjoyed that night.

I read that the best way to eat sushi is to put the entire piece in your mouth at once.

It makes for a really big bite, but you get all the flavors mixing together as you chew.

Heaven!


After dinner we drove to our hotel, the Cottonwood Marriot.

They have two-room suites with a living room and kitchen.

Boyd and I take one room and Dave and Adele take the other.

It is the perfect setup for a couples getaway.

We decided to check out the hot tub first.

It was so warm and relaxing.

Boyd and I...


Dave and Adele...


All four of us...


After hot-tubbing for a while we went up to the room for some rip-roaring games.

The guys beat the girls the first game, and the girls beat the guys on the second game. It felt good to win because we really should have won the first game.

We're not competitive or anything. :)

Getting away for one night was perfect for us. Boyd has been working so much lately that we haven't seen a lot of each other.

This was a perfect beginning to a wonderful Mother's Day weekend.

I love this man...

Music to my Ears

Last Thursday night was my annual piano recital.

And, alas, I have no pictures.

I realized that I had forgotten my camera as Alyssa and I tore out of the driveway to take her to piano lessons.

I didn't have time to run in and grab it and find batteries.

Instead I showed up at the library auditorium with nary a minute to spare, went to the front desk to check in and then went to the auditorium to await the librarian.

She helped me get the piano out of the piano closet and after I adjusted it to where I wanted it we were ready to go.

I waited for the students and families to arrive and at 5:30 we started.

This was the best recital I have ever had the pleasure to help my students prepare for. Everyone had their music memorized and some of them played better at the recital than they ever had at my home.

I felt a rosy glow of success all around me as 20 minutes later I thanked everyone for coming and then sent them home.

I love my recitals...20 minutes is how long they are and then you are done.

Perfect for people with short attention spans, like me, which is a subject for another day.

Easter Weekend

Ah, Easter.

I love this holiday.

I love everything about it.

Except when it's in March...then I am never ready.

This year, having it at the end of April was fantastic.

I had pretty much decided that I would make it a very low-key affair. No hiding eggs, no hiding baskets, just a good meal. You know, relax and enjoy.

Well, Alyssa asked me if I was going to have an egg hunt this year.

Yipes! The pressure was on. I needed to do something after all.

I got some money in denominations of $1 and $5, bought some candy and went to work filling eggs and thinking of good hiding places.

I have to admit that I thought of some pretty good places to hide those eggs.

However, the Easter Bunny was ultra-kind to Isaac. No looking for hours for HIS treat.

Grandpa Boyd found some adorable tub toys for him.

When mom and dad opened the box, we all ran upstairs, ran some water in the tub and stood around watching Isaac have a bath with his new toys.

I don't think he had ever had such an audience!


We all went to church and listened to Boyd speak in his ward.

He did a good job.

After church we came home and got ready to find eggs.

Everyone got ready...


Those kids looked in places I never even thought of. I decided I needed to put these ideas in my memory for next year.




And the results?




I had hidden a $5 bill inside a "golden egg" and hid it in a pretty easy hiding place. Or so I thought.

It was the last egg to be found. The kids looked everywhere.

They even looked in the hiding place several times and never found it.

I told them they were sloppy searchers.

I told them they needed to look harder.

Finally, Boyd and I decided to give a hint. It was hidden in the back half of the family room.

Even then it took another 20 minutes to find.

I had hidden it in the game/scripture drawer. Somehow one of the scripture books had slid on top of it, making it impossible to see.

After even more clues, Kalie finally found it!

You would have thought she found a million dollars. She jumped up and down and screamed.

It was so funny...and the perfect end to our hunt.