Apple Days

Clarence and I kicked off the fall season with a weekend in Montana, complete with beef jerky, apple cider, and fall leaves. We left Wednesday night pretty late and were quickly surrounded by the complete darkness of the countryside. We made it to Clarence's house safe and sound though, and very exhausted.

The next morning we lazed around and recuperated from the drive. We went into town for Jo Jos and chicken strips and went to check out the cider situation. We were a bit worried after leaving Frost Top because they said with the late fall they hadn't even made any cider yet. We were told to come back Saturday afternoon to see if their batch was ready. That day Jo had to work so she got home later that evening, so Clarence and I went to Pizza Hut--the famed Pizza Hut, the best one in the country! Ed was also working, so we hoped to see him--he was nice enough to let us use his employee discount.

On Friday we spent some time with Jo since we hadn't seen her much. For breakfast we had bacon, eggs, and peaches and cream! I was in heaven. Later we went into town for some jerky and a bite to eat. Sadly, A Place to Ponder has closed down. I was pretty bummed because Clarence always talked about it as the best sandwich place he's ever been to, and I was really looking forward to it. We have plenty of other places we look forward to eating in Montana though so we made up for it. That night Katie invited us over to their house for dinner. I always love seeing her and Derek and all their kids. I hope our family will be as happy and beautiful as theirs is.

Driving up to Katie and Derek's. The colors are so pretty!

Katie and Derek's. I love their house--the inside is even cuter than the outside! 

View from their house. Peaceful.

The next day was Apple Days! We went over to the festival with Ed and Paul. The weather was absolutely perfect, sunny and warm with a chill in the air. The festival was full of booths, people, and delicious food. Clarence and I split a flat bread with honey butter as we walked around with everyone. For lunch we decided to get Nap's instead of the food at the festival. As usual, it was amazing, if not more crowded than I've ever seen it. Definitely worth it though. After lunch we tensely drove to see if there was any cider available. To our relief there was!! We were able to get quite a few gallons as well, enough for ourselves and for others we had promised a gallon to.

I'm really bummed we didn't get a picture of the two of us at Apple Days. Here's a cute one of Clarence as we're walking to it though! Love the plaid.

The Frost Top apple orchard and cutest red barn!

 That night Selikah came over with the kids so we got to visit with them a while too. They're all getting so big! I love seeing all of Clarence's family up there. For dinner Jo made us fried chicken and mashed potatoes per Clarence's request for his birthday dinner. She also made us corn on the cob, jello, and butterscotch brownies. Ari and Inga came over during dinner and got to visit with us too--love those two girls! After dinner we played cards with Jo and Ed; Jo won of course, and felt guilty about it. While we were playing a storm started up outside, and it felt so cozy to be playing cards together while it rained outside.

This morning came way too fast. We woke up later than planned so had to hurry out the door. It's always sad saying goodbye and driving away. Along the way we saw some beautiful fall foliage and we were also able to catch up on some of the General Conference sessions that we had missed. We were happy to finally make it home, and  I was especially happy to have a letter from Derek! He flies out early tomorrow morning to Pittsburgh. Listening to conference made me think of him so much, and I'm so proud of him!

I'm hoping we'll have a long fall this year. I can't wait to have a fall camping trip with my family, or at least have a cookout in Spruces if the weather  turns out rainy this weekend. I missed them this Conference weekend. It's hard being married and balancing spending time with both of our families, especially when both are so amazing and we love them so much. I'm very much looking forward to this holiday season and being with those I love the most.

End of September...

Day 28: Daily Routine...thanks Rach for showing me the best face wash!

Day 29: Purchased...Hamilton Packing Co. Beef Jerky

Day 30: In motion...driving home from our weekend in Montana

Goodbye September! 

I have a lot of catching up to do....

Got a bit behind with the photo challenge, what with my brother leaving on a mission and all.Finally found a spare moment to catch up with my pictures!

Day 9: Faceless Self Portrait--I'm not sure how this is best accomplished...

Day 10: Something I made... Rach's genius idea for fall candles.

Day 11: Something fun...I found this set of napkins and a table runner at the consignment shop! I absolutely love the burlap fabric and the embroidered design. LOVE. 

Day 12: Close Up...One of the world's greatest creations. It definitely deserves a closeup.

Day 13: From a distance...I love my little fall arrangement. Add a mason jar to any design mix and you've got gold. 

Day 14: Flowers...These are the flowers on the grounds of the Provo temple, where we went before dropping Derek off at the MTC. He suggested this shot to me. Oh I miss him. 

Day 5: Someone You Love

Ma soeur! This was taken during our fall craft weekend extravaganza! She's so creative!

(a leaf falls on loneliness)

l(a

le

af

fa

ll

s)

one

l

iness

-e.e. cummings

I'm sorry, my brain is melting

As I sit here on BYU campus trying to write a rough draft of my research paper due tomorrow, my brain is slowly melting. (Or rapidly? I can't tell. Maybe it's already gone.) Thus, this post. I'd rather spend my time thinking about my weekend camping trip with my family: the mountain sides covered in yellows and oranges, laughing around a warm camp fire, and eating our delicious dutch oven dinner that is a standard whenever we go camping.

Yeah.

It's beautiful weekends spent deep in the moutains with those I love most that make waking up this morning at 6:30, sitting on the jerky. stop. go. jerky. go. stop. bus for an hour and a half, sitting through two hours of class, waiting three hours on campus for the bus to come, and then riding that same jerky. stop. go. jerky. go. stop. bus for another hour and a half home, and then spending the rest of my night (literally, I don't go to bed until past midnight usually) doing more and more and more homework--all this makes me want to go "nah," and run away from school and from the utter ridiculousness of it all.

Sorry for the rant.

But even though I really don't think I can keep going, can keep up with the charade that sometimes is school, I know that I can't give up. I can't.

And school really isn't all that bad. I really do enjoy my classes and my professors, who make me so excited to be a teacher. It's just all of the excess that goes along with it.

I keep looking ahead to the future, thinking, "Someday I'll get to spend my days how I want to. Someday Clarence and I will get to go to bed at the same time, he won't have to stay up until 4 in the morning. Someday!" I know this is a dangerous pit to fall into. Living for tomorrow and not for today.

My life really is so beautiful, in so many ways. I guess that's what makes me the most frustrated. I feel like I have such limited time every day to take advantage of all of the wonderful things in my life. I rarely see my sister. I rarely get to spend time with Clarence, other than both sitting at our computers doing homework. I rarely get to go to the gym like I'd want and need to. And the list goes on.

Ok enough complaining! That's one of my faults. Working on it.

One day at a time. One breath at a time. Work through it all. Be happy. Prioritize.

That's all for now.

Thank you all who love me and who do so much for me. You make everything worth it.

Autumn Goodness

Lately I've been making a lot of comfort foods for dinner, such as shepherd's pie, spaghetti, meatloaf, and chocolate chip cookies (for dessert, even though Clarence eats them before dinner). Even though this isn't exactly going to help further my goal of losing a few pounds, I can't help myself. Fall is in the air. The leaves on the trees outside of our balcony are starting to change colors and the nights are getting more and more chilly. This time of year is full of nostalgia, memories of my childhood. I want to feel warm and safe, and comfort foods make me feel that way.

September is almost over, which means October is almost here! October is the truest fall month for me. This year we were hoping to go to Apple Days, the apple harvest festival in Clarence's hometown in Montana. Sadly, it probably wouldn't be the best thing for our budget if we took a trip to Montana right now. I've never been to Montana in the fall, or the winter--only spring and summer. Clarence says it's his favorite time of year up there, because all of the leaves are changing and it gets much colder sooner than it does down here. They also buy homebrewed apple cider during this time of year, which is one of the best perks of going to Apple Days. A few of his brothers are going up though, so we'll have to convince them to bring us back a few gallons of the tart and sweet goodness.

October is full of many other exciting events this year. On the 8th, Clarence's best friend Ben is getting married! And then his brother Curt's wedding is on the 23rd, which is also Clarence's birhtday! This year we will have a total of five weddings: Bruce and Annette, Me and Clarence, Ben and Marjorie, Curt and Christa, and now Tusk and Chelann. We're getting into the exciting time of life with so many changes!

Then of course there is also General Conference. I absolutely love watching General Conference with my family. On Sunday, we stay in our pajamas all day and then make Norskies (Norwegian Pancakes) and a huge breakfast. In between sessions, we go on a long walk and enjoy the beautiful fall day. I'm looking so forward to spending a whole weekend relaxing with my family and listening to the words of the prophets. I can't think of anything better.

Then of course October ends with Halloween. While I'm too old now to go trick-or-treating, my mom's traditional Halloween party makes the night exciting and fun. She always makes a big spread of homemade chili and cornbread and other delicious treats; last year Rachel made homemade apple cider doughnuts. Yum! haha I just realized that this post is filled with an exorbitant amount of food--that's just what the holidays bring!

Here's a few things I'm looking forward to his fall:

1: Driving through the mountains to see the fall leaves

2: All of the cozy and cute mittens, scarves and hats!

3: Caramel Apples in Park City

4: Cute fall boots

5: Carving pumpkins