Sunday Breakfast

So...I have this terrible condition called I can't sleep past 5:30 in the morning lately.  Even on Sundays.  So...what do I do?  This morning, I made breakfast.

Whole Wheat Waffles with Apple Cinnamon Goodness on top.

Waffle Batter
1.5 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
2 Tsp. Baking Powder
1.5 Cups Milk (I used plain soy milk)
1/3 Cup Apple Sauce
1/3 Cup Chia Good (chia seed mixed with water)
Honey to taste

Mix and pour into waffle maker, let the waffle maker take care of the rest.

Apple Cinnamon Goodness
2 Apples chopped quite very small. (I want to say they were gala but I am not sure)
Some Cinnamon (to liking)
Some Nutmeg (to liking)
Almonds (a nice handful)
    *toast in microwave 30 seconds and chop small small small)

Mix all with some honey (not too much.  Barely enough to coat it all)

Put in pan and cook until hot and tender and smelling oh so yummy.

Put apple cinnamon goodness on top of cooked waffles and scarf.

And I quoteth my husband who just said, "Dang Gena!  I think that's the best waffle I've ever eaten."
So I can promise, your taste buds will rejoice.

Bored

Every other Wednesday I work late because we show a movie at 6:30.  I know, rough life.  However, I normally leave at 5:00...So I am all alone until 6:00 when I get people ready for the movie.  So as a browsed blogs I stalk while listening to a module on Therapeutic Recreation and found this little do-dad on a good friend, Marcie Glad's, blog. 
So, here we go.

1. If I could eat anything right now, it would be.....granola or a beauty of a ripe yellow peach
2. If I could be anywhere right now I'd be.....not a work wasting time doing this thing 
3. When I was younger I used to love....strawberry banana yogurt and make believe games
4. Someone I love very much is......at home without me eating dinner without me
5. Today, I feel........great, althought right now, very bored.
6. People would describe me as........loud.
7. I think I'm good at .........having fun, being outside, and my job
8. One day I would like to.....have visited every continent  
9. In ten years, I hope that I am.....still be a child
10. My dream is to one day........sleep through the night without having to pee

Hope you enjoyed!

No Words

Derek and I had the opportunity to go see the memorial display at the Sandy City Hall in honor of those who lost their lives in the attack on 9/11.

Sandy City sets up over 3000 flags every year to commemorate and honor those fallen on 9/11.  But have never done more than simply drive by until this year.

Derek had the opportunity to help set up the flags with his boy scouts last week.

There is a flag for every person who lost their life that day.  And if that is not enough, there is a tag attached to each flag pole bearing the name of the person, where they lost their life, their age, and a short blurb about them.  This personalized touch made the experience so much more tender and real.  These were real men, women, and children (yes children) who lost their lives before they should have.

It was a sombre experience.  Walking through those flags we felt sorrow, loss, sympathy, patriotism, bewilderment as to why and how people could perform such a horrific act of terror, and gratitude for the people who fight to keep the freedoms we all enjoy.

This statue, Hope Rising, is a new addition.  It is of the three firefighters raising the United States flag over the wreckage at Ground Zero.  It was sculpted by a Utah sculptor.  This one stands at the Sandy City Hall and another stands in Maryland at the Fallen Firefighter's Memorial.  It is beautiful.

Pickles

Derek made homemade pickles.  And they are finally ready for eating.  According to the poll (dad, mom, and Derek) they are delicious.  I hate pickles, so I can't say.

I Am Thankful

I can't believe it has been 10 years since the attacks on the Twin Towers, Pentagon, and the flight that went down in the field in Shakersville, PN.  The incredible act of terror that was made to destroy this country has only made us stronger.  As my family and I watched the 10 year commemoration of the attacks I was reminded of the day it happened and how thankful I am to be an American and for the people who gave their lives to save others and to defend our country.

Thank you all for everything you have done and everything you continue to do.

End of Summer Part II

Jackson + best friends ever = best way to end summer.

One of my best friends, Brenna, and her hubby, Sven, live in Jackson Hole for the summers.  So, as a celebrations of the end of the summer, a bunch of my best friends went up to Jackson this Labor Day weekend.  It was awesome.

Ali and Dylan, Stucki and Josh, Jess and her new beau, Jordan, Annie, and Derek and I met up with Brenna and Sven.  So awesome.

We camped.  Climbed, hiked, played on lakes in the Tetons on paddle boards and tubes, made immature jokes about the word Tetons, hiked, cliff jumped, went to church in Grand Teton National Park, celebrated Jes' B-day, saw wildlife, and of course Made RAFTING!  It was FREEZING, but Brenna got us all wetsuits so we were ok.  And we had the BEST HIT in Big Kahuna.  Oh baby oh baby.  There was no way I was going out of that boat and Derek, Josh, and Annie went through all on 1 duckie.  It was rad.  Such a great way to end summer just being with all our friends again.   We get kind of spread out over the summer and busy so it was just great to have us all together again.

Cheez Its proved to be the group favorite snack

Climbing

Sunday hike in the Tetons

My best gals

A moose!

Jes wins best jump pose.

It was a sweet trip.

End of Summer Part I

Summer is sadly drawing to a close.....sniff sniff.  Even though I have had to have a real person job the entire time, it is starting to be dark earlier at night and later in the morning.  Lame.

The last weekend of August, my family went to stay in our condo in St. George.

We started the weekend seeing my good friend, Molly Depola, dance in The Little Mermaid out at Tuachan and she was awesome.  As was the play.
Next day, Derek, Lisa and I went on a nice 30ish mile road bike ride all over St. Geezey.  It was really fun, except when my chain fell off in the middle of a HUGE hill (thank goodness for granny gears to get going after that one), and when I went through a HUGE cloud of bugs and got choked by how many I swallowed and nearly crashed my bike.
After, we played in the pool with the nieces, hung out inside because it was hot hot hot and went to a museum full of dead stuffed animals (like unto the Bean Museum at the Y) and had Thai food.  Then I fell asleep at like 8:30.
Sunday we saw our good friend, Annie and her mother and went to church and went home.  We stopped at Cedar Breaks on the way home because we didn't want to go home yet.  It was so pretty, I had never been there before.