Hotel Truscott

The Truscotts are good company and always fun to hang out with. I was surprised that Sam ran up to me and gave me a big hug when I first saw him. I miss seeing Tadd at MIT but he's settling in at BYU and I'm sure he's a hit.

I love their new home. That picture is the view from their living room. For reals.

Catching the Browns

I really wanted to catch up with my friends Gordon and Pat Brown on this trip since I missed them the last time. Gordon was one of my bishops at BYU. On January 1st he'll start his new calling as the President of the MTC. It was so nice to see them.

Cox kids

I got to watch the Cox kids decorate their Christmas tree! There were lots of laughs and a few tears.

Pingrees

I met Valerie (my sister-in-law's sister-in-law's sister) when she and her husband Scott moved to Boston to finish his graduate degree at The Big H. We had a lot of good times during that year they lived here. Rachel, their oldest, was born in Boston (Valerie walked down the street to the hospital when she went into labor!). Now they've got a kid for each hand!

Memory lane

A trip to SLC isn't complete without a stop at the Bell Wines where my Pitchforth grandparents lived for years. Oh the memories...

Temple Square

I went to Music and the Spoken Word which was really nice. I was hoping to visit with my friend in the Choir but couldn't catch her eye and then they closed the Tabernacle for their choir rehearsal. I love how the snow looked on the roof of the Tabernacle.

The bride's niece

Alicia has lots of nieces and nephews (she's one of ten kids). I love this picture.

Mr. and Mrs. Hale

The night before the wedding

Sanpete County

The Hiltons

I was so happy to see the Hiltons (and half their kids). They are dear friends from my early days in Boston (the glory years). And speaking of cousins, they are first cousins. They got married in California because you can't marry your first cousin in Utah. True story.

Cousins Club Utah style

I saw cousins, kids of cousins (some I'd never met before), second cousins and some cousins I'm not sure how many times removed. That is my cousin Darlene (bottom picture on the right) and I thought I hadn't seen here in 14 years but it turns out it was more like 18 years! It was great to see her and all the other family I caught during my quick trip to Utah.

CHOPS Turkey Bowl

My friend Jenn and I stopped by the annual Arlington Ward Turkey Bowl on our way to the airport. They had t-shirts and were playing in memory of Jenn's husband Dave who LOVED the Turkey Bowl.

Layover

The Detroit Airport is huge. I had enough time to take a short ride on the red tram before my flight to SLC. I left from Gate 78.

No turkey dinner for me

I'm on my way to Utah for a wedding (and we all know that you get no food on flights). I'll be celebrating the day with a pat down and/or body scan though I'm hoping for a fast food progressive Thanksgiving dinner but would settle for Denny's or 7-11 (I've already checked and IN-N-OUT BURGER is closed). It will definitely be one for the books (or the blog).

Did you see this? You've got to admit; it's funny.

Meet Jack

My friend Lisa (LaPierre) is in town and I met her baby Jack for the first time tonight. He's 9 months old and almost walking! It was a quick visit but it was great to see Jack and his parents.

October

Today I received my October gift from my cousin Jules who is making me something every month this year. I called her tonight to thank her and it was really fun talking to her. I don't want this year to end. I've loved all the gifts.

The Judds

I bought Wynonna's Christmas CD the other night and remembered that my brother Chuck had a Judd story. Here's the story:

I was working at a hotel in Amarillo, Texas in the late 80's. I brought them room service and they had photos of themselves up on the nightstand and mother and daughter were in their nightgowns. I was minding my own business in their room setting up the table and the mother asked me if I knew who they were and I said, "I have no clue." Then the daughter asked where I was from and when I replied LA, she said, "That's why you don't know us."

Newest kid in the ward

Oh yes it is...

...my Christmas tree is out of the box and in place (but undecorated). I've never been so Christmassy before December 1st.

Two strikes and I'm hungry

Tonight I was out and about, wanted to grab some dinner and decided on Baja Fresh. I took side streets over to Stoneham and when I got to the spot, Baja Fresh was gone (the whole side of the strip mall was empty). All I wanted for dinner was 2 fish tacos. Sad.

As I was driving to my destination (Walmart in N.H.) I decided Burger King would be a good Plan B. I saw a sign on the highway for B.K. and took the exit. There was a big fence around the Burger King and it was under construction! All I wanted for dinner was a Whopper Jr. and onion rings.

Right after B.K. was a Taco Bell. I love Taco Bell so it was a great Plan C. As I drove up to order I noticed something and said, "Oh no, I see A SIGN". I thought it was going to say they were out of taco shells or cheese but I lucked out -- it was a sign they were going to open late today because of a plumbing problem.

Dinner was 2 taco supremes.

Upper Crust

A friend came over tonight and I enjoyed a lively conversation over delicious thin crust pizza.

Creative kid

Tonight I visited a friend and watched her kids while she picked her husband up at the hospital. Her youngest, Colin, made this mask (I helped with the stapling). I said to him, "You're pretty good at creating things" and he said, "Yeah, you could say that."

Birthday gift

I had dinner with my friend Jana last night and she gave me this red pitcher for a birthday present. I love when my birthday lasts more than one day.

Vintage quilt

Over the weekend I received a thank you gift from one of my recent guests. It was this cool vintage quilt piece. After seeing my condo, she decided to bind it and send it to me. It fits on the tray of my red vintage high chair.

Linger Longer

The food was great. I enjoyed talking to friends. And the 75+ kids running around the gym was a big dose of birth control.

Seen in my condo today

She's crawling all over the place and knows cool shades when she sees them.

She calls it Pumpkin Heaven

I've been staring at this recipe for a few weeks and finally made it tonight. Thumbs up!

This is BIG news

There is going to be a new Market B(asket) in town. Right next to the old one (in Burlington). I heard it's going to be the second largest one in the state. How did we get so lucky? I love M.B. but it's always crowded and the aisles are very narrow. One year at Christmas time it was so crowded and crazy they had people line up around the edges of the store and then fed from that line into the check out lines. It was total Christmas craziness. I hear the new store opens on December 5th. I can't wait.