Wildflowers!

A friend of mine told me that the wildflowers were still in full bloom up at Albion Basin at Alta.  We were there a few weeks ago and it must have been still too early for what we saw yesterday...WOW!  They were incredible.  I'm assuming it was all the snow we got over the winter (and late due to the fact that it took a long time for all that snow to melt).  But boy is it worth waiting for!  If you have some free time - head up to Cottonwood Canyon and check them out for yourself.  Both kids had a great time checking out all the colors.  You can also hit up Snowbird for some Oktoberfest activities on the way.  It's that time of year!

Yes, I know they are mostly (all but one) of our adorable daughter, but she was REQUESTING that I take her picture!  She's finally interested in posing for the camera!  (Only took 3 years!)  Riley was busy snapping pictures of the wildflowers with the camera on his DS player.  Maybe he'll be a budding photographer or a graphic designer someday?  He loves editing his photos on his DS...

Trying Something New

I have these crazy, out of control, gigantic tomato plants.  We haven't had any of our large tomatoes to harvest yet, but PLENTY of cherry and grape tomatoes at the moment.  I've made numerous batches of bruschetta with the grapes and now I'm attempting to make oven-dried tomatoes (I was too chicken to put them outside in the sun for fear the birds would help themselves to a snack!

I found the recipe here at Sweet Little Smoothies.  I hadn't even considered drying them to use on pizzas or in pastas until I saw it posted there.

Here they are in the oven at the start

All I did was slice them; place them on the cookie sheet; sprinkle them with olive oil, kosher salt and Italian seasoning; then bake for 3-4 hours at 225.  The house smells so good right now!  I can't wait to see how they turn out!  I may have to attempt some homemade pesto to create a yummy pasta salad!  Thankfully I've got plenty of basil out in the garden too!

Early Morning Balloon Launch

There was a hot air balloon festival a few miles from our house.  Riley and I decided we wanted to rise with the sun to go check it out.  It was great to spend some one-on-one time with him with our two sleeping beauties caught up on their much needed zzz's!

Here are some of the pictures from that morning:

Lift Off!

Lots of balloons there!

Riley liked this one because it reminded him of Captain America!

Headed towards our house

Loved the colors of this one

I liked how this one had flags hanging off of it

This poor guy never got off the ground

Heading towards the Wasatch

This one is headed towards Little Cottonwood Canyon

Some of them landed back in the field where they took off from, while others landed in the lot across the street or in neighborhood cul-de-sacs.  Riley and I had a blast watching them.  Bonus for us was seeing our good friends from Grace while we were there!  I love to bump into people while we're out and about...makes this place feel more like "home" instead of a temporary address!

Wildflowers!

Every spring, when the snowpack melts, it prepares the cottonwood canyons for a beautiful summer of wildflowers!  This year we had record snowfall so it took a little longer for the flowers to bloom - because it took longer for over 700 inches of snow to melt!

We took a hike with some friends of ours to enjoy the beautiful landscape.  We drove to Alta to hike up to Cecret Lake.  Here are some of the pictures from that adventure:

Riley and Kendall with their buddies at Alta

Here is some of that record snow fall that hadn't melted yet!  No wonder I was skiing on the 4th of July, huh? 

Checking out what types of wildlife to expect to see along the way

Try to guess which parts of the GORP Kendall is digging for?  No M&M's left after she had control of the bag!

More snow in the background on our way to Cecret Lake

 I never cease to be amazed at how these beautiful flowers seem to grow right out of the rocks!

 Taking a much needed break after she hiked almost the entire thing by herself!

The kids enjoyed cooling their feet in the lake - Unfortuantely Kendall fell and cooled off her legs up to her waist!  Ugh!

Aren't the gorgeous?

I love summer in the canyons!

So many colors!

 Love it!

 Love these two...

My hiking buddy

The beautiful landscape that Utah offers makes the winters here more tolerable - that and the great skiing!