utah - the canyons

I guess it's time to update this old thing.


Tannon, Lennon, and I just got back from an amazing time in utah with family.  It was crazy, went by way too fast, and we had a wonderful time being with our families and seeing some friends.  


First stop off the plane?  Leatherby's, of course.  Both of our families met up there while we had some delicious ice cream.  Then it was time for us to head up to Park City with Tannon's family.  Tannon's 2 brothers work at The Canyon's resort, so they hooked us up big time.  We stayed two nights in a really fancy hotel with a kitchen, a loft, and I think either 3 or 4 rooms?  I don't know, I never even made it upstairs.


Caitlin was the photographer for the weekend, and I'm glad because I was awful at getting any pictures. {Caitlin, I hope it's okay that I'm stealing these}.


I had forgotten how great it feels to feel the snow beneath my board, and the wind in my face.  It was the perfect day.


Also, The Canyons just opened up a zipline tour, which was awesome.  The longest zip was 2500 feet and is about 260 feet above the ground over a canyon.  I loved it.

Our view from our room.

 Brinton & Caitlin

What a doofus.

Getting ready for the zipline.

Brinton & Mowgli are the absolute best for planning one of the best weekends ever.

christmas tree lights

i wonder how many more christmases he'll be more interested in what's on the tree than what's under it.

thanksgiving 2011

this year was our third annual meads/vogel/newland thanksgiving.  i love having "family" within driving distance so that we can enjoy this tradition while we are all living in the east.

it was our turn to host this year.  the menu:

deep fried turkey
stuffing
salad with this dressing
caramelized green beans
dinner rolls
sweet potato casserole
mashed potatoes
gravy
cranberry sauce
nutella pie
apple pie

sunday best

birthday girl

today is this lady's birthday.  lennon calls her nana.  i call her mom.

my mom is the best.  she has the biggest heart and has a lot to give.  i hope to care for my kids as much as she did hers.

we are so lucky to have her.

halloween

i don't know what it is, but this halloween was one of my favorites.  maybe it's because we have a kid.  maybe it's because i'm not working.  either way, it was awesome.

the festivities started on friday with a parade at tannon's school.  it was so much fun!  i love all of the fellow dental students and their wives/families.

we don't really know what lennon's costume is supposed to be.  i found it at a consignment sale for a few bucks.  we went with stink bug.  whatever it is, he sure looked cute in it.

that night we went to our ward trunk-or-treat at our church, where there was a chili cook-off.  i made this.

there were some really awesome costumes there, but the following two were my absolute favorites:

captain jack sparrow and a gorgeous asian.  isn't she the prettiest thing you've ever seen?  if you know her dad, this costume is much funnier.

remember how i thought lennon was a stink bug?  that was until we ran into mario and princess peach.  he is clearly a yoshi egg.

halloween night, we had chili, cornbread, and home-made root beer.  we chased it all down with pumpkin donuts.

caramel apples

autumn would be one big waste without caramel apples.  we had some friends over and made some, which turned out delicious.  i used this recipe, which is actually for caramel syrup, but makes excellent caramel apples.