Mylee's 2nd Birthday

On Saturday, December 12, 2009, we celebrated Mylee Moo's 2nd birthday. She was not feeling well and had been sick during the week but seemed to perk up during the celebration. We had pizza, strawberry smoothies, and one of her favorite fruits--mangos.

Here we are around the table enjoying Mylee's birthday dinner.

Of course, we had delicious birthday cake that was homemade by Marissa.

Time to open presents!

Blaine using some tools to put together Mylee's new shopping cart.

Mylee filling up her shopping cart with Addie and pretend food.

Mylee's quad that her parents gave her and brought over for her and Aubrey to test drive in our living room.

Getting a Tree

For the past 30 years, our family's tradition is to go to a local Christmas tree farm and cut down our own tree. We love the smell of a freshly cut Noble Fir tree that permeates our home during the holidays. We jumped in the old Suburban and headed out to our favorite tree farm in Sherwood that a German family has owned since the 1970's.

Our 11 year old Benson (77 in dog years) came along to help us pick out the perfect tree. Once we arrived at the farm, he decided he liked the warmth and comfort of the Suburban and wanted to stay put.

It was pretty cold and muddy and so we came prepared in our rubber boots and warm coats.

In checking for high quality, it is helpful to examine the straightness of the top of the tree.

It is also a good idea to check out the huggability of a Christmas tree before deciding if it is the right one for your family.

Freshness is an important factor in choosing a tree too.

Here is one of America's top models, Aubrey, wearing one of the latest fashions in tree cutting attire while Blaine is sawing his Christmas tree.

Christmas Lights at Temple Square, Nov. 30, 2009

The Monday after Thanksgiving, Dave, Aubrey, and I checked out the Christmas lights on Temple Square which is right next door to where Aubrey lives in the dorms at The Plaza while attending LDSBC. We were so hungry and cold afterwards from walking around in the freezing weather that we took a ride on the TRAX to the mall to find some hot chocolate and dinner.

Dave and Aubrey with the beautiful Salt Lake Temple in the background.

Dave and Mary Ann (with teeth chattering) posing amongst the many lights.

Gorgeous display of lights by the tabernacle.

Getting warm in the tabernacle.

Taking pictures of Aubrey while experimenting with the camera's flash feature.

Dave showing us how little room there is from his knees to the bench in front of him while sitting in the the tabernacle.

Dave and Mary Ann riding TRAX.

TRAX is one form of transportation that Aubrey uses to get around Salt Lake.

Thanksgiving & Decorating for Christmas

This is the first time in our 30 years of marriage that we have left the state where we were living and travelled to another state to enjoy Thanksgiving. On Thursday, Dave and I flew into Salt Lake City and drove to Evan and Driel's home in Orem. When we arrived we were amazed at all the home cooking that had been happening. . .turkey roasting in the oven, homemade bread dressing, salads, pies, mashed potatoes, rolls, and beautifully decorated tables. Evan and Driel put so much time and effort into making Thanksgiving so tasty and memorable.

Before we ate, there was time for Granddad to read "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" to sweet Moriah.

Aubrey spent some time reading Evan and Driel's hardbound blogging memories.

Music was an important part of our stay. Here is Aubrey playing a little jingle for us on the old accordion.

After Thanksgiving, it was fun helping Evan and Driel's family decorate for Christmas. Fiona was so good about just looking at the Christmas tree decorations and Moriah was helpful with the ornaments.

Evan decorating the upper part of the tree while Grammy has a fun time playing with her darling granddaughters.

Fall Trip to Maine Oct. 7 - 12, 2009

One of our first stops after leaving Manchester, New Hampshire, was Portland, Maine (our sister city). We had a tasty lunch at a restaurant overlooking the harbor. I had fresh steamed lobster with melted butter and Dave had a seafood platter of lobster, clams, haddock, shrimp, and scallops. We then had to top it off with Hershey's ice cream from a nearby ice cream shop.

This is the Morgan House Inn Bed and Breakfast we stayed at in Bar Harbor, Maine, while visiting Acadia National Park. The house was built over 100 years ago. It was recently sold to a family from the east for their summer home. We were one of Richard and Linn's last B&B guests.

On our drive to Bar Harbor, we drove along the coast of Maine and visited some of the quaint towns. We stopped to check out Kennebunkport.

We came across this neat old Episcopalian church built out of rock on Ocean Drive and stopped to explore it. There was another couple there visiting and happened to mention to us that George Bush's summer home was just around the bend.

We wondered if maybe this was the church that the Bush's attend while staying at their summer home. We noticed a number of things that were donated to the church in the Bush's name.

There were beautiful stained glass windows everywhere in the church and very thick rock walls.

So we drove around the bend and sure enough there was the Bush's summer home in Kennebunkport. It was a beautiful setting right next to the ocean. There were beautiful homes and resorts along Ocean Drive close to their home.

Here we are at Bar Harbor's harbor where there are a lot of quaint shops and restaurants. Dave is standing in front of the Bar Harbor Resort (pretty fancy place).

While walking around town, we found lots of brilliant Fall colors.

Beautiful lakes are in abundance around Bar Harbor and in Acadia National Park.

We found a lovely Japanese garden full of Fall colors to enjoy.

More pictures taken in the Japanese garden.

This is one of the gatehouses built on the carriage roads on Mt. Desert Island. These beautiful roads, gatehouse, and bridges were designed and built by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., as a gift to the national park. Cars are not allowed on these carriage roads.

We enjoyed walking along the carriage roads and looking at the massive bridges that were made out of granite and were built to last 1,000 years. There is granite all over Acadia National Park which was produced from a volcano erupting many moons ago.

More beautiful Fall colors.

We found Sandy Beach, the only sandy beach on the island. Most of the island has pink granite along its shoreline.

There was a seagull carhopping in the parking lot. He decided he looked best perched on top of the white car.

People come from all over the world to enjoy Acadia's natural beauty. While stopped along the road, a couple speaking a foreign language took our picture and we took a picture of them.

We had fun hiking to the top of Bubble Rock. There are no shortages of hiking trails in the park.

The seafood in Maine was fabulous. We enjoyed a tasty dinner of lobster, crab, shrimp, and haddock crepes.

One day we rented mountain bikes in Bar Harbor and rode to Acadia National Park. We rode 22 miles on the beautiful carriage roads. Sometimes I had to get off my bike and walk it because the road was too steep. I don't think Dave ever got off his bike to walk it, he would just ride along next to me. There are 54 miles total of carriage roads within the park.

Beautiful waterfalls are everywhere along the carriage roads.

Lovely Fall scenery next to rushing water.

Time for a break from our bikes along the shore of one of the gorgeous lakes.

While riding along, we found a snapping turtle on the side of the road leisurely enjoying his day.

Another beautiful lake.

Bar Harbor is a popular stopping place for many cruise ships in the Fall.

Fall berries along the water's edge.

There was no shortage of spectacular Fall colors.

One evening we took a two hour carriage ride on one of the carriage roads to the top of Day Mountain. The horses sure got a workout pulling us up to the top of the mountain.

Here is a carriage that was behind our carriage. We took the ride in the evening and it was very cold. We could of used a cup of hot chocolate during the ride.

Beautiful leaves on Day Mountain.
Here we are at the summit of Day Mountain with an amazing view of the many islands surrounding the national park.

A lovely sunset.

On our drive back to Manchester, New Hampshire, we drove along the coast of Maine to do some more exploring before we had to catch our flight back home.

We loved this coastal town of Wiscasset. Next to this store, there was a huge line of people waiting to buy lobster rolls in front of a food shack. Lobster rolls are buns filled with delicious fresh steamed lobster.