Anasazi

So, I have been wanting to check out this Anasazi thing for a while. I know that I have been really interested in it and ‘drawn’ to it.. I have felt like it is an important piece of the ‘Happiness Clinic’.
I just completed the first week of training and I have to say I am more excited than ever to move forward with this!

As I sat in this place and watched the sun set I knew this is right where I needed to be :-)

I went in Monday morning and it felt like I had known all the trainees in my group already for years! That is so rare for me with a whole group like that! There was such a comfortable feeling there – As I went through the next few days in the wilderness of Tonto National Forrest with just the essentials –
The clothes on my back
Oats, rice and a few other nutritional food items
Water, puncho and sleeping bag
I was so excited that this whole program is based on the bare basics – Physical and emotional pureness. It’s amazing what you can feel out there for extended periods of time with no distractions.
We had an awesome experience talking with a couple of the young walkers who were going home while we were there – they truly had been transformed while they were ‘on the trail’.
There are no elusions that this is a program to ‘fix’ any one or anything though that is often the perceived result. The mission statement is to turn the hearts of the children and the parents to each other so they can weather the wilderness of life together.
I am so excited for what comes next and worried because I am such a wimp in the cold!
I need to get some WARM gear!
In the meantime I am continuing to train and learn the ‘lingo’ of the trail, and cultivate new friendships- this is going to be a fun chapter!

Wake boarding! - sup' with the pics?

On Friday Kerry took a big group of us wake boarding at Canyon lake. Despite getting away a little late is was a blast!
The weather is getting cooler and it was perfect up there! I guess Cami took a video of me riding, so I don’t have pic’s of me on the board- but we got some other ones-
It was blast, Thank you all! - Lets go again!

Oh, and after, thanks to Shannon we ate at the “coolest” restaurant. Jessica – what did Guy's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives say about it? It was good is all I know. Bring on the Portobello delight with sweet potatoe fries mmmm- And fun conversation – Joel , can you please always come with great dinner conversation like that? What are your top three choices of ways to die? – Shark attack (by a great white) I’ll never hear that and not think of you!

update-

I just tasted the caramel in the process of beginning to clean up.. it's GooD!! it works!!!!!
(maybe it would work even better without burning the pan?)

Sunday night treat?

So- I kind of forget that I have a blog most days…

Cami and I were hanging out tonight and we were talking to Paul and Kerry and decided that we wanted to make sopapillas’s.

I thought it would be fun and it sounded yummy anyway… So Cami told me that she had yeast and since it was 6pm – I figured there would be time to make them… Yum, Sunday night treat.
Then I found a recipe on line that didn’t require any yeast (I learned the scorched milk trick) so I was excited to try it out! We were out of milk so Cassidy brought some over for us (Thanks Cass!) - So off I went to experiment with the recipe and my sopapilla skills J

Then Paul said how great they tasted with Caramel, so I though I could make that too. I heard once how to make it with condensed milk by just boiling the can in water.

So the caramel was started and the sopapillas mixed and oil was heated –
In goes the first clump of dough… it turned brown in 2 seconds and I pulled it out. It was a little brick on the outside and dough on the inside… well a few minor adjustments to the temperature and the thickness of the dough and I have to say they turned out better than I thought after the first dough went in! They were actually pretty yummy.
We tried cinnamon and sugar, honey (that was old) whoever said honey lasts forever.. um false.
And just good ‘ol butter mmmmm.
We also fried up some store bought tortilla dough that Cami had – those kind of made thin chips. They were all pretty good though.
But 1.5 hrs later the ‘caramel’ still was not done. So, I thought I would just let it keep going.
Kerry and Cami kept complaining that their eyes were burning and we figured it was from the oil. ???
In the mean-time I got busy looking for some incriminating photos on my camera for them to mock, when something was definitely not smelling right.
I went to check on the caramel and the water had completely boiled out and I burned yet ANOTHER pan! (I go through more pan’s than anyone ought to admit to!) - seriously I forget about boiling eggs, pasta, whatever… tonight just happened to be caramel.
I was so excited that our house might smell like something other than onions for two days, ( anticipating a baked yummy small of sopapilla’s! But now we just get burned caramel pan smell. And stinging eyes.
Gosh nothing like fun Sunday treats- Come on over, we’ll share!

Gracie! Happy Birthday!

Happy Happy Birthday Grace the 16th! You are the cutest NUT! :-)

Kaycee

Cute picture updates - Thanks Alysa. Hurry Tuesday, Hurry!
Great Grandama Pat - Those are all her real nails! So, Kaycee looks like she might have a little Sas' ya think? Already stickin' her tough out at Grandma.
Ssssssssssssoooooooooooooooooooooo sleeps - just. need. to. close e..y...e..s.

No Mud Football this year -

So, Last weekend I was able to go up to Cami’s B-13 Family reunion. They have this reunion every year, but I have not been in quite a while. I have been in AZ 6 years this month- And I think I went to a reunion during my 2nd summer – and that might have been the last time. ( Mud football and all!) The picture is from the last one I went to.

Since I have known Cami and her family I think I have met just about everyone at least once…. Except the Elusive Uncle Dennis! In all my years around their family circle he has always eluded me. I have even met all of his kids. This year Uncle Dennis was there too! It was great, and I feel some sense of accomplishment having finally met him :-) . Thanks Uncle Dennis -
The weekend was fantastic! Not only was I in fabulous company but the setting as I mentioned earlier is always perfect! Cami and her family have introduced my to the card game of Nertz ( I think Rachel might of a long time ago before I met Cami, but I only played once and it was pretty much a blurrrr - which is really not so different than it is for me now haha) I am sure that if there was Olympic Nertz that the Gold, Silver and Bronze metals would all go to members of Cami’s family! They are really really good at it, and if they had a family mascot that could be a game I am certain it would be Nertz! They play for hours upon hours on end, go into “tournaments”, team competition and even a tag team of sorts… it can get brutal, but all in good fun. This year was no exception and it was fun to play, and watch, and listen – I had a great time up there!
Monday night we went over to Phil and Kierstin’s for some BLACKBERRY COBBLER! So, I am pretty sure that I am Kierstin’s favorite :-) --- She had me over for cobbler! It was awesome and I love hanging out with them (cobbler or not, but hey- I don’t think I’ll ever turn down cobbler!)