Life After Sundance...

Once we left Sundance Laura and Robert went back to Robert's parents' house for the reunion with his family members. They were coming to town for his sister, Laura's, wedding on Friday. Robert has TEN living siblings and so that is a pretty large crowd to gather for various occasions. Almost everyone was able to make it so that was great.

Jen and Lowell went to their house, Jim's mom flew home and we stayed with Chris and Missy for a few days. One of the days we went up to Thanksgiving Point for lunch but stopped on the way at the Veteran's Memorial Park to visit the grave of our good friend, Garth, who passed away a few years back. He is the doctor I use to work for in Las Vegas, forty years ago and the person that introduced us to the Church and baptized us 33 years ago.

Our entire family holds him in very high esteem and so Jen and her kids and Chris and Missy's family and Jim and I all went to find his grave. Garth was from Idaho and spent many years in Las Vegas so he doesn't have a lot of friends in Utah. He had never married and a lot of his siblings have passed away now. I am imagining we were among the few visitors to the cemetery to pay tribute to this wonderful friend. His contributions to our lives cannot be measured, they are priceless.

The cemetery is very pretty but wouldn't you know the sprinklers were being repaired in this section and so his grave site was surrounded by dead grass. Hopefully they have fixed it by now!

We surrounded his grave and had a family prayer together and then decided a photo of our feet would be fun! Laura and Robert's family was sorry to miss this and Lowell was working. There was a sweet spirit there.' Uncle Buffalo' as we called him, is missed and loved by us all for sure.


We are rather weird family (no kidding, you say?) We all have the same Toyota Sienna from the same year, same color. Bizarre but it was a fluke...we didn't plan it or anything. And I think the only color they sold that year had to be silver. Seriously, I could not find it in a parking lot without the permanent roof rack. It is funny to see the line up when we all go someplace together!

When we arrived at Thanksgiving Point it was lunch time and the kids really enjoy the Deli there. They have good sandwiches and it is very 'kid friendly,' so that filled the bill for us!
Snapped a shot of their gigantic chandelier just for fun!

Here is a goofy photo of Anyslee and Me
that Missy sent over the other day!
Aynslee is so funny!
She loves posing for photos lately!

We strolled through the Emporium which is a huge, fancy, home shop and that took just a few minutes. You cannot even think about shopping with a group that large. But it was a fun walk through. The major things to see At Thanksgiving Point, as far as we were concerned, were the beautiful gardens.

They have a lot of acreage there and a big hotel and lots of events, like weddings and receptions that are held there each year. One year they held the county fair there when I was visiting. It was wonderful. Imagine a fair held on grass instead of dirt or gravel. It was really neat. At night we sat on the grass and watched the lighted Ferris Wheel spin. Having the grass made a world of difference to the carnival atmosphere. It took the hot and dusty feel right out of the equation. The best part was it was like going back in time about 25 years. You felt safe and your kids were safe. You didn't have to keep your eyes glued to them every second. It was a very nice family activity like in the olden days before people got scary. I love that about Utah!

It was a lovely day and the flowers were so gorgeous.

Scrumptious! It makes me feel so bad that we never did plant any annuals this year in our garden pots in the yard. We have been gone too much and I just couldn't see the point of spending the money and then having them all die while we were away so much.

So I am enjoying the flowers everywhere else instead.
Brilliant, huh? Not really...just lazy!

The trunk on this tree looks like it was
tied in a knot like a cherry stem.

Beautifully framed red tree
though the Gazebo window.

These poppies were so bright and cheery!

The water features and displays are so fantastic.
You feel like you are at a mountain stream.

Of course we had to stop at Cabella's for Grampa on the way back. That was fun if you are into outdoor sporting equipment...well, ah, not really, but it was fun to see him enjoy it so much. We enjoyed this lazy day very much and it was nice to have a little nap when we got back to Chris and Missy's house.

Chewy Pretzel Bites

Chewy Pretzel Bites*

*Makes about 2 dozen pretzel bites

Thank you, Missy, for sharing this fun recipe with all of us at our family reunion. The chewy little bites were just so delicious and smelled heavenly while baking! You really have the knack and we all appreciate it!

*Note: if using active dry yeast, increase the yeast to 1 tablespoon. Proof the yeast in the warm water and sugar (let it bubble and foam - maybe about 5 minutes) before adding it to the flour and salt.

Dough:

2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

1 cup (8 ounces) very warm water

Topping:

1/2 cup (4 ounces) warm water

2 tablespoons baking soda

Coarse salt (optional)

3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Mix to just combine. Add the water and mix well, adding more flour, as needed, a bit at a time to form a soft, smooth dough that clears the sides and bottom of the bowl. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth and quite slack. The goal is to get a really soft dough that isn't overly sticky. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes or up to 60 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Don’t be afraid of the high heat! This is what will help those pretzels to brown up perfectly and stay soft on the inside. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or lightly greasing them.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into about four strips of equal length. Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda in a liquid measuring cup (deep enough to dip the pretzel bites into). Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved. Sometimes I have a hard time getting the baking soda completely dissolved, so I just lightly stir up the mixture right before adding each pretzel.

Cut each strip of dough into about 6-8 pieces, about 1 to 1 ½ inches in width. You don’t have to be completely exact, just eyeball it. Dip each pretzel bite in the baking soda solution (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

"I just love cooking with Kosher Salt, don't you? It makes me feel so gourmet! "

{Said Gramma Bonbon!}

Bake the pretzels for 5-6 minutes or until they're golden brown. Bake one sheet at a time - it won't hurt the other pretzels to chill out for a little longer.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave on low heat.

*from melskitchencafe.com

Flickr photos except for Melissa, of course!

Leaving Sundance Behind ~ Reunion #9

It was our day to go home...the carriage was about to turn back into a pumpkin, but not without a surprise party first! Our kids and grandkids planned a little surprise anniversary breakfast for us the morning of June 15th. It really was so sweet of them. Late the night before Lowell had driven down the mountain to town to pick up some balloons! The kids made a gourmet omelet for us and some sausages for their Dad who cannot resist them. The juice and the fresh, red strawberries made it ever so nice!

So pretty and delicious!

43 years!

It was a beautiful morning and I was just really taking my time getting ready for the day and getting out of the master suite. The sun was streaming in the windows and the birds were singing and the fresh mountain air was so invigorating. I felt on top of the world and just so happy that our reunion far exceeded our wildest expectations. Thoughts of wanting these few days to never end floated through my mind, as I packed up the last few things and then went out into the kitchen... feeling just a little melancholy about it ending.

Most of them were waiting for me, Jim was already out there. Seriously I had no idea and it was the sweetest thing. I wished I hadn't dawdled quite so much savoring each moment. We felt like this whole 'dream come true' reunion was our anniversary celebration and we didn't need another thing. Yet they gave us presents, sang to us and let us eat "alone!" How sweet was that?

We had just one more activity with the pre-teens to do besides cleaning up and packing out. Check out was 11:00 but since no one was renting the house right after us the owners generously let us stay later. I think we finally left around 2:30. Projects were finished up a few more games of pool were played as we rounded up our pre-teens.


Jim and I have worked with the youth of our church for a good part of our time as members of the church. It didn't take us long to figure out that the 10 to 15 years during your teens and young adult life are the crucial ones. This is when you make the most important decisions of your life. Coupling that with our desire as grandparents to love and support our children and grandchildren...we wanted to have this little meeting with Piper, Spencer and Connor. Ayns and Julia landed up coming in too.

Our purpose was to make them aware of the fact that THEY will determine a good part of their own life, success and happiness by starting to think NOW about the future. Things like how important working hard in school is to their education and careers, how important the friends they choose is to their social life and paths they take. We stressed how following their parents' direction and staying in the mainstream of the church will protect and guide them during the questioning times of growing up....that always come.

We talked to them about morality, modesty, dating only after they reach 16, music and movie choices, missions, etc. It didn't take long, but what we hoped they got out of it was that they have lots of choices coming up and we were so in hopes they would make good ones.

We recommended they make lots of those decisions in advance about what they will and will not be doing. Making decisions in advance eliminates the decision making in the weak moments. As an example, if you determine early in your life you will never smoke or drink alcohol, when the moment arrives when someone offers it to you, the dilemma does not exist. You simple say NO!

We wanted them to know that we have strong testimonies of the importance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives and how it will influence them to make better decisions and bring them the most happiness.

Lastly we wanted to reinforce to them again how they can rely on the Lord, their parents and us to not lead them astray and to always be there for them. One nice thing, was we held this in the master bedroom, it was very casual and lent itself nicely to an open discussion on many of these topics. It wasn't just us lecturing to them which I am sure they appreciated!

Both Jim and I believe that we cannot assume kids know things. They need to be told and taught and we know that their parents do an excellent job at this. But putting on another layer of reinforcement from us, as their grandparents, can strengthen young people and that was our goal and purpose. It also gave us a moment to separate them out from the little kids and to recognize that they are growing up now and we know it. They seemed to really love that.

It seemed like a really nice way to end our days at Sundance. We were all sad to leave because we had enjoyed our reunion so much. But the memories will keep on in us forever. And I think each one of us will try to be a better petal on Our Family Flower.


The best part of heading down the mountain was that although we were leaving Sundance we were not saying good-bye yet. We still had lots of fun and special times ahead in Nevada, and CA with Robert and Laura's family, and lots to do in Utah before leaving the other kids and grandkids behind.

Our Sundance Film Fest~Reunion #8

Flickr

After the photos we invited Traci and her daughter Morgan to stay for BBQed hamburgers. Ours didn't look exactly like the ones above but close enough. It was so much fun to spend this time with the Hartman girls. Jen and Traci have been friends for many years and we just love, love, love their family. They have visited us in CA a few times and we always get together with them in Utah. They are as close to family as you can get.

Everyone changed into their swimming suits that was under 13 and the hot tub promises were kept. While some adult supervised that, the rest of us cleaned up from dinner and got ready for our last night in the big house, the catapult demonstrations, and the viewing of the movies that had been made by the men and the one made by the kids. We also previewed and were very pleased with Traci's photos almost instantaneously viewed up on the big screen.

The Last Hurrah!!
So long for this year's well done cousin soup,
simmered to perfection!
Grampa and I are already thinking...same time next year?

The kids are ready for bed,
it is time to watch our own
Sundance Film Festival.


The excitement was building....... Drum roll.

The kids did a really nice job on their movie. Jen and Lowell's kids have made lots of films with Dad's help. This one they all did on their own, just the cousins, while Lowell orchestrated the film you are about to see. This was totally a delight to all of us that were completely in the dark about what they had been up to.

I think Robert was the person continuing to help the kids with their Legos and other games and Laura's men were engaged in some of this fine fun...too.

Spencer

Ross and Robert

Missy also made the delicious pretzel bites that morning but, for the life of me, I cannot find any photos of that. Just think fresh bread baking in the oven and some very delectable taste treats. They disappeared after all her hard work in about a nano second! Missy gets first prize all the time as our family baker! The house was a buzz with all kinds of activities that day but all roads led to the evening fun!

So here is the adult's movie...enjoy!

It is pretty good for a lot of laughs.
We loved it but then we are the parents
so you be the judge!

http://youtu.be/qCK6xDXqCxs
The Link to YouTube's "Man Vs. Wild" if you are an e-mail subscriber.

If you are interested in seeing the other posts from this reunion just click on "older posts" at the end of the entry. It is printed in green after the comments section on the right hand side of the page.

Family Photo Shoot~Reunion #7

Our beautiful photographer and good friend, Traci!

When the notion of a Family Reunion was conceived the only stipulation I had was that we must have a family picture taken. It had been since 2003 and our family picture hanging on the wall in our bedroom was way outdated. That experience was so different than this one. We had all been together because of my mom's funeral, so the next day we took all the babies down to Sear's for some pictures.

The little ones were pretty resistant and they were so noisy people were coming to look into the room to see who was being tortured. In a word, it was pure bedlam and the picture captured it. Not a terribly positively reinforcing experience, so this time we were a little leery of what lay ahead for our appointment with Traci at 6:00 on Tuesday.

It was such a fun and good experience this time. All the kids were patient with the promise of hot tub time and treats, if all went well. (We are not above bribing when necessary!) They were little rock stars and we are very happy with the results of everyone's concerted efforts to give Gramma and Grampa the best anniversary gifts ever. We took the photos right next door and across the street from the big house. It was very convenient. I know some of you have seen these photos before but just in case you didn't, here they are.

Our Family

The Dad and Mom

The Dad and His Mother

The Kids

The Silly Shots

The Four Generations

Lowell and Jennifer

Their Family

Melissa and Chris

Their Family

Laura and Robert

Their Family

~The Grandchildren~
Julia, Piper, Connor,
Spencer, Ross, Chloe, Zachary, Aynslee
Owen, Hazel

The Mom and Her Son

~The Dads~
Robert, Lowell, James, Christopher

~The Moms~
The Gramma, Great-Grandma Gloria, Jen
Missy, Laura

Everybody!

Our Family Reunion 2011~Sundance Utah
Traci Hartman Photography (the very best)