Fishing at Rockport with Jerry:
One Saturday Jerry got the urge to go do a little fishing, and was nice enough to invite Ruth and I to come along. After scrambling to get a couple of licenses we headed to the lake. We had to drive around the lake for a while to find a good spot. Most of the spots we thought looked good were off of very steep hillsides, and there were ants everywhere. After some unsuccessful searching we looked into the option of renting a boat. We decided that we would go fish for about an hour and then go back to rent a boat for the final hour before sunset. So we found a spot near the boat rental place and fished for about an hour. We spent most of that hour avoided all the ants and not catching any fish. So we decided to head back and rent a boat, but when we got there they said there was not enough time remaining before sunset, so they wouldn't let us rent a boat. Feeling slightly defeated we decided to try and find one more spot to cast a line. We found a spot that looked a little better than our first spot, but once again the ants were horrendous. After getting our poles set up and ready to go again, Ruth and I gave up the fight against the ants and just waded out a couple of feet out into the water. After about another half hour of fishing without even a nibble we were thinking about looking for one more spot to try, but Ruth said we should stay put for just a few more minutes. About two minutes after that the fish started biting and we had to race back and forth to keep reeling them in! In no time we had landed about eight nice rainbow trout. Satisfied with our haul we decided to call it a night and head for home. It was nice to catch so many fish, and enjoy a great sunset in the process.
Hannah & Jeff Tie The Knot:
In June Ruth's little sister Hannah was married to Jeff Glausser. We were, and still are very excited for Hannah and Jeff. They are both great people, and great for each other. Their wedding was a little extra fun for Ruth and I because they got married at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple which is where we were sealed about 3 and a half years ago. It always brings back great memories to take part in a sealing, but it seems a little more special when you have a personal tie to the temple.
Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Glausser.
The bride with her supporting cast.
Kicking off the dances with the classic Father of the Bride dance.
The proud parents watch as the couple takes the dance floor.
Another daddy-daughter dance.
Adelyn takes the dance floor by storm.
Journey Live:
For Christmas this year Kyle & Dany gave us tickets to go see Journey and the Steve Miller Band at USANA Amphitheater. Neither of us had been to an event at the amphitheater, so it was fun to get to experience a new venue and to hear some great music. It was also really interesting to see the mix of people that came to the concert. There were people that I didn't even think would know who Journey was because they were so young, and there were some people who were probably middle-aged when Journey debuted as a band. Even though the music was awesome, the photo opportunities were kind of lame, so here are the only decent pictures we got form the concert.
Cupcake Wars:
Ruth and I were supposed to make dessert for a Sunday dinner at her parents house, and we couldn't decide on what type of cake to make. We discussed several different options, but we just couldn't decide what to do. Since we couldn't decide on just one type of cake we decided to make cupcakes because we thought it would be easier to make more than one option if they were in cupcake form. Taking the idea one step further we decided to each make one flavor of cupcake and go head-to-head. So we went to the grocery store to browse for ingredients and went to work. I must say that the results were pretty awesome! To give our creations the proper treatment I will give you the Food Network description of each....
On the left we have a devil's food cupcake topped with homemade chocolate mousse, toffee chips and a chocolate drizzle.
On the right we have a coconut infused white cupcake topped with piped whipped cream, coconut flakes, sliced almonds, and a fresh raspberry.
When we showed up to dinner with the cupcakes we had everyone guess who made which cupcake. The vast majority thought that Ruth made the coconut cupcake and I made the chocolate, but they were wrong.
Random Photo:
Along with not getting pictures of a lot of things we got to do this summer, we didn't get a lot of good pictures of Ruth and I together. I do really like this picture of us, and this was the first time I got to do a session at the Salt Lake Temple.
Labor Day Weekend:
The four day weekend surrounding Labor Day inspired us to take a trip to Blanding to see my family. While we were there we got to go on a ride up to Bears Ears.We had a whole fleet of four wheelers and side-by-sides, or vroom vrooms as Cal likes to say. It had been a really long time since I had gone on a ride like that, and it was a first for Ruth. I was really proud of Ruth for driving her own four wheeler, I think it made the ride a lot more fun for her.
Can you spot the frog?
Can you spot the frog now?
On the same trip home we got to play with the batch of 7 kittens at my parents house. It was fun to watch them crawling all over the garage and wrestling each other.
Christmas in September?:
Last year for Christmas we gave Shirley tickets to see the Utes play Weber State, and we had so much fun last year that we decided to do it again. This year the Utes were playing Fresno State, and we had better seats than last year. Ruth's dad was able to help us get tickets so we owe a big thanks to him for the great seats, and for getting us two extra tickets so he could enjoy the game and we could invite Kathy too.
During halftime several individuals and one team were inducted into the Utes Hall of Fame. I thought that was cool because Andre Miller was inducted. It is hard to see, but he is standing next to Swoop in this picture.
This one isn't much better, but this is Andre talking to a photographer in the endzone.
Adelyn's Birthday Party:
The day after we saw the Utes take it to the Bulldogs, we got to celebrate Adelyn's second birthday. As you will see from the pictures below there were lots of good treats, and everyone had a good time watching Adelyn open her gifts.
Adelyn opening the tutu from her favorite Aunt & Uncle!
Adelyn rides in on her favorite gift of the day to claim her birthday cupcake.
United Way Day of Caring:
The Church was one of the many partners who participated in the United Way Day of Caring on September 11th. I was lucky to get to participate because of the large number of people from the church for signed up to volunteer. Due to the overwhelming number of willing volunteers, everyone had their names entered into an Excel spreadsheet and the names were randomized to select who would get to participate. After being selected as a volunteer we had the chance to fill out a survey to help identify which project location we would be assigned to, and then once sites were selected we could pick between tasks. I chose to go to the National Ability Center in Park City. The National Ability Center helps to provide outdoor experiences to people with varying degrees of disability, and it is their goal to allow people of any ability level to participate in the outdoor activities they provide. They have several activities associated with horseback riding, obstacle courses, and hiking. The project I chose to participate in was painting some ground poles that are used in training people who are learning how to ride a horse. We had to use wire brushes to clean the poles, and to knock off old paint before we could apply a fresh coat of paint. Our team completed the painting task right before lunch time, so after our lunch break we transitioned to helping the groups that were building and replacing fences. It was fun to be a part of such a large service project, and we were able to do a ton of work for the National Ability Center.
The fences our team helped with after lunch.
These were all the poles we cleaned and repainted.
The work area for our team. We set the poles up on the saw horses so we could clean and paint them more easily.
A much more exciting view than the usual sea of cubicles.
Bear Lake:
This last weekend we got to take a trip with all of Ruth's family to Bear Lake. Although it has been a few years since the Allreds last took a trip to the lake it used to be an annual tradition. We even got to stay at the same condos at Ideal Beach that have been a big part of the tradition. We made our way up to the lake on Friday evening, and spent the next two days enjoying the beach, playing games, and eating some really good food.
Getting the paddle boards ready to go.
Jerry introduces Adelyn to the lake.
Hannah helping Adelyn find her balance.
Ruth handling the paddle board like a natural.
None of the pictures do it justice, but the lake was amazingly clear and had an awesome blue color.
Playing with the beach toys.
The Toyns getting in some doubles action on the paddle board.
The Glaussers making it look easy.
Eating shakes in a covered wagon.
Like I said before there were a lot of fun things we got to do this summer, but I failed to get pictures. We got to go to Blanding to celebrate the 4th of July which included a parade, an exceptional fireworks display, and eating a new food sensation called the Navajo Philly. While we were in Blanding for the 4th we got to go to the sealing for Meiko, Justin, and their boys. We got to go see some great performances: an outdoor concert at Snowbird, Anne of Aquamarine Gables at the Off Broadway Theater in downtown Salt Lake, and Shrek the Musical at the Murray Park Amphitheater. While we were in Blanding over Labor Day weekend we got to prove once again that all of the girls who married the Crofts boys are a steady shot when Ruth showed off her skills with a .22. I am sure that there are some items that I am forgetting to mention, but a thank you to everyone who helped to make this an eventful and memorable summer!
