Roller Derby

I first heard about roller derby when I was at a concert a few years ago.  Some of the Salt City Derby Girls were there trying to recruit members, and invited me to come try out.  I didn't, because Salt Lake is a bit too far to drive on a regular basis, but it sounded like fun.  A little while later I heard that Ogden had a league called the Junction City Roller Dolls.  It still sounded interesting, but I never got around to going to a game until this last weekend. 

I have to admit that it wasn't quite as exciting as I thought it would be.  After hearing about it and watching the movie Whip It, I thought it would be a bit more aggressive.  It was also a little hard to follow at times, but we still had fun. 

At this point I don't think I could actually compete on a team because of my bad knees, but it did kind of make me want to get some skates for fun and exercise.  Plus then I could still dress up in adorable outfits like theirs and get away with it.

Chiles Galore

While we were at Lake Powell last month, we stopped at the Walmart in Page. I noticed that they had an entire case of green chiles for only $10.00! I bought one the night before we came home because I never ever seen them sold by the case up here, and they would certainly cost more than that.

I decided to just cut them up and freeze them because I didn't have time to do anything else after getting home from our trip.  I ended up with 6 big freezer bags full plus some to stick in the fridge.  I think I will be good for a long while. 

With the fresh ones I made stuffed peppers from this recipe.  They turned out really good!  Some of the chiles were a bit hotter than others, but they all got eaten.

September Book List

Wither by Lauren DeStefano - 358 pages
Turn Coat by Jim Butcher - 418 pages
Downpour by Kat Richardson - 354 pages
An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris - 280 pages
Grimspace by Ann Aguirre - 312 pages
Kitty's Greatest Hits by Carrie Vaughn - 318 pages

TOTAL - 6 Books - 2,040 pages

Big Surprise

The trip home from Lake Powell was fairly uneventful and we made it home in good time.  When we got home we decided that the unpacking would wait a day; after all, that's why we came home on Saturday instead of Sunday.  We grabbed the necessaries for the evening and headed inside.  When I got to my bedroom door, it was closed, which was weird because we always leave it open for the cats.  Then I saw a sign taped to the door telling me that both Pat and I had to go in the room together because there was a surprise inside from my parents, with help from my sister.

My mom had been working on a new quilt for us because the one she made for our wedding was falling apart, and I new she was close to finishing with it, so I thought that would probably be inside, but I didn't know what my dad and sister would need to do to help with that, but all I had to do to find out was open the door.  Now, to show you what I left my room looking like, here are some pictures:

 

And this is what it looked like when I opened the door:

 

I was just blown away.  Everything was perfect, and put together better than I could ever do on my own.  Our quilt came out amazing, and all the pillows she made to go with it were just right.  The brightly colored vases and plates matched beautifully.  The blue wall was just the right touch to make things stand out.  The painted furniture was just the right style, and the chandelier was gorgeous.  I really love the jewelry holder, which I'm assuming my sister made since she has one just like it.  And I have curtains now!

It was such a great surprise and I wasn't expecting any of it.  Pat knew they were doing something because he had to make sure they had a way into the house, but he didn't give me any clue.  This is to be my birthday and Christmas present this year, but I can't think of anything better.  It really made my day better after it started out so disappointingly. 

Thank you Mom, Dad and Kait!  You guys are the best family anyone could ask for!

Lake Powell Continued

 

 

Pat doing his good deed and cleaning trash off the beach.

 

We stopped at ate lunch at this restaurant on the water at Antelope Point Marina.  Really good!

 This ragtag bunch of ducks came by to beg for scraps off our table.

We did the short hike out to horseshoe bend on the Colorado below the dam.

We stopped at the dam visitor center.  They are watering the grass down below.

Friday morning we went into town to play their disc golf course.  We just started playing and this was the first course we used our own discs on (we had been borrowing from friends).  The rocks were really hard on them, the course was confusing, and there was broken glass everywhere.  Not ideal.

Friday night a killer storm blew over!  It was really pretty just before the storm hit, and of course we didn't have the camera with us.  We got back to shore pronto and played games in the trailer while we waited for it to pass.

We had lots of sunshine and good food, played lots of games, and did a lot of relaxing.  It was a really great week.  I can't wait to go back again!