It's Coming! It's Coming!

Can you feel it???

Autumn is coming to the Salt Lake Valley!!!

Yesterday I took a drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon

and took pictures of the changing leaves.

You could see it from the tops of the mountains

and it's working it's way down.

PS - There is NO PARKING here...I guess.

This is my favorite time of year and I am

very excited to celebrate another

Autumn on Center Street.

Over the next few weeks

I am hoping to go out and take a lot more pictures

of fall in the Valley.

You can check out more pictures on my Facebook page.

In other news...

Mike is moving down to the Miller Campus for SLCC.

This means more hours and different people.

It will be good for him.

As for me,

I am looking forward to the World Series,

Hockey starting,

Halloween,

my birthday (the BIG 3-0!)

More pictures of come....

and coming up?

25 Reasons I love my husband

in honor of his 25th birthday.

No words

It was a Tuesday in September, 2001. I was a sophmore at the College of Eastern Utah. I had woken up very suddenly at 7 am. There was no reason, or at least I thought, the I would wake up that early. I didn't have my first class until 9. I went back to sleep, having no idea what was happening back east.

By 8:50, I was on my way to Theater Make-up. As I got to the theatre building, my professor, and now dear friend, came and grabbed my arm and told me to come with him. A fellow student followed him and told me that the Pentagon and the World Trade Center had been hit by planes and we were under attack. We made it to the student center and I looked over at the big screen tv in the cafeteria just in time to see a replay of the 2nd plane hitting the 2nd tower. My heart sank. It was very quiet in the student center. We stood in front of the tv and watched as the towers came down. It seemed like something out of a Hollywood action film. There were no words.

Slowly, we found chairs and sat down. I sat next to Corey and tried to wrap my head around what was happening. I had been to New York only two years before. I had seen the WTC and I had seen the towers. My photo album was full of pictures of the city. I love New York. It was then that Corey turned to me and asked if I knew how to get a hold of a mutual friend of ours, who lived just blocks away from the towers. I panicked. I had several friends who were going to NYU and lived not far from were thousands of fellow Americans were now trying to run for their lives. I thought to leave to try and contact them, but Corey put his hand on my arm and said "Please stay." I looked at him and saw the bewilderment in is eyes. I can only guess that I had that same look in mine.

We watched the footage again and again of the towers being hit and the towers coming down. Then we saw the pictures of people jumping from the higher floors. I cannot say that I wouldn't have done the same thing. So many scenarios ran through my head about what the people may be thinking. Then, we heard about United 93 crashing in the fields of Pennsylvania.  When was it going to stop? How many more planes were going to crash?

I don't remember how long we sat there. But I felt comforted in knowing that he was there too. Corey Ewan became another father to me and so I felt safe. I got various e-mails from family members that day. It was nice to know that everyone was ok.  I finally got up and decided to head back to my dorm. The campus was eerily quiet. I made my way over to the journalism room first. It was a crazy hurricane of typing and the other editors trying to put together a special edition paper. Since I was the Feature Editor, I sat down and started to work.

Eventually, I went back to my dorm, showered, and felt a little lost. My classes had been canceled for the rest of the day, and I didn't want to just sit in my room. For some reason, I decided to go to the Institute building. My class was canceled for the afternoon, but I didn't know where else to go. When I got there, I found that many others had the same feeling I did. There were several couple missionaries assigned to the college, and they were all there. One of the sisters came up to me, gave me a hug and a piece of homemade sourdough bread with fresh raspberry jam. She told me that everyone could use a little comfort food on a day like this.

Here were these people, who only 60 years before, had experience another kind of attack. That year was the 60th anniversary of the attacks on Pearl Harbor. This was the 2nd time in their lives that the county had been attacked. And what were they doing? Talking to the other lost college kids and handing out fresh bread and jam. Comforting them any way they could. And yes, the bread was just what I needed.

As the days past by, the feeling of patriotism was at a point I have never seen before. Everyone was proud to be an American and no one had an issue with singing "God Bless America." It was something that hadn't been seen in this country since the 1980 hockey team beat the Russians. Candle light vigils and hope that more survivors would be found was prevalent. Unfortunately, as the hope for finding survivors dwindled, so did the feeling of comradeship. There were some heroes that emerged from that day. Firefighters and policemen were respected once again.  

And, as in all things, time has passed. The country has moved on. The pride and patriotism has diminished. We have been at war for 8 years. Our politicians have made some crappy choices that have hurt the average American. Recession and joblessness is everywhere. But...I will always remember those few days in September 2001, when there were feelings of hope and friendship among everyone who calls this nation home. That was special. And for that...there are no words.

Post Edit - My deepest sympathies to everyone who lost someone that day. I have and will continue to pray for you and your family. Your loved one died a hero, and that is something to be proud of.

Food-gasim!

WARNING!!!

THIS POST IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART...

OR VEGETARIANS.

SOME PHOTOS MAY BE A LITTLE GRAPHIC

PARENTAL SUPERVISION

AND A NAPKIN IS ADVISED

AS THERE MAY BE EXCESSIVE DROOLING! 

Ok...are the kids and Vegans out of the room? 

Good!

 Mike introduced me to this amazing place over the weekend. He and his mother have been on the search for the best burger in Utah...and they found it! Welcome to Lucky 13. It's a bar and grill just west of the Spring Mobile Ballpark, home of the Salt Lake Bees. It's a clean place and the staff is awesome! Everyone is so nice and will keep that Diet Coke glass filled.

Because they are a bar, there is plenty of greasy food to choose from. But if you want a treat, order the fried pickles as your appetizer. SWEET MOTHER OF PEARL!!!! (Side note - I have always wanted to name my little girl Pearl so that I could be the SWEET MOTHER OF PEARL!) But I digress. You will not regret this. It is not just a ball of fried grease. The pickle is still crunchy. AMAZING!

Now, here comes the good part. The burgers. OH THE BURGERS! I am ruined because I will not be able to eat a burger from another place for a very long time. I had the Stinky Cheese Bacon Burger. It's a huge patty with melted blue cheese and the most mind boggling smoked bacon ever. It is crunchy and chewy at the same time. It defies the laws of food physics. 

This is what my burger looked like, accept with blue cheese instead of cheddar. And yes, that is pepper and coarse salt on the fries. The fries stayed crunchy the whole time and weren't soggy. While I was eating this little piece of heaven, I had no words. I couldn't talk. It was really that good. 

So, next time you want a real burger, GO TO LUCKY 13! And yes, they also have salads and sandwiches, and they look just as good. They also have been voted to have the Best Man vs Food Challenge. Just go, really. You will thank me later.  

So Long Summer!!!

Alright buddies...

Let's get one thing straight before 

the hate letters come in.

This summer was a lot of fun. There were many adventures and exciting moments.

And did I have my camera for any of them?

NO!

It has made me a sad panda.

But I will do my best to add pictures as I go.

They just won't be my pictures...per say. 

July was full of fun!

We had a family "Minute to Win It" competition for

the 4th of July. 

SO MUCH FUN!

The whole family participated in this. 

We also decided to stick around for the

Murray 4th of July Parade

and

Festivities at the Park.

This was the coolest thing I have been to in years.

You know how in the movies

where they show a small town

4th of July Celebration

with the whole community at the park

and a concert and fireworks?

Yeah...

You missed out.

4th of July on Center Street was amazing.

Later in the month

Gina, Wendi, Andy, Andrea, Charly and I

went camping up

American Fork Canyon.

We had a riot!

We went to Cascade Springs during our

Saturday there. Mom and Dad

came up and had dinner with us that evening.

It was really hot during the days,

but the nights were perfect!

I can't wait to go again.

Charly was this excited the whole time. He was so good

and loved being outside. I love this puppy!

(PS - This is Andy and Andrea's "child".)

August wasn't as exciting.

It finally got super hot in the Valley.

Everyone who prayed for the warm weather

sure got it...I hope you're all happy.

We did do our Habitat for Humanity fundraiser...

Got rained out but still had fun!

And we managed to get a few baseball games in

before the season ended!

Today is Labor Day.

We spent most of the weekend relaxing

and spending time with family.

My Grandma Johnson

came down for the weekend.

She's 84 and sassy as can be!

So welcome September!

I am so excited for the fall.

It's my favorite time of year.

College football,

Hockey,

Halloween!

I can't wait.

I would also like to announce that there 

are some ideas brewing here on

Still Standing.

Changes may be coming later in the year

and they will be way fun.

(No, no babies or anything like that.)

So stay tuned...

And this time I promise to 

be better about taking pictures.