New Family Photo

Thanksgiving this year was wonderful as we had the whole family together in Colorado for the first time. We used this time to get a family photo taken with all of us. We had a nice fresh snowfall which made for a beautiful background for the photos. Unfortunately, we couldn't convince everyone to look at the camera at the same time, especially Molly, but I think the photos still turned out great. Thank you to my friend, Laurie for taking the photos for us.

Yummy Rice Pudding!

OK, here it is. Kameron and Jodie have been asking, bribing, demanding and have resorted to threatening me unless I post my Yummy Rice Pudding Recipe. So here it is! Now please tell me the good news! This recipe was given to me years ago by Kameron's Grandma Kuhni, Barbara Kuhni, the very best cook ever.

Rice Pudding

2 Cups Water
1 Cup Rice
2 Quarts Milk
1 Square Butter
1 Cup Sugar
4 Eggs, Beaten
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Boil rice and water in a large saucepan until water is gone.
Add milk and butter and simmer for one hour, stirring VERY often.
Add sugar, stir well.
Put a cup of rice mixture with beaten eggs, stir well then add egg mixture to the rest of the rice mixture. Blend in vanilla. Cook 5 more minutes.
Can be served warm or chilled.
Top with cinnamon or nutmeg.

Turkey Trot

This past weekend Jim and I, and my friend Rachel, ran the Longmont Turkey Trot. It is a fundraiser run for the Longmont Youth Recreation program. Jim ran the 10k and Rachel and I ran the shorter 2 mile fun run. Jim was a little bit upset that I signed him up for the 10k without talking to him, but he didn't answer his cell phone, so that is what happens! I guess next time he will answer. But, Jim did wonderful, of course. He finished the run like a champ! Rachel and I ran like champs too, just not as long.

Fun with My Sister and Her Kids

My sister Carla came out from Utah a couple of weeks ago and brought her four kids and two dogs to visit. We had a lot of fun visiting Rocky Mountain National Park. We went on a hike, did a little scrambling on some rocks and then went to Estes Park and had some delicious pizza!

We also went on a bike ride around Macintosh Lake in Longmont with the whole family and couple of the kids friends. Note the gigantic pile of bikes in the back of Jim's truck!

We also spent a day at the Butterfly Pavillion where the kids got to hold a giant tarantula, checked out all kinds of bugs, and a beautiful butterfly landed on Becca.

The girls helped me make bread for dinner one night. We pretty much covered the whole kitchen with flour but they had fun and the bread tasted great! We also went climbing at the indoor climbing gym where Sara amazed us all by turning into an amazing little climber. By the end of the afternoon she was climbing like a pro! It was a wonderful visit. We miss the Stone family!

Anniversary in Pagosa Springs, Colorado

This past weekend was our 10th wedding anniversary! WOW - Ten years of wedded bliss! Jim and I went to Pagosa Springs, Colorado for the weekend and had a wonderful time riding our mountain bikes, eating great food, and of course, soaking in the famous hot springs. Unfortunately we didn't take very many good pictures but we did have a wonderful time. Here is to another 10 years!

My Strange Looking Family Members

Here are some photos that my friend Lauri took. Nick thought it would be fun to have these on our new family blog! Some of these are pretty freaky looking!

Climbing My First Two Fourteeners

Colorado has 56 mountain peaks with an elevation over 14,000 feet. When you climb these it is called a "Fourteener". I explain this because it had to be explained to me when we moved to Colorado. In September I was able to conquer my first "fourteener"! In fact I climbed two in one day. That isn't such a remarkable feat like it sounds as the two peaks were right next to each other, but it was exciting to accomplish two in one day.

With my new good friend and climbing buddy, Laurie Normandeau, and her fiance, Jim, we climbed Gray's (14,270) and Torrey's (14,267) one beautiful Sunday in September. It was pleasantly brisk on the way up and actually quite cold at the top. The wind was howling and the air was thin but it was a wonderful day standing on top of the world! Thanks to my new friends for letting me go along on this adventure.

Only 54 more to go!

Jim and Diane Hiking the Subway

Jim and I hiked the Subway in Zion National Park last month. The weather was perfect, the water was cold, and the scenery breathtaking! We started bright and early and finished in the dark, which is pretty normal for some of our hikes. The group included my sister Carla and her son, Nathan, my brother Brad and his wife Laurie and their two kids, Kala and Zack, and my daughter-in-law Jodie. Kameron was not able to go on this trip and we really missed having him along.

After a good hike and some scrambling and downclimbing we had to climb through a hole in the rock to get to the canyon floor. Once down in the canyon we downclimbed over boulders, did a little rapelling and a fair amount of swimming through some bitterly cold water. Then we were rewarded with walking through the actual "subway" portion of the hike.

The day was an absolutely wonderful experience. It is so beautiful in the canyon and it was so much fun to be there with Jim. We can't wait till next year to explore some other wonders in Zion National Park. Thanks to everyone in our group!