I have a favorite food...

and it is this

Swedish Pancakes (or crepes) with fresh peaches and whipped cream

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I know it's not pretty (due mostly to the fact that I don't have a fancy camera and seem to be the last person on the earth who doesn't...poor me). Do not be fooled by it's common place appearance, for it is not what is on the outside, but what is on the inside that counts. This is no ordinary food! (The first person to name that movie is invited to my house next Saturday for this very meal- Stef, if it's not you, I'll be very very ashamed).

And by how good it tastes, it should be eaten on fine china, instead of the paper plates in which we have become very good friends with since having children. Sorry eco-friendly people, it's just the way we operate around here. And yes, you can see the remains of the 3 swedish pancakes eaten previous to the one pictured.

The answer to "what is your favorite food" is always a tough one to answer. Of course it depends on my mood, whether I'm pregnant or not, etc., and usually cycles between mashed potatoes and gravy (mom's homemade of course), spare ribs, peaches, thanksgiving dinner, or italian. But after eating today's breakfast-for-dinner delight, I'm going to have to name this one #1 of all time. A few tips. The peaches MUST be fresh (these ones are Glow Haven peaches from Manning Orchards in Fruit Heights), freshly whipped cream is very strongly recommended (cool whip will work, but really makes the difference between a first place ribbon and honorary mention), and my secret ingredient is just a tiny drizzle of syrup over the peaches before loading on the whip cream for just the right amount of sweetness.

The only thing better than this meal is waking up on conference morning to my mother who has completely prepared it. Things always taste better when someone else makes it, right?

Certainly Eventful

And....they're over (sigh). The last 2 weeks have flown by as I have been completely entertained by watching the best athletes in the world compete for the gold. Here is my top 13 Olympic highlights with #1 being the most memorable.

#13. Liu Xiang of China bows out of 110m hurdles in the prelims due to an injury. People in the crowd were bawling. Apparently, he was China's athletic rock star and biggest hyped-up hope of track and field gold. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people bawling. I thought I was obsessed with the Olympics...

#12. Did you see the unbelievable flexibility of the rhythmic gymnasts? Wow- that was fun to watch.

#11. Russia's Isinbayeva breaks the pole vaulting world record at 5.04 meters. She was so excited that she was doing flips on the mat. It's people like that, that I really enjoy watching win the gold.

#10. Both USA men's and women's track and field 100 meter relay teams drop the baton in pre-lims and don't move on to the finals. Man oh man, I'll bet someone got into some serious trouble for that one...or....those ones.

#9. Australia's Matthew Mitchum upsets the Chinese diver in the platform diving competition and keeps the Chinese from going 8 for 8 in diving. Again, that poor poor Chinese diver. Letting his whole country down...

#8. The 33-year-old woman gymnast from Germany who wins the silver on the Vault. 33 years old? Seriously? She is my new hero. Maybe there's hope for me afterall to accomplish my dream that was once thought long over. Or...maybe not.

#7. USA's Johnathan Horton's on-fire performance during the men's gymnastic team finals. What a great day to peak.

#6. USA's Justin Spring's bar routine. Wow. That's all I can say.

#5. The men's swimming 4x1 medley relay. Coming back from the dead to win it. Crazy good television right there.

#4. Nastia's individual all-around gold medal. Ah, the sweet success of winning gold in one of the most prestigious events in the summer games. And with such grace. I like her.

#3. That Brazilian gymnast who fell on his last tumbling pass on floor during the event finals. Did you see this? Brazil has never won any kind of gymnastic medal and they had high hopes for this fella. He was one of the last to go and he had a smokin' routine until the last pass in which he sat down. I don't think I've ever seen an athlete so devastated. He looked like he was going to burst into tears and...well, there are no words to describe the look on his face. I was watching this all by myself one night past midnight and I kept saying to the TV, "it's okay. You did great. It's okay! I just want to give you a hug. Don't worry, it's okay, " all in the tone of a very concerned mother. Poor guy.

#2. Shawn Johnson's gold on beam. Man, that girl is solid and consistent and amazing and I think I would have boycotted the summer Olympics if she hadn't have taken home a gold. I almost had a heart-attack just watching her routine and think I shed a few tears when she was on that first place podium. Good job Shawn, you deserved it.

#1. Phelps 100m butterfly. How in the heck did he manage to get in there? Man, there were a few races I swear he wasn't suppose to win, but somehow he pulled it off. I couldn't get enough of that butterfly win replay, being just as mesmerized as the time before. Is anybody else having Phelps withdrawals?


What was your favorite Olympic highlight?

The countdown to London 2012 is on!

We're alive. And kicking...barely

We survived our 3rd annual Snake River Rafting trip. It is official. I am a wuss. Wimp, baby, call it what you want, I'm ready to accept it. I was scared of bears, of the rapids, of the cold water, of losing my sunglasses, of not eating my meal on time, of not making it to the rose-smelling out-house in time, of wasting food, of being too cold, and lots of other really scary things. I think I might even have a tick. Oh no- does anybody know how bad lime disease is? Sorry to everyone involved- I was suppose to be the veteran rafter who's able to put all the newbies at ease. Not the crazy girl who woke up the entire camp at midnight from absolute terror at seeing a huge deer frolic in the meadow while attempting to find toilet paper in the dark. If there were courage pills, I would ask my doctor for a prescription, but sorry Cameron, I don't think people get less wimpy as they age- it's just the way it is now.

Actually, despite my extreme wimpiness, we had a great time and can't wait for next year. Here are a few pictures and highlights of our weekend adventure.

Everyone before our death-defying attempt down the Snake. Yah, you see smiles now, but about 1.5 hours later, I distinctly remember looks of horror. The horror! And yes, the girl (Crystal) you see in green, is indeed pregnant. The horror!

The boys. Mad cooking skills is all I can say. Just listen to one day of meals. Breakfast: Eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage and pancakes. Lunch: Chicken salad on croissants with veggies and dip, chips and fruit. Dinner: Chicken and Potato dutch oven dinner with rolls and peach cobbler. Okay, okay, the women came up the menu (nice work ladies) but the men cooked it up beautifully. And yes, if you look closely, those are prom gloves on Cameron's arms.

The girls. I already gave us credit for the menu so I guess I don't need to say much more except that we made great company to a bunch of really tough, ripped and manly guys (our husbands, that is- whoa, slow down, it's not what you were thinking). And we didn't even wear make-up. Wait a minute. I think someone broke that rule.

Our ride back after the river in the blistering cold. Yah, so cold I think I got blisters on my cheeks. See, I couldn't smile with my mouth open.

In front of Granite Falls

Some other highlights include...

1. Watching the Granite Springs Olympics. Way cooler than any lame gymnastics or somethin'. Good job Cameron and Josh. Cameron was way jealous of Josh's racing stripes resulting from a complete and successful rubber tube entry. And I think Josh was pretty dang jealous of Cameron's record setting 1 minute 20 second breath hold. I know you're practicing every day to beat him Josh. And Rachel for winning the no kick swim. It was close though. Props to all those who agreed to get there hair wet. I hope the hypothermia was worth it.

2. Melissa and Emily's faces. Believe me- they are priceless. Stay tuned for proof as the looks of horror were captured on camera and should be arriving shortly.

3. Chicken, potatoes, onions, mushrooms, peas. All cooked together in a dutch oven for pure dutch oven delight.

4. Tent city. Sleeping outside is much funner with 10 of your closest friends.

5. Anticipating big Kahuna. "Oh look, it's not so big....Holy Crap!" Good thing Melissa risked her life for the oar. We REALLY needed that oar.

And, I had to throw in a picture of Kara wearing her Jackson Hole souvenir. C'mon- what would a post of mine be like without a picture of Kara?

Last but certainly not least, thanks to Cameron's parents for making our 3rd annual trip possible. They took Colby and Kara from Wednesday night until Sunday night. They even drove them to Vernal for the weekend and braved the 2 little crazies in a little Cabin. The kids are still talking about all the good food they got to eat. "Mom, we ate i-ceam!" Thanks for taking such good care of our little ones. We love you!

A new dancer is crowned

Spoiler alert! If you haven't watched the season finale of SYTYCD, then don't read on.

Yay Josh. I am pleased with the results. Josh is awesome and I can't get over how high he tow-touched last night when doing the Russian dance. Ridiculous. I'm surprised Twitch didn't win and a tiny tiny tiny bit disappointed that Katee didn't. 50K aint so bad, right?

Sad that my favorite show is over for another year, but so excited that my Olympic countdown will soon say 0 days!!!!! Go team USA

Booooooooooooo

I do not like clowns. Clowns are creepy and dumb. This a newly developed fear since recently viewing Dark Knight. Clowns make me want to puke and cry like a two-year-old girl who has itchy mosquito bites all over her chubby legs. It's really sad. Mosquito bites. And clowns.

Phantom Dimple

Do you ever find yourself thinking you have dimples when you don't? (I'm talking about dimples in the cheeks on your face, not the other cheeks). I'm pretty sure I had dimples in my previous life. Are you familiar with the phantom limb phenomenon (the Shins wrote a really cool song about it-check it out here, it's one of my favs) where a person who loses a limb can still feel it? They actually feel the same physiological sensations as they do their other limbs that still exist. Well, I can feel that I used to have dimples. I find myself biting down on my top lip to expose them especially when driving and thinking, only to remember that they don't exist. How sad for me. Or, you know how you kind of suck in part of your chin, or slightly flex your cheek muscle, hoping one will miraculously appear? I keep looking and they are not there. When I distort my face in less-than-attractive ways, I can sometimes squeeze out a slight divot, really defeating the purpose and cute-ness of dimples in the first place. Since my dimples did not follow me into this life, I've always hoped a child of mine would be so blessed. Not so far. Maybe our next will have dimples deep enough to eat cereal out of. Awesome.

P.S. I blog about useless things when I'm too overwhelmed to blog about the stuff that matters. I have so many pictures of summer events, I don't know where to start. You know the feeling right? It's like the time your house is so messy that you decide to sit down and watch TV instead of cleaning.