MEGA CARROTS!

I planted carrots in the garden last year and we didn't eat them all.  I left them in the ground and with the warm weather decided to dig them up so they wouldn't rot.

They are the sweetest, big carrots!  Definetly planting carrots again next year!

 BURIED ALIVE!

I had this incredible experience.

I was purposely buried alive.  It's a long, short story!   Dad is on the ski patrol at Alta and he knows people:)  (Does that sound like we are special?)  People with avalanche dogs that are in training.  There was a planned search for the day and Jack (another ski patrolman, who happens to be Ali's Dad, and Ali happens to be someone I grew up skiing with, and she happened to be in Salt Lake, so we went skiing).  Well Jack volunteered Ali and I to be buried alive.

There were two snow caves dug, about 150 yards apart,

about 4 feet under the snow.

My cave was large enough that I had two feet to spare in length

 and a foot plus around me.

We climbed into the hole, and the patrolman covered the opening with snow.

I did really well, no panic attacks, no scary thoughts.  But I didn't have snow on my face or pressing on me.  That would have changed this experience substantially.  I was surprised how I could hear a skier, the dog running around and people talking.  I was told that when in the hole, you can hear whats on top of the snow.  But if I had tried to yell or whistle.  I would not be heard.  They say I was only in the hole about 20 minutes before Mika started to dig me out.  Yep, in a real avalanche, I would probably be dead.  Gives you something to think about.  Wear Beacons!

Shauna and Ali

Jack, Ali, Mom, Dad, Tina and Shauna

Challenger, here we come!

This was such a fun day!

Ali, call me anytime you can come to town and ski!

Snowshoeing after a snow storm with fun seekers is not for Sissy's. 

You have to be able to endure laughing until your stomach hurts.

Crawling in picnic table caves, cause you were dared!

 A lot of sweating, sorry girls!  Snowshoeing is for buff outdoor enthusiasts.

Jumping off cliffs for the camera!

 Depend on your family and friends, cause there are moose in these here woods!

And it is just fun to hang out with these guys!

  

                                                      

   Forge a path through waist deep powder, up steep hills!

Wander through beautiful forests!

Jump streams without falling in!

And crossing sink holes, hoping the sides will hold and you don't fall through.

Thank you Jamie, Adam, Morgan, Chase and Kim.

This was a great day!

Tree Down!

The neighbors 75ft tall tree blew down in the high winds we had.

I was in the barn and didn't hear it fall, but Dave was in in his house and he did.  It made quite the noise he said.  We thought the tree would be about 70 years old, but counting the rings, it was only 35 years old.

We were blessed.  It is like the tree was guided down between my house and the aspen tree.  Plus the roots were over Dave's gas line.  It didn't dislodge the gas line or tear up his foundation.  A scratch or two on the roof and flashing was the only damage.  Dave, Kevin, Jamie and Adam had it cut up and cleaned up in a couple of hours.

 I am going to write about my Love/Hate relationship with art.  I love art!  I love the stories behind the art!  I love the feel of art.  It takes me to another place and time.  To a creator's heart and soul,  to the ability to put your heart and soul out there for others to see.  Ahh here is my trouble.  I do not have the ability to put my heart on wood, canvas, glass or ceramics like other people do.  I don't know how.  That's what I hate.  My inability to create.  To think of a masterpiece, to see it in my mind and be able to recreate it.

So, I surround myself with the art of others and fill my house with how I feel by the work of others.  Here are a few of our collections.

This is my bed headboard.  It was painted by Laura Lyon, friend and neighbor who has moved to Michigan.  From left to right is Zoe and Morgan, BlueEyes and Tiffany, Rusty and Kevin, Chester and Jamie, Raven and an elk, Skittles and Me (Shauna).  The bed is log and created by Kevin.

My sister-in-law Geri, is an artist.  She does beautiful work with all kinds of mediums.  A few Christmas's ago she created this stain glass window for me.  Her vision is of water.

I saw a mirror with cowboy boots for the frame at a deli one day and have not been able to get it out of my head, so I found an artist who put it together for me.  Ever since I saw the mirror, I have saved our old cowboy boots.  This has a pair of Grandpa Frogs boots and a couple pair from the DI that I bought because of the stitching.  I love the finish product.

This picture was commissioned by Ray for Monica for their wedding anniversay.  The artist is Andres Copinas. He lives in California and paints beautiful pictures of children on piers.  Unfortunately my camera does not do the colors justice.  It is a beautiful picture full of color of the Salt Lake Temple.

And then my Grandpa, Richard Larsen, painted with watercolors.  I have memories of him sitting in his spare bedroom with the window to his back, creating his pictures.  This is a picture of Albion Basin.

Recreating nature, and nobility of animals is truly an art.  Edd Morgan does a fabulous job.

Cheri Onars, (I hope I have her name right), painted this scene on one of our buffulo heads.  She did a great job with the Indian and Coyotes!

Grandma Leake has spent hours and hours creating counted cross stitch pictures, crocheting and knitting, and generously giving them to all members of the family. 

Kevin found and purchased this Moose for me at an Outdoor show one year.  Cranky looking isn't he!

This is some of Grandma Opal Hancock's work.  She painted ceramics and china and taught classes on painting.

I love metal art! 

Well, I have a few ceramics that I have given a try at.  It is fun!  And I enjoy painting, as long as I have a picture in front of me to follow.  I do change the colors some, but that is about as far as my creative mind will let me venture off the well traveled path.

I have other art decorations around the house.  These are just a few!

Tiff, Rob and Cadence came to Utah for Christmas.  Rob was able to stay for one week and then had to go back home.  While they were here, we had Christmas, New Years, Rob's Grandma Giffen passed away so they had a funeral.  And Rob bought a truck.  Now how do you get a truck home?  It doesn't fit in your suitcase very well. 

So Rob flew home after a week visiting, and Tiffany and Cadence got to stay an additional week.

Which we treasured every moment.  Kevin came home from work early every day just in time for Cadence to need a nap....While he wanted to hold Cadence and play, Cadence wanted to nap. 

Cadence and Tiffany like to run.  So we decided to go for a walk while they were here.  But it was very cold!!!!  We made it to the subdivision behind us and turned around and went back home.

On Mon, the 10th, Tiffany, Cadence and I drove the new truck back to Owasso.  Listening to Huckleberry Finn made the drive go by quickly and gave us a few laughs.  We stopped in a little truck stop just east of Denver for some dinner and out of the seat time for Cadence.  She was done sitting and needed to wiggle.  The truckers coming in were talking about the snowpacked awful roads through Kansas.  We went another hour or so and got a hotel room in Limon, CO.  At 9:00 p.m it was 15 below zero.  COLD! VERY COLD! I went to the indoor swimming pool to stretch my legs and there was 3 inches of ice on the inside of the windows. 

Tues, back on the road and through Kansas.  The truckers were not kidding.  Kansas roads were snowpacked.  It was so cold that the snow wasn't melting.  Thank goodness there wasn't a lot of traffic and we were able to drive right through.   After a few stops, we made it to Owasso.  Rob was very glad to have his family home safe and sound.

I was able to stay and visit for the rest of the week, where we went running in 60 degree weather.  What a change from Utah, Colorado and Kansas. Ran errands, tried Owasso cuisine in the form of Thai and Mexican food.  And just enjoyed each others company.  Then I jumped on an airplane and flew home back to the normal daily routine.

Owasso is an old city.  Built at the end of a railroad track for ranchers to load cattle and send back east.  Some of the old buildings are built out of this beautiful rock.  There is a lot of Indian heritage here also.  It is rolling countryside. Not flat like Nebraska.  And some of our favorite people live here!

New Years Resolutions/Goals/Bucket List/To Do's:

With the help of Cadence, I thought that I would share some goals for the year.

Find Wonder!

Continue to Educate in many areas of Life! 

Don't be afraid to ask Why?  What is this? and Why? again.

Find Enjoyment in the moment.  Leave yesterday, the last hour, the last minute behind!

Be Happy!

People love to be around you when you are positive and find the good in all you see!

Please play well with others! 

We all want to be loved, listened to, and not forgotten.

Best friends will see your humor when no one else will.

Good Luck in 2011