Weekend Getaway

Last weekend we went with Ben's parents and met up with Sam and Natalie up at my parents' cabin in Heber for a fun weekend! Since Sam and Nat live in Provo, it was a great, convenient, meeting spot and completely fall festive. We played Badminton, Bocce ball, mini-golf, ate some goodies, and relaxed. Pictures to follow...

Bocce Ball :)

Ben's dad is awesome with the camera :)

It felt like it was that far...

Sam and Nat had to stay and do some homework while we went on a Fall drive...

Did I mention I love fall?

Seriously, cameras can't capture how pretty this was!

I love fall-air-crispness

I think we all jumped out of the car every five minutes to take pictures. We looked like crazy tourists. 

Me and the love of my eternity!

Amazing parents

If only I knew we were taking pictures, I may have gotten ready...maybe

You can now take panoramic photos on the iPhone 4S new operating system or so I am told....

So we experimented :)

Can I live here?

This was a sneaky picture!

My husband took some great shots, too!

Really, can we live here?

For some reason, I can't persuade Ben to have us move to a national forest. Sigh. I'll just have to keep replaying how beautiful it was. We loved our Browning get away and only wished the other half of the family lived closer so they could come too!

Cultivating Craftiness

Crafts have always scared me. I'll be honest. I have had too many experiences with people teaching me crafts who get impatient and frustrated with my lack of skill, creativity, perfectionism, and overall slowness, so I get nervous in a craft-setting. 

Last week a wonderful neighbor told me to bring the blocks I won at our Relief Society Service Auction to her house with some other friends to decorate them with mod podge, glitter, colored paper, and ribbon. With some trepidation, my natural reaction to crafts, I went over and ended up having loads of fun, and found out some things about myself and crafts. 

1) I love doing crafts where being perfect isn't everything (sewing seems to be too precise for me). 

2) Patient craft teachers make the world of difference. 

3) I love crafts that don't require super finite skills (I seem to have a hard time controlling my hands when there are teeny details). 

4)I love how easy mod podge is!

Here was the result:

I must say I keep looking at it on my mantle and think, "Did I really do that!?" I know it's not perfect, but it sure makes me happy :) and I am feeling a little more confident in some crafting abilities! 

It's amazing how you can be twenty five and still be learning about yourself!

(I am sure I will say this in twenty years...)

The Irony of Another Family Wedding!

I am pleased to announce that Kim, my little sister, is getting married to Stephen Smith. We are so happy for the two of them, and they seem perfect for each other. This is no ordinary match, however.

Other than the ironic fact that this will be the fourth Connors/Browning wedding in about 14 months, a Connors and a Smith ending up together is quite ironic :)

 It all started with  Stephen's dad and my dad crossing paths. For instance....

• Our dads went to the same high school at the same time in California.
• Our dads were both converted to the LDS church around the same age and went on missions.
• Stephen's parents set my parents up on their first date.
• Growing up, we spent many fun times with the Smiths like going with them to Hawaii when I was under the age of four. 
• Our dads started a business, their current one, together and are still business partners. 
• Our dads wrote books together.
• Some of us siblings paired with the Smiths for EFY roommates (including me).
• When my dad was released as stake president, the stake was split into two and President Smith was then called to be one of the stake presidents.
• Our dads and moms consider each other best friends

So when we realized things were getting serious for Kim and Stephen, we were so elated with the possibility that we could be family with the Smiths (maybe that's stretching it, but still!) Consequently, we are all so happy. I am so happy because I have been close friends with some of the Smith girls, and now I can say that we are officially, or non-officially, related--and we will be bridesmaids together :) . I love seeing our family expand with some amazing in-laws. We are so excited for their San Diego Temple wedding coming this December! Congrats, Kim and Steve!!

Powdered Sugar

There are some things in this world that I just can never get the hang of.

Powdered sugar is one of those things.

Since developing my love of baking, I have found that many, if not most desserts, require powdered sugar. I love how it tastes. I love the white fluffiness.

I am not a fan of how it gets EVERYWHERE no matter what you do to prevent it. Powdered Sugar knows no boundaries.

If anyone has any tips on not letting it sprinkle everywhere, please share your secrets.

I have tried having it in an air-tight container when scooping, in the bag when scooping, putting hardly in increment by increment when mixing, yet it never seems to help.

Powdered sugar messes follow every powdered sugar experience for me.

Maybe it's just me.

Whirlwind Weekends

The past few weeks have flown by, and I can't believe it's mid September. Fall is by far my most favorite season: the leaves, the crisp air, the smells of nutmeg and cinnamon are all reasons I love fall.

Ben and I have been out of town every Friday/Saturday since August 24th and will be, other than one, until October 19th! We are having lots of fun though :)

Here's some brief catching up through photos--

Ben left me flowers one very tiring evening :) 

I found some new plastic placemats from Wal-Mart that matched our cloth ones, and I found this Walmart cheap candle pumpkin centerpiece, which is very fall festive when all lit up :)

I made mini chicken pot pie muffins (very filling), and this is a new favorite recipe!

Two weekends ago we were invited to go to the Utah State vs. U of U football game and then to Ben's boss's cabin in Bear Lake with some of Ben's co-workers. 

Even though I am not athletic at all, I forget how much I love watching an intense, close football or basketball game and having the team I am rooting for WIN. 

I get too emotionally invested. I really shouldn't watch. But when the Aggies won in overtime (I will rally for any in-Utah team against the U), I was elated, overjoyed, and oh so happy. 

Utah State has some of the funnest fans, besides BYU of course, that I have ever seen! 

Straight from the game we went to the cabin in Bear Lake with Ben's co-workers and had a relaxing time up there:

The view from their cabin!

fall :)

Bear Lake

After our fun, busy weekend and a wonderful stake conference, I enjoyed this week of going up to Heber everyday to help with food and clean up for a company meeting, working a total of 55 hours this week--on my feet the entire time. It was fun but exhausting, and now that it's all over I feel like I can catch up on normal life. Ben and I were also able to spend Friday and Saturday with my parents in Heber.

Saturday I did something daring.

I 

Katie

went on an ATV excursion with Ben and my dad,

and I rode on the back of Ben's 4-wheeler for

4

hours

For me, this was a LONG time for an adventure of climbing up steep rocky terrain clinging to Ben on an ATV, but the landscape made it all worth it. I never knew that forty minutes east of my family's cabin there are some of the prettiest landscapes I have ever seen. 

My dad 

Beautiful country

I was unexpectedly surprised at how much fun I was having. 

Because when you see a meadow that looks like this,

You want to stay there forever

Two very important men in my life

What some of the trails looked like

Yellow

Gold

This is when I was driving on the "flat roads" for seven minutes...or something like that...

This lake was our destination

I am glad I trust Ben because otherwise I would have been terrified. 

It's amazing how Heavenly Father places us at the right place at the right time. We were in the middle of no where and were about to cross a stream when we saw a cowboy (the legitimate boots, leg things, hat and shirt) sitting in the middle of the stream looking kind of dazed. My dad asked if he was enjoying cooling himself off, and he didn't say anything. Then two men came running his way and asked if we had any medical experience--sadly, no--and they asked if we could stay and assist, luckily one was an EMT, because this 20 year old cowboy in the water had just broken his leg after being bucked off a mule. The other two cowboys had to go put the spooked horses away before they could help him. So Ben and my dad helped elevate his leg while they had to straighten it out for circulation. It looked so bad and so painful. Basically, his leg did not look how a lower leg and ankle should look. Ben had scissors on his pocket knife so they were able to cut his boot off so that they could put it in a splint. The four of them were then able to lift him from the river into the truck and give him a blessing to get him to the hospital ASAP. Although these were tiny miracles, like scissors, there was no doubt that we were supposed to be there at that exact time. 

We have had some crazy weeks lately, and we have more to come but we are loving the experiences we have been able to have. 

Washington Road Trip

Here are 10 of my most favoritest things from our Labor Day trip to the Tri-Cities, Washington (where I graduated from high school and where my dad served as mission president). I hadn't been back since Christmas 2006:

1. Roadtrip fun--Going on our first long road trip together. As you can see, Ben had some extra long licorice, and we ate treats we never usually buy, because they tempt us at home, and listened to music and the first Harry Potter CD--I am probably one of the only people on this planet who graduated with a Masters of English and never had read Harry Potter. It was actually very well written and whoever did the voices on the audio was amazing. Basically, the road trip probably equaled half of our whole adventure in terms of the all together 18 hour drive (there and back). 

2. Hotel Surprise--We stopped in Boise on the first night so we wouldn't be driving until the wee hours of the next day. We had arranged for the cheapest hotel, which we were expecting to be not so nice, but it had just been revamped and was way nicer than anticipated, with it's own separate sectional couch area! It was fun to get to know Boise better, eat Five Guys, and watch Van Dyke shows on Ben's IPAD in our surprisingly nice room~ 

3. Showing Ben--Ben and I got up early Saturday morning and made our drive into the Tri-Cities (it's really three cities--Kennewick, Richland, and Pasco with three major rivers underneath roads and high ways. They all kind of blend together so people often just refer to them as the tri-cities. I lived in Richland right on the border of Kennewick, though.) It was so fun to show Ben how there is nothing surrounding the Tri-Cities except desert, but the Tri-Cities is it's own oasis of blossoming businesses, recreation, and fun. One thing I loved about the Tri-Cities is how everything you ever needed was right there since there is nothing of significance, unless you count Walla Walla onions, in about a two-three hour radius. I showed Ben the mission home where we had lived, the temple, and my old high school. He finally can visualize my home town (He has officially now seen all three of my home towns). 

4. Reuniting--We first off went to see Amber, who is the main reason we went on our trip. (See post titled "I Have Been Changed for Good). It was so fun to see her after 18 months! We immediately sang, danced a bit, and had some fun reuniting with the Haueter family. The Haueter family was so generous to us the whole trip, feeding us the best rolls on earth and chicken pot pie. Amber and I have not lived near each other for years, but we manage to see each other about once a year and talk on the phone--other than her mission, obviously :) I love how whenever Amber and I reunite, it's like no time has passed. Oh, how I have missed her! She always helps bring out the "yellow" (color code) side of me. Then it was temple time :) 

5. The temple--The Columbia River Temple could be seen from the mission home my family lived in. In fact, it was only three blocks away. So Amber, Ben and I got to go! It was fun to see some old good family friends inside the temple and feel of its wonderful spirit. Amber and I used to walk around talking about getting married there, and I loved being inside with Ben and Amber--it was like my life was coming full circle. 

Amber brings out the silliness in me--I love it :)

6. Eating at Sharis--Okay, so Sharis is pretty much like Denny's, but since it's a tradition we had to eat there. And we had too much fun. And food. The end. 

7. Singing and dancing with Amber--Senior year of high school Amber and I would sing and dance in her family room for hours, and many times her parents would record us and watch us; well, it was like nothing had changed when we did our singing and dancing with the Haueters and Ben watching and laughing with us as we did our silly moves and sang in harmony. I have so missed this with Amber. 

8. Swing talks--Amber and I spent so many hours talking on her back porch swing about life, the future, and analyzing everything. We did the same both Saturday and Sunday night. I love her words of wisdom, and I loved hearing all about her mission. 

9. Sunday Walks--After church in my old ward (so neat to go back to and hear Amber teach gospel doctrine), Ben and I went back to our very cheap hotel to take a walk. Although this hotel was very, very old, we had a river view as shown, and there was a path all along the river. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Ben and I walked for about an hour and a half and just talked while looking at the beautiful views. 

Ben was such a good sport to come with me to the Tri-Cities for our vacation spot (although beautiful, it's not exactly a tourist destination). 

10. Tender Mercies--All together, I loved this trip because it reminded me how inspired it was for my family to be sent to the Tri-Cities for my parents' mission because it changed all our lives. Even though I only lived there my senior year and the summer after freshmen year at BYU, my experiences there changed my life. Amber has been such a life-changing friend, the people there taught me so much, and when my dad found out about his cancer and that they had to leave the mission three days after the sudden news, those dear, kind Saints helped my family in more ways than could be counted. Heavenly Father knew my family and our needs, and the Tri-Cities was an answer to so many prayers. 

I don't know when I'll be back again, but I know the Tri-Cities will remain in my heart forever.