August 2011

August was a month of moving in, settling in, taking in good summer nights looking for camp sites, temple attendance, Owl games with friends, a Josh Groban concert with the ladies in SLC and most importantly Ian's BIRTHDAY!

NEXT: Summer

Just catching up on all the blogging I didn't do. So we started off the Summer buying a house and having our first guests arrive for the McFadden family reunion 2 days later. FUN! "No, I didn't know i didn't have a plug for my guest bathroom tub... use a wash cloth!"

Family Reunion time in Aspen Grove, up Provo Canyon was a blast. But, when is it not a blast-n-a-half when you get the entire McFabulous clan together! After a week of a blast-n-a-half of paint-balling, crafting, hiking, swimming, sports, and family game playing fun, we decided we hadn't had enough and went to the Stadium of Fire. Another blast of a time. However, most everyone was sick the next day. Guess there are limits and we pushed right past in true McFadden style although everyone blames Ian for the bug starting blowouts and he isn't even a McFadden.

YES, we did buy a house... 7 months ago

Not our red truck, and 
this is not a great 
picture but it works.

And, it is a work in 
progress... still... 
kitchen below.

Before the last couple months

 

Before the last couple of months Ian and I have been 

house hunting (what a process, but glad we had the 

most amazing realtors Steve and Stephanie Vincent 

- highly recommend them) mixed with some fun events 

with friends - two of those exampled here at 

the motorcross event and fastkart racing.

Memorial Day 2011

So it has been awhile... and I have skipped
a few events which will be coming soon but
for now I really liked this pic that Crystal
Roma Holt took of Ian and I on Memorial Day
2011 while on a hike in Snow Canyon. I will
also add that despite the last post about
Snow Canyon we really don't spend every day
there, even though it is beautiful - it was
also more beautiful back in the day when
they didn't charge you to enjoy it :)

Snow Canyon Hike

This was the perfect day for a hike in Snow Canyon National Park. The colors were amazing.

Okay so this was way back in December, however I am just now getting around to putting these pictures up. Marty, Leyah and their little
guy Dean came to St. George for Christmas this year and we had such a great time hiking and playing pickleball with them.

 

This slot in the middle of no where has some 

really neat petroglyphs that depending on who 

you ask, mean different things.  

 

My cute mom who showed us this slot in the middle 

of Snow Canyon and who also taught us how to play 

pickleball, to which we are now hooked! We need 

to get people playing up here in Northern Utah.

 

 

 

Hanbergs x4 weekend

We had two extra Hanbergs last weekend, Ian's parents Rob and Maryann came from Brentwood CA for a family wedding and stayed with Ian and I. I would like to think that they came just to see us, so i will. We really love having them here and had lots of great memory making moments. Since Ian and I had to work, we were unable to attend the wedding, but did make it to the lovely reception Friday night. After the reception we helped celebrate (from a distance) Crystal Roma Holt's Birthday by going to Cheese Cake Factory in her honor. Tracy and Amy met up with Rob, Maryann, Ian and I – as usual we had a great time and good food at the CCF. 

Saturday I got to hang out with Rob and Maryann while Ian went to work. We went to IKEA and had lunch there along with some funny moments that only Maryann could help facilitate.  Then I got a snowball in the face from Rob as we went to Home Depot later that day. We made home made Cafe Caubo Burritos for dinner and then hid in the pantry when Ian came home to scare him. I know, random. But it was pretty funny... not to Ian but we had fun with it. We ended the night with a movie and games... and maybe some sweet treats.

It was sad to say goodbye early Sunday morning however, it is always a neat experience to go to the airport and watch Rob and Maryann take off into the sky. I will admit it always makes me nervous but, Rob is a great pilot (having flown with him, I can say that) and they arrived safely home. Thankfully. Thanks for coming and staying with us!

Salsa, the tail of an evolving masterpiece

So for the longest time ive been developing my salsa recipe. The Salsa has gone from the most simple form of a pico de gallo, to the addition of Avacodo, mango, and even strawberries. The Salsa has always been in raw uncooked form, so for a change and simply because it was on my mind I decided to try a cooked salsa.
 And so I started with Roma tomatoes,white onions, Cilantro,Limes, Jalepenos, olive oil, Garlick, chilli powder,and tapatillo hot sauce. 
 I roughly chopped all the ingredients minus the jalepeno, and put them in the food processor. I then put the jalepeno in the broiler to roast it and add another depth of flavor.When the jalepeno was done I chopped it up and added it to the rest of the ingredients. 
 I then mixed everything up and poured it into a sauce pan and let it simmer for about 25 minutes. It turned out awsome and i cant wait to improve on it next time!!!