Weekend at the Ashcroft Cabin

(by Jeff)

We had a really fun extended weekend!

We spent Thursday and Friday with my immediate family at my grandparents' cabin. The cabin is in Blacksmith Fork Canyon (east of Cache Valley). It is in a beautiful area overlooking a deep ravine with a large stream at the bottom.

The Ashcroft Cabin

View from the cabin's deck

On Thursday evening, we went on a hike down to the bottom of the ravine. At the bottom is a stream with lots of waterfalls, ponds, meadows, swampy areas, and gorgeous views of the mountains.

My nieces and nephew in the wagon on the hike
(Katelyn, Wes, and Kelsey)

One of the ponds

A meadow with a mountain view

Some of the waterfalls

On Friday, my grandparents came up and Grandpa Ashcroft took us on another hike in the ravine. This time we hiked to some larger waterfalls. Unfortunately, Aubree and I forgot to take our camera, so we don't have pictures. But my sister has promised to email me some of the pictures she took, so hopefully we'll post those in the next few days.

Besides hiking, we played lots of board games, played ping-pong, ate hot dogs, hamburgers, dutch oven ribs and potatoes, and lots of other good food, and just enjoyed being together.

I just have to post this picture of my niece Katelyn. She had an "owie" on her chin, and she decided to put a band-aid on it. While she was at it, I guess she figured she needed one on her lip as well. (She also thought Aubree's foot needed a band-aid, although we're not sure of the diagnosis.) Anyway, she came upstairs looking like this. She kept the unnecessary band-aid on for several hours before her mom finally convinced her to take it off.

On Saturday, we attended the Ashcroft family reunion. My Uncle Dee had a very expertly planned reunion for us. He split us up into five-person teams and we did an "Amazing Race" activity that took the entire day. We drove around Cache Valley performing different tasks. The different stops and activities were:

--Sky View High School: take turns hitting a whiffle golf ball 200+ yards into a hula hoop, shoot bows and arrows and hit a target, and use coordinates to dig up a clue buried in the sand volleyball pit

--Mountain Valley Trout Farm: catch two fish

--Gittins Dairy Farm: milk a cow

--Sky View High School: play wallyball

--First Dam in Logan Canyon: canoe across the reservoir (and eat lunch)

--Cache Valley Celebration Centre: ride the go-carts, ride the Sky Sling, play 18 holes of miniature golf

--Wendy's: get a frosty for everyone on the team

--Cache Valley Fun Park: bowl one game each

We finished at Dee's house for a dinner of pizza and pasta.

A special thanks to Uncle Dee and Aunt LeAnn for planning and directing the reunion and to Grandma and Grandpa Ashcroft for financing it. It was a great reunion!!!

Shopko Work Party

(by Jeff)

Last weekend, we hosted Aubree's summer work party. A friend of some of the Shopko Pharmacy employees volunteered to cook a dutch oven dinner. He is a really good cook and regularly appears on a Utah outdoors show to teach people how to cook dutch oven. He came a few hours before the party began and prepared a delicious dinner of pork loin wrapped in bacon, steamed vegetables (with edible flowers), shepherd's bread, and triple-berry cobbler. It was so good!

We all ate too much, played some games, enjoyed each other's company, and ate a little more. It was a lot of work to host the party, but was a very enjoyable evening.

Diagnose Me

(By Aubree)

So I need all of your help to figure out what's wrong with me. Here are my symptoms:
-For the last 2 months I've felt really nausous
-I'm extremely sensitive to smells
-I've thrown up a few times
-I have to pee all the time
-I'm so tired
-I'm cranky and I cry a lot
-I feel like I'm having hot flashes
-I've gained a couple pounds
-I have a really bad taste in my mouth pretty much 24/7
-Pickles have become my favorite snack
I have seen a doctor and he said that my condition should end January 17th, but that's 6 months away! Can anyone help me?

Muy Caliente

(By Aubree)

I miss spring! I know some of you reading this are in much hotter places than I am, and are not feeling sorry for me, but I just have to complain for a minute. I mean I grew up in Idaho where the winters were so bitter cold and long and although I don't love everything about winter I can put more clothing on or sit by a heater or fire to warm up, so right now I kind of sound crazy by saying I miss the snow a little. It has been in the 90's (I think one day it did go down to the 80's) for 2 weeks straight. I love that I live in a place that has 4 very obvious seasons, but there are complaints with each one I guess. It wouldn't be so bad if we had real a/c, but we have a swamp cooler. When we wake up at 7:00 or 8:00 it's already 77 degrees in our house, and we don't like to run it all day while we are gone, so when we get home in the late afternoon it's almost 90 degrees! Until Friday my work's a/c wasn't working either so I just wasn't getting a break from the heat. When we were looking for a house to buy, that was one thing we were not going to budge on, because we lived with a swamp cooler in our mobile home for 2 years, and didn't love it so much. But we fell in love with this house and knew it was something we could change. I hope it's sooner than later.
It's not that I hate everything about summer. I love that it stays light until about 9:30. I love that things grow and become green or colorful or produce fruit. It's just hard to appreciate those things when my brain is frying. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm a spring and autumn kind of girl. Maybe by next summer we will be more comfortable, I hope. Thanks for listening to my complaints.

Northern Spain

(by Jeff)

One year ago, Aubree and I spent two weeks in Spain. When we got back, we posted pictures of our five favorite places that we visited during our trip (http://jeffandaubree.blogspot.com/2007/06/trip-to-spain-part-i-our-five-favorite.html). We intended to add some more posts about other places we visited, but because of the bar exam, buying a house, moving, etc., we never got around to it. I figured that it is better late than never, so I am including two posts with our pictures from Spain. This first post has pictures from our week in northern Spain, and the second post has pictures from our week in southern Spain.

Basque Country

We spent two days in the small towns in Basque Country where I served as a missionary. We stayed at a bed and breakfast, which was a traditional Basque farmhouse that was build several hundred years ago. It was great to be back in beautiful Basque Country!

The Basque farmhouse we stayed at.

The view from the Basque farmhouse.

The Basque countryside.

San Sebastian

We spent a day in San Sebastian, which is a beautiful city on the beach up near the French border.

San Sebastian.

Above San Sebastian at the old fortress.

At the aquarium in San Sebastian.

Gernika

Gernika is a small Basque town that was almost completely destroyed by German bombers during the Spanish Civil War. The bombing is memorialized in a famous painting by Picasso. It's a beautiful little town with an interesting history.

A wall mural of Picasso's painting.

At the park in Gernika.

Bilbao

We spent a day in Bilbao, where we visited the Guggenheim Museum, my old mission office, a Basque history museum, and the hanging bridge.

The Guggenheim.

The hanging bridge.

The ocean view from our bed and breakfast.

Zamora

We began our trip in Zamora, which was the second city I served in during my mission.

Southern Spain

(by Jeff)

The Alhambra (Granada)

The Alhambra (in Granada) is a big fortress that was once home to Muslim kings. The palace was incredible, with every square inch of floors, walls, and ceilings was intricately carved. The gardens were also spectacular.






Jaen

In Jaen, we stayed in a castle that was originally built in 1246. It has been converted into a beautiful hotel. The castle is situated on a hill overlooking the city and the surrounding miles and miles of olive trees.





Sevilla

We spent a few days in Sevilla with Mike and Anna Connelly. Mike and I served together as missionaries in the Basque country. It was a lot of fun to stay with them and to have Anna be our personal tour guide around Sevilla.

Madrid Temple

Our last day in Spain, we were able to attend a session in the Madrid temple. What a great way to end an awesome trip!

Mike and Janelle's Wedding

(by Jeff)

Much of this weekend was spent with my good friends from law school. Mike Howell was getting married, so all of the law school gang (Dan Agle, Steve Reil, Tim Overton, Mike, and myself) were back together for the first time since graduation last year. On Friday, the five of us met up for dinner, ice cream, talk about work, and a lot of making fun of each other (our greatest skill). On Saturday, we attended Mike and Janelle's wedding ceremony in the Salt Lake Temple. Afterward, we attended a really nice wedding dinner at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. It was a great weekend, and was a lot of fun catching up with old friends.

Mike and Janelle

The gang (Tim, Dan, Mike, Steve, and me)

The Overtons stayed at our house for a few days. It was fun to have them!
(Bethany, Melina, Gracie, and Tim)

Chicken Tikka Masala

(by Jeff)

A while ago, we mentioned that we enjoy making Indian food. We included a recipe for naan that we really like, and we said that the next time we made our favorite Indian dish--chicken tikka masala--we would take a picture of it and post the recipe. Here it is, as promised:

Chicken Tikka Masala

(from allrecipes.com, with a few modifications by us)

INGREDIENTS

Yogurt marinade

• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (for garnish)
  

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and 4 teaspoons salt. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2. Remove chicken from marinade. Cook in a frying pan until juices run clear.
   
3. Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. Season with cumin, paprika, and salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh cilantro.