September 2022 Happenings

Birthday Surprise
Jac sent me a surprise pizza for dinner on my birthday (then had to text me to go out and get it because I was out in the backyard when the delivery person arrived.)

Super yummy!  A fun and delicious surprise. :)

Utah State Fair
One weekend we went to the Utah State Fair, and saw all the quintessential things I was hoping to see (having NEVER been to a state fair before.)  There were buildings and buildings full of beloved, prized farm animals:

 

Love it! It was fun to see the animals, but also the human drama involved as well -- the animal owners hovering nearby, eyeing the competition, grooming and caring for their animals, waiting for their turn to be judged and maybe win that coveted 1st place ribbon... :)

 

 

 And wow...some of these animals were just enormous up close:

 

 

 

 

 

And, of course, there were plenty of kids petting animals.  And 51 year old kids petting animals too. :)

 

 

It was also fun to see all the old-timey contests, like best-in-show for zucchini or tomatoes or cantaloupe...

Who's got the biggest the pumpkin, the best looking eggs...

There's even a fierce competition over "best hay"!  And here we thought hay was hay.

After seeing building after building of all things farming, we finally had our fill of quintessential state fair ag. scenes (okay, my fill... Jac is so accommodating. :) )  Next up: games!

Jac did the chivalrous thing and won a little stuffed animal for me.  Swoon. :)  Of course, Jac was competing AGAINST me in the game, but that's not the point. He still did the manly thing here. :)

It was fun to see all the different games and all the crappy toys to be won. This is totally a kids dream come true!

Here's our prized stuffie....and our next state fair experience -- fried oreos.  We saw the farming stuff, played the games, now we needed to try the weird, super-bad-for-you foods that state fairs are known for.  Turns out, fried oreos are extremely sweet and actually not all that special. 

 

 

But the Massive Corndog (all 18" of it) was actually pretty good.  Better be for $18! 

 

 

 

All stuffed and stuffie-d, we were just about the leave when I realized I hadn't seen the jam contests and the quilt contests. Gotta see that.

In all, it was a SUPER fun time.  In fact, we're going back next year at night, and with more money to burn.  :)

Weekend Getaway to Elko
Over Labor Day weekend we headed to eastern Nevada to see Great Basin National Park and experience a "Champagne & Stars" Train Ride on the Northern Nevada Railway. Click here to read about it.

 

Big Family Dinner
Jac blew the socks off of my family (again) with a big, delicious feast to celebrate my parents anniversary. Here are some pictures of the unforgettable evening:

 

Revenge of the Squash
It finally happened. Jac had always heard about squashes exploding on people, but it had never happened to him.  Look that is beauty, grown in my garden and photographed just seconds after being taken out of the oven.  

 

Pop!  First a click of the camera, then a big POP of the exploding squash, sending little squash innards all over Jac's kitchen.

Jac even got some on his face (which later left a cute little scar).

But, he handled it like a champ.  He thought it was hilarious, and while it was definitely NOT fun to clean up, it's still a fun story that still makes him chuckle to think about many months later.

The Garden Giveth...
My garden produced a great harvest throughout September.  This was so exciting! And thanks to these garden delights, we had LOTS of delicious food made from the many harvest baskets like this one (especially Jac's super yummy marinara sauce).

We also harvested bags and bags of herbs and made them into little frozen herb cubes that will hopefully keep us well stocked throughout the winter.

 

 

 

 
And We Ate GOOD
Like we always do.  Here's a few of this month's culinary creations:

 

 

 

 

 

And a few other things...
This happened...We dog-sat Michael's adorable little puppy one Sunday.

And this happened...We bought an enormous but cool television for my house.

 

And this happened...Jac moved his first piece of furniture over to my house.  :)

And this happened...I asked Jac to TRIM my hair.  He tried...and this happened. The arrow is pointing to the first cut he made. Super hilarious! Having cut so much already, there was no turning back.  He had to cut the rest super short too. Shortest cut I've had in a decade. :)

But it turned out ok.  After a week with my hair in a ponytail, I let a professional "even it out a bit." :)

Despite this hilariously bad first experience, we haven't given up on Jac trimming my hair.  It can only get better from here. :)