Grape Festival

Last weekend we took a short day trip out to the Grape Festival. It was a pretty drive down with the trees just starting to change colors. Once we arrived it was kind of chaotic with so many people and cars. The festival is right in town along the street but the street isn't blocked off so there was a lot of traffic. It was mainly your typical festival with all sorts of food and craft and junk vendors. There were a lot of options if you wanted to buy tie-dyed shirts or mittens and hats. There were also a couple of grape oriented booths selling grapes and grape pies. I got some fresh honey. We also got a grape pie to take home and try out. Caleb enjoyed it, said it is like grape jelly in a crust. But for me it was too powerfully grapey like grape cough medicine was added to the grape jelly. On the drive down we saw a roadside stand selling grape juice but we couldn't find it on the way home. I guess we should have stopped in when we saw it. It was a fun thing to do once but we probably won't go back next year.

NY State Fair

This past weekend we headed to the NY State Fair in Syracuse. In the morning the crowds weren't too bad but by the time we left in the evening it was so crowded. There was barely even space to move in some areas. There was a spot where you could get fresh chocolate milk at $0.25 a cup. It was pretty tasty.

They also had a scuplture out of butter. It was pretty amazing--a farm landscape with buildings and animals. And that is a lot of butter.

And of course you can't go to a state fair without stopping to see some animals. We saw sheep being sheared, cows being shaved, and horses competing. There was one girl who was curled up sleeping with her cow. We had a fun time.

Going on a bench hunt

This summer in Rochester they have benches all over that have been painted/decorated by different groups. So we thought it would be fun to go check some of them out and take a few pictures. We got out our GPS and used it to track down about 35 different benches this past weekend. The benches are fun but not quite as cool as the cows were in KC nine years ago.

What a mess

This is what happens when Caleb lets the dogs run around the backyard right after he finishes mowing the lawn. They get grass stained. And they love to roll in the clippings so they end up with bits of grass all over. That stuff is a challenge to wash out.

The Big Rib--Yummmm

A couple years ago Rochester started to have a new festival- The Big Rib. It is held at Highland Park and last year we just happened to see a banner and tried it out. This year we planned ahead and went with some friends to do a taste comparison. There were six different competitors and we got a half rack of ribs from each to share. That is a lot of ribs. After carefully analyzing each for flavor, meatiness, tenderness, etc, we agreed upon a winner. Gator BBQ By their name you would think they were from Florida but turns out they are from Canada (that almost was worth revoking their win). One of the others was pretty close but a little to sweet. Two of them were very distantly at the bottom, not even close.

We had a lot of fun and enjoyed the good weather. Guess we will have to go again next year.


BEFORE and AFTER

A color change

We have been living here for 6 years now and recently decided it was time to change the decor a little. So we got a new rug, curtains, and throw pillow to mix things up. This shifts the accent color from green to a rusty red.

Wedding Weather Woes

Last week we flew out to SLC for some wedding excitement. My little brother Isaac married Francie at the Mt. Timpanogos temple. The weather had us worried. It was raining off and on (mostly on) for the entire 3 days we were there. My mom had us busy the day before the wedding making center pieces and decorating the room for the dinner the night before. The wedding was beautiful (was Justin nodding off back there?). And the weather cooperated until all the family and friend pictures were finished. Then it started to rain. Many of us hung out at the University Mall while it got colder and rained and rained and rained. Then it was time to head to the outdoor reception. The yard it was held in was beautiful and the decorations looked nice in spite of an uncooperative Mother Nature. After about 45 minutes of mingling with umbrellas there was a short respite from the rain. This was the chance for cutting the cake, dancing, and tossing the bouquet. When the rain started back up, it was time for the happy couple to head off into the night to the rattling of soda cans on the back of the car. So despite a lot of weather worrying, it all went well and there will be many memories.



This is my dad and his siblings and mom at the dinner. It has been a while since I have gotten a picture of them all together. I didn't have a chance to take a picture of my mom's side.