Thursday, January 21, 2010

Extreme Winter Sporting

Before the lovely winter break was over and we had to return to the hum-drum school life, we were able to get out in the great outdoors to enjoy some wild and crazy cross country skiing. We gathered up a whole crew of Badger Creek buddies to accompany us including J.P., Abby, Pam, and Megan & Jordan. We had to find somewhere free to go, so we ended up going down the Union Pacific Rail Trail in Park City. The scenery on the trail was amazing... considering we spent the majority of our time in the median of I-80.
It was my first time going, so it took a little getting used to. I was scared of tripping over myself and falling on my face, but luckily I avoided that embarrassment. Actually, by the end of our journey, I felt pretty comfortable and would recommend X-country skiing as a good cardiovascular exercise activity.

The Snow Angels... ahhhhh

We made it!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Chocolate Factory

One of my favorite Christmas traditions started with my Great-Grandma Ruby. When Grandma was younger, she used to work in a chocolate factory where she learned the great art of dipping chocolates. She has passed this skill onto her posterity. Being able to actually dip the chocolates became sort of a right-of-passage in our family. We pride ourselves in chocolates that not only taste good, but look good as well. This December, Will and I devoted two Saturdays to our chocolate-making expedition. We had to prepare the fondants, the caramels, and the cremes beforehand because dipping by itself takes a full day. This year was super-fancy because Char actually purchased a chocolate-dipping machine that supposedly keeps the chocolate at the correct temperature so you don't have to constantly scrape the marble slabs and re-melt the chocolate. Here's a gander at the final products. Our varieties include: cherries, raspberry creme, mint, lemon creme, bavarian creme, turtles, caramels, toffee, and chocolate covered nuts. This is the whole clan that participated in the chocolate-making festivities. Will is outnumbered by all the lady folk.