Cruisin'

We just returned from a wonderful cruise to Alaska with my siblings. We had such a wonderful time. We so enjoyed spending time with Pam and Roger, Patty and Hal, John and Cindy, and Joan and Tom. Highlights of the trip included: the beautiful scenery, seeing a mother bear and her cubs, Seeing hundreds of spawning salmon in the streams, fishing for salmon (Ken with John), Seeing whale and a HUGE pod of dolphins with literally hundreds of dolphins, Seeing two glaciers, Lots of beautiful flowers, a 25 mile bike ride (Ken in Skagway), shopping with my sisters. Onboard: Trivia ( we won or came in 2nd several times), the great entertainment and shows (especially Patty getting chosen to go on stage and be sung to and dance with the entertainer- she was so dang cute!), soft ice cream bar, and of course, the delicious food!!! It was a great week! We both came home with bad colds, so we're trying to recover, but it was very worth it. Thank you, family for a great, great time!

Summer Tomatoes

Our favorite way to use our home-grown tomatoes: Boil a big pot of water. When boiling, add 10-12 tomatoes. Boil for about 1 minute. Immerse in cold water. Peel, core and chop tomatoes. Put in a 1/2 gallon glass jar. Add: 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 onion diced or could use shallots or green onions Big bunch of fresh basil, chopped 3/4 - 1 cup olive oil 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, or mix of vinegars Fresh parsley 3 T. Sugar Salt and Pepper Put lid on jar and shake til well blended. Put in sun for several hours. Serve with french bread or as a topping on pasta with parmesan cheese.

Wonderful Week

I had such a wonderful week last week. I returned to Salt Lake on Tuesday to spend the week helping Michelle, Brian and Gabbi. It was so nice to be in their home and enjoy watching my baby with a baby of her own. I saw her get stronger every day. On Friday, Ken drove up and met me at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open house. I was so touched to be able to see three temples at once in that valley. What would the pioneers think of that? Saturday was our Gabrielsen reunion in Salem. It was SO nice to see everyone and enjoy everyone's company, and especially to welcome Patty and Hal home. That evening, Ken and I went back to Brian and Michelle's to enjoy the evening with them. The highlight was Ken and Brian giving little Gabbi a bath. She loved it. Sunday, we attended Patty and Hal's ward and listened to them report their mission. It was a beautiful meeting. The musical number included over 30 returned missionaries: elders, sisters, and couples singing "Called to Serve" in Russian. After the block of meetings, we had a huge (over 150 people) dinner at Evan and Kelly's beautiful new home in Elk Ridge. It was a momentous occasion for "the aunts" as, for the first time, we didn't serve the dinner. Patty's daughters took over that job and did a marvelous job. Does that mean we're out to pasture? They were so organized and did it all so beautifully. What a great bunch!!! It was wonderful to see old friends from Caldwell (Patty's dear friends came from Arizona and Wyoming and Caldwell and all over) and family. It was a great week!

It Ain't Easy!

Kudos to my sister, Joan today. She put her daughter, Whitney on a plane to serve a mission in Samara, Russia via the Provo MTC. I know it's hard. I've done it. She's worked so hard to make everything just right for Whitney. She's sat in my mom's little living room chair for many an hour, listening to students struggle through their piano songs to pay the expenses. She's shopped for clothes and supplies for Whitney. She's packed and talked and cried and prayed . . .and prayed for her daughter's safety and happiness . . .and prayed for the courage to do this. She's asked herself, "Do I really have it in me to put my daughter on a plane and send her to a scary, foreign land?" But knowing that Russia is a nation in darkness, searching for light(as Patty and Hal taught us so well), Joan sheds her cloak of comfort, and dons her royal robe of responsibility and sends her precious daughter to bring the gospel light to people she doesn't even know. Remembering they are her brothers and sisters and deserve the truth, she straightens her spine, wipes her tears, puts a smile on her face, and with a kiss of love, lets Whitney go, vowing to support and love and pray her way through this. With faith, she puts Whitney's hand in the hand of God and sends her on her way. Kudos to missionary moms everywhere. Kudos to my sister, Joan. I love you!!!

We Meet Gabriella!

We had a wonderful weekend, meeting our precious new granddaughter. We spent a wonderful two days getting acquainted with Gabriella and hopefully helping, and certainly enjoying. Brian and Michelle. On Saturday morning, we went to the LDS Conference Center to view the International Art Exhibit there. We loved it, and as Ken said, "felt like we had studied the scriptures for two hours" as we left. It was a sweet, spiritual experience. The arts can touch your soul in ways that nothing else can. These are two of my favorite paintings from that. The Prince Family What a great way to celebrate the 4th of July!!!

Baked Beans

Having a 4th of July barbecue? Here's an easy baked beans recipe that you can do in the crockpot. I got the recipe from my sister, Patty 3 cans pork and beans, drain some of the liquid

1 can dark kidney beans, drained

1 can butter beans, drained

1 large onion, chopped

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 kilbasa sausage (can use light), cut in chunks

1/2 cup molasses

1/2- 3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup ketchup

2-3 T. chili sauce (opt.)

Few splashes rice vinegar

Mix in crock pot and cook all day.

I Did It!!!!!

I just swam a mile!!! It's been my goal to do that this summer and I just did it! I'm quite certain it's the slowest mile ever swam. It took me 1 hour and 20 minutes. But I guess it's better to have some distinction than none at all. I think I was motivated my Michelle and her labor. I just kept thinking, "If Michelle can labor for 9 hours with no medication, I can swim a stinkin mile." Thanks, Michelle. I actually swam a little further than a mile. I did 66- 25 meter laps, which is 1650 meters. A mile is 1609 meters. So that explains why I was so slow! Ha! Anyway, I'm very proud of myself. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go find some Ben Gay or something. . .

Whitney's MIC (Moment in Church)

We had a great trip to Boise last weekend. We left on Wednesday and stayed in Kristen and Jared's apt. We then went to SLC and took Michelle and Baby Princess (still inutero) to breakfast before continuing the journey to Boise. When we got there Ken and Lone Wolf escaped to the mountains. I stayed at Joan's. We had such a fun time meeting baby Eva (Devin and Sarah's), swimming, cooking for the parties on Saturday, water aerobics, going to Five Guys Burgers, shopping at the Boise Farmer's Market, watching a movie, and drinking Taylor's famous Italian sodas. Ken and Tom had a great time in the Sawtooths and got back on Saturday in time for the shin dig (open house for Whitney). It was so fun to see cousins, friends and Uncle Ron, my dad's brother. Whitney spoke in church on Sunday and had us all crying. She did such a great job. She will be a great missionary. After lunch, we drove to SLC where we went to the Prince's. They were so kind to include us in the welcome home party for Brian's brother, Matthew from his mission in Portugal. We enjoyed his pictures and report and massaging Michelle. Sarah had told me about trigger points that bring on labor, so we attacked Michelle with her sister-in-laws each taking an arm, and Ken and I on each foot and her husband on her neck. I'm sure she felt like she was going through a car wash. But I guess it worked, because Gabriella is here! We again stayed in Provo on Sunday night. Ken had to present an audit and do some audit work in Milford on Monday, so we took the old highway for the scenic route. We then visited our new office building in Cedar City to check the construction progress. It was a great trip, though hard to return to 111 degree heat on Monday night. We're going to miss Whitney's great jazz when she's gone. Farmer's Market Whitney and Andrew Ready for the Party The Prince Men singing together again after three years. They are SO good! Michelle in the Car Wash Due to be complete this month?

Gabriella Michelle Prince

I am so excited to announce the birth of Brian and Michelle's baby! Her name is Gabriella Michelle Prince. She arrived at 2:42pm. She was 8 lbs. 1 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long. Michelle began labor at about 5:30 this morning. She did the whole thing "naturally," without medication. She so wanted to do that, and I'm so proud of her. She said she couldn't have done it without Brian. He was an awesome coach. We can't wait to meet our new granddaughter!