The City of Brotherly Love

I tagged along with Matt for his annual family medicine conference at the end of September.  He attends it every couple of years, and I've never felt like I could leave any of our kids behind during the school week.  That's not an issue anymore! This year it was held in Philadelphia.  Matt has been there before, but I had not.  It was fun to explore the city with him.  We stayed downtown at the Hilton Garden Inn near the Convention Center where his conference was.  We were also right next to the famous Reading Terminal Market where we ate lots of yummy food those few days we were there.  While in Philly we ate Malaysian food, Thai food, Amish-made food, and the local fav Philly cheesesteak and fries twice.

We went to a MLB game and watched the Philies beat the Marlins.

We saw and/or toured historical sights... Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, went up City Hall tower, and the 1910 Wanamaker Building (which used to be a 12 floor 2 million square foot department store which now houses a three story Macy's) with its beautiful pipe organ that is the largest working one in the world.  We saw Betsy Ross' house and went into Christ Church where many early American political leaders attended including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.  We walked through the cemetery where Ben Franklin is buried.  We took our picture, like all tourists, at the Rocky statue and ran up the famous stairs of the Museum of Art.  We also got to walk through the grounds of the stunning Philadelphia Temple.  We loved how it blended into the surrounding architecture but stood out as a very special place.

It was so fun exploring the streets of Philadelphiea and eating good food with Matt after his mornings spent at his conference.  We walked so much around the City of Brotherly Love.  And we loved every minute of it!   

George Albert Smith Arch With My Dad

Let me jump back to mid-September for a quick recap of a fun adventure I had in the Moab/Canyonlands/Arches areas with my 76 year old dad, my sister Kristen, my two brothers, Erik and Jeff, and two of my young adult nephews.  I'm so happy that I could experience hiking with them and being along for some dreams of my dad to come true.  The main purpose of this year's excursion was to re-visit the George Albert Smith Arch with some other men my dad knows from childhood (only three of them were healthy enough and/or available to come this time).  They and my dad, in 1958, were part of a scout troop 10 day, 70 mile hike where they had hiked to this arch back then.  It had been discovered and named with a plaque marker the year earlier, 1957 (if I have the story correct).

My two brothers have been working to to #1 help my dad re-locate the "lost" arch which they did last year in the fall of 2018 and #2 to get it recognized and officially named by the National Park Service.  It is located in the Peak-a-boo trail area of Canyonlands which we had to access by a jeep road using Jeff's family's awesome Jeeps.  Erik had arranged for Alex Cabrero and his camera man from KSL to come along and do a story.  Also, five men from the Arches and Bridges Society hiked along with us.  Kristen and I hiked up as far as the "old guys" could go, and the rest of the group continued up to where the 1957 plaque is located.  Then five or six of them climbed up into the arch itself.

My dad was so happy to be there with his old scout buddies, and they couldn't believe that they had been up there so high back in their youth.  It was a dangerous place to climb around for such a large group of teenage boys with limited adult supervision back in the late 1950s.  It will be fun to see if KSL actually runs the story.  I'm hoping I'm not in any of the footage!

The day before that hike, I hiked up to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park with my dad and Kristen.  It was their first time up there and my second time, but it was just as wondrous as the first.  We took it slow and carefully, and my dad made it!  I was relieved that he didn't fall on any of his hikes that weekend.  What a fun trip to go on with some of my family.  I feel blessed to have the time, health and resources to go on my recent trips and adventures.

A Month With The Calls

Chelsea, Spencer, and Piper lived with us for a month while they were in transition between Michigan and London.  It was such a wonderful experience.  We loved having them in our home.  It was fun to see Piper at all times of the day, hearing her babbles, and watching her eat new foods.  She learned to climb stairs while she was here.  She loved it and got fast at it.  We also got to witness her first steps and to see how she got more confident each day.  We miss them, but we know they are having an awesome adventure together in London.

Kamut Flour

Let me introduce you to Kamut brand flour.
Thanks goes to The Food Nanny for distributing it here in Utah and teaching me how to use it. This is an organic white all-purpose flour that is grown in Montana.  It comes from a strain of wheat that traces back to ancient Egypt and has never been genetically modified.  "Kamut" is the ancient Egyptian word for wheat.  It is naturally superior to other all-purpose flour in protein content, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.  It is prized for its heightened nutrition, ease of digestibilitiy, flavor and texture.
And let me tell you, it is GOOD!  I have never been a bread maker until now.  It is easy to work with, and everything I have made with it is so yummy and turns out great.  Matt can eat it without it bothering his stomach, but he still is careful about not eating too much of it.
I use it in everything that calls for flour... gravy, sauces, cookies, pancakes, pizza dough, muffins, etc., and of course, all breads.
It is a bit more expensive, but I think it is worth it for all the above reasons.  Here are pics of just a few things I have made with it.