Pal and Hatty in Paradise

Monday, September 21, 2015

September Tea Party

The tradition of tea parties for me began when Mom was still alive and we gathered at my house in Caldwell.  We used some of mom's pretty china which so pleased her. 

 June 2001
 We ate little sandwiches, scones, cake, cookies and drank lemonade and herbal tea.
The tea party tradition continued when we moved to Salem.

Tea Party - November 2007
 Kristin, Brielle, Jodi, Sadie, Katie and Abby were able to join us.

 After missions and moving into our new home in Elk Ridge, we had a big tea party/salad luncheon with Missy and Whitney joining us.

Ellie, Katie, Abby, Gigi, Dorothy, Sareya, Ella, Kyra, Violet, Lillian and Aleeya

There have been several other tea parties over the years, but these are some of the highlights.

September 12, 2015 Tea Party

 I hadn't had a tea party since coming home from our mission to Berlin in January, so I decided it was time!
Tea Party Moms
Our beautiful princess guests!
 Woidka ladies
 Thomas ladies
 I prepared little sandwiches and cupcakes and everyone brought goodies to make our tea party wonderful. Dorothy even dipped strawberries in chocolate and sugar. We all drank herbal tea and lemonade.
 I decorated the table with items that had belonged to my mom and Hal's mom.  Then, after we enjoyed the tea party food, I talked about both of these lovely ladies.  I told about the items on the table and other memories of them and then I had Allison, Kelly and Tricia share their memories of their grandmas.  The great-granddaughters were attentive and even asked some questions.


 After this short program, the girls went downstairs to plan a play and the moms finished the clean up and had a chance to relax and visit.


 When the girls came back upstairs, they presented their original version of Little Bo Peep.  Evie had the starring role and did her part well - looking for her lost sheep.
It was a fun afternoon together and would have been even better if Jessica, Gigi and Hailey had been there!!!

There have been many tea parties since the first and there will be more to come!!

End of Summer and into Fall

Fish Farm Outing

The week before school started, we took Allison and her kids to a trout farm in Spring City near Payson.  Hailey and Dex came with us and enjoyed watching the fun.  The kids had a great time fishing and they all caught fish.
 It was a beautiful morning for fishing.
 Evie was the first to catch a fish and she was so excited!
 Sam reeled in the second fish.
 Then Lillian caught a fish followed by Alex.

Ella was getting discouraged but, then she landed this beauty.
This was a fun outing and Allison's family enjoyed a fish fry dinner that night.

Conrad, Hailey & Dex

We have so enjoyed having Conrad, Hailey and Dex live with us these past few months!  I have become so attached to baby Dex that I really miss him now that they have moved into their own place in Springville.

 Dex is now 16 months old and learns new things every day.  He talks and understands so much - what a fun stage.
 I love this picture of Conrad and Dex.
 What a beautiful family!
While they were living with us, I had a chance to get to know Hailey better.  She is as beautiful inside as she is outside (Conrad you scored big time when you married her!)
 Dex was so proud of himself when he learned to climb up onto the hearth.
He loves being outside and we spent many hours on our deck watching the hummingbirds, deer and just enjoying the pleasant weather.

 Jamming with Hailey

 Hailey and I Had two jam making sessions.  For the first one, we went to a berry farm with Hal, Conrad and Dex, and picked enough berries to make 3 batches of jam.  It was truly "slim pickings" that day as many other pickers had preceded us in the berry patch.
For our second berry making session, we purchased 4 flats from a different berry farm.  We made so many batches of raspberry jam that I lost count.  We also added fresh peaches to some of the batches and extended the raspberries even further.
Conrad especially loves this jam - every morning for breakfast he has toast and raspberry jam!

Tricia's Birthday Lunch


For Tricia's birthday, we went to lunch at Ginger's.
 Dex was the only male invited to this all girl outing.
Hailey's younger sister Sydney joined us.

Labor Day


We gathered at our place for a hamburger/hot dog barbecue to celebrate Labor Day.  It is hard to beat a good burger with avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles and onions!




 Here, Alex is showing Dorothy his "pickles tower".
Jon, Evie and "the ultimate chip buffet"complete with dip and homemade salsa!  Good job Jon!
 Sam and Allison filling plates
 Lillian and Hailey 

 The kids love eating out on the deck.
 The older girls at their table
 Cute Dorothy made a birthday cake for her mom and we enjoyed that for dessert.  
 Treygan and Conrad
 Evan and Kelly
 As the youngest member of our group and the only "baby", Dex is popular with everyone!

Labor Day marks the end of summer.  I love to have the cooler weather of fall come, but at the same time, I hate to see the fun days of summer end!