A Morning with Stephanie and Justin

Today we spent the morning with our niece Stephanie and her fiance Justin. Here are a few of the images we took for her wedding announcements. We all had a great time, it is so fun to see these two together, happy, laughing, and having a great time with each other. They are very natural together and exude happiness.

They were very easy to photograph with their bright smiles and googoo eyes.

An intimate moment shared with the camera. Justin and Stephanie gaze into each others eyes.

Cheers to the new little couple! Hip Hip Hurray!
They really are such a cute couple... here are a few more images of the two of them.

Standing in front of a Jonagold apple tree Stephanie and Justin are lost in the moment.

Alright you guys stop playing around. No more hide and seek.

I bought the flower baskets for Lynne and they came in handy today.

Great smile Stephanie, I noticed it was hard for you to look at Justin without smiling or laughing.

Here Justin is looking cool while Stephanie looks on.

I don't know if Justin looks cooler with his arms folded or to his side, both worked well.

At first we were bummed about the shadow but after looking at this shot I think it is interesting with the contrast of light.

I love this one of Justin jumping over Stephanie-- and she just stood there as he flew over her!
Trust is all I have to say about this image.

Nice form

Without any practice Justin pulled off this 9.5 triple toe salchow. Sweet !

Up the street from our house are some extensive stands of scrub oak. I love the contrast of color texture and lines in this image.

We sent Heather back home to get the tulips for this shot.

Gnarly trees and a very happy girl.

Hand and hand off we go together image.

This is one of my favorites.

Tender moment depicted in this image.

These two have natural chemistry together

The next couple of images are in front of the Utah State Tree.

Nice ring....

A little sugar please. You can't take announcement images without it.

We found a weeping cherry with a few blossoms and cool lines.

We found this along the Provo River walkway.

They could not stop laughing on this rock. This is not the most comfortable position. The are sitting along a sharp edge.

Little snuggle action.

The next images were taken along the Provo river near one of my favorite fishing spots. I had to focus knowing that just below me were some big ones with my name on it.

Stephanie gave us some great facial expressions.

A little kiss was followed by a ....

BIG SMILE

Congratulations kids-- the wedding is scheduled for July 16th!

The Ukon Express

Freeze warnings have been given a few times the last few weeks. It has been a very interesting spring. Richie's soccer games have been very cold, snowy and windy. Freeze warnings strike fear in gardeners trying to get an early jump on the rest of the competition (anyone anywhere that plants the same kinds of plants). We have used some interesting ways to protect our little plants.

Grandpa Hawkins gave me the little cold frame seen in the image above. We have had this for about 18 years. Lynne and Richie are attaching some plastic because the plants have grown so fast under the cold frame. We propped up one side to give the the needed room and attached some plastic on the raised side. We also put a about 5 gallons of water to help warm the space. The gallon jugs warmed by the sun give off heat throughout the night. This was Richie's idea so I give him props for this strategy.

After wrapping up the cold frame, we secured it with a heavy brick. All the tomato plants in this structure survived the cold. A few had some damage but they have grown back and look unscathed.

In the next design, we surround the plant with some jugs (the Richie method) and cover with plastic. Worked great, no damage was seen on the plants. We also had a few walla-water's that worked great on a few of the plants.

A closer look at the Richie method you can see the protected tomato plant from freezing temperatures. We outfitted these plants in the early evening with hot water in the jugs.

These tomatoes were planted inside large (6 feet high) tomato cages, so we had to try to cover and insulate them. This method did not work as well as the others, and unfortunately we lost a couple tomato plants. On the bright side, Rich and Grandpa G. has bought SO many tomato plants, that I think we will survive. (I believe they have actually purchased over 80 plants!!!)

Blossoms Galore

We have had a great bloom this year. These images were taken about 10 days ago in the midst of the pollinating efforts of many bees, wasp and flies. We had a short window for pollination before the weather turned bad. Luckily the temperature have not fallen to destructive levels (cross your fingers and toes).

Our two plum trees should be heavily laden with tasty fruits this Aug. Both are Japanese plum varieties. We planted our little orchard about 15 years ago.

In the foreground is one of my tastiest fruit tree varieties. I think it is called Alberta Queen. Very sweet like the July Alberta but larger and stays attached to the tree longer while ripening. The yellow bush in the background is a Forsythia.

Spring in Utah can give you flowers in the valley and winter in the mountains. In fact our mountains just got clobbered with a couple of feet of snow. Well enjoy your gardening

Starting the Garden

In the beginning there were ONIONS

Richie helped me till the garden and ready it for planting. We love onions and plant them very close so Grandpa can pick and eat fresh green onions with lunch and dinner. In mid summer they are spaced appropriately for large growth. I have found the perfect variety for our area. It's name is Super Star, an "All American Selection Winner". This onion is tasty at all stages of development. I usually try another new variety every year to compare. I started with Walla Walla and Super Star kicked onion butt if there is such a thing. This year the challenger is "Onion Candy" In a few months we will see if the challenger can dethrone the Super Star.
We use Grandpa's trench method for quick plantings. I like to buy onion starts instead of planting seeds.

Once the trench is made Richie lays the onion in the trench and I follow covering the developing bulb with soil. Heather was kind enough to take the image for us. This was one of our first warm days this spring (about 3 weeks ago)

A little soil in front and back and the tasty morsel has started its seasonal journey in our little garden.

Last week we planted beets in front of the onions and peas behind. With proper watering and fertilization I have been able to grow three little crops in this very small area (in between the chain linked fence and the brick retaining wall). I will share some images once they start to grow. I know some of you do not have much space but a small pot can help you grow some of your own healthy food.

Spirng Tournament at UVU

Rachel had her spring tournament today at UVU. We enjoyed watching her play a new position. lebro and defensive specialist. Her team struggled a little but one many games. They beat the University of Utah and other good teams.

Before serving, Rachel has a tradition of bouncing the ball as quickly and as low to the ground as she can.

She did amazing on her serve. I think she was the only one on her team who did not miss a serve. Good job Rachel!!

I am still getting used to seeing her pass the ball instead of setting the ball, but she is learning her new position well.

She is still her scrappy, aggressive self on the court.

and her bubbly, positive attitude is so contagious for all around her.

Rachel's team seem to really like playing together. I think they are also happy to get through the semester and pack up for New Zealand and Samoa.
Yes you heard me right, her team is going over seas to play volleyball and do some service projects-- Have fun girls.

This tournament was good for all the girls to get some time on the court and work on their skills.

Nice platform Rachel

You can see the concentration! Good pass Rachel.

UVU ended up in third position in this tournament, beating Utah, UNLV, Splitting with Utah State and finally losing to Southern Utah.

Congratulations and have a fun trip girls!