Road Trip

We had a wonderful trip to Utah, driving 5,190 miles through 14 states and visiting the graves of 45 ancestors in 11 cemeteries along the way. We left for our marathon driving trip to Utah to attend the baptism of Silas and to see our newest grandson and Cara’s baby. We drove instead of flying primarily so we could take all of Brad’s “stuff” to him. Since we were driving, we determined to do some sightseeing both coming and going. We traveled to Utah basically following the pioneer trail from Iowa City to Winter Quarters to Wyoming to Salt Lake City after a quick stop in Nauvoo to attend the temple. We had a wonderful experience at Martin’s Cove near Devil’s Gate Wyoming as we remembered the experiences of Eliza Briggs and her family who were part of that handcart company. In Utah we enjoyed our time with Brad and Joel and their families. We enjoyed being pampered as we stayed in the Joel and Jenica’s new home in Lehi. It was great to have time with our Utah grandsons. We especially enjoyed the alone time we had with Hale and Andrew and it was very special to participate in Silas’ baptism and see baby Samuel. While we didn’t get to see Cara’s baby since he had already left for the Stanford Medical Center (see her blog for details), we did enjoy spending time with Cara. We also got to visit other family members and friends, including Sue and Ramon Sanft in Provo who again provided us with their free bed and breakfast and the Godfreys in Logan, as we delivered the three-generation histories and visited cemeteries. We enjoyed being with Brad and Joel at the BYU football game but didn’t enjoy the game. But by going out earlier than originally planned so we could see the game, we did avoid getting stranded on I-80 which was closed by huge snow storms a couple of days after we passed through. Before leaving Utah, we were able to walk through Brad and Susan’s partially-constructed house. The highlights of our trip back to Tennessee were our visit to the Grand Canyon (truly amazing to view) and a quick stop to see the Oklahoma City memorial to the Federal Building bombing. Seventeen days after leaving we finally arrived home, exhausted but grateful for the wonderful trip and visit with our Utah families and friends. Below are photos of a few of the highlights of our trip.

Nauvoo Temple

Martin's Cove Wyoming


Joel, Russ, Brad, and Sharlene at BYU football game

Brad holding Samuel Zion Krueger Barber

A proud Grammy with 19th grandchild



Andrew, Brad, Sam, Sharlene, Russ



With Silas right before his baptism



Barber families after Silas' baptism



Brad and Susan's home after four days of framing



Sharlene at grave of Eliza Briggs Stratton in Overton Nevada

Russ and Sharlene at Grand Canyon

View from walk along the South Rim

We were all wrong!

OK, it’s official. My brain is old. I thought there were only three ingredients missing from the picture, the same ones Brad identified. Then Troy picked up that there were four and no one challenged him, including me. When I went to take the picture and announce winners, I remembered that there were actually FIVE ingredients missing from the first picture. As you can see here: one, two, three, four, five!! Technically, no one wins. The last person to post could have won----hey maybe I won!

So, here’s how we’ll slice it: definitely a year’s supply of salt goes to Brad, as he was first to post the correct three ingredients that I said were missing. Oh, and we’ll throw in some chocolate chips and water. Troy commented next and discovered an additional missing ingredient, so he will receive something---not hand delivered by Dad and me, but through the mail. So, now I was very curious. I went back and counted 12 ingredients in this recipe. No wonder they are so yummy!! Have I made any more mistakes?

Thanks for all your comments, especially those that commented on the costumes. One of my all time favorites is the one of Julie and Joel in the pumpkin patch with Julie holding Joel’s face towards the camera. She was probably telling him to “smile.” Ah shucks, I love all the pictures!!

Pumpkin Muffins, Est. 1974, and other fall memories

When we moved to Walnut Creek, California, a good friend and neighbor brought over a loaf of pumpkin bread one fall. It was delicious, but I tend to tweak recipes. From that recipe, I created the now famous Pumpkin Muffins with chocolate chips. In the early days, we would grow our own pumpkins. I would bake the pumpkin and use that to make my muffins. Now a day, I use a can of pumpkin from Krogers. But, anyway you bake them, autumn just isn’t same without a batch of pumpkin muffins.

As you view the above baking photo, see if you can tell what three ingredients are not in the picture. The first person to comment and tell us what the three missing ingredients are will receive a year’s supply of one and “some” of the others.

Also, enjoy a walk down memory lane of “pumpkin-themed" pictures:

This batch made 71 muffins

Troy and Lisa - 1971

Joel, Troy, Lisa, & Julie - 1975

Joel, Lisa, Brad, Julie, Troy - 1978

Troy's UFO Pumpkin - 1979

Brad, Julie, Lisa, Joel, Troy, & Lori - 1980

Carving pumpkins in our Walnut Creek Home - 1981

Joel, Lori, and Brad - 1987- S. Monticello Home

Brad and Lori - 1989

Lori grooving - 1992

Beloved Pumpkin Muffin (Brad and Mom) - 2004

Andrew - 2008

And so the next generation gathers pumpkins in hopes his parents will make up Grammy's Pumpkin Muffins !

Hobnobbing with the Emmy Nominee

PART I - A Night at the Emmy’s

It’s hard to describe the hype and excitement in NYC around Emmy time. Many other Emmy nominees were staying in our hotel, and so everyone was talking Emmy buzz, and we must say—we were ready to see Brad accept that Emmy trophy. We watched trailers of the competition and we (proud parents) thought our son had done as well as any of them and better than most of them. But win or lose, it was the adventure of a lifetime.

Quoting Brad from one of the many news articles about Brad,

“They were honoring Walter Cronkite, Don Hewitt and Barbara Walters,” Barber said. “There were several times I did something of a mental double-take about my even being on the same program as those folks.”

That’s pretty much how we felt: A huge privilege and opportunity to be among the talented and famous, and know that our son’s work was being voted on along with theirs.

The two-hour reception and dinner was only slightly hampered by the butterflies in our stomachs. The actual Emmy Program moved quickly through the three hours. Attending these things in person with no commercial breaks is much more interesting. The 30th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards ceremony was held at the Rose Theater, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th St.

Leaving hotel for the Emmys

Checking in at the Rose Theater

Brad at the dinner

"Resolved" Editors - Brad, Greg, and Tom

At the Emmy presentations

Leaving the Emmys with gift bag

PART II – Seeing New York City

Time with our son in NYC was filled with lots of walking, lots of subway rides, lots of sight-seeing, lots of great food, treats, and long talks. A few highlights:

--Limo service at the airport

--Staying at the Six Columbus Thompson Hotel
--Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge into the City
--Viewing the World Trade Center construction site (Ground Zero)
--Pizza at Lombardi’s
--Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar
--Dylan’s Candy Bar
--Dinner at Joe G’s Ristorante Italiano
--Chinese at Szechuan Gourmet
--MoMA
--Dinner in the Times Warner Building at Bouchon Bakery
--Discovering “Tasti-D-Lite” is a wonderful place for a midnight treat
--Sitting on benches by the fountains in the center of Columbus Circle
--Scrumptious room service breakfast
--Walking up and down Broadway many times, seeing the billboards, but not seeing a play
-- Being at the Today show: Smiling, waving, and showing a sign we made at the last minute—anyone see us? We were on at about 9 a.m. on Monday, September 21.
--Rockefeller Center, Time Square, Grand Central Station, etc.
--Walks and Carriage Ride through Central Park
--Shopping at F.A.O. Schwarz
--New York City Public Library (started in 1895 and formerly dedicated in 1911)
--Mom and Brad’s midnight talks on the roof of our hotel (sub for talking couch)
--Eating at Whole Foods
--Watching the filming of a segment of CSINY (alarming to see a man with a gun pointed at two pretend policemen who also had guns pointing at the man)
--Seeing the Regis and Kelly studio
-- Attending church and the Manhattan Temple

Ground Zero

Brooklyn Bridge

Lombardi's Pizza

F.A.O. Schwarz

Momofuku's Bakery

Columbus Circle

Our Hotel

Manhattan Temple/Church Building

Rockefeller Center

Ann Curry right before she gave Sharlene a hug

The studio

Central Park Carriage Ride

Breakfast anyone?

We presented the Langfords with their prize: "Breakfast Basket" from Apple Barn. They look pleased. The boys helped Russ unpack it. Ta-da!

Apples to Apples winner................

Julie Langford is our winner and will receive a “Breakfast Basket” from Apple Barn which contains: 1-12oz. Apple Syrup, 1-1/2 pt. Apple Butter, 1 Apple Cinnamon Pancake Mix, 1 Spiced Apple Cider Drink mix (1oz packet), 1-Double Apple Muffin Mix, 1-jar Fried Apples.

Congratulations, Julie, and thanks to all of you who left a comment.

A brief response:
Far and away Gala came up the most favorite of those commenting. The only others even listed were Fuji, Granny Smith, and Pink Lady. I happen to like all those listed, including the debatable Pink Lady.

Joel---you know me so well. However, in this particular case, I got my fun facts from a recent article that was tossed the minute I read it, and from the Internet.

May you all enjoy weeks of absolutely fantastic apple eating!!

Apples to Apples

We love playing the card game “Apples to Apples” with our grandchildren. Well, we enjoy playing it with anyone. We also enjoy good, tasty apples. September speaks apples.

Did you know?

Archeologists have found evidence that humans have been eating apples since at least 6500 B.C.
The apple tree originated in an area between the Caspian and the Black Sea
In colonial times apples were called winter banana or melt-in-your-mouth
The science of apple growing is called pomology
It takes about 36 apples to create one gallon of apple cider
The world’s top apple producers are China, United States, Turkey, Poland, and Italy
The apple variety ‘Red Delicious’ is the most widely grown in the USA with 62 million bushels harvested in 2005
Many hybrids and cultivars have been developed, giving us the 7,000 varieties in the market today
In Norse mythology, a magic apple was said to keep people young forever. (Ever hear the saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away?”)

If you want to learn more about apples click on APPLE.

To celebrate APPLES, we have a give-a-way. One entry per person. To qualify, you must leave a comment and tell us what your favorite variety of apple is. Good luck everyone!

The winner gets a yummy “Breakfast Basket” from Apple Barn which contains: 1-12oz. Apple Syrup, 1-1/2 pt. Apple Butter, 1 Apple Cinnamon Pancake Mix, 1 Spiced Apple Cider Drink mix (1oz packet), 1-Double Apple Muffin Mix, 1-jar Fried Apples.