The Sunshine State

Annie and I escaped the winter weather of Colorado with a quick trip to Florida. We enjoyed the some of the sights and sounds of the Orlando area. Our first stop was Epcot Center. We loved visiting the different countries, finding Nemo, and watching Illuminations.

Our final stops were along the coast. We learned about NASA and the space program on a trip to the Kennedy Space Center. The last stop of the trip was along the beach. Walking barefoot on the beach felt especially nice for two people that are used to wearing wool socks and boots.

Great trip overall. Even better, we get to put another pin on the map.

Latest Happenings

Here is some catch up on what we have been up to lately.

For Ian's birthday I got him tickets to the Rapids soccer game.  We sat very close to the field and he loved every minute of it!

Last weekend we flew to Los Angeles to spend some time with Ian's family.  Evan just got home from serving a two year church mission in Argentina.  We also went through the LDS Los Angeles Temple with his sister, Alana.  It was a great weekend with family.

On Friday we went with my Dad and brother Nathan to the Lion King in downtown Denver.  Because this was my Valentine's Day gift this year we have been waiting for a long time for this event!  The costumes and music were phenomenal.  

Birthday Weekend

We love having our birthdays so close together - we have yet another excuse to head to the mountains and enjoy a long weekend together. This year's birthday weekend took us to lovely Avon, Colorado where we enjoyed General Conference, biking, eating, and relaxing.

The fall colors were in their full splendor and we enjoyed the views as we biked down Vail Pass. This is an Anderson Family tradition so I was thrilled to join in the celebration of gravity as we tore down the mountain at speeds upwards to 35 MPH. We wore through our breaks quickly though with frequent stops to enjoy the beautiful leaves of the aspen trees.

Annie and I also enjoyed a fantastic meal at Avondale. We thoroughly enjoyed dinner and the HAPPY BIRTHDAY cupcake was a nice touch. However, the culinary highlight of the evening was dessert. Take a guess at what we ordered...

We capped off the weekend by enjoying General Conference (conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where the apostles and leaders speak to the world) and having a nice picnic outside. How we love birthday weekend.

Labor Day Weekend

For the Labor Day weekend we met Ian's parents in the Sierra Nevada Mountains for a weekend of camping and outdoor adventure.  Ian and I took a day getting there by driving through Yosemite National Park.  This is our attempt at a self timer jumping picture trying to show our excitement of seeing the beautiful vistas.  

Outside of Yosemite is a gas station housing the famous Whoa Nellie Deli.  We enjoyed the steak caesar salad and grilled salmon with a nice view of Mono Lake.  A must try for any "foodies" out there.

We camped at the Devils Postpile National Monument near Mammoth.  

We enjoyed a lot of hiking in the Tuolemne Meadows...

 and hiking to Shadow Lake.

 Ian's sister Megan and her family met us at the end of the trip.  We enjoyed the hike to the Devil's Postpile.

Grandma and Grandpa (Ian's parents) helped Gavin and Coco get sworn in as Junior Rangers.

Mo Mountains

Since we did not get into the mountains enough early in the season, we have tried to make up for it during the latter part of the summer. Ian recently climbed San Luis Peak early in September with Bruce James. They quickly found out that this mountain truly is one of the least climbed 14ers in Colorado. Ian and Bruce were two of only six people that attempted to summit the mountain that day.

They were surprised to see a couple of inches of snow on the mountain that had fallen the night before, but this did not detour them from completing the 13-mile hike. However, the exhilaration and reward of standing on the summit was short lived - the temperature at the top of the mountain was a frigid 15 degrees. All in all, a great hike; only 48 more 14ers to go!

Our most recent mountain adventure involved enjoying the beautiful fall foliage and scenery that the Rocky Mountains offer. The aspen trees, in all their brightness and glory, were on display. We travelled with the Crumps (Dan, Helen, Allison) and some friends (Leah, Kim) to Kenosha Pass to hike along the Colorado Trail.

Great fall weather and great company made for a magnificent weekend. Only one more week of fall colors before the leaves will be no more.

Castle Rock

Because Ian travels every week for work, we try to play on the weekends.  This weekend we checked off another item on our bucket list of things to do in Colorado.  On Friday we hiked to the top of Castle Rock and had a picnic of KFC at the top.

Castle Rock has a famous rock nicknamed "The Castle Rock."  You take a short hike to the base of the rock and then scramble up some rocks to the top.  I have never hiked as fast as we did to get to the top before our KFC dinner got cold!  This picture shows Ian a happy man because the chicken was still warm.

A nice view from the top with Pikes Peak in the background.

Conquering Democrat

This weekend Ian and I hiked a 14er, Mt. Democrat.  Colorado has 54 mountains that are above 14,000 feet, properly nicknamed 14ers.  Although we have both hiked several of these mountains with other groups, this was the first 14er we have hiked together.  We camped the night before at the trailhead, which sits at about 12,000 feet.  Ian made a delicious soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  Here is the group as we started hiking the next morning at 6:30am.

We finally reached the top after several hours of hiking.  There were about 100 other people at the summit so reaching the top didn't provide the solitude that we sought.  The scenery was spectacular and provided the prize that I always seek: the spectacular view at the top.  You can see for miles in every direction.  

We had a great group that treked up the mountain with us.  Ashton, Garrett, and Brett (shout out to Ashton and Brett for summitting their first 14er) from our ward and Heather (a friend from Utah who grew up in Colorado with me) joined us on this beautiful summer hike.  Pictured below are Heather and me at the top.

Ian insisted that I add this picture to the blog.  He is very proud of the fact that he has summitted 5 14ers in the same pair of sandals.  How bout them Chacos...

What's Cooking In My Kitchen

So tonight I finished a big project.  I decided I was tired of looking in so many different cook books for my favorite recipes and having to sort through all the recipes I haven't tried/don't like to find my favorite recipes.  I decided to put all of my tried and true favorite recipes into one binder that I can flip through easily.  Hopefully one day all the recipes will be electronically stored, but for now this works.  For a recipe to make it into the recipe binder, the recipe has to be tested and delicious.  After looking through some of my most favorite recipes I thought I would post one of my old time favorites on the blog.

This recipe was found after my mom was diagnosed with cancer several years ago and my family started on the path toward healthier eating.  It was one of the first vegetarian recipes that made me realize that healthy food can also be delicious food.  Hope you enjoy!

Black Bean Salad
From Rachael Ray

Dressing
1 small clove garlic
pinch salt, plus 2 teaspoons
Juice 1 1/2 limes (about 3 T)
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salad
1 cup fresh corn kernels (from about 2 ears of corn)
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small avocado, halved, seeded, and diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, leaves and stems

To make the dressing: smash the garlic clove, sprinkle with a pinch of the salt, and, with the flat side of a large knife, mash and smear the mixture to a coarse paste.  Whisk the garlic paste, lime juice, salt, and chili powder together in a bowl.  Gradually whisk in the olive oil, starting with a few drops and then adding the rest in a steady stream.

For the salad: Cook the corn, bell pepper, and onions in the olive oil until beginning to brown over medium-high heat in a skillet.  Toss in the black beans and cook until warm.  Add the dressing and toss to coat evenly.  Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.  Remove from the heat and gently fold in the tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro.

To serve, put greens (spinach and lettuces) on your plate, top with brown rice if desired.  Then top with the black bean salad.  Enjoy!

Camping at Lake Wellington

This past weekend we went with my family and Ian's cousins Allison and her two friends to Lake Wellington, CO to camp.  We had a great time enjoying the beautiful outdoors and catching up with Allison and her friends.  We roasted hot dogs for dinner.

 We sang songs around the campfire as my mom played the guitar which is also one of my favorite childhood memories.

 Ian especially loved the smores.

 In the morning, we tried out our new camp kitchen and cooked a yummy breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon.  I have rarely been disappointed with an REI product and this one lived up to its expectations.

 The next day we went rafting in the lake.  This is my mom and niece Kate.

 Playing by the lakeshore.

A few of us tried to hike a nearby mountain.  We got pretty scraped up as we were making our own trail, but we made it to the top.

 

We jumped into the lake after the hike to cool off.  Ian has nice form in this picture:)

July 4th Family Reunion

On our way down to a family reunion, we stopped in Bryce Canyon for a day to hike around the park with my parents and Whitney and Nathan.  It was very hot, but pretty scenery.  

Over the 4th of July we had an Anderson family reunion in southern Utah at Zion Ponderosa Ranch and Resort.  Almost all of the 102 Anderson relatives were there.  Here is my family with my grandparents.  

A siblings shot.  It was great to have the whole family together including Jennie and Scott and their girls who live in China.  

We did many fun activities including swimming, 

going on the zipline (Ian was feeling patriotic on this run with an American flag)

trampoline jumping (I couldn't resist putting in this picture of my mom doing flips on the trampoline-  a two time cancer survivor and Grandma still flipping on a trampoline.)

Mini golfing with cousins.

Some of the girl cousins went paint balling. Girl power!

While we were playing capture the flag paint ball style, Lindsay and I relived our glory days when we captured the flag together and won the paint balling game for our team!

 One day we spent hiking the Subway in Zion National Park with some cousins.  

We spent another day in Zion National Park hiking the narrows with just my family.  Here is some of the group.

My family headed down to St. George, Utah where we spent the next couple of days playing and learning about family history.  We found the graves of some of our ancestors.  

 

We took a trip to the St. George Tabernacle.  One of my mom's cousins helps run the tabernacle and he took us to the top of the bell tower.  We got to see the old clock and a view from the very top of the tower.

Pardon the awkward photo.  We were trying to get a nice picture at the top of the clock tower, but I was afraid of falling down three stories and there wasn't much room to stand, so it just turned out awkward.

Inside we learned about the story of my two great great great great grandfathers working on the tabernacle and building this staircase.  

We also saw the St. George temple.

 We had a great time seeing our family in southern Utah.