Festival of Tree's

Dave, Rebekah, Conan, and I all went to the Festival of Tree's. It was at the South Town Expo Center in Sandy. Finding a parking spot was a big challenge. But thanks to aggressive driving (Rebekah) and sharp eye's (Dave) we finally found a spot. The Festival of Tree's is held every year here. People donate decorated Christmas Tree's. All of the tree's are very elaborate. The tree's are then auctioned off in a private auction. Many of the tree's go for thousands and thousands of dollars. 100 % of the proceeds go to the Primary Children's Hospital. Even the cost of admission goes to them.

I'd like to thank Jethro and Staci Jones for purchasing this tree.

Just kidding, they didn't buy it. Rebekah saw the sign that said "Purchased by the Jones Family" and we thought that was cool since that is our last name (well our maiden name).

This is both mine and Dave's favorite tree. We both love Sharks! Never thought I would see a Christmas tree decorated as a "Shark Theme" but it was awesome.

As we were walking around looking at all of the tree's Dave said "I bet I could make one out of Granite" Then we turned the corner and lo and behold we saw this tree! It is out of stone and we thought it was pretty cool.

This tree is of Jack Skeleton. I kept trying to get a picture and people kept walking in front of it. I deleted all those but kept this one. It looks really cool because I think I saw that lady walking and snapped the picture, but moved my hand at the same time, so the picture of the tree looks cool. Thankfully Dave and I both had our camera's and he was able to get a good picture.

There was also a large display of Gingerbread houses. They were cool.

This is a cake! Amazing! I loved it because there are three shows I really like on the Food Network and TLC. The Food Challenge Cake Off, Ace of Cakes, and Cake Boss. They all make these totally unbelievable cakes. So seeing a cake in person that I could see one of these people making was pretty cool.
It was really hard to get pictures of the tree's because it was so packed. But there were so many that I thought were so cool that I wanted to share them with you. As you are looking at the tree's you will think we took picture's of every tree! We didn't! There were hundred's and hundred's of tree's. All different sizes... from 1 foot - 12 ft. You will have to click on each picture to enlarge it so you can see the detail. They also had wreathes and quilt's but I didn't get any pictures of those.

Temple

Today I decided that I would go to the temple. I decided to go to the Jordan River Temple since it is the closet Temple that has clothing rental. I got there and saw the sign that said "Temple closed from Nov 30 - Dec 21st. Bummer! At least I got this beautiful picture.

Most Talented Mom Award!

I love my Mom so much! She is so talented in many aspects of her life. One of her greatest talents are her handmade items. Growing up my Mom was always working on some project. Whether it was cross-stitching, knitting, crocheting, sewing, or making quilts, everything she did turned out perfect. If it wasn't perfect, she would undo the entire thing and start over. It's funny, you can ask each one of my brothers and sisters, and they will all have a story to share about my Mom and her perfection in making these things. I have many memories of my Mom knitting baby blankets, she would almost be done and start looking over the item with a fine tooth comb. If she found one stitch out of place, she would unravel the entire blanket and start over. I think that is why the things she makes are so coveted. Many people have enjoyed the gifts that my Mom has given them throughout the years. Enjoying the beauty of the items she creates and knowing the time involved in creating them makes everything so special.

This Thanksgiving my Mom made Dave and I this beautiful queen size quilt.

I absolutely love it!! I can't believe the detail! Actually, knowing my Mom I can believe it, but it still amazes me.

When my Mom makes her quilts she always signs them by stitching her name along the edge. It is kind of fun to inspect a quilt and try and find her stitched signature. My Mom added this special touch to the back corner of our quilt and it really meant a lot to me. In fact it made me cry....

Last year, my Mom made Dave and I Christmas Stockings.

She also made us this table runner. It is quilted, but it is hard to tell in this picture.

I am so grateful to have such a wonderful Mother who has taught me so much throughout my life. Even as an adult, she is still teaching me new things. I LOVE YOU MOM!