Timpanogos Cave

I got a text last night from Erin, wondering if I wanted to go to Timpanogos Cave today.  My back has been hurting for the past few days so I originally wasn't going to go.  But.... I changed my mind.  (Good plan) 

If you have never been there, it's pretty awesome.  The hike is not too hard.  It's all paved and everything, but it becomes a bit steep towards the end. 

Brynn and Erin on the way up!

 

 Erin and I, almost there.  Can you see all those switchbacks behind us!?

 We thought this sign was so funny.  Brynn being a good sport. ;)

Erin said she wanted to get some candid photos.  I tried to, and she made this face!

We waited at the top for a few minutes.  The rangers wanted to wait for some more people to make the group a bit bigger.  Well, the group behind us had like 15 people so... We got our own private tour. ;) *score!*

Our tour guide's name was Logan.  He was a little weirded out by only having 3 people to explain the cave to.  He tried to stick to the script, but we just kept bringing up random stuff. LOL!  Here are the photos from inside!

 All three of us before going in!

  Logan explaining about different cave formations

Stalactites that have been growing for a REALLY long time.  He showed us some small ones that they have been measuring.  They are about the size of a pencil eraser and have been growing for about 80 years!  These are obviously a lot older.

 

 We spent pretty much the whole time talking about the movie The Descent.  Lol!  Brynn looks a little freaked out in this picture. (She really isn't)  I'm just imagining a creature hiding in the dark behind her. 

 

 Erin was apparently paying attention to me taking a photo. LOL!  This was a pretty huge section.  So many things to see.

 

Everything almost looks fake!  There is a lot of water in there right now because of all the run off.  The shiny effect didn't help anything to look anymore real.  The only thing I could think of was the fake rocks at Disneyland on Thunder Mountain Railroad and Indiana Jones.  Disney did an awesome job making them look like the real thing.

Those things have 2 names.  Draperies or "Cave Bacon"  Lol!  I like the first name better.  There were a lot of names that had to do with food in there.  Made us hungry. 

 

 The farther you get in there the more white the formations become, because the water is a lot cleaner once it reaches there. This is the ceiling above us... RIGHT above us. 

 

 This formation is called " The Great Heart of Timpanogos"  There's legend behind it but you will have to go and hear it for yourself sometime. ;)

Saved my favorite photo for last!  The curly formations are called Helictites.  They were my favorite.

(This link is pretty cool to learn about Helictites.  Look for the part about "Timpanogos Cave National Monument") 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helictite

 

I do have to say that when we got into the second part of the cave we went through a part that was literally a tunnel.  No room on either side of the walk way.  I got a bit nervous.  I had to just look at the ground until we got the next area.  Then he starts showing all the fault lines that run through the next area.... 

 

Slight claustrophobia+the thought of an earthquake while being in a cave= Michelle in slight panic.   

 

I really didn't freak out for more than that one part.  It's really quite cool and I would go back for sure.  And for all of you who would like to see the trailer for the movie we were talking about... here you go...

Yeah, pretty stupid time to be talking about this movie. :)  

 

No scary people present in Timp Cave.  Definitely Michelle approved. ;)

 

Mango Bread..? Read on....

Houston and I decided to take a stab at Bountiful Basket.  In a nut shell, you pay $15 and you go to a certain location and receive a preselected basket of fruits and vegetables.

In our basket we received A LOT of stuff.  One of those being mango's.  They were rock hard when we first got them, which was a good thing because we had a ton of other things to eat first.  Well, they sat on the counter and I kept wondering what to do with them.  I like mango's but I didn't want to eat all of them at once and in the end, hate them. Ha ha!  Houston and I started talking about ways to use all the things we received.  We were originally talking about banana's and I was saying that we could use any over ripe ones to make banana bread.  Then of course I saw our mango's...  I said,  "I wonder if there is something like.... mango bread!"

I have an app on my phone called Big Oven.  So I typed Mango Bread in the search bar and let it search.  I turned to do something else and Houston started to laugh.  Apparently there is!  So here's the recipe and a photo journey of making it....

Mango Bread
-2 Cups Flour
-2 tsps Baking Soda
-1 tsp Salt
-1 Cup Sugar
-1 tsp Cinnamon
-1/2 Cup Raisins (which are not shown below.  We didn't make it with them)
-3/4 Cup Vegetable oil
-3 Eggs
-2 mangos
-1 tsp Vanilla

Instructions
- Puree mango.  Mix all ingredients well.  Pour into greased pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.  Let cool for 20 minutes.  (Pureeing the mango was just something I did.  I don't like chunks, but the original recipe didn't specify)

Ingredients mixed!  The mango looks sorta like apple sauce here. (p.s. don't used a whisk, use a spoon)

 Now the pan problem... We don't have a bread pan, so this is what it was made it. :)

Now.... we wait....

 

And wait...

 And wait...

AND....

Done!

 

And may a just say that this thing smelled REALLY good baking... THE WHOLE TIME. ;)

I waited for Houston to get home to try it.  It's pretty dang good!  It's not a really strong mango flavor.  It is pretty much Banana Bread with mango's instead of bananas.   A good way to use fruit that would otherwise have gone bad.  

The final (made for a cook book photo) ;P

Lastly.  I was just being dumb with the waiting photo's.  I hope you don't think I sat in front of my oven for an hour.

A Graduation and a Birthday

Yes the photo above is of my nephew Cameron.  He graduated HIGH SCHOOL this year!  I honestly still can't believe it.  I remember when he was just tiny.  The whole experience makes me feel really old. 

 I'm standing pretty much straight up in the photo above.  Need I say, he's a giant!?

 Here he is with his youngest brother Jace

My parent's and I drove to Idaho on Tuesday to see the ceremony yesterday.  Houston had to work :(   The whole shindig was held at the BYU-Idaho center.  It was pretty huge actually. Ha ha!  Here are photos of the event...

 His photo on the huge screen(s) they have in there

 Him and his friend (not shown) are the tallest in his graduating class.  Can ya tell..?

 His lovely pose  while they read off his name.  Classic Cam!

It was pretty awesome event.  Cameron was so glad to be done.  Ha ha! (weren't we all)  The speakers were pretty dang good.  The only sad, but inspiring, moment was when the parent's of one of his class mates accepted his diploma for him.  2 months ago, the boy committed suicide.  Pretty sad.  He had a full ride scholarship to BYU-I .  It was awesome that his parent's could do that for him though. :)

As for the Birthday!  It comes from the same family....

That would be Jace!  He turned 7.  I really remember when he was born.  So yes I feel old.  ;)  His cake is How to Train Your Dragon, which he LOVES.  He was really good about celebrating Cam's Graduation all day and then the evening was his.  Can I say, that cake tasted Awesome! He was so cute when he blew out his candles!  View below...

 That would be Cam's arm. (12 feet long)

As for blowing out the candles, he's a professional.

Now for the presents....

 Jace loves Mancala. (Present from my parent's)  He plays multiple times when he comes to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  So why not have his own at home.

 Present from Julie and Family.  It's a soccer ball and somehow hooks to the hose.  Ha ha!  (That should make no mess at all, I'm sure) 

 Houston and I's gift.  It's an animatronic Big Foot.  He wanted it to work right away, but the battery needed to be charged.  I hope he enjoys it. 

Present from Mom and Dad.  A Hot Wheels dragon, that floats in the tub.  He wanted to jump in the tub right away with this! :)

I think he had fun on his birthday.  It's was definitely a big celebration day at the Hadlock household.  I was happy that I could go.  I haven't been up to Idaho in a long while and it was about time I got back up there again.   I wish it was longer, I feel like I ran up and ran home.  

Next time = spend some time!

The Framing of Life... More Frames

So, I went into Rod Works again.  I was after a specific frame that I knew the perfect picture for.  Well... I ended up getting a few more frames...

This is the frame I originally went in there for. I think it fits this picture so perfectly!  My Grandpa Pehrson

I wanted pictures of both of sets of my grandparents.  This is my grandma and grandpa Hatch

This frame was totally hidden behind stuff, but I dug it out. This is my dad on his mission in France

Another photo of my Grandpa Pehrson.  I love this picture!

I've had this picture for awhile.  It's in one of the black frames we used at our wedding.  This is my Grandpa Hatch with one of his very favorite Arabian horses.

I just had to show this picture.  It has no frame yet but it's definitely got one coming.  This is my Great Great Grandpa Hatch.  Lorenzo Hill Hatch.  This picture is kinda creepy.  This will be one of those ones that people take a second look. ;)

And, of course, my extra find.  I have a slight obsession with clocks so this was right up my alley.  There are 3 little gold hooks in the center of the clocks, as well as 2 double hooks under the shelf.  Who knows where it will go now, but it has a spot somewhere in our future home.

There are so many pictures I want to put into the  future "picture wall".  This is just the very tip of the iceberg.  Lucky me that my dad so insanely into genealogy.  He has loads of old pictures, on his computer, of both sides of the family.  This will be a project of the ages, but I'm pretty excited to get it started. :)