Merry Christmas!

We were playing around with our new camera and trying to get a great Christmas Pic. These are a few of the photos that turned out. :)



And our camera has a smile detector, so while I tried to set it, Justin said he wanted to be angry in the next picture. I clicked the wrong button, it captured these three amazing faces of my man right in a row....









Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Temple Square

A couple of weeks ago one of my best friends, Amy Petersen came home from her mission. We had her over for dinner and she had a brilliant idea, to go see the First Presidency Christmas Devotional and see the lights on temple square.



I had never seen the lights before and have always wanted to, but for one reason or another something comes up every year we try to go. With the possibility of moving away from Utah in the near future, I decided nothing would stand in our way this year!

I invited my younger brother Kevin to come with us and my little sister Rachel to meet us there. Kevin drove since he has my grandpas four door pickup. We figured it would be the most comfortable and safe of the three vehicles we had to choose from. We probably should have printed out directions to the Triad parking garage before we got there because traffic was horrible and we didn't know exactly where we wer going. When we finally made it to temple square we were on standby for a while waiting to get in.





When we did make it into the conference center, it was awesome! They had it decorated beautifully and with so much more than you ever see on the broadcast. My nephew who lives in Oregon told his mom that he was very dissapointed he didn't see us on the broadcast.

The lights were also a sight to behold. We all agreed we were thankful that was not our job to string those lights around every single last limb! I loved the nativity depicted on the reflection pond. It was very tranquil.



We even got to hear an awesome caroling group inside the building where the Christus is. There costumes added to their overall effect, but without them they would have still been superb!



We did see Amy on the square, but weren't able to meet up with her before the devotional. She brought her way cute cousin, so we talked a while but they went their way and we went ours. Still fun to see her for the little bit we did.

I am so grateful for all the work and effort the church goes to for the Christmas season, but I am even more grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and that we get to celebrate His Birth. It truley does bring Joy to the World!


Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Baby Jesus or a Space Ship?

This is a picture of the gingerbread cookie I figured was Baby Jesus for the Nativity cookie cutter set, Justin said it was a space ship.


Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Why I am Not a Decorator

We were invided to a neighborhood party and were asked to bring a treat. For some reason I thought it would be great to try and be festive for the holidays and decided to make gingerbread cookies. Before I began I had this great image of having perfectly shaped gingerbread boys with red hots for buttons and cute white icing to accentuate the legs and arms of the little boys.



What really occured: good tasting gingerbread cut into some weird looking nativity characters with no icing.

I made gingerbread when I was like 12 and remember liking it, so I thought this would be no problem. Well, I didn't have a gingerbread boy cookie cutter, but I did have a set of nativity cookie cutters from my wedding. They were interesting looking. I showed Justin what I thought was supposed to be the baby Jesus and he said it looked like a space ship and refered to those cookies as such the rest of the day.

The icing- really runny, until I added too much powdered sugar and then it didn't decorate very well either. At this moment I realized why I don't decorate cupcakes, sugar cookies, or really anything. I hate the little details and spending so much time on something that is just going to be eaten! I told Justin I am never making them ever again.... I guess we will see.

I took them to the party anyways and some even got eaten. We will be enjoying them with our hot chocolate this week. Justin informed me he only had to eat 8 cookies a day for them to be gone in a week, anybody want some gingerbread cookies?

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Christmas

We found this beauty the Friday after Thanksgiving in the dark with a flash light. Because of the lighting, you will notice there is a spot where it needs another branch, but overall I don't think we did to bad.

We really love this time of year. It is great to have the Christmas decorations out, and my favorite is our nativity.



Things that Christmas means to me:

Another reason to celebrate the birth of our Savior
Time to spend with family
Excuse to eat lots of cookies and hot chocolate
Coming up with what to give to those you love(and I may be selfish but I do like getting a gift too)
Magical Snow (not the yucky stuff you get in March when it is time for snow to be gone)
Christmas music
Great cheezy happy ending christmas movies
A happy magical fun time of year!

Merry Christmas everyone.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

We Are Back?

After not righting for about 4-6 months I can say with great hope that we are back? :) Justin is 3 weeks away from graduating, which means three weeks away from Christmas break, three weeks away from our 3rd anniversary, 3 weeks away from a trip to Oregon and two days away from a much needed Thanksgiving. I never thought this time would come, but it is almost here and I am so grateful.

I have been learning alot lately. Some through experiences I didn't want to have and some through great opportunities that have come about through work, callings, life, etc. I can say for this Thanksgiving I am grateful for my life and testimony of the Plan of Salvation and my Savior Jesus Christ.

I have been breaking in my new sewing machine with a few projects lately. Pillowcases, baby blankets, hope to try a quilt here soon. There is something so rewarding about creating somethings from very little.

This is a random post, it is kind of how life has felt lately. There will be more to come soon. Happy Thanksgiving everyone, enjoy the pumpkin pie!

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Our Garden in June

These are my personal favorites so far, maybe because they are so HUGE! These are our mammoth sunflowers. When I was a beehive I read a poem in church for a talk about how we need to be like sunflowers because they follow the sun across the sky everywhere it moves during the day. We too need to follow the "Son" like this each day.

That poem has been very visual this year as you can see the plants lean into wherever the sun is in the sky. In the morning they are leaning to the east, and even when it is almost dark outside they lean into the west. Awesome examples of following the light!





This is our other giant plant. THE corn plant. All the rest of our corn is relatively the same size, except for this one. Why? I don't know, guess it got the tall genes from mom and dad.


Can't wait for these little berries to be red! Our friend Sam helped us acquire these strawberries. They have grown really well and are sending out their runners to put down roots in other places.


Other plants we are watching:
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Lemon Cucumbers
Cucumbers
Radishes
Carrots
Pumpkins (probably need to pull some of them out, they may take over our sidewalk)
Tomatoes
Peppers
Green Beans
Cantaloupe
Peas
Spaghetti Squash
Weeds of every kind.... We need to get our hands to work

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Hay Fever

My poor, wonderful husband has a terrible time with Hay Fever this time of year! This is compounded because of his occupation: working on hay equipment. Not really ideal for combatting the allergies. He is a hard worker and continues on to provide for us. I feel so bad at night though when he comes home with red eyes and puffy cheeks. However, I have to say I love those puffy cheeks so much because of why they are there; that is Justin is a hard working non-complaining, strong, loving husband.

If anyone has any suggestions for helping with it we would love to hear them.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

I've Got A Lovely Coconut

On our Friday night grocery shopping trip, Justin and I came across coconuts for a $1a piece. Justin had never cracked one open before and I thought smashing it with a hammer could be pretty fun, so we got one.

Sunday afternoon we decided to open the little beautie.

Knowing that coconuts have juice, we decided to drill a hole first. The electric drill came in handy.


Justin said, "I know what you are thinking, you are going to now confiscate my drill for a new kitchen tool!"

My thought, "Not quite, but sure glad we had it for this escapade."



The coconut juice draining into our lovely John Deere glass. We both tasted it, it wasn't so yummy. A co-worker suggested next time we do it we cook some rice in it. Brilliant!



Used the drill again to try and get some flesh out. Don't want any chipped toothes...









Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Need a Little Fiber?

Lately, our ward, stake, and entire church has been focusing on self-reliance. It encompasses many different aspects in our lives, but is so beneficial to being at peace with the many crazy things going on in the world today.

I decided to improve some of my cooking self reliant skills and decided to cook with dry pinto beans. I am always nervous to try these things. Growing up my mom was excellent at cooking from scratch and her food storage, but you I never know if I am really doing it right.

To cook the beans, I first picked the rocks out of them(Very fresh straight from the field, Justin still found a rock in his taco soup though, I will do a better job next time). I soaked them over night in a large pot of water. The next morning I drained the beans and put them in a crock pot on high for four hours.

When I came home that night they were ready to go. I made a large pot of taco soup and still had some beans left over so I made homeade refried beans. It was a very 'high fiber' weekend full of beans. I really liked the refried beans, I thought they had more taste to them than the regular old canned refried beans.



I just read on a canning blog that you can also can your own beans. I may have to try this this fall. So, if you are nervous about cooking with beans, don't be! They are pretty simple, cheap, and really yummy!
Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Bragging Rights

So, I know that it isn't good to brag, but just for a minute I have to tell you about my amazing little sister. She is beautiful, smart, kind, a great listener, and had four tassles to choose from to wear for graduation. Rachel Corn is really an incredible girl and I am glad I get to call her my little sister.

We had the opportunity over labor day weekend to travel to Oregon to watch her deliver her Valedictorian speech and accept her high school diploma. I can't believe she is old enough, but am excited for her. She will be attending BYU in the fall and it will be fun to have her closer. I can't wait to see what she 'grows up' to be and maybe my parents will come down and visit more often with their three youngest in Utah?

The weekend was again a lot of fun and full of parties. One of the highlights was the hay ride my dad took all of us ladies and grandkids on Monday at our picnic. We traveled around the big KSD field on the highway with the old John Deere tractor pulling the wagon covered with straw. I told all of the grandkids that their were alligators that lived in the drain ditch, and some of them thought they saw them too.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

GRADUATION

Justin and I the morning of graduation! I get a kick out of the guy in the background.


My amazing in-laws and us. They brougth tables, chairs, and chips for our party and drove from Kamas, and have always been so supportive of us in whatever we need.


My incredible parents who I owe so much too! Thank you so much for your example and support.


These two ladies are only the two coolest grandmas I know! Thanks for coming to graduation and always spoiling me!


This is my oldest sister Amanda who is ten years older than me and also graduated from Utah State with her degree in Agriculture Education.

The whole day was busy, fun, and full of memories. We had a large party at our home and ate sloppy joes, lots of salads, and yummy desserts. It ended with Robbie taking my niece, my sister, and my MOM on a motorcycle ride. Graduation was great!





This made us all smile!







Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Why I Love John Deere

My grandfather recently passed away on May 4, 2011. My 'Papa' as we called him growing up was a huge example to me of honesty, hard work, integrity, taking care of what you own, where there is a will, there is always a way, and that family is the most important thing we have on this earth, oh- and that John Deere tractors are the coolest things on the planet. This last statement causes me to believe that he is partly responsible for me and my husband meeting and having so much in common.

You see, my grandfather loved tractors, old, new, and especially John Deere. If you have ever been to my home, you would quickly shake your head in agreement with the statement that 'I too love John Deere tractors.' Justin and I actually met over an old crank start Allis Chalmers tractor on campus one day during club activities and I know that if I wouldn't have had the grandfather I did, I probably would have never went and tried to start that tractor that day.

I remember going home one weekend and excitedly telling my Papa about trying to start the tractor and about the really great guy I met in the process. He thought that is was pretty cool and was really concerned that I needed to be careful because "Those crank start tractors can easily spring back on you and break your arm."

Justin and I both love John Deere tractors, and for Justin logging equipment. I am sure we will have to take a family picture once or twice in all John Deere paraphanelia.

You will notice in this picture that an old John Deere tractor and 3 Hollingsworth dealership service trucks are leading the hearse up the hill to the cemetary. In front of these (you can't see it because it is already at the top) was an 8530 (a big new) John Deere tractor. This was really an awesome moment as I watched the tractors drive up the hill, it was like my Grandpa leading the whole way.



I will miss my grandpa terribly, but I know that I will see him again someday. I am so grateful for the life he lived, the love he shared, and the lessons he taught. I also know that I am part of his legacy that will carry on, and my children will be and so on. I hope to teach them part of what he taught me.

He loved trees as well, and so in memory of him we planted a baby pine tree along HWY 201 to Nyssa, OR. This is our family.


Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Bachelors of Science Degree

B.S. - Great initials to follow your name.

Yep, that is right... I am going to be a college graduate in a little over 8 days. Notice in the invite it says we are 'ECSTATIC'. Its true. Justin will be done in December. I can't believe we are almost there, but am so grateful we are.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Wanna buy a basket?

Since I have been student teaching the last few months, I had the opportunity to also coach the Ag Sales Team for Sky View FFA. It was a blast and these students rock! It was funny, because I was so nervous at the contest for them, but it turned out great and they all made atleast one sale to their judges.

For this contest, students have to choose an agricultural product they would like to sell and then develop a brochure and sales demonstration. They also take a test on sales information and participate in a team activity selling a product.



They decided to sell produce baskets from 'Sky Gate Gardens'. It was a spin off of Bountiful Baskets that focuses on Utah's Own produce. (No it's not real, it was made up, but could be a cool idea) This team placed *GOLD* in the State Contest and I hope learned a lot in the process, I know I did.

Career Development Events are one of the best things about being an Ag Teacher. You get to work with students in developing real life skills and the actual contests are always fun.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

69,168 Feet, Here I Come!

This last weekend I had the opportunity to go to SLC with my older sister Mary and be her race 'mom'. Aka, get her where she needed to be, take pictures, give her snacks, water, etc. It was a blast and she did a fantastic job.

Races, whether they be a 5k or a half-marathon are awesome. To see so many people rise at the wee hours of the morning to get out there and push themselves to accomplish something that is hard. The energy it creates is so fun and can't necessarily be described.

I ran the same half-marathon back in 2008 and have since been wanting to do another. This summer, will be that time.

My goal- To run the Top of Utah Half-Marathon on August 27.


Me finishing the half-marathon.

That will be 69,168 feet or 13.1 miles. I have a lot of ground to cover before I get there. But I can't wait! I will update on my progress.


After pictures from 2008.....

I used to think it was hard just to run for 20 minutes. :)

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Senior Project Breakfast

I have posted a couple of times on Justin's senior project and its workings. Well, all of his hard work finally came to fruition as he presented his project on Thursday, April 14, at the ASTE building on USU's campus.

Parents, classmates, professors, and students came to see the efforts of all of those in the Senior project classes. Justin's parents and older brother also came to see his project. The professor, Dr. Beard, had a breakfast for all who came and then we wandered through the different projects and asked questions of the presenters.


Justin's brother Ben, Parents Barry & Jamie, and Justin and Me.


This was the professor, Dr. Beard, who was in charge of the class. He was very particular on what he expected of the projects and the write-ups. He was also very helpful in the design process. He also made fresh salsa for the breakfast, it was awesome.



Justin's new logo for his saw mill. His hometeaching companion is a Graphic Design major. He heard about Justin's project and asked if he could do a design for him. Of course Justin said sure and told him his original idea of "Woodchuck Sawmills." Logan took the idea and ran with it. What he came up with was much better than just "Woodchuck Sawmills"

His idea 'Chuck- portable sawmill systems' We loved it. Very clean and fresh.


This classmates project was a very nice, spacious dog house for his 14 year old dog. Anthony Barinaga is my younger brother's roommate and 'Raven' (the dog) made a special trip from Rupert, Idaho that morning to show everyone just how the dog house would work out.


This is Kevin (my brother), Sam Day (Kevin's old roomate and our good friend), and Anthony. Great guys that we have had a lot of fun with this semester. Thanks Kevin and Sam for coming to support us!

Justin is hoping to use this sawmill for some great summer projects. I am so proud of him and now, only one more semester to go until graduation!




Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Logan

On of the greatest blessings of living in Logan for the last four years of my life has been the temple. Before I was married, I was able to go about once a week and do baptisms. I would also almost always do my running on a route that involved the temple as part of the view along the way.(Killer hills right around there:)

Once we got married, Justin and I have been able to go quite frequently. We have learned alot in our times spent there and are so grateful for the blessings and promises temples bring into our lives. This is a picture Justin took one night in January.

Cache Valley is kind of unique for the location of the Logan temple. Almost anywhere you go in the valley I feel like you can see it. It is also one of the first sights you see when driving into the valley from Tremonton. A great centerpiece for an awesome area.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Flowers

The last unit I taught to my Floriculutre and Greenhouse class before I was done student teaching was on boutenniere making. Each student was given one carnation to use in their creation and we had a variety of colors. After we were done that day there were a few different colored carnation flowers left over. I used my limited creative floral design skills and put together this little bouquet.We enjoyed it for a week and it definitely brightened up the snowy spring of Logan.



I have a couple of different flower patterned shirts and wore them back to back days during one week. One of the students commented, "Do you really love flowers, because all of your shirts are flower patterned."

Well they aren't ALL flower patterened, but since that comment I have decided yes, I really do LOVE flowers alot. They are one awesome beautie of this earth.


Justin and Ruth Blazzard