Finally a little getaway! One of Joe's mission buddies was getting married in the Gila Valley Temple in Thatcher so Friday morning we headed that way. It is so beautiful there, mountain ranges on every side of you, lush green farmland and a perfect temple. Joe went to school there for a year before his mission so he knows the area well! Our morning started out with the Temple Sealing.
(I definitely did not take this picture, it's just way better than the one my little camera took! And of course, there was no snow in sight while we were there either.)
We've been to a few sealings since we have been married and there are always so many wonderful reminders for us to apply to our own marriage. I always leave feeling an even greater sense of true love and appreciation for my husband and for our eternal marriage.
After the sealing we ventured throughout Thatcher and some of the farm lands. It added so much color to the whole landscape and I just loved all the green crops! I have no idea what they are growing but it was everywhere.
We had been looking forward to going out to lunch all week at one of Joe's favorite places there, Casa Manana. It was just as yummy as we hoped it would be! Afterwards, we trekked up Mount Graham through the winding and steep mountain road. At the bottom of the mountain it was nearly 100 degrees, but as we moved upward through the climb the temperature became heavenly ultimately ending up in the low 60's with a light sprinkle of rain. With our windows down and being surround by the forest we were two happy kids! It's a 30 mile drive all the way up so we stopped at about 20 miles (my stomach couldn't handle the twisty roads any longer!) to just breath in the fresh air. LOVED IT! Needless to say, we were sad to be back in the 100 degrees just 20 minutes later.
That night we went back to the Temple to do a session before our friends reception. It was the best way to end our little day trip. The Mesa Temple was closed for cleaning the past couple weeks so it felt so great to be back. Temple's are truly amazing places!
Luckily, we stayed the night because we were beat after our fun day. After a great day and night, we jumped in the car for the 2 hour drive back home. I definitely needed this little getaway and am grateful we could go before school gets underway.
One more thing. I love Sundays. And I love to cook/bake on Sundays. It makes me happy. So after taking a long nap after church I whipped up these delicious muffins.
The counter top kind of makes it hard for them to stand out, but in real life they really do look awesome. I loaded each muffin liner and they just puffed up a perfect amount! If you want the recipe, it's HERE on my mom's blog. The only thing we've changed since she posted that recipe is we add 1 cup of fresh blueberries tossed in some flour to the batter. Tossing them in the flour before adding them to the batter keeps the blueberries from falling to the bottom of the muffin once you scoop them into the tins. I also added about a half cup of unsweetened shredded coconut to the dry ingredients. These are also loaded with zucchini, banana, walnuts, and golden raisins. Held together with a couple eggs, coconut oil, honey, apple sauce, and a block of tofu, they turn out moist, satisfying and delicious! The batch made nearly 2 dozen and they freeze perfectly. It makes for a great little breakfast or snack anytime!
No comments:
Post a Comment