I would like to thank the people who made this possible. . .

My fun trip to Utah could not have be possible without some help.

Thanks to:

1. Delta Airlines

(Direct flights ROCK but seriously what is up with the
$25 charge for a second bag?!)

2. Alamo Rental Cars

(Having your own car. . .priceless!)

3. My high school friends!

Can you believe it has been 15 years?!

4. The little people

Thanks for all your hugs and kisses! Aunt Chrissy loves you!

5. To the Millcreek parade committee.

Great Job this year! See you in 12 months!

6. To Mike & Shonna

Thanks for looping around Salt Lake so I could find brisket for the party (apparently the 4th store was the charm). I also appreciate the pictures and the kitchen help. I am glad you guys moved back!

7. To the parents

Thanks for squeezing one more person into your house- I think twelve was plenty.

8. 24-hr Fitness
I really appreciate the free 7-day pass. It honestly went to good use.
9. Jack
You know who you are!
10. Thanks to all the people who get so excited when I come to Utah.
I feel like a rock star!

I have 21 nieces and nephews (yes, I am serious!) and I love being Aunt Chrissy.
This trip I saw 15 out of the 21, 71% is not half-bad. This trip just went by way too fast.

Miss you already!

Brisket Birthday Dinner

For my Grandmother's birthday party in Utah I made Luanna Rogers’ Brisket and BBQ Sauce. The meal was fantastic. Due to the 4th of July weekend, there were no briskets to be found. I finally found our brisket at Snider's Bros. Meats (the 4th store we tried).

Here I am with the prized brisket and below is the recipe. It is super easy and really an affordable way to feed a crowd.

Brisket

This recipe is for 4 pounds of Brisket

1. Put fat side up and wrap in foil many times (about 5)
2. 2 T. Liquid Smoke (directly on brisket)
3. Make rub and rub on brisket
1 ½ t. salt
1 ½ t. pepper
2 T. chili powder
1 t. crushed bay leaves
4. Bake at 325 degrees for 4 hours (If needed sooner, start at 350 degrees for the 1st hour and then turn down to 325 degrees)
5. Once the brisket is done, take the fat off the meat and shred.

Barbecue Sauce

3 T. Brown Sugar
1-14 oz. bottle of ketchup
½ cup water
2 T. liquid smoke
4 T. Worcestershire sauce
3 t. dry mustard
2 t. celery seed
3 T. butter
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Mix together in pot, bring to a simmer
2. Makes enough for 4 lbs. of brisket

Serve with good rolls and Bush’s Baked Beans (BBQ flavor), warm up beans and add a bit of meat and some BBQ sauce to it.

The GREATEST PARADE on EARTH!

Here is a slide show of this year's East Millcreek 4th of July parade. This parade rocks! I have been going to this parade since I can remember and there is no place I would rather be on the 4th of July! I hope you enjoy the slide show!

Yes, another post about my trip.

Highlights of Day 3 on VACATION!

1. I took my nephew Ben with me to see my Grandmother. He was so cute when he found the ewukalaylee (as he called it). Hey Ben's parents: He said he wants one. Maybe Santa should bring him an ewukalaylee. (hint, hint) Doesn't he look so cute?! He also loved the chickens and playing shoot the moon.

Ben & his Great-Grandmother Todd
Ben did not want to pose for the picture. I think the $1 bribe was money well spent!
(Hey, I can bribe other people's kids, right??:)

2. Sometimes I feel that I only get to see my friends for a few minutes when I am on vacation. Here are some quick shots of us before everyone had to run their separate ways.


3. I loved staying up really late with Liz, Lynnette, Anne, and Brad! It was such a great beautiful evening to just sit outside and talk.

All in all- a great day!

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!

When I was growing up in Salt Lake, we did not have central air for cooling. We only had a swamp cooler and that was just not enough. Summers in Utah are hot, hot, hot (and dry). Most summer nights, my mom decided that we would go up the canyon for dinner instead of cooking in the hot house. Millcreek Canyon is about 10 minutes (at the most) away from my parent's house and just driving up the canyon transports me to a tranquil state. There is really no other place in the world where the smells, the sights, and the tastes bring back so many fond memories. On Wednesday night, we took up the family for a cookout.

Here are some of my nieces and nephews learning how to start a fire.

My favorite, fire roasted hot dogs.

Nate and Jake's favorite too!

Mike & John showing how to get it done.

The perfect marshmallow roasted by John to make his perfect s’more.

Story time by Ben.

Group Shot!

I smelled like canyon, fire, and dirt when I got home and I wish I could have bottled up that smell and brought it back to D.C. with me.

A Pretty, Great State

Travel Log- Day 1 & 2:

Tuesday evening, I flew into Salt Lake. For dinner, my brother John and I went for sushi at Ginza in downtown. If you like sushi, they have yummy unique rolls and great miso soup.

Wednesday, I dropped by Evergreen Park to see some of my old high school friends and their children. I only had a few minutes but it was great catching up with everyone and seeing how their kids have grown. It was so fun to reconnect and play the game, "Oh, guess who I ran into?" For the record, I never just "run" into anyone from high school in D.C. so I always lose the game but it is fun to play anyway.

After the park, I meet up with my friend Catherine. Catherine and I were running partners in college and we are very comfortable just talking for hours. (When you are on a long run, you just talk about anything and everything.) Catherine is fabulous (even though she reads my blog and never comments:)). We would be happy doing anything but here is how we spent our day.

My brother John told me of a cafe named Toasters in downtown Salt Lake which made the best sandwiches so we decided to try it out. I needed change for the meter so I walked in to Toasters and I heard, "Chris?!" I turned around to find my brother Mike and my cousin Rich. What a crazy coincidence and a great way for me to get change for the meter, I mean come on, what are brothers for?! (Thanks Mike!!)

Here is our yummy lunch. A turkey and avocado toaster. They put balsamic vinegar on the sandwich which gives it a nice sweet and tangy taste. The cafe has an European flare to it that is very quaint. I would definitely go back!

Last year when I was in Utah I saw a museum exhibit of black and white photographs of historical Utah buildings. I thought that it would be really fun to get some of those photographs framed for my house. When I asked at the museum about the exhibit, they said that they were photographs from the Utah State Historical Society Archives. I have been waiting 7 months to pick out pictures so after lunch, Catherine and I headed to the Rio Grande building (one of my favorite buildings) to go to the archives.

They archives were awesome. They probably had 100 file cabinet drawers filled with old pictures. You can purchase copies of the photographs in any size you want or you can have them burn you a CD ($8 a photo). I opted for the CD because I wanted to have the ability to make different sizes of the photographs. Catherine and I picked out some fabulous pictures and we had a great time looking at all the old photos. When my CD comes, I will put them on the blog. If you cannot make it to Utah, you can always go to the archives online.
Honestly, it was a great afternoon.

What would a hot day in Utah be without a Sno Cone
and you know how I like Sno Cones.
At Bob's Brainfreeze, you can get cream on the top of your cone.

SO GOOD!

What a great day but wait it isn't over! It was so hot that we decided to go up the canyon for dinner. . . . more to come.

GO WEST!

I spent the 4th of July weekend in Utah.
I had lots of fun and I did a lot of great things.
Hope you enjoy my travel log!

Some (ok, many) of the pictures from this trip are courtesy of my brother Mike. He just got a fancy new camera and has already become a great photographer.

Thanks Mike!