An Amazing Summer- July

We left for Idaho on the 2nd of July. We made it to St. George in time to see The Sound of Music at Tuacahn with Ben's family. It was amazing!

We made it to Rexburg in time to celebrate the 4th of July with Ivan's family. We enjoyed the parade, the luncheon at Ivan's sister Debra's home, and fireworks at Ivan's brother Brent's house. It was a great day!

We drove back to Utah on the 7th, Elizabeth's 8th birthday. So, Lizzie was able to celebrate her birthday with both sets of Grandparents. We had a fun swim party to celebrate all the kid's birthdays this summer at my mom's.

Ivan returned to Tucson the 8th, while the kids and I remained at my parents. I stayed busy finishing the meatball cookbook, shooting 3 television segments for Studio 5, Good Things Utah, and KUTV2 Noon News, and signing at the Grand Opening of the new Sam's Club in South Jordan. It was pretty crazy. The kids enjoyed swimming everyday with Aunt Kami, Grandma or Grandpa, or Uncle Derek and Valerie.

On the 18th, the kids and I drove back up to Rexburg. Devan, Liz, and Spencer spent a fun filled night with Aunt Amy's Family. Emma was entertained by both Grandma Ashcraft and my Grandma Woertz, while Debra and I went to see Michael White (nephew) graduate from BYU-Idaho. The next day, Ivan's mom (Dorothy) and I were able to go to the Rexburg Temple with Valerie (Derek's fiancee) for her first time.

The kids had fun playing at Grandma Ashcraft's house that next week. They loved playing with cousins, going to the Splash Park, riding the merry-go-round, and going to Egan Lakes with Amy and her kids.

The Summer of the Meatball

Most of you know I write cookbooks. Well, this summer I was approached by Rich Foods, a major frozen food company, about working on a new book entitled 101 Things To Do With Meatballs. The catch was that I only had 6 weeks to do the book. 6 weeks to perfect 101 recipes. It normally takes me a year to do a book.

Byron and the staff of Rich Foods were wonderful to provide me with over 60+ ideas that I was able to use to start me off and running. They also are reimbursing me for all the ingredients. Plus they will be launching a new website where they will give away 10,000 copies of the book. I'll post the website as soon as I get the information. Rich Foods makes Casa Di Bertacchi Frozen Fully cooked meatballs which sell at Sam's club in a 6 pound bag for @$11.



My neighbors, friends, and family were tremendous help to me during the crazy 6 weeks to follow. I could not have survived without the help from the Kimbers and Robin Morse. Raylene would bring her girls over to watch the kids while we ran to Sam's Club and Walmart to gather ingredients. Her girls would come over and help me with the kids while I cooked. When the Kimbers weren't there, Robin Morse would come and help me with the house and kids while I cooked. She even helped me assemble some of the recipes. I feel so blessed to have such great friends.

My parents, grandma, and sister helped me finish the book while I was in Utah. They would take my kids swimming every night while I cooked dinner for everyone and their neighbors. I couldn't have done it without them.

An Amazing Summer- June

St. George Temple June 2008

This summer was full of amazing events. On June 13th, we rushed up to Utah to attend Ivan's Ashcraft Family Reunion in Ogden, Utah. It was so wonderful to see so many relatives that we don't get to see near enough. We enjoyed the beautiful 85 degree weather after experiencing temperatures in the 100s in Arizona. While the family was exclaiming how hot it was, we were thinking how wonderful it felt!

Dorothy and Grant enjoy the reunion!

The next day we made a surprise appearance to the church we attended for 5 years in Provo. We were so excited to see all our old friends- the Paytons, the Johnsons, the Boshards, the Lindgrens, and so many others. I felt really strongly that we are who we are today in a large part from our associations with the wonderful people in that area. We truly were blessed to have found that basement apartment so many years ago!

The next day was a whirlwind of activity. I appeared on Good Things Utah at 10 a.m.. From there we rushed across Salt Lake City to get to the Roth Concept Center to film for KUTV2's Noon News. From there, we drove to the airport getting there in plenty of time (Thanks to a delayed flight) to pick up Andrew Law at the airport. Andrew is the one who opened his mission call at our home in a previous blog. He's the whole reason we made the trip. We couldn't let him report to the Missionary Training Center by himself.

Andrew Law at Temple Square

After picking him up, we took him to see Temple Square. It was his first trip to Utah. We stayed the night at my friend, Paula Taylor's home, in Provo. She, bless her heart, watched all 4 of our kids the next day so we could go temple hopping with Andrew. We left at 10 a.m. and got home after 9 a.m.. We were blessed to attend the Salt Lake Temple and the American Fork Temple plus see more of Temple Square.

Ivan and Andrew at the American Fork Temple

The next day we took Andrew to the MTC. I love the Missionary Training Center! It looked just how I remembered it from my time there in 1994. What an amazing experience to be there with Andrew!

Missionary Training Center

After the MTC, we packed the van and headed to meet up with Ivan's brother, Ryan, and their family in Manti for the Mormon Miracle Pageant. We stayed a really neat rental home there in Manti.

Spencer and Liz loved the Manti Pageant!

The next day (the 19th) we went to Bryce Canyon National Park and drove through Zions National Park with Ryan's family.

Bryce Canyon is worth the stop!

We got to Ivan's brother Ben's home in time to change, leave the kids with a sitter, go out to dinner, and see Les Miserable at the Tuacahn in St. George. The Tuacahn is an outdoor musical theater nestled under a huge red rock mountain. What an amazing experience!

Les Miserable at the Tuacahn

We had fun spending time with Ivan's 2 brothers and their families. More happened on the trip, but this is a good synopsis. I'm tired just thinking about it again!

Mom and Dad weren't the only exhausted ones!

Lots to Report

It's been a crazy and fun summer for the Ashcrafts! Right now the kids and I are at Grandma's in Utah enjoying the great weather and the swimming pool! I have been working hard on a new book that is due on the 15th of July. I have 7 more recipes to try in 3 days. 94 done! Yeah! I was able to appear on KSL's Studio 5 program. It was so much fun! Hopefully in August, I'll have some big news to announce. It looks like I may be able to film from my own kitchen in Tucson soon!

I'll separately post about fun events this summer soon. Probably after the 15th!

FYI- I'll be on Salt Lake's KUTV 2 noon news on Wednesday cooking with Bryan at the Roth Concept Center. I'll also be on Good Things Utah on Thursday giving tips on putting together your own family cookbooks.