It's Been Awhile!

I know that you have all been checking my blog regularly and are wondering if I am still alive. Well, rest assured that I am still alive and I’m painfully aware that it has been nearly two months since I have updated my blog. I apologize. December was something of a crazy month for me; however, I’m going to try and be better. I have some pictures from Christmas and New Year’s that I’ll post tomorrow along with a short recap of the month. Hang tight!

GO UTES!

I just had to post this, especially after tonight’s game:


Yeah, I'm one happy Utah fan!

Grandma McKinlay

My grandma passed away two weeks ago and during that time I have been reading tributes to her on different family blogs. I have been wanting to write my own tribute to my grandma but my emotions have been so close to the surface that it has been difficult to write. Even now I am having a hard time; it's difficult to put in to words what she means to me. Now, this will not be nearly as eloquent as my siblings posts but…

My grandma McKinlay has been a key figure in my life since I was born and has helped shape the woman that I am today. Her unconditional love helped me though some challenging times as I matured and I am forever grateful for her influence and example. She is truly amazing. Growing up I loved more than anything to spend time, especially one on one time, with my grandma. And as I got older I treasured my time with her even more, though sometimes there at the end she didn‘t know who I was. I love her so very much and I am going to miss her terribly. I am so very thankful for the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and I look forward to the day when I get to hug grandma again. I thank my Heavenly Father for my angel grandmother and hope that I can live worthy to be with her again. I love you grandma!


***The pics were taken by my cousin Emily Ann at the funeral on Monday. Thanks for letting me steal them Em!

Cousins

A younger picture of my grandma

My mom and her brother Doug

My brothers- Shawn, Steve, and Mike

Me and my cousin Summer

Siblings-Mar, Kate, and Shawn

Mar and baby Addie

Mar and Kate

Happy Halloween!

I spent a little time today reflecting on Halloween's past and how much fun I always had. I may not dress up or go trick or treating anymore but I still enjoy Halloween. My siblings still dress up and insist that we continue with the food traditions (chili dogs, hot cider, and doughnuts) that my mom started years ago. This year my parents are in Las Vegs but that still didn't stop us from doing the things that we have done for years. We sure had fun. I hope you all had an enjoyable day.

The Halloween fun continues at This Is The Place Heritage Park's 'Haunted Village'

The observation was made Saturday night that we do more activities related to Halloween then we do Christmas. I wonder why that is? Who knows? I do know that a bunch of the Sloanies went to This Is The Place Heritage Park's 'Haunted Village' on Saturday night. It was not at all what we were expecting but it turned out to be fun all the same. We even saw the Headless Horseman riding through the park!

Now, I hate being scared so I generally avoid all things scary at Halloween and scary movies the rest of the year. So, when we got to the park and I realized that the Haunted Village was a haunted house of sorts I wanted to turn around and go home. I stuck it out though and it turned out to be kind of fun. My brothers were full of shenanigans and encouraged the actors throughout the park to scare their sisters. Steven got me good a couple of times and I screamed quite a bit more than I had intended (I was going to be oh so tough). At the end though, I think we decided that it was not as bad as we thought that it would be and that we might like to do it again next year.

Sam Hawk and Haunted Canyon Shenanigans

My sister, Kathryn loves Halloween and the fun things that come with that silly holiday. So, Saturday night my siblings, my mom, and I went down to Provo for some Korean food at Sam Hawk and to ride the Heber Valley Railroad's Haunted Canyon. This was the third time we have taken this ride and as always were were not disappointed. The characters from the Provo Canyon Urban Legends (the stories) that were piped in to the train car were in good form and it was fun to interact with them. Plus, there were a couple of additions to the ride which included the train stopping twice and sitting in the dark one of the two times it stopped. Now, the ride is a bit cheesey but it is still fun and, let's be honest, the Sloan siblings know how to make their own fun, and we sure had fun. And of course, Addie was the subject of a lot of attention; she's just so stinkin' cute.

If you ever have the opportunity to take this ride, do it!

The After Session Session

Saturday night after the Priesthood session of General Conference Becky and I hosted a party- a rather large party by our standards. The attraction? Jeff Tueller and Danny Wood! Jeff and Danny started paying guitar together about three years ago and are both very talented musicians. It’s hard to explain their chemistry or “the Jeff and Danny experience” as I have come to call chilling with them while they jam. Anyway, for the last two years Danny has been serving a mission in Macon, Georgia and has recently returned home to his adoring fans. So, Saturday night was to be a welcome home party for Danny and the boys did not disappoint! The party was awesome and the music was great. Danny's still got it after two years of hardly picking up a guitar and Jeff was awesome as usual. I love these two guys so much and I am so happy to have them playing together again. It just makes my heart happy. So, enjoy the pictures (Danny is in the red t-shirt).