How To Eat A Cougar and Other Valentine Stories

But first . . . don't you just love a man with a heart?!

This is one of my favorite pictures. I took it at a party we had at our house last year following a Friday night fireside. There were about 30 people over, and when I saw all these men sitting on the floor holding the balloons, I couldn't resist whipping out the camera! So cute!

But . . . about that cougar . . .

Question: If you attended BYU and eat cougar, does that make you a cannibal?

Saturday night we had a neighborhood progressive dinner. We started at B&C’s with yummy chicken nachos, fresh homemade salsa, pico de gallo and guacamole. Oh, and grilled cougar. YES!! Cougar.

Gotta say it creeped me out a bit.

Another neighbor, who is a big hunter, killed the cougar in southern Arizona a while ago and thought he would bring some over for us to enjoy. (cough, cough)

I was brave and ate three bites. It really wasn’t bad. It was sort of like slightly tough pork. By the third bite though, just the thought of what I was eating made me gag a bit.

I thought Wes would be excited to eat it. After all, according to Louis L'Amour (who is frequently quoted in our house) cougar is supposed to be the best meat ever.

Wes only had one bite. One little bite.

I think Louis has lost just a little credibility.

The rest of the evening was a lot of fun, just maybe not as adventurous. We went to my house for the main course, where we had rice, teriyaki pork, a salad and rolls (the salad and rolls were brought by other neighbors) and then we ended up at the home of the cougar cooks for strawberry shortcake and games.

It was a great way to share some “neighborhood love”!

~~~~~~

AND . . .Since Valentines is today, Wes and I celebrated together Friday night. He is such a sweetheart!! He planned the whole evening on his own. (It isn't a shock that he can do it, it is just that I usually plan all of our dates.:-)

First, on Wednesday he brought me home a big bouquet of flowers and told me it was a clue to what we would be doing on our date. Finally I guessed that we would be going to see My Fair Lady at Arizona Broadway Theater, a dinner theater near our house.

The dinner was so yummy and the play was fantastic. They really did a great job. That play is one of our favorites so it was a lot of fun to go see it and very thoughtful of Wes to plan the night.

I sure love that man!!

Tonight we are having all RED food for dinner. . . salsa, enchiladas, Spanish rice (all family favorites)

Happy Valentines to Everyone!! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Historic Smith Hotel--Our Journey to Utah

Since Michelle and I were going to Utah alone for Spring break, we decided to make our trip an adventure. Thanks to Amy and Bailey and my visiting teachers, we had plenty of treats for our journey. As you can see, there wasn't a single ounce of nutrition in it, and enough sugar to last a month! We enjoyed snitching the snacks and Michelle had fun coloring in the coloring book with the glitter crayons. (Not just regular crayons, mind you, these had glitter in them!) But don't worry, we were sure to stop for a salad along the way to provide a little balance.


We left home around noon and drove to Glendale, Utah, population 350. For many years we have made this trip, and each time as we turn the bend into town (headed south) we pass a sign for the "Historic Smith Hotel". Being as my maiden name is Smith, we always joke about it being the family business. So this time, since I did not want to make the long drive to American Fork in the dark, we made arrangements to stay at the one and only Smith Hotel! And what fun that was!

The hotel was built in 1927 by Joseph and Mary Ellen Smith, descendants of Joseph F. Smith and run as a boarding house. The current propietors, Rochelle and Mike, now mostly serve as hosts to visitors from Europe who have stopped in Salt Lake City and are headed to the Grand Canyon.

There are six rooms to choose from. We chose this one, which ended up being a real treat. The beds were brand new and very comfortable and the furnishings completely charming!

Having a little time to explore our surroundings, and being very curious, we discovered this atrium just off the top floor. What a wonderful place to sit and relax after a day of travel!

This stove in the kitchen was in the house originally. Antique collectors would love the entire house, actually, as many beautiful pieces are on display that have been collected over the years.

In the morning Rochelle treated us to a delicious breakfast of waffles, fresh fruit, strawberry yogurt, granola and hot chocolate.

After gathering our belongings, we paused on the front porch to say goodbye.

For only $50.00 a night (in the winter) which included breakfast, it was truly a bargain. But being able to stay in quaint 82 year old house and experience a little slice of history was priceless!