Texodus: Adventure in Heber

 To kick off our "Day of fun in Heber", we decided to try some Heber kolaches.  Yes, folks, the "special" treat I reserve for people visiting us in TX can now be purchased in our hometown.  Awesome- just one more reason to NOT visit us.  But for the record, they were yummy, but not as fluffy as the ones we get in West (be still my heart) or near our house. So there.

After breakfast, the TX and CA cousins piled into a couple of cars and went off to the State Park to feed some ducks and geese.  These city kids had a blast and loved feeding them.

Then we went into the visitor's center to learn about the animals and rocks around the State Park.  The favorite exhibit by far was the "learn their footprints and poop" display.  It was gross/awesome.

Then we went to the Homestead to hike up to the top of the crater.  My stair-loving boy decided that it was too hot to climb stairs and insisted I carry him. Bek wisely stayed at the bottom with the little girls.

I love that the crater now has this bridge with the mesh-metal bottom so you can look right down into the crater. I can't tell you how much of my child and young adulthood I spent wondering what it would look like to do that!

He saw this statue and immediately did this. I love this boy- SO MUCH!

Next we went to take in the view on top of Memorial Hill.  Naturally, when faced with the top of a hill with beautiful scenery, you yell "MOOOOOO" as loud as you can to the cows below. 

Look! Beautiful kids and Mt. Timp!

Bek took the little girls home and I took all 5 (!) big kids to round out our trip at the "Train Place" a.k.a Dairy Keen for ice cream and to play on their train table. It was a fun morning in my home town!

Funny story- It was a little chaotic getting all 5 kids herded into the Dairy Keen and taking their various orders.  I must have looked a little flustered (and like they all belonged to me) because 2 different couples let me go in front of them to order. Awesome!

Best. Burger. Ever.

Behold- the Bowling Alley Cheeseburger!

Sure- we may be way more veggie at home nowadays, but we still eat meat when eating out (if the fancy strikes us) and that is a good thing because I can hardly make a trip to Heber to visit my parents without going to the Bowling Alley for a cheeseburger.

When people ask me "where is a good place to eat in Heber?" I usually try to tell them to go to the bowling alley. I don't think any believe me (or have taken me up on it) but that is OK with me- the less the merrier.

You see, the bowling alley burger is cooked one order at a time. Yep, none of this quick "30 seconds" stuff- nope a labor of love like this takes time. The burgers themselves are made of something that tastes like real beef- not cardboardy stuff - and they aren't too thick and have a perfect bun-to-meat-ratio. They are also cooked on a grill that is as old as the rest of the bowling alley and it probably hasn't been cleaned in 50 yrs. (which is a good thing, according to Alton Brown) so the burgers get a nice crust on the outside- not burned, just a crust.

The bun is brushed with butter and toasted on the grill as well. The burger usually comes with a tomato slice, onion slices, pickles and lettuce. Take a second to appreciate the beautiful tomato in the picture above. Delish!

When I was preggo with EJ, a Bowling Alley cheeseburger was pretty much all I craved. I even found myself plotting how to get one from Heber to Tempe, AZ! It is also the cheeseburger by which I judge all cheeseburgers.

I love the Bowling Alley for their burgers, sure, but I also love that the place literally never changes. It still has the look of a 60's classic bowling alley. It also reminds me of my childhood. AJ (my aunt) would take us out of school when she visited and we'd have lunch there. It was a BIG DEAL!

So now I'm really glad to pass on the food and tradition with my girls. If only we could eat lunch without begging for a game of "balling"...

Gettin' My Swiss On

DMP and I headed home to my old stomping grounds this weekend to partake in all things faux- Swiss for the annual Swiss Days art/craft fair thingy. I have always loved Swiss Days and look forward to going most every year. It has been fun to see it grow over the years into a big deal.

Midway is a funny place- it was settled by a bunch of Swiss immigrants and their descendents (and the town itself) tries to hang on to that heritage by making little girls wear lederhosen (a.k.a the "Swiss Miss Royalty") and by incorporating Swiss-like architecture styles:

Oh yeah, and did you know you can make anything authentically "Swiss" by just adding "Swiss" to it's name. Nope- it is totally true. Swiss Hamburger? Sure! Swiss Shaved Ice? Why not? Finally, we have my personal favorite:

Ole! Speaking of "Swiss Ole", check out the special of the day at a local Mexican eatery (Tarahumara, BTW- super, super good- check out the massive salsa bar and don't forget to order the flan):

I asked the owner what, exactly, is involved in a "Swiss Enchilada" and she said that in the Chiuahua reigion, where she is from, there is seriously such thing as a "Swiss Enchilada" so it wasn't just made up for Swiss Days. That made me feel a little better.

DMP and I had a lot of fun. Grandma and Grandpa were kind enough to spoil the girls for the evening, so we had a Swiss Date (see? I told you, it works). We ate dinner and shopped all the crafty/arty booths. Funnily enough, our purchases were NOT made in Swiss Days proper, but in the surrounding shops and whatnot.

My best "find" is the beautiful, soft, hand-spun Alpaca yarn I bought for a very large amount of $$ (accountant approved). Seriously, this yarn addiction is getting worse, people! After observing my raptures over the lovely alpaca yarn and DMP patiently Oooh-ing and Ahh-ing, the woman who was selling the yarn asked if we were newlyweds. I guess only a newlywed husband would even pretend to be interested in yarn! Whatever it was, it made our day!

At the end of the evening, we stopped into a little antique shop where I found 2 old industrial wooden spools for $4 each! I've been casually shopping for some and they usually go for $15 each- score! Plus, they had a whole collection of antique beehive things and I limited myself to buying just one. I can't wait to display them!

Oh- one last thing. Apparently, my husband is running for mayor of Heber again. Can you believe it? They misspelled our name on the sign! Here is a picture of DMP pretending to steal a sign for his own personal uses (as far as you know he's pretending...):