food — Kristie & Tom McConnon

Mardi Gras Murder Mystery Dinner

October 30, 2011 By Kristie Lee Leave a Comment

I’ve never had a Halloween season where I dressed up as much as I did this year…I ended up wearing 5 different costumes! That’s craziness! But each one was a blast, and well worth the planning. For this latest adventure, our friends Mandy and Ryan put on a little Mardi Gras-themed murder mystery dinner (which wrapped up our Halloween weekend festivities). Tom had never been to one before, but this one was my second. We received invitations to show up as costumed characters from a fictional Bayou community.

Well, our hosts really went all out for the party…it was so much fun. Mandy is so crafty and creative! Raf and Claudia were nice enough to have it at their home, and Raf made some delicious food (including a mouthwatering Cajun jambalaya)! The decorations were awesome and everyone dressed to fit their part.

Tom and I

John and Becky

Raf and Claudia

Ryan (the murderer!) and Mandy

In the end, none of us guessed the murderer correctly, but we still had a great time debating and making guesses. Thanks again guys!

Filed Under: food, friends, holidays

Bunco Witch Party

October 25, 2011 By Kristie Lee Leave a Comment

A bunch of girls in our ward have a Bunco night each month. This month they needed a sub and invited me to join in on the fun! Since it is Halloween time they decided to do a witches theme. We all dressed up like witches and Nikki decorated everything so cute! This group of women is such a blast, and we laughed all night!

Dinner was delicious and the game is always entertaining. I ended up with an adorable home-made Halloween wreath for my front door, which I had my eye on since I walked in! Yah! Now I finally feel like my home looks a little festive. I think I’ll do more decorating next year when Lilah will actually enjoy and appreciate it… lol Thanks again to Nikki for the invite and to Tom for having a little daddy daughter time!

Filed Under: food, friends, holidays

Annual Asian Star Dinner

October 13, 2011 By Kristie Lee Leave a Comment

I can’t believe it’s this time of year again! Every year we attend a birthday dinner for Grandma Hiller at on of her favorite places, the Asian Star. The gathering gets larger and larger every year, so they give us our own room to party in. This year was a record year for Tanner attendance; My parents and Cole were able to make the trip down because it coincided with a doctors appointment and a wedding, Lacey and her boyfriend Travis came up from Provo, and Houston and Becca dropped in on their way up to Rexburg.

Sadly, this is the only picture we got of the birthday girl. Anyone who knows Grandma Hiller knows she doesn’t like getting her picture taken. I’m glad we were able to get one anyways.

Kendra, Baby Jackman, Dad-Tanner, William, and Grandpa Haworth

Lilah getting lots of love. I love baby open mouthed kisses!

Us with Lacey and Travis

I’m grateful that we have this tradition. It’s a great excuse to get together and enjoy each other.

Filed Under: Birthday, family, food, out of town

Tanner Reunion Day 3

July 4, 2011 By Kristie Lee 1 Comment

Happy 4th of July! Today began early and we stayed busy with fun activities! I decided to run the Freedom Run 10k this year. The course ran right along the parade route which brought lots of screaming spectators. I loved the crowd. The course had some tough hills, but I ended up placing 2nd in my age division and finished with a 41:45. It was really fun to have family there to support me! Thanks guys!

After the race we headed straight down to the parade where Angela and Jeff were saving us a spot. The kids had a great time watching everything go by. Lilah especially loved all the huge blown up characters… lol

After the parade we headed home for a quick break before leaving for Seven Peaks. We thought we’d have to brave some pretty big crowds at the water park on the 4th of July, but it ended up looking like a pretty average day! We were grateful for shorter lines which made it possible to ride lots and lots of water slides! Grandma and Grandpa win the prize for being the most fun! They ran around with the kids until the park closed! It was super hot all day which made me a little nervous, but I used my new Alba sunblock on Lilah and she didn’t get burned at all… Yah!

Some people in our neighborhood have been throwing a pretty great 4th of July bash for the last 4 years, so we decided to join in. Last year we stopped in but got there late and didn’t know very many people yet. We had a great time this year! They had music playing and fireworks exploding all evening long.

It actually started raining during the fireworks and they had to hurry and do the finale earlier than expected. I was surprised, as I was last year, with how many big fireworks they lit off! It was quite a good show. Thanks again to our friendly neighbors for letting our whole family participate in the festivities!

After the show we actually headed home and lite off a few of our own fireworks. Thanks Jeff!

We ended the night laughing our heads off playing a game because a) we really are that funny; or b) we were all exhausted… I’m gonna have to go with A. I am so grateful to be able to celebrate our Nations birthday with some of my favorite people in the world!! All I have left to say is MMmmmm…. Betsey…

Filed Under: exercise/sport, family, food, holidays

Tanner Reunion Day 2

July 3, 2011 By Kristie Lee Leave a Comment

Sunday was a nice relaxing day. We have 9am church and I was surprised to pretty much get everyone there on time. I loved having family there with me in my ward! It was great to introduce them to my friends. Soon after we got home Houston and Becca arrived!! Yah! They drove in from Arizona.

We spent some of the afternoon watching old family videos, Mom and Dad gave us awesome gifts from their Navoo trip, and we took some family pictures.

Taking family pictures is usually quite an ordeal, but this time seemed to run more smoothly than normal. It didn’t take very long and the kids were pretty cooperative. It’s about time that Tom and I and Lilah had our own little family picture, so I was very grateful that Angela was willing to take these for us! We love her pictures!

Delicious food was something we never had too little of this week, and there was plenty of sharing.

Filed Under: family, food, fun things, pictures

Tanner Reunion Day 1

July 2, 2011 By Kristie Lee Leave a Comment

After the Tanner Family 5oth celebration our immediate Tanner family headed back to Provo for our reunion! Friday night was spent getting settled and talking.

Saturday morning we got everyone out of the house by 8:50am to hike the Y! We thought it was pretty awesome with all those kids! We were grateful that we started early and missed some of the intense heat.

Lilah did really well in the mobe wrap which surprised me… As long as she was moving she was happy.

Angela, Emily and Cole

All of us at the top of the Y.

Hanging out at the top. I love that Jacob has dirt all over his face in this one…. lol

After we hiked down tot he base Angela and I ran back to our house, which was probably a bad idea cause it was super hot by that point! But it was really fun to get to run together. We don’t get the chance very often and love to when we can.

This year Tom’s company Qualtrics was a sponsor for Stadium of Fire and we received 4 tickets! Mom and Dad decided that they would take the kids to watch the firework show up by the temple while Tom and I took Angela and Jeff to the show! We got a babysitter for Emily and Lilah which worked out great for everyone. The 2 babies were asleep before the fireworks even started. Us four went to a company party before and mingled with everyone before heading over to the stadium.

The boys happily holding our purses while Ang and I went to the bathroom.

We had no idea that we’d be so spoiled! Our seats were amazing, and we had free food and water. Tom and I were even just happy to be out on a date!

The show was awesome, and I have to say that I heart Brad Paisley! It was my first time seeing a country artist with Tom and will probably be my last… lol He is not a fan.

Luckily because of some careful, parking-planning, we were able to make it home pretty quick. We actually beat Grandma and Grandpa home, but when they got there this is what we found in the back seat! We all had quite a long day I guess… lol

Filed Under: entertainment, family, food, holidays

50th Wedding Anniversary

July 1, 2011 By Kristie Lee Leave a Comment

My Grandma and Grandpa Tanner just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and we were able to have an amazing family celebration with them! During the previous week they were able to visit Navoo with some of our parents. They all had a wonderful time and I know they made many great memories together. After flying back to Utah on Thursday night, we all met up at a church house on Friday afternoon. All of their kids were able to be there along with most of their grandchildren and great grandchildren.

When they first arrived at the church house we greeted them by throwing rice in the air. It was a time of celebration, but we all got a little emotional too. We love them both so much and we know they love each other!

It was so fun for all the kids to be there and see their great grandparents still so in love after 50 years together.

At the church house we had a little talent show. Their were many talents that brought back old memories of great times we’ve had together and new talents being developed.

After the talent show we headed back to the Coleman’s home where we got a chance to watch Grandma and Grandpa open some gifts. One of my favorites was the book of memories. Tom and I were able to write a few of our favorite memories for the book. It was really neat for all of us to have that opportunity to share those with them. They are so loved by so many people. It might take them a year just to read all the memories… hehe We also got to watch a really neat slideshow and some video of them.

We had a delicious meal together and then enjoyed swimming in the pool for hours! The kids loved it, but the adults may have loved it even more. I got to swim while Lilah took a nap for 2 hours, then she woke up and I played and swam with her for a few more.

We were all quite tired, but very happy by the end of the day. I am so grateful to be part of this family! They are all so incredibly giving, and loving, and it all started with Grandma and Grandpa. Thank you for your love for us! Happy 5oth!

Filed Under: family, food, out of town

Amanda’s Baby Shower

June 25, 2011 By Kristie Lee 1 Comment

Leah and I got to throw our good friend Amanda a little baby shower. Even though Amanda doesn’t live in Provo, she still knew some people from around here, so we jumped at the chance. She looks so cute with her little baby belly!

Leah and I didn’t know the other girls before the shower, but we all became instant friends. I really enjoyed hearing different birth stories and experiences. That use to be one of the things I dreaded most about baby showers, and now it’s one of my favorite parts.

We are all so excited for Amanda and Houston! Congrats again you guys!

Filed Under: food, friends

Happy Birthday Lilah!

June 18, 2011 By Kristie Lee 1 Comment

Tonight we threw a party for Lilah! We’ve had the kitchen decorations up all day, and Lilah has loved it! When she woke up from her afternoon nap there were people here waiting for her to celebrate with them!

For dinner we did taco-type stuff and I made this for the main dish. It turned out great, even on a larger scale than normal. Thank you to everyone who brought delicious side dishes! I got the drink idea from Leah’s sister-in-law Mary. It was definitely a hit and was gone before I even got a chance to try a glass. It was just a mixture of water, lemon juice, strawberry puree and agave.

I have been thinking about what cake I wanted to make Lilah since she was born. I finally decided on this one. We tried it a couple times and love it! I really think it might be my favorite chocolate cake ever! You would never know that there are so many beets in it. We also make it with ground oat groat flour and it was still so light and fluffy. For the frosting I decided to leave out the cocoa and add a few drops of beet juice to make it a pinkish purple color. Then I sprinkled it with strawberries…. kind of hoping that Lilah would just eat those… lol That didn’t happen. I used the remainder of the batter and frosting to make cupcakes for everyone else. This was the first time that Lilah had anything like this before and she definitely enjoyed it!

We were so grateful to everyone who got to join us! Thanks for making the trip! Lilah seemed to really enjoy having a house full of people!

Also, thank you for all the gifts! I did not expect anyone to bring her anything (I should have been more clear about that) and she was completely spoiled! She also had a great time tearing the wrapping paper!

We had a few sad moments… one of which was when I accidentally snapped the rubber band against her chin when I tried to put on her party hat… but overall Lilah seemed to have a really great time! Thanks again to everyone, and Happy Birthday Lilah!

Filed Under: Birthday, family, food, friends, Homepage Featured, lilah

Free Balloons

June 17, 2011 By Kristie Lee Leave a Comment

Grocery shopping with Lilah is getting more and more difficult all the time. So little things like free balloons, can make my day! Lilah oohed and awed over this balloon the whole time! Thank you Sunflower Farmers Market!

Filed Under: food, lilah