my joy in the journey

12 Favorite Things Party

2012-02-09T19:42:00.002-07:00

Ready to PA~RTAY!

Getting the Low Down

We each brought a sample from a favorite recipe of 2011.

Mine: Sister Dougherty's Chocolate Cake

The Food Bar

I am so glad that recipes were shared!
Everything was DELICIOUS!

Tonya's Beautiful Desserts.
The presentation not only scored an A+,
but they were scrumptious too!

Each person also brought a list of 3 of their favorite things in 2011.

My 3:

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

Discovering the many uses of canvas drop cloth

Weekly Summer Hikes and Water Venue Visits with My Pearls.

We then brought a gift for each person (12 of one thing) that went along with one favorite thing from our list.

I gave a mini heart banner from drop cloth. I made three different color combos. Below are 2 of them.

Passing Out (one of) The Favorite Things

Sharing Time

Great Moments of Laughter!

(not the best action photo, but you get the idea.
We were having a great time!)

Tonya, Annette, Jen, Amy, Brooke, Connie

Bev, Susan, Harriet, Angela, Mwa

It was such a wonderful night!
Thanks Susan for putting it together!

Too bad 2 others couldn't make it last minute.

The Hostess of Fun

Susan

The Goods

Susan gave us each a folder for the recipe and list from each person. She also made the cute gift bags to take our goods home in.

Pinterest was a favorite for a few people. The below saying was a gift too. Brooke had several printed and laminated for us to choose from. I love the colors, design and definitely the saying of the one that I chose. It now hangs on a cabinet in our kitchen.

Another gift, not pictured, was from Harriet. We each got some of an almond chocolate dip ice cream bar from Costco. Whenever I go to Costco I see the inviting photo of the bars, but have never gotten one. Yum! I think that will change now. But they are huge so I will be sharing whoever is lucky enough to be with me.

The evening was chock-full of

information, great people, great gifts, great food and laughter.

Thanks to Everyone for making it such a meaningful night!

One Word for 2012

2012-01-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

Go here to find out what I will embrace this year.

12of12 January 2012

2012-01-12T21:43:00.000-07:00

Wow! Beginning of another year of 12of12. I love it!

Today was a busy, but fun day.

1. I finished reading "Among the Imposters" at 1am. I hadn't gone to bed yet from Wednesday, but it was technically the 12th. So photo worthy. My 8 year old wanted me to read books 1 & 2. They read the first book in her class. I liked them both. I got home from book club Wed. night a little after 10pm. I should've gone to bed, but decided to read "only a couple of chapters." I read the entire book. Today my daughter, Miss M, told me there are more to the series.

2. So because of #1 (aka lack of sleep, stupidity or whatever you want to call it) I woke with a sore throat.

3. Daily sweeping.

4. My 2 youngest brought me a bunch of snowflakes and the scissors. The snowflakes were supposed to be hanging on a couple of small trees I still have out. I guess they thought it was time for those to be put away too so they snipped all the strings. Not a big deal (phew).

5. Song and Movement Class. It is a lot of fun.

6. Miss Debbie are Song and Movement Class teacher. Love her!

7. Banner making.

8. Miss A went to a different ballet class today to make up one she had missed. A friend ended up being in her class. (I wanted to take a better photo but was busy talking to the mom of the said friend).

9. Belated birthday present for a friend.

10. Miss M in her first day of Creative Dance at our community center.

11. Potstickers. We love them, especially My Pearls.

12. A pro snowboarder already. Baby helping Miss B get ready for her first day of snowboarding school. It's a program set up with other kids at her school. She gets to miss school and go. And I get to go too! I will snowboard while she is in class and then with her after class. Woohoo! I am very excited! I haven't gone in years. I also hope I don't kill myself.

B is 10

2012-01-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

Wow! My oldest is now 10 years old. Babe is growing into such a wonderful young lady. I am so grateful for B and her many strengths. Miss B has so much good about her.

She LOVES to read! Like me, she finds it hard to stop when she picks up a new book.

Favorite color is still blue.

Loves horses. Always has.

I love her thirst for knowledge. She is our facts kid. Always has been. Even when she was real little, 2, she could give an adult directions to somewhere. If Rob or I forget someone's name or want to know about someone or where they live, ask B, she'll know.

She is a people person.

She is a great example to those around here.

Miss B is a great big sister.

We Love You Babe!

Happy 10th Birthday!

My Father's Lessons

2012-01-04T09:07:00.000-07:00

It was 9 years ago on August 24 that my Dad passed away. Today is his birthday. He would be 70. I miss him dearly. He was a great example to me. Some things I learned from him:

~ Always serve those around you - if you know them or not.

~ When we stayed at a friend's house at Black Butte my dad repaired some flooring that was peeling up. I asked why he was doing that (since it was peeling before we got there). He said you should always leave things better than how you found it. He showed this by example over and over.

~ Be kind to others. Dad was outgoing and friendly to all. He would go out of his way to greet people at church who seemed to be new, visiting or alone. He would regularly visit some elderly friends to make sure they were doing well.

~ Enjoy life. Dad enjoyed playing. We enjoyed many rafting, camping and traveling trips. He also enjoyed teasing. He was a big kid at times.

~ Be honest in all your dealings. Be a person of your word.

~ Work hard. Dad worked had to support our family. For many years he ran the Pie Crew at our restaurant "Plush Pippin." Those who were a part of that Crew I'm sure remember many songs sang, pie crust thrown, wet clothes, experimental pie flavors and more.

~ Give 110%. Not only in work but in everything you do.

~ Be a part of your children's lives.

~ Write personal notes to others, let them know what you admire in them.

The video was made by my husband, Robert, when my Dad passed away.

A Tie Salute

at Dad's funeral.

He had a fun collection of ties that were worn here by his sons, son-in-law and nephews.

Creative Joy

2012-01-02T12:19:00.000-07:00

Fun you can have with stockings:

Puppy Dog

Black Witch

Black Witches

Helicopter

What are you going to be?

All Sweet and No Grinch

2011-12-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

My Pearls of Whoville

HooRay for Christmas!

They decided to gather around the tree to sing.

Fah who for-aze! Fah who for-aze!
Dah who dor-aze! Dah who dor-aze!
Welcome Christmas, Welcome Christmas,
Come this way! Come this way!

Fah who for-aze! Fah who for-aze!
Dah who dor-aze! Dah who dor-aze!
Welcome Christmas, Welcome Christmas,
Christmas Day. Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas!

Fah who for-aze

2011-12-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

Fah who for-aze
Dah who dor-aze
Welcome welcome
Christmas Day!

ooh...only 5 days left. teehee!

12of12 November and December 2011

2011-12-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

I am about a month behind on blogging. I have stuff I want to blog, like our St. George trip and our Colorado Thanksgiving trip and other things, but haven't taken the time to do it. Been busy with my biz blog, daily life and getting Christmas stuff made for the kiddos. So this month 12of12 you get last month's as well. Enjoy!

November 2011

1. Sat. morning scripture reading. Wait...what is Baby reading?

2. Printing labels and packaging items sold in my etsy store. I sold something everyday that week. Woohoo!

3. Working on an doll clothing order for a neighbor. I had to get it done that day because we were leaving for St. George the next.

4. Reffing women's volleyball.

5. Cutie Pie.

6. Someone was helping with my 12of12.

7. More sewing (and picking).

8. Baby shower for Alicia. She had a baby boy. Congratulations Neighbor!

9. Shopping to finish up said doll stuff.

10. Dinner (or part of it anyway).

11&12. Two of our favorite people: Brother and Sister Dougherty. More on them to come.

now onto

December 2011

1. Tredmill run. They day seems to go better if I get up and exercise before My Pearls are awake.

2. Scripture reading. B. helping Little I.

3. Delicious breakfast!

4. Baby loves to help put the silverware away. I think it is becoming her daily job even though it is part of someone else's - I don't think they mind.

5. Photos of a pillow cover that I was putting in my etsy shop.

6. Playing on the kids computer.

7. Baby and Little I love to have me blow the hair dryer and them while I'm doing my hair. They then squeal and run away and shortly thereafter come back for more.

8. Jumping on my unmade bed.

9. Got my November 12of12 ready.

10. Sewed Christmas gifts. Can't reveal anything because the recipients will read this blog post.

11. Miss A had a Christmas Ballet Performance. She did a wonderful job! We are proud of you Miss A.

12. Muppet Movie for FHE. My oldest daughter (9 years old) seemed to be the most into the movie.

Wow! I can't believe the year is almost gone. It has been a year of growing. Thanks Amy for this fun photolog experience.

Fall Leaves

2011-11-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

Trees are great for shade in the Summer

and then to jump into in the Fall.

It was a beautiful day outside.

Although I didn't anticipate spending the entire day outside. I hope there isn't a limit on bags of leaves that can be picked up tomorrow. And what you see in the photo below isn't even all of it, but I had to stop because the sun was disappearing. I hadn't worked in the yard in awhile and even though it wasn't what I planned today, it feels good to accomplish what I did. Yard/Garden work is therapeutic for me.

Pumkin Roll Recipe

2011-11-04T04:36:00.018-06:00

Photo and recipe source.

Ingredients:

3 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar, divided
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt

Filling:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Additional confectioners' sugar, optional

Directions:

Line a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan with parchment paper grease the paper REALLY WELL and set aside.

I had a larger pan and it worked fine. The batter is thick and can be spread to the cake size you want. The original recipe says to use wax paper. I did the first time and 1/2 the cake stuck to it. But I also didn't grease the wax paper as well as the parchment. So probably the important part is to grease the paper REALLY WELL. I used PAM.

In a large bowl, beat egg yolks on high speed until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar and pumpkin, beating on high until sugar is almost dissolved.

In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Fold into egg yolk mixture. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; gently fold into pumpkin mixture. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 375° for 12-15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool for 5 minutes.

Turn cake onto a kitchen towel dusted with confectioners’ sugar. [I dusted the cake, and the towel only where needed]. Gently peel off parchment paper. Roll up cake in the towel jelly-roll style, starting with a short side. Cool completely on a wire rack.

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Unroll cake; spread filling evenly to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up again. Cover and freeze until firm. May be frozen for up to 3 months. Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before cutting. Dust with confectioners’ sugar if desired. Yield: 10 servings.

This turned out delicious. My family was begging for more.

Sure Y Not Fall Sale

2011-10-31T23:18:00.000-06:00

FALL SALE

November 1 - 8

Sure Y Not Blog

and

at sureynot.etsy.com

30% OFF

All Items

Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-10-28T10:35:00.001-06:00

These cookies are simple and delicious. I found this recipe on food.com, but the package sizes didn't match up to what I had. I ended up making a double batch which worked out well because the cookies get eaten so quickly (plus we like to share with others). So this is what I used (for a double batch) ~

29 oz. can pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

2 boxes spice cake

24 oz. (or around that) of semi-sweet chocolate chip.

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together pumpkin and spice cake until well blended. Add chocolate

chips to mix.

Drop cookies on baking sheet. (The source says a greased baking sheet. I use stoneware and didn't grease mine. Turned out perfect). I love to use my mini-scoop for dropping cookies: quick and easy.

Bake for 15-18 minutes. (15 min. was plenty for my size cookies).

We enjoy eating this a little warm.

Enjoy!

Recipe source.

Sunday Stroll and Roll

2011-10-23T21:16:00.000-06:00

Stroll

Miss M smashing any dandelion "wishes" along the way. And I love her colorful outfit!

Roll!

It was so nice to get out in the fresh cool Fall air. We used to do it a lot where we used to live and haven't as much since moving. We need to do it more.

12of12 October 2011

2011-10-13T09:36:00.001-06:00

Oh. My. Goodness! I really can't believe that the year is at its tail end. Wow! It has gone by quickly.

I am loving the Fall colors and the thought that Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. But before that I have the Artisan Market at Noah's next week {NEXT WEEK} and Halloween and all the festivities along with it.

Taking it one day at a time . . . and here is a glimpse of today.

1. Miss M creating her own morning music.

2. Miss A dressed up as Snow White: it was movie character day at school.

3. Miss M having her 2nd breakfast. 2nd? What is with my girls. Miss B has a seconds on a lot of meals and M sometimes. They don't need that much food, or do they?

4. Requested photo by Little I.

5. Hanging out with Lion.

6. Last coat of wax on this table I'm selling.

7. Loving the wax finish!

8. Loving my new crock pot too! I haven't had one for a few months (the last one fried itself) and I've missed it. Can't have Fall without a crockpot.

9. Shoe Bench I finished to sell.

10. Baby is getting big. She believes she is even big enough to walk around AND drink her milk.

11. Enjoyed watching the moon come over the mountains. It is amazing how fast it appears and rises.

12. Book Club. It doesn't look like all are being silly, but believe you me, they can ALL be silly.

What's the plastic for?

2011-10-11T21:06:00.000-06:00

My 2 youngest Pearls and I were out shopping today. One of the things I needed were 2 specific colors of paint. I quickly found one and Baby wanted to hold it. I noticed it had the "keep fresh" or "for security" or whatever plastic on the lid and so felt she would be okay holding it. I then continued to search and match the next color of paint that I needed. Maybe about a minute passed and I looked at Baby. She was smearing the paint all around her lips and then some. I couldn't help but chuckle. I knew she thought it was some kind of make up. I caught her and her sister in some play makeup the day before. Luckily while applying her blue lip stuff she kept her mouth closed. And good thing for wipes. They are always good to have on hand for who knows what.

So, really, what is the plastic seal on the lid for when it doesn't do any good?

FHE Day Camping

2011-09-30T00:35:00.000-06:00

We had a fun Family Home Evening this week. I had been up to the mountains a few times last week and wanted to go up as a family. I love all the fall colors and wanted to enjoy it as a fam. So Day Camping was a must. And it did not disappoint.

Cool looking caterpillar.

{Here comes a photo, got to tip the head.}


JUMPING!

My Pearls were fascinated with the mushrooms.

Shroom anyone?

Heart of the trip.

I saw this view several times as I escorted my daughters to the bush bathroom again and again. There were bathrooms close, but locked. There was even a camp host around. ???

Mmmm S'Mores!

Just Right!

Rob knew Baby would tip her head for the photo and so did it at the same time.

Love the S'More Smile.

Miss A reenacting a scene from the Book of Mormon. Ha.

Well Done!

Loves The Fuzz

2011-09-17T21:36:00.000-06:00

Baby Loves Fuzz.
This scarf and a hat were made by my cousin Anita a long time ago. They are so soft and a little fuzzy. Baby has always had a thing for Fuzz. She has picked most of the underside of her car seat so she could have fuzz to hold while in the car. It's her item for comfort. As I started to take this photo today she tipped her head as you see. I don't know why, maybe because I was tipping mine to look through the lens. I love this photo - straight from the camera too. The colors are vibrant, Baby's cute smile and and to know of her love for Fuzz.

Our Jumper

2011-09-13T21:48:00.000-06:00

Baby has been a natural jumper since she could jump (and maybe even before that mentally). All of My Pearls are active and enjoy jumping, but Baby just has an extra style and ease when she does it.

She will jump off pretty much anything will allow her to and sometimes what we don't allow her to.

It will be interesting to see you she does some type of jumping sport as she gets older. As for now at 28 months household furniture will do.

She sticks it!

12of12 September 2011

2011-09-13T09:32:00.000-06:00

Wow! September!

Besides school,

the crisp cool air

lets you know

Fall is coming.

1. Part of my morning run "tunes."

2. Eww might be what you thought. But it is acutally a dry diaper. Many mornings Baby has been dry. This is a good sign that she is ready to potty train, right? I wish. I guess agency really comes into play with toilet training . . . and she is choosing not to.

3. The morning wake up. Slow.

4. Gum to help Miss M stop sucking her thumb.

5. Waiting for the car pool in the morning.

6. Afternoon Dancing.

7. Which turned into Afternoon jumping. (I skipped out on that part).

8. Making Zucchini Bread.

9. Finished up some onesies for my SIL.

10. Green Pepper Prep for dinner and some into the freezer.

11. Miss A at Ballet. Today was her 2nd day.

12. City Wide Emergency Drill. I am Assistant Block Captain and filled in for the Captain this time. At 6pm we honked horns and sirens and met at designated places. We then take note of who is there and who is not there, if we know where the absent people are or not. Send that info onto the next level. When the information reaches the city level, the authorities there have mock drills to execute so they can see what they need to improve on or not. The photo is most of our group. Some had to leave right after meeting. I am grateful that our city does this to prepare for a real disaster.

Little I is 4!

2011-09-05T21:02:00.001-06:00

Little I has been so excited to turn 4. She was counting down the days. And today she wanted to celebrate her birthday ALL DAY. And why not? It's your birthDAY. Even tonight as I was putting her to bed: Mom, I want to it to be my birthday all day.

I love me Little I! She has such a sweetness about her. Even though it was her birthday and she wanted to celebrate it all day, she wanted to make sure others were getting what they wanted. She chose chocolate cake frosting because she knows her dad is a chocoholic. She chose black olives as a pizza topping because her sisters like them. She wanted to let Miss M blow out 1/2 her candles because she knew Miss M wanted to. Many times over throughout the day she wanted to make sure others were happy on her birthday too.

She is such a cutie and hard not to do everything for her she wants (got to have some balance when she has 4 siblings). She wanted a dolphin party. So we were going to go to the community pool to play as a family (it was also Labor Day today). But the weather wasn't the warmest and so her next choice was to go to a museum to touch live snakes. We have done this before. We ended up going to the zoo, which was a lot of fun. We saw a great bird show and then a reptile show. She got to touch a bunny and lizard. We also rode the carousel. She chose the buffalo. Why? don't know. She was just so excited to ride the buffalo.

The Bird Show was a lot of fun.

This Sea Eagle was cool to watch.

Always Love the Bald Eagle and the freedom they stand for.

Little I was drawn to the Carousel and so for the bday girl:

She had picked out the buffalo to ride while waiting in line. She was so excited to ride The Buffalo.

Miss B really getting into the rhino "ride."

Monkey Close-up

Another animal show. This was a must because Little I had wanted to go to another museum and pet a snake. Petting a lizard and rabbit was enjoyed instead.

Not sure what she is doing, but I wanted to show a photo of the lizard.

Her dinner choice: mini pizzas. We ran out of time because of going to the zoo and so ended up buying a couple pizzas. That worked. I didn't have time to make the breadsticks and so will have to continue the party tomorrow with breadsticks. ;) {update: we made breadsticks. Yum!}

Little I was so gentle with her blows. She blew 1 candle out at a time.

{Four wishes right?}

We had blue cake and ice cream. Blue cake for a dolphin party (had to have the chocolate icing for Dadeo remember).

Then opened the presents. O' man she ended up getting a lot of presents. The Highlight Present: A New Doll.

Love My Little I!

I asked her to show her teeth with her smile.

Say Cheese!

2011-08-29T10:00:00.000-06:00

My family and I were invited to a blogger event sponsered by

Tillamook Cheese as part of their Loaf Love Tour.

My Pearls cheese tasting, getting buttons

and fun little loaf love mini buses.

The Tillamook Brand Ambassadors were so welcoming and wonderful.

They put on a terrific, fun and relaxing event.

The face painter is a true artist.

She did an amazing job.

The balloons were a Bang, literally.

They were fun even though they didn't last long.

The balloonist put sprinkles in some of

the balloons which made them extra fun.

There was also a game of toss and a bounce house.

We participated in a grilled cheese contest.

Look at the spread we got to choose from.

(Okay, not the best photo. All of my photos at this event were done

with my iPhone. But trust me, it was a delicious spread)!

Miss M likes hers simple, Say Cheese.

This is my grilled cheese (pre-grilled) that I entered for the contest. I didn't win, but it was still a lot of fun.

See. My Pearls couldn't get enough of the "face" painting.

I even had to get in on it.

Miss M got to toot all of the horns and check out the engines of the mini vw buses.

I loved the mini buses too.

Loafy came for a visit. Miss A rockin' w/ Loafy.

Miss B enjoyed hanging out with

Pro Skateboarder Adam Taylor.

The atmosphere was casual and

made it great for meeting other bloggers.

I'm pictured here with Brandi, Carolyn and Carly.

I also met Jyl and Ashlee.

All are so talented and fabulous.

Thanks Tillamook and Blogging Friends

for a great afternoon!

First Day of School

2011-08-22T18:31:00.000-06:00

~ Miss M had to sleep in her clothes. She wanted to make sure that she was up and ready in time to go to school. This year they start earlier, 8:30am. They get out early on Fridays, of which I'm happy about.

Miss B ~ 4th Grade

Miss M ~ 3rd Grade

Miss A ~ 1st Grade

M & B have been planning on wearing their matching shirts for a long time. So I let them even though it wasn't the nicest looking. I can't believe I let them go with their hair only combed too. I wanted them to have a Great first day and so didn't care to make the morning "getting ready" stuff a big deal.

In front of their new school.

Miss Rachel and Miss Nessa

Miss Melissa and Miss Carolyn

Miss Sandi and Miss Renee

Baby looking for Miss M while she was gone. She kept thinking she was in the van.

This photo is for Little Mr. R.

These clouds were really soft looking. The photo doesn't do them justice. Made me want to fall into them and relax.

After 1st day of school celebration with ice cream.

YEAH! for a GREAT First Day!

Summer Fun Week 11

2011-08-22T16:09:00.001-06:00

It's over. No more wishing we did this or that. What's done is done...and we LOVED IT!

We had a great summer and now look forward the fun of Fall.

~ Missed photo. I snapped the shot just as they moved. Darn. They were sleeping and Little I had her hand resting on Miss A's face. Her fingers were in one of A's eyes. And then Miss A had her arm over I's leg. It was comical.

~ Went to Miss B, M and A's new school. A couple of them had assessments. They are so excited. Me as well. One excitement for me is that I can go on the field trips. Before I couldn't because I had the other little ones. But now they can come along. The teachers are loving that I have a 12 passenger van. They all will take about 2 field trips each month. Miss M even starts her first week off with one and I'm going too :0)

~ I got to hang out with Noah for 4 hours. I was a volunteer at Thanksgiving Point in the Children's Garden.

~ Some wonderful evenings eating on the patio and then "swimming."

This bee was really enjoying this piece of pork.

~ Hot tubbin'. I tried to get a group photo...

~ Splash Pad 'n' Park with a neighbor group. The last meet up of the summer and will finally met up.

~ Musical Concert

(I'm having trouble uploading the concert videos, so you'll just get to savor the first one).

~ Master Gardener Class: Temple Square Tour (of the gardens)

Tree at the Lion House. Brigham Young had this planted when they first built the home.

~ While I was at Temple Square, Rob to My Pearls to their school's Back to School BBQ.

~ Piano lessons.

~ Fun at Provo River Resort

~ Dentist appointments. (always so fun)

~ Getting excited and ready for school.

~ Stake Conference this weekend. We got a new Stake Presidency. The old and the new presidencies overall are very contrasting in character (even w/ one of the previous counselors becoming the new President). It will be interesting to see the changes.

Mermaid Fin Giveaway at 71 Toes

2011-08-17T21:16:00.000-06:00

photo by Shawni

Shawni at 71 Toes is doing a giveaway. Click here to check it out.

I know My Pearls would flip to have one of these EACH.

The Blogging World : Random thought

2011-08-16T22:08:00.000-06:00

To think of how many individuals out on the web who blog can be overwhelming. But I find it interesting that it is a small world after all. Every time I am blog surfing I seem to end up on several sites that I have been on before. I guess my interests take me in a circle. And I find new blogs on the way. It's energizing in a sense! I feel connected to many woman as I read there blogs. But most know nothing of my passing through their world. I would love to connect with some of the amazing woman I come across. I know there are avenues to do so and hopefully can take advantage of it more as time rolls on.

School is on the Brain

2011-08-15T12:39:00.000-06:00

This morning's conversation while doing Little I's hair.

Little I: Who is your teacher?

Me: Life.

Little I: I'm scared of your teacher.

Me: Why's that?

Little I: He's taller than me.

Summer Fun Week 10

2011-08-14T17:34:00.000-06:00

~ The week started off GREAT for me on Sunday at the Family History Center. The ladies volunteering there helped me find some information on my family. Then later that night I found a ton more. Yeah!!! Cheers here and hopefully on the other side.

~ Love the banner they made from plastic leis. I love how they use their beds too.

~ This week is "City Days"

I happened to be looking in the event schedule book and saw they had free swim from 3-6pm Monday. It was then Monday, 1:30pm. Sweet! We hadn't missed it and so took advantage.

~ Went to the car show. I took a photo of this old hearse but my finger covered up the car. oops.

There were a ton of cool cars.

I asked Miss A if she would like this pink one.

Her reply:

No. I wouldn't want other people to feel bad because I was in this nice fancy car.

Is she in pain?

Nope, just singing.

~ Added music sheets for drawer liners on TWEET

~ My Pearls and I went to a concert in the park for our City Days. The Horse Show was going on at the same time so we of course had to go over to it. By the time I got over to the arena, My Pearls were already getting riders to let them ride their horses in the parking lot. (I only got photos of a couple of them though).

Little I

Miss M

Playing at the park. Miss B and Baby.

~ Wedding reception. It was in the backyard of some people we know (friends of the wedding party too, but not related). The yard has a huge playset (seen below), trampoline in the ground, big grass area to play in w/ rolling hills too, a tree house in a Huge tree and

a sandbox with real live toys. The seadoo was made to rock from side to side.

~ Crazy morning hair!

~ August 12of12

~ Swim lessons. Baby inching to the water.

~ Piano lessons and Gymnastics

~ Miss B doing research. She made a goal to study and do research until school starts. She can't wait for school to start.

~ Influencing Sister.

~ Playing with friends.

Little I and her friend were playing "Dishwasher." Little I was a plate. :)

Only 1 more week of Summer Fun left before school starts. Oh My! It's been a fun summer and I'm sad to see it end.

12of12 August 2011

2011-08-13T00:31:00.002-06:00

August. AUGUST. And already the 12th. Oh, my goodness. The summer is almost over.

I am especially grateful for the 12of12 this month because most of the 12th did not seem too exciting and it helped me to appreciate what did go on.

1. Morning run. My friend met up with me at the end (she was coming home from her run too). It was a nice morning chat. If you are wondering why we don't run together, it is because she runs 1/2 marathons and I don't.

2. I've been waiting for this set of Day Lily's to open. I was wondering what color it would be.

3. We got a bunch of Kneader's bread from some friends. Diane (the wife) broke her leg hiking in Colorado about a month ago. She had slipped because it was muddy. She did a good job and broke her leg in a few places and her foot. My Pearls made her cards and we chatted with them for a bit, which was nice. We took the rest of the bread they had so we could deliver it to others. So we went by Sister Clegg's. The kiddos went out back to play and ended up in our old yard (next door). Some people had moved into our old house this week. So when I went to collect My Pearls the wife, Amy, took me on a tour around the house. The people who bought it from us did a lot to it and I had been wanting to see it. They only lived there a year. They had to move because of changing jobs and moving out of state. Anyway, the house looked nice. They changed the office into a sitting room (no wall or door) and the back splash and counters in the kitchen were grey and made the kitchen seem a lot smaller. Other than those 2 changes I liked what they did. Extensive explanation for #3, but I am writing it for myself I guess.

4. While in the back yard of our old house, Bro. Ball (the other side next door neighbor) was in his garden and gave Amy and me each a bag of vegetables. I love the huge Walla Walla onions. Yum! They are each a little bigger than a softball.

5. Experimenting with a ink to wood transfer. It worked pretty well.

6. My Pearls were supposed to be cleaning up the downstairs. They made a bigger mess. Ugh! It even got worse after I took the photo. Do your children ever do this?

7. Mums coming = Fall coming.

8. Cleaned out the garage today.

9. I went to Hobby Lobby to buy a cabinet knob for a project. I meant to take a photo of all their knobs, but forgot. They have quite a fun variety. Though, I ended up getting the plain glass and some unfinished wood ones because those fit best with my projects.

My husband had my camera today and so I kept forgetting to take photos. Some of the photos were after thoughts. All the photos for today were done with my iPhone.

10. The beginning of getting school supplies. I can't believe school is around the corner. Some of my girls have assessments next week. Then they start the next Monday at their new school. Summer has flown by.

11. Miss M has been wanting me to read Number The Stars for awhile. Her teacher read it to her class last year and she really liked it. It is about the Danish during WWII. So I stayed up until around 12am to read it. I am glad that I read it. I hadn't heard about the Danes story during the war.

12. I was hungry and wanted a snack and so Popcorn it was.

Summer Fun Week 9

2011-08-09T17:30:00.001-06:00

SUMMER FUN!

Whoowee! The summer is flying by. We only have a couple of weeks left before school begins and so we are trying to pack it full of fun. Miss B is very excited for school. She repeatedly says that she will be glad when school starts and summer is over so that she can learn more math and other stuff. She is are facts kiddo and huge bookworm. She never can get in enough info. I love it her love for learning and desire to soak everything up. I know all of her sisters don't feel that way. And that's okay. I am excited for them to start their new adventure at their new school, but am also sad to see the summer days slipping away. I enjoy playing with My Pearls.

~ The older 4 began swim lessons this week. They go every day and love it.

Little I 2nd from left

Miss A with her teacher

Miss M, the one waving the board - ball o'energy

Miss B

Little I leading the class in red light, green light

Baby watching her sisters. This has been difficult for her not to be able to go in the water!

~ Concert at the Park

w/ Sam Payne and Cherie Call

For some reason she HAD to have her hands in the photo.

~ Splash Pad and Playground

We have gone to this park before and love it.

Yeehaw!

~Summer Reading can't truly be Summer Reading unless you are in your swimsuit :)

~ We played twice this week at the Community Pool. Tuesday just My Pearls and I went. Then Friday we had a church party there.

~ Per usual Baby is sporting the soft, fuzzy hat (even when it is above 90 degrees).

~ Baby Hoop Dancing. I didn't catch her when she was really going at it. She has seen Native American Hoop Dancing a number of times before.

~ Miss M & B helping our neighbor weed.

~ Helado!

~ Picnic at the park. Baby is not drinking but actually blowing the container up so she can blow the air at me. . .

like Miss A is doing

Horses are a favorite!

Miss B found this balloon floating through the park.

~ A trip to the Bean Museum. (Miss B wished that we could have stayed there ALL day).

M & B helping hold a snake skin.

Holding a Real constrictor snake. Miss M jumped at the chance to be the first.

Our hike this week was around BYU campus
from the Museum,
through the "river"

over the hills

to the candy shop.

Trading going on below.

This art piece on display was pretty cool. But after reading the story behind the piece it became very sad. The girl's mother had taken Nyquil every day and it ended up destroying her brain. This piece told about the different levels of her mother's state and her life before. An amazing piece of art.

Hiking up the long set of stairs.

I love how Baby's legs are crossed and thumb in mouth sleeping.

~ Playing in the Rain

I hope you had a Great week too!

Summer Fun Week 8

2011-08-01T13:13:00.044-06:00

Pioneer Day, Sunday July 24th

also my cousin's birthday (Happy Bday Anita!)

We went and visited a couple of old neighbors: Sister Clegg and Susie.

The following photos are at Susie's. We actually didn't get to visit with her. She wasn't home. We enjoyed her animals and yard and will have to go by again soon to visit with her.

My Pearls love the animals. More and more I want to be able to get horses for them (along with chickens and maybe throw in some other animals. They want pigs too, but I'm not too sure about that).

Miss B wearing a pioneer hat to go with the day's celebrations.

This baby miniature horse kept nudging Baby and following her.

Playing in the goat pen.

Zip Line at Susie's

You can't see them well because it was getting dark, but I wanted to put the videos on for them anyway.

Miss M & B

Valley Fireworks

Sparklers with some neighbors.

Let's see. What else went on this week. I slacked in the photo department this week. Although not visually documented, we had a fun week.

~ We had a wonderful evening bbqing, visiting, hot tubbing and slip'n'sliding. We were just getting into fireworks when a HUGE wind storm blew in. Some grabbed their little'uns and ran for cover while others scavenged to get the bbq stuff inside. A little scary, but we all came out unscathed. Overall it was a nice evening.

~ My Pearls and I went to our community pool. Fun as always.

~ Piano and gymnastic lessons.

~ B had a water party to finish off her basketball camp. Thanks Coach Katie!

~ M & B took their Dad to a Father/Daughter activity. Luau was the theme and they said that it was a lot of fun. Then we finished off our fireworks at home.

~ A Big Announcement of the Week:

New cousin (boy of course) born on Thursday, July 28th to Steve and Cara.

He is so adorable! I don't have any photos to share at the moment so you will just have to trust me. Can't wait to see him in person. Maybe we will have to plan a trip out to Colorado soon.

~ Family Picnic at the Park

~ Visited the girls new school. They are transferring to a Montessori style charter school. The girls are nervous and excited at the same time. Me too. It feels like the right move for them though. The hardest part for the girls is not being able to see there friends at school. But now there are new friends to make. :)

~ Some hula

~ As a family we went and saw Kung Fu Panda II. It was a good show. We RARELY all go to the theatre. 1. expensive, especially with our size group. 2. don't get to see a lot of the movie because the little one needs to move about so much. I'm usually in the back trying to keep her occupied so that I can see some of the movie. This time it was actually better. I still had to wrestle with her most of the time, but while sitting. The step in the right direction. Right? We went because Miss M's eye therapy group treated everyone who goes to the office. They do this each year. It is very nice of them. They have a great staff and do a fabulous job.

~ Saturday night I went to Dear Lizzie for what I thought was a blogger meet up. It was my first time going. I wanted to go to meet other bloggers, plus see Dear Lizzie store. I have been wanting to go there for awhile and finally had a good excuse. Not that I needed one. The evening turned out to be a Soiree for Spark The Event (yeah, I obviously didn't look at the details of the fb message) I am so glad that I went. I am very excited about Spark The Event. It is going to be an amazing event.

I will share more about that later.

No hike this week. Second week in a row, unless you count our "hike" around SLC. ;) Oh well, at least we are getting some water time in!

It was a great week. I can't believe there are only a few weeks left of summer. Sad! I love playing with My Pearls! and am going to miss while they are in school. And enjoy the break from each other at the same time :)

Do you have any big plans to finish off the summer?

Summer Fun Week 7

2011-07-25T00:48:00.000-06:00

~Started off with some thriftie shopping. The girls were having fun trying on a bunch of High heels.

They fit me Mom. Can you buy them?

Me: Yes, maybe when you're 20.

~4 Batches of cookie dough, can't ever make too much. A friend was leaving to go into the Mission Training Center and we made him a big bag of cookies. And then we have been eating the rest. :)

~Corn on the cob eating.

~Movie watching

~My lucky #13

~Creating

~Magic Trick Show. The girls went around to the neighbors to get them to come watch the show (2 tricks). They had several adults and kids coming over. They made signs and put the signs on their bikes. You could easily hear them ride around and yell Magic Show For Free. They would also do this to every passing car.

~Getting ready to bike ride.

~A family of quails come hang out in my neighbor's yard everyday. You can't see them well in the photo, but believe me they are there. The babies and mama are eating away while the dadeo looks on. It is neat to watch how the dad watches out for the safety of his family.

~Miss B brought me Baby late the other night while I was working on the computer. She was soaked in sweat and so I took her shirt off. Baby sat in my lap and was playing with a pen. I knew she had a pen because she was clicking it open and closed. Moments later, not sure how many moments, (you know how you can get lost into the computer world) I noticed that the pen wasn't clicking anymore. I looked down and she had decided to use the pen...on herself. She has more all over both thighs that you can't see in the photo. Oops. Guess I should've been paying attention to her a little better.

~Enjoyed one of our favorite backyards.

~I found this sign taped to the back of our van a couple days after they had done the show. We had been driving around a lot that day too. Hilarious! It would be fun to know some of the thoughts people in other cars would have had.

~Hot tubbing (this ended up being our water venue. I know, lame since it is in our yard. I did plan on going to a real water venue, but Rob had to work that day we were going to go and ended up changing plans 3 times that day, Saturday.)

~Wedding reception fun. They had a photobooth which M&B especially enjoyed!


The frosting is all over her face.

Plan #3

~ July 24 Pioneer Day Celebration Breakfast

The Stake President brought his horses. and My Pearls enjoyed them. Miss M and B couldn't get enough and wished that they really could have ridden them around. I couldn't keep them away.

Ready to ride!

~ We then proceeded to Kennecott. Pretty amazing! Miss B didn't want to go, then once we were there didn't want to leave.

The sky photo is with the moon. Little I loves to point out the moon during the day.

Ate a little In and Out.

While Rob was at a meeting My Pearls and I headed over to Temple Square. We didn't get enough time there a couple of weeks ago and wanted to go again. We had not been downstairs in the North Visitor Center very long when the fire alarm went off. My oldest two were a little panicked. It ended up being a false alarm and we could re-enter the building only a couple of minutes after exiting.

We sat for a short time in the tabernacle. Baby picked up on the acoustics right away and kept making hooting sounds so she could hear the echo.

Someone was practicing on the organ and it was loud and the piece he was playing was annoying. I couldn't quite get what it was supposed to really sound like. Or maybe he was just trying to be loud and obnoxious.

Rob met up with us after his meeting and we then finished the fun, hot day off with some ice cream.

Giveaway

2011-07-21T13:38:00.000-06:00

Dreamy Whites is hosting a Jeanne Oliver Design Giveaway.

Summer Fun Week 6

2011-07-17T18:18:00.000-06:00

This week was packed with fun. We had Aunt Glant and Cousin C staying with us for part of it.

This is how it went (and a reminder that many shots are done with my iphone):

~ Baby wanted her hair done for church until I started to do it. But we toughed through it.

~ A couple of surprise photo shoots by a couple of My Pearls. There were about 20 done of the patriotic combo.

~ Water Park Fun

~ 12of12

You can read the photos/events details here.

~ Miss A Gymnastics

~ Miss B Basketball Camp

~ M & B swimming for Activity Days

~ Jeepin'!

~ Worked on some furniture and stuff.

~ Ice Cream to cool off. 3rd try was a charm. We went to the BYU creamery on 9th but there was a HUGE line of camp kids. So we tried the WILK. Closed. 3rd try was B&R. Success (w/ blurry photos)!

~ Visit to Temple Square. It was great! A friend of Glant's was able to join us.

Kendra, A. Glant, Little I, Cousin C, Miss B, Baby, Miss A, Miss M, Mwa

Aunt Glant handing out wishing pennies.

I believe one of us ladies said something about wishing we could wade in the pool. Let me say you can't turn your back. I turned around and found one of My Pearls standing in the reflection pool. Guess who?

Right after having her get out another daughter of mine got in. Geesh! But we did discover that the reflection pool is not only about a foot and a half like we thought. It was over knee deep for the 2 water testers.

Nice and reverent

Thanks Aunt Glant and Cousin C for visiting with us!

~ Cleaning the hot tub

~ Chillin' ~ Yummy barbeque, amazing yard, fantastic weather, great music and beautiful friends.

Pals

M & M

What kind of summer chillin' did you enjoy this week?

Oh, and here is a video I found that I don't believe I had seen before. I think it was taken about a year ago.

Chalk Paint Dresser

2011-07-15T13:17:00.001-06:00

Yahoo! I finally got the dresser finished. I am almost finished with a couple of other pieces too.

Before (As you can see I started painting before taking the Before photo. It was completely unpainted to begin with).

After

Shared at:

Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday

Sure Y Not Giveaway

2011-07-14T21:56:00.000-06:00

A fun giveaway at Sure Y Not

Go to
heysureynot.blogspot.com
for a chance to win.

12of12 July 2011

2011-07-13T11:00:00.001-06:00

1. Miss M loves her some hot chocolate. No matter the weather.
2. Ouch! Sunburn from the day before. And I was feeling it today. I should have put sunscreen on. Well, I did, but just on my shoulders and it didn't seem to do anything.
3. Little I getting her daily job done--putting away the silverware.
4. Snippit from my morning run.
5. Finishing a dresser.
6. Our hike turned into a short stroll at a local resort. We were going to go higher in the mountains but a couple of My Pearls started getting car sick. I knew the road up ahead was even windier and so decided to stop. Maybe we will get a bigger hike in later this week. Cousin C is having fun with us this week.
7. Baby on my back. I was glad for the short jaunt because carrying her on my sunburn did not particularly feel too great.
8. Sidewalk Chalk Fun.
9. Miss A at gymnastics.
10. This cool looking dragonfly kept flying at and around us while we were doing the slip'n'slide. It flew around us for 15 minutes or more. It seemed like it was playing with us. It would fly at us and swerve away and in and out of us. It had black and white checkered wings.
11. Kiddos hiding under the table at the doc's office. Baby had to get a wort frozen. She was quite brave about it. She only cried for a few minutes.
12. Baby was really tired and crying. She saw the fuzzy hat and had to wear it. She LOVES anything fuzzy.

AND some Slip'N'Slidin'

We hope you had a great 12th too!

To learn more about playing along with 12of12 go here.

Summer Fun Week 5

2011-07-10T20:51:00.000-06:00

To start off the week Jennifer came by for a visit. Jennifer is our best babysitter and will be going into her 3rd year of college. We try and get her to babysit when she is around because the kids love her so. It was nice to have her for a visit and eat and play with us. (Baby was napping)

Hanging out with Grandma Havenar

Playing with the neighbor kids (yah, so they are college neighbor kids. It is funny because My Pearls will go over and ask if they can play). I like Kyle's pitching skills while being a tunnel for Little I.

Little I jumping up to show me her birdhouse. She is so proud of it.

Choo...choo!

A little tumbling action. I think in this photo it was a combo of skill and accident.

The weekly "Show."

4th of July Fun

We once again rose early (5:45am) to see the air balloons. Below you see the traditional spread of donuts, mini muffins and milk.

Mmm! powdered donuts!

We sat close to one balloon. We even had to move while it was being filled.

On the ground air balloon ride ;)

Cool Cat.

The weather was not favorable for the balloons so they could not fly. I was amazed with how many were filled just for show on the ground.

After being there for a little bit a wind blew in fast. Below you can see the balloons being blown over. The crews were trying to get their balloons down as fast as possible. Rob ran over to the one next to us to try and help pull it down. It was becoming a sail and heading toward a tree.

A Father and Son juggling duo in the crowd put on a show. The kid was really amazing! They were both fun to watch. They even did a few acts together.

We chatted with the Life Flight crew. We hope to never fly in that helicopter.

Enjoying the parade.

Cooling off with some ice cream.

Enjoying a Patriotic Fair

Miss M took a few photos while carrying the camera.

We watched a Patriotic play done by youth. They did a great job!

Tuckered Out! All of the girls fell asleep, except for Miss M (she had a short nap on the way home) when we got home.

Fireworks with the neighbors.

You see the chair Rob is sitting in above? Our neighbor's daughter's husband's step-dad (did you follow that) put it together and rides it around town when possible. It is a chair secured to a long board. He will ride it to a store and then his wife will pick him up. Watch the videos if you want to witness it in action:

the 1st one is with Rob and Miss M.

the 2nd is the step-dad

Our neighbors had some really fun fireworks, and more, for the kids to enjoy. Streamers. Parachute flyers. Glow sticks. Candy. Cookies. Then we had home made ice cream. They treat us well!

Chasing down the streamers shot from the fireworks.

"The Lighter"

Glow stick fun. Miss M was inside opening one and she asked what was on me. I looked down and the glow stick and splattered on me. And the wall. And floor. Miss M put it back on the counter, but I told her to take it outside and have fun with it. Oh boy, did she! She even began cutting up other glow sticks when hers ran out. Safe? I figured as long as they didn't stick it in their mouths.

We had a great 4th. And I am deeply grateful for the freedoms we have and the freedom to celebrate it!
What 4th of July traditions do you do?

~Other fun things we did this week ~

We all scream for ice cream.

My Pearls To Go.

This week's hike. It was the steepest one so far and so felt a lot longer even though we went a shorter distance.

A requested photo

Smelling the flowers.

A break before heading back down. No water to play in. The river ran too far down the cliff.

A little work and a lot of play.

Hot Tubbing. Hey, what's that skateboard doing in there?

Jeepin'. We got this jeep from a neighbor at our last house. We took "the motor" out and the girls would just push each other around. Now that we have a hill they get a faster ride...and love it! Miss M is saying at the end that the jeep usually doesn't crash (like the jeep did it). I explained to her that she didn't turn the wheels early enough. She said she was going to fast and forgot. :)

"River" and Splash Pad Park

I am glad that I set a goal to do a weekly hike and water venue over the summer. I was feeling very overwhelmed (and still am) with a lot of things going on. But I am glad that we went. It was great to get out and enjoy nature and play.

What did you do to play this week?

Summer Fun Week 4

2011-07-06T21:55:00.004-06:00

A Visit to the Mitchells in Aztec, New Mexico.

Car Ride Silliness!

Lunch Break at our favorite Moab Park. They even had new instruments since the last year when we were there.

In New Mexico

Little I's new pal. J and Little I. hung out a lot during the week.

Trampoline Fun

Hike around their property. (They have 30 acres. How fun is that? I'll tell you. A LOT of Fun!)

Their Riverside Beach

Walking the drive.

Lounging.

Bunk House

Hanging out in the Bunk House

Horse Riding. My Pearls loved it!

Riverside Campfire

Mmmm S'Mores

Community Swimming Pool. Towards the end a huge wind storm come up. The wind brought with it sand. We were planning on leaving and that sped up the process!

Night time reading with Paul by flashlight. We had a power outage from the wind storm.

Fun and Games

We heard Christine and 3 of her girls all of who play really well.

A visit to the Aztec Ruins. We really enjoyed it. The guide to special interest in our family and showed us more after the tour. Miss B was really into it because she has studied quite a bit on different Native American tribes. That influenced her sisters' interests.

Miss A lost another tooth.

Coloring with J.

Swimming down the overly refreshing (aka freezing-believe me, I know. I went down it too. It's amazing how children don't seem to mind as much) canal.

Miss A's escort.

Eating at A&W

Thanks Paul and Christine and Kiddos for making it a Great week. We had tons of fun (dispite the fact that my family took turns being sick, except for Rob. Sorry Paul, but glad that it didn't keep going). Thanks for putting up with us.

We love yous!

We enjoyed lunch on the way home sitting across from the Monticello Temple. Pretty amazing how small it is. It was neat to see.

On the way home scenery. I saw a lot of rock formation that were pretty amazing.

We returned home Friday evening in time for me to get things ready for Miss M's baptism Saturday morning.

Miss M has such an amazing spirit.

Afterwards we had a luncheon. Little I was sneaking into the cake. She would dip her fingers in it and then hide under the counter to eat it.

Summer Fun Week 3

2011-07-03T21:27:00.000-06:00

This post is a week late because we left towards the end of it. Here are our exciting events for the week:

~ Basketball Camp

~ Piano Lessons

~ Gymnastics

~ Little I went to a birthday party which seemed really fun. They had the Bean Museum come and they brought a live snake, lizard and turtle and some other stuff for the children to enjoy.

~ Photo shoot for Miss M's baptism invite. She loved it and it was fun taking photos of her.

Part of the time my other 4 Pearls played at the park. Then we joined them and even got some water fun in.

My Pearls love books - they kind of took over looking at this girl's book who was also at the park.

Baby wanted to cross the stream like Miss M.

She was helped along the way.

Clapped her hands and shouted "I did it! I did it!" on the other side. It was so cute.

Peek-a-boo

~ Royce, a friend of Rob's, stayed with us until Sunday and then he and his wife stayed a night while we were away.

~ Sprinkler Fun

~ Master Gardener picnic up in the mountains.

My Pearls really loved beating up the corn on the cob pinata (made by the guy on the right)

~ Bought a sucker fish. The fish tank was getting gross. Okay, it was passed gross. We had been meaning to buy a algae eater for awhile and finally did. They are amazing! Right away it went to town. The tank is spotless now. Way to go Sucker!

~ Neighborhood yard sale Saturday morning

Miss M's "booth." She made $10-$15. Our little entrepreneur.

~ We left for New Mexico to visit the Mitchells right after the yard sale. (More on that on Summer Fun Week 4).

~ We didn't get in a real hike for the week, but played a lot :)

Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint

2011-07-03T01:00:00.000-06:00

I have been playing with Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint.

Stay tune for details.

Food Friday: California Dip Meat Loak (aka: Potato Chip Meat Loaf)

2011-06-24T09:05:00.003-06:00

This is a great freezer meal recipe. And is very easy to make.

I got this from a freezer meal book that I borrowed from a friend. Can't remember the name of the book though. I'm not claiming this as my own recipe, just passing it along.

California Dip Meat Loaf

2 lbs. hamburger

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

2 eggs

3/4 Cup sour cream

1 1/2 Cups crushed potato chips (I use Ruffles)

1 large green dell pepper, chopped (optional)

Mix everything together using your hands until thoroughly combined. It's mushy and theraputic. :)

For the freezer: Place in a labeled quart freezer bag. I also include the baking directions along with the name of what is in the bag.

To serve: Thaw (if necessary). Place in a greased loaf pan or shape and put on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 75 minutes.

Enjoy!

(no photo as of now - the ones I took didn't turn out well)

How To Bleach Drop Cloth

2011-06-20T22:04:00.001-06:00

I enjoy the white drop cloth for furniture covers. You can't buy the white cloth. At least I haven't seen any. I used 8ml drop cloth. You can buy different sizes and weights. I bought the a larger size (12'x15' for about $30). If you buy the larger size it is sewn in 3 sections. Rip apart each section before bleaching so that the cloth has room to move around in your washer.

This is a recap of Miss Mustard Seed's directions on how to bleach the drop cloth.

Bleaching Drop Cloth Recipe

Put your drop cloth in your washing machine.

Start the regular wash cycle and allow the tub to fill with warm water.

Add 2 cups of bleach - make sure the fabric is fully submerged.

Stop the cycle when the tub is full. (I actually let it run a minute to make sure the bleach is mixed around).

Close the lid and leave it for several hours (4-7 hours).

Then, continue the cycle and allow it to run.

Repeat this entire process a second time, but add laundry soap in addition to the bleach. Soak, then run load.

Repeat this one last time, but add laundry soap, no bleach, and 1 cup hydrogen peroxide (3%). Soak and run load. The hydrogen peroxide neutralizes the bleach.

This is what Marian of Miss Mustard Seed had to say about hydrogen peroxide: "I had no idea there were so many uses for hydrogen peroxide! Not only does it neutralize bleach, but it can be used to kill bacteria on cutting boards, tooth brushes, in bathrooms, and it's a great stain remover."

Dry in the machine on high. You always want to preshrink material before sewing/using.

Drop Cloth is durable. It was a bit little difficult to work with when I made the chair slipcover because it is thick and stiffer. But it was worth it. I am really enjoying the chair.

A Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T21:01:00.000-06:00

Rob was literally showered with gifts, cards and love this morning.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to a GREAT DAD!

We Love You!

Summer Fun Week 2

2011-06-19T20:46:00.000-06:00

As I started to think about this week I thought it may not seem too exciting to you. But we had a lot of fun.

(Again, all photos taken with the iphone).

~ Played a lot around home.

~ Basketball Camp for Miss M & B: a neighbor & friend is doing a free camp for her daughter and her friends. So awesome of her! This is once a week for a couple of months.

~ Riding the escalator at the mall. This may sound silly, but my children were so excited for this entertainment. Like a ride at an amusement park. I found it hilarious and realized how little they don't go shopping to the mall. Sad? Nope, I don't mind at all. We take them to the play area at the mall. Usually an in and out event and bypassing the rest of the mall. Anyway, they were trying to walk up and down while riding the stairs. I can't explain in words their excitement. There were squeals of delight, jumps of joy, smiling faces and wishes that we could do it again and again. I wish I could have videoed it but my hands were full holding up Baby in the stroller. When we were going to the "down" escalator to leave Baby was yelling "down.down." with so much enthusiasm.

Forget about Disneyland we'll just head to the mall.

~ Miss A - gymnastics

~ Mattress Riding. I know you are jealous of all the fun we have.

Took back the mattress because it had a crater within 2 months. Bought a new one (that I can't return) and hope it lasts awhile.

~ BYU outing


Free Snow Cones


Traditional candy trading

~ Summer Fun at the Central Utah Gardens. A great resource for planning your yard.

Sam Payne and his band

Frisbee toss

Balloon Fun

~ This week's hike become a stroll (me and Baby) and roll (the rest of us). And it was a water venue as well. A 2-for-1. Thanks Dana ;)

As soon as the others took off Little I didn't want to ride her scooter. She didn't want to because she couldn't keep up. So she mostly strolled along side her scooter. On the way back to the car she got to ride on Rob's trike with him.

Freezing Water Fun at the Falls

Bottom of Bridal Veil. (B in pink shorts and M just below her. They had gone up to the greenery above B)

~ Weekly Movie Night. This week's movie, Secretariat. I highly recommend it. My Pearls then had to act out the racing.

Go Big Red

So Fast (Yah, we even race cows around these parts).

What racing have you done lately?

Before and After: Drop Cloth Chair Cover

2011-06-15T21:22:00.000-06:00

I was anxious to use drop cloth for some chair covers. I liked the cloth bleached and so found a "recipe" to do it. I'll share more on that later. I bought the chair from a yard sale and was planning on reupholstering it to re-sell. Rob likes the chair and my drop cloth job was my first one (thus it didn't turn out perfect) and so I am keeping it. To be honest making the chair cover was difficult. I have refinished a couch before and that seemed easier. When I did the couch I took it apart and used the fabric pieces as a pattern. Doing the cover was a bit of guesswork. Especially with some of the curves over the back of the chair. But I wanted a removable cover since the fabric is now white. I was originally planning on using piping on the chair. I would have had to cover the piping and the project was taking longer than I wanted so I just skipped that part. I am so glad it is finished and I really like how it turned out. The chair is really inviting to me now. Miss Mustard Seed gives great tutorials on making a cover, that's where I got the idea to use the drop cloth.

From this:

To this:The back:

The back didn't turn out as well as I would have hoped. Oh well, better next time.