Dreaming of Beaches

Last Post

2011-03-20T13:34:00.002-06:00

For a few reasons I am changing my blog address.
I know I've changed it before, so thank you for your patience.
I would like to keep the readership to people I know as much as possible.
I've just sent an e-mail out to people I know have read my blog before giving the new address.
If you didn't get one, please don't be mad. I know I didn't get you all.
Just leave a message with your e-mail address and I will send you the new address.
Your comments are hidden so your e-mail won't be shown.
I've never hidden comments before, so hopefully I will be able to access them :)
Thanks again for your patience.

I will keep this old one open. Maybe when I get fast enough Internet I will make this into a book using Blurb, but for now it will stay open but I won't be posting here anymore.

Birthdays and such

2011-03-18T08:12:00.003-06:00

My oldest turned nine! For his family party we had rootbeer cake, rootbeer frosting, topped with crushed up rootbeer barrells, along with homemade rootbeer ice cream. I went to four stores looking for rootbeer ice cream. They didn't have it, so we ended up doing homemade. It was pretty worth it though! Yum!

The best gifts come in small packages (cash!)

Doesn't my niece have the cutest smile?

Wow! 844 piece Lego Set. Thanks mom and dad! Actually I don't mind putting together Lego's as long as I can forget about everything else I'm supposed to be doing.

And a few pics of Miss C. She is very loving. If you are a female and talk to her, she will want to give you a hug and have you hold her.

She is into imitating as you can see. Shoes, makeup-she loves it all. As you can see, she is crouching because I am crouching trying to get a good picture of the little pixie.

We switch off babysitting with my friend to help at school and here she is playing with their cutie pie baby.

And St. Patty's day: C made a leprechaun trap and left some cereal in it. It looks like he got caught long enough to leave some gold (Reeses' cups).

He also left everyone a "bucket of gold"...

and some Lucky Charms. C was so excited that he left the trap on the front porch after school and checked every five minutes. But he must have gone home until next year.

100 Day

2011-02-26T07:29:00.002-07:00

So, I bragged on B when he did it in first grade, so of course C needs some time in the limelight too! Yesterday he earned 100 AR points at school! I think it is a pretty great accomplishment for a six-year-old when the books are .5-1 points each. Great job C! We are very proud of you!
It has really helped having the AR program online now. Every time he reads anything he has to run and take a test.

Oh, the pressure for the other two :)
Hopefully I won't be too pressureful, seeing how the award I won in Government Class my senior year was being the first W****** to not be a Valadictiorian! That was a proud moment.

Hair-Month Four

2011-02-23T12:57:00.003-07:00

Eating my way around town: Dessert Edition

2011-02-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

I realized that I've tried two new dessert places that I haven't posted about.

Cocoa Bean Cupcake Cafe: First of all I love the show Cupcake Wars, I have copied about 15 cupcake recipes from blogs I want to try. I've given up on cakes for Birthdays and have made fancy cupcakes instead for the last couple of years. So, I was wondering what this cupcake trend is all about. Can they really make a cupcake that is worth $3? Is it really better than what I can make at home?
So, after a double date with some friends I made us stop there to try it out. We shared the special, which for about $5 you can get a cupcake and one of their specialty drinks. They have all sorts of fancy hot chocolates, frozen hot chocolates, etc. etc. And they don't have coffee in them, which is good, because I don't drink coffee!
The special is big enough to share, so I figured for two people to share $5 isn't all that bad.
The verdict: Definetely worth the money! I have been back once more with my son and I both cupcakes I had were so good. The frosting, toppings, and fillings I think are what make them so good. The cake part is very moist too.
My husband doesn't love cake in any form, so he isn't too thrilled, soI have to think up excuses to go back. My friends tried the one that is right by the Cocoa Bean and she said it wasn't nearly as good.
I give it 5 stars!

Kiwi Loco Frozen Yogurt: After my five-year old got his Kindergarten shots, I let him pick between the Cocoa Bean and Kiwi Loco. He went for the froyo. They have a really unique business idea. You serve yourself, and get to pick your frozen yogurts flavors, toppings, sauces etc., and then they just weigh the whole thing and charge by the ounce. Of course, T loved being able to make his own creation. Kids would totally love this place. The yogurt was very good. The only downside is when you get to make your own, the combinations don't always work because you get a little too excited and want to try a little of everything.

And as an added bonus, when the lady noticed T's bandaid on his finger where they drew blood, she gave us a 10% discount. It felt a little lighter than an ice cream shop. After being addicted to Jamba, when we have tried ice cream shops, we feel way too sweeted out afterward, so this is also a good alternative.

Sledding and Movies

2011-02-20T11:34:00.003-07:00

Tristan has an awesome cousin who lives in the country. They have an great sledding hill right outside their front door. We try to go at least once a winter.

The girl C went down, we face planted, plus she wouldn't keep anything on her hands. So me and her ended up playing inside most of the time.

Mr. C getting ready to go.

Thanks for the fun time!

We are getting quit the collection of movies on our DVR lately, plus it is freezing outside, so last night I realized I watched five movies last week. My average is usually one or less a week.
By myself I watched:
Obsessed (the one with Beyonce): I thought the husband was the pyscho, but it was actually a girl stalking the husband. Intense, but I liked it.
Miss Congeniality: A classic, watched it while I was cleaning out my craft room and crafting
Confessions of Shopoholic: I had low expectations, but actually really ended up liking this movie a lot.

With the kids I watched:
Paul Blart, Mall Cop: Your IQ goes down a bit, but it is pretty funny.

And with Tristan I watched:
Did you hear about the Morgans?: A little corny at parts, but I love this movie. There are some very funny lines in this one.

T turns Five!

2011-02-10T11:55:00.004-07:00

First we invited as many friends as would fit in my car and weren't in school yet.

Then we opened some presents:

Then we had brownies in an ice cream cone topped with ice cream.

Then we headed over to the Elite Gym for their open gym for little guys.

For the family party I made strawberry milkshake cupcakes:
Strawberry Cheesecake Cake, Topped with Chocolate Ganache, and Buttercream frosting, topped with a gumball for the cherry and sprinkles. Yum!

I can't believe he is already five! Time flies.

Spirit Week

2011-01-30T14:18:00.001-07:00

Fake an injury day:

Crazy Hair Day:

Hair-Month Three

2011-01-23T13:00:00.002-07:00

First Haircut

2011-01-13T11:37:00.002-07:00

Of course after having three boys, I had dreams of a girl with beautiful thick hair wearing all sorts of cute hairbows. Well, she used to wear hairbows. Now she pulls them out instantly and pulls some of her meager hair out with it. So we are on a break from hairbows. Hopefully someday.... I still like making all sorts of different kinds.

Anyway, the mullet thing was getting to me. It only looked nice for about 10 minutes after a bath and comb. So, she got her first haircut today.

Before:

During:

She did so good! After seeing exactly how much snips I paid $9 for, it makes me think I maybe could have done it and not butched it too bad!

After:

Toothless Grin

2011-01-11T16:25:00.002-07:00

It was a big day in our house! (Apparently, we are a little slower than average at losing teeth in our family) After much agonization (at one time he claimed he couldn't breath when he thought about pulling his tooth out), I finally pinned him down and got C's first tooth out!

And no, I didn't scratch my child-it is a tatoo!

And just because they are cute:

Christmas Mania

2011-01-08T11:29:00.003-07:00

Tristan's extended family had our Christmas party at an elementary school so the kids could play with cool toys in the gym.

Playing Minute to Win it Games:

Tristan got a good deal on a date night to Mountain River Ranch for our Anniversary. We got to take a sleigh ride out to dinner and show.

Helping at C's Christmas Party:

His teachers brother knitted these adorable hats for the whole class.

Christmas Eve Bowling:

Nativity play on Christmas Eve:

Christmas Morning!

One of my most favorite Christmas memories ever. The girl C wasn't too into it, as she usually just gets to snuggle with mom when she first wakes up. But when she finally woke uo she was totally excited to get her baby doll. Every time she saw the picture of the baby, and would say "Baby!"

Girl C goofing in the boy C's new hat.

Christmas Eve party at Grandma's. The boy C has never made it before. His eyes were pretty sleepy but he made it.

It was a fast wonderful Christmas. Hope you had a good one too!

Hair-Month Two

2010-12-23T17:56:00.002-07:00

Cruisin....

2010-12-14T08:34:00.004-07:00

So we booked a cruise to the Southern Caribbean over a year ago and took off the day after Thanksgiving to start our journey to Puerto Rico. Here is the beach close to our hotel.

We went and checked out two awesome forts built in the 1600's.

We were on Level One. Our room was is third set off portholes from the front.

The big theater on the ship.

New dress I got in Barbados.

Back of the ship.

Leaving San Juan.

Dinner.

In St. Thomas we toured the island with Sonny Listen-the party tour guide.

Tristan found his peeps.

After the tour we stopped at Saphire Beach.

We found a iguana on the beach.

Then we had one sea day, and on Wednesday we stopped in Barbados.

After another tour, we went to get on a glass bottomed boat to swim with the sea turtles.

The turtles swam right underneath us. It was pretty awesome.

In St. Lucia we did the ziplines. It was so much fun!

View from the ship.

Welcome to St. Kitts!

We went to Cockle Shell Beach where their mascot is Wilbur the huge pig!

We rented a kayak and found this beach with no one there.

The water was the perfect temperature and so still and clear.

Last port: St. Maarten

It just doesn't feel like Christmas in 80 degrees!

We stayed at the beach close to the ship for some swimming and relaxing.

We had a great time and sooo appreciate my awesome in-laws for taking the kids. But, there really is no place like home. Even though it isn't 80 degrees everyday!

Hair-Month One

2010-11-23T09:25:00.002-07:00

And my world today-Brrrr!

The cutest smile ever...

2010-11-17T14:56:00.002-07:00

How could you not agree?

And the little snow bunny.

And I know this is the exact same scene Joy blogged about, but I promise I didn't stage it to copy her! The whole the bath is too much to resist so I will enter fully clothed situation! Sometimes I get tempted too!!

Halloween

2010-11-02T14:47:00.003-06:00

On of Tristan's favorite things to do is carve pumpkins. He has been doing them all month. Picking out your pattern is a very imporant decision too. He even bought some fancy tools.

Here is what me and the boys carved:

For costumes, B was Harry Potter and C was a Ninja

T was firefighter and the Girl C was Tinkerbell.

C was Bobba Fett for the school party though.
The boys:

And for the adult party, we were Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head complete with a pocket in the back for our angry and sleepy eyes.

Hair Goal

2010-10-24T06:00:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to grow my hair out. I got a trim yesterday to try to even it up a little for easier growing. I'm going to to try to take a picture every month on the 23rd to show myself that I am making progress. I want it long enough that it can all fit in a pony without falling out. So if you see me wearing a lot of hats when it gets to the awkward stage, you know why. My awesome haircutter and I made a pact that she won't cut it even if I come in desperate.

A pumpkin pickin we go

2010-10-23T16:00:00.002-06:00

Question

2010-10-14T20:10:00.003-06:00

I have a question for those of you with glass-top electric stove. Have you sucessfully made caramels and candies on it or do you have issues? I have made candied popcorn etc, without any problems but lately and in the past I have had a few issues.

I've tried making homemade marshmallows and they failed before. Today I tried to make carmels and the recipe said it would take 20 minutes on med-low to get to 240. After 20 minutes it was at 200. I waited another 25 minutes and it was still stuck on 210. So, now we have a lovely carmel sauce but not candies.

Getting a gas line installed with a gas stove isn't really an option right now, but I hate it when things don't work. Do you think I'm a candy loser, all electric stoves are losers, or just my electric stove is a loser?

Discuss.....

Size Awesome

2010-10-04T15:33:00.003-06:00

Saw this commercial this morning and totally loved it! My message to you today is that whether you are a size 2 or 22, you are size awesome. Sure we could all do better, (well I guess I will speak for myself) but you also have to be happy with the size you are because you are size awesome.

Weelicious

2010-09-23T22:38:00.003-06:00

I have a lot of creative people and food blogs I haunt. Mostly I keep them to myself because you are big kids and can go to the sites you are interested in, but today my facebook friend (thanks Katie!) posted about Weelicious. I have just starred about 50 of their recipes.
Don't be afraid that it is only kiddie food. It all looks really good. Just sayin that you need to check it out.

Just saying.....

2010-09-15T11:18:00.003-06:00

1) Do you think it is better for a 15 1/2 month old to a) drink from a bottle or b) stop drinking milk altogether, but not drink from a bottle (keep in mind that she is in the 1% on weight!) ??
The doctors keep telling me no more bottles. This week I'm trying to be strong, but no milk has gone down in the sippy.

2) Always the optimist that kids can play for more than 5 minutes with friends before asking for the Wii, so when B asked after 3, I said, "Really, can't you play for a little longer?"
B, "It's not my idea! It's always his idea. What do you want me to do, break up with him??"
Hmmm......

3) Why are baby blankets so hard to get rid of for me? Especially homemade ones. We don't use most of them anymore, but I can't bring myself to depart with many of them. Anyone else have this problem?

She's got rhythmn

2010-09-12T16:29:00.002-06:00

C has a very unique boogy I've been trying to capture. This doesn't fully capture how cute it is, but it's the closest thing I have so far. She wiggles her whole body starting with her shoulders. Pretty funny. The boys never dance liked that for sure.

Bear Lake

2010-09-09T14:12:00.003-06:00

For Labor Day weekend we got invited to our friends cabin at Bear Lake. We had such a blast boating, jumping on the trampoline, riding four-wheelers, playing games and laughing in delirium. The kids all got a long really well, so that always makes things nice. (and is a miralce considering we had 13 kids 9 and younger) Their highlight was probably catching "Splash" the snake and tube riding for hours.
C and her friend K sat by each other for each meal and stole each others food.
A few mishaps with some head bonks, but all in all a great weekend. Thanks guys!

New School Year

2010-09-09T09:37:00.003-06:00

Well, we have survived our first couple of weeks of school. The boys seem to like their teachers.

C thinks going all day is a little long, but he is happy when he gets home.

And T finally got to go yesterday and loooved it. He wishes he could go every day.

Photo Time

2010-09-02T21:47:00.004-06:00

I've been loving and adoring all of everyone's outdoor pictures by awesome photographers. We finally got our own. Here are a few (many) of my favorites. Thank you Mary-you totally rock my world.

If the slideshow isn't working try this link.

Eating my way around town: part 4

2010-08-29T16:10:00.004-06:00

This wasn't necessarily one of the places I was dying to try, but we tried Lucy's Pizzeria last night. Tristan can sometimes get 1/2 off coupons, so we decided to give it a try. It's the old Pizza Hut building by Fred Meyer. You may have heard the commercial "If it ain't Lucy's-forget about it!"
I give it 2 out of 5 stars. Wasn't that impressed. It was a thin crust-New York syle pizza. It was about $15-17 for an 18 inch. A little more than we like to pay for pizza (probably wasn't even worth the 1/2 off either) The kids didn't love, we didn't love it. We would much rather have Papa Murphy's or Manginis and bake it at home. I guess we like a thicker crust and more toppings.
On the upside, our server was really nice. Probably wouldn't go back though. Don't let me discourage you if you love that kind of pizza. Maybe you would like it. Or maybe not :)

Another Yellowstone Trip

2010-08-26T07:39:00.004-06:00

Tristan and his brother decided we should do a babysitting exchange so we could go to Yellowstone without the kids. At first, I was a little hesistant. I'm without kids! We should go somewhere more exotic. But, I have to say we could see a lot more without tired little ones. I much more appreciate how amazing Yellowstone is as an adult. It has every kind of landscape and terrain possible.

Makes me want to go to the Caribbean again!

We learned quickly that taking the off roads were definetly worth it. Except this one was a little boring, until we saw this guy right next to the road. Tristan dared me to take a picture when we got next to it. I squinted my eyes, held my breath and took this picture:

Petrified tree.

Lower falls. We hiked down to take a closer look.
West Thumb part of Yellowstone Lake.

A little geyser right next to the water.

It's amazing that every geyser is different. It was nice not to just do the loop to Old Faithful and have all the kids be tired out. It's pretty freaky to think that all of this is so close to where we live. I guess we now know how we are going to go down in the end!

Wasting time

2010-08-15T22:34:00.002-06:00

T got stung by a bee for the second time in two weeks and probably the 5th or 6th time in his life. Last week his arm was swollen. Today his whole back and tummy got red with white bumps, his tummy hurt, his eyes were starting to puff up.
Apparantly, I didn't hide my panic good enough because B started freaking out and wondering if his brother was going to die. Good reminder that even he can really drive you nuts, he is still my baby and I would be devastated if anything happened to him.
I've had an MSN e-mail account ever since I got married 10 1/2 years ago. It started getting way too many junk e-mails, so I got a gmail account which I love. But I kept the msn one to give out to non-people. But I got a virus and had weird e-mails going out. So, I decided to just delete the account and create a new gmail one for junk mail. But I can't even get the msn one to open so I can delete it. Grrrr. And apparantly once you do hit delete, if you log in sometime in the next 270 days your account will be reactivated.
Scouting is a really good calling for most of it, but the other part makes me want to pull my hair out. Nuff said.
I went shopping with the in-laws this past weekend in SLC. Shopped hard. Got some cute stuff and good deals.
Been considering going private on the blog again. Maybe I will sleep on it. Things will look up in the morning. But then it is Monday and I have to mow the lawn and do laundry etc. etc.
I will probably regret this post in the morning when I'm fresh.
Love-

Family Reunion

2010-08-08T17:27:00.005-06:00

This year the reunion on my side was at the Heber Valley Camp. My parents were in charge, and when told us it was at a girls camp, I was picturing a place that could hold one stake at a time. Nooo- this one is huge that has several different campsites to choose from. Several stakes could be there at once. I heard 2200 people could sleep there at one time. Volunteer couple missionaries run the place.
They have several challenge courses, a lake complete with kayaks etc., sandboxes for little kids. etc. etc. They thought of everything. We had two cabins that had 16 bunks each. Our pavillion had two sinks and two fridges. There was also an ice machine nearby. That is my kind of camping.

Here is the sinking ship we are trying to escape from at the challenge course.

Here these cousins are trying to get away from the burning building.

They had a huge swing that I kind of freaked out about doing. It was pretty fun.

Here is the view from one the hike.

The inside of our cabin.

Our familia by the lake.

Girl C chatting up with her cousin from down south.

Cool cousins.

If you are in need of a place for a family reunion, I would definetly recommend this place. I think it was only about $125 for all us to stay the night. It had a really neat spirit about it. This was President Hinckley's vision. Thanks for the great time my family!

Photo purge

2010-08-04T16:10:00.002-06:00

My kids sometimes have the super power of glowing- what does your kids have?

She just also might melt daddy's heart by wearing this t-shirt!

Our annual trip to Lava Hot Springs with some friends. Good times!

2010-07-30T18:43:00.002-06:00

So, it wasn't on my list of places to try, but finding myself minus two children and a husband this evening, I knew I wasn't cooking. I asked some neighbors where I should eat and was recommended a new place called Billmans. They do catering, dine-in, and carry out burgers, steaks etc.
They were a little organized-ie the girl didn't know what was on the burgers, how to mark the punch card etc. I ordered the cowgirl burger and a kids meal, which was supposed to come with fries, a drink, and a cookie. We ended up with no drink or cookie but did get a extra BBQ steak sandwhich that I didn't order.
But, the food....really good. I would say the hamburger was pretty tasty. The fries were homemade...good, but I like a little more crispy.
If you are in the mood to try something new, I would give this a try.
3.80 out of 5 stars for me.

Some pictures

2010-07-28T08:53:00.002-06:00

I got about half the pictures I wanted to upload on facebook. Better than nothing.
Check them out here.

Seattle

2010-07-27T14:37:00.002-06:00

So, I had visions of a great slideshow of about 60 pictures of our Seattle trip. It was going to be good. But I have spent waay too much time trying to get pictures to upload the last two days. I have tried blogger, flickr, facebook, photobucket, even trying to make a slideshow to upload to Youtube. My computer will not upload anything right now.
I'm not sure why.
So, please use your imagination to see our pictures of a cool "cabin" by some gorgeous water, the Locks, Mariners Games, the Beach, Pikes Place etc. etc. We had a great time. Seattle is a really cool place to visit.
Thanks for everything Sherry.

Have any good recipoos?

2010-07-08T12:22:00.002-06:00

T was playing with the play-dough kitchen with his friend. It comes with recipe cards, and he was trying to explain what they were.
These are the.....(thinking) recipoos! Pee-Poo it's all the same to a four-year-old right???
Made me laugh.

Eating my way around town: Part 2

2010-06-30T08:12:00.003-06:00

I told you we don' get out very often (seeing how the first installment of this was March 7). But we finally made it to another restaurant on my list of places around town I've wanted to try--- Pachangas. I've heard good things. Some good friends watched the kiddos last night, and we went.
You've got to try it. But don't be afraid when you get there. It looks a little iffy from the outside. But go inside and it is cutely decorated with one server and one chef. And the food---YUM! I would have to say the best Mexican of real Mexican I've ever had. I still love my Cafe Rio, but I consider that more "fresh mex" and Pachangas more "real mex" I guess.
Even, Tristan who gets a little confused looking at Mexican menus and would rather have Chinese any day loved his (taquitos). I had the Pollo Fundido.
It was even plated in a rather fancy manner rather than slopped onto your plate. If you are in town, you must try Pachangas. We will be going back.
PS. Not a place for kids, so cook them mac and cheese and bring it home for yourselves, get a babysitter, or wait until the kids go to bed to try this (yes, you can eat after 7 once in a while!!)

A glimpse of our Yellowstone Trip

2010-06-26T07:34:00.003-06:00

Don't you love it when someone offers to take your picture?
We've never seen so many buffalo in one place before. There was probably 50-60 in this valley, with lots of babies too.

We stayed at the KOA outside of West. The kids had fun at the playground.
They even had an outdoor mini-golf and an indoor pool.

Mammoth

The orginal North Entrance

Cow Elk in Mammoth

What is your dangerous name?

2010-06-10T14:32:00.003-06:00

T, "Mom, what letters are for your name?"
Me, "J-U-L-I-E, spells Julie."
T, "Oh, whats your other name?"
Me, "Mommy."
T, "No, what is your dangerous name?"
Me, "My dangerous name??"
T, "Yeah, I mean your JJ name." (Tristan calls me JJ).
Made me laugh.

Weekend Fun

2010-05-30T13:40:00.003-06:00

This weekend we got to the Homestead resort with my siblings (except for one who lives in NM-we missed you Shar!). On Saturday, my baby turned one!! Not fair, my little sweetie girl! She enjoyed her cupcake even though it was a little chilly. Don't mind the flat hair and no makeuped me-I just got out of the pool, Ok!!

On Saturday morning was the big race. Yes, you might remember that I was going to do the 5K. I chickened out. I am proud to say that I can do a 5K on my elliptical though. Maybe someday. But, B&C did the Kid Race with their cousins and did a great job.

It was a super cool place with great pools and a gorgeous landscape.

And here is what the do looks like without the help of chlorine.

School is over! Here is C and his friend at graduation.

Falling into the weird category...

2010-05-24T16:23:00.002-06:00

Awhile ago we were at Home Depot when the girl C needed a diaper change. We made our way back to the bathroom and saw an old lady pushing a blanket-covered stroller into the bathroom. A little strange, but whatev.
As I was changing her, all of the sudden I felt a little nip at the back of my legs and a little dog in a dress was there. The old lady was yelling from her stall, "Heidi, you get back here!"
To each his own I guess!

Overheard trampoline conversation....

2010-05-24T11:18:00.002-06:00

when dad was taking a little longer than usual to do his Sunday calling doing tithing.

C, "Where do you think dad is? I think he went to IHOP for dinner."
B, "C, do you really think a melchizedek priesthood holder would really go out to eat on Sunday? You must be crazy!"

Saw this on my sisters blog...you need to watch it today

2010-05-07T13:47:00.000-06:00

5K

2010-05-04T06:00:00.001-06:00

I told my sister I would run a 5K with her at the end of the month. For some of you, this may seem very easy.
But, I've never done something like this before. I'm not an outdoor exerciser. I like my videos and my elliptical. I have less than a month to train.
So, I just did 2.8 mile in 30 minutes on the elliptical, and I didn't collapse.
Granted, it was indoors while my mind was occupied by the boob tube, but maybe if I keep it up I won't die.
Wish me luck.

B's Baptism

2010-05-03T10:41:00.003-06:00

My oldest got baptized on Saturday. You could tell someone didn't want it to happen, as we were battling strep throat and ear infections a few days before, but luckily we were all healthy and smiling on Saturday.

I'm so glad I have a husband who honors his priesthood and was able to baptize B.

Brandon has always been senstive to the things of the spirit. There has been a few times he has been reading a book and hasn't liked the things written in them, and stopped reading them. He also caught me watching "Project Runway" and told me he didn't like how they were dressed. It took a prompting during watching General Conference for me to delete that show from my DVR.
I guess I'm a little more stubborn. (PS. I won't judge you if you watch that show :)

If he was like that before he got the gift of the Holy Ghost, he will be unstoppable now. I'm very proud of him.

He played a duet of "I am a child of God" with my mom for the program. It was so sweet to see them walking up together and holding hands. We came home a had a delicious brunch of donuts, bagels, fruit brucshetta, scones, bundt cake, and breakfast burritos.

It was a great day to see my oldest making such a great choice to be baptized. Thanks to all who came.

When I said I wanted more pink at my house....

2010-04-26T13:31:00.002-06:00

This isn't exactly what I meant! See ya in 24-48 hours when we are no longer contagious.

All-knowing mom

2010-04-14T16:29:00.003-06:00

This morning:
T-Mom, do you know everything?
Me-Pretty much. Why's that?
T-Do you know the fat guys name on Zoom?
Me-Hmmmm, nope.

I guess that facade didn't last very long.

Randomonium

2010-04-14T09:13:00.005-06:00

Tristan's awesome cousin lives in the country and invited us to come see the baby chicks.
The girl C was obsessed with the cat. This was the best cat for babies. He would take anything
she would dish out, and come back for more.

I don't know if I've ever seen real baby chicks. They were pretty cute. They had a baby turkey too.

>

In other randomness, I'm done nursing as of about 3 days ago. Done forever? Possibly.
Could I really never be pregnant or nursing again? Crazy.

I have sick kid today. Better be better by tomorrow. For it is one of the best nights of the year.
Tax season is over. I get my husband back. We get to eat out and get appetizers, drinks, and desserts. We linger and talk and relax.
Plus, I wanted to go check out the 50% stuff at Roberts this morning. Oh well.

I thought I had more randomness to discuss, but the girl C is done with computer time for now.

Samosa Breeze

2010-04-10T20:52:00.002-06:00

The web-site to our vacation home is up and running. Check it out: http://www.samosabreezeorlando.com/ Keep it in mind if you or anyone you know is heading down there.
I almost wish it was my real home, not my rental home!

I have one of these....

2010-04-06T07:41:00.003-06:00

So, I guess that means I'm not 20 anymore. Don't mind the holey jeans. Warm weather come soon-we need to start wearing shorts!

Hobby Lobby

2010-04-05T16:01:00.003-06:00

With Roberts closing, I need your help to get Idaho Falls a Hobby Lobby. What is a Hobby Lobby? A huge craft, awesome, arts and crafts store that we definitely need.

So, what can you do?

Go here. And tell them that we need one here. If you want you can copy my message:

To whom it may concern:
I live inIdaho Falls, ID and recently one of our major craft stores (Roberts) have announced they are closing due to being bought out. This leaves us with limited craft store options, and I would love to see a Hobby Lobby come to our town. We have many crafty moms in this area (and Idaho Falls is the hub for many smaller towns in Eastern Idaho). I know your store would do well here.
Sincerely,
Julie

Help spread the word to get a Hobby Lobby here. After all, my husbands dream of getting a Panda Express here has finally come true, so why can't mine?

You're supposed to still be a newborn...

2010-04-04T18:32:00.004-06:00

So why are you doing this?

I love you because I like you

2010-03-23T07:51:00.004-06:00

My funny boys:

Last night we were putting the boys to bed and Tristan told T that he loved him. When he shut the door T shouted, "I love you because I like you!"

And us to the boys on Sunday, "Do you want to take a shower or a bath?"

T, "I want to take a shower but without the raindrops on my head."

Hmmmmmm

And yesterday B wasn't digging the homework idea. "Homework is such a waste of time. I already know everything and plus it is a waste of trees."

I didn't know I was raising such an earth conscious granola!

\

Heading to Florida??? (Updated)

2010-03-19T09:56:00.004-06:00

Recently we (along with Tristan's brother and sister) bought a house about 7 miles from Disney World. We will be renting it out to vacationers coming to spend time there. We are really excited. My brother-in-law has been working really hard to get it all ready to rent. Here are some pictures he sent today:

We are trying to get a website set up for it, but meanwhile if you can't just wait and want to book it right away you can go here.

UPDATE: Here is the exact link to our house.

Good weeks involve birthdays and 50 degree days!

2010-03-18T21:49:00.006-06:00

B turns 8! Reeses Peanut Cups Cupcakes and Mr. Cool with his new sunglasses.
His friend from across the street shares the same birthday so we celebrated at Leos.
And said friend has a little brother who is to ten days older than the girl C. They were hanging out on the blanket enjoying some sunshine the other day.

Friends of Gracie

2010-03-13T08:44:00.003-07:00

A friend I went to high school with just had her adorable daughter diagnosed with cancer. If you are need of getting some pictures taken, please consider using this fundraiser.

You can click on the picture to make it bigger so you can read it.

Winners....

2010-03-12T08:14:00.002-07:00

Winners for how far you can get in one day....

Number one winner: Sister-in-law Sherry with letter V
Number two: my friend Kristen with letter S

And dang it-they both live in Washington! But at least Sherry says she doesn't need a prize. The thanks her family gives her is enough. Lol!

Third place winners:
Tie for sisters-in-law Joy and Takara for letter Q

Thanks for playing. Have fun driving around!

Eating my way around town

2010-03-07T18:38:00.003-07:00

I don't consider myself a real "foodie". I don't really like spending hours cooking only to have all my hard work dissapear within minutes, with only a slight chance of getting a thank you.

But, I do like to trying and hearing about yummy, inventive and flavorful foods. I love the show "The Best Thing I ever ate" on the Food Network. I want to try all of the things on there.

Anyway, we also really don't go out to eat very often. Maybe once every month or two. So when it is so rare, we don't want to be dissapointed so we end up going with the sure bet and going to the same place a lot.

So, I'm going to make a list of places around here I want to try. It may takes months or years to actually try them, but eventually we might get through them. The list is on the sidebar and I will review it if we get to it.

Last night we went to Picketts Bambino by Freeman Park. I guess they started in Rigby and just opened one here. What is a bambino? Basically a filled scone. You can get pizza fillings, cheese, chicken, BBQ, etc. They also have dessert ones. We had a chocolate carmel one. Yum. I think I will try the raspberry cream one next time. For being fried, they didn't feel greasy.

It was also cheap. We had a BOGO coupon, so we both got a bambino, shared fries and a dessert bambino for around $5.70! Cheap! We didn't have the stuffed to the brim, I just gorged myself feeling but we were fine. If you want to get super full I might try two.

I would go back. Maybe this summer we could take the kids on the way to play and picnic at Freeman Park.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Do you have any local favorites that you need to share?

What letter can YOU get to in one day contest

2010-03-06T14:37:00.008-07:00

Ok, I know I'm weird. Probably it comes from being the middle of tax season and not having a husband to keep my sanity. But just humor me Ok!!
This post starts a"what letter can you get to contest?"
What does this mean?
I want to know which friend of mine runs around town the most. So, each morning your house is a and then count each stop and each stop gets assigned a letter.
For example this is my day so far today:
a: My house
b: Bread Store
c: Pizza Hut for Book It Pizzas
d: Hillcrest for Bountiful Basket pickup
e: My husbands office to clean
f: Bakers Dozen for free donuts
g: my house
h: my sister--in-laws house to drop off her half of the Bountiful Basket
i: my house

So, if I went no where else today I would be a letter I.
You don't have to write each stop (but you can if you want to), you can just enter the letter you got to that day. You can enter every day, I will just count the entry with the farthest letter. Just be honest!

Also, you don't have to be the driver. So, if you are in the car and your husband is driving you can count that. You can't count your spouses stops if you are not in the car with him.

The two people who gets the farthest letter will win a fabulous prize from me. This contest will end next Thursday night (March 11).

Family Night Olympics

2010-02-22T21:13:00.005-07:00

So I told the kids to each come up with an Olympic event tonight for family night. They somehow each involved racing cars (boys!), and we had a great time. C was so excited that he made all of the medals himself. He found yellow, silver, and brown paper and cut them into circles and taped them to a ribbon with a piece of candy.

Miraculously, we kept the peace because the boys each won gold once (and silver once and bronze once) Yeah for no major fights during family night.

Snow Caves

2010-02-20T19:09:00.004-07:00

Just when you have almost lost all faith in children's ability to play with something that isn't plugged in, they do something to surprise you. B and his friend L from across the street decided they wanted to build a snow tunnel.
They have spent the last couple days working hard at it and today you can see all the way through to the other side. Victory! Great job guys. And a bonus picture of miss cutie pie.

Mr. T turns 4!

2010-02-07T19:47:00.007-07:00

I don't know why my kids are always born during major sporting event times. T is SuperBowl time, B is March Madness and Mr. C is the National Spelling Bee time. Or maybe when you are married to a sports nut, something will always interfere! But, thank goodness for DVR, the party must go on!

Anyway, we love having my T in our family. Besides teaching patience, T is still very innocent and is a very good player with a good imagination. He also loves learning and is good at puzzles. We love you T!

His cool new race track:

Spirit Week

2010-01-28T14:20:00.009-07:00

Fake an injury day:Crazy Hair Day:B wanted to borrow some of his baby sisters bows. He said he was only going to wear them in class because he doesn't really like being made fun of on the playground.Wacky Tacky Day:
To my kids it meant a bunch of layers. B was in heaven because he got to wear his beloved robe to school!

Growing up

2010-01-24T20:37:00.002-07:00

My baby is growing up so fast. She is crawling all over and pulling herself up on chairs. I left her last night for a date and everyone at Chilis seemed to have their babies with them. I have to say I missed her a little bit! Does that mean I'm not done having kids if I am already baby hungry?

You're gong to miss this...

2010-01-13T18:29:00.003-07:00

Why does it seem like whenever you are having a "day" or "week, month, or year" for that matter, with small children that something you reminds you to enjoy the moments, for soon it will all be gone.

Quotes like this are a good reminder:
"Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: 'The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less' (Loud and Clear [1004], 10-11)." from Rusell M. Ballard.

And this song by Trace Adkins. Watch it you feel like hearing the song. It's not an amazing video, it's just picture of Trace Adkins, but playlist didn't have it.

Anyway, here are some things I am going to miss:

The sound of kids giggling with their siblings
The sound of babies babbling
Having babies pat your shoulder when you hold them
The smell of babies
Seeing kids get excited when they succeed
Having my kids tell me that they love me before they go to sleep or leave for school
Seeing kids joy when they experience something for the first time on a vacation or something
All the cute things kids say, and even their mispronunciations
Seeing kids play outside on a warm summer day

Things I probably won't miss too much:

Fighting
Pee on the bathroom floor seconds after I cleaned the bathroom
Whining
Dirty socks on the floor
Making kids eat dinner that they hate during tax season by myself

My Family

2010-01-13T11:49:00.002-07:00

Before Christmas my family had a party and took some pics. I just got finished editing them. We are getting big. The original 9 in our family has now turned to 28 people (13 grandkids)

The results...

2009-12-29T18:38:00.001-07:00

Before:After: I feel so much better!

Hair Trama

2009-12-28T11:18:00.006-07:00

I have a haircut appointment tomorrow for a cut and highlight. I'm going blond (er) now. Brunette was fun while it lasted, but I always go back to blonde. This is my hair today:The question is, do I do a major chop or do a trim? This is close to the longest I've had my hair. I havea strange fantasy of experiencing long hair once in my life. I can pretty much put it a pony without hair falling out of the bottom. However, I fear I look better with shorter hair. This is what I might go with: Granted every photo looks better when you have lost your pregnancy weight. I went clothes shopping on Saturday and when you spend extended amount of time in front of those mirrors it makes you do a reevaluation of yourself. I swore I would chop my hair and never eat another Christmas cookie. At least until I was home and not in front of mirrors again.

I like short hair. I like long hair. I change my mind every ten minutes. I don't like having to cut my hair every six weeks with short hair. I think I probably look better with short hair. How do people pull off long hair and look like they still have a style and not just plain long hair?

Do you have these tramas? Maybe I will decide on the way to the salon. Check back to see what happened...

Today I've been married for a decade

2009-12-17T08:39:00.005-07:00

One of our engagement photos.

And in a decade we have gotten one associates degree, one bachelor degree, one masters degree, and one CPA license. We have lived in 5 different places. had three sons and one daughter. many different hairstyles for me, many callings, one cruise to a Caribean, and a lifetime of memories. Heres to the next decade. I love you honey!

And to celebrate, I'm taking 12 scouts to a museum, decorating and making a meal for Enrichment, then going to Enrichment. It's a good thing we decided to celebrate in June!

To my dear baby

2009-12-10T14:19:00.002-07:00

You can't be big enough to sit alone in your high chair and want to eat real food. And you can't be big enough to get up on your tip-toes and try to crawl. Because that means you are growing up too fast.

But I will let you be old enough to know what nighttime is for. The end.

Gingerbread Time

2009-12-07T20:28:00.003-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we had a service auction at church where you got to bid on services according to how good you have been lately. I won a complete gingerbread kit from my fabouslessly talented friend Tammie.

The boys had a blast. Sometimes males like to go for quantity of candy over cuteness, but I thought it expressed their personalities pretty good.

Thanks Tammie. My boys have never experienced real gingerbread. I'm all about the graham cracker huts.

Thanksgiving is over...

2009-11-28T07:01:00.000-07:00

which means I can listen to Christmas music! My two favorite albums The Polar Express and Sarah McLaughlin. Those are the best.

My favorite Christmas movie: The Polar Express. I don't think there is any movie that expresses the magic of Christmas as good as that one.

I didn't think I was going to be able to see New Moon with the nursing baby and all, but we decided it would be easier to leave her in the day. So, my sister and I saw the 11:00 matinee today. I enjoyed it.

But, I was more excited for some new movies coming out. Sometimes when you strike out a couple of times on movies (T and I had to turn off the last two movies we rented from RedBox), you think the world has stopped making good ones.

But I think Letters to Juliet and Dear John look pretty good. I also need to see The Blind Side and Sherlock looked good too.

I'm grateful for...

2009-11-27T08:05:00.005-07:00

My kids....

And the excitement they still have for holidays. Even the typically less exciting ones like Thanksgiving. Yesterday we heard noises at 6:20 a.m. Big T went and told them that it was too early and B&C needed to back to bed.

All was quiet for maybe another 15 minutes, when our door was pulled shut and then a slip of paper was shoved under our door. Then all three little sweeties burst into our room with a "Happy Thanksgiving" and we have menus for your for breakfast in bed.

This is what C's said for me, "Frostid with watr

Rasiin Bran with joos

Grap nein nuts with cet with joos

And Brandons for Big T said, What would yo like for breakfest?

Frosted Flakes

Almond Crandberry, Blueberry, Grapes Nuts

Milk

Water

Slide under door when done.

And Tyce cheerfully announced that it was "Ready O'clock!"

Big T has never been able to eat until he's been awake for an hour or two, so he graciously took a couple of bites and then dumped the rest in the porcelain God when they left.

These are the moments I hope to remember.

Come check our new blog

2009-11-23T15:38:00.001-07:00

Our new crafty/project blog was born today. Me and four friends are going to co-author it to share all things domestic. It's in the baby stages of course, so be patient but here it is:

www.gluegunsandspatulas.blogspot.com

Does anyone care to join?

2009-11-21T16:01:00.003-07:00

Ok, so I've just been to the biggest craft fair of the year around here. I don't know if I feel worthy to maintain a craft blog. Maybe I should bow down to the real crafty gurus our there and surrender. Soooo, I was wondering if any of my crafty/domestic friends would want to co-author it with me.

We could post anything that is domestic (not personal stuff), like a great recipe you found, a project you completed, a Birthday cake you decorated, a great deal you found, a chore chart system that worked for you, etc. etc. etc. You wouldn't have to feel any pressure to post a lot or anything. Just whenever you feel like it.

Anyone?

Maybe I should shut up and go in my craft room. :)

So I'm thinking about starting a project/tip blog

2009-11-20T22:34:00.003-07:00

But I feel weird about it. I don't want it to seem like I think I'm so awesome at crafts and come compliment me. That is so not it. If you know how hard I struggle to make things looks cute and how many projects end up in the trash, you woudn't think that at all.

I know I don't have the natural craft "knack". Some are born with it. And the rest of us copy them. I just want a place that is seperate place to keep kind of a project journal, mostly for my own benefit. And if I ever did want to share it on another craft blog or something, they wouldn't have to come see all of my personal stuff, which I want to save for only people I know.

Plus, people who check my blog to see updates on the fam wouldn't have to read about my latest project if they didn't want to.

There are only three billion of these already, so I'm not trying to gain a huge amount of followers or anything. Mostly I would be showing these that I copied from somewhere else and linking to them.

Anyway, I'm trying to think of a name. Only every possible craft name is already used. Once my family was taking about adult "binkies", and how we all have something to give us comfort and sanity and drown out the world like a baby does with their binkie. With some people it's chocolate (me included), diet coke, exercise, etc. etc. Lately for me it is creating.

So I was trying to think of something along those lines.

mommasbinkie
momspaci
cheeriosinthebra (because if you have ever found a cherrio in your bra, you are a true mom and need a little downtime)

Something along those lines, but I don't think this should be the blogaddress or title because I need something simpler and something people would get.

Any ideas? There just might be a prize if I choose your title.

I'm on One Pretty Thing!

2009-11-20T17:47:00.002-07:00

Yeah! I made it. Check it out here!

Just because...

2009-11-19T16:55:00.008-07:00

Almost six-months old, I'm still loving having a girl because...
It's so cute to watch B read to her to try to calm her down I get to get out my crafty energy and make things like baby legs out of knee highs. (Not my original idea but I can't find the link to give credit to, sorry)

And hairbows. I think this one turned out pretty sweet if I do say so myself.

Although, seeing this scene can be a bit scary.
Need I say more?

PS. I've discovered Google Reader where you can go read all non-private updates in one place. It's pretty awesome and a good time saver, however you can't comment from reader so I think it will be decreasing my comments even more.

Personalized spice rack

2009-11-19T16:24:00.006-07:00

Today I'm doing this post to enter Blue Cricket Designs show and tell they do every Wednesday. You can show off something that you've made and then go check out others awesome ideas. You should play too.

Anyway, when we painted we did a good clean and kind of accessed what wasn't being used etc. And we came across the spice rack we got ten years ago for our wedding. (Sorry I didn't take any before pictures, I didn't know I would be posting this).

I realized that we really didn't use many of the spices very often and it was taking up counter space. I thought I would maybe use it for my scrapbooking embellishments, but then I realized we do have many spices in the pantry that we do use, so why not make it more useful.

So, here are the steps. 1)Empty spice jars, peel off the labels and clean thoroughly.
2) Clean the rack itself and then sand it down.
3) Paint the rack in your color of choice.
4) Fill the jars with spices you like. Our grocery store here sells spices in bulk pretty inexpensively. Mine weren't even all spices. I put cream of tartar in one and flax seed we sprinkle over meals to add a nutrition to, in another.
5) Print out the names of the spices you are using onto cute scrapbook paper using cute font (like CK Becky from Creating Keepsakes, my favorite font ever!)
6) Trace around the lid on your printed words and cut out. I inked the edges of mine. Mod Podge onto the lid, let dry, then mod podge the top a couple of times. Then spray with a finish spray, reassemble and you are done.
Now, I think this spice rack will be used again.

What I read this morning...

2009-11-17T08:22:00.003-07:00

I must have been sleeping or distracted during President Uchtdorfs talk in General Conference but read it this morning and this really stuck out,

"God does not look on the outward appearance. I believe that He
doesn't care one bit if we live in a castle or a cottage, if we are handsome or
homely, if we are famous or forgotten. Though we are incomplete, God loves
us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we
may feel lost and without compass, God's love encompasses us completely."
I really should find a way to display this somewhere. I needed to hear it today.

My baby used to be a good sleeper...

2009-11-10T09:04:00.002-07:00

The girl C started sleeping through the night at about six weeks. Seriously. I've never had that. And she continued with an exception every week or so. Until about three weeks ago. I would put her down and she would wake up in twenty minutes. So I would throw her in the swing and more or less she would sleep all night there. Everyone slept, everyone was happy.

Now she wakes up after twenty minutes, screams in her swing, I get her back to sleep, she wakes up after twenty minutes, and the cycle continues. She doesn't want to eat, she is exhausted beyond reason and will not go to sleep. The last two nights I've been letting her scream until she goes back to sleep. Is she too young for that? What do you think?

At least she has forgiven us and is all smiles and cooing in the morning.

Other random notes...Sorry if I haven't been a good commenter on your blogs. I do enjoy catching up on your lives but usually only have one hand to type, so I skip the comments. Just know that I love you!

T has been scared of going to bed and monsters. Last night B suggested they made a poster that said "No Monsters Allowed!" for their room. This was especially sweet after our FHE on having a happy, supportive home.

T is also slowly getting the potty training down. I still can't leave him in the hands of others without a pull-up, but I think we will make it before Kindgergarten. Miracles never cease.

Well, better shower before noon!

The befores and afters

2009-11-07T11:06:00.007-07:00

Halloween

2009-11-06T19:35:00.005-07:00

Tink

Tow-MaterIndian

NinjaWhat are those blue rectangles in the background? My two finalist paint colors. We are done painting. Pics to come...

My Fall Happies

2009-10-29T09:20:00.011-06:00

Things that have made me smile lately....

Playing in leaves

My attempt at a Fall Display, complete with my sparkly pumpkins! Love them!Watching my five-year-old totally get into the doughnut contest at scouts.Getting a tip for the best place to pick your own pumkpins. Much better ambiance than yelling at your kids to get out of the road in front of Albertsons.Having my husband carve this awesome Transformers pumpkin last night.Seeing my little Chief Kindergartener off to school. Craft tip: Paint samples at Home Depot for $3. It comes in a 8 oz. jar and you can get any color you want. Craft paint for a 2 oz is usually $1-$2 for 2 oz, so this is a pretty good deal. Perfect for any little project you have. Just had to share. Sometimes it doesn't take much for me to smile.

Need I say more? I can't believe she is five-months-old today!

Go with your first instinct

2009-10-26T15:15:00.004-06:00

About 4 1/2 years ago, I wanted to paint my upstairs. I taped a whole bunch of paint samples verrrry similar to these colors on my wall. Maybe it was the cloudy/gray skies that I was constantly seeing at the time, but I thought it would be too depressing to have blue/gray walls.

So, I found a picture from Ralph Lauren that had this kind of suede color and navy blue and went with that. Awesome in the picture, not my favorite on my wall. So, it is back to square one where I started years ago. Decisions decisions.

And I should probably black out all of the paint names, because really Seaside Villa sounds so much cooler than Thar She Blows. I can't let the names influence my decision.

Crazy hat day

2009-10-26T08:30:00.001-06:00

So much help..

2009-10-14T20:38:00.004-06:00

A couple of weekends we were heading out of town, and if anyone knows me very well you know how much I hate packing! I dread it, put it off, and it makes me in a bad mood.

Anyway, this day we had a flag football game and I was going to a watch party at my mother-in-laws house before we were heading out of town.

The girl C would not nap and wanted to be held all day, which wasn't helping the packing situation at all.

Finally, I sat on the couch and declared that we couldn't go. A little dramatic, I know, but I was having a moment.

Anyway, I have two very different personalitied sons. B started bawling and screaming that I was so mean. C announced, "I can help you mom. I will pack the snacks."

So, he then proceded to get the cooler and fill it up. Included was several different kinds of drinks and about 20 boxes of dry Jell-o. You never know when you will get a craving on the road, you know! Then he dragged the cooler up the stairs by himself.

What a great kid.

ToysBGone

2009-10-14T20:22:00.002-06:00

A few years ago, we were planning the layout of basment and I found some curtains I wanted to cover the toy shelves. They were the inspiration for the three colors we ended up painting the basement. I was really hoping they would be up before last tax season, but I was promised they would be up before the next. Promise delivered tonight! I thought it turned out good. Bye Bye toys! (At least the ones behind the curtains, now what to do the with the ones taking over the rest of the house??)

Before:After:

Thanks to my dear hubbie who sacrified his hands screwing in the thing-a-ma-jigs.

Apple Pie in a Cup

2009-10-14T18:55:00.002-06:00

We just tried a yummy fall drink you should try! Yum!

Apple Pie in a Cup (Or a Mormon's version of a Fall Latte!)

Ingredients:Cinnamon syrup*
Apple juice or Apple cider
Whipped cream
Carmel syrup drizzled on top
Directions:Pour Apple Juice or Apple Cider into your mug and stir in about 1 teaspoon of the Cinnamon syrup. Heat in the microwave to desired temperature. Top with whipped cream and drizzle caramel syrup on top. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Syrup
1 c. light corn syrup
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 c. evaporated milk
Combine corn syrup, sugar, water and cinnamon in a saucepan. Bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue stirring and boiling for an additional 2 minutes. Cool 5 minutes, then stir in evaporated milk.

I 1/4thed the syrup recipe since we were only using it for this drink.

Happy Fall!

This weeks projects

2009-09-30T21:41:00.005-06:00

My good friend Tammie sent me this link for a onesie dress and I had to try it. For me being domestically challenged, it took me three tries to get it right. The first was horribly crooked and too short, the next one was so long I made C's four-year-old friend try it on over her pants and it fit perfectly, but the third time was a charm. It was a great learning experience for me to try out a ruffle and working with elastic for the first time.
Of course I took her to the Women's Broadcast in it and she lasted about 20 minutes before she had a blow-out and I had to take her home to change.

I also worked on some crocheted flower clips. The first step is to get your fabouslessly talented sister-in-law Emily to crochet the flowers for you (thank you!), then you sew on a button and glue to clip. How sweet is that!
And finally I had to get on record that someone other than me ate lettuce at my house. (You coudn't pay my husband enough to eat lettuce). But the other day we had a few friends over and they pulled some lettuce out of my garden and had a little "salad" snack. Notice how T wouldn't even touch the stuff.

One of those random pajama parties that happen sometime

2009-09-28T08:26:00.011-06:00

One Friday afternoon, as soon as my kids came from school they wanted to have a pajama party and invite the neighborhood. Since you are only a kid once, I let them. I asked what they were going to do at the party and they announced that they would play games and eat cookies. I asked if they made any cookies, and they shook their heads in confusion. Don't cookies just appear out of nowhere?
Luckily their dad took pity on them and made each kid a cup of popcorn. It was a hot day! Poor Q (in the long red PJ's). To be a kid again..

I've been informed that a Witches and Wizards party is coming soon. Oi.

Links

2009-09-19T22:15:00.002-06:00

Someone was nice enough to request (or humor me :) for the tutorials on some of my projects I have posted. Here goes:

Rag Bag: My way-got the purse at DI. Pinned one of my hair flowers to the top.

Lined basket: My way-Didn't use pinking shears, just sewing scissors. I did sew the raw edges down at the top.

Tile-pendant necklace:My way- Tristan got the tiles at Home Depot. Not as smooth as clear as the ones on the tutorial, but still unique and cool. Also couldn't find diamond glass around so I just traced the scrapbook paper around the tile, mod podged it to the tile, then mod podged it to the back, then used jewelry glue to attach the bail to the back.

Yellowstone

2009-09-13T14:22:00.012-06:00

Well, we finally decided to take our kids to see the National Park in our backyard this weekend. I haven't been since I was probably in Junior High or something. It was pretty cool. The geysers are amazing. The kids did pretty good. The girl C doesn't really love being in her carseat.

Jackson Hole: No, your eyes do not deceive. I am no longer a blonde.

Cute, ugly, or cuegly??

2009-09-07T20:02:00.005-06:00

Once I read a craft blog call cuegly because she never knew if her stuff was cute, ugly, or cuegly. That is how I feel a lot of times. This is an attempt at a rag purse that I made. I'm not sure what to think. I like to make funky things sometimes but I don't think I have the personality to pull it off. I don't really like drawing attention to myself, and this definetly would!

There was a lady who used to be in my ward that could get away with wearing anything! And she did. This might end up as a terrific dress-up for the girl C. Would you wear it? I have finished a couple of other projects that I thought turned out more cute than ugly.
Tile pendant necklaces:

And with a little spray paint and some cheap pre-quilted fabric, I turned this DI basket into a shoe basket for the basement.

Oh yeah, and I still have a family. Together we.... watched a caterpillar turn into a butterfly. So cool! And we checked out the BMX bike track

He had his head decap-ditated

2009-09-04T22:20:00.005-06:00

(You have to watch the Office to get that one!)

Today's project: Baby-Bear Blanket

My modification- Of course I'm not going to sew my own teddy bear as suggested in this tutuorial. Who do you think I am? Martha??!!

I just followed the directions there to make the blanket.

Then I cut a DI teddy bear under the arms and hand-stitched the teddy bear to top layer of the blanket.

She loves it already!

The Indian days of summer

2009-09-02T12:02:00.002-06:00

Where did we get that saying anyway?
Anyway, it definitely doesn't feel like fall yet around yet. It feels more like we should be getting the slip n slide out than sending kids off to school. I like it. I know people who are from hot climates can't wait for fall, but I'm Ok with more heat. Mostly because around here it seems like you get about a week of jacket weather before you are in a deep freeze for many months.

Anyway, need some ways to keep summer alive? Here are two treats we have tried recently that scream summer. (sorry no visuals today)
1) Old fashioned lemonade: This is so yummy and tastes just like something you would get at fair or Disneyland or something.
2) Watermelon Bars: I love watermelon and always wondered if you could make something out of it. I tried this tonight for ladies cheesecake night (I know it's not really cheesecake. I was going to introduce fall by making pumpkin cheesecake when I decided to make this instead) I made it this morning and I had to sample it to make sure it was edible. Yum!

A little more work than I have putting into baking lately (which if it doesn't come in a box, it doesn't get made) but worth the effort. I actually bought whipping cream instead of heavy cream on accident, but I think it works fine. La Tisha-you can copy my recipe tonight with this link.

Enjoy!

First day of school and new chore chart system

2009-08-26T16:50:00.006-06:00

Well, summer seemed fast in a way and dragged on forever in a way. I was kind of sad to see C start Kindergarten, but when time went really fast before he got back, I realized it wasn't such a big deal. Both of my boys didn't even say goodbye when I dropped them off. They were ready for their new adventure.

The second day when I woke C up he said, "Thanks for signing me up for Kindergarten mom." Anytime little sweetie!

T missed them and I end up playing more play dough than I enjoy, but hopefully he will get used to them being gone.

Today, I'm working on a new chore chart. I'm kind of combining this website (Thanks Katie) with an idea from here. The website called Goalforit is a free interactive chore chart that you customize. The kids can click on things as they are completed and it keeps track. They also have a bank where you add points when things are completed and then you make a list of rewards and how many points they cost and the bank deletes.

Sounds confusing, but you should check it out and it makes more sense. Then I'm using the store idea from the Idea Room. I've gathered up treats, toys, etc. that we have been storing for when our kids deserved them (and then I realized they never will!) and put stickers with the cost on each of them. They can use their points to get something out of here or things like TV time, Jamba Juice etc. I also put consquences in their bank, and I will take away points for things like lying, not obeying, etc. I will let you know how it works out.

I think I will print out their weekly charts so we aren't constantly having to update on the computer and then on Sundays we will get on and fill it out.

Around here

2009-08-22T22:09:00.011-06:00

C sat in her outdoor swing for the first time. She was more interested in sucking on the strap that anything else. I learned how to make ribbon flower hairbows.C enjoys sucking on polar bears but not binkies or bottles. Does this picture remind anyone else of Sharon's baby pictures?C is having a rare day nap in her bouncer. Lately she thinks life is too exciting to miss out by sleeping in the day! Oh well. she is mostly sleeping through the night so I can't complain too much. Anyway, thanks to the baby swing I did get time to make a few headbands too. The first person to write a comment with their headband size (just take a tape measure and measure around where you want your headband to sit--don't worry I come from a big headed family your measurement won't shock me!) and is someone that I don't have to mail this too (sorry I barely grocery shop and I definetly don't go to the post office!) will win a headband.

Christmas in August..

2009-08-22T21:56:00.003-06:00

I got my Christmas/Mother's Day/Birthday present today. We got a keyboard from Chesbros. I'm so excited to check out all of the features. And now B can start piano lessons in September.

And I had no idea I was married to such a handsome little Mozart!

I finally had a (semi) original thought..

2009-08-15T16:55:00.005-06:00

I have always liked making things and being creative. However, someone else has to come up with the idea. And then I copy them. Anyway, I had completed two projects that I copied from blogs. One was a fabric-scrap necklace and one was the flower clips I made for the girl C and me. Then I wondered how they would look combined and this is what I came up with.I thought they turned out pretty cute.If you want to make them these links have fabulous and easy-to-follow tutorials to follow. With the flower clips I made mine I a little bit easier. I just took apart dollar-store flowers and threw away all of the plastic and centers. Then I stuck a brad or eyelet threw the holes. Someone even told me how to stick them to clips without glue. You just stick your brads through the flower and then through clips like these. No glue required.
Mostly, I did this post so I could have a link that I could go tell the awesome people who made the original tutorials that someone appreciates them!
La Tisha-do you think people would want to make these for Super Saturday? Not that they are hard to figure out from reading the blogs, but if enough people are interested I could be in charge of these for Super-Saturday.