Everyday life According to Us

Resolution 2012

2012-01-02T09:45:00.001-07:00

Last year my

Resolution 2011

was to ENJOY.

I did well. I took time to enjoy the little things.

I enjoyed every little minute I was able to spend in my studio

I enjoyed each of my children.

and for the most part I enjoyed each of their personalities

and embraced each of them for the little people they are becoming.

I feel like make it my resolution I was able to

better live my life "in joy."

This has probably been one of the happiest years of my life.

Nothing spectacular happened,

and each challenge I was given was met with a positive attitude

and a smile!

THIS YEAR

my Resolution 2012

is to CREATE.

Create happiness in my home

Create memories with my family

Create healthy meals on a regular basis

Create energy and strength in my body

Create art

Create Harmony

I am so excited to for this new resolution.

It is such a small word

that is going to have a big impact in my world.

I hope your 2012 brings you all the Enjoy's and Create's that you are looking for!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-31T14:59:00.002-07:00

We have survived the holiday season of 2011!

I made homemade popcorn for our friends and neighbors.

Peanut Butter with Reece's Pieces & Butterscotch drizzle

White Chocolate with Dark Chocolate Drizzle

Nutella with Chocolate Drizzle

Cinnamon White Chocolate with Craisins and Sugared Pecans

The kiddos did an amazing job making sugar cookies.

All those years of letting them have at it and

keeping their cookies separate from the edible ones

has finally paid off!

They did A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

This is what our house looked like when we left for

our Wyoming Christmas.

(We definitely left a white Christmas behind)

Taking some time for a little pre-Christmas shooting!

They grow up too fast!!

Here we are:

Crazy as ever! Living life to the fullest!

and ENJOYing every little minute of it!

December Kindsight

2011-12-01T08:54:00.001-07:00

I was in my kickboxing class yesterday and the instructor mentioned something about "Kindsight."

I didn't comprehend everything she said at the time

(I was doing jump squats...cut a girl some slack)

but said "kindsight" over in my head 10 times

so I could remember to google it when I got home.

And this is what I found:

Breathe

and ask

What was I learning?

*****

As a woman who likes to

"make things perfect"

"not rock the boat"

I have found the holiday's especially stressful, trying to make everything perfect instead of living in the moment and making memories. If I look back to my past 3 years I am amazed at all the things that I have learned. By opening myself up to what the universe wants to teach me, i have learned to stop and breathe. I am not perfect at it. But this journey has been worth the effort.

I am looking forward to being in the moment with my family this holiday season. And I hope that I can treat myself with Kindsight.

My wish is the same for you!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-30T21:53:00.001-07:00

We left a festively decorated house this year

For a cozy family weekend in

Estes Park Colorado

with Grandma & Grandpa Daniel

We stayed in a darling swedish inspired hotel

Did some shopping downtown

Ate Carmel Apples

And Ice Cream

In the winter of course.

****

We had Thanksgiving dinner at the charming onsite restaurant!

Grandma and her only Grand-daughter.

Our beautiful meal.

(My favorite was the savory squash)

I didn't get pictures of the Holiday Parade on Friday night

because as we were 10 minutes away from it starting

a major winter flurry

hit us head on.

We all took cover but were walking snowmen within 3 minutes.

It was crazy.

We had to watch the parade sideways.

The view on our way out of town.

That is snow blowing off the peaks...not a cloud.

Estes Park is G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S

and we can't wait to go back to visit.

Locks of Billie's Love

2011-11-30T21:34:00.001-07:00

Billie has been begging me to let her cut her hair again for charity....

for MONTHS.

So he we are BEFORE

on our way to the appointment....

a little wind blown!

Brittany did a wonderful job.

We ended up with 4 pony tails

12 inches each.

I was freaking out inside a little bit.

But not as much as dad was...

He liked her long hair....ALOT!

AFTER:

Don't worry daddy.

It'll grow out.

And it went to a wonderful cause.

Her heart, makes mine swell 10x's bigger.

She is so thoughtful and amazing!

Thankful Moments

2011-11-30T20:52:00.001-07:00

November FLEW BY!

WOWZER...

Grant and Billie went to their first Middle School Dance.

All the kids wanted to wear white because

it was black lighted.

James celebrated his 10th Birthday on

11/11/11

We talked to Grandma & Grandpa's

and then we skyped with G&G Daniel

because:

Our cousin came to share his birthday with James.

They were born on the same day.

It was so much fun.

We played, had dinner at Red Robin (YUM!), shopped at the Lego store,

Opened Gifts, Had Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake,

Played XBOX Kinnect, legos, watched Cars 2, swam at the hotel

and most of all made wonderful memories!

November Nuggets

2011-11-04T22:40:00.001-06:00

November 1st:

The morning came all to early after our Halloween Candy Hangover

but we trudged along,

glad when the day came to a close.

November 2nd:

A winter storm crept down from Wyoming

blanketing us with a good amount of snow.

The kids had a snow day,

(the roads were terrible at going to school time.)

The satellite was not cooperating with their morning cartoons.

So Billie put her boots on over her jammies

and borrowed daddys jacket to clean it off.

We ended up with 8 or so inches by the afternoon.

November 3rd:

Grant whipped out a batch of brownies for me.

From scratch, I might add.

I tossed him a bag of Mini reece's pieces

and he incorporated them nicely.

(yes he is getting tall

we haven't measured him lately

but

he is definitely taller than me

and not much shorter than Bill these days.)

November 4th:

James' last day of school until after the Thanksgiving holiday.

I took in Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

and Juice Boxes to share.

While the kids were singing happy birthday to him

he kept pointing to himself.

I then promptly checked him out of school

because he hasn't been feeling well, had a sore throat

and I could feel his temperature creeping up.

On the ride home he asked me if he was going through puberty

"because my voice sure has been changing a lot!"

We must have a teenager in the house.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2011-10-31T21:21:00.003-06:00

Pumpkin Spice Waffles for Breakfast....

(My sad attempt to make a jackolantern out of them

the kids didn't care they weren't perfect

I had em at waffles and chocolate chips.)

For 13 years I have dodged the bullet

on having to do

major face painting...

(Thank you Billie for thinking enough to grab the camera and get some progress shots!)

Pretty Tabby Cat

Stealthy Ninja

Zombie Skateboarder

(aka candy passer outer)

2011 Halloween

We had a terrific night. We have such a fun active neighborhood.

And I guess now that Halloween is over,

winter can officially start!

Happy Anniversary COLORADO

2011-10-30T17:23:00.002-06:00

On October 23rd. 2010 we said good bye to Arizona early in the morning.

We pulled into our new home @ 12:30 am

(I guess traveling with 2 vehicles, 3 kids and 2 dogs is slow going.)

On October 26th, 2010 our things arrived a Bekins moving truck.

They removed all the doors on the house

and for a good part of the day, brought all our things in.

The weather that day was in the high 40's and the house was chilled.

Nothing like October 26th, 2011

Where we woke up to this:

Good thing we blew out the sprinklers,

Dug out the snow shovels

and put the ice scrapers in the vehicles.

It continued the whole day....

But it's okay.

Cause this is why we moved here.

And I am ready...set...go!

Halloween-ish house

2011-10-30T17:10:00.000-06:00

Last year, at Halloween, we were still surrounded in box after box.

(Wow! Does time fly. I can't believe we have been Coloradans for 1 year now.)

This year I determined to be decorated by the middle of October.

(It helped I was hosting the neighborhood Halloween Bunco party on the 15th)

I love my fireplace....

It is really hard to decorate though

because it is massive

because it is a 2 story room, it goes all the way up!

One of my obsessions this season is 3D letters.

I made these fall letters

out of old shoe boxes and cereal boxes.

(Now I want a whole 3D alphabet wall, watch for XYZ to come first.)

These are my take on a Pinterest find.

It took 1/8 of a yard of stripe fabric, and some black scrap fabric.

I sewed little magnets into the the top

so we can rip em down when we need/want the fireplace on.

And the pumpkins in the tub...

in 2009 I had a great idea to have the kids write what they were thankful for.

We then embroidered them into the stripes. (Grant and Billie did their own sewing

and I helped James do his.)

I wanted a little keepsake of their handwriting and their thankfulness.

(This will probably be the last time with THIS particular tradition. It was time consuming)

I used up the leftover strips from the thankful pumpkins to make a runner for my end tables.

I love stripes.

18 foot ghosts...

Ginormo Jack o lantern...

one of my favorite decorations EVER...

Even though Bill hates storing and moving it.

Replaced all the picture frames with Halloween pictures past.

I am embarrassed that I have

NOT ONE

Picture of halloween last year. Grrrr.

I know this is the bathroom, but this is one of my favorite views.

Or maybe because I have a Apple Cider Warmer in here, so it always smells like fall.

Quiet Moments

2011-10-30T16:44:00.003-06:00

James was having a friend sleep over last weekend.

The scheduled time was 4:00pm. At 3:55 James started watching patiently.

(he only asked me every 5 minutes what time it was, that's pretty patient for a 9 year old.)

Then Grant joined in the wait for a little while.

I love that my boys can be 13 and 9

and still be friends

and still have lots to talk about.

First Snow of the Season

2011-10-09T10:08:00.002-06:00

We woke up to rain yesterday

which quickly turned into

SNOW!

I am sure we were the

ONLY

excited family on the block.

The boys took a quick trip up to

Cheyenne to watch uncle Mikey

coach a football game.

It snowed the whole way to Wyoming

and continued the whole day.

There was only a slight delay in the game

for the Thunder and Lightening

to pass.

Who knew it could snow AND thunder and lightening.

Billie and I held down the fort here.

We heated up the house by making a batch of

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

and a big crock pot of chili.

Today:

The snow is gone and the sun is shining.

Favorite Fall Recipe

2011-10-03T07:48:00.003-06:00

I love fall

I love the leaves changing

I love the cool night air

I love everything that screams fall

like pumpkin spice lattes

pumpkin scones

pumpkin bread

soup simmering on the stove

rolls baking in the oven

Cozy evenings spent near the fireplace

and Amazing Spiced Chai Concentrate:

I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen and I <3 it!

It is such a good base recipe but completely customizable.

You can use black tea, white tea, herbal tea (honeybush tea is delish in this recipe)

I made a fresh batch this morning

and we didn't have any oranges in the fridge so I left the zest out.

Still amazing.

Click Here----> Amazing Spiced Chai Concentrate

2011-09-24T16:00:00.003-06:00

We took a quick trip through the mountains to Grand Junction this weekend.

The colors were spectacular,

Still green with pops of bright yellow and orangey yellow everywhere.

I even spotted some bright lavender flowers along side the road

that paired spectacularly with the yellows.

In Grand Junction we met up with Grandma and Grandpa

Grandpa and dad took the kids to Cabelas

and Grandma and mom checked out the local quilt stores.

(One of the stores my mom remembered

from when they lived in the area 29 (+) something odd years ago.)

After a wonderful Outback dinner

the kids took a dip in the hotel swimming pool.

It was a quick trip but a wonderful reminder of what is important:

Small moments

Taking in pops of color

Uninterrupted family time

A perfect way to usher fall into the rocky mountains!

Become who you are

2011-09-15T16:09:00.000-06:00

(even if it is really really hard, it is so worth it!)

WAHOOOO!!!

2011-09-09T22:29:00.004-06:00

Bill had a follow up with his doctor this week.

Everything is healing nicely

and he doesn't need the boot any more.

HOORAY!!

He still can't run on it.

(for 6 more weeks)

but he can bike and swim.

I am super excited to be able to pair socks again.

(He wore a long black sock with the boot and

a regular sock with his shoe.)

He is super excited to be able to wear 2 of the same shoes again
Not to have to limp 4 blocks from the parking lot to his office
and to feel somewhat normal again.

Signs of Fall

2011-09-07T20:40:00.000-06:00

The high today was 64 degrees

Perfect to put these:

Into These.

Perfect for homemade chicken noodle soup simmering on the stove

and PERFECT for homemade bread baking in the oven.

First Day of Middle School

2011-08-22T16:30:00.001-06:00

Today was the first day of middle school.

I don't know if I was more excited or Grant. ;-)

Billie has a great fashion sense.

She has picked out some really cute clothes for this school year.

We are still wearing some pants and shorts from last year.

I told her we need to save the rest of her school clothes budget for her next growth spurt.

(We did the "no heat headband curls" and I love the way it turned out.

I embedded the link below for the tutorial.

She showered yesterday morning and

then sported a "70's roller blade babe" all day

and slept in it last night.

Her hair was still curly when she got home from school.)

Grant has the fashion sense of a 7th grade boy.

Pick it up off the floor and smell it to see how smelly it is.

Camo pants are a staple in his closet.

It matches everything. :-)

******

On a side note and basically for my memory:

*Car pool fiasco: I ended up doing two drop offs.

The boys and then driving back to get the girls.

Got home

*burned mine and James pancakes

*the strawberry syrup exploded in the microwave

*my shin fought the dishwasher door

and the dishwasher door won

leaving a nice big scratch

and one hell of a bruise

*opened a can of soup while putting together

a crockpot dinner and sliced my pinkie finger

all of that between 8 and 12.

*Billie forgot which door i was picking her up at

so 25 minutes after school was over we finally connected

and were on our way home.

I think I'll sit on the couch the rest of the day and read a book.

;-)

End of the summer....

2011-08-18T16:54:00.009-06:00

First things first, the VERDICT is in:

NO SURGERY

but this will be our view for the next 6 weeks

while we are best friends with the boot

*****

My tomato plants:

They are producing slowly

Perfect amount to eat on a salad

or to slice and eat alone for a snack

I got some sort of pest on one of my 4 plants.

It pretty much killed half of it before I noticed

(even though I water them daily).

*****

Last weekend we hit up a Food Truck Gathering.

It was fab and fun and just a tad warm out.

Some of us had biscuits,

some of us had tacos

and some of us had the most delish cupcakes

*****

This "ugly bug" had a mock day today.

Nothing like practicing for 6th grade.

But who ever came up with it was

PURE GENIUS!

All of our little butterfly's are gone.

And we even have a new BFF

(her 5th grade BFF moved to another school)

Traditional Front Door Picture.

We'll have another photo shoot Monday

when the Granster joins her at school.

*****

Summer has been great but

I am ready for winter.

but I love my fireplace,

my double ovens,

my scarfs,

my boots

and

school time.

2011-08-11T19:32:00.002-06:00

Tuesday night 8/2/2011...League Softball game in the rain.

Bill came home with a "pulled" calf muscle.

He iced it and elevated it for 2 evenings.

Last night...8/10/2011

Tonight....8/11/2011

Another Angle tonight

The preferred foot apparel by Orthopedic Specialists....

MRI...tomorrow to determine if his calf muscle is more than 50% torn.

Aspen in the summer.

2011-08-10T07:08:00.006-06:00

We took an early anniversary trip and drove up to beautiful Aspen.

I mean, what says I love you for 16 years more than a trip with your children. ;)

We picked Bill up from work in Downtown,

armed with an iced venti white chocolate mocha

I took on the mountain with my little nissan

It was a "fun" little drive up to Independence Pass.

The Colorado Department of Transportation

must have decided it was easier to leave the guard rails off

the twisty, turny, windy road

than to have to replace them.

It was a beautiful afternoon at 12,095 feet.

The kids (and I) thought it was so cool

that there was still snow on the ground

at the end of July.

Aspen is an amazingly gorgeous mountain town.

The kiddos got a kick out of the winding stream through the middle of downtown.

The dogs kepts jumping all the way in to cool off.

We road the gondola up to Apen Mountain.

F-A-N-T-A-S-T-C

Nothing says summer vacation

like an ice cream bar on the top of a mountain.

Bungee Jumping for the kids.

James flipping out. :-)

Chair lifts in the summer.

Bill drove down the mountain, and thank goodness he did.

We were stuck in traffic for an hour and a half.

And if you are going to be "stuck" you might as well be coming down the mountain.

*Grant was with G&G Daniel this weekend

so we can't wait to be able to take him back to Aspen.

Summer Art Festivals

2011-08-10T06:52:00.004-06:00

Bill has a childhood friend who is an amazing artist.

(You can check him out here)

He came and did several shows here in CO

So we took the kids for some culture.

This guy *below* was amazing.

He is covered all in mirror.

He had an assistant that was

armed with a windex bottle

keeping him shiny and clean.

Grant loved this target. *grin*

Billie loved everything.

(a girl after her mom's heart)

James really "really" wanted

to bring this guy home.

It is amazing to see lots of talented people in one place.

Just goes to show that you can really do anything you put your mind to.

bi"11"ie

2011-08-05T20:48:00.005-06:00

When you are busy making memories,

the time floats away on a cloud.

I can remember her birthday like it was yesterday.

We (my body especially) waited for a whole long week.

July 10th was just not going to be her day.

at 12:35 am on July 17th you took your first breath.

Now she is 11.

always a friend

the most creative person I know

she is becoming a plan maker

a risk taker

a neighborhood socialite

a fashionista (with her own style)

She asked for just a few things for her birthday.

They were very well thought out.

A new bike to ride to middle school.

Justin Bieber movie.

(she's 11 enough said)

We had a few friends for a weekend sleepover.

I kept if simple with homemade individual pizza's,

individual chocolate strawberry filled cakes

(which we ate at 11 pm because daddy had to work late)

and Pink Sodas

I *think* the girls finally went to sleep at 2:45.

We love you Ugly Bug!

I broke up with Book Face

2011-08-02T21:29:00.003-06:00

I love LOVE reconnect with people.

I am my father's daughter, and i love LOVE visiting with people.

I love LOVE sharing ideas, my day, my "brilliant" spurts of information.

I love LOVE bragging that I made a homemade veggie lasagna from scratch. TODAY.

but I also love LOVE:

Playing the piano

updating my Project Life

updating my Blog

baking Mocha Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies with my kids in the kitchen,

working on a little sewing project i want to finish this century

playing my bassoon for the first time in 10 years (yes I have 3 working reeds and not terribly squawky either)

hanging outside with my kids and my neighbors

grocery shopping with coupons

reading a fun summer novel

keeping up with the laundry for a family of 5

So something had to give for a while.

I did it cold turkey, no grace period.

Maybe someday we can be friends again.

(on Book Face that is)

And really I have been cheating on bookface with pinterest for months.

Like i told Bill:

my mom knows where I live

my true best friends text me

my friends email me

and everyone else who might care, find me here.

For 3 days, it has been VERY liberating

Highlights of June

2011-06-30T18:40:00.003-06:00

*Both Billie and James won their classroom award for

Wise Choices

at the end of the year assembly

*Afternoon Sonic happy hour.

*Family Cultural Project

*5th grade continuation...bring on middle school.

*Father's Day cinnamon rolls and chocolate milk

*Please, please, please mommy...aren't I so cute!

*Hanging out in the corner on his ipod with a blanket.

I guess this is what teenagers do.

*Evenings with the fire pit, smores, and our awesome neighbors

*Stylish pre-teen vacuuming with our slippers on

Etc, etc, etc....

2011-06-30T17:32:00.010-06:00

These last two months have been such a whirlwind of activities. The month of May I spent three out of the four weekends in the car between Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota and Utah.

So here are the highlights:

My friend Pam had an amazing spread at the "Wedding Viewing Party." We had a great time looking at all the hats, trying to figure out who all the British upity ups were and brunching on cucumber sandwiches, tartlets, croissants, champagne cupcakes and more.

We celebrated Grant's entrance into Teenager-hood with a fine meal at our local Japanese Habatchi Grill. (I can't believe that I am young enough to have a teenager!)

Trying out his new fly fishing rod. Better learn how to cook other-than-salmon fish!

He asked for a marble chocolate chip bundt cake.

And see how well I plan ahead for candles!

We took off for a week at Grandma & Grandpa's early morning on his birthday.

As part of his gift he got to choose our fast food lunch destination. Plenty to choose from when you hit a KFC/AW/Long John Silvers joint.

More birthday sweets that we shared with the whole extended family.

Grant asked for something with strawberries in it.

Playing outside in the beautiful spring weather.

My mom got a new bike for her birthday and she rides around town for the mail and such.

Couldn't resist this picturesque view of small town living at its finest!

We celebrated Mother's Day Brunch with grammie and mom's siblings.

The next week we drove to Wheatland to exchange Billie

for her week at G&G Daniel's place.

The boys were thrilled!

(But James missed her dearly by the end of the week)

We took the opportunity to drive up to Keystone SD on our way to pick up sister. It was only 30 minutes longer out of the way, and we got to stay at the most quaint lodge that our friends just acquired. Keystone is beautiful in the spring and we can't wait to go back for another visit.

The 4 cousins together at dinner with Bill's family.

We stayed at a nearby hotel so the kiddos could have some swim time.

James missed his sister and they went right back to their

fun,

imaginative

play time.

They are shown here sporting their sticker masks.

Hippity Hoppity Easter

2011-04-24T21:31:00.006-06:00

This year instead of dying eggs,

we made white chocolate covered oreos instead.

Grant took his turn, painting the design

(shirtless, because that's what boys do, or so I keep hearing.)

James, and his cookies...

(James NEVER has his shirt on,

first thing off when he gets home from school every single day)

Billie girl helped me to the end.

She did swirly designs and mixed the two colors.

We were fresh from baths, hence the messy hair!

I would say the cookie substitute worked,

because the big E.B. found our house.

Billie couldn't understand why he dumped all the eggs on the floor...

That silly E.B.

We had a little brunch hunt with several of our neighbors.

Grant and Billie hid the eggs for the younger kids.

It was a chilly day but we just love our neighborhood and our neighbors!

Happy -th Anniversary of My 29th Birthday

2011-04-24T20:55:00.011-06:00

We did some seriously good planning, accidentally!

Bill's Birthday is in March,

My Birthday is in April,

G Bubba's is in May,

Girlies is in July and Jamers is clear in Nov.

Okay so we didn't do too well with the last two but 3/5 is pretty good.

I felt seriously spoiled this year. I had mini celebrations for days.

Easy Painting class with my friend Pam

Sushi at a local joint on Saturday night

Yummy~ Love love love eel!

Major League Baseball on Monday night.

Seriously cold, glad I wore my winter coat

and so glad that we had seats at club level

so we could go inside and warm up.

The kiddos loving the rain and rainbows!

A double rainbow that showed up right after dinner for us.

It was beautiful!

Cinnamon Swirl Cake from Nothing Bundt Cake.

My favorite store bought cake.

And a baby Lemon bundtlet for breakfast. :-)

And the best gift of all (besides spending time with my fam OF COURSE)

Bill is taking me to see Josh Groban in Concert when he tours here.

Sigh!

My two favorite men in one room.

Celebrating Life

2011-03-12T22:55:00.002-07:00

With Cupcakes we Celebrated the day that you were born.

35 Balloons representing all the great years!

We cooked a meal that was fit for our king.

(blue cheese steak, sour cream mashed potatoes and texas toast)

And a grand party with friends, xbox, food on the grill, and your favorite

coconut cream pie cake (8 layers this year)

This year is shaping up to be the best yet.

We love you Bill for all your many talents,

your amazing work ethic,

your funny sense of humor,

your knack for knowing how to handle any situation,

and

for just being the best you that you know how to be!

Happy Birthday!!

Fantastically Fun February

2011-03-06T19:50:00.012-07:00

Wow! Where did February go?!

We had a fun filled month.

The younger kids had their track off break so we decided to road trip!

At 3:45 one morning

Billie, James and I hit the road

to Grandma and Grandpa's house!

We travelled across snowy Wyoming...

The kids were so excited to get to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

As soon as the car was unpacked

out came the scooters.

Unfortunately we were there for about 20 minutes when James' had an epic fail.

He hit a patch of black ice.

In an effort to save his hands he caught his fall with his face.

Sad Boy:

(He survived and was well enough

to go to the Aggie basketball game

with Grandpa that same night)

Bill's adorable cousin goes to college nearby my parents home

se we picked her up one morning

for a darling little brunch at a yummy italian resturant.

She was so sweet to the kids

playing hang man and the dot game at the table

It was so fun to see her again after a really long time.

D~You are darling and I am so excited to see where your dreams take you!

The kids and I hit the car wash.

Billie and James acted like they had never been through a car wash before.

Maybe they haven't.

But it was fun to hear them freaking out at all the car wash noises!

James will be embarking on a recorder unit

and Grandma was kind enough to give the kids a lesson!

Valentine Red Velvet Cupcakes

Grandpa scooter racing with the kids.

Craft Time with Grandma.

Art time with Grandpa.

He taught them how to mix colors and showed them how to use chalk pastels.

Mom taught me how to long arm quilt. I made a darling little picnic quilt.

It turned out pretty good for my first go at long arm quilting

(And using a sewing machine on something other than paper!)

My dad made the most amazing sour dough bread!

I think we demolished one loaf in a day!

We also saw a musical (The Music Man)

Visited with the extended family

Played with the neighbors St.Bernard: Barkley

Had movie marathons and movie nights in the Theater

Broke bread and did lots of talking!

Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us invade this month! We had a great time and we love you!

Welcome Back to Winter

2011-02-05T22:08:00.002-07:00

Just for fun, I took some pictures that pretty much defined our week:

The kids spent Tuesday on a "too cold for school" day.
We watched movies, played legos and liv dolls and ate breakfast at 11.

Wednesday it was still below zero at going to school time, so the district canceled school again. We spent the day doing much of the same thing as Tuesday.

On Thursday the kids went back to school
and
I drove around town doing errands in the
blustery snowy "not supposed to snow" day.

Friday it snowed on and off all afternoon.
And today was picture perfect dropping fluffy, yummy big flakes.

Winter has welcomed us to Colorado with open arms.
And we are so happy it has graced us with some real winter weather.

Tidbits of Life

2011-01-25T18:34:00.002-07:00

The "little" kids love their short walk to and from school.
Especially when there is ice to crunch along the way.

Found a new hair stylist...finally!
I needed it.
She gave me great tips on how to care for my locks in the dry mile high city!
And she gave me great tips like Hair spray is no good here because it drys and then flakes off. Who knew!!
I am super happy with my new light layers though!!

The Unpublished Scrapbooker

2011-01-16T11:59:00.002-07:00

In an effort to overcome some of my shyness with my craftiness,

I have created this spot.

{The Unpublished Scrapbooker}

Come join me and see some of my endeavors.

Seeing the sunshine behind the clouds

2011-01-12T21:39:00.003-07:00

‎"Sometimes the best lessons we ever learn in life are the hardest times we ever go through." ASD

Today may have been one of those day,

but sweetheart it isn't the end of the world

and

if we don't learn anything from it then

the heart ache and hurt and tears

were all for nothing.

2011- ENJOY LIFE

2011-01-01T13:08:00.004-07:00

This is my

New Year's Resolution:

***********

There are so many aspects that I can enjoy:

Enjoy Life-when Bill has to work late take advantage of the one on one time I have been given with my kids and BE grateful that he has a job to "be late" doing.

Enjoy Life-when I don't want to exercise be reminded that I have a healthy body to use to exercise.

Enjoy Life-when it is snowy and cold or too hot to handle, enjoy the warmth or coolness my house has to offer!

Enjoy Life will be all about just that,

good with the bad

and

making Lemon-aide out of the Lemons.

2010-It was a good year!

2010-12-31T11:05:00.015-07:00

First day of school in January @ our new school in Scottsdale.

Spending the evening in Gold Canyon with my parents.

Mom and I tore up the joint with our piano duets!

Camping in Payson, AZ

Family Pictures at my Grandparents Ranch.

It's a century farm now and I LOVE that place!

Wedding in Wyoming = Great road trip across the west!

Celebrating 15 years of marriage.

Not too shabby for two young kids!

Dad teaching me how to make prickly pear jam and syrup!

He's amazing!

Grant playing Pop Warner Football.

Starting weight 85 pounds.

With milk shakes,

french fries,

rice and

protein shakes we got him all the way up to 105 pounds.

Two weeks after he finished his season, he was back down to 90 pounds.

The last swim...closing a chapter on our lives in Arizona.

Bittersweet for sure!

Moving...again!

I know 10 addresses in 15 years is a lot of change!

How lucky we are to have kids that have handled our adventurous spirits.

Halloween 7 days into a new neighborhood.

We met lots of neighbors and really saw how really great our new pad is!

(Billie is a vampire princess,

James is a Ninja Warrier

and

Grant was too cool to go Trick-or-Treating this year,

so he was our military escort)

My parents were able to come spend Thanksgiving with us.

We fried our turkey and everything else we made was totally delish!

It was fun to have Bill's grandma (and his parents) spend Christmas with us.

We finished this puzzle in 2 days and it was really hard!

Dad and the kids headed to a Bronco game.

They actually won.

I guess my family is a good luck charm for others too!

Ending the year with a nice yummy snow storm!

This is an omen of good things to come.

Adjustment

2010-11-14T20:21:00.003-07:00

We have been in our new place for 3 weeks. Parts of the house are totally unpacked and parts of the house are still filled with boxes. I set my goal to be unpacked before Thanksgiving. I will definitely reach it in the areas that are important to eat a meal! :-)

Lots of people have asked how the kids are adjusting and I have to say that at this point it appears to be the best adjustment we have had. The kids have had a lot of changes in the last 3 years. We were not happy with our first neighborhood school in AZ so after 2 years we found a wonderful charter school 20 miles in town that we commuted them to. They left all their neighborhood friends and had to make great new ones. Then we made the decision to leave our far west valley home and move closer to work so we could have dad home more often (his commute was 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours one way). Once again we decided to pull them from the Charter school we loved and put them in our neighborhood school. The kids made more great friends their and we loved that we lived in the same neighborhood as most of them, so we had lots of play dates and walk home companions.

We are 2 weeks into school here, Billie and James had 3 days of school before they went off track but so far Billie has been on the phone with one of her new friends everyday and they have all made friends with a couple of the neighborhood kids. I had parent/teacher conferences with Grant's teachers and he is doing okay too. We have some things to work on, but for the most part he is making friends and jumping right in.

I don't think it is ever easy to make changes in life. Changes make you reach, stretch and grow. About 2 years into our time in Arizona we started talking about moving back north near our families and snow and the mountains. We wanted to make the change before the kids were in jr high so that this could be our "last" change. And here we are (4 1 /2 years later) and this change is good. The kids will do more than survive, they will thrive. We have been able to visit with family and friends. And it is so nice to be within 6-8 hours of our families. Because really when it comes down to it, that is what it important in our lives.

Life is an adventure just waiting to happen.

You can either be the driver of your own adventure

or you can take a back seat

and let someone else do the driving.

Our first snow!

2010-11-09T18:26:00.000-07:00

Snowing on the house!

I have some pretty excited people at my house.

Soup is simmering on the stove.

Biscuits are baking in the oven.

I know it is crazy to be excited to be cold,

but after 6.5 years in the blasted heat,

this is definitely a welcome change.

And I am sure that

our mountain view will return

tomorrow.

After the snow shoveling lessons have been given!

Relocating....Again

2010-10-31T21:15:00.001-06:00

I just know that somewhere in my genealogy there was a gypsy.

A beautiful, colorful spirited gal who roamed the earth.

In our short 15 years of marriage, we have had 10 addresses.

Sweet!

I must be channelling her in my dreams, because we are once again "relocated."

This time, my life has brought me full circle.

Back to my birth-country Colorado.

We have been here 1 week and already it is home.

I am loving turning on the fire place first thing in the morning, sipping my warm beverage letting the day warm up around me.

We live in a lovely hilly neighborhood where we have a view of the snow topped rocky mountains right off the front porch.

I told Bill that I find it incredible to have to go to the grocery store and see the mountains. :-)

If I am channelling my gypsy ancestor,

I hope that she will be settled here.

Because we plan to call this place home for some time!

Summer Road Trip Part II

2010-08-04T22:26:00.000-06:00

On the second part of our road trip, we drove a little north through Idaho and then back into Wyoming. We had to make a little stop by the side of the road...no one vomitted BUT a few of us had to get out of the car and get some fresh air. It was worth the stop for the scenery how ever.
We continued on and met up with some of Bill's family who are "summering" in Star Valley. We had a lovely lunch visit with Cindy and Scott and Taylor. We just love you guys to pieces. Thanks for letting us invade your camper space for the afternoon!

As we drove through the teton Mountains we just looked and looked and looked. We kept telling the kids, this is what "real" mountains look like. This was by far our most favorite part of our scenic road trip. How can you not love that! We sure do.

Beauty!

We decided to drive through Dubois Wyoming and get a quick bite to eat. Over $100 later we experienced a shack by the creek, hot cocoa and tea, and very exquisite Wyoming Cuisine. I think everyone will remember freezing our trashes off at that restaurant by the creek.

What's a late night road trip with out some throwback sodas and peanut m&m's.

We visited the natural hot spring in Thermopolis, WY. Right next door they have a bison grazing area that you can drive through and see the big beasts. We only saw a couple of bison and I missed the picture. But my favorite part was this little corner where all this metal is stashed. It's kind of a where's waldo of aging cars and misc metal things. I thought it was so cool!

We took a pit stop in the small "blink and you'll miss it" town of Kirby Wyomng.
The new home to Wyoming Whiskey.
This is the first legal distillery in Wyoming.
The master distiller was gracious enough to take us on a tour and show us the process.

Here the mixture is in a 2500 gal tank. The yeast keeps it mixing and brewing.
The whole place smelled like fresh bread.
So yummy!

Here are the first barrels...taking their time with the aging process.
Wyoming Wisky has a beautiful facility in a beautiful part of the country!
It was a very education experience for all.

Summer Road Trip Part I

2010-08-03T22:03:00.001-06:00

We decided to escape the terrible triples of an AZ July and road trip north. We drove through northern Arizona, southern UT, up the scenic highway 87 on the eastern side of UT Grandma & Grandpa S's place in northern UT.

~We played road trip bingo,

~ did brain teasers,

~listen to our ipods,

~had "poem hour"

(I read random poems every hour or sometimes 2 if we missed an hour because I was napping)

~took naps,

~~~

At Grandma and Grandpa's we:

tested out the boat on the river

Received tractor driving lessons

Used up every single band-aid Grandma stashed on the business of scootering. I was sympathetic for about 10 minutes and then I decided "someone" needed a lesson in toughen-up-cookie.

Summer Loving

2010-07-02T19:40:00.000-06:00

Summer has been in full swing around this house for quite some time.

"look serious please"

It hit me the other day that I am a mother of kids!

No more babies, no more toddlers and no more little kids.

Big kids.

Wowzer!!

Our amazing attempt at a group photo.

How did I get so lucky?! Everyday it amazes me!

My Peoples

2010-06-28T17:19:00.000-06:00

People will forget what you said,

People will forget what you did,

but

People will never forget how you made them feel.

Maya Angelou

The kids eating while we were camping up in Payson.

It got down to 29 degrees and was snowing when we left.

Brrr.

^^^^^

|||||

These are my peoples.

I really hope that one day they can forget that I tend to be a yeller.

I hope that they never forget what my hugs felt like when they were having a bad day!

I hope that they remember what it felt like when others were unkind

and they try to be nice just because there aren't enough nice people in the world.

Sweet Little Library

2010-06-10T19:12:00.000-06:00

This is our new library!

I love it!!!

I have always loved the library.

I wish I could check out every book.

I have made going to the library one of my main priorities with the kiddos this hot summer.

The best part is they have kids activities in the afternoon!

Hottest part of the day at the cool library, sign us up!

Last week they had a wii and a rock band set up on the projection screens.

This week the kids watched Where the Wild Things Are on the big screen.

Put this on the list of things I am learning to love about Desert Living!

Strawberries

2010-04-25T20:56:00.000-06:00

I love spring

Even living here in Arizona,

I love the warm days and still cool nights.

*******************************

I love that I remember to stop

and

look around at all the beautiful flowers

and

trees and shrubs that seem to be in full bloom right now.

*******************************

I love that I can go to the local grocer

and

find stacks and stacks of strawberries for a steal.

*******************************

I love washing them.

I love taking my little pairing knife

and

cutting off just the greens like my dad taught me.

(You poke your knife in and cut in a little circle around the leaves.)

We don't waste any of that strawberry goodness.

****************************

I love pureeing them in my blender

so they are just the right texture

for perfect freezer jam or smoothies.

I was able to make 5 batches of strawberry freezer jam

and two ice cube trays of strawberry puree,

perfect for summer smoothies.

(I like to puree fruit and freeze it into ice cube trays. When it is frozen I pop them out into freezer bags and I can mix and match with a little bit of yogurt and honey to make the perfect fruity smoothy without any chunks.)

Women

2010-04-12T17:47:00.001-06:00

"Women! I just don't get them. WO-men!"

~James, age 8

What do you do with fallen fruit?

2010-03-31T18:57:00.000-06:00

Pick it up and have a grapefruit war, of course!

Scheduled to death with signs posted

2010-03-14T19:46:00.000-06:00

Due to “work circumstances”, I *got* to be a solo parent for a little span of time.

The timing is not exactly what I hoped for, but it is what it is.

I have been thinking and contemplating it for weeks.

Trying to rack my brain to make everything the easiest that I could.

I have always considered myself a strict scheduler. When the kids were little we ate breakfast at 8 am, park at 10 am, lunch at 12, naps til 2 (or later if their little bodies slept).

This lasted until they each entered kindergarten and

then I still continued this with the remaining at home kids.

Then we would eat dinner at 5:30, have baths and bedtime at 7 SHARP.

There are still days when the kids are in their beds reading at 7.

But now we don’t push lights out until 8.

Yep even today 8 o’clock is our bedtime.

My personality type tells me that I thrive being scheduled. The times in my life when I am out of control is when I let the schedule go. So in an effort to keep myself in control while we are going through this “work circumstance” I got to scheduling. (Kind of funny considering that my husband is a professional scheduler! But believe me it doesn’t work to delegate this schedule to him. I need to be the one in control.) So schedule I did.

I scheduled our meals. (Kraft Foods)

This is the easiest meal planning I have ever done.

And most if it is in my pantry bought very cheaply with coupons.

Because I know the kids are easy, then I too scheduled out my meals.

Healthy meals make it a piece of cake to get myself ready for work everyday.

The next thing I scheduled was our after school hours. With kids in 3 different grades, our homework loads vary. I can’t necessarily schedule this time out by the minute. But I can divide out their chores and then after their chores are done it is outside to play and enjoy the down right gorgeous Arizona weather we are experiencing. Because at our house we have to rotate the boring chores among the kids. This is what I came up with.

Chore Charts. They rotate certain boring things every week.

My favorite part…helping with Moms chores.

I have to admit that one of the “perks” I find about being a working mom (full or part) is that EVERYONE has to pitch in to keep the house as clean and as organized and tidy as it took mom to do while everyone else worked and attended school. You know, the kids think the magic elf came in and cleaned up their room while they were away. I have realized what a dis-service this is to everyone. No one appreciates mom, kids get lazy, mom gets frustrated, complains to dad, dad gets frustrated and it makes for a not so happy home. So chore charts we have.

My next favorite part is the chalkboard message area at the very bottom.

This is the area that anyone can write little notes to the kids telling them what a great job they did with their chores. Everyone loves a little positive feedback.

The next thing I realized in my pondering, the more I write things down, the less I have to yell. Hence this was created. No more repeating, I just have to put my mommy eyes on and point. Seems to work rather well.

(I covered the ugly brown frame with this cute duct tape. Perfect for spring and summer!)

So here we are, skating through this experience scheduled to death with signs posted.

Whistle while we work...

2010-01-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

Some of our most recent highlights:

*The Shelves that the owner put up in the garage came crashing down around my car last week. Bill said that is what you get when you screw into sheetrock and not studs. I don't think the rainy wet weather helped either. My car suffered the wrath and not has a few good dings to show for it. Several cans of paint were lost in the tragedy as well.

*A tornado warning was issued for Scottsdale last week.

Thank goodness we have an open floor plan house

with clearstory windows every where. It was all good though.

Just lots of wind and rain. We loved it!

*I started back to work today.

Just a few hours each day a couple of days a week.

I am only 15 minutes from home instead of 48.1 miles

going the wrong way at the wrong time of day.

I am glad. I liked the structure of juggling it all!

January Goes Marching On...

2010-01-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

Our January has been filled with:

Impromtu photo shoots on ladders while we organize the new garage space.

A lovely visit with Grandma and Grandpa.

Filled with good food, games, competition, music, and laughter!

Another "first" day of school.

Went so well, when I asked them how the new school was

I received a resounding "awesome."

That's what I like to hear!

Happy New Year 2010

2010-01-01T12:25:00.001-07:00

This is the Year...

This is the Month...

This is the Day...

I am so excited about 2010. I have never felt so excited to embark upon a new year as I am this year. I have finally realized that your life is really what you make of it! Maybe that is why I am so excited. I have big plans for me and for us! We have had a simple quiet holiday season and for that I am glad. The kids are getting older and everyday they are getting "bigger." It has been fun to slow down and just be. To hear what they think, to see how they play, to watch them interact with each other. We have been given much in this life and I can't wait to share and give back. This is the Year! And this is the Month! And This is the Day!

There is going to be no more waiting and procrastinating.

There will just be doing.

HAPPY 2010~ May it be exactly what you make it!

The Stockings were hung...

2009-12-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

Barely...

moving and Christmas prep don't really go hand in hand.

But we finally got the tree decorated and the stockings hung...

We did some gingerbread house building

Sugar Cookie frosting

And Hello Dolly Bars thrown together

Basically enough sugar to last us months...

Christmas Morning I found this picture on my camera...

I wonder if Santa was messing with my camera.

Traditional Cardamon Sweet Rolls were baked

to be eaten after we opened our stockings.

Goofy and Sweet was the theme for the day.

Checking out games

Drooling over legos...

(he kept sneaking back to his pile of toys to check out the legos.)

Playing with our new Rush Hour Game

Trying on practically every new gift...necklace, apron, gloves...

James thanking Grant for his new Star Wars ship.

Even the dogs scored a big win with new bones to chew on and coats to keep them warm.

(Our house is much cooler than the old house.

Jack wouldn't sit and pose for me...too much going on)

Moving Day Came and Went...

2009-12-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

Moving Day came and went...but we still have to go get ceiling fans.

We are in the new house...but certainly not settled!

We have a Christmas tree up...but not decorated one bit!

We are almost done Christmas Shopping...but certainly not wrapped and adorned!

We took last weekend off and went to Vegas...but left the kids in very capable hands.

We are shipping away gifts tomorrow...but one is being left out, I will have to finish it for next year.

We are saying goodbye to our old school tomorrow...but excited for the new school.

We are tired...but certainly blessed with so much to make us tired about.

This is it!

2009-11-30T18:28:00.001-07:00

The week is here.

We are moving along in our journey down the time line of life.

We have said some goodbye's,

we have said a few see you later's

We are excited to be close to new friends.

We are excited to close to work.

The walls are bare

The boxes are packed

Mom and Dad are pooped

and the kids have a ton of energy.

Isn't that just the way it goes?

Catch you on the flip side.

Here we go again...

2009-11-17T20:07:00.001-07:00

5 states...
9 homes...
We are at it again!
The only number that changes this time is the 9...
it will be 10 soon.
It is time!
We are ready for change and new growth.
The best part is we are going to closer to dad's work.
We are ALL looking forward to at least
2 EXTRA hours
of dad being home
each
and
every
DAY!
So for Christmas this year we are getting
a new house,
a new school
and
a new neighborhood!
Seems to me we are a pretty lucky bunch.

My babe turns 8!

2009-11-10T20:57:00.000-07:00

Born on a Sunday Evening in November

Your eyes so dark blue I will always remember.

Not a day goes by without you laughing and smiling

You joined our family at the very perfect timing.

You took your place with a big ole grin.

You can crack a joke on any old whim.

And here you are my little boy

Not so little but still a joy

So here is to our son who is 8
We know this next year will be great
Because you are you and for any who know

to know you is to love you

Which is why we will love you till we are blue!

Happy Birthday James
Love Dad, Mom, Grant and Billie

and Sadie & Jack

Happy Halloween...a trip down the lane

2009-11-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

Since I can't share my delish halloween cupcakes
(and because bags of candy isn't enough sugar on Hallow's Eve!)

I was taking a walk down memory lane yesterday before our evening stroll commenced
and I thought it would be fun to put a post together
of the 11 fun years of halloween we have enjoyed with our children.

1998

1998-Grant was only months old. We dressed up for pure selfish reasons. Our Chiropractor's office was giving away a weekend getaway, we wanted to win. Thanks to Bill's "awesome" cooperation, I think we did win! Grant on the other hand was none so happy to participate. Good thing he was only a couple of months old and didn't have a say in the matter.

1999

1999-We lived in Idaho Falls and we took a stroll around the neighborhood with some good friends. What a great memory, most of the homes decorated and some of our neighbors gave fresh hot homemade doughnuts to all the adults.

Bill was working in Yellowstone National Park and this was one of the few long weekends we enjoyed with dad! I did "homemake" Grant's lion costume.
It was only 100+Yards of ribbon for his head. I missed Bill terribly!

2000

2000-Grant was a frog...I don't remember him being upset about it, but he is either super happy here or super mad. Not sure. (We lived in Texas so it was pretty warm out.) Grandma J gave us the costume and I am pretty sure we loved it to death as soon as Halloween was over.

And Billie was a cut little Flower in the pond where the frog lived.
I made her costume and she was pretty happy to just hang out...

2001

2001-Billie was a poodle and Grant was a spider. The costumes came from a store. I SHOULD have dressed up like the great pumpkin. I was 8 months pregnant!
We still lived in Texas and we went to a local mall for trick or treating!

2002

2002-Peter Pan in the HOUSE! We lived back in Wyoming and I made all the costumes (again). Grant was Peter Pan,
Billie was the cutest Tinkerbell
and
if you couldn't tell James was Captain Hook!

2003

2003-Buzz Lightyear came to visit this year.
Grant was Buzz,
Billie was Jessie
and
James was Woody.

2004

2004-Dorthy's in the house...Another year of homemade costumes.
James was the cowardly lion (do you recognize this one remember 100+ yards of ribbion),
Billie skipped along as Dorthy
and
Grant squeeked along and the tin man.
We moved to Arizona this year and spent the afternoon at Boo at the Phoenix Zoo. It was quite warm this year and I remember James sweating to death in the lion costume.

2005

2005- Grant is a ninja
Billie a Cheerleader
James is a red power ranger.
I think this was the year I decided
that moving into a new house
AND
making homemade costumes
were not both going to happen.
The house won!

2006

2006-Billie is a pirate maiden
Grant is Darth Vador...

James was a puking Darth vador who didn't get to go trick or treating.
(His siblings kindly shared their loot with him!)

2007

2007- We had a long Halloween season this year.
We were able to go trick or treating in Disneyland during our fall break,
then we also walked the neighborhood on Hallow's Eve.
This is probably the year I was most prepared to celebrate the season.
We had a great trial run.
And for the record Dad dressed up as Thor and Mom dressed up as little red riding hood.

2008

2008-We dressed to comply with our school "storybook" parade.
Grant dressed as Slappy from the Goosebumps Series.
Billie dressed as Queen Lucy from Chronicles of Narnia.
James portrayed as King Peter also from Chronicles of Narnia.

And for our 2009 Halloween Get ups:

James:Blue Power Ranger
Grant: Cody from Starwars Clone Trooper
and
Billie: Hannah Montana

In action on the street!

As we were walking about
I kept hearing the sounds of kids laughing,
seeing parents smiling and I was completely aware of the fact that even though Halloween
can be pretty gruesome and scary,
It is another chance to spend a night with your family.
We leisurely strolled the neighborhood with the kids, (and some friends and their kids) enjoying all the sights and sounds, having a nice relaxing night as a family.
And that walk with the family is what begins the holiday season, where we can cherish the traditions and meaning of the season to be thankful and joyous.

Halloween Crafting

2009-10-13T20:08:00.000-06:00

Cheesecloth Ghosts

They look like they are floating in mid air.

So easy to make...liquid starch, cheesecloth
(purchased in the craft section not the housewares section at the Wally World.)
1.Just cut the cheese cloth to the desired length
2.take newspaper and crumple it into a ball
3.then cover the ball with foil
4. tape the ball on top of empty soup can or water bottle
optional 5.wire or newspaper rolled up into a long tube
taped just below the ball head to create the "arms"
6.dip the strips of cheese cloth into the liquid starch,
ring out and lay your cloth over your can/bottle form
7. Let dry for a couple of hours.
(once it starts forming you might need to check on it periodically
to make sure the cheese cloth isn't "sticking" to the form.)
8. Take the dried ghosts off the form.
9. String a double needle through the top of the ghost head.
10. Hang up and enjoy!

A fun banner I made to stretch across the eating bar.

It goes so sweetly with the place mats Bill's aunt Kathy made us for
Christmas a few years back!

(I love these so much I won't let the kids eat off of them.
I know, silly.
But I'm the boss here, so I can if I want to!)

Fall Break

2009-10-10T22:21:00.001-06:00

One day this week,
we took a break from
Legos
Pirates
Cars and sand
light sabors & nerf guns
coloring & crafting
and
went to the zoo.

Fed

Sam

the giraffe.
He's Cool!

Finally Fall?

2009-10-05T16:19:00.000-06:00

Today is a perfect Arizona day.
The temperature is around 78 degrees,
there is a slight breeze in the air
(okay maybe a slight misrepresentation, the front porch has been swept twice today),

(Our last swim of the season...too cold for Arizona Kids)

(A little fall photo shoot for my princess...)

the kids are home from school this week to enjoy Fall Break.
We have little planned,
a day at the zoo
some Halloween crafts to craft
a little tv
fort building
maybe some Halloween sugar cookies to create.

First hot chocolate of the season
(the day before our last swim of the season)

Fitness For All

2009-09-21T20:16:00.001-06:00

We've been making fitness and health

A bigger priority!

Well...MOST of us.

Back to School Pencil Bouquets

2009-09-10T21:21:00.001-06:00

2009 Back to School Craft:
My FAVORITE Beverage
Silk Flowers
Chalk Board Paint
a little scrapbook paper
No. 2 Yellow pencils

Oh and I Love Love Love my kid's teachers this year!
They deserve way more than crappy pencil flowers.

After school Routine

2009-08-29T23:35:00.001-06:00

MATH
(knock knock Billie...
whose there...
your bangs...
and they want to come home)

SPELLING
I mean who can say no to that!

READING
Couldn't get him to smile for anything. He must be 11

The Good The Billie and the Ugly

2009-08-20T09:08:00.000-06:00

This was Billie as I sent her off to school the first day of school.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last weekend the kids went over to play with our cute little neighbor boys
(who are 3 and 5 and LOVE big kids).
They were playing in the back yard
while their parents were doing some yard work.
My darling Billie found a pair of safety scissors
and
played a little hair "art" on herself.

before

Of course I didn't notice right away because they came home
and jumped in the pool
and we headed to Red Lobster with wet hair!
~~~~~~~~~
As her hair dried it became abundantly clear that her bangs were not the same.
She did a number my little 9 year old!

Really at 9 I have to worry about safety scissors...nice!

after

And this is her "after" shot.
She was mortified that I wanted to document this.
It might come in handy some day for her.
This is after I have "fixed" it kind of.
There really is no "fix" for cut hair.
Thank Goodness she inherited my fast growing hair.
~~~~~
On the bright side,
her Teen Vogue says that ultra short bangs are in. Sweet!

Back to School 2009

2009-08-07T17:49:00.000-06:00

Early in the morning on the first day of school

Taking our obligatory "by the front door" shots

Little reminders of summer imaginations (found in the pantry)

Evening swim to get out some wiggles

Do you hear it?

2009-08-05T09:04:00.000-06:00

Happy 14th

2009-07-29T14:17:00.000-06:00

It was a hot afternoon at the end of July
I donned my best dress and you put on that bow tie
*****************
We said our vows, we said I do
Our life began just me and you
*****************
And here we stand just fourteen short years
With a new commitment to face all fears
******************
Together we say we can move many mountains
We can conquer the ocean and the desert too
******************
I love you now more than I loved you then
I can't wait to see what's around the next bend
*******************
So I raise my glass to all you do!
Happy Anniversary Baby, I LOVE YOU!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

2009-07-26T20:49:00.001-06:00

We went to bed with a 8 year old little girl and woke up to a 9 year old sweetheart!

We planned a super fun and busy day with your favorite people.

Your brothers:

Tigger:

Fairy GodMother:Chip:

Dancing with Max and James:

Showing us the map, (and your birthday autograph book).
You were our tour guide for the day!
Your sparkly pretty face painting!
A little snack in the afternoon before we took a cool dip in the pool!We finished the night off with a pizza party in the room.
Fireworks on the balcony
and a late night trip to Build-a-bear
to bring home your new (and first ever build-a-bear) bunny rabbit!

We love your sweet loving personality!
You are so kind to everyone even animals!
You love teaching James in your school.
You love swimming and racing Grant in the pool.
You love snuggling with Daddy on the couch every chance you get.
You love helping me cook and clean up
and
you love it when I tell you it is scrapbook time.
Your drawings and paintings are amazing.
You will be able to do what ever you set your heart and mind on!
We are so blessed to have you in our home
and
we love every minute of our Billie Girl!

Little Family Getaway

2009-07-26T19:59:00.000-06:00

We decided to vacation close to home this year. With San Diego and So Cal so close...

I mean I used to drive 2 1/2 hours to go to target,
4 1/2 hours is nothing.
Plus we had some racked up Disney points that needed to get used up.
Disney was running an awesome promotion so we were able to get away,
for SUPER cheap.
Everyone here needed a vacation!
(Even the dogs, who get to reside at the doggie hotel and run wild.)

Here are the highlights:

We started the trip heading south west to go to San Diego.
We had never been there before.
The picture above is of all the sand dunes along the road.
It was really cool to see them. I wouldn't want to be driving here in a wind storm though. We also encountered several border patrol check points.
Another new experience.
Being so close to the border that you can see the wall is something else. I guess in my mind I pictured scores of people running wild across the desert.
We didn't see anything like that and I guess our vehicle didn't pose a threat.
We got waved through each time with out having to stop. The view of Mission Bay from the Sea Lion Show.
The weather was perfect and the view was amazing!
The walrus was invited to take part in the sea lion show. When it was done, he climbed out of the water and over the glass partition. He decided that he wanted to check out the rest of Sea World. They made everyone exit out the back of the show until they could get him to go back in. It was pretty funny to watch. That old Walrus wasn't going to go inside for anything. Even at Sea World the animals have a mind of their own.

I would have taken a picture of the Shamu Show, but the kids opted to sit on the second row, so my camera was tucked away safe in the plastic waterproof bag. It was pretty good from what I remember. We got soaked, I got salt water in my eyes and I couldn't see anymore and James had to go pee. So he and I ditched out early to find a bathroom.
I think I can say "a good time was had, by most."

We all got sun burnt! (Despite screening up at lunch time!)

And we stopped by a "Drive Inn, Diner and Dive" Diner. We looked one up before our trip so we could check it out! The food was awesome! The service was perfect! And it was lovely stop before heading up to Anaheim!

Eating Bar

2009-07-24T16:47:00.000-06:00

Minus another coat of sealer and a couple of trim boards,
my island is finished!
I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT!
Our dining room table is officially on craigslist for sale.
It's okay...I know, it IS Awesome!

Summer Fun

2009-07-23T14:06:00.001-06:00

Our summer has been filled with lots of this:

Each morning
we fill up our camelbacks
strap on the helmets

Head out into the heat
for a nice cool ride

We take turns picking the route
driving through the neighborhood
Catching the "cool" morning breeze.

Fun little cards...

2009-07-10T18:45:00.001-06:00

Since I have been on my "summer vacation,"
I have had some extra time to make some fun cards.
I joined a little card club to motivate myself to get back in the mood.
And my BFF moved far away so I made the tag for her goodbye party and all the girls gave her a cute moving survival item.
(paper plates and utensils, gift card for pizza, cleaning supplies, little cereal boxes, turquoise duct tape I don't know who that one came from... and some chocolate.
I might have missed something, but it was fun!)

It's the dog days of summer

2009-07-08T21:11:00.000-06:00

And it's DOG GONE hot outside...

DOGGONIT!

The Long and Short of it

2009-06-21T22:14:00.000-06:00

A gorgeous summer sunset,
taken by an 11 year old budding photographer.

Schools out for the summer...

Boy how things change in one school year.
*Clothing sizes remained the same, children's bodies grew.*

Tag-a-long fabric, now has a home.

Mommy is home again and everything is swell.

Crisis

2009-06-02T16:41:00.001-06:00

Yeah!

I would say Crisis.

Look at the temperature.

Now I am well aware that is probably NOT the air temperature,
but good golly! That was the temperature when I got into my car after work today!
I guess there is only one thing to say:
Hello Summer!

Billie's Science Project

2009-05-29T22:31:00.000-06:00

Billie's End of the Year Science Project:
Make a diagram of either
the Earth's Layers
or
the Layers of a Volcano
Billie girl chose to make a Volcano
and She wanted to make an "edible" diagram

Stirring the cake mix.

Tracing out where we need to cut out the cake.
We cut out the cake where the lava would be flowing.
Once the cake was cut we put it in the freezer to freeze it
so the "lava" wouldn't absorb into the cake.

To make the Lava we made up a package of Strawberry and a package of Cherry Jello to make the dark red color. We followed the quick setup directions from the package. Once everything was combined we put the jello into the fridge for about 5 minutes. This set up the jello just enough that it was kind of chunky looking when we stirred it. This served two purposes: The Jello didn't absorb into the cake and it also gave the Lava some movement.

Here Billie is working on making the mountain with the frosting.
You can see we already have the cake cut and the Jello in place.

Here is the finished unlabeled project.

We used the following to decorate:
Red Hots
Crushed Graham Crackers
Crumbled up cake bits
Frosting
Chocolate Jimmies

I am so proud of her! She did awesome on this project. And go ahead and ask her.
I bet she might be able to tell you all of the layers of a volcano.

He is 11...

2009-05-11T18:33:00.000-06:00

...he got in the car after school promptly farted. Then he proceeded to dig out his lunch and eat on his sandwhich. At some point he burped pretty loud. I said," Grant it is not polite to fart and burp in such a confined space". He said "mom the bacteria is working hard to digest my food. The bacteria need air so that is why I burp and when I fart it means the bacteria is sweating."

..."Just a little FBI mom,
you let the gate open."
(He meant FYI)

..."Did you know that everything that you eat has starch in it?"
(he said it everyday for like 4 in a row, and now that is our running joke back whenever he says hey mom.)

---Apparently I am a mother of an 11 year old. :-D---

Orange, Teal and Lime...See what I mean.

2009-04-26T19:36:00.001-06:00

My little "quilty" project. I don't consider myself a quilter but I have been inspired by great bloggers and I couldn't resist this color combo. Thank V for the inspiration to incorporate white for a clean look. I love my new runner. (No pattern, just went with my gut! What do you think?)

Scrapbook Desk Art

Some more

And yet more.

And this is what you get at my house when you have a little left over material! I believe that sewing machines were invented to sew with paper. (And I say that S word alot!)

More on this in a minute...

2009-04-16T18:28:00.000-06:00

I am officially in love
with
GREEN
ORANGE
and
TURQUOISE

Be back in a minute...

HAPPY EASTER

2009-04-12T00:56:00.000-06:00

Here we go again...(revised edition)

2009-04-01T08:49:00.000-06:00

Is the thought I had in my mind 8 years ago, as I took a pregnancy test and it turned positive almost before I started peeing on it. “God is playing one funny April Fool’s joke on me right now.” Billie was about 9 months old. Grant was going to be 3 in a month. How was I going to handle being pregnant AGAIN. I didn’t have time to be pregnant let alone have another kid. Our lease was up in our Plano apartment and we were planning to move across Dallas to Fort Worth to be closer to Bill’s new job with Texas Shafts. I hadn’t felt good for a month already but I figured I caught the flu from my darling little niece and her mother while on a trip to celebrate my Grandfathers’ 80^th birthday in March. I couldn’t be pregnant. Could I? So I did what any sane woman does. I went to bed and the next morning I took a second pregnancy test just to be sure that it was wrong the day before.

********************************************************************

But it wasn’t wrong. I was pregnant with baby number 3. Holy Crap! What are we going to do? We are going to have to buy a bigger car. I am not going to lie. I was scared. I had such mixed emotions. I wanted another baby. Just not right now! Bill was amazing. He was supportive and overly excited from the beginning. He knew we were ready even though I didn’t. He knew we would be fine, even though I doubted it. For me the choice was made, I was pregnant! We were having a baby. Ready or not!

********************************************************************

I was sick. I think half of my sickness was emotional, and the other half physical. My Pregnancy with Grant was a piece of cake. Hardly sick, had tons of energy, felt great all the way through. When I was pregnant with Billie I was “fertilizing” the rose bushes every morning through the first trimester. Then I felt pretty great. More Tired. But with James, I was nauseous the whole time, tired the whole time, grumpy most of the time. It was rough.

*****************************************************************

One of my favorite memories of carrying James is when Bill would come home at night he would always wrestle with Grant and Billie. I would sit on the couch watching them and James would flip circles in my belly. I know that he could hear all the fun and want to be apart of it.

******************************************************************

Fast forward 8 years and my James is 7 right now. We could not be more blessed having him in our lives. He is always happy! He always has something to say! His dimple still melts my heart! He is constantly telling funny jokes or stories or coming up with funny “what-if” stories. He tries to be nice to everyone and always fills my hug well. He is an amazing little guy.

*******************************************************************

Looking back 8 years I didn’t know how I was going to handle one more kid on my already frayed nerves. It is true “nothing more than you can handle!” And how that 8 years has flown. I blinked and now he is tall and lanky, smiley and funny, wise beyond his years.
I love you stinky! You are the best "April Fools Joke!"

The Island

2009-03-22T21:13:00.001-06:00

Several people have asked me to post a picture of my new island. I would like to say it is finished, but there are several finishing touches that we need to make. Here she is though in her clean glory. I love it! 11 feet of counter space is a bakers dream. I found some really cute cherry print fabric at Joanns on clearance and so I made the little curtain towards the end. The curtain hides my kitchen aid pop out shelf. It is an appliance lift made by rev-a-shelf. The shelf is big enough for my blender to be on it also. We had an outlet added so it can be plugged in at all times. Perfect. I have so much more drawer space than before. And all of my food and appliances are in the kitchen instead of some being out in the gargage. Thanks Babe! You are an amazing handy man!

Spring Break 2009!

2009-03-22T19:49:00.001-06:00

Coffin laying

Coffin leaning

Coffin chilling!

Cliff Dwellings

Working Hard

Kite Flying

Off and Running

Fishing

Fishing some more,

More fishing, hiking, movie, exploring, game playing, relaxing, visiting.
Thanks G&G For a great week in Sedona.
The kids had a great time and great memories were made.

CamelBack Ranch

2009-03-22T19:37:00.000-06:00

After a year and a half, CAMELBACK RANCH, the new spring training home to the LA Dodgers and Chicago White Sox, opened to raving reviews.
The day before opening game we were invited to come and experience a mock opening.
We flushed toilets, checked seat numbers, checked seat functions, ate the food and walked around and checked everything out.
It was really fun.
I am very proud of all the people who worked long long hours
and many days in a row to get it finished.

(Shh! Don't tell anyone but the kids were most excited for the "Great Flush."
When everyone went into the bathroom at the same time to flush the toilets! )

I am so proud of you baby!
We are so proud of you!
Thank you for all the hard work and sacrifice to support us so well!

The Climb to Conquer Cancer

2009-03-22T18:53:00.000-06:00

James was least excited about this 5 mile walk up South Mountain. We started at 6:30 am and got to the top just before 9. Not too bad for our first year.

The kids at one of the stops. They had stops set up at 1/2 mile and then each mile after that. There were radio stations blaring music, companies giving away things like gum, chocolate, water, bagels and coffee. It was definitely a leisurely walk.

Another stop that looked over the valley!

I even went along!

Bill and James at the top. We basically took turns pulling James to the top. He wasn't as excited as the other two. We kept telling him if he put half of his energy into walking instead of talking... Well, you can probably guess how well that worked. He had great stories though. And better ideas of what he could have been doing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a great event!
It is one we will plan on attending each year that we can while we live in Phoenix.
As Cancer is such a prevelant disease in my family tree,
it is a cause we feel very emotional about!

Random Moments and Bill's Birthday.

2009-03-05T21:02:00.001-07:00

Our sweet doggies. Loving the perfect Arizona spring weather. This is when I love living here.
James: Blowing and Chasing bubbles in his favorite foot attire. His cowboy boots.
Grant "reading" to James while listening to his ipod at the same time. James didn't seem to mind though.

This week was Bill's 33rd Birthday.
We couldn't remember what we did last year so I decided to blog about it.
(Aren't you lucky!!)
I took 0 pictures of the event.
It was pretty low key.
The kids made him cards.
I made him my famous coconut cream pie cake.
This year I added a layer and it was 6 layers.
It was delish!
I gave him a copper magnetic bracelet.
Oh and we went to our favorite West Side Sushi restaurant for an early dinner.

Sweet and Swanky

2009-03-02T07:11:00.000-07:00

A friend of my cuz is doing a cute little give away. She has the most darling blog with great tutorials and darling decorating ideas. So click here: Sweet and Swanky and check it out.

Spring is time for change

2009-02-22T19:04:00.000-07:00

This is Billie:

And Billie's Hair!

It doesn't ever look this way much past 5 minutes after I comb it.
It is so long and thick that it just tangles and knots and she looks like a girl who doesn't have a mommy who cares.
But care I do.

We would
braid,
comb,
hairspray,
straighten,
condition,
de-tangle,
all in the name of her long long hair.
Daddy loves it!
Billie loves it!
And Mommy had a love/hate relationship with it.
This weekend it was time for a change.

So off to my fabulous hair gal Felicia.
*Here are Billie's fabulous boots she had to wear to get her hair cut!*

And CUT we did.

We will donate her length to Locks of Love.
We talked about what Locks of Love does and
Billie is super excited to help other little girls who aren't as lucky as she is.

Still loving her hair. Even after Daddy threw a man sized fit about her hair
(all in good fun though)
Billie tried to pretend she didn't like her new hair to save her daddies feelings,
but when I woke up this morning and she had already done this:

I knew her cut was a keeper.
She said it was so easy to do all by herself.
^sniff sniff^
My little girl is growing up way to fast.
But I wouldn't trade her for the world!

King Arthur Sandwich Bread

2009-02-22T18:43:00.000-07:00

I have been toying around with this new bread recipe.
I love it!
It is easy!
The kids Love it!
Daddy Loves it!
It makes the best toast too!
*If you try it I would love to hear how it worked for you.*

It is from the King Arthur Flour Web Site

This is the bread out of the oven. Don't you think that fresh bread baking
just makes your house homey and cozy!

Here is the bread mixing in my Kitchenaid. I love that too!
(When I am not in the mood for hand kneading.)

I have been using a mix of half unbleached all purpose flour and half white wheat flour, king arthur brand! I just dump 1 five pound bag of each into my #4 rectangle modular mate from Tup...

and mix it together with a whisk. Now my flour is ready to go and pre mixed in all it's yummy goodness. I use this mix for everything, cookies, bread, pancakes, waffles.
The kids don't even realize that they are eating wheat flour.

Oh and I usually double the recipe with no problem. So without further adieu:

3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour*
1/2 cup milk (skim, 1%, 2% or whole, your choice)**
1/2 to 2/3 cup hot water, enough to make a soft, smooth dough**
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) melted butter, margarine or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 packet active dry yeast dissolved in 1 tablespoon warm water OR 2 teaspoons instant yeast

*For added whole-grain goodness, substitute great-tasting King Arthur 100% White Whole Wheat Flour for up to half of the all-purpose flour in this recipe.

**Mix the cold-from-the-refrigerator milk with 1/2 cup of the hot-from-the-tap water to make a lukewarm combination.

Mixing: In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. (You may also knead this dough in an electric mixer or food processor, or in a bread machine set to the dough or manual cycle). Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 60 minutes, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Shaping: Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into an 8-inch log. Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 60 minutes, until it’s domed about 1 inch above the edge of the pan. A finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly.

Baking: Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for about 35 minutes, until it’s light golden brown. Test it for doneness by removing it from the pan and thumping it on the bottom (it should sound hollow), or by measuring its interior temperature with an instant-read thermometer (it should register 190°F at the center of the loaf). Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a wire rack before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature. Yield: 1 loaf.

Valentines Day

2009-02-22T18:34:00.001-07:00

Our cute new valentines banner. The kids (especially Billie who stuck it out the whole project) were big helpers.

The school had an amazing family Valentines Dance. It was so much fun. Here is Daddy and Billie cutting the rug.

They also had Bean Bag Tosses,

Face Painting (Billie was helping her teacher with this activity)

And Sugar Cookie decorating.

It was so much fun and the kids had a great time.
We laid low on Saturday and just hung out as a family. What a better way to say I love you than to be together with the people who mean the most est to you!