Merry Christmas

From our family to yours.

My favorite Christmas drink

One of the many Christmas memories I have from my childhood is the hot drink that my Mom used to make for us.  There was nothing better than being outside playing in the snow then coming in and finding a hot mug of Mom's special drink for me.  To this day I still look forward to making it and wrapping up in a warm blanket with my mug of hot punch.  I thought I would share in case anyone wanted to try it:

Hot Punch

1 lg. can Pineapple Juice (46oz)
1- 12oz can frozen Orange Juice concentrate
1 cup lemon juice
4 to 5 cups water
1/4 tsp. cloves
several cinnamon sticks

Mix together & simmer for 45 minutes.  Or you can simmer in crock pot on low.  Great for parties.

Our Simplified Christmas

Because of some decisions that we made earlier this summer we have had to really simplify Christmas this year.  This would be the extent of our Christmas decorations around the house - these trees stay up all year but they just got a little dressed up for the holiday.

Needless to say it definitely does not look or feel like Christmas around here.  We don't even have stockings to hang this year.  Instead we will be using gift bags decorated with our initials.  I do miss having the Nativity set up this year since that always seems to help remind us of the true meaning of the season.

Hopefully the decisions made this year will make it easier for us next year.  Some know of those decisions and some do not.  Those decisions caused us to put alot of stuff in a storage container this past summer- 540 miles away.  That would be why we have simplified this year - no possible way to get to my stuff right now.

May the joy of the holiday season be with those you love now and throughout the next year.

Merry Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.  I hope everyone has a wonderful day and has a chance to reflect on all the good in their lives.

Ten things that I am grateful for:

1.   My family
2.   A house to live in.
3.   Food on the table
4.   Transportation
5.   Hot Showers
6.   Friends
7.   Dishwashers
8.   The Gospel
9.   My church calling
10. My pets

What are some of  the things that you are grateful for?

Three Teenagers

It's official, as of today I have three teenagers in the house.  Thirteen years ago today, our family doubled in size.  Two of the cutest babies I had ever seen (ok so I'm a little partial), joined our family.  They have been such a joy and a challenge to have.  Never did I think that I would have twins one day but here I am and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.  

I remember back to the day before they were born - it was a Tuesday.   I received a phone call from my doctor asking me when I would like to have these babies.  We had known for several months that it would be a scheduled delivery.  I asked him "when is a good day for you"?  He replied, Friday looks good".  Well, I was already one step ahead of him because I knew that Wednesday was also one of his surgery days so I replied back and said "tomorrow would even be better".  He said "let me call the hospital and check with them and call you back".  Within five minutes I received a call back saying that "tomorrow" was good to go - be at the hospital by 1:00.  And as they say, the rest is history.  

I am so glad that these two are a part of our family.  I am so proud to call them mine.  I thank my Father in Heaven each and every day for each of my children.

 

I love you guys - Happy Birthday !!!

A little bit of organization

Ok - so my cabinets in my sewing room were starting to look a little pathetic.  Everything was just getting thrown in wherever and I couldn't really find anything when I wanted it so I figured it was past time to do something about it.

I headed down to Michael's to buy some photo boxes (since we don't live close to an IKEA - had to make do) and I think the cashier was thinking I was a little crazy buying about 15 of them (they were on sale) - but hey, they work great and I love them.  What do you think?  This is just one of the cabinets that I organized.

Before: (sad I know)

After:

Now everything has a much better and prettier home and hey I can even find things now.

A view from the back porch

So I've mentioned here several times about the many balloons that we get to see in the air throughout the year.  Not very often do we get to sit on our back porch and watch this:

Yep, you guessed it, this landed practically in our back yard - ok so maybe on the road behind us, but close enough to call our backyard.  It was pretty fun watching it.  It then took off again and flew right over us,  they were so close we could wave to them and say "good morning".

An hour at the Airport

Yesterday, we went and spent about an hour at our second airport here in the valley.  This would be the airport where the smaller planes fly in and out of.  It was actually somewhat of a special day whereas there was a B-17 visiting.  That was the purpose of our visit.  Jake is working on an Aviation merit badge for Scouts and had gone out there the day before with his merit badge counselor- so of course he wanted to head back out there to show all of us this plane. 

So out we headed and this is what we saw:

 The bomb compartment:

First class seating at it's finest:

This particular plane was built in 1947 and never actually saw war but many others just like it did.

While we were there we saw a friend of mine who does have a plane out there.  How exciting was that?  She took us over to it so the kids could sit in it and check it out.  The plane's name is Skittles - gee wonder why?  Wouldn't be the colors would it?

Future airline pilots:

Even saw the news helipcopter while we were there.

It was definitely a fun-filled time

A trip down memory lane

As I sit here today I find myself thinking about the good ol' days.  Could it be that my class reunion is this Saturday and it forces me to remember how old I really am?  Or could it be that my second daughter is a senior this year and is looking toward college in less than a year?  Whatever it is, it has caused me to take a trip down memory lane.

What I have accomplished since graduating from High School?

1.    I have a wonderful husband who works hard to provide for us.
2.    I have four beautiful children
3.    I have one very handsome little grandson.
4.    I have a roof over my head and food on the table.
5.    I have been able to travel to Mexico, New York, Hawaii and muliple other states.
6.    I went to Disneyland for the first (and so far the last) time in my
       life.
7.    I have lived in three different states.
8.    I have a calling at church that I love- the nursery- who doesn't love going to church and being
       able to play?
9.    I have bought (along with the bank) three houses.
10.  I have great examples in my brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews.

I love my life and wouldn't change a thing.

A new bulletin board

As I've mentioned before, I went thrift store shopping while on vacation.  This will be the first of my makeovers that I found there.

These are the items I started with:

When I first picked up the blue picture frame, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. I wanted to turn it into a bulletin board. But not just your everyday bulletin board. I wanted to be able to use clips instead of magnets and twine instead of metal.

Here is the before:

This frame had a nice price tag of $1.50 - just call me the last of big time spenders.



After removing the picture inside (which was just a piece of paper with cardboard backing) and the birdhouse on the front, I gave it a couple coats of black paint.  Once more I turned to my Cricut machine for the vinyl lettering and turned this once donated picture into this:



This frame now has a new home in Sierra's bedroom - hence the Paris theme.

Total cost  - $ 1.50 and little bit of time.  Everything else I already had on hand.

Thanks for looking

Alexis' Thrift Store Treasure

As you know, I LOVE thrift store shopping.  Well, unfortunately I have passed on that passion to my daughter and my niece.  While on vacation, we took a little trip to the thrift store a.k.a. Deseret Industries.  That place is so much better than Goodwill near my house.  Anyway, we came up with a challenge, we had to find something UGLY and turn it into something a little (or alot) more beautiful.    Lindsey found a hideous picture frame and some hanging thing (no idea). Watch her blog for her projects coming soon.

The things I found will also be coming soon.  I still have a few small details to work out. 

Alexis found someone's old treasure box and decided that she could do something with it.
We bought it and gave it a new home with us.  Here is what she started out with:

It needed alot of TLC so we took the lid off and gave it a bit of sanding:

Time to give it that new look.  Alexis picked out a lime green paint, painted it and then put it back together.  We decided that the outside needed something so we found a great tutorial on how to make ribbon flowers (sorry, I have no idea where we found it).  Added some vinyl lettering, a couple buttons and a cute little handle at the top - and ta-da she now has a "new" treasure box.

Cost:
box - $1.50
ribbon - $1.00
paint - left over from a previous project
handle - free (already had it) check it out, it's an old spool that we painted
vinyl lettering - free (already had - I love my cricut)
buttons - free (found in button jar)

New Treasure box - Priceless

Stay tuned for more Thrift store challenges - we have several

Vacation is over - part 3

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Bartholomew



We were so excited to be able to spend this special day with my nephew and his cute new bride.  When we planned our vacation this was not on the calendar, but it just worked out that they picked a day that we were going to be in Utah to be married.  We are glad they did. 

It started out being a beautiful day but unfortunately it didn't end that way.  By the time they came out of the temple, the rain was down pouring.  Of course it didn't quit until most everyone had left.

Here are a few random pictures while we waited for the Bride and Groom to come out of the temple:

Grandpa A and the kids

The Grandsons minus two

Some of Grandpa A's granddaughters

Thanks for sharing my vacation with me.  We did do one other thing that is always fun....Thrift Store shopping.  Stay tuned for our thrift store challenge.

Vacation is over - part 2

One of the things that is always on our "to do" list when heading to Utah  is to go see Great-Grandma Wright.  What a joy she is - and ever so cute.  I know I talk about her every year but she is just so darn special I can't help it.  She turned 93 in March and is still pretty spry for her age.  In just the last year she has had to start using a walker and has gotten hearing aids.  Not bad for someone in her 90's.  She keeps very active at the assisted living place where she lives.  She has lots of friends there and goes to aerobics almost every day.  We all absolutely love and adore her.

We love you Grandma !!!

Vacation is over - part 1

Well, we didn't get everything on our "to do" list done while on vacation at my Dad's.  The only thing we didn't get time for was riding the horse.  Well, maybe next year.  We did get in lots of bike riding if that counts.

We arrived at my dad's house on July 1st after a 10 hour drive. On Saturday most of the cousins went to the Manti Temple and performed baptisms.  Between them all they were able to do 65 names.

Annie and Alexis rode their bikes in the big Mt. Pleasant parade on the 4th of July.  They decked out their bikes all patriotic and even made it the whole length of the parade route and back.

We got to have Kaden for a few days so of course we had to spoil him and help celebrate his 3rd birthday. 

There was lots of food eaten, lots of visiting done and plenty of goofing off during the week we were in Utah.

We even had our very own Princess for the day --

The kids all enjoyed the fireworks at the park on the night of the 4th.

Stay tuned for the rest of the weeks activites.

Our Summer "done" list

We are slowly marking things off our summer "to do" list and turning it into a summer "done" list.

1.  Girls camp - done
2.  Scout camp - done
3.  Basketball camp - done
4.  Visit from cousing Candace - done

Now we are working on the things for this month:

1.  A visit to Grandpa's house.
2.  Teach Lindsey how to thrift store shop.
3.  Ride the horse.
4.  Attend Aaron's wedding

July doesn't look any calmer than June -  But that's OK - We like being busy.

A little bit hazy

This has been the scene from our yard for the last week.  I wish I could say that it was fog or smog but I can't.  It is actually smoke from the big fire in Arizona.  The wind has been blowing this in for almost a week now.  I must say that it is getting old.  We can't even really go outside for a split second without feeling the effect.



This is what the sun has looked like for the last several evenings.  Blue skies where are you????

I do hope that Mother Nature will cooperate so the firemen can get the fire under control and that those people who have been evacuated can get back to living their lives.

A liitle bit of everything....

Time just seems to get away from me too quickly.  We have been busy getting ready for finals at school -only 11 days left (that's what the kids tell me anyway).  I'm not counting or anything. 

The girls are getting ready to go to church girls camp and Jake is getting ready for scout camp.  We will definitely be busy this summer..  Somewhere in there we are going to fit in a trip to visit Grandpa, attend a wedding and finish our spring cleaning. Oh, and find time to ride our bikes - some newly repaired and others brand new from the store.  One day I will be able to keep up with my brother on the bicycle.  I've got the gear now if I could just find the time to get into shape.

Spring cleaning has been happening around our house.  I've already taken a couple loads to the thrift store and have another box of stuff started.  I keep asking myself "Where does this stuff come from?" 

Do you remember last summer on my trip to Utah that I picked up a great find for $20 (that post is here, it's item #5)?  Well, we have finally gotten around to working on it.  Hopefully we will have it done soon.  Stay tuned. 

And last but not least - wishing all those high school graduates a big CONGRATULATIONS.  Good luck in your future plans.

Until next time.

Halloween in April ???

So I know that spring is just arriving and you may be asking why Halloween?  Well that's how I roll.  I am never doing anything in the right season.  I just work on different projects all year long regards of the time of year.

Last November I picked up this halloween fabric -at 75% off, you just can't beat that.  All winter long my mind kept turning with ideas for it.  I knew I want to make it into a wall quilt but just couldn't seem to find the right design.

Then one night I was looking through one of my "too" many quilt books and spotted the perfect pattern.  In the book it was done with navy blues and gold star fabric.  But to me it was shouting "Halloween"  What do you think?  I am so excited to get it sent off to the quilters (no I don't tackle that part - I pay someone to do it) and get it finished off.  Hopefully in time for Halloween this year.  

Here's just a close up so you can see the detail of the fabric.

Thanks for stopping by and remember it's never too early to think Halloween. :-)

Spring Break 2011

I am posting this later than I had planned.  A few weeks ago the kids were out of school for spring break.  We decided to take a quick trip down south and see a little of the state.  We had never been down to the Carlsbad Caverns so we decided it was as good as time as any to head down.

We stopped in Capitan and spent the night.  We visited the home of Smokey the Bear and even did a quick stop by at his gravesite - Yes Smokey the Bear really did exist.

Next stop was in Lincoln.  About 30 minutes down the road.  There we were able to hang out with Billy the Kid.  Ok so it really wasn't him but this was as close as we could get:

A little further down the road is Roswell.  You can't go through Roswell and not stop.  If you don't know, let me fill you in.  Down that way they believe in UFO's and Aliens.  Apparently some time back people claimed they found a wreckage sight of - you got it- a UFO.  I personally have a hard time believing it.  But what the heck.

After a night in Carlsbad, we got up and headed a little bit further down the road to the Caverns.  Can I just say -  Pretty Awesome?  It was definitely worth the trip.

At the entrance to the caverns.  See you at the bottom

We all made it to the bottom. A little over a mile walk and a descend of 750 feet below ground level.  If you haven't ever been there and are heading this way, you should take an extra day or two and go.  It's so worth it.

Red or Green?

Weather you are setting up residence or just passing through New Mexico, there is one thing you are bound to hear "do you want Red or Green"?" Now if you are like me, you are going to ask back "what do you  mean red or green?"  The reply : Red or Green Chili.  Yes, you can get chili on pretty much everything from breakfast burritos to pizza.

New Mexico is famous for their chili's - both red and green.  I decided to make something to commemorate our time here (5 1/2 years).  I found the cutest material with chili's on it and turned it into a wall quilt.  Here's the quilt top.  Now it's time to get it quilted and finish it off.  Should we ever move from here, we will now have something to remind us of the time we lived in New Mexico.

Here's a close-up of the chili fabic.  Oh and by the way, in case you were wondering. I prefer green.

Who is Ezekial ???

I have no idea who Ezekial is.  I found this cute little bench at the trift store (for $4.99 - what a bargain) and just knew that it needed a new home.  But of course I don't have a darling little boy named Ezekial so what was I going to do with it?  

Well, I knocked off the blue letters with a hammer and then completely tore it apart (forgot to take a picture) by then it was in 5 pieces.  It was only being held together with staples so I knew something better needed to be done.  After much sanding and alot more sanding, it was ready to be put back together.  My darling husband put it back together for me with nails this time (had to make it sturdier you know).  I then painted it and added some vinyl lettering.

Now it looks like this- and I love it.  So do the stuffed bears.