Family photos

Family Photos are not something that I have ever made a priority. Sure, I take lots and lots and lots of pictures. But having a family portrait taken has not happened. Until now! It all started with a dress. I took E out for breakfast a few weeks ago, and we were able to get a little bit of shopping in. Her favorite color in the whole world is orange and we found a really cute orange dress at Susie's Deals. The problem was that it was for a teenage sized girl, not a little girl. And the back had been cut out of it, near the bottom. But she loved this little dress. It was on clearance for $3, but I haggled with the sales clerk to get it down to a buck. I mean after all, I was going to have to take it home and cut off some of the front to sew it onto the back just to make it wearable. At the same time I found a shirt that matched for myself, and an idea was born. What if we were all matchy, matchy for Resurrection Sunday? Ah, I had a vision of what we would all wear. The problem is that the fashion industry did not exactly have the same vision in mind. Only I did not know it at the time. I am much wiser now ;0)  It took me nearly 2 weeks to find a shirt in the same orange family for my son and husband. I tried every store in the valley! Well my part of the valley, after all one does have her limits. And I was determined that I was only buying shirts, not full on outfits. So the plan was to have E and I wear orange tops and white pants, and the guys are to wear orange and white tops with dark wash denim.  That is fine and all, until trying to find an orange that matches for all of us. Remember E and I were taken care of. Well I had a swatch of fabric left over from the butchering of E's dress. And I carried that thing around with me for nearly 2 weeks. And toward the end I was getting desperate. I looked like a little kid with his woobie, or Linus.  But I prevailed! I only had to buy Justin 2 shirts and have yet to take the original back.  For Justin I was determined to find a white button-up shirt with orange stripes. Hardest quest EVER!!!! But I did it, and I managed to keep us from looking like we were a hunting party!

So with out further ado here they are.

March Photos of the Month

I can not believe it is already April! And March was so very mild, even hitting 80 degrees. That absolutely never  happens in Utah!!!  I am really hoping we don't get a freeze. I would so love to get my garden in early for once. 

Well onto the photos...

J had to take a business trip to LasVegas, and I got to tag along. We had not been able to get away with out kids for 9 years!!!!  That is way too long and won't be happening again.  Vegas is definitely a strange place to be sure.  However, there is so much to see and do, that it is overwhelming.  I had a lot of  "Alone" time. I was able to explore until I was ready to drop. Besides all of the architecture of the beautiful hotels, I really loved spending time in the art galleries scattered through out most of the shopping centers. I discovered artist  Vladimir Kush, his art is amazingly whimsical. Check out his site here.

 My Vegas Shoes, I am not a girly girl that "loves" shoes, as a matter of fact I don't like shoe shopping at all. But, I knew I wanted a special pair to have in Vegas. So off to Ross I went. I found these on sale for $16.00 can you believe it?  They are super fancy! 

 This is inside The Venetian Hotel, which is amazingly beautiful. The Gondoliers were singing opera and it echoed through the entire canal area. It was a really cool experience. This was the only white gondola inside the hotel, and it is different from all the rest. Just look at the heart shaped, red velvet seat. So romantical!

 Ah, a garden sanctuary in the middle of the LasVegas Strip! I wandered into The Flamingo, and found myself  in a garden full of beautiful birds. There were a lot of people there, but it was not crowded. It was full of waterfalls and ponds, with a wonderful array of very large Koi. As I wandered the garden I found myself next to the little wedding chapel. It was empty and there was a patio area. I had the whole place to myself. I took an hour to rest and just enjoy the quiet. The Strip is such a loud, crowded place and it can be draining.  As I was leaving my little private garden, I nearly stumbled into a private wedding. Oooops!

 One of my favorite things about Vegas is the lights. Every where you  look, lights, lights and more lights!

More Vegas lights.   

 Another photo from inside The Venetian.

The walk way to get into The Venetian. 

I loved the architecture of these hotels. They are absolutely amazing. And the size is incredible. Buildings look so close together because they are absolutely huge. But you quickly get a lesson in perspective once you start walking The Strip. I also walked Caesar's Palace, got a look at a spiral escalator for the first time, and some gorgeous windows and paintings on the ceilings. 

Resurrection Sunday Treats

Aha! Finally some treats that are appropriate for Resurrection Sunday, that don't have bunnies and eggs all over them. We celebrate Jesus' death and Resurrection, not spring, bunnies, or eggs. So it is really nice to be able to have something available and not have to make a special trip out to a Christian book store to purchase. I happened upon these treats at my local wal-mart. I am super impressed with the boxes. As for the marshmallow covered crosses, we will have to wait and see. I am sure the kids will love them, what's not to love about chocolate and marshmallows right?

The best part is that they are only $1 each.  Being that we don't do easter baskets, the kids get to have a candy or something small but appropriate. Our focus is not on what we can get on this holiday but what we have been given.  However it is always nice to have an extra treat.

KUDOS! to Whitman's Chocolates!!!

My daughter loves the brown box and is already making plans for what she can use it for when the chocolate is gone.

February Photos of the Month

Doggies (from left) Dixie, Bruiser, Chico, Skye 

We were dog sitting Bruiser and Chico.

 Bruiser belongs to my mom, he lost his eye in a fight. 

Chico belongs to Justin's mom and dad, he loves to climb into my purse and take a nap. 

 I couldn't resist trying to get a good shot of these geese. The sun was going down over the hill, and the golden hue of the grass against the grey sky and the silhouettes of the geese, just had a nice feeling to it. 

 One of the last pictures I have of Ashton before he got his braces on. 

 I Love this photo, She just knows what to do. 

 His favorite thing is reading. 

 You probably can't tell but she was very frustrated with me, 

I was taking too long to get my camera adjusted.

 Ah, Justin and his baby.

My 2nd  Zentangle. 

I really enjoyed doing this one.

Took about a week to complete on 8-1/2x11 cardstock. 

I am thinking it would make a nice greeting card. 

Conversation on the Ethical Treatment of Chickens

Elyssa and I had a little discussion on just what exactly, I was allowed to feed the chickens. It went something like this:

"Elyssa, when you take out the food for the chickens, make sure you take out this gravy and bread."

 "But mom," she said  "It has cream of chicken soup in it."

"So what! Just take it out." I told her.

"But mom, they are not cannibals!!!!"  she informed me rather passionately.  I countered with "Yes they are, they eat their own eggs, they don't care!"

"But mom, EGGS are not  chicken!"  I started getting agitated  "Yes, they are!"  ah this was not going in the right direction.   "But mom, there is no rooster, so it is not chicken yet..."
(Oh, I clearly thought that she was still my baby girl but, I was sadly mistaken. She quite assuredly knew more about reproduction than I thought.)
Once again I countered, "I am going to ask a question. I am a human woman and I have eggs inside me. Does that not make my eggs human tissue? Even when there is no rooster around? aka daddy."  she answered with a timid "yes"  "Alright." I said, "a chicken egg comes from chicken tissue, therefore it is chicken!"

Booyah!!! I win!
 Ok, I did not say that last part but I thought it...
Needless to say she had nothing more to add to her argument. And I will feed them all the table scraps I want, chicken included! Because from table scraps, come big, beautiful eggs for my breakfast plate.

A Return

It is time to return to the Photos of the Month Club. 

I have so missed doing a post at the end of every month, 

documenting all of my most favorite photos. 

 As it is I am a few day late getting this post put together. 

Bob or Sprout enjoying a wheel barrel full of fresh hay.  

I am still getting white eggs every day! They are huge ranging from 2.5 ounces (jumbo) to 3.0 ounces. 

The brown eggs have stopped all together.  Not sure what that is all about. 

The chickens are doing great with the cold weather. 

January 1st, 2012

First real snow and it was scarce, 

still we took advantage and went sledding.

 January 7, 2012

Just us

 January 7, 2012

The funky little window high up in the kitchen wall. 

My mom brought these glass owls bookends to me from a friend that was getting rid of them.

 I LOVE them soooo much. 

They easily double as a weapon if you can lift them. 

 Jan. 10, 2012

Yummy!!! 

My girl made these all by herself. 

Chocolate cupcakes with a mint butter cream icing and a semi-sweet heart. 

Jan. 26, 2012

Our First Toy Drop

Yesterday we completed our first ever toy drop. We joined The Toy Society, and made a drop.
My girl is very interested in sewing these days and it seems there is an abundance of little stuffed toys floating around here. What to do with all of them? Hmmmm, a toy drop was just the answer I was looking for.
It works like this, All toys must be handmade, include a toy society letter and a tag, and must be dropped in a place where a child can find it.  Then you take photos of the drop and post them to the flicker group. The photos are then assigned a drop number and will be posted to the DROPPED section of the Toy Society Blog. The recipient can do the same thing and they will be posted to the FOUND section of the blog.
 Here is a description of the Toy Society from their Blog.  visit the toy society
"The Toy Society spreads love throughout the streets of the world. Nothing to it really just a bunch of handmade toys looking for a nice home.

What started as a small street art project in Australia is slowly spreading around the world.

Should you come across a member of The Toy Society on your travels collect them up and take them home with you! But don't forget to let us know about it here."

This whole Project gives me something to do with all of those hand made things my daughter is creating, and gives her an outlet for all of that creativity.

Our First DROP!

This is Sophia, she has been sitting in a little bin in our craft room for about a year.  Such a lonely girl! I really hope she found a sweet little girl to play with. 

  We left her at  the library in the JF picture books section on a shelf where she would hopefully be found quickly. We included a letter from The Toy Society and the envelope said " OPEN ME". 

Currently we have a few little jelly fish, and 3 birds ready to be put into their little bags and be dropped. Elyssa is making a mouse as we speak!