speckled wren

The End of Summer

2009-08-31T08:18:00.000-07:00

School is back in and it's the very end of August. Summer is about over around here! Not that you can tell, as it is still getting into the 90's most days... I thought I'd post some pictures of a few things we've done this summer...

We went for a couple of hikes up Green Canyon this summer. On our first hike, in June, I saw my first Sego Lily, Utah's state flower. Sego Lilly

A couple of weeks later, the boys and I climbed a rock slide, where we found fossils. We brought home a big pile of rocks with horn corral fossils in them to add to our collection. The pile by the carport is getting pretty substantial LOLhorn coral fossil

We also found this great plant, which is called Spider Milkweed. It took me a while to figure out what it was; it wasn't in any of my wildflower guides. And did you know that there are over 100 species of milkweed in North America?Spider Milkweed

No trip to Green Canyon is complete without a stop at the Boy Scout Cave.S, A and E at the Boy Scout Cave, Green Canyon

Joe and I went on a little picnic up South Canyon.South Canyon road, looking north towards Paradise

While taking pics of the wildflowers, I noticed this little beastie crawling up my leg... I have to admit I shrieked LOL Then I took a deep breath and a picture.Giant Ichneumon wasp, female

E received his Arrow of Light award (the highest award you can earn in cub scouts). I would show you pics of this proud moment, but I had S, my 12 yr old, taking them, and the only pics he got were of the back of E's head LOL He also earned his Webelos and graduated into 11 yr old scouts (we do cub scouts a little differently in the LDS church). Good job E!

We spent several days camping up Logan Canyon at Preston Valley campground. We used our new tent for the first time! Valori, my sil, stayed with us for a couple of days too. Grandma and Grandpa Ames joined us for a few meals. Joe is a FANTASTIC cook... so I let him do most of it. Aren't I nice? LOL We had a little excitement when I sent Aisy (my 6 yr old daughter) to the restroom to wash her hands, and she found this friendly little fellow...Racer snake

He's a Racer snake, completely harmless. They're long and skinny, move very fast, and climb trees when they're disturbed. This one was almost a yard long!

While we were there we saw plenty of wildlife. Lots of caterpillars and other bugs (Tiger Swallowtail butterly, Cabbage White butterfly, plenty of different beetles, cicadas, caddisfly larva), some small fish, an American Beaver (this is A, me and C waiting by the river, hoping to see the beaver again)...

A, me and C, Logan River, Preston Valley campground

a Red-naped Sapsucker...Red-naped Sapsucker on river birch, Logan Canyon

an American Dipper (he's perched on the end of the stick, kind of blends into the river)...American Dipper, Logan River

and lots of other birds (American Robin, Pine Siskin, lots of Yellow Warblers feeding their babies, Lazuli Bunting, Western Wood-peewee, Song Sparrow, Black-headed Grosbeak, Black-chinned and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Hermit Thrush, MacGillivray's Warber, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Barn Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Chipping Sparrow, Red-tailed Hawk, Dusky Flycatcher and a Black-throated Gray Warbler).

We went on a hike with Grandpa...Me, C and Grandpa Ames, Preston Valley, Logan Canyon

And saw some beautiful wildflowers (although I'm going to spare you in this post, and only show you one). This is pink alumroot, or coral bells. It was growing all over the cliff on the other side of the river.Pink Alumroot, Logan Canyon

We went to our first Buzz baseball game. I'm pretty sure that out of my little family, I was the ONLY one watching the game LOL S was reading his book, the other kids were playing with their cousins or bugging Grandma and Grandpa Yeates. Not sure what Joe was doing LOL

Jeanette's family, my family and Grandma and Grandpa Yeates

After the game there was a wonderful fireworks show to celebrate Utah's statehood!

We went to the Cache County Fair. This year all the kids entered something in the Home Arts contest. E, A, Az and C entered lego creations...lego entries by A, C and Az

S entered a wood carving. Unfortunately, it was displayed upside down! The carving is on the other side of the stick (it's a carving of a man). He was pretty upset about that.We also wandered around, ate lots of fair food (my cousins have a Frozen Lemonade stand every year, mmmm...) and checked out all of the 4H animals. We love petting the sheepies.Az and E

S played his first game of golf with Joe (dad) and Grandpa Yeates. He also got stung on the cheek by a yellow jacket this summer, but I don't think he'd appreciate me showing pics of his face all swollen up :)

Joe and I celebrated our 14th year anniversary by leaving the kids at grandma's house (thanks grandma!) and heading up to Tony Grove for some camping. There were wildflowers all around our camp!fireweed, aster spp and Indian paintbrush, Tony Grove campground, Logan Canyon

We borrowed some kayaks and spent most of Friday on Tony Grove lake. No pics, since I didn't want to take my camera out on the water. Here's a pic of the kayaks on the van though...It was SO MUCH FUN! We have a canoe, but these are way more fun. While we were on the lake, we kept noticing helicopters flying over. Since the lake is WAY up the canyon, this was pretty unusual. Apparently the thunderstorm the night before started a fire a couple of ridges over. We got out of the water just as the helicopters started using a big bucket to dip water out of the lake. That evening we headed down to Garden City, by Bear Lake, for dinner and a fresh raspberry cheesecake shake. Bear Lake raspberries are famous (at least around here LOL).It POURED most of the night, so we decided to pack up and head for home on Saturday. Tony Grove road, Logan Canyon

So we enjoyed a movie (the Proposal, love Sandra Bullock) and dinner at the Olive Garden. And when I got home, guess what was waiting for me on my doorstep?By some miracle, I won this amazing little house on the Oh Merci blog! It is truly divine :)

We still had all day Sunday before we had to pick up the kids, so we decided on a road trip. We went north to Idaho to see the Niter Ice Cave. It was really neat. We forgot a flashlight though, so we didn't go in very far. It's really too bad that some people think graffiti is a good way to express themselves :(

This is the lava vent that made the lava tube that became the ice cave. The vent and the cave are literally in the middle of wheat fields.We continued further north to the Black Canyon of the Bear River, where we had a really yummy picnic lunch (cooked by dh, of course, on his backpack stove).The river was beautiful.There was this wonderful old homestead nearby. I am fascinated by homesteaders. Don't you just wonder about the lives that were lived here?view of the homestead from the old apple orchard

view out the window of the old homestead

We finished off Sunday at grandma's house, having dinner with her, Valori and the kiddos. And picking more of these...I spent several days this summer bottling beans. Linda, my mil, plants a couple of rows of beans for me every year. The kids and I pick them, Linda helps me snap them, I bottle them, and Joe mans the pressure cooker for me. It makes me nervous LOL Yet another kindness by my sweet dh :)

Joe and I spent a Saturday hiking with the 11 yr old scouts on the Temple Fork sawmill trail. We cooled off in the REALLY COLD water of the spring...E and J, building a rock dam in the Temple Fork stream at the spring

and found a baby water snake (yes, this is me holding it. Snakes are awesome!)...
I did get some sewing done this summer, but this is the only thing I have a picture of right now... a new pillow for my living room.Linda taught S and E to sew while they were staying with her. They made pillows too. Linda has a LOT more patience than I do :)

We made a last minute trip to Salt Lake to buy a cello for E. He has outgrown the one we were renting. This one is a 3/4 size, so it should last him for a least 2 to 3 years. While we were there we enjoyed homemade chicken noodles at my mom's house. These are not like chicken noodle soup. They are thick flour/egg noodles in a chicken broth gravy that you eat over potatoes. I've never met anyone else who knows what they are, so they must be a family specialty. Only A and I appreciate them out of my little family LOL On the way home we ran into a cloudburst, which left us with this beautiful rainbow, captured by my son, S. If you look really closely, you'll notice it's a double rainbow.We finish off the summer every year with a trip to our secret monarch caterpillar hunting spot, a.k.a. Airport Road. This year we found 5 large caterpillars and 1 very small caterpillar. We also picked up a Virginian Tiger Moth caterpillar, which C (who is almost 4) calls the "feather bug". It looks like a yellow woolly bear caterpillar. This is one of our favorite end of summer traditions.Az, S, C and A caterpillar hunting, Airport Road

C and I found a little piece of heaven the other day...

Garff Wayside Gardens park, Logan

I drive past this park all the time and have never stopped here! I'll have lots of rose pictures to show you soon...

I hope your summer was a wonderful as mine!

A Special Day

2009-08-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

Fourteen years ago today I knelt across an altar in the Logan Temple and made a promise to love my sweet dh Joe for eternity. The power had gone out while we waited for our families to assemble, so we were married in the glow of flashlights. It was very romantic :)

Fourteen years later I am still in love with him. Happy Anniversary sweetheart!

We're spending four days up Logan Canyon, while our five kiddos get some quality time with grandma and grandpa. They'll be camping in grandma's backyard. I am looking forward to some fun time kayaking at Tony Grove, wandering around photographing the wildflowers and peering through binoculars at birds. And lots of quiet camp time with Joe! Oh, and those steaks that Joe has marinating... mmm... How blessed am I to have a dh that is a fantastic cook?

I'll be back in a few days, with lots of pictures that I will hopefully be able to post. Apparently Vista doesn't like to share over a network LOL

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend with those you love! I know I will!

A turtle in a hurry

2009-08-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

E had a picnic at the park with his friends the other day, which of course inspired Az and C, my two youngest children, to have a picnic of their own on the back porch. They came running in after a little bit, begging me to hurry outside and see the cloud turtle. I was in the middle of a project, and was about to tell them no, when I decided that sometimes cloud turtles are more important than doing whatever I was doing. So off we went to see the big fluffy cloud turtle, that was originally a frog, then mountains, and finally a turtle. And boy was that turtle in a hurry! The clouds were at the perfect altitude for a fast wind. While other clouds were hanging almost motionless in the sky, that turtle was racing by. Unfortunately, my camera batteries were dead, or I would be posting a picture of the speeding turtle. And I was right, spending a few precious moments watching clouds with my children was far more important than whatever forgotten project I was busy with.

Have you taken the time to look for cloud turtles lately?

Updates

2009-07-07T12:59:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I've been here, which leaves me feeling horribly guilty :) I thought I'd update you all...

I spent every Friday in May at Hogle Zoo, in Salt Lake City, Utah, taking a Utah Master Naturalist class. It was a really wonderful experience! I was able to learn more about aquatic systems/wetlands in Utah, and visit some fun places. We went on field trips to the G. K. Gilbert Geologic View Park at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon (it's a very tiny park, but the info signs are fantastic!), a short hike up Little Cottonwood Canyon, Farmington Bay, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, USU Botanical Garden at Kaysville Ponds, and around Hogle Zoo itself, of course. My absolute favorite field trip was our last class, where we did a Boreal Toad survey at Strawberry Reservoir. Sadly, I forgot my camera, and have yet to see pics from anyone else's camera LOL We were able to find approximately 50 Boreal Toads, as well as several Chorus Frogs (we also heard some Northern Leopard Frogs, but didn't actually catch any). I would LOVE to participate in the survey again next spring! I am also hoping that I will be able to take the mountain module for UMN next spring as well. If any of you have a chance to take a Master Naturalist class (they are taught in most states), I highly recommend it. No experience is necessary :)

June was supposed to be very busy, but it ended up being busy in a different way than I expected. We always do our cub scout day camp in June, and that went as planned, with only a little bit of rain. It was still a lot of fun! Our theme this year was space camp, and they had an inflatable planetarium in the main cabin, which was awesome! The next week of June was supposed to be the annual Quilt Shop Hop with my mom and sister, but sadly Boy Scout camp and 11-year old camp were the same weekend. I decided it was more important to me to have dh go to camp, first a night with S at Camp Hunt at Bear Lake, then a day with E at Hull Valley, than it was for me to spend way too much money buying more fabric LOL I did get to spend one afternoon visiting Village Dry Goods in Brigham City and Red Rooster in Logan with my mom, sister, Peggy and Amy. We had lunch at Maddox first; that chicken salad was HUGE! While in Brigham we paid a little side visit to the thrift store there, where I got a couple of goodies to add to the towering pile of things I need to do something with LOL
July started off with a bang with a camping trip to Preston Valley, up Logan Canyon. We had a fantastic camping site, with flush toilets right across the street, yet totally screened by a layer of trees. It was a large site with plenty of room for our tent, a tent for S and A, and Valori's tent (we even had room for MORE tents, if anyone else had decided to stay). We were there from Wednesday afternoon to Saturday afternoon, plenty of time for some serious nature observing. Joe was very patient with my constant taking off :) Nature list (since I can't just post bird lists anymore LOL): pink alumroot, lance-leaved stonecrop, Rocky Mountain maple, river birch, box elder, western meadowrue, yellow columbine, red osier dogwood, alfalfa, yellow sweet clover, wild roses, star-flowered false solomon's seal, sagebrush, tarragon, tiger swallowtail, cabbage white butterfly, several different unknown caterpillars, caddisfly larva, American beaver, song sparrow, yellow warblers (lots of them, feeding their babies), lazuli bunting, American robin, yellow-rumped warbler, black-throated gray warbler (a life bird for me!), barn swallow, violet-green swallow, black-chinned hummingbird (the camp hosts, right next to us, had several feeders that were always covered in hummers), MacGillivray's warbler, American dipper, chipping sparrow, red-tailed hawk, black-headed grosbeak female, red-naped sapsucker, pine siskin, dusky flycatcher, western wood-peewee, hermit thrush, racer snake (you should have heard the piercing screams from Az when she discovered this snake in the restroom! LOL), and some little fish in a pool of water that connected to the river (I think they are immature trout, since I can't find any pics of minnows that look like them). I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but that's quite the list isn't it? It was a really fun trip, and most of those things were found right around our campsite! Friday night we came down from the canyon and watched the fireworks from Valori's yard. Can't miss the 4th of July fireworks, even if you're camping!

Last night we took a short drive up Green Canyon. The boys and I hiked up a rock slide, where we found some horn corral fossils and a BIG yellow crab spider (I grabbed a stalk of tarragon to take a pic, and almost grabbed the spider instead!). Valori came with us, and had to be back to do a massage (how lucky am I to have a sister-in-law who is a massage therapist? LOL), so Joe left me at the rock slide and took Valori back to the mouth of the canyon. I walked half-way down, taking wildflower pics along the way, to the "boy scout cave", where I caught up with my family. Nature list: tarragon, rabbitbrush, sagebrush, Rocky Mountain maple, juniper, spider milkweed (this is a really cool looking milkweed), Virgin's Bower clematis, aster spp., red clover, yellow sweet clover, alfalfa, common mullein, thistle, sego lily (Utah's state flower), wild roses, some yellow flowers that I haven't identified yet, spotted towhee, chipping sparrow, broad-tailed hummers, and assorted dragonflies. The canyon was pretty dry, and a lot of things were done blooming, so this trip wasn't as great as last months, but still a nice evening in the canyon.

I am hoping to post a BUNCH of pictures later today or tomorrow, so be on the lookout!

Tag You're It "Time"

2009-03-19T20:31:00.000-07:00

The theme this week on the Tag You're It blog is Time for Tea. Well, being LDS (i.e. a "Mormon"), I don't do tea LOL So I'm just using the "time" part of the theme for my tag. I chose to do an accordion tag, with a letter spelling out "time" on each section. Each of the postage stamps is from a paper by Rusty Pickle. For the first one I embossed the ring on the "always" circle tag, added some buttons, and a big "T" stamped behind it. The next section has a clock face stamped on the background, a watch hand, and glitter on the flowers of the postage stamp. Next I added a watch crystal on the pocket watch on the postage stamp. On the final section I added a vintage button from my grandma. Unfortunately I managed to break the center of the button, so I disguised it with a rhinestone (because there should always be sparkle on every project :) ). The alphabet stamps are the collage set by SU!, one of my favorite alphas. This was a fun project, and I think I'll put it on my computer desk to remind me to not spend so much TIME on the computer LOL

Crossbills

2009-02-21T17:30:00.000-08:00

A birding friend called Saturday morning to let me know that there were White-winged Crossbills at the Smithfield Cemetery. As WW Crossbills are usually only found HIGH in the mountains around here, dh and I decided we'd better run out to Smithfield to see if we could find them. After chasing a small flock of birds from conifer to conifer around the cemetary, the male above kindly perched at the very top of a very tall tree long enough for us to get a good look at him. I wish you could see him better in the picture, as he is SUCH a pretty shade of red, and they have such interesting bills.

This is one of three Red-tailed Hawks that were soaring over the cemetery. We also saw Pine Siskins, American Robins and 3 Mule Deer at the cemetery. It was a beautiful day to be outside, and after the cold I've been laid up with all week, it was WONDERFUL to get out again!

Sketch tag

2009-02-09T20:25:00.000-08:00

This week's challenge on the Tag You're It blog was a sketch. These are the colors in my family room, and this is actually the third tag I've made in these colors. I was joking with dh that I will end up with a wall of tags LOL It's just so easy for me to create in these colors; they really speak to me. And of course I love anything with a quote on it! Surprisingly, there isn't any bling on this tag, just mini deco fasteners and prima flowers. I need some nice mossy green glitter LOL

Fruit Salad

2009-02-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

Last year for my birthday I bought a really FUN sewing book. Now, I WANT to sew, but I am seriously afraid of my sewing machine. Or anything that requires electricity and has an "on" switch, to tell the truth LOL (including this computer). But last weekend my desire to sew overcame my uneasiness, so I pulled out the really FUN book, Sew Pretty Homestyle, and made a couple of the projects in it.

First I made the pears. I know pears do not come in yellow polkadots or blue floral (my kids think I must have flunked kindergarten), but the fabrics match my kitchen, so that's the colors I made them :) They weren't actually that difficult, thank heavens. Now all my kids want me to make them their very own pears. What would a boy do with a stuffed pear? LOL

Next, flushed with the pear success, I turned to the strawberries. Being smaller, they were a little trickier. It didn't help that I kept forgetting that I needed to sew the RIGHT side of the fabric together LOL Then I decided that instead of stitching the seeds, I wanted to do beads. Every project needs a little sparkle, right? When I got the leaves I decided to take the easy way out. They were supposed to be sewn from fabric, but just sewing those single pear leaves was enough to convince me that I should use wool instead. I made them in pastels to go in my bedroom (once again, convincing the kids that I flunked kindergarten, because everyone KNOWS that strawberries are RED), specifically to go in this pink depression glass bowl. I think I may have made a couple too many; they're scrunched in there pretty tight. But that's where they're staying, at least until I change my mind.

You know, I still have a pattern for apples that I could try :)

Tag You're It in Purple

2009-02-01T19:05:00.000-08:00

This is my purple tag for the Tag You're It blog. The challenge this week was to create a purple tag. My wedding colors (13 years ago!!) were lavender and white, so this will go nicely on a wedding scrapbook layout. Yes, I really am that far behind in my scrapbooking LOL. I had to add glitter to the wings, and a rhinestone in the center of the flower, because it's just no fun without the bling :)

time to relax

2009-01-19T21:02:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas Tree

The holidays are finally over, I have taught at Cub Scout Basic Training, and done the Round Table Blue and Gold presentation. Now, hopefully, it's time to relax!

Christmas was wonderful (probably would have been better if I hadn't woken up with the stomach flu Christmas morning LOL). The kids got WAY too many presents, as usual. I got some really fantastic presents, my favorite being a NEW scout shirt! I even got all my patches sewn on before basic training, although I'll have to fix the two I sewed in the wrong spot LOL. I also got the Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle book, which is filled with beautiful projects. My mom got me two larger quilting rulers, so I might even be able to get some of them made! Dh gave me a $25 Borders gift card, which I promptly used to buy North American Wildlife: an Illustrated Guide to 2,000 Plants and Animals, and Sharing Nature with Children. Both of these books will help me pursue my dream of becoming a naturalist.

Which brings me to some news: Utah has a Master Naturalist program! I was so excited to find out about this program. I've had a dream to become a naturalist for several years now, but was unsure how to go about it. I still don't have a lot of information, but I'm on the list to be notified when this year's class schedule is released. I am beyond thrilled about this! I love the natural world (even if I do dislike being dirty or windblown LOL), and I love sharing it with others even more! This program will give me the ability to improve my skills and earn certification. It is literally a dream come true for me.

I have some fun projects that I'm about to start, so come back for pictures later this week!

Fireworks inchy

2008-11-03T20:57:00.000-08:00

The Inchy by Inch blog posts a challenge every week. This week was to have some kind of fireworks/glitter on your inchy. Here's my attempt...

I LOVE GLITTER!!! I've been gradually collecting it, usually when I see it on clearance. For this inchy I got to use ultrafine silver and silver stars! I've had the silver star glitter for years, and have never used it, so I was happy to find just the perfect project :) And a rhinestone, my current favorite bling!

A visit to the thrift store

2008-11-03T18:40:00.000-08:00

I haven't been to the thrift store for almost 3 weeks! I'm going through withdrawal LOL Today was such a nice day, so C and I went to the thrift store after dropping Az off at kindergarten. The shelves were almost bare! I think they are recycling their inventory right now. I still managed to find a couple of pieces for my milk glass collection though :) I got a vase to replace the one that I broke a few months ago (still crying about my poor little birdie salt shaker that broke in the same catastrophe), and a piece by Brody. I normally leave the Brody pieces for others to love, but this one had such a fun shape that I brought it home with me. It looks like a really big egg cup to me LOL I also found the broach, which I LOVE. Pink rhinestones... who could ask for anything better than that? And finally, I got a book, "Flat Rock Journal: a day in the Ozark Mountains" (LOVE nature writing!), and a basket. The basket is a hanging basket that's flat on one side. I had just seen a basket like it hanging on a door in a cottage style book this morning. I was so happy to find one to hang on my door! But then dh reminded me that you have to slam the back door to get it to stay closed. So it will probably end up hanging outside NEXT to the door instead. Life is all about compromise, right? Either way, I will have a cute basket LOL Now to find some pretty fall flowers and leaves to put in the basket! The last things I bought were some silver Christmas ornaments and 2 blue ornaments with snowflakes on them. They were the only ornaments in the store, and they are exactly right for my tree! It must be fate! C was so good to stay in the basket. I love shopping with a 3 yr old! I can talk to myself and people think I'm talking to him! LOL

October

2008-10-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

the pumpkin patch

our maple tree

I LOVE October. The leaves dropping like golden rain, the clear blue endless sky, the crisp clean air, pumpkins and soup and sweaters... there are so many things to love about October. I really think it's my favorite month. On Saturday we drove to Paradise to get pumpkins. The patch we went to last year was out of pumpkins! Luckily there was a field across the street that was selling pumpkins too, so we got some there. It's so much more fun getting the pumpkins directly from the patch, out in the beautiful fall weather. Especially when you follow pumpkin picking with fresh apple cider and pumpkin spice doughnuts.

It's also the beginning of the Holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's. I love the parties (as long as they are close family parties, large groups are just too much for me LOL), shopping, the cold air and snow, seeing the lights, singing, orchestra concerts... I'm so excited for it all! My youngest son, C, just turned 3 last week and my oldest son, S, will be 12 in December, so we have some birthdays to celebrate too. Most days I don't feel old enough to have a 12 year old son! Saturday they were all out playing in the leaves. They raked up a big pile at the base of the tree, then climbed the tree and jumped into the pile. Sounds like a broken neck waiting to happen, doesn't it? But it sure looked like fun. I admit that I ventured out to kick the leaves around a bit myself :) And I've been sewing table runners for Halloween and Thanksgiving. I even started a Christmas one, and need to finish the snowflake one I started last year. So many fun holiday projects!

This upcoming Saturday I get to go hiking with the 11 year old Scouts (including S). I cannot wait! I hope the weather stays as lovely as it has been the last few days!

What do you love about Fall?

Around the World

2008-10-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

J and I, Biker's Roadhouse

Yesterday and today my dh (J) and I took a trip around the world. A couple of times even. We started out in Egypt, visited Africa and Mexico, stopped by the Taj Mahal, road a "hog" to a roadhouse, took in a movie at a drive-in in the back of an old Ford truck, hung out in Vegas, visited a tipi, and did a little alligator-watching in a bayou. How did we manage all this in 2 days? Check out the Anniversary Inn website for the pictures!
Dh takes the pictures for the Anniversary Inn in Logan and Salt Lake City, Utah, and Boise, Idaho. The Logan Inn had just finished creating 9 new rooms and they needed pictures of the rooms for their website. So we spent yesterday and today taking the pictures. As part of the deal, we got to stay in one of the rooms. My sweet mother-in-law watched my 5 kids so dh and I could spend a working/romantic evening together. We chose to stay in the Nephertiti's Court room. It was beautiful, with a wonderful Egyptian theme. The artwork and accessories in all of the new rooms are stunning! I can't believe the incredible attention to the details. If you're ever in the Logan, Salt Lake, or Boise vicinity, check out the rooms at the Anniversary Inn. If not, wait a couple of days and dh will have the pics up on the website; http://www.anniversaryinn.com/logan.php .

Reclutter

2008-09-30T19:02:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to declutter my house, so today dh and I took a bunch of stuff to the local thrift store. And since we were there, of course we had to go in and look around! There was a little milk glass available, so I was able to add 2 more pieces to my little collection. I like the little pear plate, just have to figure out how to display it so you can see it! The other piece is a candle holder, so I'll have to find a pretty candle to go in it. The vase is actually for my sister; it matches a piece she already has. The cherry plate is also for my sister, as her kitchen is decorated with cherries. It is SO cute! She really has a flair for decorating. It was nice to find some things for her, since she is always finding things for me! I was really happy to see the flower plaque. It matches my bedroom perfectly! I'm thinking I might add some lace around the outside edge. We'll have to see how it looks. I also found another pair of clip-on earrings, which was really exciting! I would love to find a bunch of vintage jewelry, but most of the jewelry at this thrift store is 80's chic LOL You can't see the cupcake stand very well, but I was thrilled to find that too. Once again, copying my talented sister. She has one of these, and it is always decorated so cute! I found the 3-tiered shelf last month, but haven't shown it yet. I LOVE it. It still had the price tag from the store on it, for $37! I paid $3. Now I just have to figure out where to put it. It's not the most convenient shape LOL Dh calls it the "sleigh", so I'll be decorating it for Christmas at least!
So, declutter, reclutter :)

Tagged

2008-09-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by my sister at Keep Me In Stitches to share 6 quirks about me. I either have too many quirks, or not enough, because I can't think of 6 specific ones LOL But I'll give it a try...

1. I'm a LISTER. I make a list of literally everything. Birds I've seen, wildflowers I've identified, books I've read, DMC floss, all kinds of things. I don't feel like I've accomplished or it isn't real until I've made a list of it LOL And apparently I keep all those lists. I'm in the process of decluttering, and I'm finding lists all over the place!

2.I'm a READER. I read everything I can get my hands on (except most cheesy romances LOL). Right now I'm paying $163 a year so I can have access to a bigger library. Keep your fingers crossed that the new county library bill will pass, and I won't have to buy a library card anymore! (of course, we will pay through our taxes, but I'm okay with that :) The great thing is, I can read, watch TV and listen to dh and the kids all at the same time. Since I am the only person in this family who doesn't talk non-stop, this is an important skill to have LOL

3. It's easier for me to deal with a GROUP of people than an individual. I can get up and give a talk in sacrament meeting or even sing a solo a capella (which I did this past Sunday), but stick me in a one-on-one conversation with another person and I just about pass out. I have to force myself to attend things that might require me to interact with people LOL, unless I am the one giving a lesson, then I'm just fine!

4. I love to LEARN. This kind of goes along with reading. If I decide I'm interested in something, I'll read and research until my curiosity is sated. And I have a HUGE variety of interests, although most of them have to do with the natural world. This makes me a know-it-all on Jeopardy nights :) One of my goals in life is to be an eternal student. I'm hoping to go back to university as soon as all my kids are in school all day. I love it when my kids have homework, because I love doing it with them! And now that my oldest ds is in middle school, the homework is finally getting interesting LOL

5. I'm a COLLECTOR, but I don't collect the "usual" things. For instance, if you visit my house, you'll notice rocks everywhere. That's because I have never outgrown the childhood habit of putting rocks in my pockets. I find interesting rocks all over the place, and if it's movable (and it doesn't obviously belong to someone LOL) I put it in my pocket, or the back of the van, which drives dh nuts. I also love elephant shaped beads. Guess what? There aren't a whole lot of elephant shaped beads out there LOL And milk glass... who couldn't LOVE milk glass? But I only buy it at my local thrift store, and I refuse to pay more than $2, so my collection is pretty small at this point. My biggest collection is field guides. When you love books, are obsessed with learning new things... well, field guides are my best friend :)

6. I want to be a NATURALIST when I grow up. More than anything I want to take young kids out in nature and show them how AMAZING it is! This is one reason why I love working with cub scouts so much. We have a nature center just up the canyon, and I hope to volunteer there some day. To that end, I'm trying to learn all about everything up the canyon, and here in the valley, since it's an incredible place too. I'd love to go around to schools and do presentations. It's so much fun to open eyes to the beautiful world God has given us! And I enjoy teaching kids how important it is to take care of our world too.

So there you have it. 6 things about me. I'm supposed to tag 6 other people, but that would bring out my fear of talking to individuals LOL, so.... if you post 6 things about yourself on your blog, let me know, and I'll come read it!

Must be lazy...

2008-09-26T11:29:00.001-07:00

Sadly, it has now been ANOTHER month since I've posted! I have to say though, that September has been a little crazy. Getting the kids back into the school routine has been hard. Especially now that S is in middle school/6th grade. It's a whole new world once you leave that elementary school, for me as well as for him! And having a half-day kindergartener is throwing me off too LOL I just can't keep track of everyone! It's so much easier when they all leave at the same time and all get home at the same time. But on a positive note, E, who has been homeschooled for the last 2 years, is really enjoying 5th grade at the school.
It was also my birthday this month, which leads us to the subject of the birthday curse LOL Seriously, my birthday IS CURSED!!! I have spent 2 birthdays in the last 6 years in the ER with injured kids. The other 4 years, someone has been injured right around my birthday, but not on the actual day. We actually joke about what is going to happen THIS year? LOL Luckily there haven't been any serious injuries, but it never fails that someone will be injured (stitches, broken collar bone, falling off a jungle gym, biting through bottom lip, dislocated elbow, you know, the usual). This September seemed even worse than usual. Not only did A bite through his lip, but every time I turn around I am either tripping over something or running into something. I'm one big bruise! LOL Thank heavens it's almost October! :)
Right now I am working on a cute wall hanging. If you have the BHG Holiday Crafts magazine for this year, it's the 12 Days of Christmas project on page 61. I have all the images stitched, and I'm going to get the pears done today. I'm cheating and using felt to back my pears, then blanket stitching around everything. The whole sandwhich everything together was too much work LOL I'll try to post some pics in the next day or two.
I hope you are all enjoying beautiful fall weather! It's crisp and cool here!

Back Again!

2008-08-27T18:59:00.000-07:00

Clodius butterfly on fox mint

Wow, I can't believe it's been basically a MONTH since I've posted! August has just flown by. But the kids are back in school again, so hopefully I will have more time! My oldest, S, just started 6th grade at the middle school. When did I get old enough to have a 6th grader?! E is back in school this year, in 5th grade, after learning at home for a couple of years, and seems to be doing really well. A is in 3rd grade and Az is in afternoon kindergarten. That means I will only have C in the afternoons. It's going to be SOOOO quiet! I might actually start scrapbooking again! I have been trying to clean up my craft area in anticipation of being able to use it. So far I think I have just created a bigger mess, sigh.
Some of the fun things I did this month include: going sailing for the first time (there is NOTHING like sailing under the stars. It was AMAZING), camping in the Uintah Mountains with dh for our 13 year anniversary, and an Audubon fieldtrip to Tony Grove up Logan Canyon (where I got 3 new birds for my list, including a life bird Rock Wren, and saw an amazing variety of wildflowers). Oh, and how could I forget the FROG!!! The kids have been begging me to take them to a local park with a stream so they could catch a frog. Never thought we'd actually catch one! He's a Northern Leopard Frog and we have named him Clyde (after my grandfather who passed away in Feb. Somehow I can't see him being overjoyed to have a frog named after him. He was an accountant, not an outdoor type of guy LOL). Anyway, we have really enjoyed the antics of the frog, who has already escaped once. I also picked up a couple more pieces of milk glass for my small collection. I have it all lined up on top of the piano for now, but I am out of space, so I'd better stay away from the thrift store for a while :)
So that's my month in a nutshell, and I leave you with some pictures...

Clyde, the Northern Leopard Frog

fireweed

buckwheat
near Smooth Rock Falls on the Provo River, Uintah Mountains, Utah
Indian Paintbrush, Uintah Mountains, Utah
Elephant's Head Lousewort, Uintah Mountains, Utah
water hitting a rock, Smooth Rock Falls, Uintah Mountains, Utah
Provo River Falls, Uintah Mountains, Utah

Whooooo

2008-07-21T10:57:00.000-07:00

Dock on the pond at the ATK Ranch, Promontory, Utah

I bounced out of bed early Saturday morning to meet the Audubon group and go birding in Box Elder County (the next county over). Okay, maybe I didn't bounce exactly, considering that I was up until 1:30 the night before, but at least I managed to drag myself out through sheer anticipation LOL There are several places in Box Elder County that I have always wanted to go, but have never had a vehicle able to get there. Since we were carpooling, this was my BIG CHANCE. Unfortunately, we didn't end up going anywhere my car couldn't have gone, but we saw some great things anyway!

One of our first stops was an empty grain silo with nesting Barn Owls. We were given STRICT instructions to make as little noise as possible, and only stick our heads in the silo one at a time. I was patiently waiting my turn when the owls decided they had had enough. Out they came, right out the bottom of the silo we were sticking our heads in! It was SO AMAZING!!! Juvenile owls were flopping around at our very feet, running into people's legs as we all ducked to get out of their way! They are incredibly beautiful, and I really wish I had brought my camera over to the silo with me. After the owls (at least 4 or more) flew off to quieter perches, we all felt so guilty for disturbing them. I hope they all made it back home safely!

Our next stop was Golden Spike National Historic Site, where the transcontinental railroad met. A couple of birders in the group had found a Burrowing Owl nest site around there a few days previously. I have never seen a Burrowing Owl, so I was really excited about this stop! As we approached the nest site, there he was, sitting calmly on the fence, right next to the road. Unlike the Barn Owls, he was completely unconcerned about us staring at him. Barn Owls are beautiful, but Burrowing Owls are just plain CUTE.

Burrowing Owl

We continued on down Promontory, where we were blessed with a rare glimpse of a Common Nighthawk perched obligingly on a leafless branch in broad daylight. I've never actually seen one perched before, much less in good light where you can see all his lovely camouflaging. Usually I see them as shadows with white wing bars zooming around parking lot lights.

My other great bird for the day was a lifer Say's Phoebe. This bird was hanging out on a farm with the cows LOL

While we didn't see a LOT of birds on this trip, and none of them will count towards my "200 bird" list, as they were not in Cache Valley, really the best part of the trip was getting to know the other birders. I really enjoy riding with Dick and Dorothy, and had wonderful discussions with them about not only birds, but wildflowers, which Dorothy know a lot about! And Dick had some really great field guides, like Butterflies of the West and Dragonflies of the Southwest. They are great people, and I look forward to birding and wildflower watching with them again! They even took the group a little out of our way, just to show me a Blazing Star wildflower. Unfortunately, it wasn't in bloom at the moment, having spent flowers and unopened buds on the stem. But I should be able to locate it again another time. I love how my hobbies have allowed me to meet many wonderful people!

Desert Whitetail Dragonfly on marsh grass

When I got home, I discovered that dh had gone to the thrift store without me! And he got this great desk, to replace the monstrosity that I am currently using. A great deal for $15. Now I just need a LOT of primer and white paint to fix up all the goodies accumulating around my house LOL

Welcome!

2008-07-21T10:19:00.000-07:00

This is my latest project. While visiting the Oh Merci blog (this is such a great blog, you really must visit it) I found the instructions for this project. Check out her June 26th post for the instructions and her example. It's beautiful! I really loved the project and wanted to make one, but I couldn't decide what letters to do. In the end, I decided to do a "W" and add a little "welcome" in a book plate. It's done in the colors of my living room; blue, aqua and greens. I've had the silver ricrac for a while now, trying to find just the perfect project to use it on. This was the one! And of course there are sparkly rhinestones in the center of the flowers. Can't forget the bling! LOL This was SO much fun to make! I'm going to have to find some more places around my house that need to be graced with a monogram :)
Note: I used the end of a paintbrush instead of Q-tips to create the dots.
This little plaque is hanging up in my back entry way. I got the wooden plaque at JoAnn's (a craft and fabric store), painted it, and added a bunch of STUFF. I love collage art, but I'm still not very good at it. I have a tendency to think in straight lines; it's hard for me to throw stuff together LOL But I really like having it hanging on my wall, kind of covering up a bad spot on the wall LOL Haven't gotten around to painting that part of the house yet.
If any of you end up making a polka dot monogram, please let me know! I'd love to see it!

More shopping...

2008-07-15T22:08:00.001-07:00

I managed to resist for 3 days, then I broke down. It never would have happened if I hadn't have HAD to go to the library. I got in the van, headed to the library, and it just automatically drove to the thrift store. Totally not my fault, right? :D

So I ended up with MORE milk glass. You should have seen dh's face when I got home LOL I got the little bowl, which is propped up on a book so you can see the pattern better, and a vase-looking bowl. Love them both. I also got a REALLY CUTE RED train case! I can't wait to get it cleaned up! Not sure if I'm going to try some fun decoupage, or just leave it as is. It even has the mirror and toiletries bag in it, and the inside is in perfect shape. I wish there had been 2, because my sister really loves it too. Guess I'll just have to keep looking for another one, means many more trips to the thrift store! I was happy about the flower frog too. I've wanted one of those for a while, but I'm too cheap to buy a new one. Of course, this one looks so cute in the package, that I don't know if I'll be able to use it anyway LOL I got a shelf for my living room wall too, but I'll show you that if I ever get it hung up :)

By the way, I checked out several Depression Glass books at the library. Gotta learn about my budding collection, right?

by the inch

2008-07-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

I have seen "inchies" mentioned on some paper crafting blogs, but wasn't entirely sure I understood the concept. Well, today I discovered the Inchy By Inch blog! Yippee! A whole blog dedicated to a new-to-me art form. And there are challenges, which means I will be inspired! The challenge for this week was to create an inchy with a travel theme, and then use it on something, like a card. I made three little inchies: "journey", using a gold sequin leaf, a tiny shell, a date stamp, handwritten journey, and a paper scrabble tile "j"; "explore", using a hand image cut out from a Stampin' Up! catalog (after being a demo for 5 years I have a LOT of catalogs, so I figured I'd cut them up LOL), handwritten explore, paper scrabble tile "e" and a months stamp; "wander", using green jewels, a shiny copper stone bead, a date stamp, paper scrabble tile "w" and handwritten wander. That big stamp on the card is a foam stamp I got from Micheal's. I think the patterned paper might be scissor sisters, but I'm not totally positive.

The inchies were really fun to make, although I think I need more practice LOL It's quite a challenge to create something so SMALL! Give it a try! And check out the Inchy By Inch blog for some inspiration.

Paper crafting tags

2008-07-14T18:19:00.000-07:00

I found a blog called Weekend Taggers/Tag You're It. They post a challenge every week (I think LOL), and the challenge for this week was to use red, cream and brown on a tag. Well, since I really wanted to create something, and I always do better if I have a challenge or a deadline, I decided to give it a try. Here is my creation...

And then I decided to make another goodie, just for fun. The argyle background paper was actually the packaging for a stamp I bought, and I decided it was way too cute to throw away. So I added a few embellishments and a quote (seriously LOVE quotes), and here it is! The butterfly and the flowers in the tea cup and in the metal embellie in the top left corner are cut from a flower catalog, and then embellished with rhinestones. I have this sitting in my white basket with a bird's nest and a glass jar full of bird's eggs. They make a nice little tableau :)
Now, just as soon as I get my desk cleaned up AGAIN, and find another challenge, I'll create something else! Check out the Tag You're It link for more red/brown/cream tag ideas!

Shopping...

2008-07-14T17:12:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning started nicely with a garage sale down the street. I actually DREAMED about this garage sale all night, because I had been told there would be some milk glass LOL So I headed over there, found the milk glass and decided it wasn't really what I was looking for. Of course, after spending the day online looking at milk glass prices, I wish I had bought it LOL But I came home with things I loved even more. The reason I spent the day looking at vintage glassware was to see if I could find more information on the pink glass compote. I couldn't find anything, so if anyone has any ideas about it, let me know! I also picked up the little vase (I suspect it might really be a toothbrush holder LOL) and the bowl. And a black metal shelf, just like the one I had hung up the night before in my bathroom! Except the bathroom shelf is cream, but the black one will look really nice downstairs. And then, I discovered the sweet little case, buried in a pile of things that hadn't been priced yet. I asked about it, and my nice neighbor lady let me have it for $3, including all the Fisher Price Little People stuff it was full of. I told her I didn't need the little people, but I ended up with them anyway. I'm glad though, as my mother-in-law has the matching house and circus train, so I'll be sending them to her.

After the garage sale, we took the kids to a get-together up the canyon at the Stokes Nature Center. It was a lot of fun, and the temperature and weather were perfect. We learned about different trees and plants, saw some fun birds, held snakes (yes, I really do like to hold snakes LOL), and had a nice picnic.

On the way home, dh turned to me and said, "How about a visit to the DI?" (the name of our local thrift store). Are you kidding me?!!! Of course I was more than happy to go! I managed to find a few things I had to have, including yet another black metal shelf! Now I'll have a matching pair downstairs. I was REALLY happy to find the little vintage bird pictures. I just about jumped up and down LOL I'm going to paint the rough wooden edges white. I was happy about the hobnail milk glass bowl too. I also picked up some craft books and a pair of, believe it or not, PURPLE Sketchers hiking boots. I'll be hiking in style now! LOL

Ahhh... I love thrifting.

A New Love, A New Hobby

2008-07-08T22:04:00.000-07:00

Do I need one more hobby? Umm... no. But the long, cool, wet spring has turned into a summer that is overflowing with a riot of wildflowers! And I can't resist them. As may be apparent from earlier posts, I am a birder. I love birds, and this year I am making a serious effort to see as many as possible. In fact, I am at 137 species seen in Cache Valley! Plus a Great-Horned Owl in the 2 adjoining valleys and a life-bird Sage Thrasher in Wyoming. It's been a great year! Anyway, when you are out looking for birds it's hard to not notice all the OTHER wonderful things surrounding you, like millions of wildflowers! I've been checking out every available wildflower book from the library, and I recently bought a nice book called "Plants of the Rocky Mountains". And yet I STILL cannot identify the majority of flowers I have pictures of. It's SO frustrating! Much easier to ID birds LOL
So my new love, my new hobby is photographing and identifying wildflowers. Be prepared... there are probably a lot of flower pics coming :)
Colorado Columbine at Tony Grove, Utah
Small-flowered Woodland Star, one of my most favorite wildflowers. It is so tiny and delicate that it is easy to miss.
Phlox species, Limber Pine Trail, Utah I also saw a lot of these at Fossil Butte, Wyoming

More flower pictures coming soon!

Like I Need More Stuff

2008-07-08T21:26:00.000-07:00

In theory, I am decluttering, simplifying, unburdening... In actuality I am collecting yet more STUFF. Because now I am in love with thrifting. Which means that instead of cleaning out MY stuff, I am now adding OTHER PEOPLE'S stuff to my already overflowing house! AHHHH!!! But it is seriously fun, so what can you do? LOL
Anyway, I got to go to the thrift store with my sister when I was visiting her on one weekend, and then to my local thrift store when she was visiting me the next weekend. She, of course, found all kinds of wonderful stuff (she is a cool stuff magnet LOL). I found some great stuff too, and here it is!

We have a Martha Stewart soap dispenser that I am going to use for lotion in my room. J (my sister) has lotion dispensers all over her house, and I love how luxurious that feels. There is a little blue bowl with snowmen painted on it, perfect for Christmas snacks (my Christmas decor is blue/white/silver). All of my vases are really boring, so this white vase will be a welcome addition. The little pie tin is to make a "tart" pin cushion. I love that white metal shelf. Yet another little metal basket (dh definitely rolled his eyes when he saw it LOL). Antique Copper-finish napkin rings, just cuz someday I may use linen napkins :) And the best item: a vintage drawn-work hankie with a crocheted lace edge. It reminds me of the beautiful handkerchief given to me by my great grandma, with drawn-work and a tatted lace edge. And in the background, don't you just love my vintage unpainted baseboards? LOL

This second pic is of my three most recent pretty little plate purchases. I have no idea why, but I LOVE pretty little plates. I even use them occasionally! I make up reasons to use them :)

Darn, just realized I forgot to take a pic of the cool tall glass jar that J found for me to put the HUGE amount of shells that we brought back from Bear Lake in, and the pretty silver lace-look cake rack thingie. Next time I guess.

Now, just have to wait until payday until I can hit the thrift store again!

Been There, Done That

2008-07-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how long it has been since I've posted! So sorry! This has been one long, busy month. We went backpacking, spent a week in a condo at Bear Lake, went to cub scout day camp, then off on a quilt shop hop for 3 days. It was a really fun, great month, but I am so happy now to just relax. Well, maybe next week anyway LOL This week I am trying to get my poor neglected house cleaned up for my son's baptism on Saturday. So check back next week for a whole LOT of PICTURES!!!

altered muffin tin

2008-06-03T17:42:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I saw the CUTEST idea on the junk drawer blog. Maria had taken a muffin tin and painted it pink, then put votive holders in it. I absolutely loved it, and just had to make one! LOL So I got some votive holders at Micheal's and an old muffin tin at the thrift store. And there it all sat LOL Today I just had a creative bug bite me, and I pulled out the muffin tin! I didn't have any primer though, and I couldn't wait to get some, so I decoupaged it instead. I only put the paper on the top, leaving the bottom and the part where the muffins go (what would you call that? LOL) the original muffin tin silver. Then I added a whole lot of buttons. It still looked plain, so I hot glued some big rickrack around the edge. My mom was cleaning out a bookshelf Sunday, and I offered to take some votives off her hands :) They are the perfect light green for my living room! (they're Spearmint by Partylite) I really love the way it turned out! And it coordinates so well with my sweet birdie tree.

Now, off to the next project! I've already finished part of it, and I'll show you tomorrow evening!

Check out these give aways...

2008-05-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of great blogs to check out... Sanctuary Arts and Cupid's Charm. They are both having wonderful give aways this month! And they're also fun to visit just because :) Since I STILL have not figured out how to put the link in my blog entry (even though my much more computer savvy sister told me how), you can find the links to SA and CC in my blog list on the right.

I'm off to Salt Lake for my nephew's baptism tomorrow. So exciting! Congratulations K! Dh wants to stop at Cabella's while we're down there. I'm hoping for Tai Pan Trading Company myself LOL I enjoy Cabella's, but the kids get REALLY BORED long before dh gets done looking at camping gear! We're getting ready to go backpacking in a couple of weeks though, so of course we have to check out the new gear!

paper birds

2008-05-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

I was in charge of paper lanterns for our Blue and Gold cub scout banquet back in February (the theme was Chinese New Year). I needed something cool to hang the lanterns on so I covered an old formula can (I KNEW those would come in handy some day! LOL) with red paper, stuck a branch in it and hung red and yellow paper lanterns on the branch. It looked so cool that I decided to keep the branch in the can! It's been sitting on my desk since. I did paint the branch white a month or so ago, but that was the end of it. Until yesterday! I was browsing etsy and saw some REALLY CUTE paper birds. Totally fell in love with them. I feel guilty about it, but instead of purchasing the really cute birds, I sketched one and made my own. Teeny budget plus way too much scrapbook paper equals DO IT MYSELF. This way it matches better too LOL So I made 6 really cute birds yesterday, with plenty of glitter and rhinestones (which of course you can't see in the pics...). Today I got around to decoupaging the can with the same papers I used to make the birds. Added some lace, buttons and silk flowers. And, since the branch was still a little on the bare side, I made some round medallions too. I stamped images with StazOn and then used my water pen and Stampin' Up! ink pads to color the images. I also stamped stuff on the back of each medallion. I SERIOUSLY LOVE the way it turned out! Isn't it great when something works out the way you want it to? :)

Spring!

2008-05-23T16:32:00.000-07:00

Guess who I found hiding in my grass today?

I first noticed him (or her LOL) when I saw an adult American Robin yanking on a REALLY BIG WORM. The robin would grab onto the worm and jump, trying to get this monster worm out of the ground. It took several jumps before he got the whole worm. Then he fed it to this little guy. So of course, I had to go out and investigate (after waiting a while...)!

He was so very patient to let me get pictures of him! He didn't even blink!

I decided while I was out roaming the yard, I might as well get a few pictures of the few flowers LOL

First, the plum trees, which are EVERYWHERE. We have at least 4 different types of plums growing in our yard (they were here when we bought the house, and they have SPREAD). Fortunately, the kids love to eat them. Well, not the little red ones, they're too bitter LOL

While photographing the plums, I noticed some more little birdie friends. These are Chipping Sparrows. I haven't seen them in my yard for years. So nice of them to come visit! You can tell when they're around, because they sound like a cheap cordless phone LOL

Then I noticed this little guy! I've never seen a House Wren in my yard! Isn't he cute? So tiny!

Next, on to the light purple lilacs...

How did you get there? He was much too close to the very FULL irrigation ditch, so I chased him into the bushes.

Is this a honeysuckle? I'm not sure. But apparently I have at least 2 of these bushes in my yard LOL

These are the sweetest little purple flowers. I have no idea what they are, but they grow in big swathes.

Most of the forsythia blossoms were blown off in the big windstorm we had the other night. But there are a few lingering...

The quince bush, my favorite flowers in our yard. I wish it could bloom all year! Last year I ended up with a LOT of quince fruit, but I never did figure out how to use them, so the kids have been using them as substitute balls this spring. Hummingbirds and orioles LOVE this bush. And I love watching them!

The neighbors have some beautiful tulips in the woody strip between our houses. Can't you smell the fresh rain on those mint flowers?

There is a grassy strip between the woody area and our driveway. In the early spring it is FULL of grape hyacinths. It's so beautiful that people who are driving by will stop to admire them. But by now, most of the hyacinths are done blooming.

Daddy robin is checking up on baby...

The neighbor's tree. Isn't it pretty? It's a favorite perching spot for the robins.

Now for my dark purple lilac. I cut a bunch of these for my house today, and I'll be taking them for Memorial Day on Monday. Spring is the scent of lilacs.

I'm going to admit a deep, dark secret now. Dandelions are one of my most favorite flowers ever! Who couldn't love a flower that blooms no matter what, no matter where, and that you can pick as many as you want and never run out? And they're such a happy color!

This is the other reason I love dandelions... Wish flowers! Limitless numbers of wishes! This is what wish flowers look like when it rains, kind of spikey LOL

Well, that's a little of my yard! See you next time!

a little shopping

2008-05-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

I saw a really cute votive candle holder idea on the junk drawer blog (see the link in my blog list on the right, since I have no idea how to put the link in this paragraph LOL) . She mentioned that she purchased the votive holders at Micheal's for 60% off. Well, I couldn't pass up "cute idea" and "good sale" LOL So yesterday E and C and I dropped in at Micheal's. I obviously found a few more things than just votive holders! I didn't find the same votives that Maria found (I like hers better, but that's the way it goes sometimes), but these were pretty, and they were 60% off. You can't tell from the pic, but they are frosted glass with a clear fancy design on them. There were 4 different designs, so I had to double up on a couple of the designs. Now I just need to find a cool muffin tin. Go check out Maria's votive holder on her blog! It's so adorable!

Everything in the pic was on sale except the glass bottle (which I'm going to fill with sand and shells when we visit Bear Lake next month) and the shell package (which was only 59 cents, which is as cheap as on sale LOL). I actually got the little pink/peach box for my sister (don't read that line Jeanette!). I love the shape of those boxes, so fancy! Oh, and the big "A" that you can barely see is something I plan to decorate for A's room, eventually LOL I also picked up 3 large foam stamps and 4 sets of their acrylic $1 stamp sets. And 9 little American flags, for the kids to wave and to put on the graves of both my grandfather's on Monday (they both served in WWII).

I ended up with quite a bit of stuff for $30! Yippee!

odds and ends

2008-05-17T22:38:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted for a while, so I thought I'd put some random thoughts up LOL

My house has been WAY too messy to do much crafting, but I did get a couple of pages scrapbooked tonight. My dh planned a "crop" for us. He's playing with his new photoshop program, and I am attempting to scrapbook for the first time in MONTHS. I did 2 boring layouts and gave up LOL I feel guilty, because I have SOOO many pictures that aren't in a book, and my kids really love looking at them, but I just haven't been in the mood to mess with them. Ahhh well...

The spring migrants are here in force, with lots of fun birdies this year. Friday I had a Red Crossbill in my backyard (weird because they normally hang out up the canyon, in coniferous forests). So nice to not have to track one down up the canyon LOL I'm currently up to 117 birds! Yippee! The pic at the top is a beautiful male Bullock's Oriole in our quince bush. I love that bush, it gets the prettiest blossoms every spring. Usually it's just full of bees, but this year the orioles have been in it every day for a week. It's been popular with the Black-chinned and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds too. When I took the pic last week, most of the blossoms weren't out yet. Now the bush looks like a bright pink puff ball LOL Isn't that bright orange bird amazing?

Dh and I went to Tai Pan Trading Company last Sat. What a fun store! I got some cute stuff; a hanging votive holder that I filled with moss and blue eggs, a green with white daisies watering can and matching tin basket, and a tin green "garden" sign. I got a small trellis with a bell on the top for my mom, and for dh we got a carved wooden pelican and a dish to set it in, along with rocks and fake greenery to go with it. I just have to do something with the dish LOL Trying to decide if it's going to get decoupaged with appropriate scrap paper or painted. Dh loves pelicans and is really excited to have this on his desk. We also got a small carved wooden duck for E. He loves ducks. But he's not getting it until his birthday LOL

I hope you are all enjoying your spring as much as I am!

Audubon grouse trip and a concert

2008-04-28T13:32:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning E and I got up at 4:30 a.m. so we could meet the Audubon group in Hyrum at 5 a.m. Where on earth could we be going at such an insanely early hour you ask? A Sharp-tailed Grouse lek of course! LOL Luckily E's alarm went off, because mine didn't! AHHHH!!! It takes about 12 minutes to get to Hyrum, and we were at 1/4 of a tank of gas. So we threw our clothes on, threw the birding equipment in the car, and hit the road! We got to the meeting place (the McDonald's in Hyrum) at 4:58. Whew! After letting the people in charge know that we were there, we ran over to the gas station. What kind of farming town gas station is NOT OPEN at 5 a.m.? Don't farmers get up that early? LOL McDonald's opened at 5:19, so we at least got a little something to eat, but still, no gas. Then we drove out to Avon, which is about 15 minutes south of Hyrum. Kept driving, till we got to the middle of nowhere LOL Dh's friend told him the hike would be about 1/2 mile. No problem. Well, it was just over a mile, straight up a hill! I am SO out of shape LOL But it was worth it when we looked through the spotting scope at a bunch of funny little feather balls dancing around and chasing each other. And then the sun came up, and the hillsides were so pretty! The Western Meadowlarks were singing, and the sky was a beautiful pale pink, and the frost was glistening on the grass; what a perfect morning! Unfortunately, the rising sun defrosted the mud, so we had nice mudcakes on our shoes by the time we got back down to the car LOL I ended up driving back to town in my socks. Thankfully, dh's car gets much better gas mileage than my van, so the 1/4 tank ended up being plenty of gas. On the way down the canyon and back through Avon and Paradise, we saw Green-tailed Towhee, Dark-eyed Junco, Chipping Sparrow, Barn Swallow, Chukar, and Swainson's Hawk (along with the usual pigeons, magpies, robins and starlings). This morning put me up to 106 species! After the 20-25 minute drive home, I had totally stiffened up, and had a hard time getting out of the car LOL But it was so worth it! And guess what I did with the rest of the day...

My sister-in-law, V, picked me up about 2 and we drove to Salt Lake. We stopped briefly at Pottery Barn in Trolley Square. I've never been in there before, and I should probably never go back LOL I could spend WAY too much money in there! We had gone to Trolley Square to visit the Sharper Image store, looking for a massage chair for V. She's a massage therapist, and by the time she finishes work every day, she needs a massage too! Unfortunately, the Sharper Image store was gone! So we got back in the car and headed for Ikea. Never been in there before either. V's dh is from Uzbekistan, and Ikea has a swedish food store. He wanted some European food from the market. She got him some pate stuff and herring, along with chocolate and cookies. There was no dark chocolate to be found! I LOVE chocolate, but I decided not to get any, since none of it was dark. We only had about 20 minutes to see the rest of the store, so we only saw a little bit of the bottom floor. Guess I'll just have to go back some time!
After Ikea, we met V's cousin and significant other (and their REALLY cute baby boy) for dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Oh yummy steak! Then off to the concert!
The concert was at Kingsbury Hall up on the University of Utah campus (read "no parking" LOL). We were a few minutes late, so we had to wait to be seated. Okay, and the concert was: Celtic Woman! The opening act was the High Kings. They were pretty fun, and we enjoyed them, but Celtic Woman was absolute magic! We were actually seated in the orchestra pit, in the fourth row, on nice comfy chairs with a LOT of leg room, and we were so close to the stage! The four soloists had incredibly beautiful voices and the violin player was so talented and fun to watch. I can't figure out how she can play while she's leaping all over the stage LOL I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful this concert was. If you EVER get a chance to go to one of their concerts, or even just to watch them on PBS (which is where I originally stumbled across them), DO IT! It is so worth it!

We got home about 12:30, and then dh decided to tell me about everything he did that day, and then Az (my daughter) came down with a fever and spent most of the night awake. Needless to say, I didn't make it to church the next day! LOL

Cub Magic and birds

2008-04-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night was our pack meeting. Our cubmaster was out of town, so the rest of us were left to put it together. Because I have been there the longest, I was in kind of in charge of putting everything together (one leader had only been in for 3 days, one for about 4 months and the other for about 9 months). Luckily I had lots of help! How does the cubmaster do this every month? LOL Our theme was Cub Scout Magic, and we had asked each cub to come with a magic trick. I figured most of them would forget, but I was wrong! There was only a couple of scouts that didn't have a magic trick. Amazingly, we didn't have any duplicate tricks. E did a trick where it looks like he pulls a scarf through his neck. He did a great job and so did all the other scouts. It turned out to be a really successful pack meeting, and I think everyone had a lot of fun.

This morning E and I did a little birding. Nothing new at Sue's Ponds (my current favorite location), but there was a large group of Wilson's Phalaropes, Earred Grebes, and Bonaparte's Gulls. The phalaropes are so fun to watch. They are such busy little things. There were some Franklin's Gulls there too. I love seeing them at this time of year, because they are PINK. Seriously! They are small gulls, with a black head, white eye ring, and grey backs. Most of the year they have white undersides, but in their breeding plumage in the early spring, they become this delicate rosy shade. So much fun to see pink birds LOL Reminds me of Pink Floyd, the flamingo that used to live at the Great Salt Lake. My dad and I were out birding around the lake one year when we saw him. I said, "Dad, there is a flamingo out there!" LOL Totally threw me for a loop. This was when I first started birding, and I had no idea that there was an escaped flamingo that had been spending the summers on the lake for a few years. He was around for a long time, but I don't know if anyone has seen him for the last couple of years. May he fly in peace :) After Sue's Ponds we headed over to 2020 Pond. I haven't checked there for a while, because for some reason, there hasn't been anything there. It used to be one of my favorite spots, but lately it's been deserted. About one minute after we got there though, a Wood Duck went swimming by! Yippee! Been looking for him for a while now. It was a beautiful male, lots of showy color. He's like the peacock of the duck world LOL Other than that there was one lonely Canada Goose and a couple of coots. But the Wood Duck made it worth the drive.

Now, if it could just STAY spring LOL No more snow!

100!!!

2008-04-21T11:18:00.000-07:00

I did it! 100 birds! I am so excited right now LOL I got an email (I'm on an email birding hotline) about several new birds, so I packed up the kids this morning, and away we went. We saw 28 species this morning, 6 of which were new for this year (Snowy Egret, Bonaparte's Gull, Wilson's Phalarope, Greater Yellowlegs, Forster's Tern and Northern Rough-winged Swallow). The best part was, they were all really close to the road, so I got a GREAT look at all of them. It's so nice when they're close, and they stick around long enough that you can sit and watch them for a while. The bad part was that the battery in dh's nice camera died, so I didn't get as many good pics as I could have. Such a bummer. I did get some pics with my camera, but that's not much better than nothing LOL I also saw a Sandhill Crane with a broken wing, which was very sad.

On Saturday I went on my second field trip with the Bridgerland Audubon Society. We went out to the Amalga Barrens. It was pretty windy, and a storm was blowing in, but we still got to see some nice birds, including a Cackling Goose, which is a life bird (new bird species that I haven't seen before) for me. I've been looking for one ever since it became its own species a couple of years ago. Before that it was lumped in with all the other subspecies of Canada Goose. It definitely pays to go birding with people who own BIG, POWERFUL scopes LOL

So now I need to come up with some way to celebrate 100 birds. Another birding trip maybe? :)

Bluebird of Happiness

2008-04-06T20:11:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday (yeah, this is really outdated LOL) was a great day. First, after dropping Az off at preschool, E and C and I went birding around the valley for 3 hours. We saw 36 different species, 11 of which were new for the year! The new birds were: Common Loon, Western Grebe and Clark's Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Green-winged Teal, Greater Scaup (this one was exciting, because they aren't found in the valley very often), Red-breasted Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Golden Eagle, Mountain Bluebird, and Brewer's Blackbird. Luckily, I remembered to take dh's nice camera, so I even got some good pics! I took the pic of the Mountain Bluebird above. They were quite aways out in the field, so even with the telephoto lens, it was still hard to get a good close picture of them. The females are more of a soft brown, with tinges of blue, but the males are incredible! They are so blue that they're almost fluorescent. I love bluebirds, but Mountain Bluebirds are definitely the prettiest of the bunch! Bluebirds make you feel like all is right with the world when you see them. They just make me happy :)
The second great thing was after dropping E off at gymnastics, I was supposed to go spend a blissful 90 minutes at the library all by myself. On the way however, I got distracted by the antique shop. Just had to stop and see if there was anything I could afford LOL I've been seeing blue canning jars on other blogs, and I really, really wanted one, but had no idea if I'd be able to find one. Well, there were blue canning jars all over the place in that shop! This one, above, was actually in the best condition, and the lowest priced! So it came home with me. By the time I'd finished wandering around the shop, there wasn't time to go to the library, so I decided to stop by another nearby antique shop that I hadn't been in before. It was a nice shop, lots of great atmosphere, but 99% of the things were beyond my eensy weensy budget LOL I love the blue jar though, and I'm so very glad I found one I could afford.
The final treat of the day was a mom's night out at the Bluebird Restaurant (the above pic came off the web). This is such a great vintage restaurant. It was originally a soda fountain and candy store in downtown Logan (we have a wonderful Main Street, with lots of old restored buildings) that expanded into lunch and then dinner. The food's not bad, and you get quite a bit for your money, but it's really the atmosphere that makes it a fun place to eat. Oh, and the hand-dipped chocolates :) Had to bring home some dark chocolate melti mints, caramels, lemon creme and orange cremes. Mmmmmm...
And, finally, I snuck off to the library after dinner, and spent the last 30 minutes that they were open wishing I could check out more than 25 books LOL
It was truly a "bluebird of happiness" day!

basket

2008-03-31T17:50:00.000-07:00

I've had this little basket for a while... I can't even remember where it came from, but it was probably one that someone was getting rid of, and I just can't stand the thought of anyone throwing away a basket! I used it for a few years for putting cards in when I was a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. Now that I'm not demoing anymore, I have several little baskets kind of wandering around LOL Well, the other day, I was painting something white, and while I was waiting for it to dry, I happened to notice this basket. That dark band has always kind of bugged me, so I grabbed it and painted the dark band white. Hmmm... still didn't look that great. So I pulled out some lace trim and narrow ribbon that I have had literally forever LOL Next came the doilies that I keep buying, but never seem to find a use for. Then a few buttons that have been floating around. And a little chipboard thingie out of my scrapping stash.

I can't really decide if I like it. Maybe I'll just let it sit around for a while, then tear it apart if it doesn't grow on me. The other problem is, I made it for my living room, but I have no idea what I'm going to do with it or where it's going to go LOL Ahh well, at least it's a finished project!

altered tube

2008-03-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

Dh and I were out shopping back in February when we saw this pretty tubey vase with grassy stuff sticking out of it. Dh really liked it, but at the time, it wasn't worth the price to us. A few days later I was in Micheal's and saw these wine tubes on clearance for $2. The thought came to me that with a little altering, the tube would look just like the vase that dh had admired! So I bought a couple of them, and a bunch of grass stuff (don't you love all these technical terms I use? LOL) Above is everything in original form; wine tube, florist foam and grass. Dh was pretty excited when I brought it home and told him what I was going to do with it. He put the tube on his desk, with the grass stuff in it, and there it has patiently waited for about a month. Well, not quite patiently LOL Every couple of days dh asks me when I'm going to fix his tube for him.

Today was the day! He was gone taking pics of his cousin and her family, and I was trying to avoid housework as usual, so I thought I would surprise him by finally finishing the project. I decoupaged the patterned paper (from Paper Adventures) on the bottom, then used plain white card stock that I trimmed with fiskar's scalloped scissors and punched each scallop with a small hole punch. I was going for that pretty scalloped tin look LOL Dh says it reminds him of a ladies shirt collar. Ahh well. I love that patterned paper! It's embossed, with a raised effect, and it's just so cool in real life. Wish I had more of it, but alas, that was the only piece I had.
It definitely needs a LOT more grass stuff, but dh seems happy with it, and I'm just happy to have actually accomplished something today!

spring birding and other stuff

2008-03-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day yesterday, regardless of the fact that when I woke up, there was SNOW on the ground! AHHH! And here I thought it was finally spring... But the snow was pretty much gone by 10, and since I have to drive my dd to another town for preschool, I decided it was exactly the sort of day for birding. I loaded up E and C, dropped Az off at preschool, and hit the country roads. It was pretty chilly and breezy, but we still saw some great spring birds. There were Sandhill Cranes everywhere, and an abundance of canada geese. Highlights were a large flock of American Widgeon (I usually only see them in ones and twos) and a Common Merganser. We also saw a small flock of American Pipits. It took me a while to figure out what they were, because it's been about 4 years since I've seen one, and this was a flock of about 6 birds. It was a while before I could convince myself that they weren't some sparrow that didn't look right LOL The Western Meadowlarks are back, along with the Yellow-headed Blackbirds, American Avocets and American White Pelicans. I added another 12 birds to my year list, bringing my total up to 64 birds since January 1st! Only 36 to go.
The best part of yesterday was just getting outside, after being cooped up for so long! I can't wait for the rest of the snow to melt, especially up in the canyons, so I can start hiking with my cub scouts (I'm the bear den leader, and I LOVE it!). We're going to earn some trail patches this year! And I've gotta find those canyon birds LOL
Today was a good day too. Dh and I met with the people at the university about our second son, E. He has Tourette's Syndrome, along with some other challenges. We're working on a plan to help him, so he can return to school next year. Unfortunately, our homeschooling adventure didn't work out; it was causing more stress for our family than it was worth. So E will go back to school next year, and we'll do "extra" stuff at home. We're excited to work with the people at the university, and help E return to being the happy kid he was a few years ago! Not that's he's totally unhappy now, but sometimes he's so sad or angry that it just breaks my heart. He's a great kid, and I love him with all my heart.
So it's springy weather, and hopefully a new spring for our family!

Easter Tree

2008-03-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

About three years ago, a teacher gave this little tree to our family. It was cute, but the paint job on the little ornaments was "dollar store chic", just a little too tacky (and really poorly done!) for me. So this year, I decided to make it a bit cuter. First I painted all the ornaments in pretty pastel colors. Then I pulled out the glitter. Well, the only glitter I had was a "pastel" glitter stack purchased from Stampin' Up! a few years ago. I thought it looked a little bright to be called pastel LOL, but I went ahead and put a layer of watered down tacky glue on each ornament, and then poured on the glitter. I used razzleberry on the pink ornaments, yellow on the yellow, mint green on the green, blue on the blue... got to the lavender ornaments, and uh-oh; no purple glitter. So I just used the dazzling diamonds glitter. Everything but the lavender ornaments turned out more on the neon side LOL But I love it anyway. Just makes me feel happy and springy. And anything that sparkles is pretty, right? So now it's more of neon bling easter tree!

100 Birds

2008-03-10T17:42:00.000-07:00

The Bridgerland Audubon Society has an elite group of birders; the 200 bird club. This is a group of people who have seen 200 species of birds in Cache Valley, Utah, within the space of one year. It's my aspiration to become a part of this privileged group, but due to current limitations (5 kids LOL), I won't be joining this group any time soon. So I've set my own goal; 100 birds. It'll be tricky, but it should be doable. I started counting on Jan. 1st, and as of today I'm up to 48 species. Almost half there! Yippee! Number 48 was the Brown Creeper, which I saw on Saturday (see the cute little birdie pic on the right). Brown Creepers are one of my favorite birds, so I was happy to see him visiting my yard.
Today I went to Borders (LOVE all bookstores, but that one has an especially great clearance section) and got a book titled "Birds in your Backyard: A Bird Lover's Guide to Creating a Garden Sanctuary". I've been eyeing it at another store for a while, and when I found it in the clearance section today for $4.99 I knew I was meant to own this book. And since dh and I have decided we're NOT going to be lazy and stay in the house all summer, this will give us a plan for improving our poor neglected yard. I can't wait to plant some of the recommended flowers and put up some bird feeders and houses. Luckily the neighbors have a REALLY nice bird friendly yard, so we already enjoy the spillover from their bird feeders. Shouldn't be too hard to entice a few to hang out in our yard. Just have to wait for all that snow to melt...

"Cherish"

2008-03-06T09:44:00.001-08:00

Last weekend I went shopping at the Book Table with my sister. We both bought these cute matte board signs made by Making Memories. She got hers done right away, but I just barely got mine done, due to a case of vanishing modge podge LOL Unfortunately, this is a crummy picture, so you can't see all the fun little details. There is olive and black ribbon on the "c", with the word "home" in black alphabet beads and a little prima flower with a black brad in the center. I had to wash the "h" with walnut ink, since the white flourishes were a little too bright. The "e" has ecru crocheted lace, with the word "family" in black alphabet beads and a moss prima flower with a black brad. I painted a white silk daisy with cream acrylic paint and stuck it behind the "i", with a cream prima flower and black brad on the front of the "i" dot. I couldn't find any rick rack that matched (at least not in my meager collection LOL), so I used my Fiskars corkscrew scissors to cut my own from the same paper that is on the "r". Then I put the word "love" in black alphabet beads on the bottom corner, along with yet another cream prima flower and black brad. I actually painted all the alphabet beads with cream paint, since the letters were originally white, and it just didn't match. I also brushed brown stazon ink on all the edges of the letters to give it a more shabby feel. I really like the way it turned out. I'd like to mount it on a board and then hang it up in my family room, but that's the part that I'll probably never get around to LOL You know, I had so much fun making this, I might just have to go get some more. Mother's Day is coming up after all...