October

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

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

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

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...

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!

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

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