Saturday, June 1, 2013

pictures

There is something magic about film.
Capturing a moment in time (without the ability to delete if someones face expression is not quite right).
The excitement of delivering your film to the store anticipating which points in time you will have the honor of revisiting.
Having time to digest the events before seeing them in photographic form leads to a greater appreciation.
There are seldom do-overs with film because the moment has past.
In my life technology depreciates the beauty of art.
I love having random photos around to fade into. 
Would a beautiful library be the same with a nook on the shelf where 10,000 books previously existed
 
 
 
 
 

Thursday, May 30, 2013

wildflower

On one of our of our wonderful drives
my husband spotted some some beautiful wildflowers.
They grew on a steep hill
where a landslide had once been
He climbed the mountain and picked them
roots carefully intact,
They stayed in pristine condition
until
they were confined to a pot
and placed in perfectly balanced potting soil.
They are starting to come back
but will most likely remain small and be used as garden filler.
Had we left them alone they would have flourished
taken over the hillside
and shared their beauty with the world.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

The Creator

 
I am the creator
 
of my future
of my past
of my surroundings
 of my children
of my family
Some may credit my creations to the unknown
but I know
that in my life
I am the creator
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Almost Summer

Elly enjoying some time to herself in the beautiful American Fork Canyon
 
 
As the days get warmer my family tends to wander
with so much beauty surrounding us it is hard to keep ourselves contained indoors
we breathe in the sunshine
we bask in the shade
we enjoy the moments together
and cherish our time alone
and dream about what will come tomorrow
 

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Beautiful May

Unfortunately I took no pictures (not a good intro to a post I know..) but some will surely be on there way. We are halfway through May and all of my gardens are started. Gardening is the perfect way to waste away an afternoon. Today I started my plot at the community garden  to provide us with an endless supply of summer vegetables  (and provide badge opportunities for the girl's daisy troop).  Th boys kept themselves busy with some puddles, sticks and rocks and were forced to disrobe before coming inside of the house.
   In addition to the vegetable garden I received several hydrangeas for Mothers' day, which have made their home on the back patio (they are my absolute favorite flower). Last, but not least We have a cluster of six rose bushes in the backyard, under which I have pruned a tunnel for the boys to play with their trucks (out of sight and in the shade). It may be one of their favorite spots. I will soon post pictures of these favorite places. With school winding down we will undoubtedly spend more time outside in the gardens and exploring.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Beauty is in the bag

Recently, when browsing through country living magazine I came across a bag, Which I immediately fell in love with. I looked up the website and fell in love... the website is here  beautiful website
 
Whoever Mrs. Hicks is I would like to give her thanks. Her site is filled with beautiful items, ranging from boat shoes to moccasins to gorgeous bags. I am in love and am positive this bag will be the next in my collection. seroiusly go check it out, please, I am sure you find something to slurge on.
                                                                           

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

My fashion Inspiration

        My grandmother, Grammy (Dorothy), had a great sense of style. Yesterday, as I looked through old photos, I noticed that no matter how old the pictures were my Grammy always looked fantastic and never outdated (except for the occasional pair of glasses).

      I have more memories with my Grandmother than I could even begin to express, she was sharp-witted, had an intimidating nature (which worked in her favor, as the people she didn't want to associate with were often to scared to approach her), but best of all she valued a great sense of humor and often told me it was the most important trait a person could have.

      Of course, I am sure I idolize her, because to me she was perfect. She also loved to shop and had a great sense of style. She once told me, "If something gets you down, go buy yourself something nice, I am sure it will make you feel better" ( a lesson that maybe I could have done without). On one of our shopping excursions she also taught me to look for quality over brand, a good lesson indeed.

   Grammy never owned a pair of jeans until she was in her 70's and even then they were dockers and cut exactly like all of her khakis, her shirts were never without a collar, keds were her shoe of choice, her hair was always fixed (her hairstyle never changed) and her lipstick was always pink. Cheers to a lifetime of great style.

 
I am not sure when this picture was taken, I think this is when they were stationed in Hawaii


                                        My Grandma and Grandpa, both looking beautiful

My grandma and me, at the tree lighting ceremony, as an Indialantic, Florida native I used to think 60 degrees was cold (hence the whiney face)




On one of their cruises, she always had great vacation clothes. I especially remember a wonderful pair of red plaid pants, which I would wear if I had!


Fortunatley for me, my  mother gave me two sweaters that my Grandma aquired on one of her trips. I love them and wear them often.

Friday, January 25, 2013

There goes January...

So...I have been absent for a while, truth be told January is kind of a blah month. In our house we have been dealing with colds and outside is our lovely winter inversion(which means we haven't actually seen the sky in several weeks). So I will be, happily bid January farewell and begin looking forward to spring.
I did watch the inauguration and I must say my favorite part was the introduction of the Carter's, or should I say Miss Rosalynn and Mr. Jimmy Carter. There were several things I loved about them. First Mrs. Carter wanting to be introduced as Miss Rosalynn, it may not get any cuter, but my absolute favorite was when the standing in the opening waiting to walk down the stairs and she grabbed her purse in both hands (with the look on her face like why did I bring his big old thing), then Jimmy offers to carry it for her. So there we go it does get cuter, Good ole Jimmy, ex-president, walking into the inauguration carrying his wife's purse. Love. That just goes to show we need more peanut farmers to step up and be president.

I would also like to add to all of the royal obsessed Americans, this inauguration shows that we have every bit of fanciness, and ceremoniousness as they do. It was a beautiful day. So with a congratulations to President Obama I bid farewell to this month, look forward to seeing the sunshine soon, and look forward to Valentine's day (which I have always been a fan of, even when I didn't have a Valentine).

Friday, December 14, 2012

We may get a little carried away in Utah

So we Utahan's really LOVE to decorate for the holidays...any holiday. While the main story on the news last night was how the Salt Lake county mayor decorates his home for Christmas, here was some of the "breaking news" this morning...



We LOVE our little elf, but this family took things a step further..


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

A Few Favorites

"Forever Young"
May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
And may your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.
 
 
This is one of my favorite songs...and this my absolute favorite version
 
Here are some of my other recently found favorite things...
 
iphone case (goes with the forever young theme) I found this etsy and fell in love with it!
You can find it HERE
 
One of my new favorite books...
 

This book has so many great ideas for your families and reminds you to enjoy every moment! I am taking the boys on a tromp through the woods today to collect treasures to include in our ice wreath (another great idea from the book)

And I know I have mentioned this movie before but it is one of my favorites. It is a true story and it's release was met with some controversy, as Alaska did not want the character romanticized, but it is a wonderful, beautiful movie.

 


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Elf gone wild...

Like many families, one of our Christmas traditions is Elf on the Shelf. Our charming little elf, whom the girls have named Cutie, has started getting into some mischief lately. The kids woke up this morning and found that he may have gotten into a bit more than he can handle...
                          
 
And unfortunately he only comes to life when the kids are sleeping, hope he can hang in there.
                                                                      

Monday, December 10, 2012

Birklee



I saw this shirt and immediately though of my little Birklee. My wild, white haired, almost 3 year old. He is most defiantly a momma's boy and I love it. He has the body of 4 year old and the mind of a two year old (he is a giant boy) and he reminds of a cute puppy with legs that are too incredibly long and clumsy body that doesn't always cooperate. This is the lovely little boy who took 300 pics of himself with my iphone and then tried to deny it, the boy who broke his bedroom window twice with a matchbox car, the boy who currently has a giant scab on the back of his head (he probably could have used stitches), the boy who snuck behind daddy's chair last night and proceeded to break every candy cane in half, the boy who drink 1/2 gallon of milk everyday, the boy who sometimes drives me crazy and always melts my heart.
 
 
 
The little cutie pie, laughing like always!
 

                                                    The picture he took and tried to deny...

                 
                 And the mama tried t-shirt from the junk gypsy group that I must get for him!

                                                                                         
                                                                               
 
 

Final two days

Today begins finals week, which only lasts two days for me. There is something refreshing about attending college the second time around. I am fortunate enough to be in a place in my life, and my family's life, to have the opportunity to focus and study subjects that truly interest me. I do no feel the pressure of quickly obtaining a skill so I can earn a living. Seven years ago, when Elizabeth was born, I put school on a back burner. I was only 1o credits away from earning a degree in elementary education. The time off from school (along with lack of thought about school) helped me explore life and find interests that will stay with for a lifetime. Truth being, I have always loved school, learning, reading, and exploring. Yes I will, eventually find a career in my (future) field, but for know I am finding the joy in learning. It is wonderful to go to class and really think about the lectures instead of viewing the class as one more to cross off the list. I am truly grateful that I have such a supportive family who encourage me to explore my interest of learning. While I have had a fun time this semester I am looking forward to the break to enjoy the holiday season with my family.

                                                                                

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

We should try to stay away from anything that makes us unhappy...i am adamantly against the strive for perfection, some things should be left unfinished...and maybe some things should never even be started

                     

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Taproot

I have come across a magazine I love. It is not trying sell anything it is simply about life. The magazine comes is published four times a year. It would make a wonderful present for anyone (including yourself).


                                                                                

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Snow, snow, snow

           The ski season in Utah kicks off this week with tomorrow being the opening day for Brighton and many others following suit this weekend. We have been busy in the snow as we got 25 inches over the past 4 days. We have been outside sledding pretty much since Friday and are loving every minute of it! And to add to the fun even more, about 30 deer have taken up residence in a nearby field. They were a little too far off to get pictures of but they have been fun to watch. There are 4 bucks and about 20 little kid deer. The young ones spend their day hopping through the snow and playing tag. They are pretty darn cute.                                                    

Friday, October 19, 2012

Upcoming weekend fun!

We have a fun, busy weekend planned. Saturday morning the girls cheer at the Herriman football game, which is always entertaining! The we are off to the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake to visit the toy boutique JouJou. I have seen ads lately and it looks Amazing! Then to top off the day we have a Halloween Party. Papa is coming over to play with the kids for a few hours while we go out and enjoy the night! Pictures to follow...I am especially excited for the toy store!




                                                                              

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Cleaning out the garden

We had our first freeze on Friday and that meant that the Saturday morning needed to be spent down at the garden. We all went down there and picked everything that was left. The plants had given us everything they had in them and they were spent. We brought home with us a total of 11 pumpkins, 5 cantaloupes (they ate 5 while were in the garden), a grocery bag full of cherry tomatoes, more onions than I will ever know what to do with (I may dry them out and save them for spices like I did with the cayenne pepper), some red peppers, and 5 eggplant. It was a fun season, filled with a lot of hard work.
A few weeks ago we went down to the farm and picked a few bags of apples. We all ate at least one a day and as they became slightly worn out I decided to make one of my favorite treats. Today I pulled of the food dehydrator and started slicing. Last year I made plain apple chips and cinnamon apple chips, but this morning I noticed we were out of cinnamon so plain it is.I slice them up, put them in the dehydrator for 4-5 hours and put them in jars. They are one of my favorite fall time treats. I did learn a lesson though, If you eat a whole bag of apple chips DO NOT follow it with a glass of water or you will quickly learn what it feels like to have 5 whole apples in your stomach.

                                                                 

Thursday, September 27, 2012

The dirtier they get the cleaner the fun

    During my years as a parent I have run across other parents who have a real anxiety about allowing their children to get dirty...at all. There are times when I prefer my children to stay clean, if we are going out or have plans I prefer for them to stay clean. But here's the thing...they are kids. Let them get dirty. To me allowing this for your child is giving them the ideal childhood. Kids should play in sandboxes and climb trees, lots of trees, build forts outside, ride bikes and wander using their imaginations without anxiety that their parents will be upset that they got some dirt on their clothes. After all isn't that what washing machines and soap are for?

And on days when we have absolutely NO other plans this has been known to occur.
 
It started out innocently enough...
                                        The trench quickly got deeper and turned into a pool

                                            Madelyn joined in the fun and brought her rake

                                   More water was added, things were getting a bit ridiculous...

They were such a mess, but had the best time ever! The clothes came clean as did they and I would let them do it again in a second!
 

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Good movies

I love a variety of movies. I love dramas, girly movies, comedies, all kinds...But I absolutely adore 1980 Chevy Chase movies. Last night I watched National Lampoon's Vacation and was really truly laughing out loud. Here are some of my favorites, really choose any of them, you can't go wrong.

Funny Farm is one of my favorites. Chevy Chase, the setting, the clothes, the cars, the dog who runs away, the mailman. It cannot be beat!


               National Lampoon's Christmas- puts to shame even the wackiest christmas decorators
                                                                        Caddyshack
                                                           National Lampoon's Vacation
                                                                            Fletch
          I probably watched Three Amigos at least once a week when I was little. I loved this movie!
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