Adventures

When I was young, my dad used to take us on adventures all of the time. We didn't have a lot of money (although we never as kids we never knew that) so most of our activities were just exploring. Thus the name "adventures." We went all sorts of places: library, canyon, random fields, landmarks, even the city dump. We loved it! We still all talk about it all of the time.

This is something that I have decided to start doing with my kiddos. My goal is to not spend a lot of money and to make it fun and entertaining. I want them to look back on this time in their lives and remember the adventure that we had together.


Although my pictures are all in reverse order, this is our trip from today starting from the car ride home.

I love how the littlest things in the word are extraordinary to a two year old.
Posing at the side of Saltair. My great grandparents met each other at Saltair, so this was a cool place for me to visit. I don't think that I have been there for 25 years. I think Toad's face in this picture is priceless.

I insist that they DO love each other. I tell myself that every day as part of my daily affirmations.

Nena wasn't cranky but, she certainly looks it in this picture. I think that she was going for a James Dean look.

The MILES of endless "beaches" at the Great Salt Lake.

Saltair from the back.

We had to walk about a half a mile (although I am betting more than that) from our parking spot to the water. The sand was yucky and I was wearing heels (surprise surprise,) but the kids LOVED it.

Nena has heard about the Great Salt Lake for a very long time but has never seen it. She was thrilled out of her mind at the chance to see it and touch it.
The yucky mud that the kiddos loved. Needless to say, my car needs to be detailed now.

Toady was fascinated by the ground.

They wanted to run to the water but tired quickly. Like I said, it was a ways out there.

I love seeing that kiddo run. He is hilarious.



The dreaded part of the day is where mom makes you pose for pictures. Had we thought ahead a little bit more, I would have had the kiddos wear something semi cute or decent. They look like I picked them up on the side of the road or at a charity auction. Nena insisted on wearing my visor. Her hair was so cute today but, she "NEEDED" that hat.

I love that Toad.


CHEESE!

Sooooo..... the main purpose for our adventure was to go out and see my friend's new home. Seeing the Salt Lake was just a side trip on the way home. My friend Shel and her hubby Rick just built a home out in Stansbury Park. For those of you that are kinda familiar with Utah, it is by Tooele. It is on the complete opposite side of the Oquirrh Mountain Range. You have to drive around the entire range to get there. (I am making it sound like it is SOOOO far away. Really it is about 45 mintues.)

Stansbury is a community built surround a beautiful lake. They have gorgeous homes and beautiful scenery. Rick and Shel have a water view from their home and it is just amazingly beautiful.

Bear and Nena was thrilled that they could go right up to the water and see the ducks. They sat throwing rocks and dirt into the lake for the longest time.

All of the waterfront homes have docks on the back of them. The lake prohibits motorized watercrafts but, most homes have paddle boats or canoes. It is honestly amazingly pretty.

Loving the ducks.



I will admit that I am thinking that this would be a fun place to live sometime.
Shel taking my kids down to the water.
Toad absolutely fell in love with Rick and they talked about Dandelions the entire evening.

Thanks for having us over guys. We had such a great time.

Nerds

I sometimes wonder about my children. This "helmet" is the momentary favorite toy. It is fought over like nothing else in this house. It makes for wonderful dating blackmail or wedding video material.

6 Minutes of Fame

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a producer at KSL (a local TV news station) asking me if I would be willing to come in and demonstrate how I make belts on their morning show, Studio 5. I was thrilled. An old friend of mine who is now a reporter at KSL happened upon one of my craft blogs and referred me to the producers of the show. I was thrilled but, anxious because I hadn't yet perfected the belts yet.

I eagerly agreed however and went to work trying to figure out exactly what I was going to do and how I was going to showcase the process. I spent about a week trying to figure out the pattern and the next two weeks went to cranking out belt after belt after belt.


I then thought that the belts needed a bit of a punch so, I started coming up with ways to make them pop. All of a sudden I was having ideas left and right come into my mind on how to make interchangeable, removable buckles.

They also wanted to showcase my blog. That is where I started to panic a bit. I am not that creative when it comes to technology and the organization of a blog. I can figure out how to put up a cute background (thanks to cutest blog on the block) and that is about it. But, I will admit, I am a bit proud of myself. I was able to figure out how to make a blog button, add a twitter button, monetize the blog and set up a facebook group.

So, after a short talley, I realized that for the short 6 minute segment, I put in over 60 hours of work. Unfortunately, it showed on my face the day of the program and I look so tired. I have learned my lesson!

I am so grateful that I had help along the way. Leigh, Kristin and Michele helped me come up with ideas, revamp my blog, go shopping for a new outfit (still wishing that I had bought those amazing jeans but....) and they went with me to the studio to help me get set up. I am glad that they did because I had no idea what I was doing.

All in all, what a great experience. I had such a good time. The link to the video will be up on KSL in a few days. They are having a bit of a glitch with it. I will post a link when it comes out. Until then, check out my blog where I am posting my tutorials daily. Thank you so much Leigh for taking the pictures! I am glad that I have them!

Kristin helping me set up
Setting up!Brooke, the host of the morning show.
Getting ready to air.
Kinda cool shot.
Teaching all of Utah how to make a trendy fabric belt.


Getting geared up with the mic.
This was a nice producer who was helping me get my microphone on. He remembered my dad from when he worked at KSL years ago.
The studio
Explaining a buckle tutorial.

Explaining.
More explaining.

I am rather proud of my bow display that I whipped up at the VERY LAST MINUTE.

A random sampling of the belts. My favorite is the second from the right. It is black with all of those fun grommet things. I have always wanted a belt like that. It never occurred to me that I could just make my own.
What a great morning! Oh.... and by the way, if you want a belt, let me know! I have dozens! Really, I mean it.

Mother's Day

I love Mother's Day! I love that my kiddos get excited WEEKS before Mother's Day. They plan what they want to say and what they want to do. They plan breakfast and find me flowers (usually the dandilions from the backyard!) and spend the day fighting over who gets to sit on my lap or rub my back. I LOVE it!

This year was one of my all time favorites. I love that the kiddos are growing up just a titch and that our conversations are getting so much richer and more enjoyable. They were so excited to make the day perfect. And they did.

Early in the morning I heard little voices start to meander down the stairs. That is a general occurance in this house and I generally pay it no heed. However this time the voices included Toad and the main topic of conversation was how they were going to surprise me and make pancakes for breakfast. Panic hit as 1) The oldest is 7 and the 2 year old "called" his spot as pancake turner and 2) We didn't have the ingredients for pancakes and I certainly didn't want to see what they would use to make them.

I wandered downstairs with them and we had a great time together making french toast. It is their new breakfast favorite. I was amazed that we got dressed and ate breakfast all before church started.

HOWEVER (dum, dum, dum) at T minus 30 mintues to church time, I realized that Bear had the talk in Primary. I don't remember what his topic was supposed to be but, after a short chat with Bear, the two of us decided that he would recite a Mother's Day poem instead. (Sorry Angela!)

Sunday I got to teach Relief Society. Now... I know what you are thinking, the men should teach. Well, they were planning on it but, I begged my Relief Society presidency to let me teach. It was my week to teach and I was excited to give the lesson. After talking with the Bishop, I was given the all clear. This month was about prayer. I have had such amazing experiences over the last several months that I knew that I had to have my chance to express my feelings over this amazing principal. Besides, I actually love to teach and look forward to it every single month. It is a very unique experience for me when I teach. I learn so much and I feel that the lessons that I am given to teach are the ones that I need to hear the most. I will not take this calling for granted.

Anyway, after church I got a great surprise! My sister came by and offered to make me dinner while I took a nap! HOW IS THAT! I have been pulling some very late nights getting everything ready for my KSL moment and have lost more sleep than I care to admit. She made an amazing meal of Spaghetti and Salad. I got some much needed rest! Thanks Danza!

This year, the kiddos went shopping with dad and were so sweet to pick up a couple of fun things for me. They were quite thoughtful.


I will admit that my favorite gift this year was this picture. In school, the kiddos painted pictures for their mother's. They even decorated their own gift wrap. She brought this home on the last day before she went off track and hid it really well in her closet. She was so thrilled to give it to me. I LOVE IT! I love that she tells me that the mediums are watercolor and Sharpie. I love that she signed her initials. I love that she has offered to teach anyone that comes by how to paint one. This is my new favorite piece of art and it will be finding a very deserving spot very soon.

Bear picked out a book. I have been wanting to read this one. I loved that he wanted to sit on my lap the entire afternoon and just snuggle with me. That is so bear. I couldn't love that kid anymore if he came dipped in chocolate (when I tell him that he always responds "Don't dip me in chocolate, that would be yummy, but a little too sticky for me")
Nena gave me a Willow Tree angel. It looks just like her. She has been demonstrating how she can squat just like that little angel. She even has mastered the cute hands under the chin pose.
My camera is not my best friend right now. I wish that you could see this better. It is a little Toad on a chain. A cute Toad from a cute Toad. As a side note.... I was talking to Toad and asked him if he was still my baby. Here is his response, "I am not a baby. I am a boy. No, I am a kid. No, I am a Toad. No, I a Toadie. That's right, not a frog, not a boy and not a baby. I am a Toadie. Ribbit Ribbit."

I got a huge ceramic pot of beautiful yellow flowers. I loved them. I loved them so much that I placed them on the kitchen table so that I could snap a picture of it while I was taking pictures of the other treasured that my children so lovingly gave me when all of a sudden....... I turned around and......
Toadie (not to be confused with the frog, kid, baby or boy) had ripped the flowers off of half of the plant. HE KNOWS BETTER! I screamed "TOAD!!!!" He just looked up at me with a huge chocolate smile and said, "Sorry Mommy. I will glue it!" Well, I am disappointed that my plant now looks like.....

this. However I now have a fantastic memory to go along with the pictures.
Happy Mothers Day to all of you! Whether you have children of your own or not, you certainly have an amazing influence over my children. That is a great blessing and deserves the highest of all honors.

Follow Me Please

I have a huge favor to ask of all of you. My tutorial blog is going public on Monday and I need to get some support backing it. I will be putting new how-tos and tutorials up every few days. Also (here is the good part) I will continue to highlight fun projects and feature up and coming artists on this blog. I would love it if you could just pop on over and follow me! Pretty please with a cherry on top. I know. I am pathetic. I am in the middle of creative construction there so don't mind the mess. Thanks for being awesome friends.

"/>

Click on the Picture to go to the new blog

Oh, and I have to show off the new button that I made. I am actually floored that I figured out how to make one! This is one of my favorite pictures of Nena. She is wearing a fairy dress that I made for her for the fairy festival last year. It didn't turn out exactly as I had planned but, in the picture it doesn't look half bad. When you are over at the new blog, you can grab a button and stick on your own site and have a cute little fairy decorating your page :)

Happy Mother's Day You Tube Style

Opinions Needed

These are a couple of the belts that I am going to feature on KSL next Monday. The buckles are removable so that people can choose whether they want to wear them or not. I am mostly just teaching how to make the main part of the belt. I wanted to run it past all of you and ask for opinions. Tell me what you really think.

Chocolate Mug Cake

I posted this about a year ago but, there has been an overwhelming desire for it lately so, I thought that I would post it again. This is one of my favorite recipes and...... the best part....... it only takes 3 minutes to make. Yep. That is it.

Last week, I promised my kiddos that we would make a treat but, I failed to pick up the right ingredients at the store. So, I did what any mother would do. I panicked and quickly racked my brain for something fun, fast, easy and low maintenance. You don't get any easier that this. It is as fun to make as it is to eat.

The kiddos loved watching their cakes rise in the microwave. I loved eating it. Now, it is terribly unhealthy but, so yummy. We love ours drenched in chocolate syrup.

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional but oh so incredibly worth it)

a small splash of vanilla extract

1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous). And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?

Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night! You are going to print this out straight away, aren't you

Oh and yes.... don't you love the mug that I made this in. You would think that I would have a little more class but, hey. We all have days like that don't we.