Kent, Mariam and co.

D's preschool class had a fun field trip this last week.  He went to his teacher's father's farm.  They have lots of horses.   Here is D on Big Ben a Clydesdale.  He is really big, but really gentle.   Here is K looking at the ponies.  She loved the baby horses.   They had some miniature horses that were so fun.  D took K on a buggy ride pulled by Smallzy. You wouldn't know it by looking, but K had a great time on her ride.   What would a field trip be without treats.  Cupcakes and little sodas out of a soda machine.  Soo much fun.   On a side note, D dressed himself.  He decided that his cowboy boots and hat would be best, and superman shirt is cool.  I am still not sure why he thought his jeans should be backwards.  He thought they were great that way.  When we got to school his teacher said, "Oh, is D having another backwards day?".  I had no idea his little silly things were that obvious to others.  Oh well, at least he is happy. Here is K in her Princess ...

After much thought, and input from respected others, I feel like I should blog some of my thoughts. "I'm not that creative" How many times have you hear this?  How many times have you said this?  STOP.  I am not one of those people who says, "anyone can sing", or "anyone can dance".  I know people have different skills and abilities, but we all CAN create.   I know most of the time women who say this are talking about being "crafty", and I know that is an individual talent and skill, but being creative is an entirely different thing.  I believe that creating is an essential part of our life here, and the here after.  We were put on earth to create.  We all create in different ways.  Creation is and will always be key to our Heavenly Father's plan. I am not just talking about creating life, everything is created.  Our earth was created, and our lives are created.  Plants and animals were created to give beauty.  Shouldn't we create too...

Kent's grandma celebrated her 95th birthday this weekend.  I think she looks fantastic.  Family members say she is not doing well, but she seems amazingly well to me.  Her hearing and eyesight are diminished, and she uses a little walker to get around, but she is still fairly spry and alert.  I think she is a very pretty grandma too.   We had a fun little family party at Kent's cousin's house in Burley.  It was fun to get together with everyone and see grandma again.  D had soooo much fun.  The home we were at has the greatest playhouse, spiderweb, zipline, play area ever.  And with cousins and lots of kids, D had a blast.   K did not have as much fun.  She woke up with a horrible ear ache.  This is her 3rd in 3 weeks.  We were able to get her to the Dr. before we left, and she is on antibiotics, but the Morton wore off after a few hours (and we couldn't give her more yet).  She was pretty miserable.   So, I sat stationary with her unconscious and whimpering on my lap a...

Chocolate chip cookies 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup butter softened 2 eggs 2 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. baking powder 3 cups flour 12 oz. chocolate chips (I used butterscotch and semi-sweet) Cream butter and sugars.  (The longer you beat them the more tender your cookie will be, so let it run for a few min)  Add eggs and vanilla, beat well again. On stir speed, slowly mix in baking soda, salt and flour.  Mix in chocolate chips until incorporated. Drop in baking sheet and bake at 375 for 10-12 min.  Remove from baking sheets and cool on racks.  

After the day we had yesterday, I decided we should do something fun together.  What is more fun or tasty than chocolate chip cookies? The kids had the most fun putting on their aprons, licking the beaters/bowl and eating the cookies. Little K was so cute, she was super excited to wear her "stawberry sortcake" apron.  When I said I wanted to take a picture, she ran off and retuned with her little chair.  I guess she thought it would make a better shot.  I just love the chocolate smeared across her face.   D was super excited to help, but did very little of that.  He was excited to help eat the cookies though.   Somedays there is nothing better than a warm. gooey, chocolate chip cookie.  

It's been one of those days.  After getting D off to preschool, I saw K in the living room wearing LOTS of lipstick.  I had just reorganized my makeup, and I was wondering if I had missed a lipstick or something. NO.   When I went into the bathroom to check, I saw all of my makeup and brushes dumped into the sink.  ALL of the lipsticks were mushed up into the lid.  The counters had been colored with lipstick and eyeliner, and the rest of the eyeliner had gone trough the concealer.  Such a mess.  So, messy I didn't even think about taking a picture.  As I got into the pile more and more, the mess and disaster got worse and worse.   Better yet, while I was cleaning up the makeup in the bathroom, my little princess took a tube of chap-stick and painted the couch.  I kinda wanted to cry a little.   So, does anybody have ideas about getting chap-stick out of microfiber?  Ahhh, the joys of motherhood.  My little Princess.  (On a side note, the top pic is when she got into Lizzy's...

Lizzy came for a visit this last weekend, and we had a fantastic day of shopping.  While looking for a place to eat lunch, we found a tent sale at Down East.  I was able to get D a back pack, beautiful velvet stockings for the entire family and a way cool wire rack to sell my earrings on.  I then found a pair of my FAVORITE jeans for $7, so awesome.   Then, we went to the Down East outlet where to our surprise, they were having a bag sale.    I got so many cute clothes, and Lizzy got even more for $10.  So much fun.   On a side note, I made a new blog ( here ) just for my jewelry.  I needed a place to keep track of what I had made.  If you are my wonderful friends, and family, and you want something let me know, it will be MUCH, MUCH cheaper for you (just cost of supplies). 

Like so many others, September 11 changed our lives forever.  One of Kent's dear friends, Brady, was killed in the Pentagon that horrible day.  But rather than focusing on the sadness and loss, I want to share how that experience has enriched my life. I realized the importance of treasuring your friends.  Old friends are precious, but you never know how precious until they are gone.  I don't want to live my life with regret for not reaching out.   It is important to have that uncomfortable talk with your loved ones and say, what if... Brady and his wife had that exact conversation before his death.  That conversation gave her so much peace of mind.   I learned what it means to mourn with those who mourn.  Kent and I came across Brady's widow on the way to the funeral.  She said she couldn't do it, she couldn't say good-bye.  Kent gave her some words of love, and then he helped carry her back to the church.  He promised she wouldn't go through this alone.  As I h...

After the prodding support of my family and friends, I have finally opened up my own shop on etsy.  I will be selling my jewelry at:  http://wiredmommy.etsy.com.   (I'll put a link on the side bar) I would appreciate any feed back from my loyal supporters and friends.  Let me know if you like it, and if you think the $ is reasonable.  I am new to this, so any help (even criticism) would be useful.  Here is some of the work I posted on etsy. 

That time of year is finally here.  To mark the end of summer we did a few things.. The kids got hair cuts from the cute neighbor girl.  This was K's first hair cut.  We didn't take much off, just trimmed it up a bit.   D had his hair cut next. Kent and D had a camp-out in the backyard.  They had lots of fun watching movies, eating popcorn and talking.  When the batteries went out on the portable DVD player Kent asked D what they should do.  D's response, "Well, we could talk".  Kent said, "What do you want to talk about?".  D said, "I guess we could talk about the scriptures."  Good daddy, son bonding time.   K and I were less adventurous.  We had a camp-out in the living room.  The little pop tent took up the entire living room.   She loved the IDEA of sleeping in the little tent, so did Kirby.  In the end, Kirby ended up in his kennel, and K ended up in my bed.   The Biggest thing that happened at the end of summer was the beginning of schoo...