searching simplicity

Readathon Treat Tags - Free Printable

2012-03-01T19:24:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is Dr. Suess' birthday. That's a big deal in our house. We loooove Dr. Suess. And at my daughter's school they are having a readathon. They go to school in their pjs and read all day long. Sounds fun, eh? I wish I could do that. :)

I did some looking around online for a treat or simple snack to share with her classmates. I didn't want anything messy or greasy because it may get on their books. Then I found this...

Photo Credit

Soooo cute!! I got some gummy worms and filled some small bags. Then I created our own tags to go with.

Here they are...

I created a PDF file of these tags to share with you. You can download them --> HERE. I think these little treats will be a success in my daughter's class. Can't wait to pass them out!!

If you use these tags let me know by leaving a comment. I'd love to see them. And I give my permission to PIN these as well. Just don't pin the first picture because it's not mine.

Two Months, Four Birthdays

2012-02-21T08:54:00.005-07:00

The beginning of the year greats us with four birthdays in our family. First mine...which I keep low key. Usually doing an activity with my DH and/or the kids. This year Little Mouse made me a chocolate cake (my fave!!) and my sis-in-law made dinner. My DH got me new slippers (because my poor feet are always cold). Love them! And that's about it.

Next one to celebrate a birthday is Big D. Just two days after mine. He turned 8 this year.

His birthday was pretty low key too. None of my little ones had a big birthday party this year. We just opened presents from family and made a special cake. That was enough. In the above pic Big D is enjoying this really cool seek and find book from Grammy and Papa.

Big D requested a Lego block cake. With lots of help from Little Mouse we tried making one. The frosting has little candies in it and is tinted blue. Big D liked it.

Next birthday is Little Mouse's in February. She had been planning her cake for months. She has such a creative mind...I love it! So Little Mouse had the desire to make her cake look like one of the scenes from the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1. The scene where Harry is to be escorted from his home. To keep him safe and confuse his enemies Harry's friends take Polyjuice potion to change their appearance to look exactly like Harry. It really is a funny scene....

Above is the pic from the movie scene.

And here is the cake Little Mouse created.

Using her brother's Lego figurines she collected 7 Potters. She put the names of each person who was disguised as Harry by each of the figures.

Little Mouse turns 11 this year. She is growing into a young woman before my eyes.

Sweepea had the next birthday. When asked what she wanted to do for her birthday she simply said, "I want to play with toys." Easy enough! We hung out at home on her birthday just playing with toys. Above she holds a her new play kitchen food from Grammy and Papa.

Sweepea requested a castle cake for her birthday. I think I kinda butchered it. She wanted chocolate with chocolate frosting. I tried to frost it nicely but it was pretty crumbly. Little Mouse did the decorations which really helped make the cake look super cute.

Sweepea loved it.

So, we got our fill of cake the last couple months. I love bringing in the new year with so much celebration. Sure we kept it simple this year, but it was still special for all of us.

Race To Nowhere

2012-02-09T19:49:00.002-07:00

My husband and I were invited, along with all the teachers and parents in the valley, to view an eye opening documentary. It was a free showing at our local theater sponsored by local businesses and the education foundation. It was also highly recommended by our district superintendent. The film is called Race To Nowhere. The description on You Tube sums it best...

"Featuring the heartbreaking stories of young people across the country who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students aren't developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do what's best for their kids, Race to Nowhere points to the silent epidemic in our schools: cheating has become commonplace, students have become disengaged, stress-related illness, depression and burnout are rampant, and young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired.

Race to Nowhere is a call to mobilize families, educators, and policy makers to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens.

In a grassroots sensation already feeding a groundswell for change, hundreds of theaters, schools and organizations nationwide are hosting community screenings during a six month campaign to screen the film nationwide. Tens of thousands of people are coming together, using the film as the centerpiece for raising awareness, radically changing the national dialogue on education and galvanizing change."

Check out the official trailer...

After the viewing we had a discussion within the theater where parents and teachers could share thoughts about the movie to our superintendent and private school officials. I guess that's what made the whole evening so spectacular. The fact that our public school superintendent was standing side by side with private school administrators to work together. They listened as parents viewed their concerns and teachers expressed frustrations. And it won't end there. Many in the audience wanted another meeting to discuss how we can make changes and help our children. It was just fantastic! I am so proud to be a part of this community of caring individuals.

The movie comes out on dvd in April. But I highly encourage anyone out there to talk to their school officials about viewing it now. You can find out more info on finding a screening or hosting a screening at racetonowhere.com

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-08T09:52:00.001-07:00

Our First Annual Winterfest

2012-01-31T13:23:00.007-07:00

The first month of 2012 certainly has given us some bizarre weather here in the mountains. It rained!!!! It actually rained!!! That melted some of the snow that fell in December and made skiing pretty yucky. Then we got a HUGE storm that closed schools for two days. We were excited to see the snow, but not excited to see the warmth after. It snowed so much and then melted so quickly it flooded the kid's bedroom. Just the joys of living in a basement apartment I guess.

Through all this we managed to still have our valley's First Annual Winterfest. True, we should have 20 degree (F) temps during the day instead of near 40 or 50, and the snow should NOT be melting like it was April. But they coordinators still managed to pull it off. And we are all so glad it did.

Part of the festivities was ice sculpting. This work of art above was created by Big D's Judo teacher. He's an incredibly talented man.

I just love this pic of Big D and his cousin. They both have Judo together and they are their to support their Sensei.

Part of the Winterfest was a snow sculpture competition. Locals from the area all came to show their talents...

This bear band sculpture was the people choice winner in the competition.

This dragon which was called "Year of The Dragon" won the grand prize. This sculpture was done by Little Mouse's friend's family and friends.

We all love Gumby.

Sensei also made this bear and cub with a team of chefs.

This is the Skier Eater. I guess if your a skier you would appreciate this.

Along with the snow sculpting there were other events for young kids, music, and a Snow Ball. One event I missed but wish I didn't was Ski Joring. I had no idea what it was until I saw picks of it in our local paper. If your like me and have no clue what ski joring is, here is a pic...

http://nasja.com/Pictures.html

Ski joring is a race of some sort. I believe the skier has to go through a course of jumps while being pulled by a horse and rider. The skier is timed. The best time wins. I think its pretty crazy! But I will definitely be watching this next year.

So this Winterfest was a success. It was really great because it gave the valley people another reason to come together and appreciate where we live.

My Interview With Mommypage.com - Adventures in Parenting and Great Savings

2012-01-16T13:48:00.003-07:00

I am delighted to welcome Shreya from MommyPage.com as guest blogger.

We’ve just launched a new site, MommyPage, to bring expecting moms, new moms and veteran moms a single source to all of the deals, coupons and savings opportunities offered online!

Our goal at MommyPage is to scour the internet to find and consolidate the latest free samples, coupons and special offers from some of the best name brands that moms like us love! When the brands we love most aren’t offering something special – we have a team of moms that reach out to those companies to encourage them to offer something great to our MommyPage Turners! MommyPage currently has found and posted offers such as VTech Kids, Kellogg’s, ThredUp, Baby Talk and American Baby!

Beyond our offers and deals, MommyPage helps all moms navigate their way through parenting. Our community of moms share stories on buying maternity clothing, healthy eating for two, baby behavior, first day at preschool and more! Being a mom is about managing a home and lifestyle. With our tips on parenting and access to savings – we hope to help moms make parenthood a successful adventure!

We hope that you allow us to join you in your adventure in parenting! Visit our Mommy Page today.

You can view an interview I had with Shreya at Mommy Page --> HERE. Thanks Shreya for the feature. And thanks for having such a great website for all us moms. :)

The Future of This Blog

2011-12-29T11:19:00.003-07:00

It has been a busy holiday season in our home. Wonderful, but busy. So much has been going on I wish I had the time to put it all on my blog. About my blog...what does the future hold for it? My original intent was to create a place where I could journal my experiences, trials, and joys as well as create a way for my distant family to see the experiences we enjoy far from home. Sometimes I stick to that, sometimes I veer off into other directions that are unintentional.

Over the next little while I want to post some thoughts on what I want for this blog. I have had a few thoughts swimming around in my head. I would like to be more honest. More frank. More matter-of-fact. Easy enough I think. Not really. I remember learning something about myself in a psychology class I took while working toward my degree. I am a very self conscious person. I don't throw myself out there for everyone to know. Why? Because I am afraid of rejection. I am afraid people won't like me. Have you ever had a dream where you are standing naked in the middle of a crowd. Then you notice that everyone around you are pointing their fingers at you and laughing. That's how I feel when I make myself vulnerable by sharing my real self. Even if the faces are invisible to me.

I think this blog has been very shallow. I want, and need, a place to confess, vent, share love, desires, and anything else that is inside me. I wish to keep sharing my favorite recipes, crafts, and life experiences. I will still share pictures along with our family adventures. But I want to include a little more of me, too. A little more honesty. I want to really make this my journal. True I may loose the interest of those who regularly follow, but I have to say, "I don't care". I have to not care. That's the only way. I welcome comments, but please be kind. I have seen some nasty comments on other people's blogs that have been brave enough to share their true self. Frankly that's just mean, people. I used to value my blog on how many followers or comments I would get. Not anymore. I will shut off the followers link on my sidebar.

Well, that's all out in the open. I will add to this blog when time allows. Thanks for reading.

Jenna

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2011-12-29T10:28:00.002-07:00

Love, Me (your neighborhood blogger), my DH, Belle, Little Mouse, Big D, & Sweepea

The Hunt

2011-12-13T23:00:00.005-07:00

Ahhh the thrill of the hunt...

It's now a family tradition. No not hunting like in shooting a poor little critters. I mean CHRISTMAS TREE HUNTING!! Do you know that song or story called Going On A Bear Hunt? Well, it's been in my mind since we returned from our hunt. I just changed up the words a bit like, "We're going on a Christmas tree hunt. We're not scared. Going to find a tall one." I just love this tradition. I have to say it is one of my favorite Christmas activities. The best way to kick off the season.

We packed ourselves in the van and headed for the forest of choice. We have so many around us here in the mountains. We have so much to choose from. But we have a favorite destination that we have been going to since we moved here.

We were so excited about going that we forgot Sweepea's winter coat. Fortunately it was a warmer day and I had an extra jacket on hand. She does have a sweater on under it with snowpants, mittens and a hat. So she was pretty toasty.

The whole family is off on the hunt. Following the road far into the woods.

Even our dog Ginger is enjoying the freedom of the outdoors.

The perfect one! We all posed for our traditional picture in front of the tree.

My DH chopping down the tree with an axe. The only way to do it. Makes us feel like we have stepped back in time.

Big D, our tree hugger. He was in charge of keeping the tree on the sled as we hiked back to the car.

Heading back home to decorate it. Our month of December is full of fun family traditions. I wish I had time to post them all. We enjoy Christmas all month long. I hope all you out there in blogland are having a great Christmas season, too.

Fall Fun

2011-11-18T11:34:00.009-07:00

Old man winter has certainly shown his presence in our valley. He settled in with an abundance of snowy white stuff. We already have a good 6 inches on the ground. As I look out my window I see more fluffy cotton ball snow falling. And it is sticking to everything. It really creates quite a scene. Absolutely beautiful.

Now that we are saying goodbye to fall in our valley, and welcome the snow (yes even before Thanksgiving), I thought I would share some fun we had. We certainly had an eventful fall season. We enjoyed the colors and fall traditions so much that I just haven't had time to blog them. So here's the fun in a nutshell...

We spent some time with some very peculiar witches at Gardner Village in Salt Lake City.

Visited an apple picking farm in Washington.

Need help picking those extra good ones at the top?

Mmmmm....golden and delicious!

Now let's make some apple cider with those yummy apples.

Can't wait to taste it!!

How 'bout some pumpkin picking. Lovely nose Belle!

We hung around some strange looking folks.

Then took a stroll through a corn maze.

Pumpkin carving...and grossing out!

Help me! I'm innocent I tell you!

When there's no pumpkins around, carve an apple.

Just look at this adorable bride on Halloween. Sweepea is wearing her big sister's flower girl dress and my veil. Oh soooo sweet!

Ninja!

Little Mouse used her creative talents to make this Statue of Liberty costume.

Creepy! Belle, the aspiring author, is wearing a costume she created from a suspense, thriller book she is writing. She is The Creep.

It certainly was a fun fall. And we look forward to winter good times. Get those sleds and snow pants out!

DIY Pumpkin Treat Boxes

2011-09-26T09:48:00.003-06:00

Hey check it out! I made these pumpkin treat boxes last year. Now they are being featured at All Free Holiday Crafts. Check it out to get the tutorial.

A Little Shout Out

2011-08-31T16:26:00.002-06:00

This is long overdue...I have been a lame sister.

My very talented, lawyer-type sister is now a serious author. How cool is that!! She has published her first book titled Five Principles for the Positive Practice of Law: The Essential Guide to Success as a New Lawyer .

Here is a description of the book:

"A unique one-of-a-kind advice book for law students and new lawyers that
provides a basic philosophy for practicing law. By focusing on five important
qualities every lawyer should have (history, competency, humility, integrity,
credibility), this concisely written pocket guide provides the fundamental tools
for entering the practice of law with the right perspective in a format that is
light and succinct. This important book is perfect for the classroom, seminars,
and law firms. It also makes a great gift. "

And here is a bit about my super successful and talented author/sister:

"VICTORIA CECIL WALKER is an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Orlando, Florida. She is a Florida native and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Central Florida. In May of 2001, she graduated cum laude from Stetson University College of Law and began her law career as a staff attorney to Judge Ricky L. Polston at the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee, Florida. In 2003, she worked as a senior staff attorney to Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead at the Florida Supreme Court. After serving a one-year term at the Supreme Court, she returned to Orlando and worked as an associate for the law firm of Brown, Garganese, Weiss & D’Agresta, P.A. in the areas of commercial litigation and local government law. After realizing a preference for the public sector, Walker became an Assistant City Attorney. Prior to law school, she worked in the legal profession as a file clerk, receptionist, legal secretary, and paralegal in the areas of criminal defense, insurance defense, and medical malpractice. During her law school career, Walker interned for Justice Anstead at the Florida Supreme Court, Judge Chris W. Altenbernd at the Second District Court of Appeal in Tampa, Florida, and Chief Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa, Florida. She has published articles in Court Review magazine and the Florida Bar Journal."

So if you know a lawyer, law student or are a lawyer yourself you should check this book out. It is available in paperback and kindle edition. Which makes it super convenient. Just click on the picture of the book above to learn more.

First Day of School Pics

2011-08-26T09:45:00.004-06:00

Little Mouse is entering 5th grade this year. Wow! Seems like yesterday I was taking her to Kindergarten. She likes her teacher and has one of her best friends in her class.

Big D is entering 2nd grade in a new school. His school moved over the summer to a new location. He's really excited and I think this will be a good year.

Belle is a freshman in high school this year. She was nervous her first day, but when she came home she said it wasn't that bad. She's involved in band and choir. And plans on joining the drama club and voice club. We all look forward to the high school experience.

Sweepea slept in during picture taking. She still has a couple years at home with me before kindergarten. Yay! I enjoy this time with my littlest ones.

'Twas The Night Before The First Day of School

2011-08-24T11:01:00.004-06:00

{photo credit}

'Twas the night before the first day of school
And all through the home,
There was such excitement,
We could feel in our bones.

The backpacks were hung
On hooks by the door.
So heavy with school supplies,
By morning they were sure to have fallen on the floor.

By 8pm the children were settled,
All snug in their beds.
With visions of notebooks and pencils
In their heads.

And dad and I were so tired,
Right down to the core.
We totally collapsed on the bed,
And began to snore.

When out in the living room
There arose such a clatter.
I quickly jumped up
To see what was the matter.

"I'm missing my sock!"
I heard a little voice say.
"But why are you up?" I said.
"It isn't even day."

The look of confusion
Flashed across the wee one's face.
"My alarm went off,
I had no time to waste."

"I can't wait to meet teachers,
New friends, galore!
And catch up with my old friends
Once more."

They gave each other
A gentle hug goodnight.
Then went back to their beds
Awaiting first light.

A new school year began
The very next day.
So no on slept,
What else can I say.

(This little poem was written by yours truly. It came to me the other evening as I made dinner. The excitement of a new school year has filled our home. And today I walked my children to school for their first day once more.)

How Does Our Garden Grow?

2011-08-18T10:28:00.005-06:00

I realized last year I failed to give an update on our garden. High altitude gardening is a real challenge for us. This is our third growing season and the results of our garden have been different each year. We try to make changes, improve our soil's nutrients, experiment a bit but we haven't completely mastered it in any way.

But here are some welcomed surprises we had this year as well as a few disappointments...

Raspberries. I definitely cannot take credit for these succulent goodies. These were here long before we moved in. My sis-in-law planted a bunch of them. Last years crop was dismal, but this years is plentiful. My sis-in-law and I have been sharing them. Enjoying them in muffins, fruit salads and just plain.

The best part is watching the little ones eat them right off the bushes while they are playing. Simply nature's snack.

Beans. Our green beans are doing spectacular! We even have some itty bitty beans that are growing into yummy adult beans. Last year's beans didn't do so well. We didn't change anything this year. They just seemed to grow better. Maybe it was the seeds. We did buy a different brand.

Look! Look!!!! Zucchini!!!! This is our very first year we have been able to grow zucchini. They say we can't grow it around here because the season is so short. But look close. There is a baby zucchini in there. I check it every day to make sure it's ok. It's like my baby. Our nights are getting a bit cooler so I watch to make sure it doesn't get scorched. I tried squash, cucumber and zucchini last year. They grew very small, bloomed once, and that was it. I was a bit disappointed. This year we chose a different location in the garden where the sun in on it all day. We planted squash, cucumber and zucchini seeds but this one zucchini plant was all that came up in late June. Wow! talk about a surprise for us. I had thought we lost them all.

Big D is in charge of the beets. This is our first year growing them. Not all of them came up in the row, but a few did. And the few that did are doing very well.

Potatoes. Since we live in potato country this is a given. They all are growing with hardly any work at all. Funny, we never grew potatoes this year. We just thought it wasn't necessary with all the potato farms around. I'm glad we did though. It's nice to have our own.

Sweet onions. This is a first for us too. I am very anxious. I hope they are doing well underground. This little one on the left is a volunteer. We just let it grow to see what happens. It looks to be healthier than the others in the row. I did plant some green onion seeds at the other end of the row, but they didn't sprout. Don't know why. They grew the last two years just fine. Again, don't know what we did wrong. Gotta figure this out.

In the background are peas. They did ok. But not the usual crop we get. I think it got too hot too quick for them this year. We basically grow those for the kids. When the little ones come out to tend the garden they like to much on the peas. I call it garden candy. Because they get as excited about them as they do for candy.

Carrots. This is one of my favorites. And they are dependable too. Grown them the last three years. Last year we planted them too late so we didn't get a crop. That lesson was learned. This year they are thriving.

In fact, my DH picked a couple yesterday to thin them out a bit. I sliced them up and added them to our dinner. Oh sooooo goooood! There's nothing like garden carrots.

Strawberries. Yes strawberry season is over. We enjoyed a daily crop for a couple weeks in early summer. We made syrup, smoothies, added them to fruit salad, and at them by them selves. I even froze some to enjoy during winter. Love, love, love them. I would say these are one of the best Mother's Day presents I have gotten from my DH (aside from the dishwasher in our first home, hee hee).

Tomatoes. Ugh! These are our greatest challenge and also our favorite to eat. Last year we did get a few small tomatoes from our plants. They weren't the size they were supposed to be, but they were tasty. This year we tried planting them along the side of the house. We hoped the warmth of the house would help them grow better. We planted them in June and they really haven't grown. They have green tomatoes on them, but they are not turning red. We have cut the water, still no red tomatoes. I figure there must be something lacking in the soil. Anyone out there have any theories?

Every summer is a learning experience. The last two years we have had leafy greens like spinach, green lettuce and chard. This year we planted them but didn't sprout. So weird! None of the leafies!! Gotta figure out what we did wrong there too. Maybe the seeds were to deep or something. Oh well, try again next year.

Fun At The Fair

2011-08-17T20:25:00.003-06:00

I love 4-H. It's such a great program. It helps children grow character and develop leadership skills as well as express their creative side. Both Little Mouse and Big D entered the fair this year. They worked on their projects all summer long. Here are the projects Little Mouse entered...

Art

Glass etching

Quilting

Cake decorating

The finished cake.

I don't have pictures of Big D's projects. These pics of Little Mouse's projects were taken the night before entry so we could add them to her record book. Big D entered some pajama pants he sewed himself and a quilt. He really enjoyed sewing. Belle did Dog 4-H this summer with our dog Ginger. She didn't feel comfortable doing the dog show with Ginger because the dog is so excitable. Maybe next year.

Now their fair projects are off to the state fair. They both showed well at the county fair. I'm so proud of them. And what's most important is that they had lots of fun. When I get back Big D's projects I will try to remember to post them.

Highpointing...Sort of

2011-08-11T15:13:00.006-06:00

{Technically this is not highpointing. Highpointing is climbing the highest point in a state or county. That is a huge hobby of my DH. This summer it's just peaks.}

My DH, his brother and his brother's two oldest sons just got back from a two day mountain traverse. It's known as the Teton Traverse. My DH climbed the Grand Teton a few years back with the same group plus a couple more. Since they have been saying they wanted to hit some of the other peaks along the mountain range. This summer was it.

Their goal was to climb eight peaks in three days. It could have been done, but bad weather rolled in at the end of the second day so they decided to get off the mountain to be safe. They were pretty pleased with what they accomplished. Five peaks in two days.

Boys will be boys...why not have a little fun jumping over a chasm. What's the harm?

Isn't it incredible how these beautiful flowers can grow all the way up here in the middle of all this rock? Gorgeous! And just look at the Tetons in the background.

My brother-in-law having a bit of fun on one of their peaks. They certainly left their mark.

Simply spectacular aren't they?

They guys are a bit sore, but feeling accomplished. I'm thankful to have them back safe and glad they had a good trip. My turn next...

SIMPLE PLEASURES:: Summer

2011-08-08T16:17:00.004-06:00

These are a few of our favorite things...

about summer....

Natures beauty in the mountains.

Discovering new places.

Playing at nature's playground.

Discovering new play places in neighboring towns.

Making new friends.

First summer camp experience.

Family reunion talent shows. (the little ones are performing with Poi balls.)

Lemonade stands.

Though our blog has been empty of new pics, our daily lives have been full of summer fun. We hope everyone out in blog land is having a wonderful, joyous summer. In just two weeks our leisurely days are going to change as school starts up. It will be greeted with mixed feelings of excitement and sorrow as we say goodbye to these carefree days of summer break. But we are looking forward to seeing old friends, making new ones, enjoying another year of growing our minds and spirits, and welcoming new seasons of life.

Harry Potter Party Resources

2011-07-25T16:14:00.004-06:00

My family and I would like to share a new idea we have come up with for our blog. We love books in this house. And when I say love I mean LOOOOOVE! So we want to occasionally share books we think are fabulous. So to begin I wanted to take a minute to share a couple books that are EXCELLENT resources for throwing a fantastical Harry Potter party.

The Unofficial Harry Potter Party Book is filled with wonderful crafts, games and treat ideas. And what makes it even more awesome is that all the activities are very economical. The felt ties, the potions class slime, Quiddich were all from this book. And there are even more ideas!! I had a hard time choosing which ones to do.

The unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook is loads of fun and really educational, too. We used it for our breakfasts and dinners. This book takes all that food that is referenced in all seven books and categorizes it in one big cookbook. I found it very educational as it contains primarily British cuisine. We made eggs and gammon (2 strips of bacon) Shepherd's pie, and of course Pumpkin Juice (which is very scrumptious I might add). There are loads of meals that are sit down meals, Halloween type meals, Christmas fun meals, treats and desserts and fun facts along with the recipes. All in all this is a book that we will be using much in the future.

Camp Hogwarts {Potter Week} Pics:: Part 2

2011-07-20T10:34:00.004-06:00

The second half of our Harry Potter movie marathon week consisted of some fun games and activities. The funnest was rapelling for dragon eggs.

We hiked up in the mountains to search for the perfect rock to rapell off of.

My DH (playing Dumbledore) and his brother (Lupin) were in charge of this task. They are expert rapellers. We only did this task because they have lots of experience. Safety is always a priority. First they made sure their rope and equipment were in superior condition. The rope used was specially designed for rapelling.

My DH gave each of us instruction on how to use the equipment.

Then he rapelled to the bottom of our cliff first. My DH's brother stayed at the top to help all of us start off.

And my DH stayed at the bottom to hold the rope and act as the brake if needed. Thankfully that wasn't needed. Each of us were in total control of how fast or slow we came down. And we had control of if we wanted to stop ourselves. It was a matter of getting the feel of it.

The cousins are the first to go!

Big D attempted, but couldn't get past the edge of the cliff. It was a big cliff and a bit daunting to a 7 year old. Getting over the edge is the hardest part of rapelling. You have to put faith in your harness and it's hard to wrap your head around that concept sometimes. Even though Big D didn't rapell he still got his dragon egg for trying.

Little cousins coming down.

Then it was Little Mouse's turn. Her foot slipped a bit as she went over the edge, and that gave a scare. But then she relaxed and sat back in her harness and had fun coming down.

More cousins. I even rapelled (thought it took me a couple tries to get over that edge). And so did my sis-in-law. It was sooo much fun. Gotta do it again! After rapelling we had a dutch oven dinner which we called dinner from a cauldron.

Later in the week we played a backyard game of Quiddich. It involved a little bit of water. And no broomsticks. After all we are Muggles (non-magic folk).

Big D had a red cape which he thought was perfect for the Griffindor team.

Belle and her cousin kinda lost focus in the game as they kept dunking each other in the little kiddie pool in the corner of the yard. They had a great time.

Then after the Quiddich match we enjoyed some homemade ice cream in charms class. This was cool...here is how we did it.

Take a small Ziploc bag and add a cup of vanilla flavored half and half. Take a larger gallon sized Ziploc bag and fill it half full of ice cubes and half a cup of salt. Place the sealed smaller bag into the larger bag of ice. Seal the large bag and shake for about five minutes. Check the small bag...it should have hardened a bit to make vanilla ice cream. Add sprinkles and chocolate syrup and eat right out of the bag. This was such fun. The kids really did think they were performing magic.

We finished the week with the grand finalle of going to the large movie theater an hour and a half away to see the final Harry Potter movie. And I would highly recomend that movie. I think it was one of the best of the series. Surely ended on a high note.

I have created PDFs of the dessert table labels and signs. They are available to download on my other blog Purple Sage Creations. You can view the posts and pick up the links >>HERE.

Camp Hogwarts {Potter Week} Pics:: Part 1

2011-07-19T12:43:00.010-06:00

Our Harry Potter week was a ton of fun and a little exhausting. Our original plan was to have a type of movie marathon before the last installment of the Harry Potter movie series was released. Then we decided to add games and activities to go with the movies and span it over a weeks time. Then we decided to invite cousins to spend the week with us. (you can see how it really grew!)

To begin our week we each chose what character we wanted to represent. Then we made no-sew house ties to wear.

The ties were made from felt and were glued together with hot glue. Belle is Luna Lovegood from the Ravenclaw house. Her cousin is representing Cho Chang from Ravenclaw, too.

We had lots from Griffindor (of course). Little Mouse was Ginni Weasley and her two cousins were Neville Longbottom and Ron Weasley.

Big D was Harry Potter. He even had the glasses though he doesn't have them on for this pic.

And Sweepea was Hermione Granger.

This is a bit of Potions class. We made slime from troll snot and Fluffy's drool. Then we mixed flobberworm drool (vinegar) and crushed hippogryph bones (baking soda) to see what happens. The kids really enjoyed this!

In the evening we enjoyed a movie and a treat or two from Honeydukes sweetshop.

This dessert table was full of naughty treats. The chocolate frogs were sooooo easy to make. Just melt a good quality milk chocolate and pour into frog candy molds. Chill in the freezer for a while to set. Then pop them out. Easy peasy!!

The chocolate wands were made by Little Mouse and her cousin. They consist of milk chocolate covered pretzel rods. They were the favorite!

The kids had lots of fun pretending the Levitating Lemon Drops made them float. And the Bertie Bots Every Flavor Beans were simply jellybeans.

The Acid Pops were simply Blowpop lollipops. And I included Laughing Taffy as well. I made a little Gringotts bank chest to hold Galleons. One of the nights we played a Harry Potter trivia game and each team got Galleons for the questions they got right. Then they used their Galleons for treats.

This is only the beginning of our week. I split up the pics into two parts because I thought one post would be waaayyy toooo long. In part 2 I'll share our pics from Quiddich and Rappelling for dragon eggs.

Creating "Camp Hogwarts"

2011-06-18T10:48:00.004-06:00

Photo credit: Northwesterflipside.com

I have a confession. I am a total Harry Potter NERD! There! I said it!!!!! Oh it feels soooo good to be out...;)

With all that out in the open I can share one of our family's plans for the summer. It includes our very own Camp Hogwarts. What's that? Well, to celebrate the fast approaching final movie installment of the HP series we wanted to have a ginormous movie marathon leading up to the theatrical premier of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. The family brainstormed some ideas and we came up with a week long celebration (calling it Camp Hogwarts) that includes watching a movie from the series each night, beginning with The Sorcerer's Stone, until the theatrical release on July 15th (which we will be attending with the many, many, many other fans).

The fun begins on July 9th with the kiddo's very own acceptance letter into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Our house will be transformed into Hogwarts, a bit of Diagon Alley and Hogsmead (all from the books). During the day we will partake in activities, crafts and games. The evening we will enjoy yummy treats and meals from the books. And then end the day with the movie (if weather is good we will enjoy this under the stars on our lawn).

It's a big undertaking and we have asked cousins to join in on the fun. I will be posting inspiration, self-made printables, crafting, and the planning process on my Purple Sage Creations facebook page. I welcome everyone to become a fan and follow along. Perhaps you can have your own Hogwarts Camp or HP party before the final movie.

Then during camp week I will share some pics and all the activities we will be doing here and on my facebook page. Awesome!! Can't wait!

The End Of Baseball Season

2011-06-14T11:17:00.003-06:00

Baseball and softball season is over. Boy was it fun, cold and busy!! Living in the mountains is a bit of a challenge when it comes to outdoor sports in the spring. The kiddos love playing, but some days it can be down-right cold and miserable for parents who are watching from the stands. We bring blankets, winter coats, hats, gloves and a warm heart as we cheer on our sprouting athletes. It really is a lot of fun even though we are shivering. The best part is after the game, when we got home to our cozy homes and share cocoa and a hot meal and recap the highlights of the game.

This year my DH coached the girls Pony League for the first time. He has experience in coaching high school wrestling but not girl's softball. Little Mouse was so excited to have her dad coach her team. I have to tell you my DH is an awesome coach (ok...I am a little bias because I am his wife, but really). All the girls loved him and he had a great team. The pic above is Little Mouse up to bat. She got better as the season went on. At the beginning of the season she was afraid to hit the ball. By the end she was swinging and making contact. Awesome! In the background you can see my DH...what a cutie!

Little Mouse also worked on perfecting her catching as catcher. She first tried this position last year. She really likes it.

So does Big D. He had a great team too. He is in the Coach Pitch League. His coach is friends with my DH. Big D watched Little Mouse as catcher and wanted to try it. He was pretty good. The pic above is of him catching the ball.

And Big D is a hitter. He got better and better through the season as well. The best (and most important) part was that both Big D and Little Mouse had fun. Their games were at the same time twice a week so I would go watch Big D while my DH coached Little Mouse's team. It kept us pretty busy. I enjoyed standing on the sidelines watching my little ones make new friends, learn sportsmanship, work on their character, and have fun all at the same time.

And to celebrate the end of the season I made baseball cupcakes. You can't celebrate without cupcakes!! I {heart} cupcakes!!

Sorry For The Silence...

2011-05-25T11:56:00.002-06:00

...there is sooooo much going on right now. Maybe even too much. Between baseball and softball games, coaching softball, end of the year festivities at the schools, and summer preparations we have a pretty busy schedule. That's not leaving much time for uploading and editing for the blog. But I will share soon...when I can breathe (LOL).

Gardening Day

2011-05-16T08:49:00.006-06:00

I'd like to start off by saying that last year's crop was abundant. That we had so many vegetables from our own garden that we had to share them with neighbors and even strangers!!!! But, alas, that is only a story I have concocted in my wide imagination.

Truthfully we did not have such luck gardening last year. I blame it on two things...(1) We planted too late in the season. (2) We had an early frost. I mean a frost in August!! That not only scorched our little garden, but damaged many commercial farmer's crops here in the valley.

We are definitely living and learning when it comes to gardening at such a high altitude. I don't remember having such a difficult time maintaining a garden like we do here. But we are not giving up. Every spring we salivate over how out fresh veggies will taste coming from our own backyard. We dream about canning all those beans, making spaghetti sauce from our own tomatoes, zucchini bread, pickles and fresh cucumbers, huge salads.

But last year wasn't a total loss. We did have more leafy greens than we knew what to do with. We had some tomatoes (thanks to us starting them in the house on our windowsills), and we had peas. But our green onions, carrots, beans and squashes all were damaged from the frost before we could enjoy them. We just planted too late.

This year we try again!! And this is our gardening day. When the whole family pitches in to help...

But before we begin I wanted to plant some flowers in my kitchen window well.

Sweepea is always there to help. We planted bleeding hearts, geraniums, columbines. When I was done a walked to the wheelbarrow and noticed I forgot to plant the forget me nots. It was a running joke all day if you could imagine. I did find the perfect location and they will not be forgotten again.

Ok...the flowers are planted. Time to start the garden. Round up the little ones!!

Look at all this goodness. Some old favorites and some new ones to try.

Each of the little ones picked which veggies they want to be in charge of this year. Then they prepared their rows and planted their seeds.

Taking a break to play with Ginger.

Back to work...

This year we are trying a landscape felt to keep the soil warmer. We are trying this for the more delicate plants that don't like the cold as much.

Time to play some more...

Back to work again...

My DH works to put the very delicate green bean seedlings in the ground.

A couple new veggies we are trying this year are beets, white onions and potatoes. Here Little Mouse is working to plant the seed potatoes. This is her row.

Belle was in charge of all the leafy greens like lettuces and spinach. She had her rows planted so quick I didn't even get a chance to photograph her. So here she is labeling Popsicle sticks so we know which row is which. This is only temporary. I have a project coming up for the kiddos to create more permanent row markers.

So it was a full day, but a fun one. We got dirty and wet. I am soooooo glad spring is here. The snow is all melted and the sun is warm. Perfect.

::Simple Pleasures::Playing With Our Food

2011-05-10T12:49:00.003-06:00

We recently enjoyed some fresh asparagus for dinner. It was scrumptious.

But we couldn't resist playing with our food when I served them with mashed potatoes and gravy.

Here we have mountains, trees and a river flowing from the mountain. My DH said next time I should make some broccoli to add to the scene.

Oh what are we teaching our children? Don't we teach them not to play with their food? Oh well, rules are meant to be broken. We all had lots of fun creating our landscapes. And it was good to eat, too.

This Moment...

2011-04-29T09:27:00.003-06:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~Amanda Blake Soule

::SIMPLE CELEBRATIONS:: Easter Happenings

2011-04-28T13:11:00.008-06:00

Our Easter Sunday was full of tradition and family togetherness. We began our day with our traditional breakfast of strawberry crepes.

Followed by some egg dyeing...

Sweepea loved getting her hands in all those different colors. Her hands matched the Easter eggs.

Busy creating...

We used rubber bands and candles to create some unique designs. Little Mouse is showing off one of her creations.

My uber talented DH made this egg. I'm not sure how he did it, but it I know he used wax and different dyes. This egg turned out to be everyone's favorite.

All the eggs in a row...finished. Now lets begin the hunt!

This is the first year in the three years we have lived here that we could actually have our egg hunt in the backyard. All the other years we had spring storms or the deep snow was still hanging around.

Us parents hid the eggs first. Some were on the ground for Sweepea. Some were harder to find for the older ones. Here Belle is asking, "Can I have this one?"...No.

Sweepea says, "Score! It's mine!"

Look high and low...

When all the eggs were found the kiddos had some fun in the sun.
Then they hid the eggs for my DH and I to find. Let me tell you, they are really good egg-hiders.

After the hunts were over we enjoyed a dinner with our hard boiled, colored eggs. What a great time together on a beautiful Easter day.

::SIMPLE PLEASURES::Everyday Life

2011-04-19T23:01:00.004-06:00

I'm trying something new. Just looking back on a week, occasion, or event and picking out the simple things that brought me joy.

These are a few of my favorite things...

Taking the family bowling and seeing the delight in the little one's eyes as they realize how much fun they are having.

Watching Belle take a gazillion pictures with her new camera she worked to buy herself.

Making a felt baby bird for Sweepea. Watching her play and care for it so lovingly.

Creating a momma bird to go with the baby. Making the nest with Sweepea.

Milk and cookies.

Eating milk and cookies.

Watching Big D's last basketball practice. He shoots! He scores!! The crowd goes wild!!!!!

What are some of your favorite things?

This Moment...

2011-04-15T09:17:00.004-06:00

Come on Belle smile...it's just a game. (LOL)

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary {funny} moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.~Amanda Blake Soule

{Spring In The Mountains} Making Bird Feeders

2011-04-14T12:44:00.004-06:00

Spring in the mountains is sorta...frustrating. We have days of warm sunny weather, days of cold sunny weather, days (lots of days) of cloudy weather, days of snow, of rain, and days that just can't seem to make up their mind. Take yesterday for instance...it was a beautifully warm (like 40 degrees F) sunny day. The perfect spring day. Today? Cold and snowy. But I just can't complain about it. I can't bring myself to complain when I know it's like this every spring. I have been living here for three years now. Every spring is the same. And actually, I like the mix. I wake up wondering what the day will bring. Will it bring me sunshine, hail, lightning, snow, or...everything! And it's fun to guess, too. So, like I said, yesterday was a sunny day. I thought it was the perfect day to make some pine cone bird feeders with Sweepea. Her cousin stays with us in the afternoons after his kindergarten morning class. He got to join in on the fun as well... It's really easy to make these bird feeders. We grabbed pine cones that had fallen off the pine tree in our yard. The children spread peanut butter over them and then rolled the pine cones in birdseed. I attached cotton twine to hang them.

It was super messy...but aren't the funnest things the messiest?

We hung the pine cones on an Aspen tree (that was just planted in the fall so it's pretty tiny. Then a moose came and ate some of the branches and now it's even tinier) just outside our basement, living room window. We can sit on the couch and watch if any birds would like a bite or two. I tried to hang the feeders by little branches so that the birds could sit on the branch and take a nibble.

This little feeder was a last minute addition. I had a half a grapefruit left over from breakfast. We ate the inside then filled it full of birdseed. I poked holes on either side of it and threaded cotton twine through to hang it.

I haven't seen any birds come for a nibble. And today's weather isn't very favorable for a bird to be out...except the robins who are thoroughly enjoying hunting for worms in the muddy ground. I wonder if they would eat the birdseed...

And last, I must be honest and tell you that we first attempted to make our bird feeders out of bread. I used a really cut cookie cutter to make a heart shaped slice of bread. I added the twine and Sweepea coated it with peanut butter and seed. But as soon as I tried to hang it it all fell apart. I should have known this was going to happen, it was really heavy. My homemade bread just couldn't stand up to it...too soft. I believe this can be done though. But with stale bread. I used bread I had just cut. So we may try the stale bread method in the future. A big whoops! but we still put the bread out for the birds to find on the ground. Nothing waisted and something learned. ;)

This Moment...{Happy Birthday Dear Husband}

2011-04-08T20:53:00.002-06:00

Apple Pie birthday treat to celebrate my DH's birthday.

I feel like the luckiest woman in the world to have him as my husband.

He is my best friend.

Helping The Snow Melt Faster

2011-04-03T17:39:00.003-06:00

What do you do with the last HUGE pile of snow in the front yard? You grab a shovel and throw it... On the cement driveway... Where it will break up and melt faster. ;)

Balance

2011-04-02T15:15:00.002-06:00

I'm having a hard time balancing blogging and real life. It takes me close to an hour to write a post...

Pictures to edit and upload. What am I going to say? Edit my post so I don't sound like a goof ball...

You know the drill.

I want to keep blogging...I use it like a journal. I just need to find a way to do it without it taking up so much time. So I decided to follow what the meaning of my blog is in the first place...

SIMPLICITY

I am going to show more pics and talk less. And I might have a little less posts as well. But I'll still be around.

Thanks to all of you who follow along with us. Your comments are always the bright spot of my day.

Hugs to you!!

This Moment...{Where Are You Driving To?}

2011-04-01T09:58:00.002-06:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~Amand Blake Soule

Awakening

2011-03-31T10:08:00.003-06:00

It's finally showing signs of awakening here in the high mountains of the west. My daffodils are eagerly peeking their noses out of the snow. I watch them every day. As they reach for the sun, out of the snow, it is a reminder that Winter does not last forever. The warmth shall come.

Belle's Choir Luau

2011-03-24T13:12:00.004-06:00

Belle's eighth grade choir has been lots of fun this year. Around Halloween they performed various spooky songs, then danced to the all time Halloween classic Thriller. Then they salsa danced to a Christmas song at their holiday concert. So to top off this awesome year they had a luau.

Belle's choir teacher is awesome! Not only do they learn to sing together through harmonizing and voice control, but they learn a bit about culture, dance and teamwork. Last night I attended a performance that was planned and created by the choir students. Their teacher went to college in Hawaii and shared her experiences with that culture. The students then chose music and dance to put a performance together. There were hula dancers, A Capella performance, soloists and Poi Balls.

Belle participated in the poi ball performance. The girls performing together not only learned how to use them, but made them as well. They worked together after school to create a routine. The song they chose to perform was not sung by the choir. They kept the beat in the background.

In the video below Belle is the one with the white shirt and purple lei. All the girls add a great aspect to the performance. They are all very good.

We had a wonderful time watching this stunning performance our children put together. They even designed the backdrop. Just another way to express their creativity. Now they are going to spend their days practicing for the next performance. Can't wait to see.

St. Patrick's Day Breakfast

2011-03-17T12:29:00.003-06:00

Top of the morning to you!!

I love St. Patrick's Day. We can all be Irish for a day.

A little Leprechaun visited our home last night. He turned our milk green, the dog's water green, and threw a basket of laundry all over the living room. They are mischievous little critters. The children woke up looking all around the house for anything green. And hoping to catch him in the act.

When they came to breakfast they noticed he left us green muffins. Mmmm...

The thing is I am actually the Leprechaun (but I'm sure you knew that). And the green muffins were sooooo easy. I spent last night looking all over the Internet looking for a really fun St. Patty's breakfast. Though I found some really awesome ideas, I couldn't find anything I could make last minute. Then I had a light bulb moment. I can just tint something green!! I made a simple bran muffin and added a gel food coloring. The green is so vibrant. I used green muffin cups left over from Halloween, and added colored sprinkles before I baked the muffins. Then I made a simple fruit salad and served the green milk to round everything out.

Everyone enjoyed the tasty (and easy) treat the Leprechaun left us. Tonight we want to have a green dinner. I think I am going to try turning our mashed potatoes green. Oh I am just having too much fun with this. :)

The Bikes Are Out

2011-03-16T12:25:00.003-06:00

We can see the ground!!! Well...some of it at least.

This past weekend greeted us with the most beautiful weather. Actually the last couple weeks have been beautiful. But not nearly as gorgeous as Saturday. Our temps here in the mountains have been rising a little at a time. Yes, it is still cold...like 40 degrees Fahrenheit. But to us, and compared to below freezing temps, this is heaven.

The roads are finally (mostly) free of ice and slush. So the children begged me to get out their bikes. They spent nearly the entire day riding around.

But the snow has a lot of melting to do. As you can see from the above picture, it's pretty deep. In some parts of our yard we can actually see our flower beds though. It always amazes me how nature works. All this snow can sit on the ground for months...it's heavy and cold. But yet every Spring the plants, flowers, trees and grasses come back to life. They bloom magnificently and grow strong. Perhaps it's the white landscape we get for months on end during the Winter, but I just marvel at how vibrant nature is after the snow is gone.

The children were even able to find some sidewalk chalk. They made roads for their bikes all over the driveway.

Today it's snowing again. Yeah, that's how our Spring is here. A bit of warm. A bit of cold. And just when we think the warmth is never going to stay put...its Summer.

Shamrock Button Snake

2011-03-14T13:05:00.004-06:00

I have seen button snakes on the internet here and there. They were usually made of different colored felt squares. In the center of each square a small cut was made, just large enough for a button to pass through. A button was sewn on a long piece of ribbon. A child would practice buttoning skills by passing the button through the felt pieces. When they are finished all the pieces of felt will be lined up on the ribbon. It looks like a colorful snake.

I couldn't wait to make something like that for Sweepea. But I chose to give it a more seasonal/holiday look. I found a shamrock pattern at Family Fun. You can get the pattern --> HERE (I used the smaller one). I cut 6 shamrocks out of green felt. You could do more, but since Sweepea has just started learning to button I felt this would be enough. It takes a great deal of concentration.

I cut slits in the shamrocks that were big enough for a large button to pass through. Then I sewed the button to ribbon. I knotted the end so no shamrocks would slip off while she is buttoning.

I plan on making many, many different kinds as long as she is still interested. This is an activity that is fun for both of us. :)

I am linking to...

On Track

2011-03-08T15:50:00.005-07:00

Sweepea and I are moving into a more set preschool routine these days. When she turned 3 I decided I should step up the *school time* and make it part of our day to day rhythm. She has really embraced it.

After doing much research and LOTS of reading I have decided to use mostly the Montessori method for her home preschool. It has been working wonderfully. It is the first time I have used this method for my children. I have always taught my own children preschool, and they have done great, but I remember using this method when I was very small so I wanted to see if it would be best for Sweepea. One difference I have noticed between my other children and Sweepea at this age is the need for independence. And I would associate this with the Montessori method. It is my hope she will be an independent thinker through play.

Sweepea's home preschool is taking up a lot of my time right now and I am loving every minute of it. But I have decided not to blog about it. This blog is intended to be a family blog and our adventures toward simplicity. However, I will share some arts and crafts, fun recipes and stuff like that Sweepea and I do. We love to get creative wherever is possible. That aspect of her homeschool I will share. I also feel standing around her with a camera during her work time would be a distraction. This time is just for us.

So...with all that blah, blah, blah said lets get on with the fun stuff. Like making traffic light cookies and track painting.

I read this really fun post while blog hopping a while back. At the end of the post were these really yummy looking stop light cookies.

Sweepea and I made the cookies together. It involved rolling out sugar cookie dough and cutting it into rectangle shapes. I felt there were so many learning aspects to making these cookies. I gave Sweepea some cookie dough and let her try to roll and flatten it.

While I was cutting the rectangles she used a dull knife to cut her own rectangles. We also sorted out red, yellow and green M&Ms for the lights on the cookies. We discussed colors and what the stop lights are for while sorting.

An art project that would go great with the cookies would be track painting.

I spread out red, yellow and blue paint on sponges. This acted like an ink pad. Then I gathered three vehicles that had interesting tread on their tires. Sweepea got paint on the tires and drove all over her easel paper. She had a great time creating her art piece. And eating her cookies.

Quarter Toss Game UPDATED

2011-03-04T12:36:00.003-07:00

On a cold, rainy Spring day last year I introduced the quarter toss game to my very bored son (who was 6 at the time). He and his friend had a great time trying to toss coins into a bowl that was floating in a larger bowl of water. They simply stepped back from the bowl and tried to get their coins into the floating bowl.

Recently I brought the game to all of my children's attention. I thought this game would be fun for Presidents Day back in February. The children had the day off from school. It was a cold day outside and we really didn't have anything planned (this makes a great last-minute game). But I wanted to make it a little more challenging for the older ones. Involving points that needed to be added up.

I placed the bowl of water and floating bowl inside on the table. Then I taped lines on the floor, 4 total. Each line was worth a number of points. The further the lines from the bowl the more points can be earned if you get your coin into the floating bowl. We had a score pad. The first line was worth 10, second 20, third 50, fourth 100.

We each took a turn standing behind each line and trying to get our coin into the floating bowl. But we didn't get past the second (20 point) line.

So we changed it up a bit. We started from the 100 point line (farthest from the bowl) and just tossed from each line. If we got the coin in the floating bowl we got those points. We were much more successful doing it this way. I even got 50 points! But I don't think anyone got 100 points. That was tricky. (BTW...don't be fooled by Little Mouse's shorts and short sleeve shirt. She my be dressing for Summer in the house, but it is definitely still Winter outside.)

The game really was a lot of fun for everyone (even Sweepea who just liked dropping the coins in the water). It was so funny watching Belle lean as far as she could over the line while keeping her toes behind it, trying to get as close to the bowl as possible.

I was just thinking that this could be a fun St. Patrick's Day game. Instead of using real quarters or coins you could use gold play coins. And if you have a plastic cauldron left from Halloween it can act as a pot of gold. Float the pot of gold in a large bowl or container. Try to get the gold coins in the pot!

Sweepea's Kitchen {Daddy Made}

2011-02-28T16:09:00.003-07:00

I have been looking at play kitchens for a long time. My older girls have each had play kitchens but they were cheap plastic and they didn't last very long at all. I knew I was not going with a plastic play kitchen again for Sweepea. I really love those natural, Waldorf style kitchens. Love the wood, the quality, the natural-ness. But I didn't like the prices I was seeing. I just couldn't afford that. So I talked to my DH. He jumped at the chance to create a play piece for his little daughter. He loves woodworking...it's his hobby. And he really let his creativity shine...

We went on a date together to the hardware store. He bought the wood, glass for the stove and microwave, and hinges for the doors. And I bought the bowl for the sink. Everything else was from what he had around his workshop. Even the glass tiles on the backsplash and the natural stone on the counter top (that's because my DH is a tile and natural stone installer by trade).

My DH made the stove knobs and painted them himself. He painted the inside of the little oven black and outside white like a real stove. He even painted the numbers on the microwave.

Sweepea loves pushing the painted buttons and making the *beep* sound. The kitchen really helps her imagination take flight. I have given her old pans, beans, string, and pom poms to play with. She has even used her play dough in the kitchen. Making mini muffins and cookies. I made some chocolate play dough to really add to the cookie making.

As an added safety feature. My DH added this really cool hing on the oven door so that it won't slam down on the floor and possibly hurt Sweepea. It's used for toy box lids for the same reason. It's worked great.

What's the most fun about this kitchen is how excited the older children have been about it. Even Belle has gotten in on the action. The little play kitchen sits between our living area and the kitchen. On day Sweepea asked what I was doing in the kitchen. I said I was making dinner. She replies with excitement, "I'm making dinner too!!"

This Moment...{little rocker}

2011-02-25T09:07:00.003-07:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

~Amanda Blake Soule

Birthday Time Again!!

2011-02-22T18:26:00.004-07:00

I've been a lazy blogger this past week. I've been distracted. I read somewhere once that when blog-life is quiet that means real-life is busy. Ain't that the truth...

I had a house full of sick little ones last week. Then Thursday we had a surprise snow day. The children were able to stay home from school because of a big wind storm. So much snow has accumulated that when a wind storm hits the snow just covers the road. It's nearly impossible to find side roads when this happens. The buses just couldn't make it. So the district made a last minute decision to close schools. Whoo hoo! Honestly we all really enjoyed it...even though some of us were sick.

But luckily everyone was in good spirits by week end as we celebrated Sweepea's 3rd birthday. WOW! I just can't believe she is 3. My how the years pass. She's my baby and sometimes I have mixed feelings about her growing up. I love to see her hit those milestones, but I feel like I want to keep her small at the same time. What's a mother to do?

It feels like just yesterday I brought her home from the hospital...

Sweepea at 2 days old.

It's amazing...she had so much personality from birth. She would be just weeks old and I could read what she was thinking just from the looks she gave me. Even in this picture above it looks like she is saying, "Are we done yet?" That adorable crinkled forehead...oooh I could just eat her up she's so cute:) Today she is still full of personality. And boy she can hold her own when she has disagreements with her siblings.

Sweepea was so excited for her birthday. We made her a cupcake cake. We made the chocolate cupcakes then tinted some vanilla frosting green. Little Mouse helped decorate the cupcakes. We used a decorative tip to make the frosting look like grass (you'll see why in just a minute). Little Mouse loves decorating cakes. She's taking a class this summer through 4H. I hope she practices a lot at home:)

Sweepea is in love with Winnie The Pooh. So I knew instantly what the theme of the cake had to be. I researched and researched how to make a Pooh cake. But it was all way over my head. Belle had the idea that we should just take Sweepea's Pooh characters and top the cake with it. Brilliant!!

So I took the cupcakes and placed them in the shape of the number 3. Then I topped them with the characters.

We made the frosting look like grass because Pooh and his friends live in the hundred acre wood. It's grassy there.

So with her birthday crown on we sang Happy Birthday to Sweepea and she blew out the candles.

She really loved eating the frosting off her Pooh characters. Then digging into the cake.

My DH made a super awesome birthday present for Sweepea. He worked on her play kitchen for weeks. It is soooo adorable, but I don't have picture of it yet. I will get it on here ASAP.

Until next time...

AWESOME FIND: We Give Books

2011-02-16T11:07:00.003-07:00

I was reading a blogpost today on alphabet ideas for little Sweepea. We have been getting more involved in preschool. But that's a different post...

I really wanted to share this awesome find. It's called We Give Books. It's a website of children's books that can be read online FREE. The books are donated to the site for charity. I am thrilled to find this. In our very small valley we have a very small library. Though they try their best to include a wide variety of books, there are times when I really want a book that they just don't have. Most of the time its last minute so I can't just order on Amazon. And the closest large book store is an hour and a half away. We have a small book store in town, but it's children's section is very limited.

I am just tickled pink to find this site. You can read the books as many times as you would like. And their library is growing. They have many picture books including new releases. I plan on incorporating this into Sweepea's preschool.

You can visit WeGiveBooks.org by going --> HERE.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

2011-02-14T16:56:00.003-07:00

WISHING YOU ALL LOVE AND LAUGHTER ON THIS SWEET DAY!

Repurposed Christmas Shirt

2011-02-09T12:49:00.004-07:00

I bought this little Christmas themed shirt at our local thrift store around December. This was one of Sweepea's favorite shirts. Well, Christmas is past and this shirt still fits her. So I had the idea to change it up a bit.

Sweepea's birthday is coming up this month so I thought I might change this Christmas shirt into a birthday shirt for her. I went through my fabric stash and found the perfect patterns. My thought was to cut out a heart and a number 3 (because that's how old she will be...can you believe it?) and sew it on top of the original embroidery on the shirt. So I created a template of a heart out of cardstock that was just a little bigger than the shirt design.

I traced and cut out the fabric heart. Then I created a number 3 template. I traced and cut that out of coordinating fabric.

I sewed it onto the shirt using red embroidery floss and a slip stitch. The result was sooooo adorable! And Sweepea loves it. She wore it around the house proudly the day after I created this. And the great thing is this only took me a couple hours to make. Now I am rummaging through the little ones closets for more shirts to repurpose...Hee hee.

I have liked with...

Celebrating Little Mouse

2011-02-07T13:17:00.005-07:00

Ten years ago I gave birth to the cutest, chubbiest little ball of love. Since the day she was born she loved to cuddle, gave lots of kisses, and is tender to the core. She has also walked on her tiptoes since the day she took her first steps. Tip toeing around like a little mouse.

She has a personality of her own. This is actually one of my favorite pictures of her. A huge smile crosses my face when I see this adorable picture...even though Little Mouse was trying to be scary.

Last week we celebrated Little Mouse's 10th birthday. Wow! It's amazing how time flies. Little Mouse's request for her cake was to have a Dirt Cake. It by far was the easiest cake I have ever made. It consists of a layer of crushed Oreo cookies. A layer of chocolate instant pudding mixed with whipped cream (I used real whipping cream that we whipped ourselves). Another layer of crushed Oreos. A layer of regular instant pudding with some gummy worms mixed in. And a layer of Oreos on top with gummy worms poking out. Soooo simple but soooo sweet.

Make a wish Little Mouse.

One of Little Mouse's birthday presents was a cello from us along with lessons. She was so excited. I love listening to her practice. Such a pretty sound.

I also took Little Mouse out for lunch on her birthday. We had a great time just talking to one another with no interruptions. She had my full attention. She said she had the best birthday ever (until next year, right?).

Happy Birthday Little Mouse:)

Valentine Tag Printable

2011-02-06T12:37:00.007-07:00

Each year the little ones have a Valentine's party in their school classes. They give out valentine cards and a little treat. We try to make our valentines by hand...steering clear of those premade ones in the store. The children really look forward to this. They can be quite creative. But every year the children bring home cards, keep them for a day, and then eventually get thrown in the trash. So this year I talked to the children about giving something to their classmates they could really use. How about Valentine pencils? Perfect!

I created a tag with they saying "You are the *WRITE* one for me" on my computer (I thought the play on words was perfect with the pencil). We purchased the pencils from Oriental Trading but I have seen really cute pencils at Walmart too. Little Mouse was so excited. She got to work right away making these Valentines for her classmates. She just cut out the hearts, attached them to the pencils with variou ribbons we set out, and added different beads from our collection. She was finished in an afternoon.

I created a PDF of these tags to share. You can pick them up ---> HERE.

Note: When you click on the link the file sharing website will appear. Click on the blue download button under the picture of the file (the heart tags). The website will prompt you to download their toolbar. YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE THE TOOLBAR TO DOWNLOAD THE FILE. Just ignore it. Wait 20 seconds and then click on the "Download File Now". You will get the PDF file of the tags. Have fun with them!

I am linked to...

This Moment...

2011-02-04T12:27:00.003-07:00

Monday Baking - Pioneer Bread

2011-02-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

Mondays are our bread making day. Sweepea and I look forward to this time together. We sing songs and chants while mixing and kneading. I always give her a little piece of the dough to play with and knead. She even waits for it to rise and bakes it in a small oven safe bowl. She loves the result of her own hard work.

We try different recipes to change things up. One of our favorite breads is called Pioneer Bread. On those Mondays that just seem a little busier than usual, this bread really comes in handy. There is no kneading and it just needs an hour to rise. The result is a moist molasses bread that we all gobble up.

Here is the recipe...

1 package of yeast

2 T sugar

1/2 cup warm water

1 cup hot milk (not boiling)

2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup dark molasses

1/2 cup butter (softened)

1 cup cold milk

1 egg, beaten

5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

In a smal bowl mix together yeast, sugar, and warm water. Set aside and let rise until foamy. Ina large bowl combine hot milk, salt, molasses, and butter until dissolved. Add the cold milk, beaten egg, and yeast mixture. Stir. Add flour and stir until well blended. Put into two well-greased loaf pans. Let rise about one hour. Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 35 minutes.

We like to eat our bread warm with honey butter and cinnamon. It makes a yummy winter snack.

Another Snow Day!

2011-02-02T10:48:00.002-07:00

Well, we aren't getting the huge storm people in Michigan are getting, but we are getting stinkin' cold temps. Today is our second snow day in a row. If we look outside our window we see crystal clear blue skies. The sun is shining brightly on glittering snow. It almost looks warm. Until we open our door...

...step outside...

...and instantly freeeeeze.

The last two mornings in a row temps have been colder that -30 degrees F. That's right...I said negative 30! And tonight doesn't look much warmer. When temps get that low it is unsafe for children to stand out in the cold in early mornings and wait for the bus. The district started this years ago when a student lost feeling on one side of his face for a week because he was out in the cold waiting for the school bus.

Temps yesterday never did cross the positives. February is statistically our coldest month. We see a lot more sunshine, but that only means it's going to be colder. It looks like this February isn't going to disappoint. It's starting off on a frigid note.

I do love snow days. I get excited for them just like my children. We plan on spending the day together playing games and crafting.

Stay warm!

Family Tradition - Countdown to Valentine's Day

2011-01-31T13:36:00.003-07:00

I probably should have posted this days ago. I was afraid I had lost these. I was frantically thinking about other ways to do our traditional countdown to Valentine's Day. Luckily I found my countdown hearts hiding in my craft room. Yay!! I am a happy mom now. :)

Each year beginning on February 1st until Valentine's Day the children wake up and look for hidden kisses (chocolate ones that is). When they find their morning "kisses" they place the countdown heart on our holiday tree. The children love the game and look forward to it every year. And I always have real kisses for them after they found their chocolate ones.

I made the hearts years ago. They are made from Fimo clay. Simply rolling it out and cutting it with a cookie cutter (note: The cookie cutter can not be used for real cookies after making these clay hearts). Then I used white puffy paint to create the numbers, 1 through 14, and border. I made simple hooks at the top of the hearts from wire. I placed them into the hearts before baking them. Then I added some ribbon to hang the hearts on our tree branches as the children find them each day. We put the tree up just for the countdown. But I want to make it a year round thing this year. To make it, simply place some tree branches in a pot filled with beans to hold it in place. The children love decorating it. I would love to see it decorated for each holiday and season of the year.

I don't know how safe Fimo clay is for young children. I made this craft on my own without my children. But if you wanted to make this craft with your children a safer alternative is easy. You can use air dry clay (either store bought or homemade). Either paint the hearts or add food coloring if you make it yourself.

I do like the Fimo clay because these hearts have lasted over the years. They have been moved and jostled around quite a bit and they are still in great condition. I hope they will be around for many more years as the children grow. And hope this fun tradition hangs around too.

Until next time...

Ice Crystals

2011-01-30T15:45:00.003-07:00

We have been experiencing freezing fog the last few nights in the valley. That has been a treat. We wake in the morning to a beautiful sight. The fog clears when the sun reaches us from behind the mountains. And a beautiful winter wonderland is revealed. Each and every stationary item outside is covered in crystal ice.

The sight of the ice covered trees against the bright blue sky is spectacular. Every branch, tree or fence is white. Everything looks as if it comes from a story book. As the sun shines through the day the ice melts away. I love waking to this on sunny mornings. It's a great way to start the day. To appreciate this wondrous world we live in.

This Moment...

2011-01-28T09:42:00.004-07:00

Granola Bar Hearts

2011-01-27T12:55:00.007-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, as Sweepea was drifting into blissful sleep in my arms, I had thoughts of Valentines and granola bars swimming in my head. Valentines Day is around the corner (it's one of my favorite holidays...and not just because its an excuse to eat chocolate) and I have lots of Valentines crafts I want to try. Granola bars crept into my mind because I have been craving them. It's been a while since I whipped up a batch.

So I am rocking back and forth, enjoying my moment with Sweepea, listening to the quiet, when a thought popped into my head. What if I made heart shaped granola bars? I have a heart cookie cutter. I wonder if that would work. I placed Sweepea on my bead, covered her with her fleece blanket, closed the door, and headed for the kitchen. I mixed up my homemade granola bar recipe. I had posted the granola bar recipe on here a while back, but here it is again. This one below has a few changes made from the original...

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a cookie sheet.

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup wheat germ

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 cup unbleached flour

3/4 cup raisins, dried fruit, or mini chocolate chips

1/4 to 1/2 cup nuts (sunflowers, almonds, walnuts etc.)

**I did not use the nuts this time. I thought they might be too bulky and distort the shape. But sunflowers probably wouldn't. Or you could finely chop the nuts. I also used mini chocolate chips because of the same reason.

3/4 tsp. salt

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and had the following ingredients.

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup honey

1 egg, beaten

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients together until well blended.

Place a cookie cutter shape (I used a heart) onto the greased cookie sheet. Scoop the granola mixture into the cookie cutter.

Plat it down. Make sure the granola gets into the corners. I filled mine until the granola was even with the top of the cookie cutter.

Gently lift the cookie cutter away from the granola. If you notice your cookie cutter is sticking, lightly grease it.

Keep doing this until all the granola is used. I was able to make six hearts. I place the granola hearts into the oven for 20-25 minutes. Do not over bake or they will be too hard. You know if they are done when the edges are lightly browned.

You could package a heart granola bar in a clear bag and give them to your special someone. Or better yet sew a cute valentine bag. They would enjoy the granola bar and they could keep the bag to use again.

Until next time...

First Time On Skis ~ no laughing please

2011-01-24T12:48:00.005-07:00

I live in the mountains...
It snows a TON during the winter...
I live 15 minutes away from a ski resort...
IT'S TIME TO LEARN TO SKI!

My kids have all taken up skiing and Belle is snowboarding this year. I thought I better get with it and learn. I am from the south. I have never, EVER been on skis. Last year I said I was going to try, but chickened out. This year I was going to do it!! And I am so happy I did. Because I love it! Ok...I look like a total fool and feel like a total fool. It's hard to concentrate and keep my balance when kids as young as Sweepea are racing past me on the beginners hill. And it's hard to keep my composure when I slip and fall on the conveyor belt that takes me to the top of the tiny hill. But I kept plugging away, with my husband's encouragement (love him:).

(this is me skiing for the first time after my DH had given me instructions. It's really not riveting video. It's not even entertaining. So no laughing...ok?)

This is my thing I did for ME. I wanted to try skiing...I had to get past my fears of trying...I had to get past my fears of making a fool out of myself...I just did it. And I am so glad I did. I liked it so much we are all heading back to the slopes again this weekend. The whole family.

I have linked with Taking Care of Mama Monday at Twig and Toadstool.

Edited to add: My DH is the one who gave me lessons. He's a pretty good skier. And a great teacher. :)

Valentine Cupcake Caddy Tutorial

2011-01-22T14:13:00.010-07:00

Valentines Day is just a few weeks away. So love and hearts are creeping into my mind. Along with many crafty ideas.

Last year I made these sweet little cupcakes and caddies. I featured them on my creative blog (which I decided to discontinue because I am so busy with this one. I have just merged this and that one together). I thought it would be fun to feature these little treats again this year. They are just soooo sweeet!

I call these sweet gems Surprise Kiss Cupcakes. The surprise is the Chocolate Hershey's Kiss that is in the center of the cupcake. I followed the directions for making Cherry Chip cupcakes. Then I placed the batter in paper-lined cupcake pans, filling them 2/3 full. Then we placed Hershey Kisses in the middle of the batter for each cupcake.

Here's a tip - When placing the kisses in the batter, make sure the Kisses do not touch the bottom of the pan. If it does, the Kiss will stick to the paper when you try to peal the liner away from the cupcake. It is alright if some of the chocolate Kiss sticks out of the batter. The cupcake will rise over it as it bakes.

Then to make this treat extra special, create a cupcake holder to give as a gift.

Here's how you do it:

1) Cut a 5x5 piece of cardstock. Score the cardstock at 1 inch and 4 inches all the way around. Cut four of the scored edges to create a box.

You can see where to cut in the picture below.

2) Then create the inside piece that will secure the cupcake in the gift basket. Cut a 3 3/4 x 3 3/4 piece of cardstock. I used my circle die cut to make the circle in the center. Make sure the cupcake fits in the circle. Then score 1/2 inch on each side of the cardstock square. Cut the scored edges to create a box.

This is how it will look when it is placed in the box.

3) If you would like to create scallops, cut 3 x 1 inches of colored cardstock. Scallop with a scalloped edge punch (or any edge punch) and glue in place.

4) To create a handle cut an 11 x 1/2 inch piece of cardstock. Place in the bottom of the box and adhere.

5) Decorate the outside the way you want. I added a little tag and taped it to a toothpick. I stuck it in the cupcake for added interest.

Now you are ready to give this super sweet treat to your sweetheart!

I am participating in these link parties:

Passionately Artistic

Farewell

2011-01-18T12:16:00.002-07:00

Well, it is that time. Time to say goodby to our exchange student. She was to only stay for six months, then head back to home in Germany. Boy have those months passed fast. There was so much we wanted to show her. And much of it we have. We hope she had a memorable experience with us. She has certainly touched our hearts and opened our eyes to different culture. It has been wonderful! We will miss her, but plan on keeping in touch. Who knows, maybe some day we will visit her home. :)

This Moment...

2011-01-14T11:00:00.004-07:00

Granola and Carrot Muffins {for breakfast}

2011-01-13T12:22:00.007-07:00

When the new year began I made a pledge to stop buying cereal for breakfast. Kinda drastic? Maybe. But we were spending approximately $10 a week on boxed cereals alone. (I know! Crazy, eh?) The children would eat it up so fast. Bowl after bowl would be devoured in the mornings. Then bowl after bowl devoured in the afternoons after school. Sure I bought healthier varieties. And I have tried to convince myself that the bowls of cereal are better then Poptarts or cookies. But I wasn't satisfied. And neither were the children. If you have tried to go a whole morning just on a bowl of cereal you would know...it fills your tummy for about and hour. Then your starving!

So I decided to make a small change in our morning routine. It wouldn't affect the children's routine, just my own. I get up a half hour to 45 minutes early and make the children (and myself) a better breakfast. Now I will be totally honest and tell you I am not a morning person. So I am a little slow at starting the breakfast. I save the really big breakfasts for our traditional Sunday morning. You know, the big spreads. On weekday mornings I have made simple breakfasts like pancakes (the batter can be mixed the night before and saved in the refrigerator), french toast with fruit (ok this took a little more time), scrambled eggs, and boiled eggs with toast. I do have a couple mornings a week that I help in Big D's class. Those mornings I just can't get myself together enough to make the pancakes and such. So I have started making muffins and quick breads the day before and serving them with fruits in the morning.

For those who miss the cereal (like Big D) I make granola. And we occasionally serve oatmeal (although it is not the children's favorite). I must say this new, and *improved* breakfast has worked great. A couple unexpected deslights have occured. The children actually sit at the table and eat their breakfast together. Instead of eating up a bowl as fast as they can and then rushing off to play or something, they take time to eat everything I have spread out for them. And they like the little element of surprise. What will mom make this morning? Instead of the same old cold bowl of cereal.

And another added bonus to all this is that I get some alone time with Belle. She leaves for school an hour earlier than the little ones. I used to see her for about two minutes before she went out the door. Now I make sure I have the breakfast done so she can sit down and have a pleasant breakfast. We sit together at the breakfast table and eat. Before the little ones are even awake. I like this quiet time together. And I know she is eating something good before heading to school.

With all that said. I wanted to share the recipe to one of the breakfasts we had last week. Granola with carrot muffins. The granola I make is a vanilla granola. I let the children add dried fruit to it if they wish. And the carrot muffins are pretty hearty. But they look like a cupcake. Even Belle, who hates carrots, loved these muffins.

Here are the recipes:

Carrot Muffins

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup White Flour

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

2 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Cinnamon

3 Eggs

1/2 cup Canola Oil

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 cup Carrot Puree

Mix all ingredients until moistened. Fill greased muffin pan or cupcake papers 1/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 min. Make 12 muffins.

Frosting: Mix 4 oz. cream cheese, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Blend until smooth.

Frost the muffins when they are completely cool.

Granola

6 cups Oats (instant or old fashioned)

1/2 cup Raw Sunflower Seeds (sometimes I replace with almonds)

1-2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/3 cup Wheat Germ

Mix all these ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well and mix the next wet ingredients in the center.

1/2 cup Canola Oil

1/2 cup Brown Sugar (sometimes I reduce this to 1/4 cup)

1/3 cup Honey

2 T. Vanilla

Mix dry and wet ingredients together. Spread on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool completely and add dried fruits if desired.

Serve with cold or warm milk, add to oatmeal, roll on frozen bananas, mix with yogurt, top on baked apples, add to smoothies, or top cottage cheese with applesauce.

Enjoy!

Link parties I am participating in:

Natural Suburbia's Creative Friday

Home Sweet Farm's Crafty Friday

Another Birthday...Mine!

2011-01-11T11:14:00.004-07:00

Big D was born just two days after my birthday 7 years ago. What a great birthday present...eh?

I enjoyed a wonderfully small, simple birthday. The children made me dinner and we had ice cream sundays for dessert.

On Sunday my DH gave me a great present...he took me snowshoeing.

I was asked one time if I snowshoe. Sadly I had to answer "no". Pathetic. I live in a place with ALL THIS SNOW and I haven't really explored it via snowshoeing.

This fall we acquired some snowshoes. They have been sitting in the garage just waiting for the chance to be used. This was it! My DH and I strapped on those babies and took them out. Am I glad we did. Going into the woods, not following a trail, just exploring was sooooo much fun!! Check out this gorgeous little creek. The ice has build up on the edges creating a beautiful scene.

In snowshoes we are free to travel off the beaten trail. In places we would normally sink into snow up to our knees or thighs we can walk across.

The woods looked like marshmallow icing was covering it. The trees reminded me of frosting you would put on a gingerbread house. And the snow created cushions on all the normally jagged rock. I just wanted to snuggle with it (if it wasn't so cold).

We walked and walked in wonder. The forest was so quiet and calm. The snowshoes sunk a little in the fluffy whiteness, packing it down. I didn't get a sense of just how much snow was actually beneath my feet until I tripped and fell. I put my hand down to catch myself and my arm nearly got swallowed. Then I had to get up! That was a bit of a struggle. Luckily I had my DH by my side to give me a hand.

We had our own tracks to follow on our way out of the forest. Kinda like we created our own trail. We learned tricks about our snowshoes. Like how to keep wait on the front spikes while going downhill. That way you won't ski down the hill like I practically did.

I just walked around taking pictures and looking around in awe. My camera at one point was being naughty. It might have actually been my fault and not my cameras, though. It's hard to take pictures in thick gloves. I accidentally took this picture of the ground/snow. As I was looking through our pictures on the computer, though, I thought this was a lovely picture. Check out the sun shining though the shadows. Check out the sparkles as the snow glistens. Beautiful.

The sun shines on a meadow as we exit the forest. Being out under the big sky surrounded by mountains gives me such a content, peaceful feeling. I can't wait to get out and snowshoe again.

Thanks, DH for such a wonderful birthday present.

Happy Birthday Big D!

2011-01-10T12:32:00.007-07:00

My sweet boy turned 7 this weekend. I just can't believe how the years have passed. I can remember that very day I brought him home from the hospital. My first son...my boy. Oh he was a little chub. Loved the rolls.

His expressions are burned into my memories. They were so unique to his personality.

Such a lady's man...look at the adorable smile.

Today he is tall, slender and full of life. What will tomorrow hold? Who knows. For now he is enjoying life as a 7 year old. He loves games and sports of all kinds. He gives me random hugs and has a sweet spot. He is sensitive and caring....doesn't like fighting. He is my Little Man.

Happy Birthday Big D.

For Big D's birthday we went out to a game place and played miniature golf and other games together as a family. We all had such a good time together. Big D's request for his birthday cake was one that incorporated Harry Potter and Star Wars. Both of these he is very into right now. We don't have cable. We occasionally watch movies and read lots of books.

Big D got interested in Star Wars when he was exposed to it at a friends house. So I got him the old movies and we watched them together as a family. He has now seen all 6 and we have read some Star Wars books together. As for Harry Potter, well the entire family has been into that for many years now because of the books. We even reread some books recently that sparked some new interest.

So after thinking for a long time how to incorporate two very different ideas I came up with this for his birthday cake...

I made a cake with chocolate frosting. In the middle I designed a Quiditch game (it's kinda like a flying ball game...from the book). For the grass I colored coconut with green food coloring. Then I added three hoops at either end (those are where the players throw the ball to score points). I stole the hoops from a board game we have.

Then I took the characters from Big D's Harry Potter Lego set and attaches them to tooth picks. It looks like they are flying on their broomsticks. Now to add Star Wars in the mix I printed out some circle cupcake toppers from Skip To My Lou. They happened to be Lego as well...perfect! I punched out the circles and attached a toothpick to them. Then I surrounded the cake with them. Big D thought this was perfect. And I was pretty pleased with how it turned out also.

After our outing we had dinner and the cake. It was a fun birthday. As I kissed Big D goodnight and tucked him in bed I was overwhelmed with how grateful I am to have him in my life. He is growing so fast. I see it everyday. I hold these days precious because before I know it he will be a young man. I take each moment, each day, and treasure it.

This Moment...

2011-01-07T11:04:00.003-07:00

Frigid

2011-01-04T13:35:00.004-07:00

I bet you're getting tired of reading about how cold it is, or seeing pics of us playing in the snow all the time. But honestly that's all we have to talk about right now. Winter in the mountains is going strong. We are welcoming in January with below zero (Fahrenheit) temps. So far we have experienced -16 degrees Fahrenheit at night. The days are getting as warm as single digits or teen temps. Yes, my friends, we are in the frigid months. January and February are just plain cold and white.

But, I must add there are some really wonderful things that happen during these two months that warm my heart and take my breath away.

The days are getting longer.
The sun shows itself a little more. These cold days are brought on by clear skies, no clouds. The clouds don't cover us and create a blanket affect. The sun shines on the fallen snow and just glistens. It is a beauty.
Birthdays!! Within the next two months we celebrate four birthdays.
Frost. On clear nights a frost forms on anything that is standing still outside. The result is that everything is white in the early morning. When the sun comes up there is a short time to capture the beauty of frost covered branches and light poles. A gorgeous white against a blue sky. Then the sun's warmth melts it away.
Valentine's Day. This is one of my favorite holidays.
Snow days. The chances are very good that we may see one or more snow days in the next couple months. When temps get really frigid it is just too dangerous to allow children to stand in the cold and wait for the school buses. So they call for a snow day. Bonus for me! I get an extra day to spend with my little ones all cozy and warm in our home.
Crafting. I get really crafty during these months. I have many projects in mind. There is just something about the cold outside that invites me to cozy up in my home and create.
Baking. I love, love, LOVE baking when it is cold outside. In fact, I am baking up some sandwich rolls right now:)
Cozy family time. The best part about the cold is that everyone wants to cuddle up with each other. There is just something about a cold, gray day that just makes you want to cuddle and chat.
Hot chocolate. My fave is homemade hot cocoa. It's a real special treat when I whip this up on the stove. Add some real whipping cream and cinnamon and I'm in heaven. (I'll share my recipe for this on the blog soon...as well as the sandwich rolls. So goooood)

I think I just made a top 10 list. But they really aren't in any specific order. So what do you love about these cold months of Winter? I'd love to hear.

Until next time...

Last Post for 2010

2010-12-31T18:42:00.003-07:00

These pictures below are brought to you by my children. Having fun with the camera...

This picture is of a bedspread. Very artistic, huh? I love to look at the pictures the children take when I upload them on the computer. In fact, my profile picture was taken by Big D. It is one of my faves.

Tonight we are hosting a sleepover to celebrate the upcoming new year. We will have an evening of games, milkshakes, chicken wings, sparkling cider, and poppers (not necessarily in this order). Let's see who falls asleep first. I'm betting on Sweepea. Who do you think? Me? Naaa.

Anyway, I have done all my reflecting on 2010 and made 2011's resolutions. I am ready for all the new experiences awaiting this new year. That's why I love this time of year. It gives us a chance to look forward. It feels fresh and new.

I would like to thank all of you who take the time to read our simple adventures. Thank you for taking this journey with us. Thanks for comments, encouragement and advice. I truly take it to heart. I think it is just SO COOL that all of us can connect from all over the world. SO COOL!!!

May your year be full of happiness, joy and growth. Bless you all.

Happy New Year!

This Moment...

2010-12-30T22:50:00.005-07:00

Homemade Fragrant Fire Starters

2010-12-29T18:43:00.009-07:00

The children and I made some fragrant pine cone fire starters for my sister and brother-in-law for Christmas. They have a wood burning stove. The fire starters create a homey smell to uplift you or remind you of the holiday season. They were really fun and easy to make. And they are inexpensive too. All you need is:

Pine cones

Old Candles

Essential Oil (We used Sweet Orange to uplift the spirit. But you can try cinnamon, cloves, or eucalyptus)

Double Boiler or old pot inside a bigger pot of water

Tongs

To begin gather your supplies. Pine cones are so easy to find around hear in the mountains during Autumn months. But I started this too late to go looking (the ground was covered in powdery white snow). So I got my pine cones from a local craft store. Just make sure they are unscented...not the cinnamon scented ones. Wash your pine cones and make sure they are totally dry before beginning.

Gather old candles, paraffin wax or any other kind of wax for melting. Melt the wax in an old pot. You can easily use a double boiler. But I don't own one. So I filled a large pot a third of the way with water and brought it to a boil. Then I turned the heat down just to keep the water hot. I placed an old pot with a removable handle inside. I placed the old candles in the pot and they melted nicely. But remember to remove the old wicks. When the wax is completely melted I added a few drops of Sweet Orange essential oil. I am not sure how many drops I put in it. I just added some and smelled.

Dip the pine cones in the melted wax with tongs. Roll it around until in it completely covered. Then place them on waxed paper to cool and harden.

When you are done with all the pine cones you can place them in a basket to give to someone or keep it for yourself. Just place the basket by you wood burning fireplace or stove. The next time you start a fire place one pine cone in. Then sit back and watch the beauty of the fire and enjoy the sweet smell that will fill your home.

This recipe was adapted from Home Made Firestarters

I'm participating in these link parties:

and

Natural Suburbia

Craftomaniac

Past, Present, and Future

2010-12-27T22:58:00.005-07:00

This year sure has been a great one. I concurred my fear of sewing, tried dehydrating foods, canned, raised laying hens, used a clothesline instead of the dryer during the summer, tried growing herbs, planted a garden (again), and tried to slow down a bit. Some of these things were very successful, and some not so much...but I tried. It's all baby steps to my goal of living more simply. There are many other things I wanted to try this year, but simply didn't get to them. And there were times during the year that I just wasn't mindful about my goal. I have a tendency to get caught up in things. Then I am stressed. Maybe you know how it is (shrug).

At this moment, though, I wanted to share exactly where we come from, where we are now, and where I wish to go. Three years ago we made this move to a small town in the middle of a valley nestled in the mountains. We were city dwellers. Living in a large house in an influential neighborhood. The noise of the city and the pressure to keep up stressed me. We all felt it, my children and my husband. I would gaze at the mountains just outside the city wishing to get away. I just wanted quiet. We would visit the mountains in the summer and hike or camp. I enjoyed that time away with just my family. My DH and I would dream of simpler days and living in the country. But at that time we didn't see that happening anytime soon. He was a co-owner of a business.

But fate handed us something we weren't expecting. My husband was released from the business after a disagreement. We weighed out our options. My DH was now jobless. I was a stay at home mom with three children and one on the way. Finally my husband found work in a small town in the middle of a valley nestled in the mountains. And best things was, one of his brothers lived there. We put our house up for sale. We had a rough couple months as my husband worked far away while I kept up the house. I had our baby (Sweepea), we sold the house and two weeks later traveled 5 hours north to our new home.

Today we are not quite at our dream place. We are enjoying the small town feel. We live 45 minute to an hour away from the closest superstore. The closest mall is an hour and half away. On either side of our valley are mountain passes that are occasionally closed during the winter. There is only one grocery store in the valley and many stores within our town are little Mom and Pop stores (which I totally prefer now).

My husband has work and he is also attending college to become an educator. I am still a stay at home mom and love every minute of it. While my DH attends school we are renting a basement apartment. It's half the size of our home in the city, and I love it! When we left our home we downsized and it was a good feeling to get rid of some of the things we really didn't need.

My DH is half way through his schooling. So we have another couple years left. We plan on building our dream home back in the woods of the mountains after he graduates. While we have lived here I have noticed a kind of different lifestyle people live in this valley. The pace is slower. People are kinder. Everything is laid back. Oh, how I love this. It's as if I had taken a step back in time here. I began to ponder this. I began to think that living more simply might help the family connect better. We could understand this world around us better. We could be better to ourselves and our Earth.

So my DH and I started to talk about it. We talked about having a self sustaining home in the woods. We talked about generating our own electricity, growing a garden, keeping livestock, sheep, goats and chickens. We talked about so much. We will be making a great deal of changes. And life would be far different from what I had been used to. Change can be really hard sometimes. So I started a blog. I wanted a place where I could write my thoughts and reflect a bit. True, sometimes my blog doesn't quite go in that direction. Some days I loose sight of what direction I am going...trying to create a simpler life. I thought that while we had this time (renting a home and going to school) I could take baby steps toward our sustaining lifestyle I hope to have in the future. That way this new lifestyle may not be such a shock to the children and me. That is my hope...I'll see it it works.

This past year has been a good one. And next year I want to try more. Like making cheese, knitting, making my own soap, and reducing the chemicals I use to clean. I try to keep in mind that I want to help the environment as well as simplify. I think they both go hand in hand. I am also going to be working on getting us out of debt. That will involved some scaled back spending and creativity. We just can't be self sustaining if we are in debt.

So now you know our past, present and future dreams. And you also know my goals for this year. I will keep them on this blog to remind me. And I will try not to forget my direction I want to go. I want this blog to be a place where I can share my successes as well as my failures. I want to share my children's reactions whether they are positive or negative. And I want to share this road my DH and I are traveling. Whether it is everyday life or special occasions. This is my hope as I welcome in the new year.

Until next time...

Edited to add: I thought I might explain our living arrangements a little better. Our basement apartment belongs to my brother and sister-in-law. They live upstairs. The apartment is basically another home, just below the upper one. We have three bedrooms and share a nice sized backyard with my brother and sister-in-law and their children. This past summer we shared in the responsibility of taking care of the chickens and we usually share the garden. I have the flexibility to plant herbs, strawberries and flowers where I choose. It is a nice setup for now. We like being close to family.

Quiet

2010-12-27T19:14:00.005-07:00

The house is quiet now. Well, I guess QUIET might not be the proper word. A house full of four (actually 5 including our German friend) children is never truly quiet (until they all go to bed...LOL).

But my Mom, Dad, sister and brother-in-law left today to head back home to warmer weather. We had a wonderful time this week. Packing our days with togetherness and fun. The climax...Christmas Day.

This Christmas was filled with handmade gifts and things that would expand every one's imagination and creativity. And we got some really awesome gifts from our exchange student's family in Germany. Little Mouse is holding a candle holder that spins when candles are lit. The heat causes the propellers on top to spin. The intricate detail of this wood piece is awesome.

After the whirlwind of present opening Christmas morning Sweepea took some time to play with her new tea set in the kitchen sink. It seems to be her favorite place to play these days. She can spend hours there.

Little Mouse is enjoying her very own art desk that her father made for her. She had been asking for one for many, many months now. She was so happy to see her wish come true. She spent nearly the entire day drawing and painting.

Belle strummed her new guitar. She learned to tune it and even created some of her own songs. I love just listening to her tinker with it. We plan on getting her lessons pretty soon, but for now I'll just listen to her create her own music.

Big D went to his room to build with his new Lego's. He summoned his dad's help and they worked together to build Darth Vader's space ship. When it was finished he was very pleased with his accomplishment. Later that night he and his sister sat at the dining room table building a model of the Shuttle Space craft out of wood. They worked to put it together and then painted it.

The day after Christmas we all just hung around enjoying our last day together before my parents and sister and her husband had to leave. Honestly, I think everyone was just plum tuckered out after a week of skiing, snowboarding. snowshoeing, hunting for the perfect Christmas tree, snowman building, playing and talking. But we did manage to get in one more snowball fight. And Big D got the chance to practice with his beginner skis just a little more.

Oh! Wipeout! This is Big D's first year on skis. We took him over to the ski resort this week and he played on the bunny hill with his dad. He had so much fun he didn't want to stop. When he's not at the resort he can practice on our sledding hill in the backyard. His skis are short for now as he gets used to the feeling of skis. I think he will be able to graduate to longer skis pretty soon. But as you can see from this picture above he was surely tired of falling on this particular day. He did crack a smile after this pic and got back up to race the hill again.

I am sad to see my family leave, but I have great memories of this past week. And of course we will keep in contact. For now we just breathe and get ready for the new year. And I am excited about this year to come.

Until next time...

Christmasing

2010-12-24T15:09:00.007-07:00

I know I said I wasn't going to post anything until after Christmas, but I had few minutes to take some downtime and enjoy some of the pictures we have taken this past week. Here are just a few moments that left smiles on our faces and filled our souls...

HUNTING FOR THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS TREE

One of the wonderful things about living in the mountains is that we can go out and cut down our own Christmas tree. We just purchase a permit from the Forest Service and we are free to seek that perfect tree.

Big D took some time to stop and eat some of that fresh snow that had just fallen.

And Sweepea loved gathering snow in her hands and clapping it away.

That's it!! We found the perfect tree! Time to get out the chainsaw.

And there the tree goes to be tied to the top of our little van.

In the meantime Grammy, Papa, and Aunt V gather with the children to make a snowman in the middle of the woods.

And there's our little Frosty. He's so cute.

We decorated our tree with heirloom ornaments my mom made when I was little. And a few ornaments the children have made over the years.

Then Little Mouse added some ribbons and beads to add a little "fancy" to the tree.

TAGS FOR SANTA

Then on Christmas Eve the little ones gathered at the dinning room table to make tags for Santa. We have made sugar cookies, have eggnog and our stockings are hung. Now the children make tags to leave for Santa so he can put them on their presents. It's just another crafty moment for us. They stamp, color and create.

All of us in our little home would like to wish everyone in the whole wide world a happy, wonderful Christmas. May it bring a smile to your face and joy to your soul.

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-21T21:45:00.003-07:00

I have spent the last week preparing, with my children, for my mom, dad, sister and her husband to arrive. Finally the day has come and they are visiting from across the US. We are so excited to have them here. I just LOVE this time of year:)

So I am going to spend this week just playing, celebrating, and enjoying together time. So you may not hear from me this week.

I wanted to wish everyone out in Blogland a wonderful holiday. I hope it is full of love and warmth and cheer. Enjoy the beauty of the season.

This Moment...

2010-12-17T09:53:00.003-07:00

Christmas 2010

Family Portrait

Bing Crosby & David Bowie - The Little Drummer Boy / Peace On Earth

2010-12-15T10:31:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite Christmas songs. I haven't heard it in a long time. Just found it today so I wanted to share.

Enjoy!

Recycled Crayons Gift Idea

2010-12-13T12:48:00.004-07:00

We have a tradition each year called Secret Santa. After Thanksgiving the children put their names into a hat. They draw to see who they will be giving a gift to at Christmas. They can't tell their siblings who they have until gifts are exchanged on Christmas Eve. Then the recipient is to guess who gave them the present.

This year to make the gifts more meaningful I have asked each of the children to make the gift. It has been really fun watching the little ones really get into it. It's great to see their imaginations sour.

Little Mouse has had a hard time choosing what to make her little brother. Her and I sat down at the computer one day to see what fun projects we could find. We found a great article at Rhythm Of the Home on Recycled Crayons. That's it!! Little Mouse wanted to get to work right away.

First we gathered old crayon pieces from our basket of crayons.

Then we peeled the wrappers off, broke them into smaller pieces and sorted them by color in a muffin tin.

Sweepea joined us and really got into peeling the wrappers. It is really great for her fine motor skills.

We greased a smaller muffin tin (for mini-muffins) and mixed crayon piece colors in each muffin space. We put about two to three colors per muffin space.

Then we baked the crayons in the muffin tin at 300 degrees for 5-7 minutes. Ours actually took a little longer because we had some jumbo crayons mixed in. Little Mouse liked turning on the oven light and actually watching the crayons melt. When they were completely melted we took a toothpick and swirled them just a little, then placed them in the freezer for a bit to set. Not too long though or they will crack.

We popped them out and Little Mouse sewed a little bag to store them in. Now she is going to wrap it and Big D will have brand new crayons to draw with.

Creating A Scene

2010-12-08T12:58:00.002-07:00

A snow scene...

This is one of our funnest holiday traditions. The little ones ask for it every year. And we have been do it for many years now. We originally used just shaving cream and little toys to create a snow scene. It was really smelly and very messy. So through the years the snow scene has changed a bit.

With really little ones in the house I felt shaving cream wasn't the best idea...they could eat it! So we substituted the shaving cream for homemade whipped cream. We all love that so much more! The kids love whipping the cream, plopping it on their wax paper pallets and creating their individualized snow scene with their cars and blocks.

Over the years large marshmallows have been included for snowmen. And this year we have included mini chocolate chips and gum drops. I just love how the children's imaginations run wild. They were telling stories about it snowing chocolate chips. The snowplow and cars are stuck in the snow. And all kinds of fun tales. And I wasn't even worried if Sweepea ate her snow scene (which of course she did).

True, it was messy but it was a ton of fun. It lasted for hours. And then it sat for everyone to admire until dinner time. At that time the children washed their cars (which they enjoy too, especially Sweepea who is fascinated with water right now) and we cleaned the *snow*.

What a great day!

Freeze Frame

2010-12-05T20:54:00.002-07:00

Ok now I have an 80s song stuck in my head...you know, Freeze Frame. Remember that song? I don't even know who sang it (LOL).

Anyway, I wanted to share this really cool picture of our dog, Ginger, catching snow. She LOVES snow (and that is truly an understatement). She goes around the yard chomping snow as she runs...like Pacman. It's hilarious. I captured this moment as my DH was shoveling snow and throwing it into a pile. Ginger thinks it's a game and tries to catch it. It's kinda hard to see (because everything is white), but Ginger has leaped into the air to try and get a mouthful of white stuff. She sure does make all of us laugh.

The Countdown

2010-12-03T09:12:00.003-07:00

Christmas is feeling pretty special this year. Not that it wasn't before...it's my favorite season. And I say season because Christmas doesn't just last a day for me. We celebrate it all month long. I guess Christmas day is the climax.

But, this year there is a buzz around the house. We are so excited because my parents and sister with her husband are visiting during the holiday. They live very far away. We don't get to see them much, and we all miss them.

So to give the little ones an idea of how long they will wait to see Grammy and Papa and their aunt and uncle we have created a countdown chain. We just stapled strips of Christmas paper together. Each day they get to take turns tearing off a piece of the chain. This way they can visually see the chain getting shorter and the visit getting closer.

When the chain was made we all were pleased at how short it actually was. This made us all smile. Their trip to see us is closer than we thought...how wonderful!

******************************************

I also wanted to share a card I made that was not pictured in my last post. I must admit I am a little old fashioned about sending Christmas cards. I believe the best ones are those made by hand. Now don't get me wrong I LOVE those digital cards that have family pics on them and the store bought ones are very beautiful as well. I just like to hand craft ones from us.

This card is my favorite. I think it's because it has an old fashioned, homespun look to it. I especially love that look around the holiday. It feels cozy, natural, and homey. Now who will I send this to?

Happy Holiday!

Christmas Advent and Cards

2010-12-01T10:20:00.004-07:00

We have had a Christmas advent calendar for years now. We usually just choose a task or something fun to do for each day leading up to Christmas. We would come up with things like: Hug someone today, decorate cookies, create a winter scene with shaving cream...stuff like that. It's really pretty popular among the children.

But this year our advent is changed up a bit. And the kids are super excited about it. It's because our German exchange student's parents sent us a package with individual advents for each of the little ones.

For each day leading up to Christmas we open a door on this little package. Behind the door is chocolate straight from Germany....yum!

The kids were so excited about it they got up early this morning to see what was behind the first door. It's great fun and changes things up a bit.

I have been busy since Thanksgiving making cards. I put the little ones to bed and head to my craft room.

I have even more made since this picture. And I have even more to make, still. It's been great fun and brings me joy to craft something from the heart.

Until next time...

Post Thanksgiving Thoughts

2010-11-28T21:19:00.004-07:00

Would you believe it? I have no pictures of our Thanksgiving day. I guess I was enjoying it too much to think about pictures:) We did have a lovely dinner with my brother and sister-in-law. We were pleased to have them join us. They were planning on traveling, but with the blizzard passing through they couldn't...roads were closed. We played board games, ate, put a puzzle together, ate, talked and reminisced, ate, and ate some more. It was great!

Even though I don't have pictures of Thanksgiving Day itself I do have pics of the day after. Which is our traditional day to put up our Christmas decorations. Forget about going to the stores. I just can't get into it...too crowded for me.

Our little sledding hill in the backyard grew some more. And it is still growing.

These are a few pictures of our Snow Village we put up every year.

This little picture is soooo cute. Belle is teaching Sweepea how to dance as we listened to Christmas music. Too precious.

Another Snow Day!!

2010-11-23T12:08:00.002-07:00

Yep! It snowed again last night. But this time it was more like a blizzard. Roads were closed again and driving was dangerous. So once again schools are closed. Yipee!!

And guess what? There will be no school until next Monday because of Thanksgiving break. My kids are feeling pretty lucky.

Snow Day!!

2010-11-22T21:40:00.003-07:00

At about 6am this morning I had the pleasure of receiving a phone call that said that all schools in our district were closed due to road closures. When I hung up the phone I looked out my window and saw nothing but white. Then I looked at our rocks stacked up along our windows and noticed that the snow had completely covered them! Wow! It really snowed last night.

I proceeded into my oldest daughter's room and told her that school was closed...it was a snow day. She jumped up with a gigantic smile on her face and whispered rather loudly, "YES!!"

When the sun finally rose enough through the snowy clouds I could see that we had gotten close to, or more than , a foot of snow overnight. The snowplows were just starting to get around.

Well, with this much snow on the ground and a day off of school what should we do? Play in it!

My DH and his brother shoveled snow that had accumulated on the back porch into a pile. This made a mini-sledding hill. Everyone got on their snow gear after breakfast and headed out to it.

The little ones also tried to make snow angels but the snow was just too deep. It was really funny how they just sunk down into it. A snowman was also created, but I didn't get a picture. Sweepea had had enough of the snow and was ready for her hot chocolate by the time the other little ones started making Frosty. But he is still out there smiling at us.

We are expecting more snow tonight. Will there be school tomorrow? It's yet to be determined.

This Moment...

2010-11-19T09:41:00.002-07:00

Both of them are fast asleep.

So adorable.

Tom Turkey table decoration

2010-11-18T09:58:00.003-07:00

I made a couple of these little guys for our Thanksgiving table. You can check out the instructions HERE. Isn't he cute?

Thanksgiving Tradition

2010-11-17T10:25:00.003-07:00

Photo from Familyfun.com

These little pilgrim hats have been part of our Thanksgiving feast for years now. It is a favorite treat for the little ones. They even enjoy making them. All you need is:

Large marshmallows

Melted chocolate chips

Yellow frosting

Striped cookies.

Simply dip the marshmallows into melted chocolate and place them on the underside of the striped cookies. Place them in the refrigerator to set. Then add the yellow frosting to look like buckles. Super simple! And so yummy.

What Does Belle Do When She it Bored...

2010-11-16T15:45:00.003-07:00

She makes potions.

Belle was feeling restless and bored the other day. When she asked me what she should do I said, "Make something". I had no idea she would create potions. Oh you sure don't want to drink these potions. Sure Love Potion and Liquid Luck sound inviting, but I assure you could not get past the taste.

Belle simply combined everything she could get her hands on in the kitchen. Items like vinegar, hot sauce, and cornstarch are in these drinks. Does it sound appealing to you? Then go ahead, drink up.

Veteran's Day

2010-11-11T12:00:00.004-07:00

Here in the US we are celebrating Veteran's Day. It's a day when we remember those who have served our country in the military through war time and peace time, past and present. I just left two very moving Veteran's Day programs at my little one's schools. I listened to the children beautifully sing songs, heard of ancestors that served, heard about relatives that fought and died for the country, and heard real war-time stories from veterans themselves. It always moves me to hear these.

So today I just want to say THANK YOU to all who have served.

**Above image from http://www.g2mil.com/vetsday.htm

Pumpkin Favor Box

2010-11-10T12:19:00.003-07:00

I featured these little treat boxes over at my creative blog, Purple Sage Creations. I thought I would share them on this blog today. They are super easy to make. and they would be great at place settings on your Thanksgiving table. Fill them with nuts or candy corn. I have complete instructions. You can get it by clicking HERE.

Until next time...

Belle's Halloween Choir Performance

2010-11-05T16:01:00.000-06:00

This is what Belle's eighth grade choir performed for her school. Belle is in the back of the room. Thanks to one of her classmate's dad they created this super cool video mixing a bit of the original Thriller music video with the choir's dancing.

Give Thanks...For The Weather

2010-11-05T12:44:00.002-06:00

A little while back we got our first taste of winter. Well, it's been Fall ever since. I was quite certain that our Fall here in the mountains was over, but once again Mother Nature has proven to me that mountain weather is unpredictable. So stop trying to predict it!

All the snow in the valleys is melted and we have been enjoying sunny, fairly warm weather. The snow in the mountains is still there. And, dare I predict, I think it will stay there until next summer.

So, for now we are going to enjoy this lovely weather we have been blessed with. And I am so thankful for the long Fall. This is my favorite time of year. And it is November...Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I like to take this month and reflect and give thanks for everything little and big thing I have. And right now I am thankful for the weather.

And to enjoy this beautiful weather we are receiving. Sweepea and I headed outside for some artwork. It's called fly swatter art.

I laid out a pan of different colored paints and large papers on our driveway.

Then Sweepea took a fly swatter, dipped it in paint, and started hitting the paper. She loved it! It was so random. She like just being able to pound the paint as she felt it should be. She liked actually being permitted to use the fly swatter. The colors mixed and some great prints were made. We both had lots of fun with it. And because it was outside there was little clean up.

Until next time...

Felt Cornucopia Craft

2010-11-04T10:13:00.004-06:00

I found this adorable craft at Family Fun Magazine's website (photo credit). You can download a template for the cornucopia and the veggies. I am definitely making this for my Sweepea. Too cute!!

To get the full instructions for this click here.

To get the template click here.

Until next time...

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T16:45:00.008-06:00

This Halloween we had some...

Pumpkin carving fun!

Then we partied...

Belle was a Purple People Eater. Of course! She LOVES purple...just fits.

Big D was Ron Weasley from Harry Potter. (you really can't tell from this picture, but he is in a Griffinder robe and colored his hair red. That's as much as he wanted to dress up this year.)

Little Mouse was a witch. After changing her costume about a dozen times she finally decided on this.

Sweepea was a dragon. This costume stayed on for about 15 minutes.

My ultra-cool DH dressed up as The Mad Hatter from the newest Alice in Wonderland movie. This will be the only time ever that he will wear make-up. He's such a sport.

And I was the White Queen. I got out my wedding dress for this costume...still fit in it. Amazing!! Felt nice to wear it again.

We had a super fun Halloween with lots of sweets. Hope yours is just as fun!

Until next time...

Halloween Costumes

2010-10-28T17:56:00.003-06:00

I've been pretty busy this week making halloween costumes and getting ready for our Halloween party tomorrow night. Can you guess what my husband is going to dress up as? I had much better luck with this hat than with my cake hat...LOL.

Snow

2010-10-26T12:24:00.003-06:00

It's official Fall is over. Think I'm kidding? Nope! Not where I live. Once we get the first snowfall of the season it's here until June. No kidding.

But that's really ok with me. Usually I dread the snow...it's cold...it's hard to drive in...we didn't get enough Fall. But this year is different. I was eagerly awaiting the first snow of the season.

I think it has something to do with having a nice long Fall. We usually don't. I feel satisfied this year. I thought the pumpkins on the front porch looked kinda funny with snow on them. I don't remember seeing this in past years. I guess we always kept our pumpkins in the house. This year we set them on the porch steps. We didn't have any snow when I put them out there so there was no reason to keep them indoors.

We didn't get a whole lot of snow...yet. It's on the way. But the little ones found a way to make the first snowman of the year.

Until next time...

I {heart} Cupcakes

2010-10-22T12:36:00.003-06:00

I find myself in the kitchen baking a lot this time of the year. I think it's the crisp, cool air. Or maybe it's the overcast days. Or maybe its because Halloween brings about the CUTEST food. Whatever the reason, I'm baking up all kinds of goodies. My family is loving it!

Here lately I have been on a cupcake kick. Below are a couple cupcakes I have made recently that had an overwhelming response from my little ones and my DH...

Ok...the cupcake in this first picture is not mine. I saw this spider cupcake on Familyfun.com (that is where the photo is from...photo credit). I didn't look at how it was made or anything I just thought it was ADORABLE!

So, I sought out to make my own spider cupcake from memory. Turns out mine was quite different, but super easy and fun.

I made chocolate cupcakes and homemade chocolate frosting (you can use canned, but I think the homemade frosting hardens and sets up better). I placed the frosting in a decorating bag and attached a decorative star tip to the corner. Then I just made little stars all over the top of the cupcakes. The eyes are made from white chocolate chips and black icing from a tube. Again I placed a little icing into the bag and used a very tiny tip to make the dots. The legs are made from black shoestring licorice. It was so easy and the kids loved it!!

Then I found this recipe for pumpkin cupcakes that is so delectable. My DH couldn't get enough of them. I have been asked to make them again very soon.

I added cream cheese frosting to the cupcakes. But not too much. I thought the cupcakes had enough flavor and I just wanted the frosting to add a little something. Then of course, because it is almost Halloween I added festive sprinkles.

Here is the recipe...

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
4 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1) In a large bowl combine sugar, oil, pumpkin and eggs. Set aside.

2) Combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Add to pumpkin mixture gradually and beat until well mixed.

3) Fill paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full.

4) Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 18-22 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes then remove cupcakes from pan to cool.

5) Frost cupcakes with your favorite cream cheese frosting recipe when cupcakes are completely cool.

Enjoy!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...Fall

2010-10-19T14:39:00.004-06:00

My fall decor has actually been bringing joy in my home for a few weeks now. I am just getting the pics on here though. I have been dealing with a little cold so I am a little more sluggish than normal.

But I wanted to share some of my fun scarecrows I have collected over the years.

The one on the right in the above picture is a gift from my mom. It is fiber optic. It's one of my faves.

The Indian corn in this above picture was grown by us. In our old home we were able to grow corn in our garden. I miss that. In this mountains altitude our season is too short, therefore we don't have much luck with corn.

This is my little pumpkin patch. All these little pumpkins were handmade. Some with strips of paper, some with fabric on a foam ball, and the one in the back is a paper bag that Big D made for me during his preschool years.

We are enjoying a long fall here in the mountains. Usually we have had a snowfall or two in the valley by now. We get about a week of colorful leaves and then snow comes and knocks them all off the trees. But this year we have greatly enjoyed to colors and crisp air before the snow. I wonder how long it will hold out.

Until next time...

Gone Booing

2010-10-13T14:50:00.003-06:00

Have you ever gone booing? It's so much fun! If you haven't this is what booing is all about:

Make some treats at home as a family. Place them into a bag or plate with a note that says "You've Been Boo'd". On that note it should tell your recipient to make some treats of their own and pass on the *Boo*. Also include a sign that says "We've Been Boo'd" with your treats for your recipient to place on their door so they won't get Boo'd again (this allows more people to get Boo'd).

Now, here comes the fun part. Deliver your Boo bag or plate to a friend or neighbor...but don't get caught. Go at night when it is dark and spooky. Ring your recipient's doorbell, leave the treat and then hide. Don't let them know you are the one that left it! Then it is their turn to pass on the *Boo*. This is great fun for the kids!

This year I decided to make some felt bags for Booing.

And these are the treats we put in the boo bags...

These are homemade Oreo cookies. Oh! They are so sinfully delicious! You have GOT to try these (if you haven't already...and if you have tried them GO MAKE SOME!).

Here is the recipe:
2 boxes of Devil's Food cake mix
4 eggs
3/4 cup of vegetable or canola oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the above ingredients together in a large bowl. Then form dough into balls. Place onto cookie sheet and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or when the tops begin to crack. Flatten cookies with the bottom of a cup as soon as they are taken from the oven. Cool completely on a wire rack. Make icing (recipe below).

1/2 cup of butter, softened
8oz. cream cheese
3 to 4 cups of powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix above ingredients with an electric mixer adding sugar one cup at a time and mixing in between. Icing is done when it is creamy and thick. It will thicken as it sits, too. Add icing in between two cooled cookies. HINT: Try ice cream instead of the icing...it's really goooooood!

These super yummy cookies are from Living Locurto. They are called Halloween M&M cookies. The directions for the cookie mix and free printable label directions for how to make the cookies are at Living Locurto website.

We thought it would be fun to make a jarred treat for the family we are Booing so they can make them together. They can choose to keep them and enjoy them or pass them on to the next person they are going to BOO!

So our bags were sent out and we felt like secret agents or something ducking behind bushes and creeping in the dark to leave our Boo Bags without being seen. So much fun!

Until next time...

Applejuice

2010-10-07T09:31:00.002-06:00

My sister-in-law's friend has an apple tree in her backyard. This is not common for our region. Our altitude is high and the summer is too short for apples around here. Nontheless she has an apple tree that tries to produce fruit every year. Most years the tree starts to produce, but the fruit is frozen before it is even ripe due to our early winter.

But this year things are different. We have encountered unseasonably warm weather. By now we should have a thick blanket of snow on the mountain tops and maybe one or two fly-by-night type of snow showers. Instead our days have been warm and we have received rain instead of snow. Now I am NOT going to complain ONE BIT! Summer came late this year so I think we deserve a late fall and winter. It's only right.

Back to what I was talking about...apples. So my sister-in-law's friend managed to pick a ton of apples off her tree this year. She gave a 5 gallon bucket full to my sis-in-law. But she didn't feel she had time to do anything with all these apples. So the apples were passed to me. Yeah!!

We chose to juice the apples. The apples were really small so by the time we tried to peel and core them we wouldn't be left with much to work with. We have made apple butter in the past and I wished that we could have done that again, but it just seemed like a lot of work for little reward.

We borrowed a juicer and just quartered the apples and cooked them. I had never juiced before. This was a great new experience. It took about half a day to juice the entire bucket.

We were rewarded with a gallon and a half of juice. We gave some to the kids and they actually didn't like it! They have been spoiled by store bought juice for so long that the real, natural stuff was not good to them. So what do I do with all this juice? Does anyone out there in blogland have any ideas? Can I make jam or jelly from the juice? I need some help with this.

Until next time...

Where Have We Been?

2010-10-05T12:36:00.005-06:00

In the region in which we live we have the great opportunity of having a break from school during the last week of September or first week of October. We call it Fall Break. It was originally designed to give the students who live on farms the opportunity to help with the harvest. For those of us who don't live on farmland, we take this opportunity to go on vacation. To me it's kinda the last chance to get out and enjoy some time away before winter settles into the mountains.

For our Fall break this year we chose to go on a mini-vacation to Yellowstone. Our German visitor HAD to see Yellowstone. And I think she enjoyed it very much. For us, this was our second time here. A few years back (before Sweepea was born) we took a long trip with my sister and her then boyfriend (married happily now:).

The weather was perfect. Not too cold and not too hot. Here are some pics of some places we visited...

Waiting for Old Faithful to erupt.

While we were waiting for Old Faithful a geyser in the distance went off. It lasted a while and I must say it out did Old Faithful.

When Old Faithful did erupt we found ourselves in the spray zone. Kelly was being funny by trying to take a picture like the geyser was shooting from her mouth.

We took a walk on the boardwalk around Old Faithful and found lots of boiling geysers.

The colors of the different minerals from the boiling water was spectacular. The picture just doesn't capture it.

This lake is by Prismatic Spring. I wanted to throw some hot dogs on a stick and boil them. I think I was getting hungry for lunch by this point.

We stopped for dinner at my little one's favorite spot, Sheepeater Cliffs. The climbed the wall of rocks while the adults made dinner. Big D was only 3 the last time we came here. He really appreciated this stop this time. He can't wait to come back.

While the others climbed the rocks, Little Mouse and our German friend made a fairy house. There are so many great places for fairies to hide and snuggle in for the night at this place.

Belle had to show off a little at the top of the cliff. My kids are just like there dad...see a mountain, gotta climb it.

We didn't see as much wildlife as we have seen in the past. We think it is because it is the time of year for them to venture into the canyons. But we did see some elk and bison. This elk in this picture was next to a hotel just grazing on the grass. The next day we saw a great big bull elk rubbing it's antlers on a tree. That was magnificent to see.

We had a fun little trip. And we had lots of fun together. Today we are all back at school and work...back to normal. The weather is cloudy and cool. A definite sign that snow will be flying very soon.

Until next time...