Happiness on a 1/2 Acre

Its the most wonderful night of the month . . .

2012-02-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

It is my favorite night of the month - quilt guild. I missed the meeting last month, the first I have missed since 2005, and it was a sad thing for me. I am very excited to see some of my favorite ladies tonight and see all the beautiful items they have made.

I get to deliver a handful of Friendship Blocks for our exchange tonight. I finished up the last one yesterday. Shawna wanted a 12 1/2" block that reflected the month of April in muted colors. I made a kite. Hope that is Aprilish enough. I think it turned out cute.

I will finish binding this one tonight at quilt guild. I worked on the binding for a bit today. This is a Round Robin quilt from 2010. I made the center block (4 smaller blocks combined) and Kami added the black and reddish borders and also turned it on point with the large cream sections. Debbie added the amazing 3rd border. I had made all the blocks the year before, so she took them from me and put together that amazing border. She also finished it all off with the 4th borders of black and cream that mimic the inner 2nd border. I think it is beautiful! Deonn quilted it for me, and now I am binding it. The quilting is amazing. I should take a close-up!

Anyway, off to a good night at quilt guild!

Dorothy and Rebekah

2012-01-31T20:41:00.001-07:00

Santa brought Kelsey The Wizard of Oz dvd this past Christmas and it has been very well received here at our home lately. Sunday I ran away to a meeting for an hour and left the sweet kids. When I got home, they were all watching The Wizard of Oz. When Kendal got home from school yesterday she wanted to watch it again and later in the evening we had to act it out. I was the lion. So was Emmitt. Two lions just made Kelsey crazy so I got to be the Wizard since Emmitt wanted to remain the lion! When Kendal got home today, she wanted to watch it again! She has been singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow all night! Did you know this classic was released in 1939??? I knew it was old, but not that old! Then of course the novel was printed in 1900. Just so you know, I didn't give in to Kendal both days, just one of them!

I have been working all weekend on a civil war quilt I started in 2010 and almost have it finished. Of course, I had to make all the other new civil war signature quilt blocks I cut the fabric for the other day first! I listened to a book on cd by Orson Scott Card while sewing. I had read is Rachel and Leah book from the Women of Genesis series a few years ago and enjoyed it, so when I saw Rebekah at the library, I grabbed it.
I enjoyed it as well, but of course it is a novel and so that means much of it is made up to make a good story from a few facts we know from the Bible. I think the author took a few too many liberties in making Rebekah so out of character for a woman that lived thousands of years ago, but it is his book, so he can write it how he likes.
Anyway, all I lack on the one quilt is the applique in the center medallion. When it is finished, I think I will name the quilt Rebekah. Not because the book is so great, but because she was a great woman and the book made me think about her more and honor her more for the role she played in history. When I see the quilt, I think of the hours spent sewing it and listening to Mr. Card's story of Rebekah.

2012-01-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

I have been listening to Jane Austen's Mansfield Park for the past week or so, while I have been sewing and catching up on a few friendship blocks I need to make. I must say that I have enjoyed it very much and words like 'indeed', 'vexed', 'perhaps', 'displeasure', 'hasten', 'regard', and 'agreeable' have been running through my mind. Definitely not the kind of refined language I am used to!

But on to the blocks. I have a few completed, but still lack a few more before next week. I despise being behind!

Sally wants a snowman, any size, blue background, no Christmas colors. Mine is sure a plump and ugly fellow, but hopefully he will work for her quilt.

Timpi wants a flower; any flower, just happy colors with a white background, any size.

Jamie wants a 12 1/2" block with 5 4" circles from the ADORN ME Moda collection.

My, my, this sounds like a Christmas list! I started a new civil war quilting project last night by cutting out fabric and started the sewing today. Although I already have 5 or so UNFINISHED civil war era quilt projects, I had to start another one! I need another book to listen to and pass the time!

Another Birthday - Dang it!

2012-01-23T12:19:00.002-07:00

I have the privilege of sharing a birthday with the amazing and incredible Robert E. Lee on January 19th. It was a wonderful day. I attended my grandma's only brother's funeral about an hour away. My grandma's family has a wonderful heritage. Her mother's family are Sorensens and came from Denmark when the LDS missionaries converted thousands of Danish folks to the gospel in the mid 1800s. Her father's family are Dutch folks from Holland, Ackermans, and also came to the US after being converted in the late 1800s. My grandma was the oldest sibling and passed away in 2007. Her brother, my great uncle Boyd, just passed away last week. The funeral was a wonderful compilation of stories about Boyd by his children and grandchildren. I truly enjoyed hearing the stories they had to tell of Boyd as one of the last cowboys in a place where the city grew up all around him. Some of them made me laugh, and a few of them made me cry. It was a good time, plus I was able to see my parents at the funeral also. Emmitt loved being with his grandpa and grandma for most of the day.

When Emmitt and I got home from the funeral, the girls were walking home from school and this box was left on my front porch. It says :
Instructions: Close and lock door. Hide behind large piece of furniture. Quietly open box. Savor and enjoy!

I opened the box and inside this smaller red box was carefully packaged among ice packs, styrofoam, and other soft and cushy shipping material.

My dear sweet mother sent me a dozen monster sized chocolate covered strawberries! They were wonderful! What a thoughtful and delicious treat! I did share a few of them, and I must say I sure did enjoy!

Matt and I went to dinner and after dinner we came home and had some cake Matt brought home from work with the kids. I really like that there is only ONE candle on the cake! With this picture posted, I suppose I must confess that we are getting an addition to our family in June. There is no more hiding it - it can no longer be hidden! We are excited about this new little wonder and can't wait until we can meet him or her.

2012-01-19T11:56:00.000-07:00

I was in need of a few good family pictures. I needed a good picture to put on Christmas cards, and I needed to replace a few picture frames from our last family picture when Emmitt was just a few months old. So I called my sister Tori.

Photography is a hobby of hers that she enjoys, plus she is really good at it. Her family came up to Heber on a Sunday afternoon around 4:00. Since it gets dark at 5:00, we hustled. We get out of church at 4:00, so as soon as we got home, we changed clothes and jumped in the car and drove to the north fields.

It was freezing, but I told the kids to smile and for Tori to start snapping. It was over in about 8 minutes. Tori said it was the fastest photo shoot in history! I think she captured us well. She did a great job! Now the pictures will go down in Crane history! I love this crew of mine!

another long winters evening

2012-01-17T10:49:00.001-07:00

Kelsey wanted to count the money in her piggy bank, and if Kelsey does it, then Kendal wants to do it too. Then of course, Emmitt wants to help. Kelsey actually counted the money, but Emmitt and Kendal were just happy with sorting the money into like piles. Let me tell you, these winter nights get long around here with it getting dark at 5:30, so entertainment comes in any form! But I noticed yesterday that the days are getting noticeably longer! Yippee!

2012-01-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

I started this quilt in 2006 when I joined the Utah Quilt Guild's statewide round robin exchange. I have some fun blocks in this quilt from about 12 other ladies from around the state of Utah. I have spent the last few years off and on making more blocks. Well, last week I finished making the last few and put them together. With these blocks, the quilt measures 72" by 84".

I added one small dark blue border the other day, so now I am just waiting to find that perfect red and blue print to add a larger second border. It will end up at 88" by 100". I started this quilt with intentions of it going on my bed. I think that is where it will end up!

I am such a fickle woman, because now that the veggie, perennial, and shrub catalogs are showing up in the mail, I want to think about yard work! It doesn't help that we still have NO snow, when the yard is usually buried by a foot of it in January! It makes planning projects so much easier when I can see what I need to see! Actually, I think I may take the shovel out today and see how frozen the ground is, and play in the dirt for a bit if I can!

sweet little wool coat

2012-01-15T13:35:00.001-07:00

I adore this picture. I wish I knew where I stole it from, but I can't remember. It had to be from Amy or Sarah Jane. I just saw the picture and loved the coat, so I saved it to my pictures. I want to make one of these little civil war wool coats so badly. I just think it is darling. We don't have that many opportunities to wear cold weather civil war clothing here in Utah, because we plan most of our events for summertime. I guess there is always early mornings and later nights, but my little ones don't stay with me overnight that often. Either way, I don't think I can suppress the sewing bug - I MUST MAKE ONE! I want to kiss those sweet little cheeks too!

2012-01-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

I couldn't find Emmitt the other day. I was busy in the kitchen and I realized I hadn't heard from him in awhile. He had made a HUGE mess in his room by dumping out every single nicely sorted bin of toys he had. He wanted to watch a Dora movie and I told him he needed to go clean up the trucks first. He didn't like that response. So when I was busy, he got the little DVD player, put in the Dora movie he wanted to watch, climbed into my messy closet, curled up in a blanket, and closed the closet doors to watch his movie.

When I called for him, I heard a very faint "What mom" come from my bedroom. I thought he was under my bed hiding. Then I heard Dora and Boots the monkey yell for MAP and found him in my closet. He is such a little stinker, I love that boy of mine.

By the way, the closet is horrible, I know. I blame the nasty half you see on my dear sweet lover Matt. My side is not so pretty, but his is just sad sad sad.

painting

2012-01-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the 'before' shots.

Yes, my stockings were still up!

Emmitt and I painted while the girls were at school. He really was great.

So, take your pick, if you like lighter paint, look at these first pictures taken in the early afternoon. If you like darker paint, look at the latter pictures, taken on a snowy day in the morning. Same paint though!

This is only phase 1 of the project. I still have to paint the walls DOWN the stairs, but my parents made me promise not to do that by myself. My mom says someone needs to hold the ladder. I think I agree. So, phase 2 will be coming soon!

2012-01-10T22:18:00.001-07:00

This is what we did today - more pictures to come!

The girls are back to school

2012-01-05T09:07:00.001-07:00

The girls went back to school on Tuesday the 3rd after a wonderful Christmas Break. They were excited to go back and see friends and teachers. Emmitt sure loved having them home though. It is back to boring mom now! Matt had some vet work to do on Tuesday, but he had plenty of down time at home. Emmitt kept asking him to play chess. Matt really didn't want to, but finally he said "Sure buddy, you set it up and then come and get me" thinking he just got out of playing chess.

A few minutes later, Emmitt came and got him and led him to the chess board he had set up. Matt and I were both amazed. All the pawns were in the correct place, and Matt only had to move 6 or so pieces to make it perfect. I guess he has been watching when the girls play! Matt of course made him play by the rules, and they had a great time. Whenever the girls play, he uses his truck and horse trailer to haul away the pieces that are killed. See how he backed up his trailer to the chess board? That boy cracks me up!

We celebrated back to school day with a hot dog and marshmallow roast that evening. It is so crazy, because usually our fire pit, lawn, and garden are covered with at least 8 inches of snow in January. This weather is starting to make me nervous! We invited some friends over also, Jen and her family, and also Amanda and her family. It was a fantastic and chilly time. This is the only picture I got, since it got dark so quickly. The kids had a great time jumping on the tramp, running around, and just playing, while the adults huddled around the fire and chatted. It was a good way to celebrate back to school day and no snow covering the fire pit!

Christmas Break Days 10 and 11

2012-01-03T08:23:00.000-07:00

Day 10 of the girls' Christmas Break was New Years Day. It was also Sunday so we went to church. It was a good day, just everyone home for the day and eating the yummy food for the special welcome of 2012.
Day 11 was Monday, the last day of their break. We made it!! Kelsey has been wanting to go to work with Matt for a year or so, so she took the chance on Monday. She had a good day and loved watching Matt do surgeries all morning, but by the afternoon she was a bit bored. I told her to take a book, but I am pretty sure she played on Matt's computer all afternoon! Either way, both of them enjoyed the time together.

That meant that Emmitt and Kendal were here with me, and of course making blanket huts, playing farm, and getting along really well. That meant I got to sew! I am a bit behind in the friendship blocks I need to make for quilt guild, so I got busy. Beth wants a 10 inch red star with white background. Here is what I did:

First I drew a star on a 10 inch square of freezer paper. I then cut out the star into 9 pieces. I found nice fat quarters of red and white fabrics in my stash, and ironed them. I then placed the two fat quarters together, one one top of the other, and arranged the 9 star pieces of freezer paper on top. The great thing about freezer paper is that it sticks when ironed, so I ironed my freezer paper pattern onto the fat quarters, making sure to leave at least a 1/2 inch in between the pieces.

Then I cut out the pieces leaving 1/4 inch seam allowance on all the inside edges. You can leave a 1/4 inch on all sides of the pieces, but I wanted to have more red as a borderish look.
I removed the red pieces of the actual 4 star pieces, so it left the last layer of white as the star.

Then I moved the white outside pieces to match up with the red star. Now I have two blocks that are exact opposites of each other that need to be sewn. The best way to sew them together is to do it in sections of 3; the top 3, the bottom left corner 3, and then the remaining 3.

Here are the two blocks I ended up with. This one is for Beth, she wanted a red star and a white background.

This is the second, extra block. I am not sure what I will do with it, but oh well!

The other friendship block I needed to make was for Leah. She wanted a 12 1/2 inch snowman block. This is what I came up with. I used a pattern from a magazine I had kept from a few years ago, then just added what I wanted to make her look a bit whimsical. I still have a few more friendship blocks I need to catch up on, but at least I have a few to deliver to quilt guild this week!

Christmas Break Day 10, New Years Eve

2011-12-31T18:04:00.000-07:00

Today is New Years Eve, and as boring as it sounds, we are not planning on going anywhere or doing anything crazy. We are having some fun chips and dips tonight, and some delicious munchies with the kids, and that is about it. I plan on being in bed by 10, no kidding! One funny story: the kids were arguing earlier today so I put in the movie Mary Poppins for them. All was well, and blissfully quiet as they watched the movie and sat together nicely on the couch without pestering each other. After about a half hour, Emmitt came upstairs to where I was cutting fabric in the kitchen and said "Mom, Mary Poppins is giving me a headache!" So he stayed upstairs, had some chocolate milk, and helped me. It was so cute of him and it made me giggle because she gives me a headache too!

Christmas Break Days 8 and 9

2011-12-30T17:01:00.006-07:00

Thursday, what a day it was.

I was able to deliver the civil war cot quilt I made for Amanda's dad. He was so sweet and grateful. He loved it and was so appreciative. That makes me happy and it makes me feel like the time and energy spent making the quilt was well worth it. I went over to Amanda's house for a fun night with her and her dad, and also Caleb. Caleb learned some Brenn Hill songs on his guitar for Amanda's dad and he sang them for us all. It was a fun fun night just chatting with great people.

I also got the Christmas tree out (YIPPEE) and bought myself a new camera. We will see how this one holds up. The 3 previous Nikon Coolpix didn't seem to like my rough back-pocket-behavior!

Kendal spent part of the day doing an optional homework assignment by reading books online. She passed off a reading level and had a great time reading. She is so excited to go back to school and have her teacher see how much to accomplished on the online reading program. She and Kelsey went over to a friend's house that have 2 daughters the same age as my daughters. They had a blast.

Today is not that exciting. The kids are and I cleaning up more Christmas remnants. It is warm outside, so they are headed out for a bit.

Christmas Break Day 7

2011-12-28T11:52:00.002-07:00

On Wednesday Kelsey cleaned out her room and I cleaned out the sewing room and we swapped a computer desk for a large book case. I love the new book case in my sewing room, and she loves having a homework desk in her room now. In my cleaning, I came across this old round robin quilt top from 2007. I made the center apple tree and 3 other ladies from my quilt guild added the 3 additional borders. I put on the dark brown border and took it to the machine quilter to finish. I made this the year my Grandma Lela passed away, and it is called Grandma's Apple Tree since she had a few apple trees and there are sweet memories in my mind of playing in her apple trees and eating apples with my siblings and cousins. I can't wait until it is finished!

I also finished up the civil war cot quilt I am giving to my friend Amanda's dad, Larry Bowman tomorrow night. Here is what the label says:

Made for Captain L.R. Bowman, Surgeon for 2nd Regiment Ky. Infantry. Thank you for your kind and generous service to our brave Southern boys. I am forever grateful, Mrs. R. Crane October 1863

It turned out pretty nice and fun. I hope it keeps him warm on those cold reenactment nights! I love sewing with reproduction fabrics and with older, simple quilt block patterns that the ladies would have used in the 1860s.

Christmas Break Day 6

2011-12-27T21:52:00.000-07:00

Since my camera is still angry at me and has no intention of forgiving me, I have no pictures to post for Tuesday the 27th, although plenty happened at our house today.
Kelsey and Matt went to Salina at 7:00 am to work cows, check on the baby calves, and get more firewood. They didn't get home until late and Kelsey had a fantastic day. That means Emmitt, Kendal, and I spent the day at home. Those two get along really well, and they spent the morning playing with the farm toys that Santa was good enough to leave us. I did laundry, lots of it, cleaned our very messy house, and cooked. Christmastime seems to make this house a mess. I really wanted to take down the Christmas tree, but I knew it would break Matt's heart, so I left it and worked on a particular civil war cot quilt for a very particular man. I am so excited to give it to him in a few days!

Christmas Break Day 5

2011-12-27T16:22:00.001-07:00

The day after Christmas, my sister Tori and her family came up to Heber City to ride the Heber Valley Railroad with us. I had won a few train tickets, and I was able to purchase 6 more discount tickets for our fun after Christmas adventure. We rode the 3:00 Train and Tube train. We rode on the train around Deer Creek Reservoir, and then returned to Soldier Hollow to go tubing. The normal tickets for this train run $38 for adults and $28 for children. With my free and discount tickets, the math turns out to about $5.30 per ticket. That is right! AMAZING RACHEL! I love KTMP radio - they are the folks that hooked me up!

Anyway, the boys, Emmitt and Brogan LOVED the train experience. They loved it when it had to blow its whistle while crossing all the roads to get out of town. Brogans eyes showed pure joy! The girls enjoyed it too.

Matt had the day off of work and was excited for our day excursion and he enjoyed it very much. We sat by the wood or coal stove in our train car, so Tori and I heated up really quick for some reason! We actually opened our windows for a bit!

Kendal loved the experience and would only sit with Tori and Jared. She is on a baby-craze lately and she and Brogan made plenty of noise on our end of the train!

Little Brig was put straight to sleep whenever the train was moving. He woke up when the train stopped to turn around, but I admit, that motion and the heat made me want to fall asleep too!

My sweet Emmitt. He loved every minute of the day. He loved being with Brogan, riding the train, seeing the baby, tubing, and just being with everyone else on a fun day together.

When we stopped and got off the train at the Soldier Hollow depot, a bus took us up the hill to the tubing spot. Matt and Jared started off the troops while Tori and I got dressed and snuggled Brig in the Lodge. It got dark pretty quickly, so Tori's picture taking was pretty limited.

I was surprised we didn't get colder than what we did. Taylor and Kelsey stuck together the entire time and once I came out of the lodge, Kendal and I hooked up for a good time. She really enjoyed it and was quite the maniac tubing girl. She got to go down 5 times while the older girls only went down 3 times. Emmitt and Matt stuck together and I saw them come down once. Emmitt had his little gloved hand covering his smiling face. It was the cutest thing I had seen all month! Jared and Brogan went down a few times and Jared took turns with Tori so she could tube also. At 6:00 the bus picked us up and took us back to the train depot in Heber City.

It was a super fun day with my sister and her family. The cousins really enjoy playing with each other and I so very much enjoy Jared and Tori's company. We finished off the night with dinner at The Dairy Keen together - the best burgers and shakes in town.

CHRISTMAS DAY

2011-12-26T16:11:00.001-07:00

Well, my camera is mad at me for getting sawdust in the lens on Christmas Eve while we were getting firewood, so I have no pictures of Christmas Day at our house. Can you believe that? What crumby luck! But we still had a wonderful day. I told Kelsey that she and her brother and sister could not come upstairs until 7:00 am. Matt and I woke up around 6:00 and we heard footsteps and excited voices coming up the stairs at exactly 7:00! Santa did stop at our house and left us with some wonderful presents. By 9:00 all the presents had been opened and everyone was ready for breakfast.
We went to church at 1:00 and it was a good meeting. Emmitt was a little wound up, but it was still a nice way to spend Christmas. We made phone calls to grandpas and grandmas and shared all the excitement. It was a wonderful day, but we were all ready for bedtime when it rolled around.

Christmas Break Day 3 - Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T21:37:00.001-07:00

On Christmas Eve day, we loaded up and headed south to Salina. We needed another load of firewood in a bad way, so we headed to the ranch. Matt's brother Mark and his boys joined us. They needed some firewood too.

There was a lot more snow up there than I expected. I guess since we still don't have any here in Heber City still, I didn't think there was snow at the ranch!

The kids were great. We worked from 11 to 3 loading the wood Matt and Mark cut into the 4 wheeler trailer and then taking the 4 wheeler off the mountain to the trucks and the large trailers waiting below.

We brought a nice load of wood back to Heber City, and Mark got a nice load also.

When 3 o'clock hit, the air cooled off and the sun was starting to sink further in the sky. We loaded the last load and headed to Denny's. The kids ate like they hadn't eaten in awhile. It was great.

We made it home Saturday night around 8:00 and the kids were beat. A bathtub and pajamas refreshed them and they remembered that Santa was coming! They all slept downstairs and fell asleep very quickly. Working hard all day was a good idea!

It was a fun day with cousins, and a fun way to spend Christmas Eve. Since there is no snow here, it was nice to feel a bit of a white Christmas! I told Matt that the only way to spend Christmas Eve any better than what we did, was if we were helping Santa in his workshop.

Christmas Break Day 2

2011-12-23T12:58:00.001-07:00

Today I worked on a civil war cot quilt I need to finish for a Christmas present. It is going to turn out nicely.

We also made some shortbread cookies to take to some of the neighbors. I didn't make enough because lots of neighbors didn't get any. I guess that means we ate too many! I found the recipe at Feminine Farmgirls's blog. MMmmmmm!

I also got to see my nephew Brig and FINALLY give him his new quilt I finished for him just today!

He is such a cute little man!

The kids and I also met Matt at SLC's Temple
Square to see the lights. We have not done this in about 5 years, so it was time.

It was a chilly night, but we all stayed warm and had a good time. The kids loved it, but I think Matt and I enjoyed it all more than they did!

After the lights, we went to McDonalds for a dose of hot chocolate. I think this was the highlight of the day for the kids! Pitiful isn't it? It was a great day with so much going on, the kids forgot to argue with eachother!

Christmas Break Day 1

2011-12-22T14:12:00.001-07:00

I have been cleaning and spiffing up my sewing room today. I noticed Kendal and Emmitt sneaking into the closet and picking out a few pieces of Dora the Explorer fabric that they were laying down in the hall and playing hopscotch with. I told them that was fine, but no big messes. Well, this is what I came out to in the living room a little while later. My sewing room looked great, but all my novelty fabric stash was all over the living room floor! They were having a fantastic time! I must have really been into my cleaning not to see them sneaking all that fabric out of the room I was cleaning!

About an hour after we got all that cleaned up and put away, I was pinning a quilt in the front room. I heard Kendal yell "Eugene, please, help me!" I turned around to see Kendal as Rapunzel with a long green fabric scrap for hair, and Emmitt as Eugene climbing up to save her. They crack me up. When I told Kendal that whatever was in the box was a breakable Christmas present from Grandma and Grandpa in Missouri and that it could not be her tower, the two immediately began making a couch cushion tower. That is what they are doing right now. I can hear them now, and I hear the farm horses and cows have joined them in the tower. I hope it is the plastic horses and cows!

County Chess Tournament

2011-12-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

Saturday my two girls played in the county-wide chess tournament. It was a K-12 tournament, and there were kids from all 5 elementary schools in our valley there. Kelsey played in the 3-4 grade division, and Kendal played in the K-2 division.

Here is Kelsey during one of her matches. Everyone got to play 5 matches. It is so cute to see all the concentration in those rooms!

Here is Kendal playing in one of her matches also. Gosh, they are so cute!

Kendal had a killer fever all day on Friday, all night, and into the morning. When she finally started feeling better, all she wanted to do is play chess between matches. She loves to play and is definitely getting better!

Here is Kelsey and her friend Liz. There were only 7 girls in the entire tournament, K-12. This is definitely a boy dominated event!

Here are the kids that won trophies from Kelsey's elementary school.

Trophies were given for the top ten in each division. Everyone else got medals.

Kelsey tied for first place in her division. She won 4 matches and had a draw on one match. There were 26 kids in her division. Here are all the first place winners. That sweet little Kindergartner in the front is almost the same size as his trophy! Can you believe that kid in yellow is in the 10th grade? I swear they get smaller and smaller!

It was a fun way to spend a Saturday and the girls had a ball. Matt took Emmitt to the ranch to move cows off the mountain, and they had a great time too.

my chopped bargello quilt

2011-12-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

I took a bargello quilt class at Quiltfest in 2008. It was a super fun class for me, even though I have an angry look on my face! This is me part way through my bargello ordeal - I had a huge tube of fabric strips.

This is how it ended up looking. I loved it, but it was too long and too narrow. I intended on adding another panel to it, so I would make it twice as wide, but I could not find all the same fabrics again. So I folded it up and put it in my sewing closet.

I pulled it out the other day. Kelsey's 4th grade class is doing their service project this week. They are tying quilts for the Children's Justice Center. The lady that was over the project, brought me a whole mess of ugly 4 inch blocks for me to piece together into a lap sized quilt top so the 4th graders could tie it. I didn't want to piece all of those squares together, I know, LAZY!

So I chopped my 3 year old bargello quilt top in half, since it was too long and skinny in the first place! Then I added a few borders from some of the fabrics I collected to make that non existent second panel. It turned out to be a nice sized lap quilt top. The 4th graders tie their quilts in 2 days. I am going in to help - hope it turns out well! Now I have another half and enough border fabrics for another one too!

2011-12-02T08:59:00.000-07:00

My sweet cowboys

Apple War

2011-11-28T21:46:00.000-07:00

We had Thanksgiving this year at my in laws house, even though they were not home. It was great. All the Cranes got together and had a fantastic dinner and day. I only got a picture of the "9 and under" table, not the prettier adult table! Oh well, the kids had a good dinner, but they didn't appreciate it as much as they should have, but the adults made up for them.

The kids wanted to go back outside and play after dinner, so they did. I went out on the back deck to find this:

Judd, Lainee, Ainsley, Paige, Lilly, and Kendal behind a fort of leaves, plastic kids deck chairs, signs, and a rake for good measure, and

Ashley, Kelsey, Aly, Ayden, and Larry behind a fort of more leaves, more plastic chairs, but with the added protection of a snow shovel and plastic crate.

They were having an apple fight.

Full sized, picked fresh from the tree, apple fight.

Their trenches were dug in pretty close, but that is because most of them (excluding the boys) can't hit a thing to save their lives! I was watching this little cousin apple war with interest. Nobody was getting hit although lots of full sized, not crab apples, were being launched, so that means they were not hunkered down using their protection. I was guessing how long it would take for someone to get hit and hurt for them to realize they needed to actually use their amazing forts for cover.

It didn't take too long. I mean, look at Larry, he looks like he is pitching for the big leagues! I watched him hit Paige in the leg, and she gave him a dirty look and just gathered more apples. Then I went in the house to finish the dishes. Soon Kendal came in crying. Of course. She was not using the protection the fort was trying to provide. I loved on her a bit and she kept crying. I asked her where she got hit and she told me her tummy. I lifted up her shirt and there was a perfect, beautiful, round and raging red welt in the shape of a monster apple dead center on her tummy. I bet that hurt! I saw Ashley later and asked her how she got that goose egg on her forehead. Apple fight. Emmitt went out for a bit but came back in crying. He said he got hit in the shoulder. At least he learned to find safe ground, the rest of them just played and played apple war all afternoon.

It was a fantastic Thanksgiving.

2011-11-16T14:38:00.000-07:00

My kids make a lot of blanket and couch cushion huts in the winter, but the other day when it was a balmy 28 degrees outside, they decided to make a fun little cozy bed on the front lawn. (Emmitt is burrowed in the center.) Crazy kids. Winter seems to last way too long here in Heber City, but things have been quite nice so far this season. (knock on wood)

Finished!

2011-11-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

Finally finished! Kendal was able to take Mrs. I's quilt to school today. She has been so excited to take it and would get angry with me when she would come home from school and I still hadn't finished it.

Kendal said they had storytime on their new reading quilt today. That makes me smile. She also said that the boys don't like the Princess and Dora squares. Too bad boys! I gave them firemen, fish, aliens, dinosaurs, and cowboys!

Halloween Anniversary

2011-10-31T18:30:00.000-06:00

October 31st is our home's anniversary. We moved into our house on Halloween of 2002. So HAPPY 9th ANNIVERSARY to us! In honor of such a fine day, I dug through some old cds of pictures. ENJOY!

Kelsey as a little Indian, 2004 - age 2

Kelsey, Matt, and Derek, 2004

Pumpkins 2005

Kelsey and her amazing pumpkin, 2005 - age 3

Kelsey as a "black kitty" in 2005

Kelsey the kitty and Kendal the angel, 2005. Ages 3 and 5 months. Kendal promptly fell asleep after this photo was taken so there was no trick or treating for her!

Pumpkins 2006

Kelsey as Rapunzel, age 4 and Kendal as the little Indian (minus the hat, no way was she going to wear the headdress) age 1 - 2006

I love the look on Princess Kelsey's face!

The two little mummy girls, 2007. Kelsey age 5 and Kendal age 2.

Kendal had a blast this year and really got into the trick or treating, although she wouldn't say anything at the doors!

Kendal the black cat and her master Kelsey the witch - 2008.

Kelsey the witch age 6 and Kendal the kitty age 3.

Matt and I even dressed up in 2008. Kendal didn't like Matt's mask at all!

Kendal as Pocahontas, Emmitt as a dragon, and Kelsey as a gypsy -2009.

Kendal age 4, Emmitt 7 months, and Kelsey age 7.

The little dragon and his mom.

Kelsey the "black and white girl", Emmitt the mummy, and Kendal the black cat - 2010.

Kelsey age 8, Emmitt age 1, and Kendal age 5.

It was so cold last year for trick or treating we had to cover up our costumes to stay warm!

Pumpkins 2011

My silly spooks this year, 2011. Kelsey age 9, Emmitt age 2, and Kendal age 6.

Kelsey is Morticia, Emmit is so excited to be Spiderman, and Kendal is a witch.

Happy Halloween!

Anasazi State Park

2011-10-30T19:16:00.001-06:00

Last weekend me, my sweet kids, and my parents went to the Anasazi State Park in Boulder. Kelsey is in 4th grade this year and so that means she is studying Utah History. It was Fall Break, so we took the chance with the kids out of school for a few days to head south. Kelsey was excited about going to the park, but I think she was just as excited to be with her grandparents.

Kelsey and Emmitt inside the museum.

The kids making rubbings of different pottery patterns.

This sign tells us that a village used to be right there in front of the sign. Archaeologists have found remains of rock walls buried under the dirt and sagebrush.

Here are original Anasazi dwellings also. They figure this group of Anasazi's only lived in this location for less than 100 years.

Sweet Emmitt and his crazy smile for the camera.

Silly Kendal and her crazy smile.

They loved playing in the dwellings that were made recently by the Utah State Parks Division.

Kelsey's Anasazi Indian pose.

I can't keep this boy out of the dirt!

Kelsey is glad she doesn't have to grind corn for dinner!

We had a Subway sandwich picnic at the park and then we headed further south past Calf Creek Falls to play in the Escalante River.

My dad has spent quite a bit of time in this country for work. He showed us some of the lines he has worked on and what poles he has had to replace numerous times! Since he gets to play in the outback of The Grand Staircase National Monument, he knows where alot of interesting things are that most people don't know exist.

One of those is an old, Anasazi granary up in this rock face. It is not quite half way up, and a little to the left. It is hard to notice, because it is right along the river and there is so much else to see when you walk by this spot.

Kelsey was adamant about climbing up to it just like the people that built it did, she is that little speck in the bottom right hand corner. She didn't get too far, but I guarantee if we gave her enough time, she would have!

My dad showed us a few more little granaries, but Emmitt and Kendal only cared about playing in the cool,

deliciously soft sand.

This spot was right under the bridge of Hwy 12 going over the Escalante River. It was so cool and fun. The sand was intoxicating. I told my mom and dad that if I were a local teenager, I know where I would be every day in the summer to beat the desert heat!

Emmitt was acting like a wild man in the sand. It reminded me of the way Kelsey acted when we went to Mazatlan one time in December when she was almost two years old. She could not get enough of the sand, and actually acted just a little crazy like she couldn't get enough of it. Well, that is how Emmitt was acting. My dad asked if he acted like this in our very own sandbox and I said "No way, the sand isn't as soft." My dad laughed at that comment and said that sand was not either soft or hard, but I must say, that Escalante River sand was nice and soft! Plus, the atmosphere was so very pretty!

Me and my boy. Emmitt loved throwing rocks in the little creek, when I could get him away from the sand!

We had a great long weekend. We spent Thursday and Friday with all the Crane cousins in Salina decorating Halloween cookies and playing hard. Friday night we went over to my parents and spent all day playing with them on Saturday. We got home late Saturday night and enjoyed every minute!

2011-10-24T08:46:00.000-06:00

It is Red Ribbon Week at school this week, which means that the everyday norm gets to be shaken up with different dress up themes this week. Today is CRAZY HAIR DAY and this is what my sweet ones went to school like this morning. They were both happy as larks!

2011-10-18T09:24:00.000-06:00

My project for the day (or two) - put the quilt sandwich together and get this baby finished!
I went into Kendal's 1st grade classroom on Friday and saw the sad little reading rug they have, so I asked the teacher if I could make an I SPY reading quilt. She was more than happy to let me, so here we go. Kendal is so excited!

Presley's Baptism

2011-10-17T14:26:00.002-06:00

Last weekend my niece Presley was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We all went to the baptism and it was wonderful. Afterward we headed to the firehouse for a delicious dinner. Here are all the Chappell kid cousins, minus Waylon, but since he is in high school now, it seems like he is one of the adults! On top is Kaitlyn (Presley's friend), Taylor, Kelsey, and Presley. On the bottom with silly faces are Brogan, Kendal, and Emmitt.

My brother Glen took all the kids on a fire engine ride. They all thought is was the coolest thing ever!

Brogan was the cutest. He is at the perfect age to truly appreciate a fire engine ride!

My brother Glen works for the USDA Forest Service as an Assistant Fire Management Officer. He has worked for the Forest Service doing fire for 21 years I think. WOW, that seems like a really long time. Anyway, not only does he fight wildland and forest fires, he is also on the local fire department. Fire is in that fella's blood. Really, he lives for fire. It makes him happy and he is good at it, so there is a perfect combination.

This picture was taken on their way back into the fire station - all smiles and giggles!

Here is my sweet and wonderful brother in law Jared, little baby Brig, Emmitt, and Brogan. What a handsome bunch of boys! We are used to mostly girls in the family, so now that we are getting a few boys, it will turn from dress ups to Tonka trucks when we all get together.

The rest of the pictures are just silly ones. I wanted my mom to take a few pictures of Tori, Glen, and me all together. This is what happened.

Tori is reminding Glen how he used to spread his legs as wide as possible when we used to ride in the car together - all 3 of us in the back seat. Tori and I used to get so mad at him for hogging all the room. Funny how much we loved to bicker and torture each other back then! It made my mom crazy. I didn't think it was that big of a deal at the time (all the bickering) but now that I am a mom I realize how crazy it makes mothers to hear their kids quarreling! My mom used to tell us when Mother's Day was coming up and we would ask her what she wanted "Just a day without you kids fighting." I used to think that was the dumbest thing I had ever heard. First of all, we were not "fighting", just arguing, and second of all, why not want a REAL present? The older I get the more like my mother I become, and I that is seriously GROOVY, but I think that will also be my answer to my kids when they ask me what I want for Mother's Day!

Here we were comparing leg length. Tori totally beat all of us, including my dad. We were measuring the length of the femur, and Tori's is definitely the longest!

This is my sweet little family. My parents, and my siblings (nice face Glen - screw up the whole picture would you!) and me. I love them very much and I love it when we get to be together. It was a fun day in South Central Utah with family to celebrate Presley's big day.

2011-10-09T08:13:00.000-06:00

Boy I love a good Sunday morning!

Civil War soldier cot quilts - again!

2011-10-08T23:10:00.004-06:00

I had the opportunity to teach a class this year at the Utah Quilt Guild's Quiltfest a few weeks ago. It was so much fun. The theme for Quiltfest this year was A Symphony of Colors, so my class was titled Blue and Gray; The War of Colors Cot Quilt. Of course I taught a fun civil war cot quilt pattern that can be found at http://www.patternsfromhistory.com/civil_war/cot_quilt.htm. I had a few of our Utah Civil War Association guys come in and share some history with the class, as well as my friend Amanda, who played her hammer dulcimer for everyone.

Jake, Scottie, and Jamin did a fantastic job talking about their weapons, their uniforms, civil war stories, and of course singing civil war songs while Amanda played her dulcimer. Whenever the guys would stop to take a breath, the sewing ladies that took my class would tell them to tell another story. There were not very many ladies that signed up for my class, but there were a ton of ladies that came in to visit and listen for awhile!

My class was 3 hours long, so we had tea, chatted with the ladies, listened to great period music, and of course listened to the fellas tell civil war stories while the ladies sewed up their civil war cot quilts. It was a wonderful evening and the guys were so great to come and help me out.

I also started another civil war cot quilt a month or so ago. My friend Kaye Dawn Epps from our local quilt guild showed this quilt at our guild's Sew and Tell a few months ago and I loved loved loved it. She made hers with modern red, white, green, and blue fabric and it turned out gorgeous! The block pattern is called 'Kentucky Crossing' and is a fun period quilt block. The pattern can be found at www.homeofthebravequilts.com and was written by Patricia and James Cummings. It is a Sanitary Commission reproduction quilt pattern found at the A.K. Smiley Library, Lincoln Shrine in Redlands, CA.

So of course I used civil war reproduction fabrics for my quilt. Most of the fabric I used was fabric that I like and just purchase over time, but some of it is made from leftovers of the civil war dresses I have made. Emmitt loved seeing his dress fabric in the quilt. He would point it out every time! He also recognized Kendal's dress fabric, and my dress fabric. I guess that is what the ladies would have done 150 years ago when they made quilts for their soldiers off at war.

The sashing and corner stones sure add to the layout.

I used two batts - one wool and one cotton. I wanted to use period correct materials, and I wanted it to be warm, since it would really be used by a soldier when reenacting. These pictures are horrible, but it was probably 2 am and natural lighting was non existent!

I laid down the backing fabric, a pretty black floral civil war reproduction fabric, and taped it to the carpet. Then I laid out the cotton batt and then the wool batting. It was so so soft!

Then I laid the quilt top on the batting and got to pinning it together, starting in the center and working out to avoid any monster wrinkles. After 250 pins, I was finished!

I placed the pins where I wanted to tie the quilt. Since I would be tying it from the back, the pins made a perfect marker. Many of the utilitarian quilts of the mid 1800s were tied on the back with a very small stitch that was almost unnoticeable on the front. I used both a black and cream cotton string for tying; the black was used on the black cornerstones and colored fabric, while the cream was used on the cream sashing. This made sure that the ties were not seen from the front, and made the back super fun!

Here is the finished quilt, hanging sideways, but complete. It will hopefully keep a sweet Rebel soldier warm while out fighting The War of Northern Aggression!

I also made this quilt for another soldier in the Utah Civil War Association. He does mountain man rendezvous as well as civil war reenacting, so I made his quilt with homespun fabrics so it would be appropriate for both time periods. It was also made with one cotton batt and one wool batt for super warmth!

Emmitt thought is was super snuggly! He loves it when I lay quilts out, that is why I usually have to do it at night when the little man is having his sweet dreams.

So, that is what I have been up to lately. Well, sort of. The months of August and September were busy ones for me and I am looking forward to a nice carefree fall!

Quiltfest Quilt Show

2011-09-23T14:33:00.001-06:00

I went to the Quiltfest quilt show the other day and just generally checked things out. I am teaching a class at Quiltfest tonight and I had to scope it all out! Quiltfest volunteers do a wonderful fundraiser where donated baskets are silent auctioned. They are always so fun. When I went to look at the baskets, this is the first one I looked at. I loved it of course. It is a Civil War basket, with a bunch of cw books, a bunch of already made civil war era quilt blocks, a darling doll holding a picture of old Abe, and a bunch more delicious civil war things inside! I put in a silent auction bid of $50.00 and hung up a few of our signs (very sneaky!). When I went back an hour later the bid had already gone up - dang it!

This is the basket I put together for the one our quilt guild donated. The Quiltfest theme this year is A Symphony of Color. The ladies from the Heber Valley Quilt Guild donated a fat quarter of fun colored fabric and a large Symphony candy bar. I made color copies of the Symphony wrapper, and then Kelsey folded all the fat quarters up and pinned them inside the new wrappers. I also saw a cute Mozart journal, so of course that needed to go in there too! I wrapped it in the required cellophane and hopefully it will bring a little money to the Utah Quilt Guild's Quiltfest. There ended up being 24 fat quarters and 18 candy bars.

Now here are just a few of my favorite quilts I liked at the quilt show - ENJOY!

Stars in the Garden by Judy Fitzgerald of Alpine, Utah

Feathered Stars by Gail Nye of Paris, Idaho

Autumn Convergence by Marsha Chappell of Loa, Utah

No Place Like Home by Xenia Stirland of Alpine, Utah

Here is a close up - I love love love the yo yos! I can not imagine how many are appliqued onto that darling quilt, but more than I have ever made!

Stars of Glory by Allison Babcock of Santaquin, Utah

My sweet Emmitt being very sweet and patient in the stroller, even with the GROOVY carpet!

The Lincoln Quilt (a pattern by Cody Mazuran) made by Marilyn Toone of Farmington, Utah

sentimental

2011-09-21T18:45:00.002-06:00

So when I was home over Labor Day Weekend for the best family reunion on the planet, I had a few sentimental moments with my camera. Growing up at 199 East and being the furthest house East in town was seriously the sweetest deal. The foothills were my playground, and the hill between my parents home and my grandparents' home was my yard - I knew it like the back of my hand. Every rock worth knowing, every patch of Brigham Tea, every cactus that stuck out a little too far onto the trail, and every sage brush that scraped your hair as you ran by them. It was wonderful. I wish my kids could have the same childhood I had, but I know that will never happen. Life has just changed too much in the last 30 years. Anyway, here are a few pictures of my childhood.

Red ants

A crucial part of growing up in Lyman, Utah. This picture was taken on the road to my parents house. There were red ants everywhere. My brother once found a monster ant hill on the hill and they found many parts of his body to nibble on. My sister Tori once got an ant farm. The black ants that came with it were amazing, but I must say that my quart jar home made ant farm with local red ants was awesome. Until my brother put grasshoppers with missing legs in there -they was nasty!

Cactus

This is a picture of the hill taken from the road, yeah, nasty little patch! Me and my cousins and neighbors learned to stay clear of them.

Oh, better shot of said hill and cactus.

The hill deserves its own sign. My dad put this up sometime when I was in middle school. It was funny. This is on the road that leads to my parents' house. My super funny sister decided in her 'mad at the world pre-teen stage' to add a few lines to the 'I' and make it say HELL. I am not sure if she actually used black paint or just some black electricians tape, but it said HELL for a long time. This sign is sentimental to me for some crazy reason.

This is the gate that separates my parents' road from my grandparents' yard. It was always tied with twine - I remember orange twine when I was growing up and going through that gate 20 times a day during the summer.

These limbs are silver maple limbs. I remember when my grandma planted this tree. I was in my second year of college and thought I wanted to be a forest ranger. I thought it was great that I knew the Latin name of the silver maple, Acer saccharinum. My grandma was not so impressed.

Crab apples

They are a sweet part of any reunion and all my cousins and uncles would agree. There have been many a crab apple fight and they will always remind me of my grandma since she planted so many in her beautiful yard.

My grandma's broom could be found outside her front door hanging on two empty spools of thread. I love it. It makes me want to do that too. Hey, maybe I will go hang some spools in my garage.

Snapdragons

My grandma kept an amazing yard and garden. She made things grow that shouldn't have on that dry clay-soiled bench in Lyman. She was truly a wonderful gardener and she always had snapdragons growing in the summer. I learned that snapdragon flowers can be pulled off and made into little mouths when you squeeze their sides together on my grandma's front walk.

The shop

My grandma did upholstery work and she had 'the shop.' She recovered many chairs and sofas for many of the folks in Wayne County for many years. It was a forbidden place for us kids to go when we were little - maybe that is why I am fascinated with it.

Trough

Not much, just a watering trough, but when I was little it was the best place to get a drink in the summer when you were on my grandma's side of the hill. It used to be a bathtub, that is so redneck now when I think about it, but that is just how it was then. We used to play a game when I was around 11 years old called "reservoirs." We would turn on the water, let it run until the trough ran over, and water would run all over the dirt between the tator pit and the road. We would then turn it off and make streams, rivers, and reservoirs with the mud. After our amazing systems were made, we would turn the water back on and see how long our dams would last until they overfilled and broke.

Wow, where was my Nintendo DS?

Oh yeah, didn't have one!

This shed is full of my dad's old tractors now, but back in the day it was full of little stalls full of ewes and their baby lambs. I remember my dad telling me he would pierce my ears for me for free when he ear tagged the sheep. I knew he was just teasing, as usual, but still the thought of it made me nervous! I loved watching my dad and grandpa dipping the brands into the red paint and marking the sheep. I loved that the metal brands looked backwards going on, but by some wondrous miracle, the numbers always came out the right way!

The scene of the near death experience for my five year old self. My dad was my hero! He gave that onery old buck a whoopin after it rammed me into the fence. I thought I would be trampled and die a horrible death, but I am sure it was just a stiff nudge!

The chicken coop

My grandpa and grandma had chickens and here is the latch to another off limits place for us little grandkids.

The latch was up high so us little ones could not reach it and let the egg layers out. I remember going in there with either my grandpa or grandma to gather eggs just a few times. It was a magical, dusty, smelly place to me where I expected to find a golden egg. My parents had grandparents had a sweet trade - my grandpa would bring over a dozen eggs tucked under his arm and would take back a gallon of milk that my brother milked from our cow. Good trade. I can still picture my grandpa walking up the dirt road with his cane in one hand and the eggs under the other arm. How sweet.

Twine

I just loved the look of this everyday sight - the old barrel full of twine in the stack yard.

Black electrical tape

I love that the pitchfork is repaired with black electrical tape. Since my dad is a lineman and just a Mr fix or make anything guy, we always had black electricians tape laying around. It was used to fix just about everything. I have currently a shovel that my dad gave me and the handle is loving embraced with black electrical tape!

The old brooder

The brooder used to live here in this empty spot next to the corrals. When I lived there, it was never used as a brooder for chickens, but as a saddle shed and storage shed. I grew up knowing it was 'the brooder' but I never knew what a brooder was until I was in high school. I thought brooder was a fancy name for saddle shed! The brooder was torn down quite awhile ago, maybe 10 years ago, but I bet longer. I am pretty sure I learned a few cuss words in the brooder, just so you know.

This gate separated my grandparents' property from Wendell's property. One year Wendell had the biggest, meanest bull any of us had ever seen. We used to sneak around this fence and look at that big old boy, then dare each other to get closer and closer! This gate was a magical gate, and of course off limits!

I stood right by where the brooder used to stand when I took this picture. It is of the road obviously, but it is a special road. It is the road that my cousins and I used to race our horses down on our way back home after a fun ride. All of our horses knew this was the racing road and they knew as soon as we turned the corner up by the Vandyke's that they should get to going. One time Roxy (my horse) was trying really hard to beat Mitzi (my cousins' horse) and just went full throttle to the end of the road. I thought she was going to run straight into the brooder's front door she was so intent on keeping up her momentum. She stopped so quickly right in front of the brooder I am pretty sure I went over her head and onto the dirt. Mitzi always won.

The Dodge

This is my dad's old dodge truck. I can not remember what year it is, but he loves it. One day when I was 14 or 15 we were down at the field doing chores. My dad let me drive home, about 2 or 3 miles maybe. I pulled up to the gate which was only half way open and I stopped so my dad could get out and open the gate. I was happy with my clutching abilities! My dad told me to just keep driving and we had a bit of an argument about me driving through that sweet little hole in the gate. I told him I couldn't fit and he said I could. I was a stubborn 14 year old so I thought I would show him and so I drove - right into the railroad tie fence post. My dad said a word I had only heard a few naughty boys at school say, and I didn't know my dad even knew that word! I was shocked -by the impact and the fact that my dad knew that word and said it! I have since enjoyed knowing my father as an adult and knowing that he does know those words!

The pig

There is a propane tank behind the gardening shed in my grandma's yard. The one I used to play on is not this one, it was much smaller, but it is in the same place. My cousins and I used to climb on it and pretend to ride the pig. It was a pig because it had a little circle-thingy on one end that was called the pig's tail. I am not sure how many we used to fit on there, but I remember having a good time hidden in the lilac shrubs playing on the pig. Oh, and the compost pile was on the other side of the fence - awesome! Lots of memories there too.

The stairs

I remember when these stairs up onto the hill were made, the cinder block retaining wall, and the sidewalk cement poured. I thought it was the perfect little shady, romantic place to sit when I was little. My cousin's daughter Bella was sitting here and so I had to take a picture. It was so darling.

The storeroom

The coolest place to play when you were a big kid was on top of the storeroom. It was built into the clay hill. You had to be big to climb up there, and also to have the guts to stand on the edge and taunt all the little kids that you were up there and they were not. It was a great day when it was my turn to be a big kid and get up there. I remember the tickle in my belly as I looked down on the rest of the world, and all the little kids. I think I remember the boys having peeing contests off of there too!

My Emmitt on the magical stairs covered in the white clay dust of the hill, nice and dirty. What a good time we had at the reunion. I think my kids enjoy it as much as I want them to. I took a ton of pictures, with lots of volleyball and the whole gang. If you can make the link work, it takes you to my facebook photo album of the 2011 family reunion.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1979417688837.2100055.1345002492

ropin'

2011-09-14T12:44:00.000-06:00

Matt grew up roping. He was a farm and ranch boy and he learned to rope when he was young. When he was in high school, he did high school rodeo and competed in calf roping and team roping. He won quite often and he loved doing it.

When we were living in Pullman,Washington going to vet school, we had some great neighbors. One favorite family was the Holsts. They had a little boy named Brendan. Here he is at around 3 years old with Matt roping at the playground near our apartment. He used to come and knock on our door and say "Can Matthew Crane play?" Matt would then get his rope and go rope him and all the other kids that lived in our apartment complex. They loved to get roped by Matt and Matt like the diversion from studying.

Here is the Holst family now. Brendan is now 15 years old and I am sure he is a great big brother to his crew. They still live in Washington, and one day it would be great to hook up with the Holsts again.

Matt loves to rope our kids now. These pictures were taken on a beautiful July evening. The kids were squealing with delight and having a fantastic time. The only problem was that Matt never missed, so they kept getting roped. I told him he needed to let them 'win' every now and then!

Oh, Emmitt got away on that one! Look at that smile!

So Matt came home from work last week with 3 new ropes - orange for Emmitt, green for Kelsey, and of course pink for Kendal. Matt got his old rawhide roping steer head out, stuck it in a box, and taught Kelsey to rope. Emmitt thought it was wonderful. He packs that orange rope around all over the house! Kelsey has a long time before she can reach Matt's expectations of a roper, but she loves it and wants to learn.

late late back to school

2011-09-09T17:56:00.001-06:00

The girls are back in school now and things are getting back to a schedule. That truly means Emmitt plays farm at my feet while I sew! YIPPEE!!

Here is my crew at a dressing room at Kids Gap. See the happy happy look on Kendal's face? Yeah, she is not a shopper! I am not either, and I must admit how happy I am about our back to school shopping - did it all in about 4 hours, 3 stores, and for about $225.

Now, here are all of us being very noisy and naughty in the dressing room for a picture.

I love shopping at the Tanger Outlets in Park City, but unfortunately, so do many many other folks! We went during the week and it wasn't a big deal at all. We stopped and played on the toys. Kendal hates clowns and for some reason it didn't bother her that I was sitting next to one for this picture. In the past she has broken down in tears when a clown comes around like in a parade or something. Maybe she is growing up or maybe she was so taken with playing on the firetruck and bus that the clown didn't matter!

Here is my crew on a worn out sweet leather saddle. They are so sweet.

After shopping we went to Mrs. Field's cookie place for a treat. All the money I didn't spend on clothing was spent on a spendy little treat for each of us!

Talk about a tummy ache! Come to find out they didn't want their cookies, they wanted my pretzels!

Here are my sweet little (big) ones on their first day of fourth grade for Kelsey and first grade for Kendal. They are so darn cute and it is going to be a great school year I think!

This is the Place civil war adventure

2011-08-29T22:58:00.001-06:00

These photos have been uploaded for 2 weeks just waiting for me to write and explain them. Don't think that is going to happen, so here you go friends - this was our wonderful Voices of the Civil War event at This is the Place Heritage Park in August. Great great times, great friends, great memories, great experiences.
That is about all you get out of me this time around!

new dress, coming up!

2011-08-10T17:59:00.000-06:00

This is what I will be doing the rest of the evening - finishing the waistband first,

and then sewing this (up above) to this (down below).

So if anyone has a good chick flick, bring it and come on over!! It might be a long night. Oh wait, I need to make a collar too . . . bring 2 or 3 movies over!

We are headed to Voices of the Civil War at This is the Place Heritage Park this weekend. It is going to be a great time!! Come see us if you get a chance!

http://www.thisistheplace.org/what_to_do/civil_war.shtml

A very random week at our house

2011-08-08T22:27:00.000-06:00

My sweet little girls the other day at Soldier Hollow - we are gearing up for a great event come Oct 1st!
www.hebervalleycivilwarlivinghistory.com

The fair was last week and my sweet Kelsey made herself a skirt which earned a blue ribbon and she also made her Julie doll a matching skirt that was selected to go to the state fair. She is such a good little seamstress. We went and picked our things up at the exhibit hall today and she made $15.00 this year at the fair!

Emmitt and Kendal played Scooby Doo cards this afternoon while I sewed buttons onto my new civil war bodice. I am trying to get it finished for Civil War Days at This is the Place Heritage Park this weekend. If you all need some good times this weekend, head on up to This is the Place!

Emmitt and Kendal slept out on the tramp by themselves last night. I was so worried I checked on them 4 times in the night! They just hunkered down and slept the night away. Kelsey and I slept out with them the night before and it was a long long night for me! I swear mothers don't really get to sleep when camping or doing fun things like that because we are so worried about our kids - making sure their covers are on, making sure the cat is not sleeping on their head, making sure their bag is zipped up, making sure that groan in the night didn't really mean anything, etc etc!

So, with the fair over, I get to add this quilt to my bed. It is starting to get chilly here at night. It breaks my little heart. Summer wasn't that hot this year, and I am grateful for that, but I want it to stay for another 4 months or so! I needed to add another blanket to our bed anyway, and since I picked this one up from the fair, that it where it went for now. It is not really big enough for my queen bed, but it is fun to look at for now.
This quilt has taken me a year to complete - ridiculous! It is a good thing the fair comes around every year so I can complete at least one quilt. This sweet thing has been waiting for its binding for about 5 months now, and it finally got bound last week - in time for the fair!

ABBA in SLC!

2011-08-02T17:15:00.000-06:00

Last weekend my sister Tori, my mom Buttons, and I went to the Sandy Amphitheater for The Music Of ABBA by The Arrival. We purchased tickets at least a month ago and we figured if we arrived an hour early we would get some sweet general admission seats. WRONG! We still had nice seats, but since the Sandy 5th Ward Dance Company sat in front of us, well, we couldn't see the stage.

I grew up listening to ABBA since it is my parents' music. I also grew up listening to CCR, Fleetwood Mac, and all of those fun bands, along with some wonderful Marty Robbins. Anyway, we all (spouses included!) went to Mamma Mia The Musical a few years ago and it was so fun, so we jumped at the chance to hear it all again live.

We took a bunch of pictures at intermission and they were not working out so well so we decided a few silly ones would turn out crazy anyway, so that is what we did. We were laughing so hard, we made a scene. The Sandy 5th Ward fellas that had been ousted by their dancing queen wives offered to take a few pictures for us, but we declined - it was half of the fun!

So, here are the best of Tori, Buttons, and Rachel. Dang we are sweet! Thanks ladies for a fun fun night, even if my pasta was nasty!!

My time in Manassas, Virginia

2011-07-30T21:55:00.001-06:00

Last weekend I was in Manassas, Virginia for the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Bull Run/Manassas. It was fantastic! My friend Amanda and I flew out and had a wonderful Virginia experience. I uploaded a bunch of pictures onto Facebook, if you are interested, look here for them. The picture above was one that was found in the Yahoo News online picture gallery of the event. We were wishing the soldiers well as they marched off to battle.

I have a thing for fife and drum music, so whenever I heard it, I would smile, and then sometimes follow the sound to the makers of such fun music! These are a bunch of talented Yankees, but I found some wonderful Rebels also!

Friday we were able to sight see and I am grateful for the chance to see a few of the places I had been wanting to visit and experience. The visitors center was amazing! This is the monument build by Union troops a year after the battle to honor those Union boys that lost their lives at the Battle of Manassas. It is found on Henry's Hill.

This picture is found on the info board near the monument. I love this picture for some reason, I guess because now I have actually been there - stood where they stood.

And here I am touching where they stood. I know it seems silly, but I loved it. I am so grateful for anyone that serves their country in any way and feel honored to be where they have been, especially the patriots of long ago.

Another sight I wanted to see was The Stone Bridge. It was so pretty! This is Bull Run Creek and I loved it also. The temperature was 116 degrees when this picture was taken of Amanda and I. This little desert rose was not used to that humidity!

We were able to join in with a group of re-enactors from Arizona. Here are a few of them. Such nice and fine gentlemen!

With the temperatures so hot, we headed to a sweet little creek one afternoon after the battle. It was the only way to escape the heat while remaining sane! This is me, Amanda, and Michelle in our very period correct underpinnings cooling off in Little Bull Run Creek. I think we spent about 3 hours of the hot afternoon soaking up the coolness of this little oasis.

And here we are the next day, fully dressed and refreshed for a new day of sweating and portraying sweet ladies of the South!

I loved watching the soldiers march, and with 8,500 of them I got to see alot of them! We would wish them well as they marched off to battle. They would tip their hats our way, give us a smile, a few officers would wave their swords to us, and we heard a few "I'll be home soon darling" and "You are the reason we are fighting this war sweetheart." It was so fun. On Sunday when they marched off to war, Amanda played her hammer dulcimer and the Marahs girls played their violin and cello for the boys. They loved Dixie and Bonnie Blue Flag being played as they went to fight. There were many whoops and hollers as their spirits were gladdened with the music!

It was a fantastic trip and I believe a once in a lifetime event for me, as I think me getting back east for another 150th anniversary event is going to be hard as a wife and mother in the west!

My pony is facing East

2011-07-20T08:37:00.000-06:00

At around 5:00 tomorrow morning I am headed to Manassas, Virginia for the 150th Anniversary Commemoration of the first major battle of the American Civil War. If you are a Rebel, you call it the Battle of Manassas, if you are a Yankee, you call it the First Battle of Bull Run - either way, I am so excited for such a wonderful opportunity!

I am flying out with my good friend Amanda. We are so excited to be able to participate in this event. Some of our UCWA guys are driving out and are on their way right now. It is going to be such a great experience with around 8,500 reenactors!

I am leaving my sweet little ones with my niece April for a day, and then Matt is taking Friday off. They have great plans for the 24th of July weekend. I know they will be so busy with all the festivities that I will miss them more than they will even think about missing me! With the 24th of July in mind, all of you Utahans please think of the history of our great state!

Ackerman Family Reunion

2011-07-19T16:34:00.001-06:00

Saturday I went to my Ackerman Family Reunion in Pleasant Grove. Here is a picture of the only remaining children of Parley and Diantha Sorensen Ackerman. My grandma Lela was the oldest child, and here is her sister Jalene, brother Boyd, and her sister Melba.
When I drove up to my great aunt Melba's home for the party, I continued to drive down the street a little bit to see the old beautiful sandstone home of my great grandparents, Parley and Diantha Ackerman. I kept driving and never saw it when I realized I had gone too far. I turned around and there where the house used to be was a pile of rubble and a newly paved road that led into a subdivision with a large sign that said "Parley's Place Subdivision." My throat constricted and my eyes burned. I wanted to cry, but I didn't. Actually, one little tear did leak out the corner of an eye. I had stopped in there about five years ago and didn't get the chance to take a picture of the old house. I have meant to do it now for a few years but have always been in such a hurry and I rarely go to Pleasant Grove. I could just kick myself now.

So, with cousins I have not seen in 15 years, I took pictures of my close family. How lame is that?!?!? Here is Tori, Brogan, me and my mom. We did have a nice little lunch and had a good time talking with folks I barely know, but still made me feel like I have known them forever.

This is my dad holding an original pencil drawing of what an artist thinks my great great grandma Nettie De Groot Ackerman looked like. There is a published story of her paying her tithing in chickens to the bishop, so the artist drew a 'poor, stout Dutch woman' carrying 2 chickens to the Bishop's Storehouse to pay her tithing. I wish I had that drawing, but I do have the story.

Okay, my mom, me, and my sister Tori - I love the gals in my family. We know each other so well and are so different that we love each other despite all our differences. They are great ladies.

Kelsey and Jared. My girls were pretty good sports about sitting around in the heat with all the old people! Matt and Emmitt escaped to the ranch to fight the bugs, fix some fence, and spray the thistle for the day.

After the party, we went to my cousin's cherry orchard up on the hill for "a handful of cherries." Well, that is what I said anyway, but they were SO GOOD and there were SO MANY, that I ended up with a bag full. So did my parents and so did Tori. This is Tori and Jared - she is so stinking cute. Her little tum tum makes me smile. It makes me smile because I am glad I am not the one pregnant in July, and it makes me smile because she is an amazing mother, and another sweet babe is coming to her home soon. She is doing her sexy cherry pose here and it cracks me up.

This is us - yeah kinda silly. Tori was giving a 'come get me' look and I was trying, but I just don't have it in me! My look is more like, 'hurry up so I can pick more cherries!'

Kelsey has climbed a tree again. My dad did say on this little trip that she is a monkey without a tail. She and my dad made a good team - she would climb the trees, pick the cherries, and then drop them into my dad's hat.

This is Tori's little man Brogan. I just thought the orchard was so nice and cool in the heat of the day, and his little sweetness of presenting his mom with a cherry poked onto the end of a stick was so sweet! It was a fun day. I am still sad about missing the picture of my great grandparents' home, but I guess I learned my lesson. Don't put off till tomorrow what you know you should do today. We still have a few cherries left, and nobody is sick yet! Thanks family and thanks Ackermans!

Capitol Reef National Park in July

2011-07-17T12:06:00.001-06:00

Last weekend we took the Jones family down to my parents home and stayed and played for the weekend. Mark Jones loves to hike and I had told him about a little hike down at Capitol Reef that only the locals know about. It is not a marked trail and I don't think one person in the park's visitors center knows about it. It is one of those wonderful 'good ole boys' secrets.

This is the Jones family at the beginning of the hike, wait, Emmitt is in there too on Mark's shoulders. Where is William? Okay, it is not the entire Jones family!

It is a short little hike, where towards the end you run into a wonderful cave and then a rock wall. I have scaled this rock wall before with a few super strong and tall guys to help (my dad and brother, high school and college boyfriends, etc) and it is quite difficult. Since Mark was going to be the only super strong guy with us, I grabbed a few ropes at my dad's house; an 8 foot lead rope and a longer lariat.
The first obstacle of the rock wall was to get a piece of wood wedged between it and another rock to use as a stepping spot. We had to break the ends off of a piece so it would work the way we needed it to, and then we got another one, to make two steps.

The kids just waited and played at the bottom for a few hours while we went to work! It started raining on us, but we were so sheltered in the little canyon that it wasn't bad at all. The kids climbed around and played on the ropes, and Emmitt just loved to sit in the sand and run his fingers through it!

They were good kids. Kelsey is like a little monkey but without a tail, that is what my dad says anyways, plus she is pretty brave, so she climbed all over the place while Kendal, William, and Emmitt watched. Here she is in that tree while they sit on the rock and watch!

After Mark and I got a few pieces of wood in place, we tested the ropes. We only had the ropes on a few small broken off branches of a dead tree, so we were not too trusting of them. Kelsey tried them out and of course, climbed the rock.

Here Kelsey is at the top of the rock while Mark and I watch. Mark did have to give her a little 'cheerleader lift' with his hands and her feet, and then she was scrambling up the rock like a monkey and was up! The rock was a little too slick and wet from the rain, and the ropes were not all that strong, plus I just had stitches taken out of my foot 3 days before, so we stayed down - DANG IT!!

Here are a few pictures Kelsey took at the top to show Mark and I what we were missing by being too cautious. Cool bridge and also cable to help you stay on the rock as you walked across this part.

There are a couple of spots that have hand and foot holds carved into the rock, but I don't think she took any pictures of those. It was fun for her to go and explore by herself. She didn't go up last time we went there because she was only 6 or so, so it was fun for her to see.

Kelsey also took this picture of the rest of us from the top while she was exploring. Here is Mark and I between the two rocks that we wedged the poles into, and the little ones at the bottom with Emmitt playing in the sand!

Boy they were good kids! Amanda, Thomas, and Lydia had to head back to the car while we were hiking.

This is the fun cave right before the rock wall. I went on a Junior Prom date here when I was a Senior. We had a sweet little picnic in here with blankets and candles. It was really fun. I think it was raining then too!

After our little excursion, we headed to the big picnic area at Capitol Reef and had some lunch and played around. The weather was so cool and nice - what a crazy weather day for Capitol Reef National Park in July!

Here is Kendal and Lydia. They have become quite good little friends over the past while. They love to play together!

This is sweet little Emmitt back at my parents' house. He loves the 4-wheeler. We had just gone for a little ride and he wanted to sit on there for awhile. I took Emmitt and Kelsey out to the 'dirt track.' The problem was that my foot I just had surgery on could not shift, so Kelsey drove us to the track, but I took over because I love the speed! As we were racing around the track, Emmitt kept yelling "WAHOO!" It was the cutest little thing! Thanks to the Jones family for a great weekend, and thanks to my mom and dad for letting us stay in the cabin and letting us have a such a good time.

My most precious memories - in a box or two

2011-07-12T23:02:00.002-06:00

This is my sweet sweet son and his fun little boy cousin running through the sprinkler at my mom's house. Man the good times I had, and the good times we had a few weekends ago together.

Kendal, Emmitt, and Brogan are the cutest little buddies. They have such a good time together and seem to always find something to keep them going - sometimes in a naughty direction!

This is my nephew Waylon who is 14 years old. He is such a crack up. I wish I were able to be around him more because he has inherited my dad's sense of humor, and my brother's face. Just watching him reminds me of my childhood and sometimes I think I see my brother right before my eyes!

I remember August evenings at home when I was somewhere around 8 or 9 years old seeming to last for hours. We had an old empty wooden spool used for wire from my dad's work and this old fiberglass ladder that was our jungle gym. We would see who could walk the spool the farthest without falling off, and we would see who could climb the ladder the highest before it fell over. Man, good times! I remember quite vividly getting up there pretty high on that ladder. I showed Waylon how we used to do it and for an old aunt with a buggered up foot, I did okay. Waylon was set on beating me, and he did. What ever happened to good old fun???

This folks, is the attic. The wonderful little spot above my dad's shop that was so much fun when I was growing up. We used to sleep up there in the summer, play up there, and I am pretty sure we had some 'club meetings' up there too. It was a sweet set up - a queen bed, a black and white TV, a little carpet, and this crazy swing thing my dad made to hold flour sacks. Did my mom bake?? I am not sure why we had 50 pound bags of flour, maybe it was cement!
Anyway, the attic has been the house of all our wonderful memories and junk for too long. My mom and dad told me and my siblings this spring that we needed to come and get our treasures because the attic was getting cleaned out and dad was tearing down the stairs and landing. Ouch - memories just demolished!! Sorry mom, just had to throw that in!

So Tori and I went to the attic. She was not feeling as sentimental as I was and told my dad to bring the dump truck over and park it under the landing. She tossed lamps, microwaves, stuffed animals, Barbie houses, college textbooks, cheerleader clothing, and all kinds of other fond fond memories! I on the other hand, had a hard time chucking anything. I even kept a few of HER things she wanted to throw away! I did finally part with my 'bug boxes.' The sweet wooden boxes my dad built for my insect collection in college. That hurt - badly!

Anyway, here I am on the landing going through some treasures. I had every handout I ever received from Young Women's, every secret sister gift from girl's camp, stitches from our dog Andy when she was spayed (I am sure I was 10ish!), wonderful Avon perfume from long ago, kidney beans my brother once put in my bed as a joke, love letters from 8th grade and beyond, and so so so much more!

I kept pulling things out of my boxes and saying "Oh, I remember I got this in 7th grade from Trena when we had field day at Capitol Reef" and then I would hold up a stick. Okay, so that was a stretch, but not by much. My mom, sister, and husband finally left me to bask in the dust of my high school years. It was awesome! For pity sakes, I saved the plastic sword from my junior prom that had my name on it!! And I hate to admit it, but a sampling of the streamers also!!

I really just wanted to leave all of my stuff in the attic. It was FINE there, just fine! But no, I had to dig through it and decide what was important (all of it!) and take home what I wanted to keep, and throw the rest into the dump truck. It just seemed wrong wrong wrong! I did enjoy looking at all my clogging and gymnastics costumes I wore in middle school, dang I was sweet! There were oodles of things from my high school boyfriend Brian. Wow, oodles. I did keep some great memories, but I did chuck the poster he made at the last minute to ask me to the Harvest Ball one year. What a crack up! Oh, and the wooden pencil holder Randy Hiskey made me in 9th grade I held onto; you never know when you might need a pencil holder in the shape of a number one. I did let the earrings Cameron Ekker gave me for Christmas in 8th grade go, it was hard, but I let them go. Kelsey asked me if she could have them and I told her "no."

I had around 5 or 6 boxes like this one - clearly marked. My mom informs me that the dresser in my old room is still full of great things too, but she will let me get all of those sweet memories another time! This exact box is still in my car trunk. I did not open it at my mom's. There was just not enough time to sift through it all! So I guess I get to see what treasures are in this sealed box next.

So, I guess since all my junk is out of there, the attic will be locked up for good. Well, my brother still needs to come and get his things. As I set my 4 boxes of stuff that was spared from the dump truck aside, I looked at my sister Tori. She got away with a shoe box size of treasures. What is it that makes me so sentimental??

Hey, anyone up for a chocolate SMILING SANTA that has to be a good 25 years old?? Or how about some hot chocolate mix I got at girls camp one year? Yeah, I am pitiful!

After the attic festivities were taken care of, we needed to eat. Thanks mom for such great meals and for cooking for us all. You are great! Emmitt loves his fruit and smiles so nicely when I tell him to now!

Brogan showed me his love of the glorious corn on the cob - another fabulous summer memory.

This is my mom and I. Yeah, we look rough, but Tori just chucked all of our great treasures into the dump truck!

I love getting together with my family, and teasing and laughing around the table. I sure enjoy them and love them so very much.

We had a wonderful, if not traumatic weekend sifting through our junk and letting the kids play with their cousins. We had a killer game of croquet that Waylon sweetly and humbly schooled us all in, that of course reminded me of the killer croquet games I used to play at my cousins' house. I swear my cousin Diantha took great pleasure in knocking my ball into the sage brush! Oh, good times!

Torrey Apple Days

2011-07-08T09:33:00.001-06:00

Matt and Kendal waiting for the Torrey Apple Days Parade to start - the best way to spend the 4th of July Weekend!

This is a fun small parade where the kids get overloaded with candy, and you get to see so many old friends that you went to school with - it is a highlight of my summer.

Me and the little man.

My sweet sis Tori and her family.

The folks in the ambulance threw this to Kelsey - it is the first time I have ever seen Ramen thrown in a parade! She loved it, she ate it raw the next day - ewww!

Emmitt and Brogan, the cutest little boys I know!

Tori and Rachel

The grandkids thought it was great to ride in Grandma's bug. I thought it was great - I was jealous!

After the parade, we headed to my Grandma Elaine's house and just sat around talking. I sure enjoy my Chesnut family, they are great. Here are some of the fellas.


Emmitt, Brogan, Kendal, and Kelsey. This picture cracks me up - I told them to "look at the camera!"

Here are the ladies. My sister Tori is pregnant and is the cutest pregnant lady around. She was hot, and I felt bad, but it wasn't THAT hot!

I love this picture. Here are the kids with their great grandma Elaine. We had a fantastic day at Torrey Apple Days. We went to lunch and I ate the best burger I have ever had in my life, played at the park at the carnival, visited with cousins and uncles, ate parade candy, and strolled main street with all the vendors selling their junk!

pads for Peru

2011-07-07T11:42:00.004-06:00

For the past few months I have been working on a project, and last week it ended. A fellow, his wife, and their teenage daughter from my neighborhood are currently in a sweet little village in Peru. There were 35 people that went with them from our valley. They are doing something great there, I am not sure what. All I do know is that they took clothing, hygiene kits, newborn kits, shoes, and these sweet 'feminine hygiene pads' we made. There are 25 girls in the village between the ages of 12 and 16, and they don't have any modern way to really deal with that wonderful thing called menstruation. I was asked as a sewing church member to help with that issue. I asked ladies from our quilt guild to help, along with the ladies that attend church with me.

So, we made 120 of these sweet flannel winged outer pads. I found this pattern on www.hillbillyhousewife.com. Apparently, this method is preferred by lots of folks, even if they don't live in Peru. These pads are washable and reusable and are perfect for their intended use!

The winged outer pads house smaller pads - the absorbent part. We made 360 of these smaller 3 layered absorbent pads. They have soft flannel on the outside and either cotton batting or fleece on the inside.

We matched 3 smaller pads with every winged pad. The great deal here is that you can use one or two smaller pads, or 3 or 4, depending on the need of absorbency.

After I collected all the pads from all the ladies that helped me make these, Kelsey and I packaged them all together. Thank you to the ladies from church and quilt guild that helped - you guys are wonderful! Thanks also to Kelsey. She was my quality control expert, my pinner, my cutter, my counter, my bundler, and she played her violin for me while I sewed! She was great.

We packaged 8 winged pads, 24 small pads, and 3 pairs of underwear in each package. We used my FoodSaver to suck all the air out and make them more compact to take to Peru. I wish we could have made one package for each of the 25 girls; we only made 15 packages. I feel very badly about that, but I have to remember that 15 girls will be happy with us. There is another group headed back to the same village in August. Maybe I will buy some more flannel and get busy!

spurs

2011-06-27T13:07:00.000-06:00

I had foot surgery on Wednesday to remove a few bone spurs that did not belong there and should not have been growing there! I have had them for years, but they have really been bothering me quite a bit lately. When Matt was in vet school I used to run alot. That is when my foot started hurting me, but a little rub down and warm water took care of the problem. It used to hurt me once a month and then went away quickly. In the past few years it would bother me once a week or so, but lately is has been hurting me alot more often and the pain would not go away. So I took matters into Dr Taylor's hands.

Wednesday Dr Taylor took the bone chunks out, I took drugs and slept for 2 days, and now all is well! I had a check up with him today and I was excited to see the incisions and how things are coming along. He is very pleased with how things look, and I am pleased with how I feel now that I don't need the drugs. I am still a little swollen, but things are good. I can walk almost normally and it is good to get outside again. I have to wear this sweet boot. I have been wearing it since the surgery, but now that I am up and at em, it is kinda funny. I get to stay with this sweet thing for another 9 days, which means I am going to look sweet while celebrating the 4th of July in Torrey, Utah!

Mater

2011-06-26T13:44:00.002-06:00

We drove back to Heber City from Salina this morning after a Saturday full of family fun and hauling hay. Our little niece Ashley was baptized and we had a delicious family dinner yesterday. Matt had to eat and run so he could get some hay hauled. He and his brothers hauled hay until dark so we spent the night unexpectedly in Salina. It was fun because the kids got to play with cousins all evening.

Anyway, we saw Mater this morning on way back home. He was parked outside the movie theater on Gunnison Main Street and it was the cutest thing I have seen all week, other than Emmitt sitting in the Tonka truck getting pushed down the road yesterday by his boy cousins. The kids loved seeing Mater and I have to admit, I thought it was pretty great too!

socks and more socks

2011-06-24T20:09:00.002-06:00

We all have household chores we don't like to do. I actually enjoy vacuuming, laundry, and weeding. I despise dusting, bathrooms, and mopping. My sweet Kelsey is getting old enough to be truly helpful in many ways. She mopped the kitchen and bathroom floors for me the other day without me asking. I loved it. She is quite the little neat freak too, so she loves to organize drawers, and anything else that seems like it is a mess. My friend Amanda does not like laundry. She hates it worse than I hate doing bathrooms. She had a huge tub of socks - all clean and unmatched. Kelsey's organizational skills kicked into overdrive and she matched and folded socks for an hour and a half and got through the tub. She is amazing and a joy to have around!

Oh, just for fun and so I won't forget: The three kids were playing today and Emmitt was causing some trouble as the two girls were doing puzzles. Kendal said "Emmitt, you need to move or we will get a new brother." She was quickly reprimanded and Emmitt was allowed to help put the puzzle together.

Fort Douglas Day Ball

2011-06-24T19:42:00.001-06:00

Friday evening before our big Saturday at Fort Douglas, we had a ball. It was wonderfully fun! Old Glory Vintage Dancers do a fantastic job of calling and teaching us dances. We had a nice turnout. About half of those that attended were from the Utah Civil War Association group, and the other half were just folks that heard about it and came out for the evening. These two pictures here were ones the Salt Lake Tribune fellow took. They turned out pretty good. I am in the light brown dress, so up above you can see the front of me, Amanda, Steve, and Austin, and then the below picture shows the back of me and my fluffy hair.

These are just a few of the pictures I took at the ball. I always tell myself that I will take more pictures, but I seem to enjoy myself too much to remember to take pictures!

Here is the ball gown I had been working on all week. I should have had a picture taken somewhere other than this narrow hallway, but it was the end of the evening and I was in a hurry to get out of the dress! I finished the hook and eyes to attach the bodice to the skirt together while Amanda did my hair just a few hours before the ball! I used the Simplicity 2881 pattern for the bodice of the dress. I already had the skirt, I just needed a ballgown bodice to go with it. I tweaked it a little bit to make it a bit more modest for me - the period correctness of the dress WAY off the shoulder is just a little too much for me! I also didn't add quite as much embellishments as the pattern suggests, because I am a bit more plain than fancy and that suits me the best. I think it turned out pretty good, and it was fun to wear. We had a fabulous evening at the ball. I love mid-1800 dances, they are so much fun. Hopefully I will have a few more chances to wear my new dress!

Fort Douglas Day

2011-06-21T22:30:00.001-06:00

Our Fort Douglas Day event began Friday morning at 6:30 with Big Budha from Fox 13 News interviewing our soldiers and doing a few fun live clips. He ate hardtack and salt pork and was apparently not all that impressed Our boys were wonderful!

Amanda and I were supposed to do a little segment around 8:00 am about ladies fashion and promote the ball that evening. It was a little crazy being on live TV and I am a bit embarrassed about how it all turned out, but hey, it will be okay.

This photo was taken right after I slapped Big Budha across the face on live TV. Yeah, not very refined, but he asked for it and the camera man kept motioning for me to give it to him, so I did!

Amanda and I also did another short segment around 11:00 that morning. I talked just a little about the ball and tea time, and Amanda played some music for Big Budha. Our kids were so so so good. They just smiled, sat still and nicely, nobody picked their nose or yelled out, and all went so well!

Fort Douglas Day involved military from Revolutionary War up to modern military. Here are a few of our guys from the American Civil War and also WWII. They were great.

Friday evening was the Civil War Era Ball, and that will have to be another post, all by itself. The following pictures are from Saturday, the actual Fort Douglas Day event. It was a great day - the weather was more than perfect, the friends gathered were great, the public was fabulous, and my kids were pretty good. Kendal had a rough day though, but overall a great civil war day.

Kelsey played her violin a little bit and really did well. Her favorite listener was Dave, our previous UCWA president. He loves music and he loved hearing her play. She loved all the praise!

This one was at the end of the day - that is why I am sitting on Kendal. She was such a little stinker and pest, I had to give her some of her own medicine! Emmitt enjoyed Austin as his portable swing and buddy.

It was fun to spend part of the day with Heather and Jorden, fellow Ladies Aux. members. It was fun to chat with Jorden as she rolled bandages and Heather knit.

One very cool part of the day was when I went inside the museum to get a drink. This is what I saw. It was an amazing entire display of World War I uniforms. They were amazing. All of the other wars were well represented, I just got pictures of our civil war corner. The music coming from the WWII jeeps was wonderful - I love that era!

Amanda graced us and of course the public with a little music on her dulcimer. We love it, they love it, and we are all happy!

My sweet ones were good, and we had a fun fun day. I had to keep the sword away from Kendal, the chess pieces away from Emmitt, and the goober peas away from Kelsey! I am grateful however to everyone of my friends that helped with my children, that is one thing that makes our group so great.

The World War II boys got out a parachute and played around for a little while. It was awesome. There was just enough wind to fill the chute and make them dance a bit. I love the 40s era and really appreciate the WWII veterans that fought for our nation. How blessed we are to have such great military men and women who keep our flags blowing in free skies.

I do have to admit that one of my favorite parts of the day was when Kris, our UCWA president this year, pulled out his wooden bat and leather ball. I adored them, fondled them, and then asked him to pitch me a few. Yeah, very unlady-like in a big skirt and all, but I could not resist. After a few pitches, a few fouls, and a strike, I sent one out of the park. Really, it went in the road. Took me by surprise, took Kris by surprise, and I think everyone else that might have seen it was surprised. It felt good! What a fun fun day we had, thanks to all my historical friends!

2011-06-19T23:31:00.001-06:00

Just a few picture of me and the little ones last week. Kelsey is really enjoying being out of school, but the weather has not been too summery yet. Kendal is chomping at the bit to play with the sprinkler under the tramp, but I have to wait for it to get a little warmer before that happens. Kelsey can't wait for it to warm up enough to do a lemonade stand. Emmitt has loved having the girls home all day too! Soon the days will warm up, but I must admit I love the coolness of it all right now!

Kendal starts summer school tomorrow. She was so sad that when the normal school year got out that summer school didn't automatically start. She is so excited; I hope it turns out to be a good day tomorrow. The bus picks her up at 8:00 (she has only ridden a bus once -to the zoo with me) and will drop her off at 10:10. I am so nervous for her for some reason, but she is cool as a cucumber.

So, since summer officially starts here in just a day or two, I send out happy summer wishes to all!

Fort Douglas Ball

2011-06-14T09:51:00.003-06:00

This my friends, this is what will hopefully become a ballgown bodice for a ball this weekend. Cross your fingers that I can get it finished! For those interested, there is a civil war era ball on June 17th at the Fort Douglas Museum in SLC. There will be wonderful dance instruction, delicious company, and the news media! AHHH!! Everyone is invited to attend, and you don't need period correct clothing, so come and dance with us! Saturday June 18th is a day full of fun also.

June 18th- Fort Douglas Day
FREE FUN FAMILY EVENT!
10:00 AM- 2:00 PM
Civil War encampment; fire a 57mm anti-tank cannon; vintage military vehicle parade; WW1 equipment display, WW2 equipment display; used book sale.
Free parking, free food, free fun

Alien vs Indian

2011-06-10T22:41:00.006-06:00

Last week This is the Place Heritage Park had Huntsman Day, a day of free admission and ice cream. I have never heard of this day, but apparently everyone else has because I heard there were 10,000 of us there! Anyway, the kids wanted to go, so we did.

We saw a one room cabin where 13 people used to live, I think in Sanpete County. The boys slept in the loft upstairs, the girls slept on the rug in front of the fire, and there was one bed. It was good for Kelsey to see that and think about it. She complains about sharing a HUGE room with her messy sister, it gave her a little perspective. It gave me some perspective too.

Emmitt was so excited to ride the trains. He is such a boy - loves the trains, tractors, trucks, but he also had a pair of ballet slippers on yesterday!

We went to the Native American camp where there was a lady all dressed up and outfitted to the max in her gear. Kendal said to me "Mom, is that an alien?" It took me a half a second to understand what she was really saying, but I said "No honey, the word is Indian." Kelsey thought that was the funniest thing.

Kendal's favorite part of the day was going to the old school house. The teacher held class and showed them what the naughty kids had to do, and what happened when they forgot to do their homework. They recited the alphabet and talked about George Washington. She thought is was the greatest thing. She was so cute!

Kendal also really enjoyed listening to this group of talented kids, so did Kelsey. They played so well together. I don't think one of them was over 17, and the youngest girl looked to be about 14. They were so talented and it was so fun to listen to them. Just the night before the kids Skyped their grandpa and he played the banjo for them. This banjo player was amazing, well, they were all amazing. Kelsey liked watching the violin boy and Kendal wanted to play the mandolin for about 20 seconds, but then decided she wants to play the violin like her sister. It was a wonderful day for all of us and my kids had a blast.

Memorial Day Weekend Civil War Adventures

2011-06-08T10:39:00.010-06:00

Memorial Day Weekend was a super fun Civil War weekend for us. Friday was a HUGE school day adventure for a middle school in Salt Lake City. They did a fantastic job in their own preparations, and plus they invited us, the UCWA. It was a super fun hit.

Kimberli and her crew taught a few period dances. The 8th grade boys were silly about it, but they all truly did enjoy it.

Amanda got to play her dulcimer a bit and had an interested and wonderful crowd of students for most of the day.

Ephraim did a wonderful job of holding adolescent minds and talking about uniforms and the life of a civil war soldier.

Jamin, Kris, and Jake made lots of new friends!

The Phisters did a wonderful Union cavalry demonstration.

Scottie and Emmitt were the brains behind the operation.

Jack portrayed a Provost Marshall and Gail portrayed a working woman of the South.

Jorden, Heather, and Mr and Mrs Grant
Jorden operated the school house, Heather did fashion for the students, and the Grants taught dancing.

After we cleaned up our school day camp, we headed to Camp Floyd and set up. Camp Floyd was an actual Federal military camp in 1861. When the Civil War broke out, the soldiers traveled back home to the east and fought for their respective areas. Here is me and MaryAnn, the hat lady. My camera hit the dust after the school day event, so the pictures from Camp Floyd were stolen from my friends.

Kelsey was able to play a little violin for a bit.

Here is Steve, myself, Jimmy, and John
Why all the blue??

Me and Emmitt
The weather was not the best for the weekend adventure, but we made the best of it most of the time.

This is Traci spinning wool, one of the civilian group members that we sure enjoy.

Jack, Gail, Me, and Austin, my Southern crew.

This is Richard the barber. He is amazing and his place smells so good! I just wanted to take a whiff of every guy that walked out of the place!

We had a nice weekend. The weather was a little nasty and my friend Amanda could not stay for the entire weekend, but I sure enjoy all my reenacting friends and the good times we have together.

2011-06-07T07:47:00.005-06:00

While at the quilting retreat a few weeks ago, I worked on Emmitt's new dress. I also had to make him a new pinafore. It turned out a little shorter than I wanted, but that is all the fabric I had. Everyone thinks he is so girly in his dress, but I have been looking at old images from the 1860s, and they dressed their boys so very ruffled up, spiffed up, dolled up, and what we would consider today very dainty and girlish. His new dress is so very very plain compared to the ones in the images.

I also pieced the top of this baby quilt together at the retreat using reproduction fabrics. When I got home I added another border, hand quilted it with large stitches and bound it. I made it for a sweet lady in the civilian group that just had a baby about 6 months ago. Amanda and I decided we wanted to give her a gift from the bottom of our 1860s heart, so I made this quilt and Amanda found the most amazing little antique spoon and cup at an antique shop. I wrapped the quilt up in brown paper with cotton string and attached the cup, spoon, and a little wooden toy Amanda found and it was a hit! The reenactors loved it, the baby loved it, and the public loved it. I wish I were Santa because giving things to people and seeing them so happy just makes my day.

The UCWA had a wonderful school day with a Jr High School in Salt Lake City a few weeks ago. It was such a great day. My girls were in school, but my little man was able to come with me. He was such a good little boy and acquired a few new 8th grade girlfriends. It was a perfect weather day, and things went so well. It is so enjoyable to be with the amazing reenactors from our group. They make this fun fun hobby so much more fun.

zoo

2011-06-05T11:44:00.004-06:00

When I was in high school I played sports. That meant away games, and that meant ball trips on the bus. What a great time! I remember my first ever away game my freshman year at Richfield High School, an hour away. There is a portion of the road that we call the Glenwood Dugway - super curvy and windy. Well, being the cool 9th grader that I was, I sat backwards chatting with my teammates and laughing when I felt it - bus sickness. I opened the bus window and let it fly - all down the side of the bus. So not cool. After that experience, I spent the rest of my 4 year sporting trips in the front seat with the coaches and chatting with Charlie the bus driver. Yeah, it was so not cool, but it was either that or paint the side of the bus again.

Well, the kindergarten classes at Kendal's school needed parents to go with them on their field trip to the zoo. I went. On a bus.

I took some motion sickness pills that morning, sat very still and only turned around 4 times to check on 2 of my 4 wards of the day, and made it to the zoo without getting sick. We had a fabulous time. My little foursome of 6 year olds were wonderful! They listened so well and we seriously had a blast.

Kendal, Ken, Destiny, and Giovanni were my kids and they were so great. I totally lucked out. The only problem I had was when we were eating lunch Ken said "stupid" during a sentence. Kendal promptly told him that we don't say that word. I chimed in as a wonderful parent and said, "Yeah, there are a few words that we don't like to say at our house." Ken then started telling me words that his older brother says that makes his mom mad. Yeah, not good. Giovanni started telling me some too that he isn't supposed to say and the conversation turned bad very quickly! I put the kabosh on that and told them we were done with that conversation. They thought it was funny, but they were good kids and started talking nice again. What was I thinking!?!?!

The day was a cool one with a little rain, but that was great. All the animals were very active and it was nice to go to the zoo and not have to search for the animals hiding and holing up in the shade. The tigers were especially amazing - Kendal was a little scared but had Giovanni to protect her though - it was darling!
The bus ride home was a little quiet, they were all tired and it went wonderful also. It was a super fun day and I am just really glad I survived the bus ride so well. Matt went on Kelsey's field trip a week earlier and said the bus ride was a nightmare with all the 3rd graders.

Kendal also had her 6th birthday a few weeks ago. She is such a wild and crazy good time. We love her so much and I am so grateful to have her in our family. Happy Birthday Muskrat!

Quilt Retreat

2011-06-03T08:50:00.005-06:00

A few weeks ago we had our annual quilt retreat. We went up to the Heber Valley Camp and we had a fantastic time. The facilities were wonderful - heated pavilion, HUGE kitchen, sleeping area, and the list goes on and on. We had around 30 ladies attend this year and it was fun to sew our little hearts out for the weekend.

Our guild is full of amazing ladies that create amazing things. Here is my friend Jen working on an adorable wallhanging.

And here I am on a 'minimal hygiene' Saturday. To heck with looking nice, it is all about the sewing!

This is the room I slept in with 10 other ladies. My sleeping bag is spread out on the floor. In the past, late late nights occur at retreat, but I retired around 1:00 am. A few of my sleeping neighbors rolled in around 3:30, and they were up before me sewing again the next morning!

I worked on a few projects, my THROW ME A CURVE quilt that now needs a few borders and it will be finished, a new civil war dress for Emmitt, and a few other projects that were nice to get out of the way and completed.

This crazy spring weather was a little unpredictable and there was a ton of snow up there for the middle of May. It was crazy, but beautiful. There is the view of my gorgeous little green valley from our retreat cabin, and the pavilion where the fun was had for the weekend!

JR

2011-06-02T23:19:00.003-06:00

So the handsome Qwest man named J.R. came to visit me the other day and it was a wonderful day. After a few weeks of being very out of touch with life outside my home, I am once again connected to the world. Sorry about this blogging hiatus, it was not on purpose. Prepare for some major catching up.

another weekend

2011-05-16T10:41:00.004-06:00

Saturday morning at 4:35, Matt and Kelsey left to head south to an equine endurance ride. Matt was the veterinarian for this ride and Kelsey went with him. They had a great day together and although 4:00 am was hard for Kelsey, she was glad she went.
Kendal, Emmitt, and I went to Kendal's soccer game and then to the county-wide health and safety fair. She did a great job at her soccer game. Kendal got her face painted at the fair. She told the lady she wanted to be a puppy and it is amazing how great of a job she did! Emmitt was a little hesitant about the face painting, so he got his hands painted and was happy as a little lark.

I have been wanting to get some blood work done just to check out a few things and at the health fair they had a few free screenings. I took advantage of it - great blood pressure 69/112, I always have had nice blood pressure and then a blood glucose level of 80. I had my first ever lipid panel screening done. My total cholesterol is 129 and anything under 199 is good. All my other levels; HDL, LDL, and triglycerides were all much under the optimal levels. There is a magical number, a final ratio number and mine was 2.4 (under 4.5 is wonderful). The technician said I was the healthiest person he had tested all day and that my levels were much better than his. The fact that I had such great results made me jump for joy and feel so good. Then the technician ended with "but even obese people can have nice cholesterol levels." Yeah, pretty much killed my joy. I know I am not obese, but I am chunky, and that guy was probably thinking "Dang, that chunky lady has better levels than I do and I run 7 miles a day and haven't had a cookie in 4 years." Oh well, I guess good genetics gave me something besides bad teeth and freckled skin!!

Kelsey had her first violin recital on Sunday evening. She has been taking lessons since October and has done so very well. She played Bach's Minuet #1 for her song and did fabulous. She is a natural at a lot of things, and music seems to be one of them. We are so very proud of her, but I must say that I was EXTREMELY proud of Kendal during the recital. She sat in her chair and didn't move a muscle until it was over!

I took this picture yesterday of my little cowboy showoff daredevil. Emmitt is such a boy - not a lot of fear and all about a thrill.
By the way, the yardwork I had in mind did not get finished on Saturday. Oh well, it was a great day anyway.

2011-05-13T11:07:00.002-06:00

I put the kids to work on Saturday and we got alot accomplished. I hope they are looking forward to another Saturday of playing in the dirt, because we have a lot more to get finished!

I love the SUNSHINE!!

2011-05-11T11:18:00.002-06:00

I have been at the girls' school all morning and I have to go back in an hour for Kendal's IEP, but this afternoon I MUST get to quilting this table topper. I made if for my mom for Mother's Day, yeah, I know it is late! It was pieced by Mother's Day, but not completed. So here is to an afternoon of quilting. Oh wait, I have a meeting at 2:00. Hmmm. Tonight while my sweet ones are sleeping I guess. My mom loves bright fun colors, so when I wanted to make her something, I just went through my stash of fabric and found fun bright prints. She is an amazing, fun, bright mom and I sure have learned alot about life from her. Thanks so much mom!