Forgive me for being so vain, Is my nose really that pointed?

Being the family photographer has its perks. One of those being that you are not in very many pictures. This is evident in the pictures I have growing up, my mom is seldom in any of the pictures. She was always taking them. It really is sad, because my mom was and still is a good looking mom. We all miss out on those pictures of my mom in her 20s and 30s. Darn it!
Well, I am this family's photographer, but every now and then I will tell Matt "Here, get one of me and the girls" while I shove the camera into his hand. He happily obliges, he just doesn't think of it like I do. So, a few days ago I posted snow pictures, that I took of course. I now have a few pictures that my friend Jen and her husband Brian took (I must give him credit for the cute ones of my girls) that day, and of course, they include me. So here you go, another round of Snow Days in Heber, including Rachel's amazing fashion sense.

Oh Dad, I will try to remember to bring your BIG DAWGS hat back to you!
Another perk of being the photographer is taking pictures of your friends and family and posting them on your blog. Funny ones, with eyes crossed, mouths agape, eyes closed, drooling, shamefully painful expressions, etc. I usually refrain from posting ones that are not 'becoming', but every now and then you just can't help it.

Go Thunder Go

Yesterday afternoon, I was here in this very computer/sewing/scrapbooking room doing one of those things,and Kelsey yells at me, "Mom, come here, you gotta see this!" So I went into the living room where I had left my two girls with strict instructions to just play nice together and share the goldfish.















Kelsey thought it was so cute that Kendal had put on big sister's boots and hat and was riding Thunder hard yelling "Go Go Go!"















She was pretty cute, so I took a few pictures.

Baby Lilly's Quilt is Finished!

I quilted baby Lilly's quilt downstairs last week on Debbie's machine. It only took me a few hours to actually quilt it. I love having that in my basement for small quilts!
This second picture is better because you can't see all the "stuff" I have stored in my basement!

Kelsey is my model. Kendal was in bed or else she would have been all over it. She loves this quilt for some reason. Maybe just because I was trying to finish it, so she wanted it!

My label says "For Lilly * Made with Love by Rachel * 2008"
Kelsey wanted to be wrapped up like a taco.
We are headed south for the weekend, so I think we will personally deliver Lilly's quilt to her, she is only 1 month old, not too bad I guess! I meant to have it done before she was born though.

One funny thing that has nothing to do with baby Lilly happened tonight. We were eating dinner tonight and Kelsey said to me out of the blue "Mom, my daughter will never hear "no"." I gave her a look and said "What if she wants to jump off the house?" I could have used the cliff thing, but I heard that from my dad too often. You know the-if-everyone-jumped-off-a-cliff-would-you-talk.

So Kelsey, thinking about that said to me "I would ask her if that was a good idea, but I wouldn't tell her no." I gave her a 'yeah right' look and she smiled and kept eating.

Snow Days in Heber City

Last week there wasn't any school on Friday, so we headed to the park with our sled. It was a super time. We stayed for 2 hours. I really didn't think they would last that long. Kendal cried when we got home and I took off her snow pants (her feet were still warm, I couldn't believe it!) and Kelsey begged me to stay longer. I am happy they had so much fun and they are looking forward to going again.

Kelsey could sled down the hill with no problem, actually she flew. I on the other hand had big issues. Not sure what they were, but they were big enough so that I couldn't make it too far down the hill. I always went in the wrong direction.


Breadsticks, hot chocolate, fruit snacks, and friends. What else is there? My friends Amanda and Jen and their boys were there too.
Other kids have built this little ramp next to the people's fence that live right by the park. I feel bad for those two houses next to the park, but it sure makes a good sledding hill. Here is Kelsey mounting up for another ride.

Kendal liked playing on the freezing cold metal playground structure. She loved for me to "get her." She would just laugh and laugh.

Jen and I trying to strike a Paris Hilton pose. That is impossible I said because Paris Hilton would never be wearing brown coveralls with blue timber marking paint splattered all over them. Jen's husband said it was impossible because she wouldn't be sober enough to ride a sled!
Amanda and Jen, not really knowing I was taking their picture. They thought I was just playing with my camera. Not bad huh? It was a fun day in the snow, but dang July is looking really good right now!

I learned more about Jesus Christ today spending my time in the Primary than I have in a long time.
I was asked last week to subsitute for a primary teacher that teaches the 7 and 8 year olds. I was pretty much dreading it all week. I haven't served in the Primary since Kelsey was 4 months old. It has never been my favorite place, little kids scare the heck out of me!
But today was good. I had 6 boys today that were 7 years old and they were pretty good. I guess after having kids, you learn to get them to do what you want them to. Anyway, class was great, the best part though was closing exercises with all the kids 3 to 12 years old. A four year old boy named Seth perfectly recited a scripture that melted my heart, a 3 year old boy Gage, gave the cutest 2 minute talk about the plan of salvation that made me smile, and then three year old Emma was too embarrased to say the closing prayer.
So sweet, I loved watching and listening to those kids. It made my Sunday that I was completely dreading. I felt the spirit of Christ more strongly than I have in a long time at church, just sitting there among the children on a little chair in the Primary room.

Maybe Where My Love for Peanut Butter Originated

I did something the other day that only my sister, an aunt, and a few cousins will appreciate - I made a picnic out of peanut butter and apricot jam sandwiches.
Growing up, I had 5 girl cousins, all sisters, that lived nearby. My sister Tori and I loved to play with them and we did play alot. They had a super fun playhouse that we would spend HOURS in day after day. We would be playing hard, and my aunt Barbara would bring out a big plate of peanut butter and apricot jam sandwiches for us to eat at lunch time. It seemed like that plate was stacked three or four sandwiches high and covered the entire plate, but 25 years and my memory may be a little off! She would cut each sandwich into fourths, usually in triangles, which I loved!! She would also use her homemade bread, YUM! I am thinking about it now and my mouth is watering. I can still remember the white desk looking-thing that we, all 7 girls and occasionally my brother, would put the revered plate on while we dined.
Oh the days!! Well, a little friend was over the other day, Bekah, and I made peanut butter and apricot jam sandwiches, cut them in fourths, laid out a tablecloth, and let the girls have a picnic. If only I had cut them in triangles!

The girls enjoyed their little picnic, but I don't think they enjoyed it as much as I did, for some strange reason. Well, maybe Kendal did. She loves being with the big girls.

Enriching Enrichment Night

Last night we started another Enrichment sewing project. This time it is a cute pieced heart, kind of for Valentine's Day, but mine is so cute I am going to have it out all the time. I had about 15 ladies sign up for this project. We had a super time. My camera was in the hands of others for the night, just keep that in mind!
This one is kind of fuzzy but it is Sarah and Mikako (sorry if I totally spelled your name wrong!). Kandy, their mother, finishes off this sewing triplet, but I am sure she was at the table picking out the PERFECT red squares for her project.
This is me in the corner, cutting fabric. That is where I spent 85 % of my night. I just couldn't keep up! It was fun, but I slept with a hot pad on my back last night. It hurt from being bent over all evening. Debbie was also helping all night too. She replaced broken needles, measured for borders, cut fabric, supplied 6 sewing machines, lent out all her scissors, read owner's manuals, fixed 1/4 inch presser feet, and much much more. Why was I complaining?

Just a table shot of some of the project. Everyone brought 1 fat quarter of red and 1 fat quarter of cream fabric to share with everyone so we could all have scrappy hearts.

Amanda is becoming quite the pro here. I just noticed the iron on top of the piano. Lets say that it is not on and lets not tell the stake music people about that okay?!

A great time was had by all, just look at how much joy quilting can bring to your life! (Love this one of you Jen!)

Some of my fun ladies, just chatting and sewing away!

Eva was named 'Eva the Diva' last night. She actually finished her top last night! Good job Eva!

Poor, poor Amanda. I guess she just had too much tonight. You can only watch that needle go in and out of your fabric so many times before you just go nuts. I guess she didn't know when to quit. She only has one week to rehab, because Round Two is next Thursday!
Did I mention that I DID NOT have possession of my camera most of the night?

Push Krista Push

My friend Krista is currently in labor and her husband just wrote the funniest post. Go check it out - click on the Krista link at left.

If only I had known!

When I was taking my Christmas lights down awhile ago I decided some redecorating was called for on my little shelf/ledge thingies up high in my living room. So I took down the picket fence, left the old beehive boxes from my great grandma's house up there, added a quilt I made, and the new/1891 sewing machine I got on Ebay up there. So cute, but it was lacking. My neighbor Debbie brought over an old fashioned washboard to use and I decided the ledge needed a soft touch - a homemade old fashioned doll.
I have a pattern so I got to work. I cut one out for me, Kelsey, and Kendal. Kelsey picked out the fabric for hers and her sister's dolls. She was so loving the whole process. She stuffed all the doll bodies, arms, and legs and here she is putting hair on her doll. She loves her homemade doll. She named it Dolly and has been playing with it and sleeping with it for over a week.
I told Matt that if I had only known she wanted a homemade doll for Christmas, we could have had it pretty easy this year! She really loves it because she helped make it though, that is what makes Dolly special.
My doll is so cute and sitting on my ledge. I will have to take a picture of it for you. Kendal's doll is still missing her legs. She is stuffed, has her dress made, but I haven't sewn her legs on yet. Maybe tomorrow!
I still have another side of my ledge to get going on, any old fashioned stuff left on my front porch would be appreciated!

Uphill Both Ways in a Foot of Snow!

I need some exercise, so today Kendal and I decided to sled down to pick Kelsey up from school. Notice I said down, it is down hill to the elementary school, and that of course means it is uphill on the way back home! Anyway, I pulled Kendal down to the school to get Kelsey with the sled rope around my waist. Kendal loved the solo ride.
As we were getting close to the school, all the kids kept saying, "Look how cute that little girl is in the sled" and then it was "I want a ride." We found Kelsey and our friend Jacob. I told them to get in the sled. They thought that was great. We started our uphill climb right in front of the school. Now ALL the kids were jealous seeing the two older kids in the sled! Jacob's ride was cut short because his dad came to pick him up. No big deal, another girl from Kelsey's class got in his place. I said I wanted exercise right? At this point I have unzipped my down pullover and loosened my scarf because I was starting to get warm!
We made it home and since it was getting cold out there, and I told Kelsey yesterday that she could sled down Derek's jump, we did just that while they were already somewhat bundled up.

Kelsey went down alone head first and then I figured Kendal would love it too...she did. When the sled stopped, she squealed and said "more." I love her hat in this picture!
There they go again. Matt was taking these pictures from the comfort of the bay window. I am surprised there aren't any Kendal fingerprints smudged all over the pictures from my dirty windows!
Kendal cried when I made them come in. She so loves it out there, even though her little hands were near purple and ice cubes!