Monday, September 28, 2009


I think I'm going to make myself one of these for Christmas. I'm trying to decide between blue or yellow fabric...

Summer, Don't Go Yet

Random Summer pictures. Merilynn and Miranda at the park. Miranda and Lily (her BFF) playing in the sprinklers. Miranda and Grandpa Lloyd at a ward Rodeo
Miranda riding a horse at the rodeo
Bradley and Jeremy at the rodeo
Jackson, Brooklyn, Kylie, (Grandma Peterson), and Miranda at the Children's Garden
Miranda at the Garden
And again

Jeremy, Miranda, and Bradley in front of the waterfall at the Garden

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Happy Birthday, Sucker

So it was my birthday this week (you know how we girls like to stretch out the fun). Anyway, I also know a bunch of other people who have birthdays coming up, (not to mention my twin who shares my b-day) so I made a little gift to give them. I've posted the tags here so you can do this too, if you'd like. The suckers I buy locally for only $0.60 each, so it's a nice inexpensive way to show someone you remembered them on their birthday. I'm sorry if the tags don't print out, I'm not really sure how to do this...If it doesn't work and you know how to help me, let me know and I'll try again ;) You could easily make your own cute tags, too.Here are some other details on how I did it, although there could be some fun variations on this gift to make it just as cute or cuter**To wrap the suckers, I just cut the ziplock part off of a regular sandwich baggie. Then I cut the two pieces apart so I had two squares. I wrapped the sucker with one of them and tied it with a ribbon. Before tying on the ribbon, however, I threaded the tag onto it. Doesn't cute ribbon just make anything so much more fun?

P.S. Hilary, I hope you like root beer flavored suckers! (It's so hard to guess if someone is more of a cinnamon or a sweet flavor...)

**I think a cuter option to the baggie could be a printed cellophane bag.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Berry Harvest


Okay so it's not a lot of raspberries, but we were excited about it. Jeremy planted a huge berry patch with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and gooseberries for my anniversary present this spring. Although it's a little weedy now and the birds (or something) keep eating my strawberries, these little fuscia colored gems made my night. They tasted scrumptious, too.

You've got to get to the State Fair





What's better than overpriced fair food, crowds of people to watch, and the smell of livestock? I love the fair! Miranda loved it this year, too, and Brad was a great sport. We even saw the side show-like Kachunga Brothers wrestling an alligator for our little Miranda who's obsessed with 'gators' lately. (She got a little scared--it was a lot different than the crocodile at the zoo who never moves a muscle in the murky water.)

We're already looking forward to next year!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Aprons in Summer

We had the most refreshing morning walk this morning and I happened to take my camera with me, so I wanted to post a photo of the sunset as we saw it. Our family hiked Mt. Timpanogas for Labor Day with some friends, and I have been so sore all week from that steep hike and carrying a baby on my back the whole way! Needless, to say, I haven't been walking as briskly this week, but we have been enjoying the views. Next week we'll work on burning calories :)

Yesterday I just finished sewing an apron that I'm giving as a gift to my cousin for her birthday. I'm on a tight budget this year for gifts, so a LOT of gifts are getting creative and handmade. Aprons is the theme I decided on for all the females in my life who receive birthday presents. So, this is my cousin's--her birthday is in November! I love it when I don't procrastinate. On the other hand, my twin sister's needs to be done in about a week, and I have yet to even go fabric shopping... I gave this one to my aunt a couple weeks ago. She seemed happy with it. I love the little eyelet lace details that give it a vintage feel. And this is a set I made for my mother-in-law, Merilynn. She loves to cook with Miranda, so I wanted her to have a matching grandma/grand-daughter set. She was really excited about it and even hung them up in her kitchen on a cabinet wall. Miranda loves the detail on her little pocket and could hardly stop touching the beads long enough for me to take the picture. (It says "apple pie".)


Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Dinner Trade Group

I don't have to cook for a whole week! (except on the weekend) Our family is doing a "dinner trade group" with four other neighbors and I LOVE it! What we do is this: each family cooks one night a week, Monday through Thursday, and then has dinner brought to them the other three nights of the week. We each have small families about the same size and we just provide the main course and one side dish.

I could go on and on about this, but if you want to know more, Heather, one of my group members, set up a website to let people know about this great idea. Check it out at dinnertrade.com I'd be more than happy to tell you more about it, too, if you think you'd be interested in trying it with your neighbors. Here's the best part: we have five families in our group and only wanted meals Mon - Thurs (not on the weekends), so once a month I don't have to cook at all that week!

This week was my week off, so I've been enjoying it thoroughly. Jeremy and I have been enjoying cooking more on the weekends and nights since we haven't been doing dinners. Here's some delicious pics for you to sample:

For Merilynn's birthday on Sunday, she wanted chicken noodle soup, so he made it from scratch--even the noodles! I LOVE Jeremy's homemade noodles. And did you see that yummy treat peeking out from behind the pot? That's Jeremy's homemade apple pie and oh, that crust is to die for! And then my fun for the week was the plum jam I made last night. I haven't made plum before, but my fried Gwen, (from the dinner group), gave us all a bunch of plums and I wanted to do something fun with them. The recipe wasn't on the Sure-Jell website, so I had to find one online. It turned out fine, but next time I'll look for one that doesn't call for pureed fruit and uses less sugar. (This is on a slice of Merilynn's homemade honey wheat bread.)
Okay, I'm hungry now...Is it time for dinner yet? We have Chicken Alfredo coming tonight and a Salad Bar tomorrow night.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Jeremy's New Hobby

Check this out: Jeremy has always wanted to try re-upholstering furniture and this summer he's been hard at work practicing his new skill. We sold one of our couches on KSL.com and the people who bought it live in a studio apartment downtown. They were using this futon that was 'breaking' and needed to get rid of it, so Jeremy offered to take it from them. When he offered to take it, I knew why. He wanted to fix it up! Luckily, it was something easy to fix (if you're a talented guy like my Jeremy), and so with a little fixing and some color changes, woila! Trendy new futon that we got for free and sold on KSL for some nice cash :)

Here is Jeremy's second project. I saw these cute little kids recliners on KSL.com. There were two of them for $5 each. These were well loved, for sure--sorry the picture is fuzzy--but a total steal. I have always wanted to get Miranda a big comfy chair like these from Pottery Barn but couldn't justify paying close to $100. So this was the perfect opportunity.
Here is the after shot. My initial thought was to get some fun pink fabric or something, but then I decided I wanted it to be versatile and be able to be in her bedroom, the family room, the basement, wherever, and still jive with the decor of the house. So this tan fabric my mother-in-law happened to have was perfect! I love it without the buttons on the back, too. Oh, yeah, and Miranda loves, loves, loves it. It is so cute to see her hop in it and put her little feet up to watch Super Why or Sesame Street. By the way, Brad's recliner is still sitting in the garage. We have discovered the re-upholstery is tons of work and time and now know why it costs so much to have professionals do it. Brad's recliner will hopefully get done sometime this winter.
Don't you love seeing before and after photos of things people redo? I found this Flickr Group called "furniture redo" that was full of inspiring pieces. I think I'm going to ask Jeremy to do some work on my China hutch next...

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

GNO

Thank you, Aunt Bonnie Jean for having a birthday so we could enjoy a fun girl's night to celebrate!

This was fun night was the gift Holli (my twin) gave to my Aunt Bonnie-what a fun idea! Holli and Brian decorated their backyard so fun--I'm so jealous of all their huge trees and big deck. We enjoyed pina coladas, chocolate fondue, pedicures, and lots of girl talk.
That's my cute Aunt Bonnie in the pink stripes, friend Janice, and cousin Corie. Then here's my other sister, Kristi, mom Ranee, and Holli with her cute prego belly. Even my neice, Abby, got her little toes painted--what a sweetheart!