Getting Creative ~

It seems like whenever I finish creating something I feel the need to rush to the computer and blog about it. A blog is a great place for me to keep a record of what I've done and share with all of my blog readers what I've made. (And I use the word "all" because it sounds better than saying "two or three" blog readers.) So here is my latest creation. This is a mixed media art canvas. I followed a tutorial done by my friend Christy Tomlinson. Her instructions are great and after doing this piece, I can go off on my own and make a Wendy Original. Don't worry, I am sure you'll hear about that one too.

You never know what you'll find ~

I was at a local craft fair a few weeks ago, and there were many of the usual craft fair booths, but tucked in the middle was something amazing. There was a woman that made these amazing Lampwork Beads. I picked up this little set to make a bracelet with. I'm still looking for the right parts to go with it, but I will be sure and post the finished project.

It's amazing what you find ~

While Rod was on his trip this past week, I went on a cleaning/dejunking spree in my craft room. I can't say that I found anything new, because I know all of the treasures that I've stowed away. So I guess I refound things that I had forgotten about. On a huge shelf in the corner, organized neatly in cute pink storage tubs, I rediscovered my cross stitch supplies. It has been more than five years since I've had a stitching project out to work on, so it was so much fun to go through all of the fun fabrics, (I love stitching on linen, mostly small 28 or 32 count fabrics. There are even some 40 count extremely tiny stitched projects), and the gorgeous threads (My kids said they had forgotten how much of this "stuff" I actually had. I think that is a good thing. I have cotton threads dyed in so many gorgeous colors, I used to love to stitch with silk threads, especially Silk 'N Colors from The Thread Gatherer.  It will take awhile to get a collection of them, but they are my most favorite.) and fun patterns and kits from my favorite designers. I have quite a collection so it was probably good that Rod was gone and I could just enjoy the afternoon and not worry about getting dinner. I found a few projects that I pulled out to work on that evening, and a few more lined up for later. Since that first night, I have actually finished a couple of projects and totally rekindled my passion for needlework.

More that just the great supplies you get to work with when you stitch is the time spent stitching. It is such a treat to sit alone with just your thoughts for company. Somehow problems and stresses just seem to go away or are forgotten for awhile. Which is a real treat when life gets so hectic. So if you need me for anything, you just might find me sitting in my favorite chair, under my ott light, with my favorite needle, my hand dyed threads, beautiful fabrics, and a cute scissor fob.

Take a Hike ~

We did it! We took a family hike.  Alex and Michelle have wanted us all to come out and go on a hike up to a waterfall and picnic with them, and we finally found a day that would work for all of us. Here is a picture of Alex and Michelle's house. (So next time you are in Arco and eating Fried Pickles from Pickle's Place you can look across the street and you'll know where they live.)

We went up to the Lower Cedar Spring outside of Mackay. Here is a picture of the whole hiking group. Yes, I hiked too, but someone has to be the photographer.

 You can see that we were quite a diverse group, Grandparents, a teenager, lots of young adults, little girls and a baby boy. Most of the time Sydni rode on someone's shoulders. You can see Kymber up there walking. She also took turns getting piggyback rides.

But for a while she wanted to walk and didn't even want to hold someone's hand. This slowed the pace down quite a bit.  She was totally enjoying the day especially since she loves rocks and dirt.

Kristine has a Photography class this year and was taking pictures all along the way. Can't wait to see her pictures too.

The trail followed along the river, so the whole trail we got to hear the happy babbling brook sounds.

I loved this view of the girls. Yes, I was usually at the end of the line, so this is what I saw most of.

Kaden was such a good little guy. Jen (and everyone else) carried him, so he is getting an early start on enjoying the out of doors.

Break time. Kaden needed a bottle so we all stopped to rest. Actually Alex set a good pace and stopped frequently to tell us interesting stories. This was a good time for Sydni to bring me handfuls of dirt and rocks she found.

 

Thanks to Alex and Michelle for getting us out for such a fun family day.

Island Park Weekend ~

We just got back from a fun family weekend. We were all together up at Island Park. These first few pictures were the first afternoon before everyone got there. We walked over to the river to check it out. Notice how Sydni is pointing to the ground. She was finally happy when her daddy set her down in the dirt. She loves dirt and couldn't wait to taste this new kind. 

Here are a few pictures of our afternoon. This one of Rod and Sydni is a favorite, and so is this one of Kristine and Kymber.

 

Here Rod is pointing out the playground.  More pictures of that too.

 

Sweet little Kaden was a real trooper and enjoyed just hanging out with us.

 

The next morning we all got up and went biking/hiking at Herriman State Park. Rod, Kristine, Alex and Trever all went biking and the rest of us took the kids for a walk. Kymber had her little binoculars and loved hiking. Sydni and Kaden fell asleep and just enjoyed the ride. Kristine did a great job keeping up with the guys. I'm so proud of that girl. They don't always choose the easiest trails and she stayed right with them. You go girl!!

Later we went down and let the girls play in the river. Sydni loved being able to get out and play. She almost wore Kristine out. She'd take a break once in a while and go sit by Rod on the bank. Trever was teaching Jennifer how to fly fish. Later Trever and Alex walked down river and fished some more. It's fun having these boys in our family.

So that is a little peek at our trip. We had lots of yummy food, fun games and made lots of memories. Can't wait to do it again.

My Flower Garden ~

I think sometimes flowers are like little kids, you just can't get them to do what you want. Look at my hollyhocks, they just seem to grow anywhere. These are growing out of the compost pile. It kind of hides it I guess, but wish they were on the other side of the fence in the front yard.

And these sweet peas are spreading out about three feet onto the lawn. Every week Kristine carefully mows around them. Aren't they pretty?

And this little petunia came up in the crack in front of the garage door.

I'm not complaining at all. It is just so nice to have summer and flowers instead of snow and cold. So I will enjoy them all, wherever they decide to bloom.

My grandkids ~

Wow, yesterday was a fun and very full day. I got to spend one on one time with each of my little grandkids (also known as babysitting). First came Kaden. He enjoyed sitting in the bouncy chair, drinking his bottle and looking at Gus.

 

Gus liked looking at Kaden too, but got bored with that and just ended up laying down by his bouncy chair.

 

I think Gus will really have fun with Kaden when he grows up a little bit more.

Michelle came to town and I got to watch Kymber while her and Jennifer went shopping with the other kids. They had Michelle's amazing double stroller with Sydni and Kaden and I had time with Kymber. She is such a fun little girl, and she loves to talk, and she loves flowers, and she loves to play games, and she loves Gus. Here are a few pictures of our afternoon.

The pictures aren't the best, I had my iphone camera and funny lighting, but it was so much fun watching these two just totally enjoy being together. She loved feeding him his dinner, and evidently Gus has no food aggression whatsoever. This is a trait that can be passed down, so his puppies should be just like him.

At about 8:30, Michelle picked up Kristine from Mutual and they went to do a shopping errand. It was  time to play with Sydni.  By that time the clothes were off and she was just running around in her diaper. She is a busy little girl, so basically I just ran after her, trying to keep her from getting into trouble. She is so smart and understands a lot and can say a lot of words too so it was fun to spend time with her. Isn't she a cutie.  I love her  big brown eyes.  None of my kids have brown eyes, and she is the only one of the grandkids (so far) that does. It looks like she might be getting her mom's curly hair too.

My girls are both amazing moms, and it is fun to be able to watch these little cuties and give them a little bit of a break. And you know when I watch little grandkids I don't worry about cleaning or laundry or any of those other fun jobs that I usually do, so it works out great for all of us.