Bentley

Gardening is good

2011-08-05T15:01:00.006-06:00

This here is Chickweed and has very many uses as explained in previous posts I've given.

These beauties we had to put a net around after they were attacked by something... I think it was birds. We have two peach trees and they had eaten a hole in every peach on the other tree and so we didn't take our chances with the other one... we put the net up.
Cinnamon Basil smells just like cinnamon mmmmhmmm.
Then there's the grapes that are almost ready to pick.
Pomegranates almost ready and we have tons this time around. Last year they didn't survive the storm and wind and had all fallen off too early to eat. We got to eat one pomegranate from our tree, so I'm hoping these are going to stay on the tree until I can pick them.

Lime tree and we've used it and there's one left if you look close its in the bottom right of the tree.
This hasn't flowered yet but its the herb coneflower/ echinacea and its used for tea and other things I plan to make tea out of it, but this just doesn't look like any of the pictures of it so we'll see if its what we think.

Coriander, which is cilantro seeds are drying here from my garden.
The main garden L to R: Cucumber tower, zucchini, onions, peppers, tomatoes, collard greens, and beets

We added this worm tower, all it is is a PVC pipe that is 2/3rds underground and we drilled holes in it for the worms to get into and...
All we do is throw our compost in like you see here and the worms do the rest!
This is the top of an onion and these little babies are going to planted to make more onions!

Homemade and Homegrown salsa!

2011-08-04T13:05:00.006-06:00

This salsa is completely from what we have in our garden! Here we have our tomatoes and parsley, basil, cilantro, peppers.

These are a new favorite of mine. Its my first time growing these pear tomatoes and they are so yummy and are now going into the salsa.

Here we have garlic, peppers, tomatoes, pear tomatoes, and anaheim chilies.

Here's my sweetheart putting in
some home grown parsley.

The final product! Very delicious salsa and tons of it!

Girls Night Out! 6-16-11

2011-07-13T18:00:00.003-06:00

I love me a girls night out! There ain't nothin like Ladies night! Of course we made it a "fancy shoes" theme. So what more could a girl ask for. I just need an excuse to break out the heels. We had dinner at Olive Garden, I made cupcakes for dessert and he had a grand ole time! I love my girls, we have so much fun together

Tammy, Jennie, Jamie, Natalie

Britney, Mindy, Chelsy, Me

Mindy, Chelsy, me

L to R: Danielle, Tammy, Britney, Natalie, Chelsy, Krista, Jennie, Jamie B., Jamie J., Mindy, Kat
So can you tell which shoes are mine? I'll give you a hint: Pink and sparkly :)

My suprise birthday party 5-10-11

2011-07-13T17:31:00.004-06:00

So here's the story:
Ryan told me that we were going to celebrate my birthday the Sunday after my birth date. so we could have our own night together on my "actual birthday." So he makes this big "sales pitch" to me about how I need to be able to blow candles out on my birthday. I had told him I wanted to make my own cake, so he said it would be fine if I made two cakes :) One for my actual birth date and one for the party! I am in heaven cause anyone who knows me knows I love making cakes!

He comes home from work Tuesday night and his pants are soaked from washing cars on the lot. He goes in and changes his pants and I wait for him in the car. We drove into town and met Kathy at Cafe Rio. She took Jonathan so we could have a date night. So we order our food and go to pay for it and Ryan left his wallet in his wet pants back at home. So no big deal I pay for the meal. We ate our food and I asked him what time the movie started. He goes to pull the tickets out and realizes those are in his wallet at home too. So we have to drive all the way back to Hurricane!

We get home and I open the door and there on my couch in front of me is not something I expected to see there: My friends Chelsy and Natalie... So my brain began to work... "Kat, there's something wrong with this, yes you know who these people are but they shouldn't be in your house! Oh no! My very messy house nonetheless!!!" So I scream because my brain can't process this information lol. Anyway everyone shouted surprise and YES I WAS VERY SURPRISED! It was awesome... Ryan is so good he always gets me. I love him :)

The party was awesome, everyone I love dearly was there and I felt so loved. I was so happy and grateful to be surrounded by amazing people that I am privileged to know. Love you all and thank you.

Here's the cake, I was going for a modern/lace look. Its all Buttercream icing, no fondant!
You can't see but that is the number 26, I can't believe I'm 26, I remember when that used to be old to me! And by the way, its totally not old haha.

This is how I made the tiara. I used Royal Icing and wax paper and a crisco container.

Easter cupcakes

2011-04-26T09:21:00.003-06:00

I made these cupcakes for the Easter barbecue at Kathy's:

Easter

2011-04-26T08:43:00.004-06:00

Fun times for the kids. We did the Hurricane Easter Egg Hunt in the morning and we met up with the Wasden's, Jimenez's, Boucher's, and Bennions to hunt out the Easter eggs. So fun, then later that day we went to Grandma Kathy's for a barbecue/pool party/ Easter egg hunt. It was fun especially because Jonathan is so cute to watch look for the eggs. I love these moments. Thanks Grandma for making family tradidtions as fun as these!

1st time Marathon runner

2011-04-14T12:05:00.002-06:00

A marathon is on my list of 100 things to do in my lifetime. I have always been amazed by people who can run these babies. Its always been something I thought of as out of my reach, and only really athletic people run these. Well that's not the case necessarily. I've talked to a lot of people and so far they are all really in shape people, but they are also neighbors and friends that I'd never would've guessed had ran a marathon. So when I realized that people I know are running these things I decided to try it out. I've been running off and on all year so far but never kept it up. Then I did a bunch of research on these things and found some schedules of running distances. Bytheway, there's a great website that was recommended to me called: http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Mar00novice.htm Its this guy named Hal Higdon, and if you read his bio its sick! I mean what hasn't this guy achieved in his lifetime! Anyway I will be using his training sheet as my guide.

These running posts are probably more for me than for anyone else. I want to document what I do and learn through this marathon training. Its also for me to refer back to, if in the future I run another one of these things. Those of you who know me know I have a horrible memory and so this is probably a good idea on my part lol.

Well its been a couple of months since I first entertained the idea of a marathon and after learning some things I finally signed up for the St. George Marathon, which is October 1, 2011. Yes I can't believe I did it either! Yikes, its exciting, scary and nerve wracking all at the same time!!!

I live in Hurricane and I am looking for someone who lives in this area to run with so I don't have to always go into town to always run (trying to save on gas) So let me know people if you want to run with me :)

This is a big step for me and I am in the first week of running and let me tell you, between running and my green smoothies I feel like I'm on a whole new playing field when it comes to life. All the energy, strength, healthy body, and even better attitude are changing my life and it sure feels good :)

GSG-SMOOTHIE 2.0 (1) (360).mov

2011-04-14T10:21:00.000-06:00

This is for all you green smoothie peeps! This is amazing, if you are wanting to get the nurtients your body needs this is for you.

GSG-SMOOTHIE 2.0 (2) (360).mov

2011-04-14T10:12:00.000-06:00

Here's the greatest thing you can do for yourself to get what your body needs. I have been doing smoothies and growing the stuff in our garden, which saves us a couple hundred dollars at the grocery store a month!

Choosing greens for your smoothie 2

2011-04-14T09:24:00.000-06:00

Here's Part 2 of green smoothie girl. There is so much she does here. We just got our bee pollen in the mail yesterday and tried it in our smooothies this morning... Tastes just like honey. The video tells you what goes in the smoothie and what it does for you. Very interesting things. I think she named almost everything I'm concerned with: Eyesight, PMS, allergies, and much much more! Tell me what you think.
Here's her website: http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/

Choosing greens for your smoothie 1

2011-04-14T09:20:00.000-06:00

Here's the Green smoothie girl and we use her ideas for our smoothies here's part 1. It is chock full of information and I am really impressed with her. Enjoy!

Farewell Mum and Dad... Good luck in Australia!

2011-04-11T15:21:00.002-06:00

This weekend was very bittersweet for me. I was sweet because I got to spend it with my dad and mum. They are the greatest and I am so lucky to be a part of their life. The bitter part is they are moving to Queensland Australia and that's too far away! I don't know how soon I'll see them again. It could be years! So I am sad to see them go, even though I know its what's best for them. They will be missed and hopefully we'll be able to go out there to see them in the next few years.

I love you guys :)

Herbs to have FOR SURE in your garden...

2011-04-03T14:36:00.002-06:00

The University of Maryland Medical Center has done studies on some herbs that are very beneficial in a variety of ways http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ Click on Herbs, then click on the herb you want to read up on.
The following are herbs we've done research on and a few things about them:

Calendula (marigold) used on burns, cuts, and bruises, hemorrhoids, and it speeds the wound healing by increasing blood flow to the wounded area.

Dandelion helps poor digestion, liver disorders, and high blood pressure. Is a good potassium source. It increases your appetite. Ryan put a few in a smoothie the other day and he was hungry all day so we won't be using it for that anymore :)

Echinacea helps your immune system, relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and helps with your hormones, antiviral, and antioxidant effects. It is used to treat urinary tract infections, vaginal yeast infections, ear infections, athlete's foot, sinusitis, hay fever, as well as slow healing wounds.

German Chamomile this flower dates back thousands of years to the ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks. it is used for the following:

Chest colds
Sore throats
Abscesses
Gum inflammations (gingivitis)
Anxiety
Insomnia
Psoriasis
Acne
Eczema
Minor 1st degree burns
Inflammatory bowel disease
Stomach ulcers
Children chickenpox, diaper rash, and colic

Chickweed is used in green drinkss and is high in Vitamin C, Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium. It relieves pain and helps to reduce swelling. It is very powerful when mixed with pure aloe vera juice, which helps penetrate all three layers of the skin. It can be used as an acne wash. This herb purifies the blood and carries out toxins. good for blood vessels and your circulatory system. It helps with widght loss by working as an appetite depressant.

Basil is another important herb here's the things it helps with:

Nerve tonic
Sharpens memory
Strengthens the stomach
Fever and cold
Cough
Sore throat
Kidney Stone
Heart Disorder
Children cold, fever, diarrhea, and vomiting
Stress
Mouth infections
Insect bites
Skin disorders
Teeth disorders
Headaches
Eye Disorders

I have just given the basic basic information on these herbs, if you want to know more please look up these herbs on your own and read in detail how to use them etc. I hope this was helpful for you :)

~Kat

Garden happenings and Mason Bees!

2011-04-03T13:06:00.009-06:00

The other winter garden now uncovered to show sweet peas. We used all the beets and beet greens and planted these peas for the winter. Look they are so tall already! Also there is one of the artichoke plants then the rectangle bins have Chamomile and dandelion planted in them. I plan to make tea with the chamomile and put the dandelions in my smoothies and salads they are great for that... See post following this one on what kinds of herbs are "must haves" in your garden.
These cucumbers, tomato, habaneros, banana peppers, and butternut squash are all on a table that is in our jacuzzi tub in the bathroom (we don't use it cause the jets don't work) until the wind is gone and we can go outside and plant them lol. I like plants in the house they bring such happiness into it:

You are probably wondering what this contraption might be? This is a Mason bee habitat complete with hibernating bees. These bees do not make honey but they will pollinate as much as 120 honey bees. Mason bees are solitary bees and don't make hives. They live in holes and tunnels and so these tubes are the perfect size and shape they look for, and move right in:

The remains of my aloe vera plant that was left out in the cold last fall and froze. It used to have leaves 1 1/2 feet long and was so beautiful but we nursed it back to health all winter in side our home and these little leaves are coming out. I can't wait to use this plant. Its great for putting in your hair after a shower (while still wet) as a face wash in the shower... and lotion when you get out. Also it can be ingested in like a smoothie or something. Cleopatra was a big fan of Aloe vera and used this plant for all the above uses as well:
My lower winter garden is thriving and we've used it every day for our smoothies. To the left is our pomegranate bush which has grown a foot since last summer. Then in the two big pinkish bins I have 3 kinds of basil and the other one has Echinacea. Then there are little apple trees and a 2 current bushes, and spearmint too:
We planted 3 different kinds of strawberries for some variety this year. My favorite thing to do is go out there every morning with my son and find strawberries, pick and eat them. He loves to search for them. ".... There's a strawberry mommy!"
Look at the cherry blossoms on this tree, that means lots of cherries to me mmmmhmmm. We only had one cherry to harvest last year so we're hoping this year will be better lol. There were only a couple blossoms last year when we planted the trees so that would explain why so few cherries.
Here we have L to R: Cumin, Alfalfa, and Borage.
Here's two more containers we've filled with alfalfa/ sprouts, and wheat grass.
These asparagus I just cut and we're having them for dinner. They are huge and thick and growing like weeds!

Cutest boy in the world photos

2011-04-02T19:38:00.006-06:00

The little handsome prince that he is just melts his mommy's heart. I love my little Jonathan so much, he is just a beautiful boy and I am lucky to be his mother. He is to clever, which goes along with him being too smart for his own good! I love him dearly, and when he smiles at me nothing else seems to matter in the world.

My best friend Chelsy took these photos, and if I do say so, she did an AMAZING job so check out her website:
www.bcouturephotography.com

She is so wonderful, and I love them he looks amazing in them so enjoy :)

Gardening Tips

2011-04-02T16:44:00.003-06:00

This is a compilation of gardening tips we've used for our garden. We have read a lot of books and done a lot of research on gardening and in particular about our area Southern Utah. We are so lucky because we are in a unique area where lava rock is everywhere and in our ground under our plants. These porous rocks are full of minerals that the garden needs. We are lucky to have this advantage just based on where we live.

What the garden bed is made of:
When starting your garden you need to lay dirt and mulch/compost... It needs to be 50% Sand and 50% mulch/compost.

Fish Emulsion:
Another thing is to put fish emulsion in the ground. You can buy this stuff for like $70 a gallon online. If you want to make your own like we do, here's what you need. First go fishing and catch some fish. Grind up the fish and mix it with molasses and sea kelp, and water. Allow this mixture to ferment for 2-3 weeks, continuing to stir it daily. Then dilute it 5-1 with water. Then apply it to your dirt around the plant every 60-90 days. This will be a healthy smoothie for your plants. Or you could take the easy route and just bury a fish 6 inches below a shrub, tree, or plant. This is a natural fertilizer substitute for miracle grow.

You CAN grow blueberries and raspberries in Southern Utah!
We were told that you can't grow blueberries and raspberries where we live. Well, we gave it a try and we've grown both successfully. We planted the raspberries on the west side of our yard which is well shaded and get mid-day sun. The blueberries are possible to grow here, with a few guidelines. The blueberries need acidic soil, so they need to be planted next to a pine tree or amend the soil to specific acidity levels and need continual applications of sulfur to keep the soil acidic.

spring beginnings

2011-03-24T14:30:00.004-06:00

So far this spring is different. I've been fighting off sickness for the past 5 weeks mixed with allergies. I've never had an allergy to anything until I moved to Southern Utah and then again when I got pregnant with Jonathan. So you could say it hasn't been fun being cooped up inside and not being able to interact with the human race for fear of getting someone sick...
We've started making green smoothies about 2 weeks ago and of course all the blossoms on the trees are starting to come out and it is so lovely to see.
One of our peach trees we have; the blossoms are so pretty:

Our raspberry plants are getting all green too so nice to see the beginnings of spring:
One of our goji berry plants, can't wait to try their berries this year!
I haven't gotten a itch to do spring cleaning yet, but I am definitely interested in herbs this year, in particular healing herbs... I plan to make this a life study of mine and just got back from the library with a load of books to research. We will of course be planting all that we did last year again but I will be adding the herbs as well. Stay tuned for a ride down nature lane :)

Jonathan's room finally looks decent!

2011-03-24T14:25:00.003-06:00

Poor little guy has had towels for window treatments since the day he was born :( Here's a look at the sad sad truth of the matter:

And now after $11 spent at DI he has a simple change that has competely transformed the room, take a look:

It looks WAY better and I find myself going in there multiple times a day just to smile and look at how much better it is now.

The garden spring 2011

2011-03-24T13:42:00.007-06:00

We've been waiting all winter for our winter crops to arrive and they did about a month ago. Ryan made me 2 little green house areas last summer so we could grow lettuce and other things throughout the winter and save us on buying groceries as well as eat fresher greens. I read up on green smoothies a while back and so that's the kinds of stuff we decided to plant in our winter gardens... Here's the garden today:

L to R: Romaine Lettuce, Iceberg Lettuce, Kale, Swiss Chard, and Rhubarb. We put all of this in our green smoothies fresh every morning along with some kind of juice to make it a little sweet and banana, strawberries, etc. We feel so much energy lately and our bodies feel like they're functioning properly (if you know what I mean) Also TIP: I knew the Rhubarb leaves are poisonous but apparently if you eat the stems on a regular basis it can be harmful too so we are not using it as much in our smoothies... more tips to follow all the pictures.

Here's some Sprouts that go great on a salad or in the smoothie... They are aka alfalfa:
Here's stage 1 of our barley, you can see it just starting to show growth:
Here the barley is 3 days later:
Here's the wheat grass we are growing for our smoothies:
Here is the wheat grass 3 days later look how tall and dark it is:

We added the wheat grass for the first time this morning in our smoothies and it has a little kick but boy do I feel good! This stuff is awesome!

Tip 1: If you are going to grow these grasses like we are you need to give them Azomite - Using Azomite helps insure that your cereal grass contains all of the trace minerals required by the human body for maximum health. All you have to do is sprinkle some on the top of your soil, then place the seeds on next
Follow this link to learn step by step instructions on how to grow your grass : http://www.healthbanquet.com/growing-wheatgrass.html
Here's a note From Ryan: I've been researching azomite. Its mined here in Utah and has A-Z minerals and trace nutrients. You use it like a fertilizer in the garden and all the vitamins and trace minerals are absorbed by the plants. The results are incredible. Bigger healthier plants fruits and vegetables with all the vitamins and trace minerals in them. Turns them into super food. No bad side effects. We went to buy it on line and it was $60!!!

Anyways I found out that Steve Regan farm supplies in St George carries it in the 50lb bags for $15. That's 1/4 the advertised price online. You should check it out. www.azomite.com. Let me know what you think. Thanks Ryan

Tip 2: If you are wanting to have a healthy diet there is an amazing book called "Nourishing Traditions" which was recommended to me and now I am doing the same great recipes and the beginning where its partly a book is a great read to educate you well on the powers of food.

Tip 3: Another thing we planted but hasn't come up yet is Swiss Chard... A very important part of the green smoothie so plant this as well so you have the complete package of good stuff in your smoothie.

Lil Jonathan is 3

2011-03-07T12:43:00.005-07:00

My precious boy is now three and had a wonderful birthday party. All our friends and family came to celebrate with us... Thanks to all for coming it was so fun to celebrate with you all. I love my little son.

He loves Thomas the Train so I made a cake with a train on it. So here it is and lets just say he liked it :)

Time for presents. He got cars, trucks, semis, clothes, fishing pole, and a pot and utensils... Lucky boy

log cabin breakfast

2011-02-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

The log cabin Bed and Breakfast, in Eagle River, Wisconsin. This is my family's home and now recently turned into bed and breakfast. I've gone to this cabin every summer and Christmas vacation for the last 10 years. I love the U.P. its where I grew up the first half of my life and couldn't stay a way so we bought a cabin up there and I spent many memorable summers and Christmas' up there. So here you go, hope you enjoy it! My mother is the lady in the video, her names Patricia, and I love her so much she is a beautiful woman and very talented.

egg sandwich

2011-02-12T09:06:00.000-07:00

This is my mother Patricia who owns the Log Cabin Bead and Breakfast up in Eagle River, WI... She is a great cook and here she is showing us what she makes her guests for breakfast in the morning... I love this cabin I've gone there with my family for ten years!

Pirate Ship birthday cake

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

Some good friends of ours Justin and Brit Wright asked me to make their son Paul's 5th birthday cake and he wanted it to be a pirate ship with pirates. Of course I jumped at the chance to make a cake! I got online as I always do and looked up pictures of pirate ship cakes to get some ideas... Brit picked the one she liked and I attempted to deliver.
Here's the sails for the ship... I rolled and cut them out of Fondant. I used cake markers to draw the lines and number. You can find these markers at Walmart in the party section.

The ship is made out of chocolate rice krispie treats (I use this because its more sturdy than cake and lighter since it would top the actual cake) and fondant. I am drawing all the wood on the ship with a skewer:

Tadaah! The final product I was so happy with this and unfortuatly my camera has a hard time sometimes taking a good photo but this will just have to do to show you my work :)
I used blue frosting for the water and dyed piping gel blue and put that on the frosting to make it look like wet water so fun I've been wanting to use gel for a long time on a cake and I finally got to, yay.
Justin and Britney and Paul the birthday boy!

T

This party was way fun, we had dinner and cake at Pirate Island. We are so lucky to have such great friends! Love you guys!

two new projects of mine

2011-01-19T11:45:00.005-07:00

For the past 3 years of living here in this house I've used two towels to cover a window in my son's room... Well no more because my neighbor threw away this orange thing that she used to decorate her windows and I asked if I could have it... She said yes so I took it home and for 3 months it sat in my garage.... I finally decided to get it fixed up... I have no money to buy fabric or spray paint etc to cover this aweful color and so I had to get creative.
I used the white side of some christmas wrapping paper I had... I mean really its up high on a window so no one is gonna mess with it and rip the paper right...
Tadaah! The final product... I bought this luau sign at a garage sale last summer for $1... Since my son already has a Sail Fish in his room and a picture of the ocean I figured that was going to be his theme.
Here's the sail fish and not to mention a messy room!
Don't you just love my window treatments lol! Darling this is a home disaster! So where you see the towels on the wall is where my Luau sign is going as soon as Ryan finds the time to put it up.

My next project is this here clock I got for Christmas last year and it died sometime this past year soo I thought I'd try to make a decoration out of the clock!
I took off the face and the hands of the clock first... Then I traced the circle onto some paper that matched the color of the decor in my home and here's the finished project:
Its right above my TV in the living room and it makes me smile :)

Tadaa! My gingerbread house!!!

2010-11-23T23:57:00.005-07:00

So you of course start with a recipe for gingerbread and FYI you after you've made the dough and you try to roll out the dough make sure you cover it with plastic wrap first otherwise its impossible to roll out the dough and cut it... it will just crumble... I thought I made the recipe wrong or it was a bad recipe so I made a completely different recipe and it did the same thing! So my gingerbread house is made out of two different doughs.

I LOVE the color blue and so I wanted to try making a white and blue house so I went to the store and bought lots of candy in blue!
So here's the start of my house assembly and if you notice I have glass windows!!! Its my pride and joy of the whole shebang... I melted sugar and added blue food dye and poured little puddles of it all over a cookie sheet (lined with tin foil) it was awesome so here's the start.
A view of the inside of the house and at the bottom there is my son's blue nightlight.. Ha ha can you tell I really like the blue and what better color to light up the house!

Here's the roof and I wanted it covered in white sparkles so you put the sparkles on a cookie sheet... Then you frost the roof and then lay the roof into the sugar... Do it this way because if you try to put the sprinkles on the house after its assembled you'll have a mess and sprinkles all over the place. Trust me I did it wrong the first time around:
here's the roof after the sprinkles.

Here's my sketch of what I wanted the design of the back of the house to look like... I think next time I'll use a frosting instead of a gel because it really was sloppy and so my design looks amateur... Oh well, trial by error.

Here's the front:
Side:

... and here's the house when lit up!!! muahhhhhhhhhhh I am so proud of this part (even though it may be a very simple thing) I LOVE it!
My front door:

The finished product of course... there's a pond and a pebble driveway also made out of sugar :) ENJOY Oh and please tell me what you think or what you would do to it yourself... I am not completely satisfied with it and am already thinking of doing something with the windows and the roof it still needs something....

Christmas Tree 2010!

2010-11-23T23:51:00.002-07:00

Yay! Here's my tree I put up last week since I couldn't wait until Thanksgiving like everyone else! I know there are some haters that don't agree with the idea, but hey man if I have to string the lights... put the ornaments and clean the sparkles everywhere after... I need it up longer to make it worth my while :) enjoy lol I am for sure.

Attempt to make a gingerbread choo choo train

2010-11-23T23:42:00.003-07:00

If you know my son you know he LOVES trains! I checked some books out at the library on gingerbread houses and saw this great idea for a train. Since I was also planning on doing an elaborate house as well as the train I decided not to use the pattern and instead use graham crackers. The icing went all wrong and still have no idea why but it made the graham crackers all soggy and they wouldn't stay up so I gave up quickly and just let Jonathan "make" the rest himself and this was what it looked like:

His shirt is off because the thought of frosting all over a shirt and then trying to take it off without getting it all in his hair made me anxious so he got to do this project shirtless :)

things happen in threes

2010-11-23T23:35:00.002-07:00

I had the most interesting day Friday. I am vacuuming the house and my vacuum broke so and I hadn't even gotten one whole room finished. Then I spent a few hours on the computer looking up gingerbread house ideas and my computer crashed on me! Then Ryan and I decided to get into our jetted bathtub for some relaxation time since we don't have our Jacuzzi anymore and the jets in the bathtub don't work! I mean really! Things are going really well for our family and of course a day like this has to come along and ruin everything! Oh well we are lucky that Ryan's mom has a very old vacuum she never uses anymore for us to borrow in the meantime... My wonderful neighbor offered to help me fix my computer, but my dad came down and ended up fixing it for me! And well, the tub we'll just have to have bubble baths for the meantime until we can figure out why they don't work! So things really come in threes... 1. vacuum broke 2. computer broke 3. Tub broke...

just another paint project of mine...

2010-10-27T13:34:00.003-06:00

Before:
After:

Chelsy found this steal at a garage sale for a dollar! It had no glass in the top part so I paid her the $1 for the table and began to work my magic... Ryan sanded the top for me and then put the primer on it..

We found some spray paint the exact color of my wall and spray painted the thing then I measured the two rectangles and bought glass at Jones Paint & Glass for $7 a piece! So this table cost me $21 total crazy.. I was pretty stressed out when I had started looking online and in stores to see how much a entry table would cost... They were all at least 1-200 dollars so I am so glad I didn't have to spend that! Tell me what you think... oh and referring to my last post. that Glass thing on the very end on the left is filled with black beans. I want to go around filling everything with beans now! I love that idea!

Decorating my home.

2010-10-27T13:06:00.005-06:00

So a couple months ago I had a minor crisis/ realization... We aren't going to be moving anytime soon because of this economy and so my house which I love, needs to reflect me and I need to enjoy it since I am inside it all day everyday... We didn't really decorate it when we moved in because the plan was to sell it 2 years after buying it. Well we've been in it almost 4 years now and will probably reside here for another 5 years. Since I have no money to spare, I had a garage sale two weekends in a row and made $300 so I could decorate my house... Have a look at what was done!

We added curtains and painted the table and added pillows

I learned a trick from Chelsy. You know when your filling things with decorative beads or glass. Instead of spending a fortune use beans.. They come in brown, tan, black or white like you see here. I set the candle in the white beans and it looks great!

I got a gallon of this paint color for $10 at Ace Hardware. They were having a sale and I barely used any of it for this wall! Still have tons of paint left. Here I just added a few books and book ends. For the books I had a bunch I was going to sell in the garage sale and Chelsy had me take all the covers off them and used books with neutral colors and we put them together, genius! A candle and a decorative organizer and it looks so much better than the papers and junk I had on the top before.

I cannot continue without mentioning my best friend Chelsy, who went to college and got a degree in interior design... She is the brain behind this operation makeover. I just told her my style and she helped me find the deals and tell me where to put it all... I learned a few things about decorating. 1. Always group things in threes. 2. Don't clutter with decor or stuff, clean off your counters of appliances you don't always use and free up your counter space. 3. When storing things like in a closet put everything in bins so it looks organized and not thrown in a closet. Or in you linen closet fold all the towels the same and have them stacked by color and all laying the same way... It makes a huge difference!

Keep in mind the above picture is taken after some major decluttering... This closet originally had tons more towels that we never used and mismatched anyway so now it is just beautiful.

These are just to name a few things I learned from her. I am so grateful to her for helping me. Now my home looks like and reflects me! Thanks again Chelsy!

Goodbye hot tub :(

2010-10-27T12:47:00.003-06:00

Last weekend we sold our hot tub and we had mixed emotions about it... Sure it was money in our pocket, but that was where we always went to relax from a stressful day and unwind... Our conversations never went angry cause how could they you were relaxing in a nice hot tub. Ryan's lower back always hurts him, and all he'd have to do is get in that hot tub and let the jets work his back over. Oh well we don't "need" but I just wanted to go through the grieving process and everybody grieves differently right. This makes me feel better to write about my loss... I loved that hot tub and its big beautifulness! Goodbye forever :(

Glazing project

2010-09-28T11:59:00.003-06:00

Wow, it has been a while since I've blogged on here. I've been crazy busy lately and its all been stuff that is not really blogger-worthy. I went into crisis mode the other week and realized we will be staying in our 3 bedroom house for at least the next 5 years. We originally didn't decorate it because we had only planned on living in it for 2 years and then moving... Well we've been here 3 years and I am finally putting my foot down (be it a little foot). I have to look at this house all day everyday and so it needs to look nice. We really have no money so any little penny we can spare I am using. I am even having a garage sale this next weekend to sell stuff so I can buy paint and paint some walls to give this house some much needed color. Also this house is way cluttered so its good to get rid of some stuff right:) So please come buy my stuff!

First off I cannot go any further without mentioning my best friend Chelsy. She is helping me with great ideas to make my house look pretty and reflect me and my style! Without breaking the bank of course! For instance, we are glazing our tables we already own since we can't afford to buy other ones. So on to the glazing...

1. Take an ugly/dated table like this one.... Prime the furniture. I used spray KILZ primer. 2. Then spray paint with your choice of color (I used Krylon Ivory). 3. Then use glaze and paint the whole thing down, making sure to get in all the nooks and crannies. Then use a cloth to wipe away as much or little of the glaze you want. Wait for each part to dry before attempting to continue to the next step. I got the step to step instructions from this really cool website allthingsthrifty.com. There's some great ideas to spruce things up on there!

Before

Spraying the primer

Tadaah! After:

Old mirror Before:

After:

This is out of order.. This is the items painted but not glazed yet:

Before

After:

Before: After:
So you see there is hope for me! I can be crafty. I have to thank my wonderful husband Ryan for priming and spray painting my coffee table and end table for me. He is always eager to help me and I love him for that! Love you boo boo!

So please tell me what you think!

Janie's going away party

2010-07-31T17:56:00.005-06:00

It was a sad day because a great lady is leaving us! Janie is moving to Las Vegas for her husband's work and we are all having a hard time seeing her leave... She is a beautiful girl. She is so talented and sweet and wonderful. She is a really great friend and always fun to be around... Anyway we are sad to see her go.

I made this cake for her party that my friend Chelsey threw at her home... It turned out great. I love it! Once again if anyone wants me to do a cake for them just let me know :) The party theme was a Hawaiian Luau and so the cake is a sunset with tropical flowers. I love it! Tell me what you think?

There's the gorgeous Janie herself... FYI that is a fruit slushy not an alcoholic beverage... plus she's pregnant here so enough said... Thanks Chelsey for making those they were sooooooooooo good!

All the girls L to R:

Britney, Jamie, Natalie, Amber, Chelsey, Jerica,

Kat, Janie, Buffy

Salt Lake City for Gabba's Blessing. Love you sis! 7-11-10

2010-07-20T15:21:00.005-06:00

What a great weekend it was for me. I got to spend time with my parents and sister. For those of you who don't know my parents are divorced and are both remarried. Its been since my graduation in '03 when my dad and my sister and me were together last... When your family doesn't see each other all the time like some families do, this neat thing happens. You appreciate each other (a lot more), and cherish the moments you have with them that much more. I cannot describe to you the feeling I had when we were all laughing and having a good time together. I feel like a once broken family that was almost lost and no longer, is slowly coming back together. The bond of blood and family is one that I will defend even if I were to have to lay down my own life for them. I want my family to know how much I love them and appreciate what they have done for me.
My father is an extrordinary man and his testimony of Jesus Christ is strong and he has always been someone I can go to and trust. My step mom, Helen is an angel and we have been blessed to have her as part of our family. I love her more than she knows and want to be like her in many many many ways! My beautiful sister Gabba is more than a sister, I feel our souls are very close and she is a strength to me. What great people to be surrounded by. I can only thank them for the joy they bring me in my life.
This weekend was a special one. My sister is 19 and getting ready to go to UVU in the fall. She decided to get her patriarchal blessing. It was a privelage to be in that room while she received her blessing. My sister is a special woman, I am lucky to be part of her life and we are lucky to have each other... to be there for each other when one of us is down. I am so blessed and feel such joy from my family.
Thank you
L to R: Me, Dad (Jonathan), Mom (Helen), my sister Gabriella.

The Provo Temple, Provo, Utah

Little Jonathan who needed a nap big time! He sure is cute though.

A worn out auntie who needed a break from the little one.

I love this shot, I got the American Flag and the Provo temple all in the background... Someday I'll be a professional photographer.

Walking by the fountain.

Another gread day at Sand Hollow!

2010-07-06T16:05:00.005-06:00

Ah yes, another day at the lake! Merril, Jamie, and their son Jack.
So we tossed a football around, made some delicious hamburgers and hot dogs. Hung out with great friends. Swam in the lake. Played in the sand...Had both boats die on us. Ryan ran into on of Jamie's friends who served the same mission he did in Buenos Aries, Argentina and she knew a lot of the same people she did so that was really cool for him too. Its a small world. Then we all met up for fireworks at 10 in Hurricane and by the end of the day we were all worn out!

Here's all the ladies: Jamie, Natalie Bennion, Chelsey Boucher, Jessica Boucher, Janie Topham, and me. That is watermelon on a toothpick that we are eating. It was so fun except I forgot the about the hot dogs I was grilling and burnt them all! That's why I am not in charge of the grill from now on.

Mya playing in the sand

Jonathan with his truck and buckets.

Tucker and Juliet on the boat. Just chilling like little villains! jk they are so dang cute!

Ryan is tossing Maxine into the lake! She loves being thrown, and earlier Ryan and Merril were throwing her pretty high into the air.

Natalie with her little adorable girl, Kylie.

Janie with her adorable son Max

Max and Mya.

Ryan on the wave runner... He looks so fine!

Phase 6 of the Garden

2010-07-04T11:43:00.005-06:00

This is our only surviving Pomegranate and I do not know why none of the others stayed on... I would go out there and they would be on the ground all the time! Frustrating yes, but its not like the wind could really get to them.. So I am puzzled?!

The grapes are bigger and have probably 2 weeks more till they're ready, and I cannot wait to eat them.

This basil is ready to pick and dry. I think it is one of the prettiest herbs I've grown.

Now these are our artichokes and Ryan decided to let them flower and I have never seen an artichoke flower and I must say they are beautiful... Of course they are my favorite color; purple.

My first sunflower has come out to play in the sun. We kinda planted them in a bad spot so I'm thinking we won't plant them there next year, cause they don't get the amount of sun they need.

Here's my corn and to its right we've planted sweet peas and lettuce and beets and celery... To the right the dark green are our beans.

We just pulled out all the sweet peas and old lettuce and planted a bunch more sweet peas and beets and celery and more lettuce mix.

Celebrating the Independence Day

2010-07-04T11:36:00.001-06:00

Midnight showing of Eclipse!!!

2010-06-30T08:54:00.004-06:00

You gotta do a movie right and "bring your own snacks" I mean, who really wants to pay 3x as much for the same candy that is in regular stores? So this was my stash for the night minus a caffeine free Dr. Pepper and the huge bowl of popcorn Natalie Bennion bought!

My girls: Carly Bentley, Dion Bentley, Kathy Bentley, Kat Bentley, Jena Shaw, Britney Jimenez, Natalie Bennion. (also not in photo is Alania Lindsey but went to the movie with us.

My Ladies and the two party crashers: Kat, Jamie Blackwell, Jennie Larsen, Natalie Bennion, Britney Jimenez

I have been a big fan of the Twilight books and when the first movie came out I didn't like it... Then the second, New Moon came out and that one was "good".... But then came Eclipse (sigh) This one was AWESOME. So last night my girls came over for some eclipse cupcakes and then we headed to the theatre... We even had some party crashers who weren't going to the movie, but came to eat my cupcakes lol We all decided cause it was such a late movie that we'd at least be comfortable and wear pajaamas.

Thanks Jamie and Jennie for crashing the party you are so fun to hang out with and you should've been there to liven he party up all night! You can crash my parties anytime lol!

So I didn't have high hopes for Eclipse and I was pleasantly surprised, I was even awake for the whole movie! I had so much fun and I loved hanging out with my girls!

Brielle''s Birthday 6-28-10

2010-06-28T21:24:00.005-06:00

My niece Brielle turned 5 today and I asked her what kind of cake she wanted me to make her... She said a mermaid cake and that she wanted her to be pink with blond hair and so that is what she got. I actually started making this cake at 10pm last night and got 3/4 of the way finished by 1am (the mermaid took me an hour alone; I've never made a figure before for a cake)
I didn't finish because I needed SOME sleep, because I was getting up at 5:00am for an orchard picking assignment... Anyway I couldn't sleep and kept dreaming about finishing my cake. My brain wouldn't shut off and I was up all night tossing and turning; and keeping my poor husband up too :( Don't know why my body couldn't just sleep. I think I have programmed it to finish what I've started and because I left it for the next day, subconsciously my body wasn't letting me do that.
So here is what the mermaid "Brielle" started out as... Yes she would be the one to the left... The right one is an actual toy and I returned that to wal-mart after using it for this...

Do you see her yet? haha nope still looks weird to me!

There she is; I did it! I made my first "person" well technically she's not a person, she's a fictitious character but you get my point. So fun to do something you've never done before and have it turn out half descent.

Tadaah... Here's the end product. I love my octopus, crab, and star fish they're so cute.

This sad sign was the original one that my son got a hold of and took a few bites out of... It was much prettier than the one I actually ended up using but oh well...

The party was great fun and Brielle even got to eat herself on the cake lol. Love you girl you are one cool chick!

Ladies night

2010-06-20T20:11:00.004-06:00

L-R: Britney Jimenez, Alania Lindsey, Jamie Blackwell, Mindy Blake, Amy Knight, Natalie Madsen, Natalie Benion, Kat Bentley.

So we decided to have a ladies night and went to Olive garden for dinner. It was way fun. We all shared most emberassing moments and were so loud and having fun. I don't think our waiter liked us but thats ok... I love my girls they are the best! We always have so much fun together and everyone is so nice and genuine and down to earth. I am so lucky to have such great friends.

Boating at Sand Hollow

2010-06-20T19:44:00.002-06:00

The Ladies: Janie Topham, Chelsey Boucher, Kat.

Janie and Skyler Topham and their little boy Max.

Wake skating, Skyler is really good at it. I call him "the Water Dog"

Oh baby! I love you honey you are soo sexy!

We kinda ran Chelsey into the bouey it was hilarious.

There's Chelsey lookin hot!

Then to end the day right the battery died and so the water patrol had to tow us to shore!

Don't I make this life jacket look good! Oh yeah.

Another cake in my portfolio of cakes

2010-06-20T19:25:00.002-06:00

So my best friend Chelsey Boucher's daughter Mia was turning two on 6-18-10 and the day before I went to Chelsey's house and we made a cake. She's never used fondant before and so I went over to show her how, and this is the final product! Isn't it great! Not to toot my own horn or anything but I LOVE this cake. Thanks Chelsey for letting me help I love doing it.
So to anyone out there I will totally help you make a cake for any occasion and all you have to do is by the stuff and I'll come over and help you make it. Or if you don't want to do the work just pay me and I'll make it for you!

Phase 5 Garden 6-16-10 went through a Hail storm!

2010-06-20T19:04:00.005-06:00

So this weekend we went up to Pine Valley with our good friends for a weekend... When we came back Sunday night to our dismay everything was thrashed! We found out that there was a hail storm and it hit our poor little garden here's some of the damage:
This is my star fruit we planted a seed a few weeks ago and it is so big already... As you can see it got beaten up!

My grapes have bruises and black spots on them but look at them; their much bigger!

My poor squash and zucchini! Those poor leaves look like a plague hit!

Ummm that WAS my lettuce!

My sweat peas took a good beating too... Kinda cool looking though.

that's some sad looking broccoli leaves!

These were some of the last strawberries, luckily I picked these before we left for the weekend! They were all soo sweet.

Now this I have to tell you about... This is my squash and zucchini from our garden, but that's not all... The herbs are Rosemary, oregano, parsley just delicious!

The sunflowers were getting pretty tall finally and then the evil hail came and hurt them pretty bad so we'll see if they pull out of it.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place...

2010-06-07T14:35:00.002-06:00

So many of you know how money is tight and being stretched like its never been stretched before... For a lot of families including mine... When I had my son Jonathan a couple of years ago I made the decision to stay home and be a mother and not work anymore... That was all fine and dandy for a couple years... For the last year I've made many attempts to consider jobs or schooling....Every time I've gone to do one of these things, I've gotten the feeling that I am not to work out of the home. So now I've decided that there's got to be something I can do that won't take away from the raising of my son and still be able to make like 500-1,000 a month so I can help with our tight finances...
If anyone has any suggestions please let me know... I am considering nail school... inventing something... ANYTHING really... so I will keep looking into things... For the meantime I am open to any suggestions that don't require me to leave my son with anyone and doesn't require me to be next to a phone 24/7. haha it might be near impossible but its worth a try!

Phase 4 Garden 6-1-10

2010-06-06T17:41:00.004-06:00

We've had 5 tomatoes already this season to eat and they are delicious... This is one of many cucumbers we have had and they are very sweet tasting

Zucchini we pick one every day and just made some zucchini/banana bread and the combination of the two is just so good and delicious I recommend anyone to try it!

I had some squash for dinner along with some zucchini and some herbs all from our garden... Everything is more flavorful when picked fresh.

Here is how my grape vines are doing.

These are apple trees that we planted this summer from seed

This is some romaine lettuce.

The sweet peas are growing like crazy and we pick a small bucket everyday.

There's the little corn. I am anxious to see if we get any earsI pick a 2 handfuls of blueberries every other day and they are sweet so now we have proven that you can successfully grow them in our climate.

These are some of my melons, don't know if they are my watermelons or my honeydews... just have to wait and find out.

Carrots and beets... Just had some beet greens for dinner the other night and they tasted just like spinach! mmmhmm

Here's my sunflowers they are getting taller!

My roses are and they are just blooming this year like crazy I have red, pink, yellow and light pink ones so pretty!

Fishing in Kolob for Cecil Dutton's birthday

2010-05-31T12:19:00.006-06:00

This weekend was Ryan's best friend Cecil Dutton's birthday and he and Cecil and his other best friend Derek all went up to Kolob Friday night and camped out and fished the lake... Saturday I car pooled with Lenae, Derek's wife and kids and we headed up to ave lunch and play by the lake it was so fun.

Cecil's yummy chocolate cake I made him, and we didn't have any candles so I got two sticks and tried to lite them on fire and well it didn't really work lol.

Dereka and his son Zade.

Smith family Lenae, Kabry and Teja, Zade, and Derek.

A snake is a good thing to have in your garden!

2010-05-31T12:10:00.004-06:00

Ryan came home from Turkey hunting with his good friend Justin and walked in the house with this snake! He said to me that he was going to put it in our yard. I was like no way I don't want that thing to bite me or my son! He said its a king snake and they have teeth but their small, not like the long fangs on most snakes and the King snake is not poisonous either so I said OK because the snake would keep all the rats and rodents out of my garden.

Hanging at the pool

2010-05-15T16:45:00.005-06:00

So today I drove to Kathy's house and Little J and I hung out there for the day while Ryan spent the day up in Panguitch fishing with his best friends Cecil and Derek... We decided to swim while there and had a great time because of course we got to see grandma, which is always the best. Kathy has to be the greatest grandma on earth, each of her grand kids adore her and in my particular case, Jonathan wants his grandma over his mama! But thats OK with me cause I love to watch him and grandma share those special moments together.

So Jena and Nate and their kids Hale and Kade swam with us also. We ate sloppy joes and watermelon and drank cherry coke ZERO while we laid out by the pool and played in the water. It was so fun and I love to hang out with Jena because we're the same age and she is way fun to be around; she is a really good mother and we are always laughing and having a great time. I love you Jena!

My idea of a perfect day is hanging out with family and getting tan while doing it...

P.S. for the record today wasn't a perfect day; it was almost perfect.... It would have been though if Ryan was there too.... Love you sweetheart.

Jonathan's first stitches all because of his mom!

2010-05-15T13:48:00.005-06:00

So Sunday May 2 we were all at Grandma Kathy's house celebrating TJs birthday. We were all eating Navajo tacos and Jonathan had eaten about 30 olives anyway he got a hold of the can to get some more olives since his plate was empty and stuck his little finger inside. I wasn't watching him while he did this and all I heard was this scream and ran over to him to see what was wrong.. I panicked and went to pull his finger which was caught between the can and the lid and everyone said no no don't do that so I stopped well he was still screaming so I went to pull it again and everyone told me to stop so I did but he was screaming really bad and I couldn't take it anymore so I just pulled his finger out hoping it wouldn't cut him and of course it did just that. He was bleeding and kept bleeding for a while so I put a paper towel on it and went into the family room away from everyone to calm him down. Tana and TJ and mom all said the cut was pretty deep and that I should take him to get stitches...

Can I just say I felt so awful, I wanted to cry so bad. I didn't want to take him to the emergency room over a little cut but was finally persuaded to do so... We drove over to Instacare on River Road and waited an hour to see the doctor. They stabbed his finger with a needle to numb it and stitched the cut up all while mom and dad held him down on the bed. I was on the verge of breaking down sobbing the whole time and felt like the worst mom... I never thought I would EVER be the cause of my sons pain or injuries, but there it is the hard truth... So we got him stitched up ( he got 3 stitches) and went home... So here's my little cutie with a wrapped finger so the stitches don't get infected or snagged:

Look at that, its so scary to look at stitches... Probably because I'm not used to injuries... I never had any severe injuries really so this is all new and extremely traumatizing for me!

Birthday gift from Ryan

2010-05-15T13:35:00.002-06:00

I turned a quarter of a century Monday May 10! And to my delight Ryan treated me to a wonderful weekend of fun... Friday May 7, we drove to Mesquite, NV and stayed at the Virgin River Hotel and layed out by the pool all day. Grandma Kathy watched Jonathan for us and then for dinner we ate at the Virgin River seafood buffet then we went and watch Iron Man II opening night. Then Saturday we drove the rest of the way to Las Vegas and he took me shopping.. Then Monday night for my actual birthday we went to Grandma Kathy's and swam in the pool and ate hamburgers and hot dogs and ice cream cake that I made myself! Then came the presents, I got lots of wonderful gifts, but this blog is going to focus on one gift in particular:

Ryan made me close my eyes while he brought out my gift and then he made me sit in it. When I opened my eyes I could not believe my eyes!!! It was the rocking chair I always wanted... Now for a little history on this rocking chair. For two years I've wanted a rocking chair and I have mentioned it from time to time to Ryan, I even told him I wanted an older one, not those new ones that come with the rocking stools etc... What I never told him was I wanted one like my mother used to have when I was little... I have such fond memories of that chair and so when the chair that Ryan got me was identical to my mothers I had to hold in the crying! He touched my heart with this wonderful gift... I think its pretty amazing that he got the exact one since I never told him the details of the chair... Once again my husband Ryan has outdone himself and gone above and beyond. This is why I am so lucky to be his wife and I want him to know that I adore him and cherish him. Love you honey!
So now there's one small problem... Little J has taken a liking to my chair too so we have to take turns sitting in it all day haha. He sure is cute in that chair though.

Just like my moms.

Mother's Day 5-0-2010

2010-05-15T12:39:00.006-06:00

These are my flowers I got for mother's day and its kinda a funny story.... Ryan told me to go into my room and wait there for a few minutes and then I could come out... Well I thought he would come get me when I could come out so I stayed in my room with jonathan for like 45 minutes and got so board I turned on some music and J and me dance around until Ryan knocked on the window so I would let him in... He came in with a beautiful vase of wildflowers... They grow all along the highways down here and he had gone out and picked some for me! What a good man. I just love my flowers so here are tons of pictures of all the different kinds that were in this vase... If you haven't realized it yet by all my posts I LOVE plants and just find them to be little miracles.

These are the roses in my garden, there are also red and yellow ones too but they all don't seem to want to bloom at the same time so here's the pink rose plant...

This little purple flower I planted when we moved in 2007 but I can't remember what its called but I love the color purple!

This beauty is beautiful but I don't like it because it has thorns all over, but its beautiful and in the winter it has these red berries all over and you can make jam out of the berries but the seeds can make you really sick so you have to strain them. We just learned this about these bushes and we've had them in our yard since we moved here so can't wait till this winter so we can make some jam!

I can't forget about my Lavendar plant... It smells divine and look, its my favorite color. Purple!

Wake boarding 4-10-2010

2010-05-15T12:27:00.005-06:00

So our good friends Chelsey and Shawn Boucher have a boat and invited us to go boating at Sand Hollow Saturday April 10... Ryan was working so I took little J and we went. Also Skyler and Janie Topham came along too.. We had a blast... The water was freezing and it was pretty windy, but we were all ready for summer and so we went out anyway. It was great and I even got in the water with Ryan's wetsuit on and wake boarded... It was so cold that the breath was knocked out of me when I got in that water but once I was up and going it was just fine...

Shawn got in the water too and he didn't wear a wetsuit but he was fine... He did a couple of flip in the air and I got one on picture...It was awesome! I wish I could do one.. but the only place you'll get me to do one is on a trampaline! It was awesome fun, thanks Chelsey and Shawn for taking us boating love you guys!

J's first time fishing 1-26-2010

2010-05-15T12:14:00.003-06:00

Jonathan's first time fishing with his daddy and he caught a fish too... I love to watch my son with his father... It is such a special relationship. Little J wants to be like his daddy (for now) and imitates everything he does. He loves his pappa so much and of course J has daddy wrapped around his little finger! I've learned that kids love to push the limits and see what they can get away with, here's a perfect example: He can't look at the water from a couple feet away, that just won't do, you have to get right up to the edge of the pond and that's the best way to look at it.. according to Jonathan anyway.

This is teaching J patience, even if its only for two minutes and then he's running around again.

watching dad put the worm on the hook.

Phase 3 Garden 5-9-2010

2010-05-15T11:30:00.007-06:00

Ryan ate these artichokes for a snack Sunday and they were so tasty!
Below is the Praying mantis cocoon I was referring to in my last blog... Its cool huh!

This is the kumquat tree. Ryan took popsicle sticks and used them to spread out the branches so it grows out and not up...

Below is a goji berry plant we got from a friend in town who we are so grateful for because the seeds we planted didn't grow so this is one of 3 plants we have. Goji berry is one of the power fruits... In one goji berry is as much potassium as you find in 20 tomatoes!

My raspberries are starting to come out yay!!! This has got to be my favorite berry next to blueberries! So happy we found out you can grow them in this climate.

Here are some strawberry flowers... a good indication of how many berries or fruits you'll have is by the flowers because obviously that's what the fruit starts out as.

Based on the amount of flowers in this next picture I'd say we are going to have a huge blackberry harvest this year.

Here are my peaches, mmmhmm. we will be canning these!

This is the main garden and things are growing great here's a picture to show you how much its grown since last week.

A friend of ours grandma grew these and he gave us some of his batch and let me tell you that I've never tried spearmint but here it is and its very tasty... I gave a couple leafs to my cub scouts and it took some convincing to get them to eat leaves... But they loved it! We take the leaves and boil them and drink spearmint tea delicious!

Here's our Grape vines... look how they grow up those trellises... There are hundreds of grape clusters on these babies... and last year they were so sweet.

Below is my cilantro herbs... We use this and the basil a lot so there is another pot with basil but it hasn't come up yet.

Here is one blueberry that is a couple of days from picking! Look how pretty it is!

I think that the artichoke plant is just beautiful, I mean look at this thing... I imaging "Hallelujah" music playing in the background when you look at this plant!

These beautiful flowers are on our pine apple guava tree and those beautiful light pink petals are edible and very sweet.

Here's a close up of some of the grape clusters on my grape vines.

These are my squash and zucchini should be ready to pick in a week or so.

Of course you have to have tomatoes and I am way excited for these babies to be ready.

This is my pomegranate plant, what a beautiful flower huh.

As you can tell, I am well pleased with my garden, and am very grateful for my husbands obsession with it too, because without it nothing would get done in that garden if it wasn't for him... He always finds amazing deals on plants or soil or cement blocks or PVC pipes which has made it possible to do our garden for cheap. I am so lucky to have a wonderful man as my husband! I love you Ryan!

PHASE 2 garden 4-18-2010

2010-05-12T22:10:00.005-06:00

I realize that its taken me a few weeks to get this blog up, I've had some trouble with my computer... As some of you know I don't have Internet at my home so I have to try and get on at the library or at my mother-in-laws house... I can't upload pictures through wifi no matter where I'm at or how strong the connection is so then I have to go to Ryan's moms and hook my computer to her Internet and do my blog there... I've been kinda busy the past three weeks so this is when I finally get a chance to blog so that is my reason for the constant delays...

So our main hobby right now is our garden.. We have been reading books on the best ways to give the plants the best nutrients and how to make our fruit trees grow out instead of up and how to keep bugs from eating leaves etc.... So Ryan read somewhere that fish emulsion is the way to give your plants the nutrients they need.... its made of ground fish, sea kelp, and molasses and water... You let it ferment for a few days then pour it around your garden... The following picture is what happened when he opened the container to one of the fish emulsions he made himself...
Yep everyone that is my garage and all over the ceiling, walls, storage containers, suitcases, and floor of that garage is fermented fish emulsion!!! And there is my not so happy husband Ryan who got mad at me for taking a picture of it lol.... I told him I was documenting the growth of my garden and this was part of that, lol... My garage smelled so bad the next morning that I had to leave the door open the whole day and that didn't even help! For the record it stunk for a whole week then it went away sort of!

Moving on to my yard... this is the front yard where we have some fake grass in the front and behind that is a kumquat tree and two cherry trees some blue berry plants and artichoke plants... There is also a praying mantis cocoon which is supposed to hatch hundreds of the little guys which will be great for our garden... My next post is of the praying mantis cocoon...

This is one of the blueberry plants and as you can see hopefully there are already tons of blueberries on this plant and now its a matter of time until we can pick them and eat the delicious morsels! Mmmmhmmm can't wait

This is one of my planting areas Ryan and I built this season and the PVC pipes we also made together so this can be a year round plant bead. In here left to right are: Sunflowers, beets carrots, and the far right are two pepper plants.

Here's the front courtyard that someday I hope to have completely covered with herbs that are of the healing kind... I plan to learn the art of healing with herbs so if someday we don't have pharmacies I will be able to make the concoction needed to heal someone.. I also hope by sharing this in my blog that will get me going on this hobbie I hope to do! Also from left to right are: Kumquat tree, Artichoke plant, cooking herb box, another artichoke plant, year round garden and the rest is roses and other flowers.

Here you can see from the last blog how much things have grown in my year round garden I have on the lower level of my back yard... So fun!

Phase 1 garden 4-11-10

2010-04-18T17:04:00.004-06:00

For months now we have been preparing our back yard for spring... We've added a few other places to plant in and modified the existing planting area... So here is our pride and joy... As you know there are 2 levels in my back yard. So we are filling every possible space with fruits and vegetables. This is the lower level... We have 2 peach trees and an apricot tree in the foreground and then in the little narrow space in front there are Tomato plants lining the wall and in front of them are cucumbers then to the right are my squash.

Here are my apricots that are already the size of my thumb!

This is the other apricot tree that is on the upper level of my back yard... I love this picture because of the beautiful view of Pine Valley Mountain. Oh... and the neighbors house lol.

This is on the side of the house. These are my rasberry plants and in between those we've planted broccoli.

This is the original/main garden. Left to Right: Corn(isn't up yet), 2 rows of sweat peas, Butter Letuce, Bell Peppers, Beans, Romaine lettuce and some other chili peppers, more lettuce, artichoke plant in far right corner and in the bottom right and right of picture are onions.

Here are my strawberries that line the back of the house.

These are the blackberries or dewberries as some call them, they line the back of the house.

This is one of the 6 blueberry plants . We've been told that they can't be planted in this climate; but after some research we found you can... You use peat moss some vinegar and coffee grounds and they will grow!

These are my herbs, left to right Sage, oregano, Parsley, Chives, and Basil.

This is a picture of the front courtyard-kinda area where in the shaded corner are pumpkin, sunflower, watermelon and carrots. Also there are two artichoke plants as well in the flower pots. mmmhmmm, I can't wait to start eating all my own home grown food! We also have a Plum tree, 2 cherry trees, a dwarf orange tree and Loquat tree which is a japanese plum tree but it tastes like a sweet sweet orange.

Jonathan's 2nd birthday

2010-03-07T18:08:00.004-07:00

We had the best party for Jonathan... And after all is said and done I realized he isn't going to even remember it... Oh well, I have pictures to show him someday lol... I'll start with the preparation part.... The theme is Little einsteins adventure... So I started with one place they would go: Under the sea... I was watching cake boss one day and I found this neat way to make candy coral... so you take sugar and some caro syrup and heat it up with some candy flavoring of your choice and dye it (we did blue and red)... Get it to the right temeperature and then take it and pour it over ice cubes

It will look like this and the ice will start to melt but the candy hardens once it touches the cold ice... so just pour out the water every once in a while until all the ice is gone....

Here is the finishing product.... This is it in red

This is it in Blue (ooooh aaaaahhhh) I was so excited for this and it tasted way good too.

So we started the the mission with Pat.. Pat... Pat... Blast OFF! All armed with party bags to get their goodies...

We first went Under the Sea and they all got some coral candy and a little fish for keep sakes ands pointed out all the different sealife on the wall.... seahorses, fish, starfish, etc..

Then it was off on a Jungle Safari in my room. Where they had to find all the different animals hiding in the jungle.. They also got a snake or frog or tiger keepsake from there. We also handed out Kazoos at the beginning so they could play some music since thats what Little Einsteins do!

It was time to blow out the candles. I made the cake and it turned out perfect! I have never used fondant and was really nervous because I watch a lot of Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes so I see them do it, but I wasn't sure if they cut out some of the steps of how to do it. I did it right the first try and it was awesome... Rocket (the plane off of Little Einsteins) is shaped out of rice krispie then covered with regular frosting and put in fridge.. Then I dyed the fondant and rolled it out and then covered... The cake was a basic White cake mix, but I divided the cake mix into 4 bowls and dyed them purple, green, blue, and red. then put in two cake pans to colors each on top of the other and baked them according to directions... It turned out so bright and pretty inside... That was the final suprise.. a rainbow inside the cake.!

Everyone got cake and ice cream and it was delicious~!

Then the presents were opened and he got way too many! He got lots of cars and balls.

Ryan had to get him a big tonka dump druck and he loves it! We love our son so much but he got too many presents so we took probably half of them and are going to save them and give them to him for christmas and easter etc...

Meat Rolls

2010-01-24T19:08:00.004-07:00

How to make Meat Rolls: First things first.... I reccomend you find a really sexy guy to make them fore you! K now that the most important things out of the way you roll out your dough then you spread the already cooked hamburger/ elk meet (flavored and with onions) on top of the dough.

Spread out the meat...

Roll it up like you do a yoga mat... then take a wire or we used fishing line (preferably not used unless of course you like the fish smell you get from used fishing line) and cut the dough about 1inch thick...

They will look like this, and make sure you spray the cookie sheet first...

These are delicious little morsels and they are the perfect snack... Of course they are that much better when you have a sexy hunk making them for you lol ;)

love you honey!

2010-01-24T18:59:00.002-07:00

We had the funnest weekend last week... We went up to Pine Valley with our good friends Justin and Britney Wright and their two boys... Ryan's family has a cabin up there so we decided to get away from the stresses of life and go experience snow this winter... We had a lot of fun. We took Ryans tubes up to go tubing down some hills and when we got up there the hill was "not allowed" so we drove around looking for some anonymous hills and couldn't find any so we just tubed off the front porch to the cabin lol... it was definetly not very steep but considering we had little kids it was just the right size hill. We did some dutch oven chicken, potatoes, and cobbler and its always a good day when a dutch oven is involved... We had such a blast just relaxing and hanging out with friends... Love you Brit and Justin!

OREOS

2010-01-24T18:48:00.002-07:00

You always need to set a time aside where you can just enjoy some of the small wonders of the world... the OREO... Mmmhmmm goodness if you ask me... So i go to enjoy my few seconds of pure bliss... My one time of day I indulge in my need for chocolate... and who comes along? Plops themselves down on your lap and proceeds to take the chocolatey goodness right out of your fingers and basically helps themselves to your treat....
And you go to say something and this little person just looks up at you and smiles this big black chocolatey grinn at you and your heart just melts and you forget completely about being territorial over your "stash"

I just wanted to say that I am grateful for Oreos and for the prying little hands that get into them!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-24T18:39:00.003-07:00

This was a very special christmas for me because its the first one in at least 5 years that I was able to have it with my dad... I don't have many pictures of the day because we put it all on video so maybe I'll attach a video later... So we had a lot of fun and the best part of course it to watch your kid open his presents... Its just not the same unless there are kids to watch open presents I've decided... So we all got what we wanted this year and especially we all got to spend it together... I love my family and am grateful for them in my life!

Every Christmas Eve there is a tradition the Bentley Family holds... We all go over to Grandma Kathy Bentley's house and get to open one present on Christmas Eve... And we get a special visit from Santa Clause! Its way fun.

Then on Christmas morning after we've all had our individual family Christmas' we head back over to Grandma Bentleys to open presents there... Taeler got a cool skateboard for christmas and her aunts and uncles all had to get a turn on the new toy lol and it was pretty funny to watch.

Turkey time!

2009-11-13T15:43:00.002-07:00

I found this awesome book at the library that shows you how to make a turkey out of gingerbread cookie... It was way fun to do and really easy...

So here's how to make a turkey out of gingerbread... Cut out the patterns immediatly after you take the cookie out of the oven...

Assemble the pieces together with icing.

I color coordinate my candy so it makes it easier to put on the turkey.

Then use the icing and candy to decorate the cookie! Enjoy

Halloween

2009-10-31T11:08:00.002-06:00

We had great fun at Jessica and TJ's halloween party last night... There were tons of people and tons of delicious food.. There was a cake walk, and a mummy contest.... also people voted for the best costume of the night.

We dressed up and Ryan was my Knight in shining armour, Jonathan was the Evil Dragon trying to eat me and I was the princess who needed rescuing! Thanks Jess for throwing an amazing party.

Trip to Sea World in San Diego, California

2009-10-31T11:00:00.002-06:00

We went to San Diego for Ryan to work down there and while we were there we took a Saturday and went to Sea World... It was way fun. We didn't know this till we got there but, if to dress your kids up in costumes they have all these stands set up all over the park with candy. We got lots of candy even though we didn't dress Jonathan up. Here's a fun pic of a guy dressed as a flamingo.

Here is Daddy and son petting the manta rays...

You were able to touch the star fish at the exhibit... Ryan got yelled at for taking it out of the water lol... We're used to our old salt water fish tank.. He felt right at home here lol.

Ryan's 33rd Birthday

2009-09-04T20:15:00.003-06:00

So we had fun at the pool... Nate and Ryan threw Luke to each other...

Sophie got a new hairdew!

Ryan got some delicious cake (that is strawberry shortcake so there's no fancy decorations)

Ryan got the biggest piece

I helped dish the food out...

Ryan got lots of hunting presents

Skimboarding

2009-09-04T16:22:00.002-06:00

Yesterday we went down to the Virgin River right by the Bloomington Wal Mart and got our skimboarding on! It was my first time and since I was the one taking the pictures I didn't get one of me.. I did do it right a few times but am not as good as Ryan or my sister Alex. So we took the dog and Jonathan along. Lady had a blast in the water and kept running head on towards anyone who would try to skim board so we had to keep her out of the way. My son Jonathan on the other hand was so funny, he WOULD NOT put his feet in the sand! He would freak out and start crying, we even would try to get him to stand in the river and he would hold his feet up so they wouldn't touch the sand lol. So we finally gave up and he just sat in the water on my lap.

2nd sleepover at Jena's

2009-09-04T16:19:00.003-06:00

We had a second sleepover a week later cause once again we had no husbands to keep us safe at night... This time it was a little more fun too. Maddie and Taeler stayed the night and we all watched Hanna Montana the movie and I painted everyone's toenails to look like watermelon! It was so fun. Such cute toenails don't ya think?!

Sleepover at Jena's

2009-09-04T16:12:00.003-06:00

Well Jena and I are hunting widows for the next couple of months so since we both don't like to be alone we decided to have a couple of sleepovers (at her house since she has more kids than me to have to pack up) We always have fun together and it was so cute to watch our kids play together.

Here is Jonathan and Hale getting ready for bed in their cute striped pajamas.

So cute these two are... They even play nice together... well most the time lol.

This kids got some serious eyelashes!

All clean in the tub!

Time to say goodbye!

2009-07-29T19:46:00.004-06:00

So many of you are wondering, after looking at this adorable little face, why I could get rid of her right?

Well... Where do I begin!

I'd like to say on her behalf that she has been the most wonderful dog. She is so cuddly and loving. I'll be sitting on the couch and shell come up and sit behind me and lay her little head on my shoulder or just fall asleep in my lap most of the time. She's tiny, only 3lbs and she looks so fluffy until you giver her a shower and then she looks like a scrawny little rat lol. She is so happy and is MY dog... What I mean by that is if Ryan tries to hold her and I'm near by she trys to get away and sit by me; or when I leave she goes nuts jumping up and down at the door. I love her and she is so wonderful.

On the other hand my son doesn't love her the same as me... He is extremely jealous in fact. If she is sitting in my lap Jonathan will come over and try to cuddle with me too (he hates when I try to cuddle him) and while in the process of getting on my lap he either just lays right on the dog and smushes her, or will try to pull her off my lap and throw her on the floor! (I am sad to say he has accomplished this a time or two) Then there is the matter of him throwing his sippy cups at her... Now you may think that's not a big deal. But when the dog is the same size as the sippy cup, and its thrown full force at her, it really hurts... Half the time I haven't seen what he's done to her and I'll see her backed in a corner just shaking and I have no idea what's happened!

She used to get me up at 7am every morning when we first got her, which is an hour earlier than I'm used to getting up at... But this last week she's gotten me up every morning at 5am! I will not miss getting up early and in the process waking my son up too with her barking; and me trying to put him back to bed for a couple more hours of sleep!!! Then there is the potty training. We were planning on her being potty trained out here in this apartment so we could go back to our home with no messes in our actual home. She poops in Jonathan's room ALWAYS (I wonder why) and under the chair in the living room and never outside... She will not poop outside! Drives me insane! She has chewed all the blinds, so we'll have to replace those. The cabinets are all gnawed to death in the bathroom and the base boards too. She has scratched the under part to the chair and chewed the pillows to the couch! I REFUSE TO LET HER HAVE AT MY LEATHER COUCHES WE HAVE BACK HOME!!! So yes, we are selling the dog. Areally nice girl came over yesterday with her Yorkie she already has to see if they'd get along and she loves Jezebel so she is coming tomorrow to pick her up.

It will be a bittersweet day but I think its in her best interest and ours as well. To all you animal lovers... I think you can see why she just doesn't fit into our family... We would either have to giver her up cause of animal cruelty haha, or we'd kill her lol.

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-04T16:35:00.005-06:00

Thanks Grandma Kathy for the cute blanket... Perfect for the 4th of July

Playing tug-a-war with Jezebel... Don't worry Kathy, it didn't get ruined lol, the dog is too small. He just dragged her around!

Its cuddle time! Yes my son is a blankie boy like his mama.

A day at the parade... Ryker, Jonathan, Parker, and Briley

This was cool... This is that famous statue but instead these were real men posing as statues, that got everyone standing up and clapping!

Wearing our patriotic colors

Jonathan, Brylie, Me, Cadie, Catherine, Parker, Ryker

Lee's 25th birthday

2009-06-30T18:31:00.004-06:00

Lee is one of the managers out here with us and it was his birthday June 29th, so I made him a cake for his surprise party... so we all huddled into Jordan's room in Jason's apartment with the lights off waiting for him to come over... He thought they were just hanging out with Catherine and Jason... oh no that's not the whole truth:

Jason brought him back to the room to "show" him his birthday present... opened the door and SURPRISE!

If you're wondering what's on the top of that cake, its a speedo. Yep, you heard me right a cake shaped like a speedo! Its a known fact that all the pinnacle boys have speedos. They all play marco polo in the pool while wearing speedos and goggles. Its pretty intense too, none of us girls play cause its so serious... Anyway its not my best job on a cake but I only had 2 hours to bake and decorate the whole thing before he got home... I have a hard time wanting to decorate a cake with fondant cause it just doesn't taste good so I always end up using soft frosting and it just looks messy. Oh well, when I get back to Utah I plan to take some classes.

Who said the party was over! Jason came out while we were enjoying our cake and ice cream in his speedo and...

...gave Lee a special birthday dance lol.

Thats why we love him! And these guys are both happily married, so don't get any ideas.

Barbecue at the Bowers

2009-06-29T07:41:00.004-06:00

Jason and his beautiful wife Kaitlyn with Parker and Brieley and Rieker on the Hammock

Cadie and Sharon Holm (Cousins)

Danyele and me

Josh with Jonathan, Sarah with Elsie, Jenny, Dave's backside... Allan, Adam and Catherine in the background

Allan, Trent, Ryan, and Jonathan singing songs while Trent plays the piano.

Sunday Jenn and Chris Bowers had all us Pinnacle people over for a yummy barbecue. We ate hamburgers and hot dogs and got to hang out with some great people. The sister missionaries were there and I've never been in a ward that had sister missionaries and let me just say that they are amazing. I'm so impressed with how many appointments they have lined up for the week each week. Its kinda sad too cause I really wanted to go on a mission but I ended up getting married, which is awesome too I just hope I get to go on a couple senior missions later in life to experience serving. Anyway back to the barbecue; I made cup cakes and tried to contribute that way. And they played Croquet and hung out in the hammock, played the piano and we all sang along it was awesome!

Pinnacle pool day

2009-06-29T07:17:00.006-06:00

Having a good time chillin by the pool with all pinnacle and kids and wives.

The guys playing chicken. They don't play fair either.... They be dirty chicken players.

I couldn't cut out the trashy girls in the back (i'm just jealous) but I wanted to show you how buff Ryan is getting... soo sexy mmmhmm.

Heather Evans Laying out by the pool.

This is what we call "The kid toss" ... Jason Glad is tossing his son to Lee evans and Ryan is tossing Jonathan to Levi. It was funny and the kids liked it too.

Jessica and Alan Gerber are expecting and so I told them to just cut Jonathan's head out of this picture and put their son there later! She is one hot mama!

Left to right: Reiker, Briley, Lance, and Cadie Holm

Such a good looking family

Here's Dave with the pinnacle symbol shaved into his chest! Hilarious kid; I tell you what.

We all were at the pool after the guys got done playing basket ball and it was hilarious... Everyone wears speedos and one of the tuys... Dave shaved his chest into the pinnacle sign lol and they were playing chicken and getting everyone whodidn't want to get wet... wet. It was fun.

I won the purse!!!

2009-06-21T19:08:00.007-06:00

I won a purse and didn't even realize it!!! My friend Heather is always doing creative things and I am always commenting on her blog cause she just always thinks up the coolest ideas! Her last idea was to go and buy old books from garage sales and make purses out of them. So naturally I thought it was really neat and commented on her page.

Little did I know that she had a contest going which was to see who would be the 100th commenter on her blog, and that person would get a free purse... Well I won! Yeah for me... Here I am modeling the purse lol. I had lots of fun taking pictures of myself being a dork!

Thanks Heather your the best! I love it... Can't wait use it at the library lol (I go to the library once a week and average about 3-4 books so you could say I'm a regular there); bet they'll get a kick out of that!

Fathers Day

2009-06-21T18:52:00.003-06:00

Ryan is a great father, he is so good with his son and makes sure he is always there for him and that his son knows he loves him. He has patience and always makes sure Jonathan treats his mommy good too. I love Ryan and am lucky to be his wife!

This fathers day was kinda special cause little Jonathan gave daddy his present and card (its more fun that way) and so here he is:

Ryan even got a little help with opening his fathers day gift! Yes that's a cooler and his present was inside... Ryan thinks spending money on wrapping paper or a bag to put it in is a waste of money (typical guy!) He got a nice golf shirt and a round of golf with golf cart included for $20!!! I think I did pretty good considering its normally $40 alone for the golf game! He loved his gift and that makes me ecstatic! If anyone knows Ryan he's hard to get gifts for cause he always wants something really expensive like a $600 gun... I would love to buy him clothes but he HATES clothes lol...

Chocolate Pudding

2009-06-17T14:45:00.004-06:00

It starts with just a simple thing of chocolate pudding...

Then a little drops on your toes...

But then you try to help a friend eat there's!

lol how fun would that be to roll around in chocolate!

well... the fun had to stop sometime!All clean again.

Thanks to my friend Catherine the boys had a blast at her apt. She cleaned the tub before they got to cover it with pudding... I thought it would be hard to clean up but it was quite easy. Anyway I tried to get modest pictures but this last one just wasn't modest, sorry bout that.

An interesting Sunday!

2009-06-15T19:09:00.003-06:00

So yesterday was not my average Sunday. Normally we get up for early 9am church...(which is 20 minutes away; I'm so spoiled in Utah) Try to keep Jonathan occupied for Sacrament Meeting and then head to Nursery for the next two hours to watch 4 kids run around a play while I sit there and listen to Primary music! Then we usually head home and ALL take a good two hour nap which is followed by watching TV and movies.

No this was a very different day from the moment I got home... We got home about 1:30 am from dinner at the Cheescake Factory. I didn't sleep well. I woke up late at about 8:30 which is when I normally leave for church. I made three attempts to wake Ryan while I got Jonathan and me ready for church... Never succeeded in getting Ryan out of bed so I raced to church trying to make it in time for sacrament. I got there right as they were ending the sacrement portion of the meeting. Tried to sit through the rest but Jonathan sits still for dad... not me! So we spent most of the time out in the forier. Then went to Nursery. I went home and tried to take my usual nap... I cuddled into bed next to Ryan who proceeded to moan at me and tell me he was in a ton of pain from working out too hard on Friday... So he layed his arm on my back and his leg over my two legs (This is normal for me) so I was kind of his pillow propping him up cause he was so uncomfortable... I was so exhausted from no sleep the night before and I laid there for two hours awake just making Ryan comfortable... Oh the things we do for love.

Anyway we got invited to go to the pool with Cadie and Sharon and their families. So we woke Jonathan up and headed to the pool. I know its Sunday and that we totally are breaking the sabbath... but I'm not finishing breaking it yet!

We laid out by the pool while Jonathan and the other kids played in the pool. So the past week I have been really wanting to get another dog like my little Yorkie I had over a year ago. So while we were hanging out Ryan had left to go get his phone from the apartment and took over an hour to get it. So he shows up and says to me that he found a little Tea cup Yorkie for sale and she was way cheap and would I like to go look at her and see if she is what I want!!!!!!!

Ryan is soo good to me lol, I don't deserve it sometimes; but I totally didn't think he would even consider another dog for a while! Oh well, I must have done something right... and I'm not complaining if he wants to do nice things for me! So we drove the hour and a half to see the dog, fell in love with her. Long story even longer: Paid $400 for a $1200 dog.

So here is the newest addition to our family. Jezebel is 2 1/2 lbs, 15 weeks old, tea cup Yorkie. She has only had one accident on our floor and that was while she was home alone Sunday night cause we had to buy her a kennel to sleep in... We also bought food and food bowls, so since we were breaking the sabbath anyway we ended up buying groceries we needed and all the other dog accessories like toys outfits, etc... I love my new toy, I mean dog. She is so cuddly and thats just what I wanted, she loves to play and jump around. Jonathan had fun with her today; well sorta. He is getting jealous of her a little bit I think... He threw his cup of juice at her today and hurt her. I had to put him in time out and for the next couple of hours poor little Jezebel would just shake whenever he got near her. You could tell she was scared of him, but that didn't last long and they were friends again running around chasing each other. I am a little concerned now cause my son is crawling around like a dog and trying to bark. Its way cute but I don't want him to end up being one of those weird kids that acts like animals around people and won't talk normal... We'll see what happens.

So there is our interesting, not normal Sunday!

Dinner at the Cheescake Factory

2009-06-15T18:54:00.002-06:00

So this past week Matt Sterzer flew out from Utah to do a promotional thing with all the Pinnacle Sales Reps. If this week they could beat their best week so far this summer, everyone would get $25 to the Cheescake Factory ( families got $50) Well the guys worked really hard this week and made their quota. So Saturday night all us wives met the guys in Cleveland where they work and since it is an hour away from where we live it would be hard for them to drive all the way back home to get us. It was a nice treat; pinnacle takes care of their people.

I love getting all dressed up and going to a fancy place for dinner; that is by far my most favorite thing to do. I wish we could do it all the time, well once every few months will have to do. Anyway we had a party of about 30 people so the wait was 2hrs for us to get in to the resturaunt. Well anyone with kids know that its impossible to just sit there for that long. So luckily we were right next to a huge outside mall and it had kins of goodies! There were sand boxes and water fountains and big old fire places. It was a pretty sweet set up; there were all these tables and chairs set up with chess sets and it was this huge long park right down the middle with all kinds of shops surrounding it. All our kids and some parents had fun trying to make it through the water park without getting wet. It was pretty funny to watch the kids get soaked.

Akron Zoo

2009-06-09T19:48:00.003-06:00

Ok do you see this bear... We got up to the bear display and the bear was right next to the glass and I tried to get Jonathan to go over to by it to take a picture... and he found Cadie's stroller more interesting instead, and the bear ran over to where he was and looked like he was going to attack my baby and eat him! And yes, that is a bear... its fur was so long he looked like a big shaggy dog lol. It was kinda cool to see him try to attack my son... I know that sounds soo twisted

The jellyfish display was soo cool and these were the prettiest Jonathan tried to touch them and I got this awesom picture.

Left to right"

Westley, Jonathan, Parker, Riker, Briley, Cadance

I am in the pool by myself!

2009-06-09T19:21:00.003-06:00

J-baby is all over the place... just yesterday he learned how to climb onto the couch without any help he just gets up there. Ryan went to use the bathroom and shut the door and that made Jonathan mad so he opened the door and let himself in! I was laughing so hard cause Ryan was like "Kat help!"

Anyway about a week ago I bought him some arm floaties... we were at the pool and J-baby usually plays on the pool steps with his toys and sometimes one of them floats off and he tries to go after them. Now he "floats" after them and I don't even need to help him or grab him, he lifts his head up and holds his body just right so he can float over to his toy, with an occasional kick of the feet (which doesn't really do anthing). He LOVES the water and isn't afraid of it. I'm so proud of him. Its amazing that in a matter of two weeks he's learned all these things. I am also reading to him now and he even sits still with us in church for the first hour which is a miracle!

I now understand what people mean when they say "your children become your life" They really do because you are able to watch someone grow and develop and learn every step of the way. Its a beautiful thing and I can't imagine not being able to be home to watch my son throughout it all.

Free Root Beer Floats at Sonic

2009-06-04T06:48:00.003-06:00

Last night from 8-midnight Sonic was giving out free Root beer floats so all us ladies and our kids headed over there! It was freezing cold so we are all huddled around the table outside and wearing jackets and shivering while we had our delicious floats! The kids had fun, they all ran around; there was this person dressed up as a huge slushy and so the kids were awestruck by it and all had to say hi. haha kids are so cute when they are excited and wowed; and when the oversized slushy is kinda rediculous and silly to us adults. Oh well we know its there for the kids not the adults.

My little bobushka!

2009-05-23T16:25:00.003-06:00

I think its obvious that I will always adore my beautiful little boy. He is wonderful to have part of our little family. I can't wait till we can give him a brother to play with. I'm not saying anthing just that it will be nice for me to not have to occupy his whole day! He is soo cute and everytime we go into a store people comment on his hair. I always do his hair and its either spiked or in a mowhawk. He's such a sweetheart too. He dances to music now and hides in all the cubards in the kitchen.

Since we've been out here in Ohio, we have played with the other older kids and its interesting to note that when we first got out here he would just watch them play at a distance and kinda do his own thing. Well now he chases them all around and they kinda pick on him a little. Well they try to anyway, he's turned into one tuff cookie. If someone tries to take one of his toys away or push him around he fights back! I love it because I was a total push over as a kid and got bullied sometimes cause I was just a wimp. I know he didn't get it from me so I am glad that he's like his daddy in that aspect... Yes he's like his papa in one more way... Geese do I get any credit for carring him around nonstop for nine months or giving birth even?!

Oh well I love him so much he is such a joy in my life. He is so funny though. We are putting him in time out a lot lately but he has learned the boundaries and is always testing them.

I love my little bobushka and he is my life, my joy, and everything else too.

Cadie's Suprise Birthday Party

2009-05-17T12:30:00.010-06:00

So yesterday morning at 9:30 I got a call from Lance Holm asking me to go get a cake during the day for Cadie's surprise birthday party that evening. Of course I told him I would just make one and so Lance informed me that she likes the beach and she likes dolphins too. So I made her a cake with a beach (made out of brown sugar) and water and a dolphin. It was way fun to do too. Sharon Holm who is Lance's cousin's wife came over and took me to walmart and we bought the stuff to make the cake. All the decorations but the dolphin I made with fondant icing (which tastes gross in case you were wondering.)

So after all the guys got home from working we all met up at the Pinnacle office and got ready for Cadie to arrive. I was in the back room waiting to come out with the cake. We sang her happy birthday and ate cake, pizza and ice cream. It was so fun. And EXTREMELY hard for me to keep my mouth shut about it to Cadie lol. So it was a good thing that Lance waited till the last possible minute to let me in on the surprise. Then after we helped Sharon and Isaac watch the kids while they went out for dinner. So the following picture is what it looks like when Ryan and I babysit anyone's kids.... Oh we don't just watch them; we put them to work! haha enjoy!

Painting toes and watching American Idol party.

2009-05-08T10:35:00.003-06:00

Can you guess which toes are mine?!

We had the best night last night. I had all the moms come over and watch American Idol and meanwhile we all painted our toes... Well I ended up painting everyones toes that is... I had done mine the other day with flowers and everyone loved them so much that they wanted theirs done too. I did Cadie, Sharon, Catherine, Jessica, and Brileys too. So fun. I think I found my calling in life "the toe painter" has a nice ring to it doesn't it lol. Reiker even had his one big toe painted white

Its easy.. all you have to look for is the little toes that look like fat little piggies!

Mothers Day cupcakes

2009-05-07T20:08:00.004-06:00

So I'm the worst at keeping my suprises I try do for people, I get so excited about it that I end up telling everyone what it is I'm doing... I know Mothers day is on Sunday but I couldn't wait till then to make the cupcakes. Oh well, they got to have an early present thats all. I am so proud of them, they turned out great. My new thing is adding pudding to the cakemix so they taste better and using a whipped frosting, I love how bright the colors were too. I've learned that when doing the actual decoration part its good to use a harder frosting so they turn out better... my flowers were kinda sloppy looking but all in all everyone was happy to receive them. the pic on the left is of Sharon and Cadie and their kids. The pic on the right is of Mindy and her two kids.

Touring Kirtland Temple, and Amish country

2009-05-06T18:34:00.003-06:00

So the reason you don't see me in any of these fishing pictures is because I even got to take pictures I fell into the water! Its pretty stupid too how it happened... See this picture of my brother Kennedy; and see how steep that bank is... Don't try to set a chair on the edge of the water on an angle! I was fishing and sitting in my camping chair and lost my balance and fell right into the water, chair and all! I got soaking wet and had to change. I ended up having to wear one of Jonathan's blankets as underwear and my rain coat as a very short skirt. What you don't see is Me because after these pictures I stayed clear away from the waters edge the rest of the time. I read a book, while Kennedy and Ryan fished the Rocky River. We were trying to catch steel-head salmon which swim in from Lake Erie and spawn here during this time of year. Another cool thing was Ryan's fish that we kept was put on a line and tied to a tree and laid in the rive to keep it cool; well this huge snappig turtle which was bigger than my one year old Jonathan, tried to eat it and I ran down the bank and scared it away. I get real defensive when something gets between me and my dinner!

I had the best time in Kirtland, Ohio; my girlfriend Catherine Glad and her adorable son, Parker went with us. Its about an hour north from where we live in Kent. We got to tour the beautiful Kirtland temple which is owned by the Church of Christ and we got to see all three stories and see how beautiful it was inside. I love Ohio because its soo green and everyone has these huge yards and these beautiful trees and ponds everywhere. Anyway back to our tour. We also went to the Mormon Visitor center where they have all the historic sites in Kirtland renovated and made to look like it did back in Joseph Smiths time in the 1800s. We got to visit the Newel K. Whitney store and his home... The John Johnson home and also the Visitor Center had a display of a womans sculpture work of Jesus and his life on earth (I think it was at the St. George Visitor center a while back). It was soo breath taking. I love how she captured the movement in the waves when Jesus walked on water and she really knows how to show Jesus' faith in his face. I will be going back without my son so I can complete the tour since we had to leave early since our children were screaming and making it very hard for others to hear the Sister Missionary speak.

Today we went an hour south and visited a bunch of towns one of them Berlin, Ohio where there are tons of Amish people. It was pretty cool to see them driving around in their horse and buggys and the women dressed with their bonnets and the men with their beards, Love it! I was kinda wondering where they draw the lines on not having modern things though... They were all wearing normal shoes (Sketchers, Roxy, Dockers etc) They were all working in shops with electricity and their horse buggys have lights on them.. So I was kinda confused when I saw all their laundry out on lines to dry??? We didn't have time to go on a tour and it was raining anyway so next time I will do more research so I get to the bottom of this strange contradiction. They are known for their wood making and furniture and quilts which was for sale everywhere. We went into many shops and I noticed they were all Amish women working (well I never saw a man working) and they all have big lips and they aren't very nice! They seemed to be tolerating us being around or something. Anyway it was funny cause there were no other children around and a lot of "non-amish people were coming up to our kids and stopping us and saying how cute they were. They have delicious food too. I love their way of life I think it would be fun to open up a bed and breakfast out there where you also get a horse and buggy to tour the area with... Tell me what you think lol.

West Branch State Park

2009-04-26T20:50:00.003-06:00

We had the best day Fishing and hanging out at the lake. Ryan caught a 24 inch Northern Pike and we ate it for dinner and it was delicious! Anyway we hung out with Lance and Cadie Holm and their cousins Sharon and Isaac Holm. It was so fun and the kids all had fun fishing and playing frisbee and football. The weather was real nice but its kinda humid out here. It is beautiul though. Everyone has big green yards that don't need sprinkler systems cause it rains enough and all the trees have flowers blossoming right now, I'm so glad we got to be here in time to see spring come! My sister Alex and brother Kennedy are out here selling too and they came out with us so its been soo nice to hang out with family.

I am also going to start a new hobbie. I want to learn how to make cakes, specifically Fondante cakes cause I think you can be more creative with fondante. Anyway I have a few times this next few months like the 4th of July and my sisters birthday to practice and see if I'm any good at it.

Things are great here Jonathan is now saying mama as of Saturday and is also getting a little temper to go with all his talking. I've learned that time out is very effective with him. Ryan is selling an average of six accounts a week and I'm sure it will be more as the summer continues. There are a ton of married couples to hang out with this year and they are all really nice. We live in a huge college town and the weekends you can drive downtown and down by our apartments (which consists of all college students living here) and there are parties everywhere and people walking down the streets with cases of beer and just going door to door and cops everywhere too. A little different environment than we're used to.

P90X

2009-04-15T18:02:00.002-06:00

So we are doing this exercise program for the next 90 days and its really hard to do... considering I haven't exercised in over a year! Its also funny cause Jonathan watches us doing it and tries to do it too sometimes. We'll be jumping in place and so he'll start to jump too. Well, this morning was our shoulders and arms day and some of it required us to lay on the floor to lift weights. Well, poor Ryan was already trying to keep up with the work out and then little Jr. would run over to him and climb up onto his tummy with this big smile on his face and try to hug daddy! Soo cute. So of course I got a picture of it lol!

New area New life

2009-04-14T12:38:00.002-06:00

So we got out to Cleveland in one piece. We left Thursday at 10am and got there Saturday morning at 7am. It was a long trip, but we got here in one piece. We had a caravan of cars with us too. Two other couples and their kids came out with us... so we mad A LOT of stops along the way. The apartments we live in are really nice and new. When we got here though we didn't and still don't have any furniture. So we are sleeping on an air mattress and eating on the floor. We also started a workout/diet program called P90X and it is kicking my trash. I am soo soar and so is Ryan. My sister and brother are doing it with us also so its realy nice cause we keep each other motivated. I plan to be in tip top shape in 3 months and looking hot in a bikini. You also have to take you picture in a bikini and let me just say... it was an eye opener for me! Lets just say it was motivating!
I'm trying to get around the town, we are actually in Kent and its a college town and we are about 20 minutes away from any stores (of course its all the ones I go to shop at) like CostCo, Tj Maxx, Toysrus; but we do live right across the street from a brand new Wal Mart YEAH BABY!

Funny thing happened yesterday; I stopped at a CU to deposit some money into my account and there was this black guy getting helped by a teller and Jonathan just kept staring at him! Well the guy finally came over and got right in Jonathan's face and said "You've never seen a black man before!" lol I just laughed and said we just moved from Utah and there aren't any black people there and he agreed and I told him we moved cause we needed a little variety in our lives lol so that was funny, but Jonathan just kept on staring at him and didn't smile once. And if anyone knows my osn he is always smiling.

Play Date at the Park

2009-03-31T17:26:00.002-06:00

Love playing at the park! I never knew that the swings that have two ends to them were meant to put two kids in there! Amazing, now I know lol. Anyway we had a nice pot luck and got to play on the slides and swing on the swings. Jonathan loved it. I love going down the slides!

2009-03-31T16:59:00.002-06:00

This is what Jonathan's birthday cake looks like... The only picture taken of it was by Ryan's Mom -Kathy; and I just now got it from her so here it is! Heather darlin, do I make you proud lol. Its supposed to be a green monster with eye balls all over it... we made the eyes out of frosting, gobstoppers, nerds, smartees, m&ms, skittles, and life savers!