Dragon-like

I've come to recognize something about myself... I used to think I was a pack rat. That I had to keep everything that ever came into my life, but I now recognize that that's not the case. I'm a dragon. I hoard. I don't hang on to everything, just a few select things. I'm specific about the things I gather around me. And I add to my hoard at a regular and rather alarming rate.

A few examples... I rather enjoy making jewelry - even though I don't wear it very often (anyone want some jewelry?!). And so, on occasion, I buy a few beads (few = many). I have boxes full... here, let me show you...

Oooohhhh.... pretty! Sparkly! Sigh :)

And then there's the books in this house. We have 5 bookshelves. When all the books are in their proper places (which they aren't) then the shelves are full. The one in my living room has books 2 deep on a couple of the shelves. Which, of course, means that it's time for another book shelf... and probably a few more books.

I've already blogged about my fabric stash on several occasions... and yes... it's grown in the last little while. Am I working on a project that needs fabric? Just one... a quilt for Red that's coming together rather slowly...

Did the fact that I don't NEED any fabric stop me from buying more? Yeah... I think you already know the answer to that one.

But this all has to stop. You see, last year my family did a dejunk-a-thon. Everyone participated and got rid of stuff, wrote it all down and whoever threw out the most items got movie tickets and $$ for dinner. We've all accumulated enough junk over the last year that we feel like we can do this again... but it will be a little different.

Everyone who participates is going to put $10 into the pot. We've created a point system for each item we get rid of and the person with the most points in the end, wins the entire pot. We're talking about anywhere from $60-100 depending on who all participates.

So, now I need to go through my hoards, get rid of stuff, win that money... and, of course, use it to replenish my stashes.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to curl up on top of my treasures and perhaps take a little dragon-ish nap. But, before I go, I'm curious... is there anything that you hoard??

A Tale of Two Screams

The other night I was in my room when I saw a very large cockroach in my closet. I squealed. Yes, I know how ridiculous it is for an adult to be so freaked out by a bug, but it was a BIG BUG. Hubby came to my rescue and took care of the nasty, horrible, hideous creature and I went about my business.

A few minutes later I heard a yelp from the other room (Hubby does NOT squeal... or so I've been told). I came in to find Hubby staring at the corner of the room looking rather annoyed. You see, he's not fond of small scaly creatures. At all. I, on the other hand, rather adore them. Can you see what we found? Kind of hard to see, but he's on the base of the lamp...

Here's a better shot of him after he'd been caught...

The kids and I were delighted. Baby Girl and Red started campaigning right away to keep him. I considered it for awhile (I had lizards as a kid) but ultimately we decided to let him go.

It's made me realize what a good team Hubby and I are. He's willing to dispose of the icky bugs and I'm willing to rescue reptilian creatures. If that's not a perfect Yin/Yang combination, I don't know what is!

Two More

I think I can finish all the vacation stuff in two more posts and then you'll be rid of me! Well, that's not true... you'll just be rid of these posts... I'm not that easy to get rid of :)

On the 18th Hubby flew up and we headed off to a family reunion. It was at a cabin with a fun little pond that you could swing out over...

or catch frogs, salamanders, or maybe a baby turtle...

The next day we had a mission farewell for one of Hubby's nephews. Baby Girl didn't care much for visiting with the family, but she loved chasing the chickens around...

The day after that my Dad, Red, and I headed out for a hike. We picked the Palisades Lower Lake for our ultimate destination. There were some beautiful things to see along the way...

a few tired hikers...

and then, of course, there was the lake complete with bull moose and Canadian geese...

After that we decided to head to the Upper Lake. Dad has had some pretty bad back trouble, so he stopped along the way, but Red and I pushed on. The lake was beautiful...

There are several bridges that cross the creek along the way, but this was my favorite spot...

Whew! One more post down! I'll wrap it all up tomorrow. But, just a quick question. Do you like to hike? And if so, do you have an all time favorite place to go hiking? The Palisades Creek trail is probably mine and I'm so glad I got to hike it this time with Red and my Dad!

The Super Combo

Just a quick break from my vacation postings... but, I just have to say this...

ONLY IN UTAH!

That's right... only in Utah can you find a store that sells: paintball supplies, food storage, and, of course, violins. We found this little place in Saint George. I REALLY wanted to go in and ask how well their business did, but it was closed.

The next time we're driving through I just might have to stop in and stock up on a little bit of..... well, a little bit of everything!

Next up...

I promise, just a couple more posts about our vacation and then I'll be done! While we were there, Red had the opportunity to go and stay with some cousins who live in Boise. They went to the new Harry Potter movie and then, that Saturday, they were able to go on a train ride that had been dubbed "The Frogwarts Express". Red, of course, went as Ron Weasley. I don't have any pictures of his costume right now, but what I wanted to share was the book we made.

In the 3rd Harry Potter book Hagrid is teaching Care of Magical Creatures and has the kids get "The Monster Book of Monsters" for their text. This is what it looked like in the movie...

So, we decided that our "Ron" needed his own copy! And this is what our version looked like...

Not too bad, if I do say so myself! It's an old biology book. We cut out a bunch of the pages so it wouldn't be so heavy... it took a lot of time, but Red was THRILLED! He loves the way it looks. The only thing I wish we could have done differently is the title of the book. I wish I could have embossed it somehow... but it looks okay the way it is. I have my fingers crossed that he'll want to be Ron again for Halloween. My Mom and I put some serious time into that book... I hope he'll get to use it again!

Part 3...

The day after Yellowstone my Grandma fell and split her lip open. It was so bad that my parents ended up having to take her to a plastic surgeon to get it fixed. The rest of us hung out at home, got our kids all dressed up, and took a few photos. (please remember that all these shots are unedited - eventually I'll mess with the colors and fix them a bit) Most of them didn't turn out so well ...

But we got one or two that weren't so bad...
And I snapped some individual shots that I LOVED...But my favorite shot of the day? This one of Baby Girl...
I don't know why I love it so much... but I do!

Part Two...

Lots of visiting with family and friends this week. Went swimming one day with my family. Out to eat another day with friends from high school. Got new tires for the van (big expensive sigh). Of course, I wasn't smart enough to get photos of all these things... not that I wanted pictures of my new tires, but it would have been fun to get some shots of my friends and everyone swimming... I guess we'll have to do it all again next year so that I can remember to take PICTURES.

During the later part of that week we took all of my family and went to Yellowstone National Park. It's only 2 hours away from my parents home, but I hadn't been up there for about 7 years. So, off we went!

There were plenty of bison (and idiots jumping out of their cars to get a closer shot of the creatures... it may have been their last shot)...

and mud pots (so stinky and yet so fun to watch)...

and my brothers who are wrapped around Baby Girl's little finger... (they deny it, but now I have photographic proof!) :)

and of course there was Old Faithful...

and my niece who did NOT want her picture taken (that's my beautiful sister (my niece's mom) smiling through it all)...

and my other niece who was tired and a tad hungry in this shot (I think her parents (my little bro and his awesome wife) were ready for me to be DONE taking pictures)...

and my other niece who was just happy to be along for the ride...

and my parents (aren't they cute?)...

and more of our crew waiting for Old Faithful to do it's thing...

and then, of course, there was us. Our little family (minus Hubby who wasn't in town yet). We had a wonderful, yet exhausting day! It was so fun to just hang with the family and wander around for the day. I hope we can do it again next year.

WHEW!

Wow... I didn't blog in July. I have several posts in the "edit" mode that never got published. We were in Idaho for most of the month. Let's see... where to start? Why don't we start with the first week or so? It will be easier that way...

July 1st - Struck with insanity. I threw three kids in the car and drove 12 hours to Utah. Along the way our check engine light came on and one of the tires developed a slow leak. Not fun things to have happen when you're alone with 3 kids. We made it to our hotel without anything major happening, ordered pizza, ate and then crashed.

July 2nd -we met up with my parents and went to the open house here....

(Oquirrh Mountain Temple)

... and visited here...

(Salt Lake City Temple)

... then a HUGE storm rolled in. Please remember that we live in the desert. The kids were thrilled with the rain, till it started coming down really hard and the lightening was striking a little too close for their comfort. They freaked out a bit, so we decided to head for home. My parents were following us, but we got separated in the traffic. My parents had car trouble in Ogden. They tried to contact me, but my cell phone was dead. So, they were stuck in Utah and I made my way to Idaho before I finally realized my phone was not working properly. I plugged it in and learned of their predicament. All of the mechanics they had called had informed them that they were closed till Monday for the holiday weekend. So, they found someone to tow them home, but they weren't going to get there till around 1:00 a.m. So, we stopped and stayed with my in-laws that night.

July 3rd - hung out at my in-laws for awhile and then headed to Idaho Falls. We unpacked and rested. I got to meet my new niece...

... and see my little brother be a pretty awesome Dad!

July 4th - family reunion with my Mom's side of the family. Lots of fun things for the kids to do and good food for me to eat! Is there any better combination? Later that day we had an impromptu whiffle ball game at my parents house...

That night my kids were exhausted. They did NOT want to drive downtown to see the big fireworks. I know. My kids are weird. We did set off a few that night in the driveway and then, off to bed.

July 5th - went to church with my parents and had fun visiting with everyone there. That night we set off more fireworks with all of my family there...

I don't take the best firework pictures... anyway, that ends week one. I'll blog again tomorrow about week 2 and then week 3 and then our trip home. I know you're thrilled, but I want to write this all down before I forget... bear with me here!

HA!

Have you ever watched a music video and wondered "What in the world does this crazy guy running around have to do with this song???"

Well I have... and apparently I'm not the only one. I present to you "Total Eclipse of the Heart". That 80's hit by Bonnie Tyler... but now the lyrics match the video... and you will laugh. I promise. You. Will. Laugh.

Enjoy!

Small Gripe
Its the end of the school year and I'm once again faced with the task of getting gifts for teachers, aides, therapists, bus drivers and so on and so forth. I really do appreciate all that these people do for my kids. I am so thankful that there are people out there willing to be teachers! Let's give it up for the educators! WOOOHOOOO!!

And now... for the gripe. I've been looking for something to do for everyone and my creative juices have run dry. So, what did I do? I did what any other self respecting (read: a little desperate) parent would do... I Googled "gifts for teachers". Oh how I love Google! Anyway, I got some good ideas but I also read a few things that really irked me.

I came across articles written by teachers about how much they hated lotions, candles, coffee mugs etc. and wished for things like a day at the SPA or season tickets to a local venue... WHAT THE CRAP!?! I'm sorry but be a little thankful that anyone took the time to give you ANYTHING. Teaching is your PROFESSION. That means you get PAID to do it and that we (the parents) don't have to GIVE you anything. I give you something because I want to show you that I appreciate what you've done... but I can't afford a day at the spa or season tickets to anything!

I don't owe you a gift, dear teachers. I give you one because I like you. I try to take the time to make it something worth while that you will like. I may miss the mark, but at least I try.

I do have to say that my kids teachers this year have been really gracious and sweet. Sending home thank you notes and showing they are really grateful for our little gifts. But if we ever end up with one of these "Gimme a spa day" types... well, that will be the year we stop giving gifts!

Do you give gifts for the end of the school year? What are your kids teacher like? Do they seem to expect a gift? Are they appreciative of the things you do? Or do they grump and groan about getting ANOTHER candle? I'm curious...

Anyway.... rant over. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program...

She's Baaaaaaaaack....
So, MARISSA wanted me to share another little story with you. Do you remember Marissa? If not, you must go read about her here. Laugh like a maniac and then come back. Don't worry. We'll wait for you.
Anyway, Marissa has learned another great life lesson and thought she'd share it with you all. As you remember, the last lesson was "Go to the bathroom before you leave the house... no matter what." Today's lesson is "Don't ever, ever, ever, ever try to quadruple a recipe when you are...
a. really tired
b. in a big hurry
c. your children are awake
d. you're just not good at math
e. all of the above"
Unfortunately, Marissa falls into the "e" category.
She was up late last night and then didn't sleep well (stupid neighbor dogs).
She hadn't left herself enough time to really undertake a baking project this morning.
Her children kept running in and asking life or death questions such as "Can we watch the Gummi Bears?" (do you remember that show?) or "Do I have to shower today?".
And let's face it - Marissa is really bad at math. Basic addition still stumps her.
All of these factors should have been clues for Marissa to forget the whole idea, but she REALLY wanted zucchini bread. So, she ignored all the warning signs and went blazing ahead.
She was supposed to add 2 cups of the following ingredients: sugar, brown sugar, and oil. In her hurried state she added 4 cups of each of those ingredients. ACK! On top of that, she didn't add enough baking soda or flour.
Do you know what happens when you do such a thing? Neither do I. But MARISSA DOES! You end up with bricks. Sugary, nasty, burnt on the outside, gooey and gloppy on the inside, bricks.
And the extra batter that was thrown in the freezer? Well it won't freeze. Why? BECAUSE IT'S GOT TOO MUCH DARN OIL IN IT!!
Marissa is a tad frustrated and really annoyed that she didn't get any zucchini bread today. But I told her she probably wasn't alone in her baking mishap. I'm sure there are others out there who have had troubles of their own... right? Um... anyone? Please... feel free to share...