Try

the last activity for the cubs this year was a mini triathalon.
one of the guys who was helping did a little speel before it started about not going so hard at the beginning, but saving your energy so you aren't so tired half way through. good advice.
then the boys took off.
and Jed was giving it his all.
so much for saving his energy! (Jed passing by his cheering team- the signs say go Jed go.)
when they got to the swimming part, they did their lap, then we all got to play in the pool for an hour. good times.
so, our Relief Society is doing a 5k run/walk on Saturday.
I was ready before.
but now, not so much.
I think I might die.
or else what doesn't kill me will make me stronger.
right?

me too

I cry too, on the last day of school,
but it is not for joy.

but sleeping in this morning was really nice.
we will see what the next couple of months bring!

sweet stuff

last weekend was our ward campout.
our activity leader has a cotton candy machine.
she is an older lady, whose kids are grown up.
she is very nice.
she lets the kids have as much cotton candy as they want.
because she doesn't have to take them home.
the kids that is.
when they are all wired up with sugar.
she said that.

funny, huh?

so anyways, Maggie got some cotton candy,
I called to her to come over so I could take a picture- and she told me
"this is the best day of my wife (life)"

so cute.

the next day sadie was sick from so much sugar.
sweet, no?

thursday thirteen

1. after trying for weeks to sell our trailer, it is now gone.

yes, I am sad, and Maggie is especially sad. but our van could no longer handle it, and we need a new van, but not ready to pay the price for gas for a suburban, and not really wanting a big huge van, and really hoping to try to get out of debt soon, so we had to say good bye.



2. one time when someone came to look at the trailer, Maggie was crying in the house saying "it's not for sale, it's not for sale." it was so cute. and so sad. poor girl. But she is excited to go camping in a tent.

me, not so much.

I will miss the bathroom. the shower. the fridge, the microwave.

hmm. maybe I should have cried- it's not for sale.

really loud.



3. the people that came to buy the trailer brought their little puppy Max. my little kids were all over him. he was cute.


but he is a husky/lab cross. and will be big. yikes. not so cute then.

no puppies in our immediate future.



4. yesterday was the Celebration of Learing at the elementary school. they had the first division first- which is the kindergarten to grade three. so I sat through that. every kid got a certificate. it took a while. then they left, and the older division came in. and it started all over. we sang Oh Canada again, and the principal did the exact same start. the lady behind me, who also has kids in both divisions whispered to me- does this sound familiar? I said it was like dejavu. then all those kids got awards.

what a morning.



5.luckily Maggie got to go play with a friend who has two brothers in div 1, and they didn't have to stay for the second one. Keeping little kids happy and quiet for that long is not easy.

and I was running out of candy.

6. then that afternoon- grade 6 grad. it was fun. a couple of kids got to tell the groups memories of each grade, then there was a little slide show of all their baby pictures. brought a tear to my eye. so little and sweet. then this-

wah!

7. the shirt Jack is wearing- we think we need to market them! we just cut out a tie shape out of fabric and appliqed it on- he got so many comments. a bit dressy, but not really. funny.

8. Maggie and I got to go downtown to the dentist. good times. at an intersection a few blocks from the dentist, a big double length bus had hit the corner of a van that was turning, and was blocking the whole other side of the road. I was glad we were going the direction that we were!

9. still need to get going on the teacher gifts. one day left!

10. 5 more days until my parents are off on their mission. wow!

11. then a few more weeks, and one of my sisters is moving to the other side of the country.

sad stuff.

12. I love this-

wouldn't it be so fun to have big hanging in your kitchen?

I think so.

I just saw it on someone's blog- I emailed for info, and she said it was from Swiss Miss. I need to track it down and see if I can get me a print of it. love it.

13. have a very happy Thursday

4, 3, 2, 1, blast off!

the count down is on.
4 more days of school.
yikes.
yay.
I can't decide how I feel about it all.

I have some plans for the summer.
not big ones, just little ones to make things funner.
for example:
I am going to make a big chart- for reading. and we are going to write all the chapter books we read this summer. and I am going to set a goal. I was thinking 100- we are avid readers, sometimes, and when we reach the goal, do something super fun. what? I don't know yet.

I am hoping to hit some movies at the cheap theater. Up, Hannah Montana, and whatever else looks super fun.

I am hoping to get some sort of job thing figured out, so we can all do a bit of work to get the house cleaned up, then have some fun.

I am hoping to do a mini cooking class- teaching the kids how to make some food.

and I am hoping to do some art stuff. I know Jed and Sadie would be all over that. I found a big huge picture in a frame I bought at Value Village. I was initially thinking of making it into a chalkboard, but now I have another idea, but need to make a better plan for it. I will share when we decide what to do with it in the end!

I am hoping to go to a Upick strawberry patch. I always thought that would be fun, and I think Maggie is old enough to help a bit, although now that I think about it, that could be bad. all the kids whining. hmm. might have to rethink this one.

anyways, nothing big, some little stuff to help the summer go smoother.

but first we must get through the exams for Ben, field trips, grade 6 grad, rocket blast off, which has been postponed twice, now it is supposed to be on Friday morning- I hope the weather is good, or those kids might revolt.-our school has a rocket club- (the kids from grades 4-6 build a rocket, then they blast it off at the end of the year. it is a big/fun thing around here. but silly Jed said he didn't want to do it. that kid is wacko.)
One more trip to the dentist. our week is packed.
next week, with nothing at all on the calendar is looking mighty fine!

father's day

yesterday was Father's Day,
as you all know.
I woke up feeling awful.
so Cory didn't get a fancy breakfast.
and he took all the kids to church by himself-
except Ben who also woke up feeling sick.
but he did wear the tie Jed made for him at cubs.
what a guy!
yep, it is made of duct tape!
(and it was a good thing I was there to help at cubs when they made it, because some of those cubs made some pretty crazy ties. I convinced Jed to keep it simple, and classy- as much as he wanted to keep adding more colors and designs to it. )
it was pretty tricky to tie, so we ended up cutting it at the back to get it off, and I will just add velcro or something to it, so it can be easily put on if it is to be worn again!
I hope it wasn't too bad of a day for him, in all.
He is a great dad.

thanks Cory! love you.

Smarty pants

Cory informed me that leisureable is a real word,
but porceline is not.
apparently it is porcelain.
now I know.
apparently I need some educating.
good thing I am just the hired work around here.
but paid very little.
but that's okay. I really do very little work.
so there.

Thursday 13

1. Cory was talking on the phone, with a guy about young men's camp, and he said the boys are thinking it will be a more leisurable camp. is that a real word- leisurable? sounds weird to me.



2. last week , while eating some ice, which Cory always tells me I need to stop doing, one of my teeth broke. so I made an appointment, and Maggie and I headed off downtown to the dentist. 3. turns out it was one of my crowns. so I made another appointment for this week. but I went alone, because it was a long one. 1 1/2 hours of sitting there, being frozen, drilled, suctioned, molded. oh, the fun.



4. next week I get to go back and get a permanent crown. I think it would be fun if it was silver. but I suppose it gets to be porceline, which also sounds quite hoity toity, so I guess that is alright!



5. Ben, my big junior high schooler is done school. how? why? yikes. he has 3 more exams, every other day, which he goes to first thing in the morning, then comes home when he is done. today he was home at ten. my time is being quickly sucked away from me.



6. I had a fun idea for teacher gifts- something knitted up, I tried one today- with no success. now what? any ideas?- cheap and easy? I might just use the fall back smartie idea. always a good one.

7. on Friday night, Cory was gone on a canoeing trip, so the kids and I headed to the cheap theater- and saw monsters vs. aliens.


(trying to get a picture in the dark. the green bag was stocked with treats. good times) the boys thought it was the best movie ever. I had Maggie hiding on my lap through all the attack scenes. a few good laughs. all in all, a good night.

8. I rode Ben's bike (I don't have one) with jed- well, Jed rode his own bike- we rode together- to Walmart, where I took a memory stick loaded with pictures to get developed. today I am going to pick them up, and put them in my 365 album. wow. I think I will be 1/3 done. there are over 100 pictures there waiting for me. yikes. it will be good to be caught up.

9. I am trying to convince Maggie to walk with me there today to get them, well, she would ride in the stroller, and I would walk, but she doesn't seem too eager. I might have to leave her here with Ben, and ride his bike back there.

10.maybe having my oldest home from school while the younger ones are still in is not such a bad thing. maybe I should go somewhere more exciting than walmart. like H&M. I think I could have a good time there. with no kids. and some money. oh wait. I don't have much of that. sad.

11. grocery shopping with the magster earlier in the week.

for the record- I don't normally buy corn pops. they were on sale. and I have never bought oreo cakesters. they were on sale too. all the healthy stuff is in the back. I promise.

12. so, I was so going to finish Sadie's quilt yesterday. really, I was. but I need about a 2 feet x 2 1/2 inch strip of the binding fabric. of course a few days ago I cut up the last piece to use on a pillow for their beds, not even thinking about the quilt. yikes. I know there was a piece left over from binding Maggies, and the girls were tying it around their stuffed animals, but I can't find it anywhere. I don't want to cut a different piece and just finish it, because then I know the piece I really want will show up. I think I need to do a thourough cleaning/ dejunking. I am sure I would be amazed at the stuff that would turn up.

13. but first I think I should clean up my crafting room, so I can walk to my sewing machine without stepping over 5 things.
you know, I have an inkling that maybe I took it off their toy, and put it in my room. but it could take months to uncover anything in there. yikes. such is the sad state of my life. I had best get on that.

bubbly

man, doing dishes would be so much funner if we could always make santa beards and laugh- ho, ho, ho!

sun, and sweets.

Saturday and Sunday were HOT. really hot.
so finally, on Sunday, since Cory was actually home- he went on a canoe trip with the scouts on Friday and Saturday,
we got him to blow up the new pool.
and the kids needed to go sit in the freezing cold, straight from the tap water. yikes. I decided to wait until today, when the water should be warmer, but of course, it is not as hot outside. sheesh. we will see what this afternoon brings. but I very well might be chilling in the pool!

and - try two of Martha's cupcakes- this time devil's food cake- from scratch, and cream cheese icing. both recipes in her book. very yummy.

will for sure make these again!

homemade

now, I may not be the most healthy person around- but I try. a bit.
I like to cook.
I like to know what is in my food.
there are so much preservatives, and who- knows- what in stuff you buy in packages. really, aren't homemade cookies so much better than store bought ones?
so-
when I saw this recipe for wheat thins, I had to try it.
we like wheat thins around here.
this is what they looked like: not too bad.
here is the recipe in case any of you might want to try them:

wheat thins.
1 1/4 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
4 tbsp butter
1/4 c water
1/4 tsp vanilla

mix flour, salt, sugar, and paprika. cut in butter. add water and vanilla, mix until smooth.
heat oven at 400. lightly grease baking sheets.
divide dough into 2, on floured surface, roll into a large rectangle. flip dough frequently, so it doesn't stick. roll it 1/16" thick. cut into 1 1/2 " squares. put on baking sheets. sprinkle with salt if desired.
bake one sheet at a time for 5-7 minutes.

next time I make these I am going to try to roll them even thinner.
then they will be more crispy.
yum.

Thirteen on Thursday

1. the weather has been wonderful here for the last couple of days! have to get out and enjoy it while we can, because around here you know it won't last too long!



2. I just walked Maggie over to a friends house for a play date. beautiful!

3. here is a little peak at the girls room:
this is Maggie's bed. 4. I am going to make a whole bunch of throw pillows that are all a bit different, but all with the same fabric.

5. and Cory wants to make a picket board headboard for their beds.
could be fun!

6. this is in a corner of their room-


7. a cute friend came over and helped make this one. I tried to make a blue one on my own. it is not so cute. that is why it isn't hanging up there yet- I have to fiddle with it some more, see if I can get it cuter.

8. I need to finish the binding on Sadie's quilt, and make her a pillowcase and some pillows, then that part will be done. still more projects to do for that room!

9. Maggie fell down the stairs yesterday:




they are carpeted. She got a bit of carpet burn. ouch.

10. and the green nose- well, that was just from playing with markers on a wipe board, and wiping it with her hands, and getting everything green.
good times.

11. well, I have so many projects on my to do list, and no kids at home, I should go and get busy!

12. the only question is where to start!

13. happy Thursday!

stuff

for those who asked:

fluffy peanut butter frosting-
1/2 cup butter/margarine
1 c peanut butter
3 tbsp milk
2 c icing sugar

blend butter and peanut butter. alternate adding a bit of milk, and some icing sugar, blend it all up. then whip it for about 3 minutes until it is fluffy.

then- to get the look I had- and to get a real nice amount of icing on the cupcakes, use a really big icing tip- those really big ones! I used the star shaped one, then fill up your icing bag, and pipe the icing in circles, starting at the outside, going slowly, to allow lots of icing to load up, then in the middle do a nice little pile. then sprinkle with some of those chocolate sprinkles.
wha la.
delish.

go forth and bake. and eat. and enjoy.

and Kara- my quit is small- 50 x 64 inches, I cut my scraps all 6 inches wide, and of random heights, and my white strips in the middle are all about 4 inches wide. I don't know if that helps at all. but it is easy and would be super cute for your girls beds. you would just have to make more strips, or make them all wider.

now, today I am going to quilt Sadie's quilt. or bust.

oh, Martha

I was walking down the aisle in Walmart, with all the kids, because the big boys NEEDED shoes. and I saw this. and it came home with me.
so fun.
and it was 30% off. like all the books there, but that sealed the deal.
so for a few days now I have been flipping through its pages.
wondering where to start.
well, this is what I started with:

one bowl chocolate cupcakes. yummy. denser than a cake mix.
and made in one bowl. fabulous.
now, I really wanted to try one of the fancy icings, but all the ones that were catching my eye needed egg whites or cream cheese.
and since I used the last two eggs in the house on the cupcakes, and had no cream cheese, I made our standby favorite peanut butter frosting.
so delish.

but I went grocery shopping today, and now we have plenty of eggs,
and even some cream cheese,
so I am going to have to flip through the book some more and choose which ones to try next!

it's scrappy

done. 1 stacked coins quilt.
I always wanted to try one of these. very fun. and very scrappy.
the back is just a solid pink sheet. I wish I would have made another strip and used it on the back. but that is more work.
and I am lazy.
and it is done.
maybe on the next one!
now- I just need to find some more white fabric so I can finish up Sadie's quilt- I am sure I have some buried in my sewing room somewhere.
must get moving on the girls room! I am heading to Home Depot today to see if I can find some white curtains that have the dark fabric- their room gets a lot of sun, so we need to be able to make it dark so they will be able to go to sleep at a decent time.
(and we really need to get that tinfoil off their window!)

13

1.yesterday was really hot. really nice. I took the girls to the park and had to sit in the shade! I love it.
but it is supposed to get cooler tomorrow, and even cooler by the weekend.
sad. such is the weather here.
why do we live here?
I am not too sure.

2. need a yummy salad for a barbeque or a potluck?
try this:
cut up some brocolli and some cauliflower into little chunks.
grate some cheese.
(how ever much you want- if you are feeding a crowd, cut up and grate a bunch, or just do a bit if it is for your picky family, and only a few of you eat it)
then add three cheese ranch dressing, mix it up until it is a bit saucy.
because that is how we like them.
a bit saucy. haha.

enjoy. so delish.
"try it, you'll like it"- yo gabba gabba.

3. the tree outside in our front yard is so gorgeous right now.


I wish it could stay like this all summer, but sadly, it only lasts a week or two. but I am loving it. and it smells so pretty.



4. on the school camp there were 3 boys and 16 girls. what? weird.
I haven't seen any of the pictures they took yet.
but Ben stayed up till 12. or maybe it was 3:30.
who can tell at that time of the night?
so, when I was telling him to go to bed at 9 last night, it was just too early for him.

5. when we were out doing some more errands yesterday Maggie said from the back seat- "I see the eiffel tower" I said "what?"
she said "I mean the pool tower". I was still confused.
oh- I said- "you mean the water tower?"
"yah, the water tower."
funny girl.

6. why- on wheel of fortune, do people always buy vowels at the beginning of the puzzle? I mean really, it should be like a last resort- you are nearing the end, and just need some help. but at the start- save your bucks and just guess a consonant.
just had to get that off my chest.

7. we don't get tv any more. the one in our basement doesn't get any reception, since we cancelled our cable. but I did see a Wheel of Fortune episode last week when I was at my mom's.

8. but we do watch videos. we aren't completely off the tv.

9. but I don't really miss it. maybe because survivor is over, and the office season is done. we might have to work something out come the fall.

10. Maggie picking some dandy's (as she likes to call them)


11. now all the yellow ones have gone to seed. I might have to go out and take some more pictures in that!
I think our town needs to do a little weed control!

12.Maggie is off at a friends house for the morning, so I need to go and get something constructive done.

13. happy thursday!

wish granted

last week, when Maggie and I went on a walk,
we passed a park.
I heard Maggie from the stroller say-
"I wish we could stop there."
and I thought - why not.
so we did. what a great thing that I could grant a wish. I felt like a fairy godmother.
but without the wand.
where can I find one of those?

today

-library, to return some movies, and get some more. good thing they have a great selection of dora movies!
- bank. take care of some business
- post office- mail off a couple of etsy orders
- knit- work on another etsy order
-tidy up (Cory and Ben are coming home tonight after a 3 day long school camping trip to Jasper!)
-hopefully sew some more on Sadie's quilt.
-make some cookies. and try not to eat too many.
-find the recipe I used a while ago for some wholewheat banana bread. it was yummy, and of course I can't find the recipe. I will have to do some searching online. and make that. and try not to eat too much of it too!
-alright. gotta go , get on it!