Week 28 is complete

I love to read, quilt & digi-scrap. However, I have a hard time dividing my time between the three. I have been reading so much lately that I am actually surprised I got this done. I guess it's good that I haven't picked up my book yet today or I doubt that I would have done it.

The Lindon Pool

Yesterday we gathered up a group of about 25 friends and headed over to the new Lindon pool for the afternoon. It was great. All the kids had fun, no one got lost, tears weren't shed and some rays were absorbed. (I thought that this year we might start school whiter than we left but if we keep up pool days that won't be the case.) 

Here are some pictures from the day. The battery in the camera was really low so I lost a lot of shots but I am happy with the ones I got.

This is the central pool area. The lazy river goes all around this structure. Back behind it is the swimming pool. We didn't spend much time over there.

Here is Rees, Irene, Maggie and me along with Jocelyn, Kyle and Andrew (Angela and some others from our group are in the distance)
I love the water drops in this picture of Kyle. He was so brave in the water.
Here is Angela with Michelle, Gabriella, Olivia and Andrew who had found a water gun. My two water babies


Taking a lunch break. Nothing re-fuels you like hot dogs, nachos, pretzels and soda. 

New Recipe for July

I was really eager to use my peas in a stir fry but unfortunately neither kid likes to eat it. I asked around for some ideas and this recipe was posted. It is very stir fry-ish but different so I am qualifying it as a new recipe and therefore the kids had to try it. I was also hoping that the kids would like it. Andrew did, Emma didn't. No surprise there. Paul and I both enjoyed it. 

Light Sesame Chicken

3 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. sesame seeds

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

2 egg whites (While separating your eggs make sure you put the other one in a good place. Those little suckers can really roll)

Oops!

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

4 shallots, thinly sliced

1 1/2 pounds broccoli florets, steamed until tender-crisp 

(I don't always follow directions. I wanted more veggies than just broccoli. I also didn't read the instructions very thoroughly. I didn't pre-steam my veggies. I added them into the pan and cooked them at the end. Paul likes his veggies the consistency of baby food so this is the better option for us.)

In a small bowl, combine honey, sesame seeds, soy sauce and garlic. Set aside. This smelled really good.

In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites and cornstarch. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.

In a large frypan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken. Cook, turning occasionally, until golden and cooked through, for 6 to 8 minutes. 

(Here is where I ran into some problems. I just dumped everything into the pan and it was like chunks of chicken in one giant fried egg, only much stiffer. I had to chop out the chicken chunks with a spatula and throw away all the weird eggs stuff. If you take out one piece of chicken at a time, put it in the pan and don't let it touch any of the other pieces and you should be fine. The chicken that still had some of the coating was really yummy.) 

Transfer chicken to a plate; repeat with remaining oil and chicken. Return all chicken to frypan. Add honey sauce and shallots and toss to coat. Add cooked broccoli and gently toss. (Or in my case all the veggies and cook them to mush.) 

We will be eating this again.

Our Awesome Little Garden

Our stake president asked everyone to plant a garden this year. He said it didn't matter how big or how small; just plant one and share your excess. As I have said we were late putting our is. I almost didn't do it. This year I didn't plant my seeds in little foam cups in March. I didn't watch them grown to healthy plants before putting them in the ground. I didn't do much beside till the ground and throw down seeds. I really didn't know if anything would come of our little garden. Today Emma and I harvested peas to use for our dinner. (I will be posting the recipe tomorrow)

The beans are coming on strong and won't be far behind. 

I have a zucchini that will be ready in a week or less. 

I will have a grape tomato soon as well. 

What a thrill it is. I am so glad that we followed the counsel of our stake president. I feel like we have been blessed for doing what we were asked to do. I love using the things that we have grown. The feeling is just amazing.    

Sometimes You Have to Jump in with Both Feet

So, the quilt top that I just finished was really fun to make because it was easy to do but still looked interesting. The colors aren't really me, as I've said before, but I loved it anyway. The greedy part of me got to thinking this sure would be awesome in pinks and greens. I could probably do another one.

Many of the online quilt shops were having great sales over the 4th of July weekend so I took advantage. I bought myself some fabric to make a quilt that was all me! I planned on doing it just like the last one only in "my colors". When the fabric came I about cried it was so beautiful and so me. I don't know what could be more me than this.

As I started matching things up I noticed that there wasn't enough contrast.It didn't take long before I knew my plan was foiled. I almost started to panic. What was I going to do with all this awesome rainbow sherbet colored fabric?

I started looking around online for ideas and I saw this (Isn't it adorable!?!) on The Pattern Basket blog. It had given me an idea. I wanted to do the whole thing in offset rectangles. I tested out my idea by folding the fabrics in thirds and you know what? I think I love it. It will be simplistic but that's okay with me. I will get to see all the colors and patterns the way they were meant to be seen. So today I jumped in with both feet and cut my whole layer cake into thirds.

I had heart palpitations, I'll admit it. I'm still worried that I won't like it in the end since I am not working with a pattern. Life is a risk. What's the worst that can happen? I have a quilt that looks like sherbet vomit.

A Day at the Park

This past week Maggie suggested a picnic in the park with our friends. I had been needing some time with the girls so we put a shout out on Facebook. We didn't give a lot of notice so unfortunately there were a lot of fabulous ladies who couldn't make it. We still managed to have an amazing time. I love the girls in our ward. It was so nice to just hang out talking and laughing while the kids played. We had brought scooters so the kids could ride on a path the surrounded the park and we also brought a basketball. It didn't take long before the kids found a tree that was perfect for climbing. Who needs scooters or basketballs where there is a climbing tree? Rees' daughter was the first to make it to the very top. Of course it wasn't too much longer and Emma was on her way to the top. 

That is Emma way up in there.

They had cut off the top of the tree so she is literally at the very top sitting on a "stump". She has no fear.

Andrew stayed closer to the bottom. I'm glad I only have one dare devil.

Week 27 is Complete

This week that we are in right now is week 28. That means that we are at the half-way point of 2009. Can you believe it? I can't. I really really can't. We had a Bed Bath and Beyond catalog come in the mail yesterday and there is a bedding set that I *really* want for Andrew. Can you believe I considered getting it and putting it away for Christmas? Christmas. Wow. I can't believe how quickly time flies when you get older. It blows my mind.

Sookie Stackhouse Series Review for book 1&2

I have been hearing about this series on my favorite message board for a long time now. These are the books that HBO’s series True Blood is based off of. So yes, it’s a vampire series (FYI~She started these books way before Twilight) set in Louisiana. There are nine books written so far.

I resisted starting these books for a long time. I wasn’t really willing to jump on the bandwagon because of the characters name. I didn’t think I could read a book about someone named Sookie. There I said it.

Finally desperation set in. I really needed some new books to read. I had Paul look for Dead Until Dark (the first book) while he was at the library. It was checked out. I was talking to a friend and her eyes lit up while she was talking about these books. She loved them. After our conversation I got pretty excited when I found out the book became available right before we left for South Dakota.

It took a while for me to get into the book but once I did I fell hard. I loved it. In some parts it got HOT & STEAMY! Paul would have loved the book too if we hadn’t been sharing a hotel room with the kids, if you catch my drift ;) I couldn’t put it down after a while. I really enjoyed the characters and the way they interacted. It ended and I was very eager to start book two.

Living Dead in Dallas is the second book. I am not done yet, but close. I have had it a week. Does that tell you something? No? Well if I like a book it is usually devoured in less than two days. There is nothing wrong with this book but it is not a love story like the last one. (Keep in mind, we are talking about vampires here. It’s not really a romantic kind of love story but book number one did give me those first kiss flutters. You know the ones that seem to get rarer and rarer with each year of marriage.) This story is about a problem that needs to be solved. (Perhaps it could be called a mystery? Nah. I wouldn’t really call it that.) Now there’s nothing wrong with that but I thought it would consist of more…sex. You know, like the first one. I wanted more of the flutters.

I will finish this book and I will continue to read the series until at least book four. I hear that one is really good. From what I gather, in book four she gets involved with someone else, but I don’t know that for sure so that’s all I am going to say about that.

So if you like vampires and smut you may like book one. If you like to read series and don’t mind some sex and some swear words then you should try these books. I will keep you posted on how I feel after I finish book two.

All right, I finished book two. It got a little smuttier. Now that I have a better feel for what these books are about I think I will enjoy them more. Lisa gave me the rest of the series so I am good to go. This is way more sci-fi that I have ever read before but I am dealing with it better than I thought I would. I will give these two books two thumbs up even though they are not my preferred genre and they are a little raunchier than what I normally read. 

Paul is 35

Yesterday the best daddy and the greatest husband in the world turned 35. We celebrated with funfetti cupcakes with rainbow chip frosting and ice cream at his parent’s home. We were able to visit for a couple of hours while snacking on sweets. The cousins played inside and out and got to visit the neighbor’s train display. I didn’t even once think I should go over with my camera. (Smacks forehead!)  

Paul I hope you know how much we love you and what you mean to us. Happy Birthday Honey. 

Right before we left grandma gave all the big kids a Klondike bar to eat outside. Grandma Nancy and John came out to join in on the fun. Andrew shared a piece of chocolate with John. It didn't take long for him to figure out that he wanted more that just ice cream. Can you blame him? 

Our Fourth of July Weekend

Friday Paul was able to stay home from work since the holiday fell on a Saturday. We kicked it around the house until pretty late in the afternoon so I could finish my quilt!

After lunch at Taco Amigo we started gathering up stuff for our weekend in Provo. We checked into the Residence Inn

and then went to dinner at TGIFridays. After dinner we went to the creamery and got heartbroken because they *still* don't have good flavors of ice cream! Oh they let us down. It was better for my butt though.

While we were driving back to our hotel when we noticed a bunch of service people carrying what looked like a gigantic flag.

There were also two cranes. We knew what was going to happen and there was a modest crowd gathered so we joined. We had to wait a while but finally they lifted the giant flag up on the cranes. It took 24 people to carry the flag. We later found out that it was 90x150 feet! It was monstrous and beautiful.

I took my pictures and then we were done.

When we got back to the hotel we spent a little time in the pool and hot tube before going to bed. We knew we had an early morning ahead of us so we encouraged the kids to fall asleep as fast as they could. It didn't work. Oh they were beasts. I wanted to hurt someone. Neither one of them wanted to share the sofa bed. Emma was whining because Andrew was breathing too loud and then he was stealing the blankets. They bitched and moaned for over an hour!!! An hour. A whole freaking hour. Did I mention that they complained for an hour?

Finally Emma got off the bed and slept on the couch cushion on the ground. Since we had decided to go to the Balloon Fest I set the alarm but apparently my internal alarm had doubts that it would work. I’m running about 20 minutes fast. I got at 5:25 AM and lost out on the last precious 20 minutes that I could have had.

We got to the balloon fest before sunrise. The sky was gorgeous with pink streaks and the weather was perfect. It was nice and cool.

We watched the balloons slowly blow up one by one and then they took off.

We all had our favorites. This is mine. I just love the autumn leaves and the dangly thingies.

Here are some more shots.

We also noticed some balloons missing from previous years like the strawberry and one with a bunch of flowers on it.

After we were done we got Einstein Bagels (I guess it is now a tradition since we have gotten them after the Balloon Fest both times we have gone.) and then went to the hotel and took advantage of their free buffet breakfast.

Paul and I wanted a nap and we knew the kids *needed* a nap. We had a choice; go home and let the kids sleep in their own beds (keep in mind there are also a lot of activities at our house to keep them busy if they don’t sleep thus assuring that Paul and I get our naps) or stay at the hotel, the scene of an hours worth of sleep drama and try to take a nap there. Guess what we chose ;) We got a nice nap and after getting cleaned up headed back to Provo for the Stadium of Fire. We walked down and got our seats and waited impatiently for the festivities to begin.

We saw the jets,

we sang the national anthem, we said the Pledge of Allegiance to the same flag we had watched the cranes raise the night before, we watched the dancers, we sat through SHeDAISY and then hormones started running amok. The Jonas Brothers hit the stage.

The place went nuts. The kids lost it. Emma was so excited. She was jumping up and down and screaming. Andrew got into it too.

We couldn’t see them very well but we watched them on the big screens.

They put on a great show and really got the audience going. The kids weren't the only ones who were excited about seeing the Jonas Brothers.

I have a whole new appreciation for those boys. They were awesome. They played at least six songs. My favorite part of the night was watching the kids at their first concert watching someone they love perform. It was so cute.

After the concert was over the fireworks started. They went for a while and then there was even what seemed like the grand finale. I thought it seemed somewhat brief compared to years past but rain was coming, we had felt the drops, so I figure they had rushed through them. I was wrong. They just stopped them for a special ceremony.

That big beautiful flag that we had admired the night before was no longer in good enough condition to be used. A lady here in Utah had sewn it with her ward; it had been used at BYU football games, during the Olympics and other Stadiums of Fire. She had repaired it over and over again and referred to it as her baby. Much to my horror they decided to burn it at last night. I watched with a tear in my eye as they carried it in and loaded into a large drum and before I knew it, it was gone.

The lower flame is where the drum that they loaded the flag into.

I know that is what is supposed to be done but I have to say I didn’t like it. If I were the one who had made it and worked so hard to keep it beautiful over the years I would have wanted to keep it, somehow, no matter what its condition was.

After the ceremony was over the fireworks began again and we were treated to round two and they were awesome! I will tell you that that is the way to see the fireworks. We all hope to have a chance to do it again sometime. The only downer is that I couldn’t have my tri-pod and thus no really good pictures.

We walked back to the hotel, put Andrew on the floor and fell asleep. We slept until 10:30. We started loading up and headed home where I made a big breakfast for everyone and started working on Paul’s birthday cupcakes and dinner. More on his birthday later.