boutique!

I've been slaving away for weeks now with two friends, Marne and Shelly for Say Anything Expressions to create these fun items for The Spotted Zebra Boutique. For more info, click here. What FUN!!!

astute observations

I have a habit of connecting everyone I see with someone famous. It's the way my brain works. The first time I saw Danny Goakey I said he looked like Robert Downey Jr. and my husband, who is forever making fun of my always correct observations, laughed at me. Well I proved him wrong, didn't I? Everyone thinks it's true now and I give myself credit for noticing it first. I also think that Michael Sarver has a smile like Ben Affleck and that my son Kolby is a dead ringer for David Archuletta. But my visual associations don't stop with American Idol. I see connections every single day. My neighbor Cliff McPhie looks just like Will Ferrel, my friend Kristine Widtfelt is a mix between Tea Leoni and Nicole Kidman, and the author of the book I just read, Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson, looks like a young Harrison Ford. My book club last night made fun of me for my Harrison Ford/Greg Mortenson observation so I'm posting this picture to prove my point and to show the world that my visual associations are dead ON! (You see it, don't you?)

random thought

This drink is a little piece of Heaven...almost good enough to replace my Dr. Pepper habit! Seriously. It tastes like a melted milkshake. Freeze it a little and it's like drinking a fudgesicle. But you can't get the other brands and you can't get the lower fat versions. They just aren't the same. If you're going to splurge, splurge big. It's worth it. I think I need to make a trip to the grocery store...where are my keys? Kids...get in the car...

weekend in heaven

Had the best scrapbooking weekend ever. Three delightful days at an incredible lodge, scrapbooking all day and night. Now THAT'S what I call Heaven. And you should see the pages. I'll have to post them another time. They were all just incredible. It was one of those weekends where going to bed is painful because you just know you're going to miss out on something. And boy did I! I went to bed early every night (my husband made me promise to not come home exhausted,) and from what I hear, I missed out on a whole LOT in those wee hours of the night. But I did come home refreshed and thankful to know such amazing women. I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard. And it's a good thing too, because laughing was the only exercise I got. Sandy and Dee had a spoon war. Ever had one? Too funny. The joke is, of course, on the person who doesn't know that the moderator is helping the opposing team. Poor Dee! What a weekend. I'm homesick just thinking about it. Wish I could remember all the funny things that were said and done so I could post them, but, to protect the innocent, perhaps I shouldn't...What happens at Six Lakes stays at Six Lakes...

scripp's state spelling bee

Sometimes I feel like one of the luckiest people in the world. Saturday was one of those times because I was asked to judge the Utah Valley Scripps State Spelling Bee for the fourth consecutive year. It is an honor and a privelege to watch these amazing kids battle it out for a chance to compete in Washington D.C. If you'd like to see a short sample of the incredible spellers as well as a clip of the championship word, spelled by the winner of the bee, go here! It really is quite impressive.

recipe!

I've made these cookies a few times lately for parties and have had requests for the recipe:

Melt Away Cookies 2 cubes margarine or butter, softened (I prefer butter) 1/2 cup powdered sugar 3/4 cup cornstarch 1 cup flour Mix together well and form into balls. Press centers with your thumb or a spoon, bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Cool completely. Frosting For frosting, you can purchase cream cheese frosting or make it with cream cheese and powdered sugar. Put frosting in a ziplock, snip off a corner, and pipe onto cooled cookies. Mmmmm, these are yummy. They really do melt in your mouth!

nostalgia

Going through old pictures on my computer today, I came across this one and it's made me all nostalgic. I am now longing for the days when the boys were smaller. I never thought that this would happen. Seems like all I ever do is wish they'd grow up and be able to do more for themselves. People have told me I would feel this way, but I didn't really expect it to come so quickly. I was thinking that the boys are still small, but then I see a picture like this and I think, "TIME, PLEASE HOLD STILL...you're going much too fast." p.s. I take a lot of pictures from behind, don't I? I guess it's because I like the feeling of being there but going unnoticed while something else is happening. Plus I just love the look of the back of little boys' heads. Norman Rockwell painted lots of pictures of the backs of heads and I always loved those pictures the best.

p.s.s. Over at the Benner Daily, one of my favorite blogs to visit, SheyLynn referred to a funny video, so I clicked on it and it's been making me laugh this afternoon. So if you're feeling blue about anything at all today and you need a good giggle, go here.

ouch!

snow much fun!!

Noah's gorgeous blue eyes.

Kolby may look bored, but actually I think it's terror. He just doesn't want to see how fast he's actually going. Unless you're a mom, I don't think you can truly appreciate the speed with which my baby zoomed by. All you can do is think to yourself, "I hope they don't die."

Max - the cutest baby in the West!

Funniest ride of the day. Right after I took this picture, Jeff ran over a small, unassuming tree and the tube kept going without him. He took off after it but tripped and nosedived into the snow, toppling head over heals, snow flying everywhere. I was laughing so hard I dropped to the floor. I couldn't stop laughing long enough to snap a picture.

Uncle Clint wins the prize for funnest uncle. (And most dangerous)

Kyler, coming down FAST. (Can't you just hear the yell of delight!?)

Best picture of the day!

Grandma is a sledding FOOL! (And I mean that as a COMPLIMENT!) I thought it was so cute that out of everyone, Noah most wanted to sled and snowmobile with Grandma. Do Grandmas get any cooler than than?!

It may look like a leisurely pace, but let me assure you, it's fast enough to make me envision a pile of broken bones at the bottom of the hill.

Kenyon's a sledding fool too!

Grandpa wins the prize for giving us the best entertainment.

WOW, what a FUN day!! Thanks Grandpa!!

Is there a shark in that water?

There are those devastating blues again. I couldn't stop taking pictures of Noah. He's just too darn cute!

We had the BEST day snowmobiling and sledding in AF Canyon today, but tomorrow I'm going to have to take some pictures of our poor sunburned FACES!! It was a gorgeous day and we didn't even think of packing the sunscreen! We feel so bad. Kenyon's face is blistered, Kyler's eyes are swollen almost shut, Kaden has 50 new freckles, and Kolby looks like he's wearing a purple face mask. Poor kids! Lesson LEARNED...never snowmobile without SUNSCREEN. But other than that, it was a perfect day. What fun!

quote

Created this quote for my sister-in-law to produce as a refrigerator magnet for the ladies in her neighborhood. It would be a good quote to read daily, wouldn't it? Let me know if you like it, Denise.

spring is in the air!

I love this digital frame I got at theshabbyshoppe.com, my favorite place to digi-shop!

cute boys

walking away, naturally (?)

Practicing with the timer on my camera. I finally learned how to use it! Yay! (Thanks Wesley!) I DO exist! (But actually, I can't really say that because I've been in lots of pictures on my blog lately! Sheesh, you'd think I'm an egocentric. Then again, probably I am?!) The boys thought it was pretty funny to set the timer then watch mom run for it to get into position. Funny! Our aim was to look natural. Did it work? I just love that cute little bridge on the right. So quaint! We were at the Bicentennial park and I found lots of interesting places for photography. It might be my new favorite spot!

shooting RAW! finally.

My new photography friends convinced me to try shooting in RAW but I was still chicken so I have my camera set to take a jpeg and RAW shot. The first is regular jpeg, the second is the same picture in RAW with adjusted white balance. I LOVE shooting in RAW now!!! (But I need to learn the ins and outs of setting the white balance. It's probably still a little overexposed? Anyway, the models are cute! We went to the park this morning in the rain...look how wet poor Kolby's pants are! But we had a great time. The boys got to do what they like - play at the park. I got to do what I like - practice taking pictures. And best of all, the entertainment for all was 100% FREE!!! (Well free except for that new camera card I need now - my old one only held 15 pictures then I started deleting some to take more! Shooting jpegs I can fit more than 200 pics. Yikes!)

burn tool/liquify

BEFORE

AFTER

Tried another picture. Before and after...in the second picture, I used the burn tool to darken the colors and blush our cheeks a bit, then I used the liquify mode to thin out my neck (maybe a little too much) and then I feathered a border and erased the inverse.

photoshop burn tool!

BEFORE AFTER

It's going to be my new addiction. I'm not going to be able to upload any more pictures until they've been burned with the brush in photoshop. Check out this before and after picture. The first one is as it was taken (I was depressed after seeing myself in it.) The second has been burned. Don't I look like I've just come off the beach? Nice tan! And look at all the colors in the picture. They're gorgeous! I learned about this tool tonight at a class and I can't go to bed because I just want to play with it all night! How did I not know about this?! I was taking a photography community ed class and last night was the final class, where the teacher covered photoshop fixes for photography. I was totally blown away. I thought I knew everything I needed to know about photoshop...but I realized that everything I've learned about the program relates to scrapbooking, not photography. Photoshop was invented by photographers to be able to do what photographers used to be able to do with film in the dark room. I wasn't using photoshop for its true purpose and potential! Some may say it's cheat photography, but I don't think so...it's just doing what film photographers used to do. COOL! The burn tool is like a spray tan for the whole picture. I feel much better about my looks now that I've fixed this picture! (I'm so vein...) (WRITTEN LATER): Okay, after seeing the post, I can tell it's not that apparent, but in real life, it's amazing. You can see it in the blacks though. Our clothes look much "newer!" Trust me, there is a big difference! (I know I didn't do the little boys' shirts very evenly...give me a break...it's 1:30am and I just learned this.) Tomorrow I'll have to play with the liquify tools. We learned how to make people lose 10 pounds in a picture. Incredible! Off to dream of spray tans and tummy tucks! Goodnight.

the happy mishap

It all started when the kitchen light bulb went out. (No, wait, it all started when Kent sat our little family down on New Year's Eve and explained that this year we were going to save all the money we could.) In late January, I asked Kent to change the outed light bulb and, as I blogged about earlier, he stood on the glasstop oven and broke right through. My wish for stainless steel came true when, at the store, after many painful days of shopping, and a week of eating microwavable food, we finally settled on a white range. But Kent suddenly surprised me by telling the salesman we'd take the stainless one WITH the new, matching microwave. Beautiful! Then a week later both the refrigerator AND the washing machine started spouting unexplained gushes of water. (I promise, I DIDN'T sabotage them.) The washing machine was an easy 40.00 repair but the fridge was a whopping 700.00 compressor replacement. Eeeek. I now have the kitchen I've always dreamed of. Who knew! This year is really starting off with a bang! But the story doesn't end there...as we were loading the old refrigerator into the Sequoia, I lifted the back hatch only to have the handle snap right off so that now, there is no rear entry into the car. Oh boy. Now, if your wife has a stainless steel oven, she's going to want a microwave to go with it. And seeing the microwave, she'll decide that her white fridge looks awkward and she's going to want a refrigerator to match. Next, looking at the car, she'll decide that a person who owns such a goreous kitchen, deserves to drive a newer car... Ha ha, just kidding, dear. (He's not laughing.) Oh well. February is the month of broken New Year's Resolutions. We'll save money next year, honey...Now about that dishwasher...

recipe!

Caution: DO NOT MAKE IF YOU ARE DIETING Kent made this carrot cake for us. It is so good it's sinful...best cake I've ever eaten. It actually rivals mom's carrot pudding! Serve with a tall glass of ice cold milk and it's a balanced meal, right? I could live on the frosting. Seriously. Just put it in a bowl and give me a spoon!

e-mail mommy

I'm addicted to blogging and I probably spend too much time sometimes on my computer. Today I was on the computer and Kaden must have felt that e-mailing me was the only way to get my attention. He sent me an e-mail that said, "Dear Mom, I love you so so so so so so so so much. Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo -Kaden" I, of course, got the e-mail right away, and e-mailed him back: "I love you too Kiddo -Mom" He just e-mailed me back the following message: "Mom, I am a boy not a kiddo respect that." I laughed out loud. (He's nine going on....?)

lens envy

...of the REAL photographer!! If you're looking for a wedding photographer, holy crow! These two are amazing. Go to http://davidandpattifilms.com to check out their amazing work. And Patti was so nice to let me be her tag-along. I was watching every move she made, every lens change, every flash turn off, every angle...she was posing everyone and I was shamelessly taking advantage of her talent...what a nuisance I was! She suggested that I find a professional and ask them if I can follow them on shoots so...if anyone is out there and wouldn't mind an "apprentice," give me a call! Can't wait to see David and Patti's pics!