Sometimes simple things create happiness...

When Merril's finished using the bathroom, he turns on the fan to rid the area of any unwanted odors. Unfortunately, sometimes the fan is left on...ALL DAY. Urked that the fan was running all the time and never getting shut off, I purchased this:

It's a timer switch. Hee hee!! So now when he's finished, he can just select the amount of time the fan needs to run and then it shuts itself off automatically!! It's become really awesome at night when we use the bathroom before bed, let the fan run for 10 minutes, and hear it turn itself off. Ahhhh, technology is wonderful! (I apologize for the crappy camera phone picture.)

Little gems...

I'm usually better about keeping the pictures off my camera but I've been lazy this month. I was pulling pictures off and noticed a few that haven't made it to the blog. This was New Year's Day at the sand dunes. Max and Juliet wanted to ride in the back of the Scout while I was much more comfortable driving the Tahoe which has doors and a heater. Very important features for me.

They look like they're having fun any way.

While I was making the quilts, Jack took a picture of Juliet . This was about the only good one. There's 15 more of his bowl of frosted shredded wheat and super close-ups of his pants. Why that was so important at the time, I'll never know.

And lastly, Jack and Juliet were playing some sort of winter expedition game and needed warms hats and scarves. (Juliet decided a lei was close enough to a scarf.) Notice Jack's red fingernails. As I was finishing the quilts, he and Juliet decided to paint their fingers and toes by themselves. I was so close to being done that I just let them keep doing it.

Both hats and the scarf Jack is wearing were both knitted by my SIL Rachel! She does amazing things with yarn.

Twilighter's husbands unite...

I saw a funny music video on YouTube called Twilight (what have you done to my wife?)

Part of it was filmed locally so natives might recognize some of the locations. If you love the Twilight series, you probably want to skip this video. Hee hee.

Sewing sleepover...

My mother-in-law, Janet, has her grandchildren sleepover so the cousins can play together. Last weekend, Maxine went to a sleepover at Grandma Janet's house and they sewed pillow cases. (Grandma Janet used to teach sewing.) First they practiced sewing straight lines on paper.

Here's Maxine sewing her pillow case.

They actually turned out super awesome!! I had pretty low expectations but the kids did great! I'm having Maxine sew the next quilts. Thanks Grandma and Aunt Megan!

You are quilting masters...

I think it's hard for me to sew a straight line, even with guide lines to follow. But the 2 quilts are finished. I decided not to tie the quilts, but machine quilt them. I finished Juliet's first. Jack had my camera and snagged a picture of me sewing.

Here's Juliet, with a plastic hot dog on her new quilt.

This is how much thread I had left.

Jack's quilt is finished too and they're both quite happy to be sleeping with them tonight.

I'd show better close-ups of the quilts but you'd just see the meandering sewing lines. If I had to do again, I might just tie them. But it was an interesting adventure and now they're done. I think I'll leave machine quilting to the pros.

Quilts...

I'm not an avid quilter but lately, I've decided that I like the look of patchwork quilts. A friend of mine in the ward is an awesome quilter. So armed with some tips and her rotary cutter, I've started quilts for Jack and Juliet. The part I struggle with the most is translating the idea in my head to paper and figuring out how much fabric it will take. And then things like seam allowances mess me all up. So my quilts are coming together okay. (I try to keep them as simple as possible.) Juliet's has a purple bottom with blocks of purple Tinkerbell fabric and lime green on top. I was channeling my inner 5th grader because I loved dark purple and neon green then. Here are the blocks laid out.

I was having a hard time getting it to work until I realized that I hadn't purchased enough green, by almost a full yard. Once I figured that out, I was less bugged by it.

Juliet likes her quilt already. She kept trying to lay on the quilt squares while I was laying them out. (I meant to rotate this one but I'm on the laptop and there isn't any editing software on it.)

Jack's quilt is even easier. He has a big block of Mater and Lightening McQueen in the middle with red and tan on the edges and a black bottom.

Jack's top is finished and Juliet's is almost finished. I purchased the rest of the green fabric yesterday and I need to cut it out this morning and sew it together.

Then comes the topic of getting them together. I usually just tie quilts but I like the look of a machine-stitched quilt. I'm hesitant to machine stitch it with my machine because it's just an average machine, nothing special. I just don't want to mess them up with my machine after all the work of getting them ready. I almost wish there was a different way to tie the yarn so it didn't leave the strings hanging out. So if anyone has any tips or ideas, let me know!

Fixing things...

I like to fix things. It must stem from my Dad because he was always fixing things. I think it's fun to make things work that weren't working before. When I sought out a spouse, I deliberately looked for a man who was handy. Then I met Merril. He's been able to fix everything I've put in front of him. From cars to digital pianos and everything in between, he can fix it, usually.

He was working out of town for more than half of December and took his laptop with him. When he came home, his laptop screen wasn't working. The backlight came on and I could hear Windows boot up but no picture. I was bugged. So using my other computer, I googled why the laptop would do that. It said a faulty video card might be to blame but try the display connectors first. They might have become loose. So I grabbed a screwdriver and starting pulling it apart. 20 teeny, tiny screws later, I'm able to post on my blog from the laptop!!

Yeah!! The display connector had just wiggled loose! I really love it when a plan comes together!

The rescue was a success!

Juliet was documenting the necklace retrieval so you can blame her for the pictures. I'm wearing my new tool/project belt that my sister-in-law Camille gave me for Christmas. (I actually didn't use it since I was only using 1 set of vice grips but it was so cute, I had to wear it.)

Getting the P-trap off and dumping it into the bowl.

Ta-da!!

Yeah! I cleaned it off and put it on! I was elated that the trap caught my necklace instead of it being whisked away!

And I was shocked at how easy it was! The whole process from start to finish took 5 minutes. I love it when a plan comes together!

Carrots and a lost necklace...

I love growing carrots in the garden! I haven't purchased carrots since July! I've learned that they can take sub-freezing temperatures without batting an eyelash too. I needed carrots for soup today and went out to the garden to pull some up! They just keep getting fatter. I'm planting carrots every year! They don't get bugs, the heat or cold doesn't bother them and they can sit in the ground for MONTHS and MONTHS until I feel like you need them! What an awesome vegetable!

I swear this picture was taken today. Juliet just found a swimsuit and insisted on putting it on. She's so ready for lake season.

And the other thing. Juliet and I were getting ready for church and she decided she wanted to clean my necklace. It's a gold and cubic zirconium necklace that Merril gave me. It was on Valentine's Day while we were dating almost 10 years ago. I stopped the drain and let her clean it. When she decided she was done, she unplugged the drain and let the water run out. My necklace went with it. I hope it's residing here:

I'll be taking the P-trap apart tomorrow to see. Pictures to follow. Yikes.

We need a little Christmas...

I really didn't take very many Christmas pictures because I was experiencing it instead of capturing it. I woke up at 5 a.m. to take the rolls out of the fridge to rise and saw Maxine with her blanket and pillow laying next to the tree. I asked how long she'd been awake and she said, "Since 3:30." So I took the rolls and out and we gabbed about Christmas. We looked at her stocking and there was a puzzle ball inside. The puzzle ball turns into an ornament for the tree when it's completed. We put it together until everyone else woke up.

I'm amazed we got it together at 5 in the morning. I took a few other pictures but nothing to write home about.

Christmas picture...

I try to take a picture of the kids in front of the Christmas tree every year. This year's picture isn't too bad! Jack's a little goofy but it was either this or him standing, laying, or sticking out his bottom lip because his blanket couldn't be in the picture.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas Eve!

Love from afar...

Merril's out of town working. But today, I came out of my church aerobics class and saw a young man, who works for Merril, holding flowers. I was like, "Hey Austin, what's up?" He said, "I know a guy who met you 10 years ago today..." and then he handed me the flowers.

I got all teary eyed because Merril remembered that 10 years ago today, my friend Ang set us up on a blind date. We were married 6 months later. Thanks babe!

Gingerbread...

Jack's last day of preschool before winter break was today. He came home with a construction paper wreath and a gingerbread house. I think he ate most of it already but when he brought it home, he was exceedingly proud of it!

And for some reason, he's taken to completely squinting his eyes when he smiles. Can you believe Christmas is in a week!

Where's Juliet?

So I sat down to play some Christmas carols on the piano for a few minutes. When I finished, I got up and it was really quiet in the house. So I started looking for the kids. Jack was downstairs by himself. I walked out the front door and no sign of Juliet. Then I looked in the garage and saw this:

Please don't look at my filthy Tahoe! It rained and I had to drive through a bunch of muddy construction! I'm washing it TODAY!

Now I don't usually leave step stools by the Tahoe and by now I could hear Alvin and the Chipmunks singing Christmas carols. I opened the door and found this little girl playing with the stereo.

She knows how to get in and turn on music. Scary. She's going to drive off one of these days.

It's important to get the volume just right.

Merry Christmas!

Free-zer...

Merril told me the other day that the deer he shot had been cut up and needed to come home. Hmmmm...bummer....that's going to require a freezer because I don't have enough space in my kitchen freezer. So I turned to Craig's List to scan for cheap freezers for sale. I found one for free!

It's clearly older and I'll probably have to defrost it every year or so, but it'll do for a while.

I like candy...

During the holidays, I like to make different cookies and candies. For a number of years, I made English or Almond Toffee. So Yummy! A couple of years ago, a neighbor brought over homemade caramels and I was dying to watch her make some. I made a test batch this year and they were so yummy. There was a break in the weather, so I decided to make a full batch. (I've heard you're not supposed to make candy while it's raining because of the change in humidity or barometric pressures. Either way, I test my thermometers with boiling water for accuracy before starting and adjust from there but just try not to make candy during yucky weather days.)

Melting the butter and sugars! You really don't want to know how many calories are in there. Just close your eyes and think of Christmas.

I use a variety of thermometers. This year, we tried out Merril's digital infrared thermometer. I had my kitchen digital thermometer in the syrup too because I like accuracy.

Making sure there aren't any sugar crystals sticking to the sides.

And now the pan of caramel. It needs to sit for about 8 hours before cutting and wrapping. During which time, I'm always a little pensive, hoping they'll turn out all right.

I'm bringing them to a cookie exchange party. (I know they're not technically a cookie but I think they go with Christmas. So yummy!

Get a tree, like now!

We usually head out to get a tree the day after Thanksgiving. Since we were out of town for the weekend, it didn't happen. So we decided to go for Family Home Evening. We grabbed Maxine after school and headed out. We drove to Jacob Lake and the road we usually take was closed. So we ventured down a dirt road and by the time we found some trees, the sun had set. So we had about 10 minutes of dusky light. We fanned out, found the tree, chopped it and we were back to the truck in about 15 minutes. It was the fastest tree-hunting expedition in our family's history. This was the only shot of the evening. Please avert your eyes while my children fight to hold the saw.

Now as many years as we've been going to Jacob Lake to cut trees, we've never seen the lake. I thought maybe the lake dried up years ago. I've asked Merril what's the deal with it and he didn't know either. We decided it didn't actually exist. While stumbling on the dirt road back to the highway, we found Jacob Lake! It's more like a bowl-shaped meadow that catches a lot of spring run off. This time of year, it was more like a mud hole but it was too dark for pictures and we were too far away. All I could get was the sign next to it.

And then tree decorating. I don't believe in dictating where my kids put the ornaments. It's too hard to convince my 2-year old that 2 blue balls shouldn't hang on the same branch. I just wait for them to go to bed and fix it. If I didn't, my whole tree would look like this:

I hope your Christmas season is getting a great start!

Thanksgiving up North...

We went to my sister's house (Jo Anna) for Thanksgiving. She was gracious enough to let us stay there. Dinner was fantastic, as were the pies. I meant to get a picture of us all at the table but it didn't happen.

The day after, we went to a movie. This is me and gorgeous little sister, Jess.

That evening, we went to a festival of lights. Everyone piled into the back of the truck to save some bucks. It was freezing so I'm glad we were driving with the heater cranked, except for Maxine. She wanted to ride in the back with her cousins.

After that, Jo Anna's band had a gig at a bar. I got carded at the door and had to show my ID. Did you know our state's driver's license glows under a black light?? True story. Jo Anna is the one on the left playing the red guitar. She sings and plays keyboards too. I know, uber talented!

Her husband, Boyd, plays a mean set of drums.

We stayed out until 1. Super fun and they were awesome!

Ho Ho Ho!!!

I just finished putting the last of the return address labels and stamps on my Christmas cards!

I like to get them out the week after Thanksgiving! We're headed out of town to spend Thanksgiving with my family at my sister's house (Jo Anna). I just finished making pie crusts for the pumpkin and triple berry pies I'll be bringing. Nothing makes me feel more like a housewife than making pie.

Not that I ever wear heels when I bake pies but I just have this 1950s image stuck in my head while I bake. Sorry to the feminists, I never was one.

Snowy...

On an earlier post, I mentioned that Merril's dirt bike broke down and we had to go rescue it. Here are the pictures! Merril decided to try and fix his bike out on the dunes. His buddy Ryan was there to help.

I knew it was going to be chilly so I brought coats and blankets. Mostly for riding in the scout because doesn't have a top for the back seat or doors that keep the wind out.


Merril or Ryan, I can't remember which, zip-tied a pizza box to the door to try and keep the wind out. It didn't really work.

While Merril was fixing his bike, the wind really picked up and it started snowing. The kids jumped on my lap to warm up and then would run around in the snow.

After about 15 minutes of blowing snow, we decided to just load up and head back to the truck. It was chilly but we made it just fine, and without too much whining.

On a side note, I sliced my finger pretty bad making Maxine's lunch this morning. It could've used stitches but I didn't have time so I told Merril to go buy some super glue. We dumped alcohol in it and sealed it up. It was the first time I've ever needed a wound glued shut! I think I'll just try to be more careful next time.

Potty training success...

Now just so you know, I'm knocking on my wood-composite desk for continued luck. Lately, we've had huge potty training successes at our house. About 2 weeks ago, I started bribing Juliet with a Dum Dum sucker if she pooped in the toilet. She whipped right into shape and hasn't had an accident since then. She's even starting to forget about the sucker reward.

Jack, whom I've struggled with for 10 months, has finally started to show some improvement! He's always told me that when he's 4, he'll start pooping in the toilet. Sure enough, he hasn't pooped in his underwear since Thursday. He just goes and does it. There are a couple of factors playing into our success.

#1-Juliet has shown great success and he didn't want to be shown up by his 2-year old sister.

#2-He has a Woody toy (from Toy Story) that would sit on the fridge until he pooped in the toilet.

#3-Recently, if he pooped in his underwear, he'd lose his underwear privileges and have to go commando until he pooped in the toilet to earn his underwear back (Thank you Emily).

Also, about a month ago, I quit putting Jack in pull-ups at night because I didn't feel like it was helping. At the same time, Juliet refused to wear a diaper or a pull-up to bed, so we were washing sheets every couple of days for a few weeks. However, they've both made it through the night dry for 2 weeks.

It's been a long, ugly, stinky road but I'm feeling relieved that the end might be near. It's only taken 4 years to get Jack completely potty trained and I think it has a lot to do with Juliet. Juliet has been my easiest to potty train because she wants to do everything herself. She's so tenacious!

I'm not saying there won't be relapses, but I haven't washed out poopy underwear for 5 days and that feels wonderful!! Let's hear some noise!!!!!! YEAH!!

Sinking in...

Merril went to the sand dunes today to ride his dirt bike. Unfortunately, his bike broke down and he had to hitch a ride on the back of a friend's dirt bike. So we're going back to the dunes tomorrow to rescue the bike because it's sleeping out at the dunes tonight. But before his bike broke down, Merril took this picture with his camera phone.

When he showed it to me, I said, "Wow, nice job with the solar flare and the offset subject." He replied, "Yeah, it was total luck. I kind of just held up my phone and snapped the picture." Well, whatever works, babe!