part two, or the Scenery

Utah is really pretty. I'm still not quite sure how that fact escaped me when I was a student at BYU.

Mt. Timpanogas, or "Gramma's mountain", was still covered with lots of pretty snow. It rained a bit during the drive, and was actually quite cold the first few days of our visit.

I love my parents' house. They bought it when I was about 15 and have lived in it full time for the past four years or so. Stella calls it "Gramma's Rock House".

Cold, misty mountains were a treat. The Salt Lake City Temple is always so beautiful.

This is my parents' street. And their backyard. I know. Sometimes I can't quite believe it, either. 

My mom knows all the best trails to take. Mabel and Oliver were troopers and were always up for a hike. We walked to Aspen Grove and Elk Meadow.

This was perhaps my favorite spot, an old sheep herder's trail over the mountain. In our attempt to fatten up Elliot, we ordered lots of yummy smoothies from the cozy Sundance Deli.

Beautiful Timp, and the long, long road home.

We can't wait til next time!

Utah, part one

We are home. And boy did we have fun. We didn't do much besides read (I always bring a book, but end up reading my mom's English country magazines instead.), watch movies (My kids saw What's Up, Doc and What About Bob? for the first time.),  and explore the mountain (Daily trips to the stream or the meadow or the falls were a must.). I think my kids could have stayed forever. It was heaven.

I took my camera, but didn't use it once. This travelogue is brought to you entirely by Instagram.

Stella found a willing ear in Gramma. While in town, we went to the Church History Museum to see Mabel's drawing of Noah's Ark displayed.

Elliot had his first kitchen sink tubbie. He liked it, but sadly, our kitchen sink here at home isn't built for bathing babies. After the museum, we hung around Temple Square for a bit.

Stella found a mom rock and a Stella rock while waiting for Mike and Oliver to come down the Alpine Slide in Park City. We admired the scenery at the base of Sundance.

We had super yummy food at the Sundance Foundry Grill, and that pretty girl turned nine! I did my best to convince Mabel and Oliver to attend BYU someday, even bribing them with books from the bookstore and ice cream from the Creamery.

On the drive up, we stopped at the big rocking chair in Beaver for a photo and a chocolate shake.

Not pictured is my Dad hugging Stella from the back seat for the entire drive, or visits with some of my oldest and most favorite friends. Somehow Jooj and Toni escaped my iPhone, too.

Stay tuned for part two: the scenery.

Headed here for a bit.

 me and Stella and Mt. Timpanogas, 2009

See you soon!

wanderlust

I've been itching for a change of scenery lately. Paris would sure be nice, but I'm happy to settle for a visit to my parents' house this weekend.

p.s. I'm officially throwing my name in the hat for Oh Happy Day's trip to France. Enter yourself here!

pretty Paris poster by Peter Turnley

I take my job as a homemaker seriously.

Next to being a wife and mother, being a homemaker is my favorite job. I am in charge of creating a beautiful, peaceful, tidy place for my family to live. It has taken me years to perfect my cleaning schedule, but I think I've finally found something that works for me. Do you use a cleaning schedule? I'm not usually a schedule oriented person, but my happiness and stress level are completely dependent upon the state of my house. Having a schedule helps me maintain my home without feeling overwhelmed.

Mondays are pick-up the house, recover from the weekend, days. On this day I put everything in it's place. I also wash sheets and towels. On Tuesdays I clean the bathrooms. Wednesdays, I dust and do the floors. Thursdays are for cleaning the kitchen and Arizona (sun/laundry) room. Fridays are free.

Everyday I quickly pick up the house before Mike gets home from work, and each night after dinner I tidy the kitchen. Laundry is done as needed.

I love this schedule because it divides the housework into manageable pieces. I don't want to spend my life cleaning, and this gives me tasks I can easily accomplish in an hour or so a day. I also like that it allows me to be as thorough or as quick as I'd like to be, depending on my busyness and energy level that particular day. One week, I might feel motivated to dust all of our shutters or clean out the fridge, but I don't feel like I have to do that each week.

If I get lazy and miss a few days of cleaning, I try not to worry too much and pick up my schedule where I left off.

Now that my kids are older, they can start doing their share. Last week I taught them how to clean their bathroom. It was fantastic! My goal this summer is to get them more involved in the process. So far they've been really good sports about it.

I'd love to hear what works for you. How do you keep your house clean?

summer sewing

There are certain kinds of things that I like to sew during the hot summer months. Dresses, skirts for the girls, pajamas - nothing too difficult or time consuming. These pajama skimmers fit the bill for today. They were a quick and easy project with an almost instant reward. I used some other shorts of Mabel's as the pattern, but because they are just pajamas, there is plenty of room for error.

Next up, some polka dot pj skimmers for me, and maybe I will finally attack that darned mending pile.

Are you sewing anything fun?

(Dana has some good pajama instructions here.)

maxi dresses

Yea or nay?

I can't decide. I want to like them, but I kind of feel like I am wearing a tent. But they seem so cute and effortless. What do you think, would you wear one?

p.s. I can't thank you enough for your weaning wisdom. You are all so wonderful! You gave me lots of things to think about and to try. I will let you know how it goes, but for now we are having good success with watered down whole milk.

p.p.s. I am still nursing at night. And maybe sometimes during the day, too. :)

on weaning. . .

I love nursing my babies. I love the feeling of their little tummies pressed to mine, and their little fingers grabbing my neck. I love the contented sighs they make and the drowsy look in their eye. It is one of my most favorite things about having a baby. Of all my kids, this boy has loved to nurse the most. The problem is that I don't think I have ever had the milk he needs. I've tried formula off and on, never with success. He nurses mostly for comfort now, because I don't think he is getting much else from me. So it is time to wean him. He is not gaining weight, and he needs more calories in his life. I know he would benefit from some whole milk (or something else?). My other three weaned to milk at his age without a problem. But this baby doesn't want anything to do with it. This is where I need your help. I've tried cold milk, warm milk, chocolate milk, instant breakfast, and formula, all in bottles and sippy cups. He has refused them all. I'm not sure what to do. Do I just need to keep offering them? Have you ever had this problem? I'm trying not to worry.

scenes from the spring

a good deal from target :: no lips!

piano recital success :: playing ball at tee ball

afternoon sun in the living room :: my cuddly boy

memorial day at the cemetery :: memorial day at the pool

I used to think that making photos look like they had been taken with an old camera was dumb. But you know what? It's kind of fun. Instagram is my new favorite app.

We had just about the nicest spring ever here in the desert. It was mild and beautiful, and when the weather is that good, we can't stop talking about it.

What did your spring look like?