Spring Break

For the first time in I don't know how long, we actually did something for spring break. Our nephew, Parker, was getting baptized on Saturday (in Grand Junction), so we decided to make a trip of it and go to Arches National Park on our way there. We spent 2 days hiking around the park and saw some incredible sites! It was BEAUTIFUL! The last time I had been there was when I was 8 and it was in the dead of summer... HOT! This was a much more enjoyable time to go. It was a first for Jared and the kids. Some of Jared's siblings joined us the second day. We had a great time and there was very little complaining.




The baptism was also very nice.  Parker looked handsome in his suit and his white jumpsuit.  Bryce and Amaya provided the prelude and post-lude as well as the opening and closing songs.  They did a very nice job.  Apparently, baptisms are very tiring.  This was the scene at Lori's house after the baptism.

You made my day!

So, yesterday I was doing a little blog surfing when I noticed that Designmom.com had a post about Easter eggs.  I always enjoy looking at creative ways to do eggs and she always has creative things on her blog, so I clicked on the link.  Imagine my surprise when up pops a picture of eggs done just the same way that I do eggs.  I thought, "How cool!  She does eggs just like we do!"  Then I looked at the picture again, a little closer this time, and thought, "Hey, those ARE my eggs!!!"  I then clicked on the link and up comes my little, hardly ever read blog.  Surprise!!  Thanks to design mom and all her readers who have visited and made comments!  You made my day!  

The other thing that made my day was the Scout/Young Woman fundraising auction that we had last night.  I donated 2 items.  Item #1 was sewing on scout patches for 1 year.  That item went for $70.  The second item I donated was this "flirty" apron that I made.

The apron went for $50.

It made me feel good that my items helped donate that much. Thanks!

The Egg

Easter eggs are a thing of beauty, especially when done the old Swiss way. My mom's side of the family is from Switzerland. Her grandfather came across the plains in a handcart. She grew up coloring her Easter eggs in this way, as have we. Pas is for wimps. This method takes great skill and artistic skills.

Step 1: Gather interesting shaped weeds, plants and flowers. You will want a wide variety. You never know what is going to work the best.  A couple of flowers that never fail are mums and daisies.

Step 2: Take a raw egg and tie your plants to the egg with thread. Make sure you secure the leaves well.

Step 3: Add as many leaves and flowers as desired, but leave some white parts showing and tie them securely (don't worry about using too much thread, the dye get under it).   Wrap all the eggs you want colored and set aside.

Step 4: (you have actually started this step ahead of time) Have a large pot of brown onion skins boiling on the stove until the water is a dark brown. Carefully place your wrapped eggs deep into the pot, covering them with water and skins.

Step 5: Put a lid on the pot and bring to a boil and then boil the eggs for 20 mins. Then carefully find your eggs and remove them from the pot and place them in a sink filled with cold water.


Step 6: Carefully unwrap the thread and remove the plants and flowers.

Step 7: If you want to shine them up a bit, put a little vegetable oil on a paper towel and rub your eggs with it.  Behold your eggs!

One year older

Happy Birthday Jayson! Eleven years old! It seems like it was just yesterday that I gave birth to that cute BIG baby (10 lbs 3 oz)! Jayson is so much fun to have around. His smile is contagious and he has a great personality. He is also sensitive and kind. We love you very much Jayson! Hope you have a great day!

Ospreys and a Bonfire

Our Varsity Scout team had a great activity yesterday working with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. I copied this post over from our Scout team blog in case anyone found it interesting, since I haven't posted anything else lately.

The DWR maintains a 50-acre preserve in the Lake Shore area near Lincoln Beach. Some towers have been put up there for nesting habitat for ospreys. The area used to be farmland, and some plowing work a few years ago inadvertently turned up a large amount of old baling twine. The problem with the twine is that ospreys tend to build it into their nests, and their chicks tend to get tangled in the twine strands which can lead to their death.

So we spent yesterday morning scouring the area and cleaning up all the baling twine. It was a cool morning but everyone worked hard and had a good time. We ended up collecting several giant garbage bags full of twine as well as some large bundles that were too big to bag.




(you can click images for a closer view).

Some of the bundles of twine were too big to haul off, so our wildlife officer gave permission to start the Biggest Scout Fire Ever.

This fire turned out to be too big to roast our hotdogs, but they tasted just as good cooked on the Bingham's grill back home. We had a good crew of workers and it was nice to have them out on a crisp spring morning to accomplish something useful.

The Eyes Have It

I love eyes, and these are the eyes I love most. Eyes tell you so much about how someone is feeling. Today we have a random sampling of eye-motions!
We have silly eyes:

We have angry/crazy eyes:
We have eyes that are being difficult, but look sleepy at the same time:
We have happy eyes:
We have the mother eye's that see all:
And finally, the loving father eyes:
Beware, we are all watching you!

Getting to Know Amaya!

Twenty five interesting things about Amaya, written by Amaya:


1. I love American Idol. It is the best show EVER!!
2. I love playing with all my cousins! We have so much fun together! (I see that airplane Julia! :P )
3. I love playing any sport. But my all time favorites are softball and volleyball
4. I was actually intensely watching the Superbowl this year. You should be proud!
5. Since Amaya didn't have a #5 on her list, I will add: She just won the district science fair and will be moving on to regionals at BYU.
6. Taking pictures is one of my all time favorite things to do!
7. I miss playing four-square and dodgeball with all my buddies! Too bad there is no more recess!
8. I really wish my hair was naturally curly. Mine won't curl AT ALL!
9. I write in my journal when I'm bored
10. I really want a job. Weird, I know. I just need to stay busy
11. I'm really OCD about the stupidest things. Like, the table not being set right, or when a strip of grass on our lawn wasn't mowed...
12. My favorite restaurant is Zupas
13. I only enjoy the first snow of the year- after that, it's just annoying.
14. I hate it when I'm lazy. I need to be active!!!
15. I am really aggressive- even in church ball! :)
16. Sometimes I'm really quiet, other times I'm really loud. I don't know why!
17. I really want a puppy!
18. I am a read-aholic. If I can get my hands on a good book, I can't put it down.
19. I love my buddies and hanging out with them is the best!
20. I LOVE making absolutely pointless, and completely cheesy movies.
21. Mickey and Minnie Mouse are my all time favorites
20. Watching movies in Spanish that also have like another language in them drives me nuts. Like Beauty and the Beast for example.... I love that movie, but I couldn't stand watching it in Spanish!
21. I love going to the temple and plan on getting married there someday
22. This entry was outdated, so... she is beautiful inside and out!
23. Coming up with all this stuff is harder than it looks!
24. I look up to each and every one of my friends and family members-I want to be like all of them!
25. I can't wait to go to high school next year! I'll be reunited with all my friends from elementary! YAY!!