Spring Break

Below are a few pictures from our trip to California.

We spent one day at Sea World. 

This is C and J at the dolphin pool.  J was a little hesitant to touch the dolphin. It has tons of sharp teeth that look a bit frightening to a 5 year old...and his mom ;)

Here are C and J observing the whale pool. 

They were pretty active and were very fun to watch.

J and myself at the whale observation deck.

We love the Bat Rays!  I think it's great to be able to park yourself there as long as you want, can touch them as much as you want (assuming they are coming near enough)...without being charged $6 additional per person. 

Beluga whales are so fun to watch!

Here are the tide pools...which are also fun at no extra charge :)  Notice how wet J and I are in these last two pictures.  We were fortunate enough to be direct recipients of 3 great waves of water from "Shamu".  The first one was, of course, expected.  We were sitting in the splash zone after all.  The whale went to 3 other spots in the zone before getting to us...all of those people got splashed once.  We got splashed once - and were surveying the "damage" done to our little one when we, VERY unexpectedly, received another one....and then another.  We were shocked and SOAKED! 

*Mental Note - Do not remove protective poncho at any point while sitting in the splash zone.  Even if you think the whale is finished with you.  Oh..and keep your mouth closed!*

Today J told me that his favorite part of Sea World was the Churro.  Looking back on it...I'm pretty sure he wasn't kidding.  Nothing else made him smile quite like the Churro!

Our next day was spent at the tide pools in La Jolla.

  J was very cautious at first but once he was convinced we weren't in any danger from tsunamis we had SO much fun!  (mental note...don't talk about current events in front of a worrisome 5 year old)

We found some empty oyster shells that we used as shovels to pick up the little ocean creatures we found.

Hermit crabs are hilarious and quite fascinating! 

I think the tide pools were my favorite part of our trip.  The ocean and shore here were beautiful!

There are some 'beached' seals (or sea lions, I'm not sure which) not too far from the pools.  We were running low on time so we didn't get any closer but I think we will try too next time we get the opportunity.  Doesn't it look like J's going to eat them in this pic?

We also went to Hoover Dam on our way to Vegas.  Holy-moly that thing is huge.  J wanted to look over the edge to see how far down it went which made me SO nervous.  I don't think I've ever held on to him more tightly! LOL :) 

We were able to spend the night at some friends house for the last night of our little vaca. 

What a fun time we had!  It's always great to "get away" but I was glad to get home...and recuperate from our break :)



Catching Leprechauns

This year we decided to celebrate St. Patricks day by catching a leprechaun. 

We found some small empty boxes, got some colored paper, and went to work.  J's box had a hole in the top that he covered with paper.  He then cut the paper over the hole into strips and added some clover stickers to those strips.  Leprechauns love clovers as you know, so when they saw them they would walk over and fall into the box.  He added shredded paper to ensure a soft landing and some lucky charms for them to snack on. 

We were going to be out of town on St. Patricks day so we added some flour to the board the traps sat on so we could see the foot prints they were sure to leave behind.  (It was a bit messy but was all I could come up on short notice ;)

We were so excited to see if some Leprechauns would visit our house on St. Patties day!  J. really hoped that there would be one stuck in his trap so we could keep it as a pet...we took comfort in knowing that if you catch a Leprechaun, it is required (by his magical law) to leave some treasure behind when he gets out. 

So, we got home and found that we had, in fact, caught a leprechaun.  It did get out though so he left us some treasure.  We think there were probably 3 that got into the house...2 were trapped and the third one helped them escape.  They sure are sneaky! ;)

Who knew St. Patricks day could be so fun!  I think we'll try again next year.

Love

We made some yummy sugar cookies for Valentines day and since we can't physically give you all some, I thought I'd share them here.  Does that mean we give you all our love without giving you the extra calories? 

I got the idea from the "how does she" blog.  I was going to show you some step by step pictures but blogger seems to be struggling a little with photo uploads at the moment.  I'll give you a quick run down so you can make some too if you so choose. :)

1) Make some yummy sugar cookies.  I used the recipe from HERE.  They ended up being crisp, which was recommended for this decorating type, but I wish they had been soft and chewy.

2) Make some Royal Icing.  I used the recipe from THIS post on Sweetopia.  .  It's the best royal icing I've ever tried. PLUS, if you search their awesome site, you will come across all kinds of great royal icing tips.  If you've never seen the Sweetopia page, you should go on over.  Her cookies are amazing!

3) Frost the cookie with your base color.  Then pick your secondary color and drop little dots all around the perimeter of your cookie. 

4)  Grab a tooth pick and drag it around....kind of like a dot to dot.   Let them dry over night before stacking them!  So cute and easy!

Happy Valentines Day!

I need friends

Several months ago (so many that I can't remember) I signed up for an account on goodreads.  It's a great place to get  book recommendations, keep track of books you've read, and even form little "book clubs".   Doesn't it sound fun?!

When I signed up, the site said they could access my e-mail account to search for "friends" but there was a disclaimer that said they would have access to it anytime they wanted, even when I wasn't logged in.  I was a little uneasy about giving them such permission so I said no. Now I only have 1 friend!  I feel lonely. You all should sign up...and be my goodreads friends! :) LOL

The Power of Basics

Many of you probably remember the great talk Elder Uchtdorf gave in the last General Conference titled "Of Things That Matter Most".  Don't you love his talks?  I'm amazed that he always finds an airplane metaphor.  Do you think he'll eventually run out of them?  Somehow, I doubt it :).  The other day I flipped open my Ensign and there sat his talk.  I needed to read it that day.  It was very inspiring.  I heard him share his message during GC but a few things stood out to me in new ways when I read it.

Over the past few years I've been on a quest...the quest to SIMPLIFY!  I'm pretty sure I've passed some of you along the way.  It's been quite a journey.  I think I've taken it a little too far.  

Crafts, organizing, cooking, blogging, cleaning, sewing...NONE of them are simple enough for me anymore!  I never finish a project unless it's done in 10 min. or less.  I feel like I've short changed myself.  How am I supposed to get better at anything I do, if I'm not spending time doing it? 

In Pres. U's talk, he shares a little story about Vince Lombardi.  (I don't want to type it all here, but if you want to read it, you can click on the link above.)  In his story he says, "This coach knew that even these experienced players, and indeed the team, could become great only by mastering the fundamentals".  Only by mastering the fundamentals!  I love that :)

So now, I'm starting a new journey...the journey to master the fundamentals of home-making (as opposed to  skimming past my homemaking duties because they aren't simple enough, as I've been doing).  Have your ever admired your grandma, or someone grandmotherly, who can do all kinds of amazing things from scratch?  I have!  I want to cook from scratch (without using canned foods if possible), and to make more home-made things, and to learn...the fundamentals! 

I'm going to "slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials" in regards to anything related to our home. I'm excited for all the learning possibilities that are ahead of me.

Any advice?

*Previous Post DELETED*

Isn't "venting" an amazing thing...sometimes.  It can be very refreshing, but my favorite thing about it is that it helps me recognize my moments of irrationality. :)  Thank you all for your advice!  I'm going to try some of your suggestions.    I'm so thankful for my little one and I don't care if he fits into whatever mold others may try to force him into.  We will work things out.  Maybe all I need is a little more focus ;) 

Day Trip

The Weather has been so fantastic lately!  Coming from a "northern" climate, the idea that January is cold and snowy is forever ingrained deep in side me.  I can't seem to convince myself that each beautiful day is real.  Unfortunately, the arctic chill came and blew all that away.  It was freezing here today (although, I'm well aware that it is no where near as cold here as it is where some of you are...I feel for you and pray that you stay warm:)!

We've been spending a lot of time outside and even took a day trip to Snow Canyon.  We have lived here for more than three years now (can you believe it?  I can't!) and have only gone one other time.  It was such a blast!  I don't know why we don't go more often.

The red "eroded" sandstone is a common geological feature of So. U. but I think it is beautiful, no matter how often I see it.  J. has fun sitting in/climbing around the large holes...occasionally we use them as hand holds so as to climb walls...and they're always fun to look at. :)

      

We also discovered a little patch of Sand dunes contained inside the park. We played for about an hour but It looks like the perfect place to spend an entire day.  I want to set up some chairs and umbrellas, pack a lunch, and turn the little one loose.  

While we were there, we plopped ourselves down at the top of a hill to dig in the sand.  After a few minutes, I looked over and J. was somersaulting down.  It looked painful to me but he had a blast...and as you can imagine, he was CoVeReD from head to toe in sand.  Oh well...my car needed to be vacuumed anyway!

               

Look at all that sand!  I can't wait to go back and hike the trails we didn't have time for...especially the trail to the top of the volcano.  Anyone want to come?

I'm discovering that a desert really can be beautiful.  If we ever move away from here, I will truly miss the uniqueness and wonder that surrounds us here.