Wildlife

Don't try and play the childhood game 'freeze' with a squirrel, because the squirrel would win! This squirrel froze in place as I approached it - like it thought I wouldn't notice it - that makes me laugh =) I stood still for less than a minute and she continued on - she came over to our hose and took a nice long drink where it was dripping - smart animal . . . unless it's responsible for the drip in the first place ;) Doesn't that look like a nipple - I think she's a mama. If I knew where the nest was, I would capture (okay, kidnap) the baby for Jonathan - that would make him happy to have a squirrel as a pet - LoL
Awhile back, I was shooing away birds that I thought were pigeons from my bird feeders. About the 3rd time I saw them, I saw them fly into some trees. They always seemed to stay together in a pair - but then I heard them cooing. It dawned on me they were Doves, besides, why would pigeons be so far from the water? hehe I found that Dove's are easily startled, but I got a photo of one today.

Our state bird is the golden finch and we have lots visiting throughout the day, some are golden and some are bright yellow - once there was like 10 or more right on the feeder and it was cool - except they all flew away when I tried to get their photo ;)

I enjoy blue jays - although they are easily startled as well, they keep the crows away - gotta love that! I don't find them pesky at all. I feed them our old peanuts - they do eat from our bird feeders & take baths in our bird bath too. But this one scared all the finches away, guess it wanted some food too:

This woodpecker was a little skittish too, amazingly detailed:

I saved my favorite picture for last - we still have hummingbirds (I guess they start migrating around August 20th) and they love the flowers in our yard. It's super cute to watch them fluttering from each variety of flower. They get in our honeysuckle and it looks like the plant itself is moving.

Well, that was my day in a nutshell - between dishes and laundry, I just took a few photos. I suppose that's what mother's do, they constantly work and stop to reflect on those precious moments to enjoy the sweetness of their children's amazement . . . between the refereeing and exhausting moments - ha! Well, my kids weren't here today, so I found happiness in the wildlife in my own backyard =)

P.S. still jealous of the people who have hummingbirds land on their fingers! One day I'll find the time to learn that trick . . .

Chicken Tomato Soup

Saute together for 5 minutes or so

4 Tbsp butter

1 onion, diced

2 Tbsp fresh garlic

Add in

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

4 tsp lemon juice

Stir together, then add

1 can diced green chilies

6 oz. cream cheese

1 1/2 cups fat-free half & half

2-14 oz cans petite diced tomatoes (don't drain)

14 oz chicken broth

6-8 oz pepper jack cheese

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2-3 cooked, cubed chicken breasts

Serve in bowls, add tiny bit raw cilantro and serve with chips.

Caring for our Physical Bodies YW lesson

YW lesson, Caring for our Physical Bodies, Manual 1, lesson #37

Found a free site online that had paper doll templates:

As we talked about each subject, the girls added a piece to the paper doll on the opposite side and then they drew faces on their dolls. I only had 5 items to add to the doll to tie into the lesson exactly.

We made & ate yummy sandwiches at the end of class!

Blackberry Crisp

This recipe came from my sister Sarah - Jonathan said it was yummy! I don't enjoy cooked, warm fruit ;) And I assumed Jonathan would bring this into work to share - nope, nope, nope. He kept it in the fridge and dished out a serving a night - must be really good if he wanted it all to himself!

8 cups blackberries

Zest of 1 lemon

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 + 3 tbsp flour

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 cup oats

1 cup butter

Combine blackberries, lemon zest, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 3 tbsp flour. Pour into deep baking dish (9x13 too small). Mix topping into a bowl: remaining sugars, flour, salt and oats and sprinkle evenly over berry mixture. Drizzle melted butter and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

White Bread Recipe

This recipe makes 4 loaves or a lot of mini loaves and some bigger ones too ;)

Dissolve and let stand 5-10 minutes:

-3 cups warm water

-3 Tbsp dry yeast

-2 tsp sugar

In a separate bowl mix:

-2 Tbsp kosher salt

-2 cups cold milk

-3/4 cup oil

-1 cup honey

-2 cups hot water

Add dissolved yeast mixture and stir well. Add 2 cups at at time:

-14-16 cups all purpose flour (or mix in 8 cups all purpose and remaining cups from wheat, white rice, oat flour, etc.)

Knead 10-15 minutes and let rise 1 hour or so.

Knead again 2-3 minutes more.

Divide dough into half and then half again so you have 4 equal sections.

Grease pans and let rise in warm place for 20-30 minutes

Bake 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

YUMMY!!

Alphabet for Learning (VT message for Aug)

Have you heard of the Alphabet for life? Well, I made up an Alphabet for Learning with the visiting teaching message from August - Seek Education and Lifelong Learning. I thought it would be cute to have the alphabet letters look like scrabble tiles:

Image for sale at www.jackshandsjillsheart.com

I printed out enough for a few women to make at crafting enrichment that came tonight. We did a layout like this:

I am going to make a cap and tassel box (for the seeking education theme) . . . coming soon =)

Cookie Bouquet Baptism Gift

I made a cookie bouquet for a baptism gift that we went to tonight. Since it was Sunday and we couldn't make it to the store to get chocolate nuggets, I had to improvise. I had cookie dough already made up and skewers:
I rolled the dough into circles and stuck the skewers in and baked them. Then after they cooled, I dipped one side into almond bark:I added orange sprinkles to some and pink and yellow sprinkles too:
Then I wrapped each on in a baggie and tied it with some ribbon. I embellished a tin can and added the same promises for the covenants we make as the previous post:

These baptism gifts are ending up being a lot of work - LoL

Toppings for a Sunday

My lesson was on keeping the Sabbath Day Holy and I've used several spins on this topic in the past, but amazingly was able to think of another one! I bought some plastic containers and placed sundae candies - at Cash & Carry for $4 for 24 oz (well, most likely cookie sprinkles!) in them - I found little circle sprinkles as it went with the message from D&C 59:9 - remain unspotted from the world by remembering the purpose of the sabbath day. Circles = spots - okay, I know it was a stretch ;) I also had examples of things we should refrain from on Sundays printed on paper, then punched the activities out into circle shapes and taped them all over the girls (to represent being 'spotted') and then asked the girls for their ideas how we can remain unspotted on the Sabbath.

I added the tag 'how are you topping your Sunday?' and a message that wrapped along the lid from D&C 59:9.
Christina and I team taught as there were only 5 girls in all of YW today! It went great as she added an awesome quote and of course brought out beautiful examples in the lesson and from her own experiences. It was really fun - we should just combine classes all summer =)

Guessing Jar

I made a guessing jar for a family reunion on my step-mom's side. I decided to do something a little different than a typical 'fill a jar with candy' theme. I made a chocolate chip cookie recipe jar. They had to guess how many toffee pieces - hehe

I added instructions how to finish them and taped it to the lid.

Then I put a picture of ancestors over the instructions, I thought the name of their family reunions was cute - Dys-Fun (for dysfunctional - haha) Family Reunion:

This is my own recipe for chocolate chips cookies and it's a yummy one. You can make them and judge for yourself ;)

Tasty Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups butter (do not substitute!)

3 cups brown sugar

1 cup sugar

3 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

--Cream butter first, then cream with sugars until whipped lightly, add vanilla and eggs and mix well.

5 cups oatmeal or oatmeal flour

3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup wheat pastry flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp powered vanilla

--In a blender, finely blend oatmeal 1 cup at a time and then combine with flour, soda, powder, salt and vanilla. Mix with butter mixture.

4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups toffee chips

--Add the chips to dough and stir together well. Drop by big spoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes.

Miscommunication

I told Brady that we are watching Bailey while Andrew (who is Brady's friend) and Emma (who is one of my Beehives) go on vacation. Here's the conversation:

Me: I told Emma I'd watch Bailey, her dog, while they go to Utah for a week

Brady: why mom?

Me: because it'll be fun and she's SO sweet and SUPER cute!

Brady: how old is she?

Me: she's 3.

Brady: that's a baby

Me: not really . . .

Brady: so basically Keaton and I have to watch her while you're at work?

Me: you probably won't have to do much - she'll love hanging out in the backyard - it's fenced in completely.

Brady: we just really wanted to hang out with our friends this week. Why did you say we'd watch her?

Me: it's good practice for when we get one - it's really not going to be that big of a deal. You can still leave and go play with your friends - just leave her here.

Brady: (looking at me like he doesn't believe that I'll really let him just leave Bailey home alone)

Me: call Andrew and ask what time they're dropping her off in the morning

Brady: (sighs)

Brady calls Andrew and I can barely overhear Brady's conversation, but got the impression Brady thought we were watching a little girl! So I yell 'Bailey is their dog Brady!' Brady's was like 'ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh'! I guess Brady didn't hear the word 'dog' - LoL Andrew has a niece who is 2 1/2 and that's who Brady was thinking of.

Brady was very relieved I did not sign him up for babysitting a 3 year old all week! And we had a good laugh over the thought of me telling him that a 3 year old could stay by herself and we could keep her in the backyard just because it was fenced! Not to mention the part 'it was good practice for when we get one' - hehe

This is Emma's best friend Becca holding Bailey, we went to the park for YW/YM activity night and brought Bailey so she could run around - but she just sat on the blanket with me the whole time and was so well behaved! Becca was missing Emma, so I'm sending this pic to Emma in an email:

Bailey was going for the profile pose or something ;)

Life is Fragile . . . YW Lesson

I loved the message, 'Life is Fragile, Handle with Prayer' quoted by President Harold B. Lee in 1972 (I don't know if he made it up as I've seen that quote used a lot) - and I thought the girls could use the button I designed as a zipper pull with a precious photo that's been around a long time:

And I gave each girl a box of Life Cereal - it sure was nice it was on sale for $1.88 at Safeway the day before my lesson as I was inspired at the last minute and then HAD to have it for a handout ;)

I liked the article from James E. Faust from the July 2002 Ensign.
And the blurb I took from it for my lesson and attached to the top of the Life Cereal box was WHAT is prayer:
First, prayer is a humble acknowledgment that God is our Father and that the Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer.
Second, it is a sincere confession of sin and transgression and a request for forgiveness.
Third, it is recognition that we need help beyond our own ability.
Fourth, it is an opportunity to express thanksgiving and gratitude to our Creator.
It is important that we frequently say: "We thank Thee," "We acknowledge before Thee ," "We are grateful unto Thee"
Fifth, it is a privilege to ask Deity for specific blessings.
The girl kneeling and prayer graphic found here.
The lesson itself had an idea for an 'invite' and it worked awesome for participation! I just customized it:

Prep Hike before 50-miler

The boys and Jonathan hiked to Lake Melakwa. They hiked in 4 miles on Friday night and made camp, but no campfires were allowed, so everyone turned in around 10. I think the leaders are heavy sleepers as the boys all stayed together out on a big tarp, but there was little sleeping ;) On Saturday morning, they hiked around for 11 miles around the lake and got back to the trail head at 1:30 pm - that's a lot of walking around just to get that many miles in - I'd rather enjoy the scenery and nature.

The lake was beautiful:
Is that enthusiasm I see - it must have been the beginning of the hike ;)
Some falls along the path they were hiking:
Keaton is in front with the red backpack:
In August they are going on a 56 miler with the scouts. I'm super happy to not feel pressure to sign up for that event ;) haha Jonathan might go out - we'll see if he really wants to use his vacation for this sort of thing!!

Journal Jar

My first lesson teaching the Beehives was on preserving memories - Personal Records. I saw a cute idea and poem and used more of those frappuccino bottles I got from a recycler:

I cut up 6 questions for each value color and printed it on the coordinating color paper. Here's the poem I used:

Preserve your memories -

seal them up well.

What you forget,

you can never retell.

But a journal that's kept

fresh on the shelf -

Might help someone

in need . . .

perhaps even yourself!

I also made a candy journal out of 2 chocolate nuggets:

It says on one side:

Pray and ponder each day asking yourself,

Did God send a message that was just for ME?

And on the opposing side:

Write it down!

It preserves that memory to remember how

much God loves us and how much we need him.

Girl's Camp Pranks

The girls pranked Jonathan's car because that's where he slept at Girl's Camp, they saran wrapped him in so he couldn't get out when he woke up:

Holly above and Brooke and Sarah W below:
Too bad they were giggling upon approach, giggling after dropping the roll of saran wrap multiple times while they were wrapping the car and giggling while taking a few photos because they used the flash - other than that, he might have slept right through it ;)
They mistakenly wrapped the mirror on the driver's side, so when he opened the door, there was a gap - so it was pretty easy to get out - I'm sure that rolling the windows down would have worked too ;) Jonathan only allowed the girls to saran wrap a few rounds - he sat up after a bit so they would stop and he could get out in the morning by himself - ahhhh, you ruined their fun - no fun Honey ;) haha

I also gave the girls Oreos . . . to eat I thought . . . but no, they pulled them apart and stuck the frosting side down on car windows in heart formations on the last night of camp - cute!

The first night we were there, me and a few YCL's snuck over to the stake camp and stole a few items and put it in the lost and found so they'd have to sing to get it back!

Rainbow - YW Values

Jonathan and I made a huge rainbow for the theme of Follow the Yellow Brick Road for Girl's Camp:

I added the 8 YW values, so we made a cloud and a pot of gold.

We traced the letters on,

drilled holes all along the letters,

painted the colors on,

then painted the letters back on,

and shellacked it all - the YCL's helped push all the Christmas lights through the holes at camp!

With the lights on, it reminded me of Lite Brite:

It turned out awesome - I don't even think we'd need a Wizard of Oz theme to hang this up again!

Big Hair Rap

Stephanie Rappin and Sarah C bebopin:

The girls loved it!!

YCL Skit/Song

This was a hilarious skit/song by the YCL's:

They definitely make anything they do together, FUN!

Boys in California

Brady & Keaton stayed with Grandpa Dave for 1 week in California right after school.
They boogie boarded and went to the beach almost every day.Brady strummin on a mini guitar
USS Midway - like the statue in the back? hehe
All dressed up - and white ankle socks are the evidence that boys do not obey their mother when she's not there to tell them to put on dark socks with dress clothes - haha caught ya ;)
and making faces ;)
Grandpa's take:

The boys are having a blast. Took them to see the USS Midway down in San Diego and then out to the beach. The Midway is an aircraft carrier. They want to do more beach stuff, hahahha. Tried to get them to try surfing but looks like boogie boarding is their favorite so far. They are eating lots of junk food, sleeping and playing on computer. Kidding. We played some basketball the other night and , yes, grandpa still has it. Played horse and Brady won, but one on one I can still take em. HAhahha. Keaton is reading my first published book and I gave them copies of both books.

June 22 - June 30