Milkmaid in the City

She has an Etsy.com shop, even. Her craftiness far surpasses mine (which is sporadic and unrefined, but I try). It's worth checking out if you like to sew! And she's hilarious to read.

But now I can't help but feel like my blog is super duper dated... Even though I'm lazy, it's way past time for a re-vamp. Anyone have suggestions?

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Amber's Flower

01/26/10

Sweater: $5 clearance at Target
Flower: $free Homemade from scraps and a safety pin
Cuteness: Priceless

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Housing Update

01/25/10

Yes it's true that the Mapleton house fell through. It would have stretched us financially because the HOA was being too sticky on having professional landscaping done, AND there was a lot of exterior work that needed to be finished. They wanted it done within 5 months of closing or else the 70K bond they were putting on the title would be forfeit and we'd be in noncompliance of the HOA's rules.

It just wasn't worth it.

A week after the decision was made to cancel that contract, we found another house in Mapleton. It only needed minor work done (some concrete surfacing, railing), there was no HOA, and the layout of the house and neighborhood suited our family much better (plus the lot had animal rights!). Unfortunately that fell through, too, because the owners dragged their feet long enough before getting tied up in a contract with us, that a real estate investor with a cash offer swooped in and took it out from under us.

This means we're in a holding pattern right now. We're still looking at houses, but none are what would really suit our family. Our Orem house is still on the market in the meantime. We have our eye on a house in Pleasant Grove, and are waiting to see if the investor puts that Mapleton house back on the market in the next month--plus a bunch of foreclosures are set to pop up on the market soon so we're willing to wait and see what comes available. So we have options, but want to see if we can sell the Orem house first. We'll probably wait a month or two to make a decision.

So, this will be the last update until we know for sure what house we're moving in to and when.

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Outside My Front Door

01/23/10

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Be a Humanitarian

01/22/10

I was fortunate when I first moved to my Orem neighborhood that a humanitarian group already existed. I think I had been here only two weeks when I first learned about it, and I've been going every week ever since. Primarily I quilt, because that's what I like to do best. Here's the first one I made with the closet full of donated fabric they have:

I've grown addicted. I get to sew for free. All of the fabric is donated, they have sewing machines, and a great big space to set up quilts for tying. Before my boys were in school they would come with me and we'd have a little playdate with the other children who came. And I could get out of the house and chat with my girlfriends. It's just great all around. I haven't kept track of how many quilts I've made since I've been there, but I average 1-2 a month. A bunch of them people take home to tie, or else we save them up to do at the annual Relief Society humanitarian night. They are all donated to the LDS Church's humanitarian relief organization.

When I learn about disasters like the one in Haiti I always imagine that one of my quilts have made it to someone in need, that it comforts them, and lets them know that someone does care. I love that feeling. It helps me feel like I'm doing something to help.

At last year's Relief Society humanitarian night I taught a strip quilting class. The purpose was to show women, especially those new to sewing, that they can quilt something beautiful and easy.

If you want to try, too, here's my handout:

Strip Quilting Handout

It has directions for simple quilting patterns, as well as information about the Church's humanitarian guidelines.

Good luck!

(P.S. If you live closeby and are interested in making something with donated fabric, let me know!)

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Wreath Craftiness

01/19/10

I found an origami cherry blossom tutorial that was super cute, so I wanted to try it.

[photo from The Flirty Guide]

The only problem was the expense of curly willow, and I really didn't have any vases that I could use for the branches. Instead I found a wreath at Joann's (coupon!) and made myself a cherry blossom spring wreath. I think it might need more flowers. I haven't decided yet. I'll wait on that, though, my fingers are a little sore from all the tedious folding (plus I made the mistake of buying a cardstock-like mulberry paper, which wasn't folding friendly).

I think it turned out OK. Notice it's on my new fancy Shanty Wreath Stand.

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Amber's Birthday Party

01/17/10

Amber turned 11 on the 13th, but in order to have enough time to do everything at her party that we wanted to, we needed a 2-hour block, so we planned her birthday for a Saturday. They ate cupcakes, they crafted, they opened presents, and they were silly.

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Finished the Kitchen Floor

01/15/10

Yesterday Mark was home so we were able to finish up the molding. There's a few touch-ups left to do, but the kitchen is essentially done. We added some stained beadboard to the peninsula, removed the trash compactor and finished off that area for a little trash can nook. We also removed a section of carpet that ran through the kitchen--it was ALWAYS dirty, drove me nuts. But it's gone now and in its place is a nice, clean, vinyl floor.

Before:

In Progress:

Done:

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My Crafty Wreath Stand

01/13/10

I love the Shanty 2 Chic blog. Mark would probably hate it because they take old crap and fix it up. He'd rather just have something nice and new the first time. I admit I'm not much of a scrounger myself, but I couldn't resist their tutorial for their Shanty Wreath Hangers. They are just the cutest and most useful piece of assembled junk I've seen in a long time.

I found a table leg at the antiques store across the street, as well as a metal hook and topper for super cheap. The rest of the supplies were from Robert's Craft (50% off coupon) and supplies I had hanging around the house. When I had everything glued together it looked downright silly and Mark mocked me. Today I painted and stained it and I LOVE it. Here I have it with my spring wreath. I like wreaths, but I only have three of them. Now I have an excuse to make more! I'm excited.

From this:

+ epoxy + paint + stain

To this:

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Robots

01/11/09

Over the Christmas break from school I had to find ways to keep the kiddos happy. One day when we didn't have any family visits planned and I needed to keep them happy, we made these from Family Fun Magazine online. They were free to make, since they're from recycled stuff we found around the house, and we used a lot of the leftover doodads from the recent remodeling projects. This project kept the kids busy for about 5-6 hours and they played with the results for several days afterward. The prep work with gathering and cleaning (and then making a lottery for the most wanted items they were fighting over) took about an hour; but for them to play happily for that long was worth it.

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Saga of a Kitchen Floor

01/08/09

12/01/09 - The Mapleton house has been in foreclosure for two weeks, and it could take another five months before it's potentially on the market again. We decide that we should go ahead and replace the kitchen floor and enjoy it in the meantime.

12/03/09- I order the vinyl for the kitchen floor with the hope it will be in with enough time for it to be installed before Christmas.

12/16/09- The vinyl has been delivered to Lowe's and we get a call from the installers. They are booked and can't install until after Christmas. It's scheduled for the 29th.

Also at this time we discover that the Mapleton house is back on the market! (If we had known this two weeks ago we would have thought twice about installing a floor at the last minute...)

12/26/09 and 12/28/09 - Mark and I rip up the original vinyl and the subfloor piece by agonizing piece, as it seems to be concreted to the original vinyl it was glued on top of. We move the appliances to the living room.

12/29/09 - The installers call and tell me that Lowe's ordered the wrong vinyl. We have to re-order. Lowe's expedites the order. (It would have been REALLY nice to know this two weeks ago!)

01/04/10 - Lowe's calls to say that the new vinyl has been shipped and should be here on the 6th.

01/07/10 - Lowe's calls at 11am to say that the vinyl just arrived and that the installers should call asap to schedule the installation. I call Lowe's back at 3pm to say they haven't called yet. They finally call at 4pm to say they can't come until 01/12/10. I call Lowe's and complain. The installers call me back and say they can come the afternoon of the 11th. I'm satisfied for now.

01/11/10 - ????????????????????????? Will it happen like it's supposed to? Tune in next week to find out.

In the meantime, we've had five people come to look at the house, so we have our fingers crossed that one of them will be interested enough to put down an offer!

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Feeling Crafty Lately

01/05/10

In a desperate attempt to release my anxious house-buying/selling energy (and not wanting to get burned out with packing/cleaning), I've been making pretty things to give away. The craft blogs I've recently discovered have really been fun to look at and get ideas from. Here's a sampling.

Gift box for a friend's birthday. I think my favoritist color combination of all time is blue and yellow. It just makes me happy to look at.

Birthday card invitation for Amber's birthday party next week. I also bought cheapo picture notebooks and replaced the existing covers with ones matching her party's 'Winter Wonderland' theme.

Thank you gifts for my kids' teachers at school. I'm doing this now since we're moving soon, and I usually give them an end of the year gift, but we won't be here in May to do it (they've had my kids for most of the year, so they deserve it). I got the idea from brown paper packages. In my pre-packing decluttering I filled the boxes with not only paper clips, but an odd assortment of things that I hope their teachers can find uses for...

Christmas coupon book for Amber. Since she got a camera from her grandmother, I thought I'd include some coupons to print off her pictures, as well as for picture frames, and other things.

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The Bank Has Accepted Our Offer

01/01/10

We haven't signed the offical papers yet, but the bank has accepted our offer and we have the Mapleton house under contract. We'll close at the end of January, and move in the first of February. We're moving forward with this even though our Orem house isn't under contract yet--we feel that selling it is just a matter of time.

House stats:
Built in 2007 (never lived in)
3 bedrooms (until we finish the basement)
3 bathrooms
6100 sq ft
1 acre lot, unlandscaped
Ridiculously large garage
<Mapquest location>

These pictures were all taken in October when we first visited it. The very first one is from the original MLS so it's a little blurry, but it's still a good picture of the front.

From the street:

Front door:

Front patio (side--I am SO excited for these, they'll be fun to fill with potted plants and chairs, etc):

Back yard (it sits on a one-acre lot--you can see the mountains to the east):

Kitchen (it's just missing a fridge, but we'll take care of that; it also has a hidden pantry! see the largeish cabinet on the back wall? it's actually a door you walk through to the huge pantry behind it!):

Great room (connected to the kitchen behind it, you can see the corner of the island in the bottom-left corner):

Unfinished basement (it's the same size as the main floor! it's HUGE):

One of Mark's requirements when we were looking for houses this time around was that it have an unfinished basement. You'd think that after all the work we did on the Orem house he'd be sick of remodeling, but most of the finished basements we've seen he's been unsatisfied with, so this way he can have it exactly the way he wants it. And since we plan to be in this house until he retires it makes sense to have something the way we want it without having to rip out what's already there.

However, the HOA requires us to have the landscaping done ASAP, as well as finish up some stonework on the exterior. So once those are finished then we can get to work on the basement, probably not until next year at the earliest. But we have time! We plan to be in this house for a good, long while.

One would think that I'd be dreading packing up and moving. However, those five months of tryng to buy a house and selling this house were a big stress for me; I really dislike the unknown and spending all that time up in the air caused a lot of anxiety. All the housecleaning, over and over to be ready for showings, and the dozens of calls from pushy realtors didn't improve my mood, either. Enough so that I'm GLAD and HAPPY to be packing up this household, even though there's a LOT to pack and unpack. And a lot to clean in this house and the new one. I'm the kind of woman who is happy doing something instead of sitting around. It will be an adventure.

I'll post more pictures when we're moved in and it doesn't look as dusty. The bedrooms are boring open spaces, so once they're filled then I'll get pictures of them, too.

We'll keep you updated on the sale of the Orem house as well as the moving dates, etc, when we know them.

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A Few Images of Christmas

12/30/09

Some surprises from Germany. Thanks Casey and Katie!

Every year I grow some amaryllis:

Making the gingerbread house:

Carter's Christmas present to me that he made himself (it has a little lid):

The boys got a ton of legos and other building toys, so have been busy constructing:

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Christmas 2009

12/26/09

Christmas Eve dinner with the Christensons. Mark made the entire dinner and he went all out.

A little Christmas program:

Christmas Morning:

After the damage is done:

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Christmas Lights at Temple Square

12/23/09

Last night Mark and I took the kids to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City. It's really spectacular if you've never been. The last time we went was when Carter (or was it Spencer?) was still in a stroller, so it's been a while. It was fun. We came home and had hot chocolate afterward, and the kids fell into bed tired but happy.

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Orem House

12/22/09

We always knew that the Orem house was a transition for us. We bought it with the plan to remodel it and re-sell it for a profit and then move into the house we really wanted. You see, when we first moved here after Mark started his job at UVRMC we weren't really sure how much his new income would affect our lifestyle, so we bought what we knew we could afford for sure. Then we'd have time to look around and eventually sell this one.

The change in the market was bad and good for us. It was bad because even though we put 15k+ worth of remodels into the Orem house, we won't see the money from that effort. We'll be lucky to sell it for a pitance more than the price we bought it for in 2006. The good part is, that three years ago we would not have been able to afford the Mapleton house. It's half the price it was when it was first built in 2007 (yes, hundreds of thousands of dollar's worth, it's crazy). Now that we know what we can really afford, and these houses are in foreclosure, we can buy much more house than we ever expected to be able to. It's kind of exciting. In the end even though we're losing a bunch fom the Orem house, we're gaining so much more from the new one.

We won't know for sure until after Christmas what the bank has decided. Right now we're the only ones who've submitted an offer, so it's looking good! We'll keep y'all updated.

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13th Anniversary

12/21/09

Yep, thirteen years. We got massages at a local spa, ate dinner at a fancy schmancy restaurant, then went to see Avatar (which was spectacular by the way). It was a fun day! And a nice celebration of sticking with it through thick and thin.

I Mark

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Housing Update (Since Everyone is Asking)

12/18/09

Back in September, if you recall, we put our house up in order to buy that house in Mapleton (which we didn't get). We decided to keep our house up for sale and see what happened, in the meantime doing a few remodels, which we've since finished (except the kitchen floor, which will be installed soon). Well, after two months with a realtor and only five people coming to look at it, we decided that in order to lower the price to something more competitive, we had to ditch the realtor and go for sale by owner. After that we got a LOT of calls, mostly from realtors trying to get us to list with them. And even fewer people wanting to come look at the house. Frustrating. (What I learned from this? Realtors are pushy and obnoxious and I really hate talking to them on the phone.)

In the meantime we still looked for houses, not wanting to give up yet. We did find another house in the same neighborhood as the original one in Mapleton. I like it better, actually, for several reasons. It was a short sale. We put down an offer. They accepted and wanted us to close within two weeks, so we counter-offered contingent on the sale of this house (naturally they refused).

Unfortunately, we couldn't sell our house in time before the Mapleton one went into foreclosure at the end of November. Foreclosures in Utah can take anywhere from two weeks to six months. Well, it's been one month and that house was just listed again today (!). We thought we had more time, but we don't, and are trying a new push to sell the house so that we can get this one, since it's on a fast track sale much like the other one was. We'll see how it does. We've listed the house for a mere $3000 more than we bought it for (but have put 15k+ in improvements into it). Gotta love the market.

Tell all your friends, it's listed on these sites (I linked it to the listing):

Update: We found a place that will list us on the MLS for a flat rate! Yippee! We will still retain our for sale by owner status, but will have to pay a lot less in realtor commissions. I'll post that link as soon as it's up.

Annnd there it is.

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The rumor is you've decided not to get the house in Mapleton. What's next on the house agenda? Looks lik eyou got a lot more snow than we did. -Aunt Raylene, Jan 26, 3:22 pm ____________________________________ Wow, it looks so much brighter and BIGGER in the kitchen now. Good work! -Carrie, Jan 14, 9:53 pm ____________________________________ Cute crafts! And oh my gosh, SO EXCITED you got the house. Yeahhhh! I can't wait to see what you do to the yard. That'll be awesome. -Carrie, Jan 7, 3:25 am ____________________________________ LIke I said on your Facebook page, I will have to move into a corner of the garage so I can help you with the 1-acre garden! -Patty K., Jan 1, 9:47 am ____________________________________ LIke I said on your Facebook page, I will have to move into a corner of the garage so I can help you with the 1-acre garden! -Patty K., Jan 1, 8:57 am ____________________________________ I see you got the package from Germany. The wooden plate is for daily bread. Katie's mom has a wonderful collection of them. We bought it at the flea market, along with the antique salt glaze bowl.The mug is Polish pottery, and the little Christmas candle scene from a shop in Ramstein village. -Patty K., Jan 1, 8:53 am ____________________________________ Holy guacalmole. Von kleinen Maulwurf! -Casey, Jan 1, 2:10 am ____________________________________ Hooray! I can't wait to see what's in store for Synth! -Sarah Bylund, Dec 16, 6:09 pm ____________________________________ Wow! That turned out great!!! Two thumbs up! -Carrie, Dec 7, 12:34 am ____________________________________ I love that soapmaker's shop in Yakima. My stocks are getting low. -Patty K., Nov 22, 6:26 pm ____________________________________ Seriously, after you left I was like, why didn't I take photos? But it's become harder with a child in each hand. Thanks for coming, it was so fun! You are an easy guest to have. LOL. We loved having you! Dallin kept asking where you were today. Next time come when it's warm. :) -Carrie, Nov 18, 12:31 am ____________________________________ I'll sure miss the flowerly wallpaper. NOT. -Casey, Nov 1, 1:38 am ____________________________________ Way to go! Much easier on the eyes. :) -Carrie, Oct 31, 2:13 am ____________________________________ What a nice laundry room. The wall paper really ties it all together. -Mom Kennington, Oct 30, 9:29 pm ____________________________________ I am totally rubbing my eyes. That is the SAME ROOM? You guys rock! Now that's extreme remodeling. -Carrie, Oct 14, 2:03 am ____________________________________ I love the tile and the lamps! Great changeover. -Mom Kennington, Oct 13, 8:25 pm ____________________________________ Wow, you guys are going to be BUSY! I can't wait to see your handiwork. You guys have great taste, I bet you'll have lots of people looking. -Carrie, Sep 30, 12:31 am ____________________________________ My co-worker suggested you list our home on ksl.com-she said there are lots of homes listed and they seem to sell fast! Just a thought. -Aunt Raylene, Sep 16, 1:37 pm ____________________________________ I remember when Amber was a baby that she LOVED the water, and we thought she'd be a swimmer. Way to go Amber! -Auntie Carrie, Sep 16, 11:18 pm ____________________________________ THAT is a nice house. The yard will be a lot of work, but fun at the same time. -Casey, Sep 6, 5:46 am ____________________________________ I may have to copy you one day on your metal organization for Spencer. Dallin is showing a liking to rocks and such. -Carrie, Sep 1, 1:21 am ____________________________________ Oh, Vanessa, I can't believe your baby is in kindergarten! I guess I'll be there in another 3 years. Let me know how it goes. I'm sure you will have no trouble keeping busy. -Rebecca, Aug 29, 11:23 pm ____________________________________ He looks like he may actually be enjoying himself. -Casey, Aug 28, 11:03 am ____________________________________ Ahhh Spencer! You're so old! When did Amber get classes? Everyone is sooo cute! -Carrie, Aug 27, 1:55 pm ____________________________________ My favorite national park. Awesome pics. -Casey, Aug 16, 1:51 pm ____________________________________ Fantastically beautiful quilts! And you're right, you do have very handsome boys. -Patty K., Aug 10, 6:03 pm ____________________________________ !!!!! Nice boys. When they have Wii to play. -Casey, Aug 10, 2:29 pm ____________________________________ How far is Arches from your house? -Carrie, Jun 9, 12:28 pm *** It's about a four-hour drive from our house. -Vanessa, Aug 15, 4:56 pm ____________________________________ Wow! Those are cool. You guys should come up and hike Mt. Rainer. ;) -Carrie, Apr 21, 7:45 pm ____________________________________ Amazing formations, the pictures are great. I'll bet it gets hot there. How does Spencer like his new quilt? -Mom Kennington, Apr 20, 5:41 pm ____________________________________ Yay! Looks like a fun trip. I hoped you might update your blog sometime. ;) I haven't gone to Arches yet but hope to go this summer. Did Mark buy a Jeep?? -Sarah Bylund, Apr 19, 9:14 pm ____________________________________ It was nice to see new pictures! I haven't been to Arches for several years, as the Salt Lake Astronomical Society goes mainly to Captiol Reef or Brcye Canyon. Now I feel inspired to visit Arches again! -Aunt Raylene, Apr 18, 7:58 pm ____________________________________ Vanessa.... you hoo!!!! -Carrie, Apr 15, 8:29 pm ____________________________________ Amber's room has a floor! (Actually, I knew it did, she's not that messy, right? -Casey, Jan 31, 3:49 pm ____________________________________ Doh! Delete that. I'm a dork. AMBER! You look so grown up! You remind me so much of Vanessa. -Carrie, Jan 26, 2:17 am ____________________________________ Hey, I think the date thingy is off. My last comment was "Dec 30," but the post I was commenting on was "Jan 15." -Carrie, Jan 26, 2:16 am ____________________________________ You guys amaze me! When can you come work on our house? :) -Carrie, Dec 30, 3:02 pm ____________________________________ The place looks even better in person. :) -Sarah Bylund, Dec 27, 4:24 pm ____________________________________ The porch and fireplace both look fantastic :). -Meadow, Dec 22, 12:59 pm ____________________________________ So what kind of root beer is your favorite while riding your bike? -Casey, Dec 6, 11:00 pm ____________________________________ I dare you to drink Root Beer whilst driving your Root Beer bike. :) I hope the mileage counter works for you! -Carrie, Nov 19, 2:19 am ____________________________________ Another birthday. Yay! -Sarah Bylund, Nov 17, 6:00 pm ____________________________________ Happy Birthday, Vanessa! Hope you have a great day. -Rebecca, Nov 17, 12:56 pm ____________________________________ Wohoo! I look forward to reading more of your novel! -Casey, Nov 13, 7:55 pm ____________________________________ Yay, I'm glad you decided to try Butcher's Calderon series. Have you read his Dresden books, though? I think they're sharper and funnier. Still, I love Tavi. :) -Sarah Bylund, Oct 27, 7:12 pm ____________________________________ That's the famous Brandon S? He has the appearance of geek! -Casey, Oct 18, 9:49 pm **** Does this surprise you? He writes fantasy novels, for pity's sake. =O -Vanessa, Oct 27, 5:25 pm ____________________________________ You must really like that book/author!!! :) I'm definitely not that patient. -Carrie, Oct 17, 9:42 pm **** Ya, well, I don't think I'm going to go through that trouble again. I'll wait next time to get my book signed rather than wait thru a line like that again. -Vanessa, Oct 27, 5:25 pm ____________________________________ Move stuff over? Unnecessary! You can just remote into your desktop and work on it from your laptop. I have two computers, but one just has power and network. -Casey, Oct 7, 8:20 pm **** Boo. NOW you say it. Too late. -Vanessa, Oct 27, 5:26 pm ____________________________________ Wow, I never realized how much alike Amber and Carter look. Cute! Looks like your vine is growing up the side there. CUTE DESK! -Carrie, Oct 6, 4:32 pm ____________________________________ It's been nearly 2 months since your last blog update. What have you been up to? -Rebecca, Oct 2, 3:14 pm ____________________________________ Right. Which one IS Amber? -Casey, Aug 10, 2:59 pm ____________________________________ I always wondered what Amber would look like made completely out of legos. :) -Carrie, Aug 5, 4:07 pm ____________________________________ Wow, that looks awesome!!! A kids' dream!!! :) -Carrie, Jul 30, 2:07 pm ____________________________________ We love Disney World. It looks like you had a great trip. We were last there in April and we had to wear ponchos at Animal Kingdom too, but mostly the weather is awesome in the spring. -Rebecca, Jul 30, 10:40 pm ____________________________________ Is it best to grow black-eyed susan from seed, or can I transplant? -Carrie, Jul 18, 1:33 am **** Either one works just fine. If you plant from seed it will just bloom later, is all. -Vanessa, Jul 21, 6:16 pm ____________________________________ Lovely flowers! You've got me started on Lois McMaster Bujold, I've been reading all her other novels since you gave me Paladin of Souls to read. -Mama Kennington, Jul 12, 4:48 pm ____________________________________ I love the flowers. Did you take any pictures when you visited the farm? -Brielle, Jul 7, 11:29 pm **** I didn't, I'm a total slacker :/ -Vanessa, Jul 21, 6:17 pm ____________________________________ Have you read all the Piers Anthony Incarnations of Immortality series? My favorite is still the first book, "On a Pale Horse." I llike some of his Zanth series, too. -Aunt Raylene, Jun 27, 9:00 pm ____________________________________ Oooo I like!!!! Did you just get the wood at the hardware store and nail it together? That'll look great. And that garage door is a great improvement! Can you imagine the before and afters in a few years from now? -Carrie, Jun 11, 11:27 am **** Pretty much, yea. I screwed them together then painted it with poleurethane so it won't decay as fast. Pine was the least expensive wood to use, altough probably not the best kind. -Vanessa, Jun 15, 3:18 pm ____________________________________ Do you remember what the pink variety of iris is called? It's gorgeous. -Mama Kennington, Jun 8, 6:26 pm **** It was growing in my SLC yard already (transplanted here after we moved), so I don't have the name, but I can bring some up with me when I come in June. -Vanessa, Jun 9, 7:35 pm ____________________________________ So pretty. But all I could think of was a line from an old movie..."When I gain those ruby slippers, my power will be the greatest in Oz. Now my beauties. Something with poi-son in it I think. With poison in it. But attractive to the eye and soothing to the smell. Ha-ha-ha-ha. Poppies. Poppies. Poppies will put them to sleep. Sle-ee-p. Now they'll sle-ee-p." -Sarah Bylund, Jun 5, 8:27 pm ____________________________________ Good to know that about the iris. I just got some starts from my neighbor and the tips browned. I'll have to prune them back a bit. Thanks! -Sarah, Jun 5, 12:34 am ____________________________________ Looks like you guys had fun in Seattle! I was glad we could go over really quick on Friday to see you. Seattle is an interesting place! -Carrie, May 28, 7:05 pm ____________________________________ I'm glad the pink iris surivived being transplanted. It's my favorite color. I thinned my iris bed last fall, so I'm not sure what will come up this year. I'll email pictures later. -Aunt Raylene, May 23, 2:02 pm ____________________________________ Your allium is looking so much better than mine. I probably need to move mine to a better site. Isn't this the most exciting time in the garden? -Nettie, May 18, 9:01 pm **** You bet, it's my favorite time of year. My allium seems to like it best where it's very very sunny and hot. And not too much water. -Vanessa, May 19, 11:50 am ____________________________________ I love your allium!!! And I'm drolling over your drip system. :) -Carrie, May 18, 8:20 pm ____________________________________ Lilacs are my favorite! I'm loving the two-color variety. -Sarah Bylund, May 17, 10:10 pm ____________________________________ Thanks for letting us stay for BYU Graduation. We loved seeing the kids and the garden! Lunch at Ottavio's was excellent. -Mama Kennington, May 8, 5:55 pm ____________________________________ Fun in the dirt! -Casey, Apr 24, 7:58 am ____________________________________ Am I to assume that nothing has been blooming in your garden since March 20? -Mama Kennington, Apr 17, 12:45 pm ____________________________________ Oh my gosh I'm such a dork. Don't you think it's interesting how much we look alike but also different? That baby is DARLING!!! Can't wait to see this little one grow up. And I am soooooo baby hungry for a newborn pill bug of my own. -Carrie, Mar 5, 5:56 pm ____________________________________ What a beautiful little baby! Whose kid is that? -Casey, Mar 5, 7:21 am ____________________________________ Maybe he asked for meatloaf for his birthday cake. -Casey, Feb 24, 2:26 pm ____________________________________ I agree with Casey. It looks like meatloaf. :) -Carrie, Feb 22, 2:16 pm ____________________________________ I'm suspicious of this cake. It looks planted. The fork doesn't look like he was using it, and do I detect a bite out of the corner there? The corner farthest from him? Just whose piece of cake is that? And is that a real candle that he's licking? -Casey, Feb 22, 1:18 pm ____________________________________ Hey! At least you had cake. Shhh don't tell Dallin we didn't celebrate birthday #2. Not like he noticed, EVERY day is a party for a little kid. -Carrie, Feb 22, 12:21 am ____________________________________ What a silly bunch of grandkids! -Grandma Kennington, Jan 22, 9:46 pm ____________________________________ How scary!!! So glad they are safe. I never told you, but I think the second day you guys were gone to PR, I had gone upstairs to put Dallin down for a nap and couldn't find the boys. I saw the back door open so I ran outside... the side gate was open too! Thankfully they were just up a little ways on the sidewalk. I made sure to lock the back door after that. :) -Carrie, Jan 18, 8:28 pm ____________________________________ Hooray! Nine is a good year. :) Happy b-day, Amber. -Sarah B., Jan 14, 12:39 pm ____________________________________ Happy Birthday Amber!!!! Dang it I was going to call her today and see if Dallin would say something on the phone. Tomorrow! -Carrie, Jan 14, 11:50 am ____________________________________ Wow! Amber is 9 already. Happy Birthday. It looks like she has a cute bunch of blonde friends. Her party looks fun and Spencer certainly is a cutie all wrapped up. -Rebecca, Jan 14, 10:08 am ____________________________________ Happy Birthday, Amber! We'll have to come see you guys soon. -Casey, Jan 13, 6:37 pm ____________________________________ Give Elsa kisses for me! I finished reading Mistborn and Well of Ascension, now how long do I have to wait until the 3rd book comes out? -Mom Kennington, Jan 8, 7:32 pm **** I'll give extra kisses, just for you! (Trust me, I don't mind...) As for Brandon's next book, it's called Hero of Ages and it comes out October 2008. In the meantime, read his new YA book called Alcatraz verses the Evil Librarians. -Vanessa, Jan 9, 11:56 am ____________________________________ Happy New Year, Nessa! -Sarah Bylund, Jan 1, 9:57 am ____________________________________ Those wood floors look great! -Sarah, Dec 30, 1:33 pm ____________________________________ Your table and place settings look fabulous. Now people are going to expect you to entertain more often. Think of all the fun dinner parties you could have. I'm glad you had a great Christmas. -Rebecca, Dec 29, 3:41 pm ____________________________________ That was a great steak, and Mark's chocolates were wonderful. -Casey, Dec 26, 6:48 pm ____________________________________ What a gorgeous table! I've always loved darker wood, and the inlays are so eye-catching. Nice choice! Perfect for entertaining. -Sarah Bylund, Dec 24, 10:04 am ____________________________________ Hehe. You're welcome. I almost missed it myself. Well, we had a snow day today & church was cancelled. Back to writing C-mas cards! -Sarah Bylund, Dec 16, 3:08 pm ____________________________________ Hey, doncha mean "WHEEL of TIme" series? -Sarah Bylund, Dec 16, 10:23 pm ****Ohmygosh. I'm such a DORK. Thanks for pointing that out. Heh. -Vanessa, Dec 17, 12:27 pm ____________________________________ I like the dark wood with the yellow walls. Nice and elegant. You look pretty happy about the camera, too! -Patty K., Dec 4, 8:03 pm ____________________________________ Nice floor. I'm glad you got a camera surprise. Someday I hope to redo some of our floors in hardwood. It is so beautiful. -Rebecca, Dec 1, 3:24 pm ____________________________________ wow. Wow. WOW!!!! that looks amazing!!!! -Carrie, Nov 29, 7:55 pm ____________________________________ It looks fantastic! I'm very jealous of your floor. -Meadow, Nov 29, 9:43 am ____________________________________ Whoa! When did you guys move? (Nice floor) -Casey, Nov 29, 6:31 am ____________________________________ At least use your camera phone! -Casey, Nov 21, 11:20 pm ____________________________________ boooo! me want pics! -Carrie, Nov 20, 5:35 pm ____________________________________ How can you go through the holidays without a camera? I would make that a priority. Plus we want to see the progress of your remodel. Borrow a camera if necesary. -Rebecca, Nov 20, 4:24 pm ____________________________________ We had a great time in Provo & Orem. Vanessa even let us step all over the hot lava (Besides, Mark needed Clint to look at the compressor.) The art show was wonderful, and we pigged out at Tucanos. We came home with a load of Casey and Katie's stuff and left it in Conrad's garage. Sarah was able to ride with Clint in the pickup part of the way and got him straightened out. I got to play with Athena. Thanks for the weekend everyone! -Patty K., Nov 16, 11:58 pm ____________________________________ Two 5-star books in a row? You must be feeling generous. -Casey, Nov 9, 7:48 am **** I was just lucky enough to pick up two good books in a row. -Vanessa, Nov 14, 7:52 pm ____________________________________ Wow the paint looks great! I can't wait to see the new fireplace. The new floor will be such a big job, but well worth it. :) -Carrie, Nov 6, 9:42 pm ____________________________________ It's looking awesome!! -meadow, Nov 6, 9:21 am ____________________________________ Your kids look so cute! You are such an awesome mom to make all their costumes. I wish I had that talent. -Rebecca, Nov 4, 10:49 am ____________________________________ Thanks for the dinner! Happy Sumo had some good sushi. -Casey, Oct 28, 7:04 pm ____________________________________ So, what exactly is activity days? -Casey, Oct 24, 6:32 pm **** Girl's equivalent of Cub Scouts. -Vanessa, Oct 24, 2007, 11:38pm ____________________________________ My daughter loves Activity days, it sounds like a lot of fun! Our ward is tiny though, we have 3 girls that are 8-11 and one will be moving next month :(. -meadow, Oct 23, 2:26 pm ____________________________________ I've done Activity Days before. It is a fun group because they are so excited and energetic. Right now I am the senior primary chorister and I love it. -Rebecca, Oct 23, 1:40 pm ____________________________________ Oooh! Your new room is coming together! You're making good progress! -Aunt Raylene, Oct 22, 8:31 pm ____________________________________ WOW! That looks aweome -Carrie, Oct 22, 1:32 am ____________________________________ I think your front room is bigger than our apartment! It looks great! -Brielle, Oct 20, 5:32 pm ____________________________________ It's beautiful! Looks so much better :) -meadow, Oct 14, 7:13 pm ____________________________________ Whoo!! That's classy. I love the style of the door, Nessa. The color works well too. It's cool that you were able to widen the doorway. I never would've thought of that. Way2go! -Sarah Bylund, Oct 14, 6:46 pm ____________________________________ What a welcoming new front door. It is exciting to see the great changes you guys are making on the house. -Rebecca, Oct 13, 9:44 pm ____________________________________ That looks great!!! Do you have a pic of the whole house with the new door? -Carrie, Oct 13, 8:09 pm ____________________________________ Oh my gosh Oh my gosh Oh my gosh!!! I am so giddy over the new living room!!!! -Carrie, Oct 11, 11:12 am ____________________________________ Now that's a REAL man. We're running the SLC Marathon in April, too! -Casey, Oct 2, 7:13 am ____________________________________ Wow. Sheetrock is HEAVY stuff. Thank heavens for men!!! -Carrie, Sep 25, 3:17 pm ____________________________________ How exciting! Looks so good already :) -Meadow, Sep 20, 11:38 pm ____________________________________ Done!! -Carrie, Sep 17, 11:59 am ____________________________________ I posted the meme on my blog. I always love to talk about my husband. -Rebecca, Sep 16, 8:44 pm ____________________________________ Thanks for the chat tonight. -Brielle, Sep 16, 7:54 pm ____________________________________ It's about time! Hooray for breaking things! -Casey, Sep 14, 5:56 pm ____________________________________ Wow! What a fun remodeling project! It sure is nice to have a handy husband. -Rebecca, Sep 14, 3:05 pm ____________________________________ Holly Cow your house is Ginormous! -Brielle, Sep 13, 6:39 pm ____________________________________ oh my GOSH that is so awesome!!! look how big that place is!! -Carrie, Sep 13, 2:26 pm ____________________________________ Wooo hooo goodbye wood paneling!!! So will you redo the floor, too, or wait until you do the kitchen and do the floors all at once? -Carrie, Sep 13, 11:01 am ____________________________________ How awesome! I never liked wood paneling like that very much. I can't wait to see it metamorphosize! -Shrain, Sep 12, 6:43 pm ____________________________________ Congratulations to Amber and Mark on their triathalons. I am more of a cheerleader than a participant myself. And I love your flowers of the day. I keep hoping some of your green thumb will rub off on me if I read your blog long enough. -Rebecca, Sep 6, 11:10 pm ____________________________________ Spencer is looking at Amber like, "What are you doing, sis?" Hehe. -Carrie, Aug 30, 1:47 pm ____________________________________ I was wondering what was going on over there! Congrats to Amber, great job! congrats to Mark too ;) -Meadow, Aug 29, 10:57 pm ____________________________________ I like the black-eyed susans!!! Now I'm on the lookout for someone with them so I can steal... I did just transplant two rododendrums and they are doing great! -Carrie, Aug 29, 11:18 am ____________________________________ The plot of the "Uglie" about having surgery to become pretty in adolescence reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode that gave me bad dreams for a week called, "Number 22 is just like me". The story also dealt with a society where you had no choice but choose to look like one of a dozen different models for each sex, so everyone would be 'beautiful'. The lack of free will involved was very frightening to me as a child. -Aunt Raylene, Aug 22, 4:31 pm ____________________________________ I do like that it's soft, that's cool!!! -Carrie, Aug 20, 5:23 pm ____________________________________ Mmmmmmmm love the taste of home-canned goodness!!! -Carrie, Aug 14, 12:54 am ____________________________________ I love it when you post pictures of the kids. They are getting so big. I really like Amber's hair short -Brielle, Aug 9, 12:59 pm ____________________________________ Looks like Amber got a John Deere "country girl" shirt, too!! -Carrie, Aug 9, 12:40 am ____________________________________ Looks great! -meadow, Aug 4, 12:41 pm ____________________________________ Beautiful PR!!! The picture of the cobblestone street reminds me of a street in Guyaquil. -Carrie, Aug 2, 1:17 am ____________________________________ Do you think planting sunflowers on the West side of the home will be enough sun? It hits a little after noon and has sun until it sets. We have a flower bed next to our new garage and it needs something there, but I'm sure it will get hot. -meadow, Jul 30, 3:12 pm **** Yes. These don't get sun all day long, they have some afternoon shade (since the sun sets on the other side of the house) and they do great. I'm sure they would do just fine on a west exposure. -Vanessa, Jul 30, 5:34 pm ____________________________________ Can you send me the log cabin pattern you told me about before? I am going to make a quilt this summer. I think I will do a 90' x 100' like you did for our wedding quilt -Brielle, Jul 13, 9:48 am **** I'll bring a copy to Ontario with me when I come up this weekend. I'll leave it with my mom for you. -Vanessa, Jul 19, 3:16 pm ____________________________________ Oh, I envy you seeing all those beautiful flowers! The red and white hibiscus can grow here and I have them in my garden. The yellow, my favorite, isn't cold tolerant. I think the carnivorous plant is called a 'pitchur plant'. -Aunt Raylene, Jul 5, 9:25 pm ____________________________________ Wow, those flowers are so beautiful. I think the caterpillar one is kinda freaky though. -Brielle, Jul 5, 8:12 am ____________________________________ That fourth Quarter planting is really interesting- i'll have to pay attention to that. Now i know what to blame when my garden wont grow. "I don't suck as a gardener- it's the moon's fault!" -Sarah , Jun 29, 4:32 pm ____________________________________ Sorry I'm a little late on responding to the story and the POV, but I think that changing the POV to different characters along the book will make a huge difference for the better. I look forward to it! -Casey, Jun 27, 12:43 am ____________________________________ Does the "fun time had by all" include me too? Jk. :) -Carrie, Jun 25, 10:28 pm ____________________________________ Can't wait to see them in person!!! -Carrie, Jun 21, 11:52 am ____________________________________ As to your carrots not sprouting, I just read an interesting article in my quarterly Greenprints magazine. It has a theory called 'moon planting'. Evidently the tides aren't only in the ocean! The phases of the moon can affect the water retention in the soil. Any, it said to never plant anything in a last quarter moon. My beets, chard and spinach didn't sprout, so I checked, and sure enough, I planted them in a fourth quarter moon! Wierd, huh? -Aunt Raylene, Jun 12, 2:34 pm ____________________________________ Your post about Spencer's 2nd birthday mirrored with his actual birth day really brings into perspective just how fast kids grow- i mean two years ago and i haven't changed too much on the outside. Im a totally different wife now than i was in the first year. That was a huge morph. ("Poor Conrad," i think to myself sometimes when i look at wedding photos. ) hehe - but he's quite lucky now ;) -Sarah , Jun 10, 1:07 pm ____________________________________ you sound like a real writer :) Im looking forward to reading the finished product. -Sarah , Jun 10, 12:51 pm ____________________________________ So, what's wrong with the first person POV? I've written my own novel in that point of view, and it seems to work okay. I'm curious! -Aunt Raylene, Jun 7, 3:53 pm ____________________________________ Wow, I never realized the work that goes into a novel. You're basically starting over. I'd probably just write it once and be done with it. Of course, no one would ever read it---take my thesis for example. lol -Conrad, Jun 7, 11:09 am ____________________________________ I planted some French lavender last year, but it is not cold hardy and died during the winter. -Aunt Raylene, Jun 6, 1:20 pm ____________________________________ Nothing is more dangerous than the trailer place. Especially the green machine. -Casey, Jun 5, 7:08 am ____________________________________ The TRAILER PLACE!! -Conrad, Jun 4, 8:57 pm ____________________________________ Probably a little safer than the farm equipment storage dirt roads we used to ride around in. ;) -Carrie, Jun 4, 2:55 pm ____________________________________ How fun! I remember riding a few streets down to the culdesac when I was a kid, we thought it was the best place to ride! -meadow, Jun 4, 8:29 am ____________________________________ So are you guys affected by the Orem beetle spraying frenzy? -Casey, May 31, 7:51 am **** Nope. That's on the other side of State Street. However, it does worry me, since it's a three-year program, which means residents in the spray area can't grow veggies or fruits during that time (because of the nature of the pesticide). Blech. So I'm praying they get it under control and I don't get any here. However, if you drive around Orem you'll see the green and yellow traps they've put out so they can see how wide-spread the infestation is. -Vanessa, May 31, 12:39 pm ____________________________________ He's three already? That means we'll be married three years pretty soon. Yikes. What a cute kid he is! Let's hope he doesn't repeat the Carter Bathroom Art. -Carrie, May 22, 5:58 pm ____________________________________ About the poo, my kids will never do that. ;) -Conrad, May 21, 6:46 pm ____________________________________ hehe- me and Carrie had the same response to the poo -Sarah , May 21, 10:02 am ____________________________________ Oh. My. Gosh. Carter may have a future in bathroom mural painting. ..or not. -Sarah , May 21, 10:00 am ____________________________________ About that Snow-In-Summer, it really does spread, so watch out! I will allow some invasive plants (Evening Primrose) but have spent gallons of Round-Up and years of shoveling trying to get rid of such plants as Borage (that blue-flowered herb is a torment), Japanese Honeysuckle (too bad I LOVE the scent) and horseradish root. -Mom Kennington, May 20, 6:01 pm ____________________________________ That had me ROTFLOL. -Casey, May 20, 11:20 pm ____________________________________ OH MY GOSH. It IS what I thought it was. Nasty nasty nasty! (at least it matches the toilet???) -Grossed Out Aunt Carrie, May 17, 3:20 pm ____________________________________ That Star Wars cover-up is pretty funny. I watched the little video and everything was good until the end when he compared the approaching fighters to an actual X-Wing and claimed it couldn't have been an X-Wing. The S-Foils weren't in attack position, so it didn't look like an X-Wing. This guy needs to do a little more research on Rebel Alliance Fighters. Can you help me out, Conrad? Am I wrong? -Casey, May 17, 2:47 pm ____________________________________ I keep thinking, whoever buys this house from you will be getting an AWESOME deal. :) -Carrie, May 11, 6:01 pm ____________________________________ Vanessa do you need any tomato plants or regular green peppers?? I'm hardening off a bunch if you do. Maybe I could bring them on the 20th when you come to Sylva's to see Dan? If you don't need them, that's fine too. -Aunt Raylene, May 10, 9:23 pm ***Actually, I just bought a bunch this week! So I'm set. I also bought a bunch of annuals (petunias and marigolds) and will post pictures of those later. -Vanessa, May 11, 10:20 pm ____________________________________ Fab job on the garden. I can't believe what you and Mark have done with the depressing concrete & shrub-covered yard you inherited. Along with inheriting those real farmer's daughter genes for growing things. -Mom Kennington, May 5, 9:16 pm ____________________________________ everything looks great! -brielle Kennington, Apr 29, 4:43 pm ____________________________________ Wow! It looks a million times better already!!!! Thank you for ridding the world of shrubs! I can't wait to see what else you do. -Carrie, Apr 29, 12:08 am ____________________________________

Why do I have a butterfly on my title graphic? Because
Vanessa is Greek for butterfly. In a way, it's my trademark.