Milkmaid in the City

Another year older. I like my birthdays low-key, so it was just dinner with Mark, hanging out with the kids, and doing whatever I wanted...pretty much anything that didn't involve work.

And here's my present (and Christmas present, too).

I'm really excited. I've been needing a new sewing machine for years. I have it set up and have been using it and I LOVE it. It came with six free lessons so I can learn how to use it. I've already made myself PJ bottoms, Amber a bathrobe, some curtains, and a quilt for humanitarian group. There are plans for more projects...yay!

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Halloween

11/1/10

The kids got to dress up twice this year, one for a church party and the other for actual trick or treating. It rained here on Halloween, so there's no happy/good pictures from that night. However, I've got a few from the church party and some of the decorations from around the house.

Spencer is Harry Potter, Carter is an Army Commando, and Amber is a Renaissance Maiden. Yes, I made their costumes. Except for Carter's, which he pretty much already had. I just found the hat at an Army Surplus store in Orem.

The kids designed their own pumpkins.

Found the idea for this from a blog, but I can't find the original post just at the moment. If I find it I'll update this entry.

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Recent Book Reviews

10/31/10

Citizen of the Galaxy

The Bird of the River

From Hell With Love

Mockingjay

The Conqueror's Shadow

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Stuff That Happened in August

08/31/10

6th: Mark and I took the kids to Park City to the outlets there for school shopping! It was a super productive trip.

Sometime during the first or second week: Spent time lining kids up for lessons during the school year. Carter will be in Karate and Amber and Spencer will take swimming lessons at the local indoor pool (that's literally 5 minutes from our house! horray!). Also, began talking to landscaper about starting work on our front yard to put in sod, sprinklers, and curbing. Went swimming somewhere in there and various other trips to the library and etc. Oh, and one girl's night out where Amber and I spent the afternoon shopping, getting her a new glasses prescription, and eating lunch together. Total girl bonding time.

13th: Boating at Utah Lake with Mark's co-workers; it was a perfect day, not too hot, and the wind wasn't bad so the water wasn't choppy. Then an evening BBQ with about 30 people at our house: his co-workers, their spouses, and children. While the kids ran wild, we had a TON of great food (the meat was cooked to perfection by Mark). We do this once a year and it's always great to get to know the people he works with better.

Also The landscapers began work on the front yard. First they graded everything. Then they dug up lines and installed sprinklers.

16th: I got to spend the day at BYU for Education Week they have there for adults every year. I just went the one day because that's all Mark had off of work, but it was fun. I went to a couple of parenting classes, a marriage class, a class on how to teach adults (mostly gospel class oriented), and etc. It was a fun day. Then, that evening we had a neighborhood party. We got to meet some of our neighbors we hadn't yet, and spent time with others we had. Our kids all had fun, and it was a nice evening getting to know everyone better.

17th: Put up curtains in the living room.

18th: And in the bedroom.

Also painted a bookshelf to put in my sewing room. I found it at a yard sale, but it was a sad brown. Now a couple of coats of paint, some molding, and a glazing later, it's all set up in pretty corner to store my quilting fabric and supplies.

20th: Mark and I took Amber to see Broadway's The Lion King in Salt Lake City. While Lisa watched the boys, we went up early to have dinner at the Gateway (zTejas...yum!) and do some window shopping. The show was fabulous! The music, the costumes, the set, it was all amazing and lived up to the hype.

21st: A BBQ with the guys from Elitist Book Reviews. I had met two of them already, but got to meet the other two, and their families. I hosted it and it was a fun afternoon of good food and talking about books and movies.

23rd: Landscapers poured the concrete curbing. It's colored and stamped! It's so pretty! I can't wait to plant flowers in the new beds.

24th: School started. Horray!

28th: Vanessa got eye LASIK surgery! HORRAYYYYYY!!!! No more glasses or contacts! She's super excited. She spends the weekend recovering and the children run amok.

31st: Hopefully the sod arrives.

And there you have it. Quite the month to cap off a busy and fun summer. Strange how things settle down when school starts.

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Recent Book Reviews

08/26/10

A Princess of Mars

The Martian Chronicles

A Taint in the Blood

The Last Stormlord

The Kingdom Beyond the Waves

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First Day of School 2010

08/25/10

Yesterday was the first day of school here at Hobble Creek Elementary. They seem to really like their teachers and have at least one friend from last year in their classes.

It's the first year I have all of them in school for the whole day! I have almost 7 hours a day all to myself. It's lonely, but also exciting, because I have a lot of things I want to do while they're busy at school.

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Recent Book Reviews

08/07/10

Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay

Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik

The Sharing Knife Series by Lois McMaster Bujold

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Yes, the House is Sold

As of July 29th it's official.

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July Fun

07/31/10

OK, here's some stuff that's been going on this month. First off, visiting my parents in Oregon over the Fourth of July. There were some cousins/aunts/uncles who came for a BBQ dinner.

Conrad lighting some fireworks for us.

Children enjoying the spoils.

Next up July 18th-19th: Rebecca and her family visited. She took tons more pictures of me than I did of her and her super cute family. We were friends all through high school and then roomed together freshman year at BYU. It's awesome how with old friends, when they visit, it's like picking up where you left off, and those five years inbetween feel like nothing more than a blip in your life (and you remember why you miss them.... :(.

Our children got along pretty well.

The COOOOOL artwork at the BYU Museum of Art when we visited there with them. It's made from irrigation wheel lines!

More wheel line art.

July 24th Mapleton City has its own funny little Pioneer Day parade, which the children got to participate in on the 5th ward's primary's little float.

For the last week of July, Mark and I (sans children, who spent those days with grandma) drove down to Brian Head and Cedar City for a 4-day getaway. On the way we did a little jeeping on a trail through Fish Lake National Forest, between Elsinore and Kanosh. There was a lovely aspen forest we drove through (in the rain) that felt almost ethereal.

We saw Much Ado About Nothing that evening at the Cedar City Shakespeare Festival. The next day we went to Cedar Breaks and did the hike there.

Then that evening we went to see The Merchant of Venice. The next day we were going to go mountain biking, but it was rainy and gloomy all day. Instead we jeeped a little trail to the top of Brian Head Peak, and then went in to Cedar City for a little shopping (bought books for the children), ice cream (ummm Maggie Moo's red velvet cake with brownies...), and watched Inception (go see it if you haven't already).

The funny little building at the summit.

Nice view, eh? (Ahem, I meant the OTHER mountains...)

And that's what happened in July. What's planned for August? A trip to Park City outlets for some school shopping. Father/Son's campout. Various church activities. Then, SCHOOL (horray!).

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Update

07/11/10

I can't believe it's already been a month since I last posted. This summer has been crazy busy with visiting grandmas, going to movies, playing with friends, and lots of other fun things going on around here. When I get the chance I'll post some pictures.

But the big news right now is that the Orem house is now under contract and should be sold by the end of July! It's a couple moving from out of town who want to live in the Orem High area and have six kids! They're really serious about buying the house, so we have our fingers crossed that it will work out!

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Camping at Payson Lake

06/12/10

Our pleasant little camp spot. The weather was beautiful the whole time and the bugs were minimal.

Gathering firewood.

So excited about the campfire.

Enjoying s'mores.

Roasting Starbursts. Yes, you read that right. For some strange reason they had a grand ol' time turning these into warm mushy globs.

Hanging out in the tent.

One of the brazen squirrels and chipmunks who sorted through our stuff. We kept the food out of the way, but they still chewed through the thin plastic wrapping of the paper plates and plastic cups. They'd practically come right up to our feet as we ate dinner, begging for a handout.

Mark and the boys heading out on Payson Lake. We spent Thursday afternoon here. It was lovely weather, not hot at all. I still got a pretty good sunburn anyway, but it was a nice day. There's a paved trail all the way around the lake that was an easy walk covered by trees.

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Book Review Goodness

06/18/10

So back in May I entered a contest over at the blog Elitist Book Reviews. I had been writing reviews for The Time Waster's Guide for a while, but the forum readers are different than they were even a few years ago. It used to be that the forum members would discuss books, but not so much anymore. As a result, there wasn't much point in writing reviews anymore if people don't care enough to read them.

Well, I was accepted on to the Elitist review team, which I'm really excited about. I'll be reviewing books I read anyway, plus the added bonus of reading ARCs, which are advance review copies publicists send out for free!

Here's my winning entry, and first posting on the blog. As I post new reviews on the blog, I'll make sure to let y'all know, too.

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Oooh! Fancy. You did amazing things with the old sewing machine so I can scarce imagine what you'll be able to do now that you have this beauty! -Sarah Bylund, Jan 2, 3:11 pm ____________________________________ Are those...Krispy Kremes? -Casey, Nov 7, 12:35 pm ____________________________________ Is Amber super tall or what? -Carrie Snider, Sep 5, 9:09 pm ____________________________________ Nessa, I'm so jealous that you got LASIK! And the BBQ w/ Mark's co-workers sounds great. You had a busy summer! -Sarah Bylund, Sep 5, 5:41 pm ____________________________________ What a great picture of your kids! -Patty K., Sep 3, 8:55 pm ____________________________________ We could probably find a picture from every July Fourth that looks about like that. -Casey, Aug 24, 2:07 pm ____________________________________ Wheel line art! I love it! Those aspens are beyond amazing. -Carrie, Aug 1, 12:59 am ____________________________________ WAIT A SECOND. I just watched Indy Jones and the Last Crusade today, and one of the arch pictures looks a lot like where they were in the beginning of the movie. -Casey, Jul 24, 12:40 pm ____________________________________ I loved the review! You're a talented writer, you know. I'll be looking forward to reading more of them! -Aunt Raylene, Jun 21, 9:05 am ____________________________________ Awesome job!!! Love all your craftiness!! -Amy C., Jun 12, 8:19 pm ____________________________________ That chair does look comfy!!! -Carrie, Jun 8, 9:43 pm ____________________________________ Ohhh I bet Carter loves that!!! -Carrie, May 14, 2:03 am ____________________________________ We'll be able to see all the cool stuff you're doing.....someday.... -Casey, Apr 24, 1:56 pm ____________________________________ Wow! You just breathed new life into that old table. That is soooo cute. :) -Carrie, Apr 18, 5:21 pm ____________________________________ I love the desk and chair. Amber's room is looking good, too. She will have to take some pictures to put in it. The begonia looks great! Mine look terrible! I'm going to have to dig them out and repot them. -Patty K., Apr 16, 5:24 pm ____________________________________ Ohhh the chair turned out great!!!! -Carrie, Apr 12, 1:12 am ____________________________________ You finally got your new kitchen! Wonderful! -Patty K., Apr 1, 4:43 pm ____________________________________ Where's the pictures of Amber's room and the Master Bedroom?? -Aunt Raylene, Apr 1, 4:08 pm ____________________________________ The other Vanessa Christenson does seem to have a lot in common with you! But her site has no pictures of my grandchildren. I have two curly willow trees, if you want me to root a piece of it for your empty new garden, let me know. -Mom Kennington, Mar 8, 9:16 am ____________________________________ A complete lifestyle change! And you're moving! It's the new Vanessa. -Casey, Mar 5, 1:47 pm ____________________________________ That is awesome, avoiding drugs is a good thing if you can. What is it with you guys? Seems like Vanessa, Conrad, & Casey have the weird ailments. At least Jeffrey and I are safe-- for now. -Carrie, Mar 1, 3:31 am ____________________________________ If you want a new blog, go with wordpress. You can keep your domain name and I can host it if you want. -Casey, Feb 23, 2:52 am ____________________________________ Carter is SEVEN? Oh, and nice about the house. -Casey, Feb 23, 2:50 am ____________________________________ Wow I just wipped drool off my face. The cake and the house look amazing! You deserve that house, I hope everything works out for you. I can't wait to see it in person, hopefully in the not too distant future. -Brielle, Feb 17, 9:18 am ____________________________________ Congratulations! This is wonderful news. Sounds like a better deal than the original. Even with just a 3-car garage, I'm sure I could find a corner to live in. Maybe in the 4th bathroom. -Mom Kennington, Feb 10, 4:35 pm ____________________________________ 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.