A Few Gems

Here are a few photo gems that I needed to post:

Beau and Marianne took advantage of a 70% off sale at JoAnn's to buy and make fleece blankets. I helped just a little. I love this pic of Marianne. How can she be so little and so big at the same time?

We had a few super warm, nice days, so I decided to start running again. On that day, it snowed. Bekah told me that morning that it was going to snow later in the day. Even though my run was cold, I laughed her off saying there was no way. And then I spent the rest of the snowy day wondering how badly she was going to rub it in my face when I got home. (Surprisingly not as bad as I thought...)

This is Beau's art folder. Take just a minute to really look at it. Cheeky. Wearing an apron. Holding a paintbrush. Painting a picture. Enough said.

 Marianne has a good little friend, Amira. Amira's grandma (she calls her Gigi), lives across the street from me, and every few weeks we hang out. This is the cool fort Marianne and Amira built when we went to Explora.

 Another picture from Explora.

 We celebrated leap day by making a time capsule! We all wrote about what we did that day, our favorite movies, current events, etc. Each of the kids picked one thing to put in it, and I took this picture of us to put in it as well.

 Then we buried it in the backyard!

Jacob the Archer

Jacob joined the archery team at his elementary school back in the fall. After winter break he tried out for the team that would actually compete at the NASP competition, National Archery in Schools Program, put on by the national park service. He made the team and practiced every week at the school. In mid-March I put on a lunch for all of the archers and got a little carried away with the whole "bow and arrow" theme:

 My sister made fun of me about the cookies. But they tasted good and the kids loved them, so there.
On the day of the competition we took Jacob to the Albuquerque Convention Center. Rus and I were impressed with how efficiently the national park people ran the whole thing. Jacob did okay - we learned that he liked to shoot from the hip, reflexively, instead of taking his time and aiming. He learned, I hope, that aiming produces better results. Aw, Marianne is picking her nose.

 Here he is with part of his team. His PE coach is on the left - she is the best PE teacher I have ever met. One of the kid's moms volunteered her time to coach the kids - she is a saint as well.

I am happy that Jacob can do it again next year and have the chance to improve. (It's a fourth and fifth grade program.) If for no other reason, I think he'd do it again for the t-shirt!

Epic Stained Glass Project

I would have never dreamed that I would be doing a massive 200+ piece, 3 window stained glass project this last fall/winter. But Heavenly Father knew I needed something, and my friend Melanie was inspired to ask me to fill three windows in her home with a mountain/barn/cow scene out of stained glass. The project began with a little sketch that, with Melanie's approval, expanded to a full size pattern...

 And it wasn't too long before the pattern was coming alive with actual glass. I turned our attached storage room into a workshop and spent many, many happy and productive hours working there. This first window had around 95 pieces. I LOVE the red glass, how it pops.

 The kids were so excited to see this come together that they actually hung out with me and helped for a while. After I cut and ground each piece of glass, they would take off the pattern paper, dry off the glass, place it in the appropriate space and write the correct number on it. The boys especially were great helpers.

 I admit I was incredibly nervous about installing the piece once it was finished. To install stained glass, you just put it in front of the existing glass and then put trim around it to keep it in place. But my three windows were way up high and I was SO worried that I would drop the glass, or accidentally shoot a nail through it and shatter it. My dad was willing to be my installation expert, so we went together to Melanie's around the first of November and had it up in under an hour. I was so relieved when nothing went wrong.

 The second, or middle window was much simpler. It only contained about 36 pieces and they were all much bigger - no little barn or truck or cow pieces to mess with. We installed it at the beginning of December.

 The third window had around 95 pieces like the first one. But it had a few pieces that were more complex to cut. For example the green piece between the two legs of the cow on the left was my fifth try. The other four pieces cracked when I tried to cut that curve. Good thing it was a small piece.

 At the beginning of February we installed the final window! It was an exhilarating moment when they were all in place and Melanie turned on the light behind them so I could see how they lit up. It felt amazing.

Now that Melanie has turned me into a stained glass artist I am excited to fill more windows with colored light! It is a blessing to be able to create.

Lindsey and Keri Ride Again

Lindsey and I have a wonderful history of spending Valentine's day together. She has flown to see me, I have flown to see her, and Valentine's day has grown to be a holiday where we celebrate our friendship. This year I was able to go see her, although not exactly on V-day but a couple of weeks later.

Look how gorgeous this girl is! (Yes, we were at Victoria Secret bra shopping.)

 This trip was fun because LINDSEY IS PREGNANT!! She is due in July and just barely has a little belly that is oh so beautiful. She found out just before I got there that it's a BOY and his name will be Dean after Adam's grandfather (right?) We talked a lot about Dean. And we bought him the cutest little trendy clothes you've ever seen. BOW TIES! I love bow ties on onesies!
We shopped a little, ate the BEST sushi I've had in a long time [okay I just have to describe one - it was white rice wrapped in rice paper, with salmon, cream cheese, and a tiny piece of lemon peel in the center. Then it was topped with a mango raspberry salsa. Explosion in my mouth.] We went to an amazing BYU-I acapella choir reunion concert, made jewelry, shopped at a huge antique/furniture store, visited Porter's (crafter's heaven!), ate ice cream, went to stake conference, slept in...I made her crepes and muffins and soup...

One super fun thing we did was we went house hunting! Lindsey and Adam are looking for a home in the Rexburg area and so Lindsey had her realtor (realtors in rural Idaho look like good ol' boys in their ropers and ball caps) line up six different homes for us to check out. It was fantastic! Three of the homes were built in the 50-60's and they had more charm and quirks than any modern home. The basements were my favorite. And the authentic, working "bum-shaker" in one of the master bedrooms took the cake. I learned that sheds don't have to go in the corner of the yard, and Canadians make good, efficient, clean "preppers".
And we visited my Grandma Ball and my aunt Nancy and uncle Mike. Grandma is ninety and lately she's been having some physical difficulties - a broken shoulder, carpal tunnel surgery, bruising herself on my dad's truck - but she is so alert and bright and I love hearing her stories. Nancy convinced us to stay for lunch, which was delicious taco soup, and Lindsey fit in like another grandchild/niece. Mike serves on a bishopric for one of the university wards, and he quickly made sure Lindsey knew she could call him if she ever needs anything. Nancy gave Lindsey a referral for an acupuncturist. I love family who takes you in and warms you even if they rarely see you!

We took this picture together at Porter's because it was totally true...

 And we laughed at Lindsey's hand placement...

Most of all we talked. And talked and talked. It was wonderfully soul-soothing to be together, laugh, cry, and laugh some more. I love this gal.
Lindsey, I'd have that day with you again.

Home Sweet Home Chickens!

I realized I hadn't posted an update of our chicken coop in action. 

Our chickens were born on the 25th of January and they arrived at our post office in a little box on January 28th. I got a call from the post office and while the man was telling me that my box had arrived, what I really was listening to was the chirping in the background. When I went to pick up the box I sort of skipped the line and went to the front asking if I could pick up my chicks. He said, "oh, the birds are yours!" and went to get them. He returned with a 8"x12"x12" box that was loudly chirping! I even got an "aw, how cute!" from someone waiting in line!

Twenty four little chicks in a tiny box, all huddled in one corner.

 

Nine of these are ours, the rest were split between Jake and Carla. We put them in a little tote-turned brooder box and let them take over a corner of our lives for about 5 weeks. They chirp all the time and are messy, stinky little animals. 

Rus had a great idea the first week we had them to let them out and hold them so they could "get used to us." He gave one to each of the kids and had them sit on the rug...and in under 5 seconds they had all pooped somewhere. Put them back, put them back!!

We didn't do that again. I know where the phrase "chicken" comes from - it seems completely bred into them to be skittish and, well, chicken, and it didn't seem to matter that we kept them in close proximity for weeks, they still run away when we come close.

And maybe I can understand their fear, after all Marianne is not the gentlest handler... 

 So here they are in their home-sweet-home! The kids are getting used to the added daily chore of opening the coop and feeding/watering the chickens. They should start laying eggs this summer, which will be SUPER exciting!

Miniature Armchair Production Services Inc.

Tell me, honestly, of anyone else you know who will volunteer to make 40 centerpieces for a human resource conference. Not just any centerpieces, but wooden arm chairs! Amy is just such a person, and I think she volunteered her idea and services because she knew she had a crew who could help make it happen. She drove over from Flagstaff a few weeks ago with Luke, Mikey, and Leo and we went to work in my dad's shop cutting and assembling the chairs. We were pretty dang good at it too!

 Why is everything so much cuter in miniature?

 I know they aren't in the picture (why?!) but Luke and Mikey had just enough time at my house to help my kids make this fort. It may lean and look incredibly unstable, but I was nonetheless impressed at their creativity!

It was especially fun to get to hug and play with Leo, he is growing so fast! I love Amy - she always makes life fun with her big ideas and sense of humor.

Hoverboards and Pet Experimentation

Jacob lucked out this year finding a science project that really interested him - HOVERBOARDS! Well maybe it is technically a little outside the definition of a true hoverboard, but still...

For his experiment he made three different sized boards - 16", 20", and 24". He put a hole in each board for the shop vac to attach, and attached a shower curtain with staples to create an air chamber when inflated. Then he tested each board with buckets full of rocks to see how much weight each could hold and still hover. His largest board held 113 pounds! He could even ride on it!

 Here he is cutting out one of his boards (with a little help).

 Beau decided to involve Cheeky in his science project. He fed him food in three colors - green, red, and orange, and then observed to see which color he preferred. He did this over a week and found that Cheeky really liked green food the best! And whatever food was placed on the left. But still he ate the most green no matter where it was.

 I really have grown to love the science fair, despite the tediousness of putting together boards and assimilating results...It is fun to work on projects like this with my kids and see them gain an elementary understanding of big concepts. (I learn a lot too!)