Summer

Beware this is a catch up post but I promise lots of pics.

Where did June go? Seriously, we have been so busy here that I think what have we done this summer and then I look back and think well we have done some stuff. Just not as much fun stuff as I wish. I am ready for the vacation part of vacation.

What we have been up to.

Isaac is working hard for his Dad most mornings. He has a lot of money to earn. His complete apathy has disappeared and now we have all these things to save money for. His newest hobby -- archery. He loves it. His coaches love him and now he wants a recurve bow -- which is not cheap. He also wants to do the fall Playmakers program at Utah Shakespeare Festival and we are saving for that. He also needs a new violin. So we are keeping him busy.

So is Scouts. They are out hiking or camping almost every week. He just got called to be secretary in the deacons quorum at Church - which means he has to be organized. bwahahaha! He did get to carry the Utah flag for the colorgaurd in the 4th of July parade. Which was a great honor since our 222 soldiers usually do that but they have been deployed. So our scout troop got to do it.

Yep he walked a mile like that.

He was sore at the end.

I am really excited to have a new nephew named Aiden Hughes. We are excited for a new boy in the family. OK Isaac is really excited for a new boy in the family.

I keep forgetting my camera when I see him. But he is such a cutie.

We spent some time with Tom's sister Libby and her kids. Lots of trampoline jumping, smores and some time in the park.

Tom turned 41 and we had a really fun 4th of July

Parades, awesome food, and great fireworks that included our first arials. They were at least 150 feet in the air.

The rest of our Summer has been busy. Lia started piano and took swimming, Becca has taken art classes and Isaac is always hanging out with friends. We have had very few moments when we have had a day where we are all together at the same time.

The girls and I did get to see Little Mermaid in Tuacahn. Tuacahn Theater is amazing and the special effects on this musical were pretty amazing. My girls loved it! It was like a night in Disneyland while hanging out in the desert.

We finally had a day where we could all be together and take a day trip. We decided to go on this art hike at Cedar Breaks. You hike a short ways up the Cedar Breaks rim trail with a group and an artist. The artist then shows and teaches you how to paint on location. It was actually really cool. There were some other great artists there and so we got to see several artists bust out some serious art in two hours. We watched for a while and  the kids and I even sat and sketched and then we decided to take our lunches and hike to the lookout point.

Is this tree awesome or what?

 It was a beautiful hike. Tom Isaac and I were in heaven. The girls not so much. They don't love hiking especially when they got a little banged up.

But then we headed to Navajo Lake and it was like Rebecca's whole attitude changed. The moment she saw water she was happy to be outside again.

It was also wildflower time on the mountain. Look at all these purple wildflowers. I think this is my next painting.

Few more weeks left for some adventures.

Birthdays

The last week of May is always a little crazy for our family. Isaac and Lia have birthdays right next to each other.

This year Lia turned six which means come Fall all my kids will be in school all day. So wierd. But although Lia is getting bigger she is still fun at her birthdays. It is still fun to buy her presents because she still loves all things girly and imaginary. We had a family day on her birthday which included roasting marshmallows around the fire pit and opening presents. We also did Isaac's birthday cake that night since he was going to go to some school event the next night for his birthdahy. The following Saturday she had her birthday party at Maggie Moos ( an awesome party deal).

Lia loves Fairies. She got this fairy house for her fairy garden

Sticky smores. Don't ever buy the gigantic marshmallows. They are a pain to eat.

She is so giddy to be roasting marshmallows.

Lia wanted a fairy cake at her birthday party. I tried. I even made cakeballs for the mushrooms. She loved it even I if it did not meet all my expectations.

Lia dressed as Silvermist fairy making her own icecream at the Maggie Moos party.

Cute little fairies.

 Lia and her best pal Becca after the party.

Lia got a cheerleading outfit with a matching outfit for her doll for her birthday. The girl is almost always in dress-ups.

Birthday #2

Isaac turns 13.

 Isaac ushered in his first year as a teenager in typical teenager fashion. I asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner, what he wanted to do for his birthday, what presents he wanted. His answer. "I don't know or I don't care." He only cared about spending time with friends and we were lucky enough to get him to go out to dinner with us. He ended up getting a desk which he is really excited about and the lego video game for Pirates of the Caribbean. He loves to play these lego Wii games with his Dad.

We did celebrate cake with him on the night before his birthday.





Isaac kind of celebrated his birthday on Lia's b-day. These two boys are ALWAYS at my house. I have even started planning extra food for dinner every night. I feed one of them at least a couple times a week. They roasted marshmallows with us.

Music Ends the School Year

It's been a little musical around here lately. It's obvious to me how much music is a part of our lives when we spend a week like the last week -- bouncing from one musical event to the next. The truth is I love music, even if I am no musician myself. I am grateful that my kids and husband have these opportunities to increase their talents.

The rest of this post may bore you to tears unless you are family.

It all started:
Last Thursday and Friday Isaac played one of the lead roles in his middle school play. He was the 1950s greaser rocker that also happened to be the mean popular guy. He actually did great and surprised us all with his solo. I thought maybe he had a 2 second solo but he sang for a good couple minutes. And he was good. I only wish that I had more than my recording on my phone which turned out awful. Because he kind of shocked me with how good he was.

We did get a post play photo of him in character.

Last Friday Lia had her final kindergarten festival. Cute little singer. She loves to sing. And was so excited to sing for her Dad and me.

This Friday night Isaac helped wow us again in his end of year Pops concert. Turns out he had a violin duet in one of the orchestra songs. The orchestra did a really great job and I am equally proud of my sister in law who directs the orchestra at Isaac's school. I was, however, mortified by the awful audience. I have never been in an audience where everyone including the adults are so loud, obnoxious and downright rude. There were moments I could barely hear the orchestra who had practiced really hard. I was sitting on the second row. But the orchestra and band did great and Isaac got to use his growing violin skills.
I have a video of one of the songs but youtube is taking forever to download them from my laptop.
will add soon.

Saturday was Becca's turn as she played her piano piece at her recital.
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This is the best she ever played this piece.  Up until right before she played it she was making mistakes and forgetting portions of the song. Fortunately, she has the gift of serious grace under fire. Isaac had been working on learning "Old Time Rock and Roll" but it was not ready in time for the recital

Saturday night Tom's band, now called Spilbeedog, had a gig which I missed due to a nasty migraine. But no worries, Sunday I got to see Tom conduct the choir at church -- his new calling. And that was seriously kind of cool. He seems to be a little overwhelmed by this new calling but the choir sounded great and I am grateful he has a chance to stretch his musical skills in a spiritual direction.

As you can see we get a little musical around here from time to time.

Now for a thought that is seriously off topic. I need to unload my thoughts on this whole Rapture business that people were awaiting yesterday. So on May 21st a preacher had calculated that this was the day Christ would return and that the end of the world would begin. K?!

Now I give serious props to people that exhibit any kind of faith. I think it is incredible that people truly acted on their belief that this was the day the Rapture would begin.

That said, I take serious issue with the fact that one man can run mathematic calculations and then basically announce to the world and God Himself that this is the day this is supposed to happen. I believe that Christ will come on his and God's timetable. They will not be told by man which day they should come. We must have faith that any day and every day is the day we need to be preparing to meet our Savior.

Cooking Classes

We interrupt this blog for a little self promotion.

My magazine is co-hosting a Cook and Taste Event May 12, 13 ,14. This is our second cooking class event. It is a blast and we have an amazing line up of classes. This time I even helping to teach one.

SO -- If you live in Southern Utah you have a week and half to sign up for one of these amazing courses.
Hint: I am helping with the Pie class. You know how I love to make pie.

photo courtesy of Chef Imi Kun

It is time to dine and cook and taste with some of Southern Utah's best chefs and cooks at the second Cook and Taste event.


Artful Edibles and Alive! Utah have teamed up again to bring you this fantastic culinary event and cooking classes.

Find out more about the event:

MAY 12, 13, 14

Culinary classes, dining and demos.

Located at

2313 West Highway 56, Cedar City

Register at

                                                             http://events.aliveutah.com/

Thursday May 12th
Cheesemaking With Heather Carter
Time: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $45

Learn the basics of cheesemaking in this course with cheesemaker Heather Carter, owner of Nature Hill Farms. Learn how to make homemade cottage cheese, queso blanco and panir cheeses in your own kitchen.

Friday May 13th
Perfect Pies
Time: 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Cost: $40

Become a pie pro with this sweet class taught by Amani Kaminski of Artful Edibles and Rachelle Hughes from Alive! Utah. Learn pie crust techniques and tips for pastry crusts, tarts and gluten-free nut crusts. Amani will show how to make Mango Custard pie, Chocolate Silk Pie (from scratch -- no pudding) and some tasty handheld pies. Rachelle will share her secrets for a caramel and crumb topped apple pie as well as some of her favorite tarts.
Supplies Needed: Please bring your own rolling pin.

Thai Essentials
Time: 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Cost: $40
Explore the flavors that make Thai food unique in asian culture. This course will be geared toward learning about essential herbs, sauces that you can use to create Thai meals at home from scratch.
Learn how to make these authentic Thai dishes:
Seafood Noodle Bundles
-Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce
-Stirfry of Beef with Roasted Chili Paste and Thai Basil
-Green Curry of Chicken and Thai Basil (making the paste from scratch)

The teacher, Rebekah Hughes is an Australian native who grew up cooking and eating Thai food.

Romancing the Plate -- Date Night Dine & Demo
Time: 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Cost: $50 per couple or $30 per person
A romantic date night with food that will tantalize the taste buds . Chef Paul of Garden House demonstrates an easy romantic dinner for two. Come alone and learn to make a romantic meal for your loved one or get a discount and come as a couple to dine on a four course meal you will learn how to make yourself.
Dinner, a date, a culinary adventure
The Menu:
Appetizer: Crab topped deviled eggs
First Course: Ceasar salad
Main Dish: Pasta pomodoro with lamb meatballs
Dessert: Straberrymisu

Saturday May 14th
Soup Secrets with Jeff Gayson
Time: 9-11 a.m.
Cost: $40
Jeff Gayson's soups served at the Garden House in Cedar City are famously delicious. Creamy and comforting or spicy and delectable, they are a Cedar City favorite. During this class Chef Gayson will teach one of his favorite cream based soups and one of his broth based soups. You will also learn basic soup techniques so you can make delicious soups throughout the year.

Chef Imi of Orchids Demo and Tasting
Time: 12:00 to 1:30
Cost: $20
Enjoy an entertaining culinary event for lunch. Come watch Chef Imi of Orchids restaraunt in St. George demonstrate how to cook one of his signature dishes, King Crab Puttanesca.

You may register and pay online for any of these courses up until May 8th. Space is limited so book your spot now at the link below.
http://events.aliveutah.com/

We also take payment and registration at Artful Edibles located at 2313 West Highway 56 in Cedar City. Hours 8am to 2pm Monday thru Friday, after hours by appointment. Contact Amani at 435-559-2330 or Sandi at 435-590-7101.

Spring Break

We had a great spring break even if now I am just plain tuckered out. I kept the kids busy and eventhough I spent two days in a migraine fog, it turned out to be a great 5 of days.

Monday my kids begged me to take them to the aqautic center. Now I will admit I am not a huge lover of spending hours at the pool - I am no fish, dolphin or duck personality. And the thought of spending hours following Lia around because they won't let kids under 6 be alone in even the ankle deep water without a parent right next to them makes me cringe.

Well Lia is one month from 6. Her almost 13 year old brother was going to be there and her nine year old sister who does happen to be a fish and has better swimming skills than me since her stint on the SUU junior swim team was going to be there.

So I begged the pool to let Lia have the pass for six year olds (begged.) and they agreed and Becca and her two 10 year old friends took Lia everywhere and played with her the whole time. I would have given Becca anything she asked for after our 3 hours at the pool. She was so great. I went in the pool a couple times. It was awesome. My kids had a blast and were plum tuckered out. I got to visit with a friend I had not seen in a while.

Later that night I took the girls out for a little Easter dress shopping and we got these two cute new outfits for a steal. I love Down East outfitters.

I wonder if they know I secretly matched their outfit colors like I did in the old days when they were little.

Day 2 dawned with a migraine but Tom was taking off work so we could spend the afternoon in Zion hiking and in St. George. I decided to tough it out and I am glad I did. The Emerald Pool hike in Spring is beautiful even if it is very muddy. I mean who doesn't dream of walking right underneath a waterfall.

Becca ( my not outside girl complained the whole time we were hiking that her feet hurt and that she was tired) Frankly, I was having a hard time buying it. She exercises more than anyone in the family at Crossfit kids 3 times a week and she had just swam for 3 hours the day before. She just doesn't love the great outdoors. But even she liked the waterfalls.

Lia and I stop for a break at the lower pools while the rest of the family travels to higher ground -- The Middle pools

There they are, way above us.

This picture cracks me up. Sometimes 12 year olds just have dumb looks on their face. Especially when I tell him he has been caught with contraband from the park. He was whittling away at this stick.

After our trip into Zion we did a Costco run and Kohls run.

Becca and Isaac were in desperate need of pants. And they do not carry pants for tween sizes in Cedar City. Can I just say I am so proud of Tom. I sent him off with Isaac and told him to get a good deal on jeans. He did much better than expected and found picky Isaac a $15 pair of Tony Hawk jeans.

Friday was coloring eggs day. And try to get rid of the migraine day. Because I had a big night out planned. Tom's band, which is newly dubbed Spilbeedogs, played at Taodz, the local bar/entertainment venue in Cedar. We went out to dinner with the band and band wives and then at 9 p.m. we headed to Toadz. the guys sounded great. A ton of our friends (or roadies as we call them) showed up and it was a blast. My headache even went away and I got up and did a little dancing.

Saturday the Easter bunny came. There was an Easter egg hunt.

 I cleaned, gardened, shopped and prepped Easter dinner.

Oh and prepared a last minute lesson for Lia's Sunday school class which I got asked to teach while preparing dinner.

Easter

Can I just say I love Easter. I love the hope that it reminds me that I have. And that I do indeed live a life based on faith that my savior died for me and was resurrected. While at times my testimony has wavered a liitle. I do have faith in my Savior and the resurrection and I do live my life propelled by this faith.What a beautiful reminder this day is. All week we have been reading a passage from the scriptures of what happened on the days leading up to the resurrection. It has really been a great week. I got to top it off by cooking for family. I love to cook for people. I made a tasty roast leg of lamb, (some rolls which were OK but mostly an experiment), and a very yummy dessert of angel food cake with lemon whip cream filling, berry topping and all in chocolate bowls I made with my kids on Saturday. My mother in law made some tasty potato salad and asparagus to go along with the meal.

It really was an amzing week. And tomorrow we head back to school and work.

A Little Lost

Sunsets remind me of my husband. I know it's mushy. I know. But he really likes sunset. He always takes photos of the really great ones.

And so I am missing my husband. When I was dating Tom at BYU he graduated and left for Arizona to finish his Masters. I have never felt so lost in my life. I wandered from one day to the next, I was listless unfocused and kind of unhappy. For the first time in my life this independent gal felt as if I had lost part of myself. I didn't know what to do with that feeling. It was a weird thing for me.

The last couple of weeks I have felt listless, unmotivated, lost. I have not known what to do with myself. None of my favorite things hold the same fascination for me. I seriously feel as if I am wandering aimlessly from one day to the next.

I was starting to worry. What is wrong with me I thought. Am I depressed? Am I having a midlife crisis, Do I need to change something in my life? And then I realized -- I am just missing Tom. Tax season is hard. Sometimes I forget how hard because hey, this is what we do. Just like other people have their busy seasons this is ours. I always think hey I am one independent gal and I will get through this. But man am I glad we have less than a week left. Because somehow I can't motivate myself to be independent when I barely see the man that is my other half. He motivates me to be me without words -- just simply by being around me, whether that is through moments of love, frustrations or peace.

Can't wait for new sunset sightings in our future. I guess I am just happy to know that I still can't live without that guy.

In Like A Lion

Remember that old saying that says something like March comes in like a lion. Well March was one big roaring lion for me. ROARING. I have actually started to shut down a little the past couple weeks because well I can't do it all, although obviously some part of me thinks I can.

It is tax season and that means Tom is unavailable. He came home at midnight last night and that is pretty par for the course for the next few weeks. Although last Friday he was awesome enough to come home early from work so he could play with his kids. We went bowling and out to ice cream -- it was a dream. I am holding onto the dream for a couple more weeks.

Isaac's life is literally insane which means my life is insane. Within a week's span he has had a violin performance with the choir in church, an advanced orchestra concert, 8 play performances for Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat and a speech to give. He was voted by his classmates to give his speech tomorrow at some speech event at his school. He is giving it 15 minutes before he has to be across town at one of his play performances. On top of that he has 3 of his major scout badges he is working on this month.

I am ridiculously proud of him although he probably does not know it because this is how I have responded to a couple things he said to me this month.

"Mom. I want to try out for the school play."
"Really. And when do you plan on fitting that into your schedule. No Isaac you and I are not saying yes to one more thing this month. Not one."

Tonight. "Mom. Maybe I will just skip college and be in a band."
Me (freaking out) "What? how are you going to support a family. (and on and on and on) poor kid he was probably just a feeling a tad overwhelmed and like he wanted to escape for a moment. I know the feeling kiddo is what I should have said.

On top of all this I have had a full plate of my own activities and teacher conferences and chauffering, etc. But with all the hullabaloo. There have been moments of peace and joy. Like watching the bulbs send green shoots up through the ground despite the random snow storms and roaring lion like wind. Spring is coming. We will survive.
And thanks to my girls who came and had a st. Paddy's Day lunch. You made my whole month.