Built with their own hands

The ultimate tent:

Built to last (almost a week)
Front and rear entrances
Four spacious rooms
Great crawl space
Intriguing color scheme
360 degree video tour, if you are interested.

by: Jonah, Will, Bridget and Luke (who is not in the photo's because he was the cameraman but he was very much involved)

A (clean) place for everything and everything in it's place

...is what I'm after this month.

My favorite books on the subject are, in this order:

1.
(go to organizedhome.com to find loads of info from this book...one of my favorite things is the household notebook...I love mine)


2.
(go to realsimple.com to find lot's of good tips. This book tells you how to clean everything and how to make the cleaners too; if you feel so inclined)

3.
(this is a serious textbook...hello martha 101! It is a bit overwhelming but I loved the parts I read and I'm sure it has anything you could ever hope to know on the subject)

Confession: I don't own any of these, just checked them out from the library over and over again when I am organizing things. I'm going to order the first one I think. It's over at amazon for 11 something.

We have a cleaning playlist which we turn up really loud and it makes us all get cleaning...with a bit of dancing in between.

(She really is a happy helper)

do you ever...

cut your own bangs? I usually do in between haircuts...just to make one haircut last twice as long. Only problem is when you cut them too short. (I tend to take a bit of the frustration of having them in my face for too long out on them as I cut) This has happened the last two times so I am quickly rethinking my frugal ways.

I always call my sister Jess (who is a hair stylist) for pointers on hair cutting and she gives great tips and moral support.
Me: "Jess, I cut my bangs too short!"
Jess: "Snicker, cough....Well the good thing is short bangs make you look younger!"
Me: "Except for I'm not going for the cute little school-girl look."
Jess: "O.K. you're going to have to hide them till they are a good length; french braiding them over to the side is your best bet."
Me: "Awesome."

So this week my bangs are hidden away.


(In the summer when the kids and Adam went up to the movie at the park -Matilda- I clipped my bangs while waiting for Violet to wake up, strapped her in the bjorn and then headed up to join them on the lawn)

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

A December Saturday;
Breakfast
Baths
ironing clothes
Will falls off his chair when he realizes that a jersey and running pants are not in the wardrobe selection today
Will rolls around crying when he hears those two little words that would make any boy cry..."family pictures"
Bridget gets to wear lipstick, blush and mascara for her dance recital at 11:00am- How the Grinch Stole Christmas
We pack vaseline and wet wipes to take off the makeup before family pictures: she's only 10
Luke is very agreeable- sigh- thank-you Luke!
I pack warm clothes so that we can stop by Temple Square to see the lights after Family Pictures
We get to see Bridget do her ballet dance to "Joy to the World," by Nick Jonas, wearing a beautiful red leotard and tutu!
She dances so beautifully that I cry as I'm filming her
I grab lunchables to feed the hungry crowd (note to self, lunchables are way overrated...don't buy them even when the kids beg for them because they are still hungry after they eat them)
Off to Sandy to take pictures
Jonah runs from every shot and we are not expecting to see a 2 year old boys face in any of the pictures...
We see Luke really smile when Bridget provides a certain 6th grade girl's name...(he'll get you back Bridget)
During Bridget's solo photoshoot in front of the red building a rat, yes a big fat hairy rat, runs along the wall just behind her and she doesn't flinch...
Violet gives her best smile ever to an audience of doting siblings and parents calling her name
Will charms the camera with his easy smile
Adam and I feel like we are taking engagement pictures..we kind of like it
We check out all the animals at the farm after the pictures are done...the favorite being the turkey that yells at us
Will agrees that the family picture time was FUN-imagine that after such an episode on our living room floor this morning
We take our time driving to Salt Lake, meandering through a few neighborhoods, stopping at Deseret Book
We get as close to temple square as we can and park and ride the train the rest of the way
This is the best part of Jonah's day, riding a train
We decide that everyone chose today to see the lights on temple square! We try to get hot chocolate and the line is an hour long! So we wait till we get home.
We enjoy the lights...they are always amazing!
We get all the tired, hungry kids home and fed and curl up to watch a movie together. Cozy. Warm. Mmmm. Yum. We love Christmas!




















Love,
Adam, Julie, Luke (12), Bridget (10), Will (6), Jonah (2) and Violet (9 mo)

Utah Autumn Evening

A beautiful evening walk around Silver Lake, at Brighton Ski Resort. Adam's parents and sisters were in town for their Grandma Packer's birthday celebration, so we spent the evening up Big Cottonwood Canyon. What a beauty overload; sights, smells, feel of the crisp air. Mmmm, I love being in the mountains. Especially when I'm with family! It was a fun night, complete with roasted hot dogs and s'mores.

Poor worms?

Just after the kids went to school Jonah and I needed a diversion, something important to do together. Due to the previous nights rain showers there were worms sprawling all over our street. I decided to introduce Jonah to the scene. I'm sure he doesn't remember seeing a real live worm before! And what do you know, he was very intrigued. I told him that the rain had filled up their homes with water, and now they had to find a new home in the grass. "Uh-huh," he responded to every new fact. We walked from worm to worm, identifying them as Daddy-one, or baby-one. Then Jonah's daddy came out with a bug container and the idea of a worm hunt and Jonah was in! They resqued a big, slimy, juicy(bleh) pile of worms and brought them to our lawn to find homes. Nice job boys, way to save the day for those worms!

Can you multiply?

I found a gem at the local library:



Laugh, if you must, we do, but we love it - everyone is completely mastering the times tables.

Will is going to share the three's song with his first grade class tomorrow,"when the teacher asks if there is anything we want to share"...oh to be a fly on the wall. He is so cute with the rhythm and the way his words whistle because of the space in his mouth where two teeth used to be.