super fun ride

i got a great ride in today, 54 miles. the ride was organized by jerry warren, for his 60th birthday. let me tell you...if i can come anywhere near moving like he does at 60 when i'm that age then i'll be very, very happy. (thanks for inviting me to your ride/party)
the group consisted of ski folks from all over the wasatch mountains, family and friends. about half of the group pictured here rode a century- 100 miles. the second half of the ride was going to be up mt. nebo, i decided...another day for me. i haven't ridden enough this year to do anything but look and feel awful on a climb like that.
we left from springville, went out and around west mountain, stopped for snacks in payson and split up there- to finish out our 50 or 100 miles. it was super windy off and on, mostly a crazy head wind but when your in a big group the wind matters a lot less, and I appreciated that today. it was such good fun.

too many puppies...

our friend's siberian husky had puppies, we just couldn't help ourselves- we had to visit and snuzzle those little fur balls. under any other circumstances, this would have been torture to visit puppies when you know you won't be taking one home, but with our europe trip just a week away, the kids didn't bother begging to take one home.
we have promised the kids a dog when we get back in august. unfortunately it won't be a siberian husky. enzo, our siberian husky, our first born, doggie love of our lives, "prince of dogness" died two years ago this memorial day weekend. we had him for ten years. we loved everything about him except his super-naughty won't come when he's called, get out of any fence situation doggie nature. steve o says- no more siberian huskies. while i can see where he is coming from, there is still something in me that might be tempted to own another one.
maia, the puppy whisperer...

there were 6 in the litter, two with blue eyes, two with brown, and two puppies with one blue one brown eye.


enzo, doggie supermodel. sorry, this is a picture of a picture, but you get the idea.

sexy apron

i just made this apron for my mother-in-law, a belated mother's day gift.
my own mother got an apron with a tamer print, and i'm pretty sure that's ok with her :)
i'm sure jan (my mother-in-law) will love it, it's right up her alley. she's even at their beach house right now, so she can show it off to all her neighbors. hopefully they'll all appreciate the fabric as much as i do.

camp noelle

saturday was perhaps, the perfect day. steve o and often discuss what a day at "our" camp would be like, what combination of activities would we choose for those involved our camp to take part in to make it the best-ever day, in our opinion of course. we like to dream about and organize a day full of our favorite foods and activities. "camp noelle" would go like this:
1. sleep in, just a little bit
2. leisurely breakfast- grapefruit, strawberries and some yummy cereal
3. a bit of yard work, to keep the place looking nice (don't forget i'm a gal who likes to get things done)
4. lunch- kashi pilaf mixed with grape tomatoes, avocados and tuna,- super delicious
5. a mountain bike ride all afternoon with my ladies, at sundance, lots of splendid single track
6. major pool party in the backyard, with every blow up water toy we own, and i think- a few borrowed from the neighbors
7. dinner, yummy thai food with my lovely spouse
8. and even a movie- year of the dog (pretty good, a bit wacky, but that's how we like 'em)
9. baskin robbins- chocolate and peanut butter ice cream...or a chocolate malt
10. some tivoed SNL
so that's how my saturday went down. i loved every minute of it, but especially the part about the mountain bike ride. it was just about the perfect day.

lex, kipper and me, on archie's loop


the major pool party...
as well as having the blow-up pool out, two large blow-up rafts were also necessary- i suppose. this one was the "hot tub". it was made hot by filling up buckets and tubs, (probably bowls and cups too) with hot water from the kitchen sink, then sloshed in numerous trips through the house, across the carpet and finally into the rubber-hot tub-raft. as we know, rules are different when daddies are in charge.

cool fabric

i ran across this fabric a few months ago at a fabulous little fabric store in salt lake city called "a fashion affair". it was like $75 a yard, so i didn't get any, but i did snap this photo for later inspiration or so i can dream about making it into a skirt or apron, or curtains for somewhere in my house.

call your congressman

some of you out there know about our passport problems. i have been freaking out (you can ask my husband-this is no understatement) because our trip is quickly approaching (june 2nd) and our children's passports we applied for in february were still not here.
i am ecstatic, overjoyed, relieved, and moved to tears to announce the passports have finally arrived.
how you ask, did i finally do it? well, here is the special secret trick: in the end i didn't have to lie about our departure dates or drive my entire family to san francisco to pick them up...i called my congressman's office. i gave them all our information, and (barely- without crying) told them of our plight. they got in touch with the passport agency, then told us we would get them by next week. two days later i received them fedex priority overnight on my doorstep. i can't begin to tell you how happy it makes me to have all our passports in my hands. i'm going to call chris cannon's office right now and say thank you from the bottom of my heart.
please pass this information on, calling my congressman certainly helped us get our passports, it could help someone else too.

mr. bubs

our littlest fella just turned three. oh, how the time passes...way too fast that's how.

crew (aka "mr. bubs") requested a yellow truck cake, and here's how it turned out. as you can see- i'm no professional. but, i am very against store bought cake-they look gross and taste gross. i love getting creative (and perhaps a little crazy) when making cakes. i learned it from my mom who always went all out with our custom birthday cake requests. (i was always so impressed when she could pull off the barbie in the dress cake) so, thanks mom for years of custom cake inspiration.
a yellow truck cake?... it's the least i can do for my precious little dreamlet-on his birthday...
as you can see some chubby little, grubby little fingers couldn't wait and I had to scrape off and re-write the end of "happy birthday crew" as best i could, it was still a little smudgy- (that's what i get for not taking a picture right away) but now it's all in our tummies, so it doesn't matter. oooh, and it tasted scrumptious.

rest and relaxation

i have been dying to read this book since the book group read it last month. i picked it up yesterday and just finished it this afternoon. it was very, very good. you can find out more about it here
i'm so glad the beehive bazaar show is finished so i can catch up on so many other things, like reading twilight all day and all night.

the art of happiness

Here is a quote I read in shape magazine today.
"canadian researchers have found that people who engage in the arts on a weekly basis enjoy a stronger sense of community, feel better emotionally, and experience a higher quality of life than those who don't. I think the creative impulse is hardwired in us. So whether it's doing needlepoint, painting a portrait, or playing the trumpet, get out there and indulge in it!"
so folks, get creative!

sew-a-thon

to see more aprons i'm making for the beehive bazaar go here

the art ball

maia in pink, jane in green and blue, quinn in coral, erica in orange


last year i took my oldest daughter quinn to the springville art ball. we went to watch our favorite, best-ever babysitter/nanny erica get crowned art city royalty. quinn has been anticipating the return of this annual event ever since. well...the day finally came. she designed her dress (months ago) and I made it for her. thankfully, the other two gowns i had made previously (for halloween). her little sister maia, and friend jane also donned ball gowns for the evening.
we all had a fabulous time, being mainly an adult evening with very few if any other kids in attendance, the little ladies were truly "the belles of the ball".
i'm sure people...how could you possibly be a gal and pass up the opportunity to put on a ball gown, hoop skirt, up-do, makeup, rhinestones and a tiara?

steve o de mayo

today is the big day... steve o's birthday. here is one of my favorite pictures of my fabulous spouse. steve o is notoriously badly behaved in front of the camera. like when he was in high school and his big brother got married, he wore these big dorky black glasses in every single wedding picture he was in. (in hindsight- very funny) I must interject- he is quite the opposite behind the camera.
so anyway... when you get a great candid photo of him-you have to cherish it. this pic is from back in his day as a cougar when he was breaking all the ladies hearts, just before we met.
i'll save all the sentimental, lovey-dovey stuff for off-line, but I will say...you are the best.
happy birthday, i love you.
i can't wait to spend 2 months in europe with you, (and our offspring, in an rv) not working our guts out.
if you weren't in southern utah shooting a commercial for fuel tv, I'd spank you 43 times.

busy as a bee

i've been sewing when i can fit it in between laundry, dishes, running kids around, getting ready for the trip, paying bills, etc. I'm glad it's next week, so i can finally close up the sweat shop and move along to the thousand other things i need to do. there are not enough hours in the day.

tees

here are some t-shirts i've been making for the beehive bazaar. they are sooo very fun to make, i could make them all night, oh wait i already did...
to see more go here, or maybe i'll get some uploaded into flickr if i get a chance.