up to my elbows in apples

Today is the best smelling day of the year at my house. The smell of cooked apples is wafting through my house, and I'm reminded once again about the good part of Fall. We're making applesauce. And by "we" I mean, me, with two kids underfoot complaining about this and that. Last year when I did this I had two friends with me, both of whom have since moved away. This was much more fun with them! And as a bonus, they helped clean up the mess when we were done. Something tells me I'm not going to get the same treatment today.

Though I do get an occasional reprieve at the strainer.

I'm using Aconi apples, which makes the applesauce pink!

I looked all over for that strainer (it only gets used once a year) and finally found it in the cupboard where wedding gifts and miscellaneous kitchen accessories go to die. I found all sorts of stuff in there that I forgot I had. A fondue pot!! A perfect pancake maker! A sandwich maker!! (which actually got a lot of use during those first few years of marriage. I guess now I don't feel so good about serving hot pb&j for dinner) Some ceramic oven dish that I don't know how to use! Several chip & dip serving platters!!* And a bib that must have long ago fallen through the drawer above it that says "I ate my first enchilada at the Red Iguana"!! Perhaps I should clear it out and use the space for storage? Maybe there's some lost soul out there struggling to make the perfect pancake (besides me, I mean) that would benefit from me donating that pan. Something to consider, for sure.

And here's how the Ty-guy looked this morning as he took on the brave job of swatting bees in the backyard. Twisted shorts because he put them on himself, green rain boots, a fly swatter, and kid sized gardening gloves to complete the outfit.

Back to work I suppose.

p.s. it's "wear a hat to school" day.

*disclaimer: If you gave me any of these gifts for my wedding, don't be offended. They've all been used, I swear. Also, good memory you've got there!

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

Oh yeah, did I ever show you the 400 and some odd soccer balls Jeremy and I inflated for the soccer season? It beats coaching!

Monday mash-up

Yesterday while on a walk (after a particularly huge dinner-STEAK!) Alexis looked at me and said, "Mom! You are getting a baby in your tummy!!" I told her, no, there's no baby, I just ate a lot of food. To which she replied, "yeah, a lot of french fries" and rolled her eyes at me. In my defense, I have not been eating a lot of french fries. In fact I couldn't even tell you the last time I had french fries. But I'll make no comment about all the other junk I have been eating.

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Somehow life has gotten busy. My definition of busy is probably not your definition of busy. I'm a slow paced person who likes to relax, but there are lots of you out there who make yourselves busier because you don't like to relax. Bravo for you, you'll get more done in a year than I'll get done in a lifetime, but I like my way. Anyway, between school, homework, soccer, work, and church callings, most of our nights last week were spent running around like mad people. I'm hoping this week will be different. All I have written on my calendar for today is "Smith's--use coupon". We'll see if I can manage that. Oh, and I really should vacuum.

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Because life got busy I kind of checked out for a few days. Do you do that? Please tell me I'm not the only one. I did the bare minimum of what I had to do and then wasted a lot of time watching old episodes of Veronica Mars (LOVE that show) on the computer. And I picked my split ends a lot, and I was grumpy and mean, and went to bed late. Then a certain husband said to me, "have you noticed how all your bad habits come out all at once?" Because I love him, and because he's right, I did let him live. But I likely will not forget. And I'm back on track today anyway.

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Tomorrow is fall equinox, people. Do you know what fall means to me? APPLES! Oh the good tasting apples you can get from an orchard! They soothe me as we transition from wonderful weather to the impending doom of snow.

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Also, what good is it being a kid if you can't play in the rain?

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I got up early today, and was reminded of why I haven't been doing it. Somehow Tyler knows when I'm awake and figures he should be too. He got up at 6:45, which is early for him and way too early for me to be around him. I told him it was still nighttime, and he stayed in his room quietly singing to himself until just now (7:30). But now he's sitting on the ground crying and hitting my leg because he wants his pants on, that he peed all over. There's no reasoning with him, and I can tell it's going to be a long day.

Go Lizards!

It's a well known fact that most parents think their children are the greatest kids ever created. I'm no exception to that rule, and I find them highly entertaining. However, I also recognize that not everyone feels the same way about my kids. So while I mainly write about my kids on this blog, I TRY to not gush too much or show you boring videos that only parents and grandparents appreciate. But I will tell you this. If you've never witnessed a soccer game involving four and five year olds, you need to get yourself to one. Find a relative or look one up in your town and go watch--just don't be creepy about it! Because they are hilarious, whether you know the kids playing in them or not.

There's beauty in it for several reasons.
1. There is no such thing as teamwork. It's every man for himself, until the end when your team gathers to cheer for the other.
2. Kids that age still don't have the longest attention spans. And most of them are playing only because their parents signed them up for it. Their disinterest makes it even more entertaining.
3. None of them fit into their uniforms. None of them. And those little shin guards are beyond cute.
4. The coach asks the team, literally every minute, which goal they are going for.
5. Rules are followed only sometimes.
6. The parents aren't crazy competitive and yelling mean things at each other (at least not in my experience).
7. You clap whenever anyone makes a goal, even if they aren't on your team. Even if your child made a goal for the other team. Whatever, you always clap.

At a game a few weeks ago my dad set up his camera and got some really great shots. And remember, while I know watching a live game would be entertaining for everyone, I know looking at 20 different shots of Alexis playing soccer is not as entertaining. So I've narrowed them down, just for you. But please know, it was hard! In case you don't know, she's the shorty with the really blond hair, in a green uniform.

Here she is kicking the ball into her team--who all happen to be behind her. Details.
Here she's defeating all three of her teammates to try and make a goal. Nary an opposing team member in sight.
Ah! There they are! Note the ginormous uniforms. We use safety pins to keep her shorts from falling off.
If you click on this one you can see it bigger and see why I like it. The tongue is always out when she's concentrating. She gets that from me! Also, she looks like she's about to take flight.

Moral of the story: sign your kids up for soccer!

tiger

I have been in my own little world lately, a world that doesn't involve much computer time. That's a good thing I guess, but mostly because I've been sucked in a good book, potty training (I haven't changed a diaper since Monday!) and trying to finish some sewing projects--one of which keeps me up at night with excitement! I'm a little dorky that way. I've got two quilts under construction, and then I've got a whole lot of bags to make. But I wanted to share pictures of a blanket I just finished for a good friend who had a baby (4 months ago--I'm a little behind). This new baby carries the middle name of Tiger, which presented an opportunity that could not be passed up!



By the time I finish a project I usually hate it, or doubt if anyone will like it, but now that a week has passed, I like it all over again! I kind of made it up as I went along because planning ahead takes more work, and it's just not how I operate. When I saw the fabrics an idea formed in my mind, I came home and drew it out on my graph paper (maybe I'm more than a little dorky) but then I kept changing the measurements as I went along--fortunately I had just enough fabric. I don't know if I'll ever sew with Minky again, but I found that it works great for the binding!

This afternoon while Tyler was napping and Jeremy was at meetings, I spent awhile cutting out pieces for my next quilt, and Alexis sat at the table keeping herself quietly entertained. I let her have at my scraps, and I'm impressed with her ingenuity. She cut and glued, tied and taped and made little outfits for her barbies. She did it all by herself, and kept at it until she was pleased with the product. What a clever girl!

Wordless Wednesday

to the top

We had it planned for months, Jeremy, my dad and I. We looked forward to it all summer, anticipated it, and prepared for it.

September 2nd was the day we'd climb to the top. My dad had done it once before, Jeremy and I had never. That morning came, we rose early (ish) and drove to the trail head. Within the first mile I was wondering if I'd make it, but by the second mile I felt great. Time and time again I received another wind--another burst of energy. I think it probably took 30 of them to get me from top to bottom.

In the basin, with the peak behind us

It was fun on the way up. Strenuous only in parts, and the anticipation of the top of Mt. Timpanogos kept us moving forward and lighthearted. The weather couldn't have been more perfect--cloudy and cool until the afternoon when the sun finally came out. We saw a few moose, but not enough mountain goats. We made it to the saddle, with 400 feet elevation gain left to climb to the peak. From the saddle to the peak was by far the hardest part, but when you're that close you can't quit (even though we saw a large group of people who did). 5 hours and 10 minutes after we started we were at the peak and the view was spectacular (even if it was hazy)!


First order of business--eat lunch.
Second--rest my back.


When I laid down here I don't think I realized how close to the edge I was, so when I sat up after a few minutes and saw this:


I panicked a little.

Jeremy, me, my dad at the top

After resting awhile we headed back down, which is a whole other challenge. Jeremy wanted to slide down the snowfield, and I didn't. But I also didn't want to hear for the rest of my life, "I would have slid down that if it weren't for Lisa". So we did, only there wasn't enough snow to slide down the first part, so we kind of skied down the rocks. Then Jeremy slid down, while my dad and I intended to slowly walk down. However I slipped, and ended up sliding down much of the way, and eventually my dad did too. Here's a tip if you are going to do that: take gloves and a big stick for control. I found a stick as I was sliding down so I grabbed it and stuck it in the snow to slow myself down and then I enjoyed it a whole lot more (I guess I have control issues). And oh boy were our butts cold!

The hike down took longer than I thought it would and by about the eighth hour of the whole experience I was ready to be done, but I still had two or three more hours ahead of me. At that point I had developed four blisters and my big toes had turned white, I think from being shoved to the front of my boot for all the downhill part. My dad was excited about my blisters though because it meant he got to use his 1st aid kit! So there's the positive!

Overall I'm glad I did it, and give me a week and I'd probably say I'd do it again someday, but I can't say that today--I'm still living with the side effects. The day after the hike I did absolutely nothing (nothing more than I had to anyway) because it was beyond painful to move my legs. My calves felt balled up, my knees were sore, my quads were tight, I still had blisters, and the bottom of my feet were very tender The day after that it was still painful to move and I was just super super grouchy (though that may have been for other reasons). And today, the third day after the hike it finally doesn't hurt to move my legs too much, but now I have to play catch up for all the things I didn't do the last three days.

Now Jeremy's talking about hiking to King's Peak, to which I said, "I'll sit that one out thank you very much".