update to my buttons

Remember the fun pin boards? The link still works! and I was having fun updating and changing some pins around. Something I want to keep...so I'm sharing that too.

Picture to Remember

    This was a picture taken in October, thought I'd share. This picture includes cousins, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

    From the left: My sisters 3 adorable kids. Then my half-siblings are the next 4, and the last 2 are my most favorite...they are my girls.

    So the 4 in the middle are the Aunts and Uncles to the other 5, and my kids and Amy's kids are the cousins.

Fun little family. :) Love all these kids!!

Downton Abbey Season 3

My friends....have you watched Downton Abbey?!

    I've been hooked for over a year and finally I'm able to catch up on Season 3.

    Did you know that the ENTIRE season 3 is posted online? Their is a long break between when they show it in England and when they show it in the US. 

    There is a fan page on facebook.  Downton Abbey US Fan Club.  They have posted links for all the 8 episodes.  IF you are interested in the series and are impatiently waiting for the next episodes, you can either wait until they show in the US..or watch the episodes from the fan page!

Just thought I'd share. :)

12-12-12

Today is 12-12-12!! fun facts from online

  The world isn't going to end today (that won't possibly happen until 12/21/12). But it is the last time the month, day and year will all be the same number—at least until January 1, 2101. Consecutive date sequences are both magical and mystical for their rare occurrences and the hidden meaning of numbers
   

  According to Chinese numerology, one is considered a yang number ruled by the sun and represents independence and individualism. Two is considered a yin number ruled by the moon and represents symmetry and balance. Combined, the number 12 brings harmony to the yin and the yang, balancing the masculine energy of the sun and the feminine energy of the moon.

 

  Mathematicians and scientists love the number 12 for its inherent divisibility. It is one of the relatively few smaller numbers that can be evenly divided into multiple subsets; 12 breaks down into halves, thirds, fourths, sixths and twelfths—making 12 (and all of its multiples) a very useful number.

 

  Because 12 can be so easily divided, it's commonly used in measurements. There are 12 inches in a foot, 12 ounces in a troy pound (which is used to measure gold, silver and gems), 12 in a dozen, 12 hours on a clock, 24 hours in a day, and 12x12 (144) equals a gross.

 

  In the world of numerology, twelve is considered the number of completeness and represents the end of one cycle and the beginning of another. December is the twelfth and final month of the year, every 12 hours day turns to night or night to day and today completes the trice-repeating dates until the next century rolls around. Enjoy the rest of 2012!

Photo found, had to share.

Hopefully you can see this... Such cute pics of a dad with his daughter.

LOVE IT! Had to share....I know I've been out of it for a while, will try to post more.

If you can not see, here's a link to the website here.

(notice the mug in each photo)

 

Bear Lake

A few days up on Bear Lake with family.

My dad rented a house just in Garden City, which fit the family perfectly!  The kids were all able to share a room, which was like having a sleepover every night. Downside was they wouldn't sleep until way later than usual. 

The picture above is 7 of the 9 kids that were there for the week.  My dad got them these cute little chairs and we set them up on the beach every day.  So relaxing.  For 2.5 days, we were at the beach for most of the day. 

My bro-nlaw borrowed a family boat and we were able to get out and play on the water too! This is my hubby on a single ski slicing through the water.  Then....he became a walking lobster from having no sunscreen. :)  At least he had fun on the lake.  The kids really got into boat too.  Who doesn't love tubing?? Everyone got a turn. Even me. :)
Did I mention this was during the raspberry day fair? What a fun week!

Masters Graduate

Over the weekend my husband finally walked for his masters degree.  Who knows where he found the time between work, changing jobs, his needy wife and kids, and everything else going on with life, but he finished!! yay!!

Hobbler Half

Just a quick post on the Hobbler Half Marathon

     Another half marathon to add to my husbands accomplishments.  I wanted to be there and support him, even though you have to be there by 5am.  I dropped him off to meet the bus that would take the runners to the top of the canyon (not an all down hill race), then parked the car and took a nap. :)

     I woke up and was there to watch all the racers run across the line.  They had a 5k, a 1/2 marathon and a relay.  Some kid ran the 5k (little over 3 miles) in about 18 minutes! seriously...I'm lucky to run one mile in 10, and that's with training. lol 

Congrats honey! You amaze me. :)

my husband is the guy in orange "flying" into the finish line with a time around 1 hours 48 minutes..which is awesome!!

this is my hubby and a new friend showing off their medals.

my friend and her boyfriend were at the race too. she's showing off her ruffled skirt.

Yellowstone

Better late than never...

We decided to take a quick trip up to Yellowstone National Park with one of hubbys friends from work and her mom (who are from Russia).  His friend spoke great English, her mom..barely a word, but we all got a long great!  We arrived extremely late Friday night (err..Sat morning) and then headed back Sunday afternoon. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the trip.

really pretty waterfall we hiked down to.

can't go to yellowstone without seeing ol' faithful!

fairy pools with the bison around them.

one very very hot pool.

great hike to upper and lower falls.

elk....no bears on this trip.

The "Green Monster" drink.

   Seriously...if you haven't tried, you have to at least once! Took me long enough to just convince myself to just do it and now I love this drink.  Most important...it is healthy, and my girls will drink this!!!! The only green thing they will touch.
 
   I don't have  a specific recipe. Here's what I have on hand that I use:  kale, spinach, frozen strawberries, frozen banana slices, apple pieces, and orange juice.  Basically I take a handful of kale, then some frozen strawberries, bananas (cut and freeze, my daughter likes frozen banana pieces for snacks too), then a handful of the spinach, topped with apple pieces and orange juice--about a half a cup? or more.  then blend...and enjoy! soo good.

   You can literally put whatever you want and find a flavor you like. Sometimes I'll add frozen raspberries, then I've heard of people putting celery in there, and of course there are tons of recipes for this drink online.  I do want to try some mango in there...yum.   Just try it!

New exhibit at the zoo!

The new Rocky Shores Exhibit is open at the Zoo!  Do you know how long it's been since we've had a polar bear at our zoo?! 9 years at least. Soo excited to see the new animals...sad to see some go, but that comes with change. This change needed to happen and it makes the zoo that much better...seriously. I didn't even stop to see the monkeys....which is all that was there before. ;)

Here are a few pics from our trip today! (yup lots of polar bear ones). oh and we were there first in the morning before the crowds showed up..so glad we did that, very busy day.

great new area for the Eagle. not hiding away anymore.

they have polar bear statues!!

watching the seals swim by. very cool.

yay the polar bear! (picture by husband)

and another.... (picture by husband)

3 brown bears

River Otter (not sea otters). fun animals.

Ok, there were lots of other animals at the zoo, but there are the animals at the new exhibit that I wanted to share. Definitely visit and check it out!  We spent the afternoon there and had a good time.  More family pictures are on facebook. ;)

Catch Up on May

Ever since I started working again the last thing I think about it updating my blog. So here's the cliff notes from the month of May.

First:  My twin sister and I celebrated out *ahem" birthday! She was teaching a Zumba black light class and I just had to go celebrate (a lot of friends and family came! our older sister flew in and surprised us too).  This picture is after the class at my dads (11pm) where he had chinese and 2 different cakes waiting for us. So much fun.

Second:  The following day my mom had a girls weekend downtown (my little girls and my sisters little girls included). She got a room for all of us at a hotel, we went swimming, hiking, shopping....really great weekend with some of my favorite people! Then we treated mom to Ruths Diner for Mothers Day...only a 2 hour wait, but it was tasty!

Third:  See this amazing basket?! my surprise bday present from my hubby (and my kids helped put it together). So creative and spot on.  3 different kinds of wines I've never tried, 1 champagne and different things we can use for a cheese platter. loved loved this!! (still enjoying it..)

Fourth:  Speaking of my awesome present, later that month my hubby and I went out for our anniversary.First time we're really had a weekend free (my sister watched the girls..thank you!).  We brought some of my bday present on our little getaway. This picture shows some of the cheeses we picked up to try for the weekend paired with the wine we brought along. loved trying new cheese and wine.

Fourth/half:  Here's a picture from our hike up Stewart Falls, which was soo beautiful and relaxing.  Then it was later that night I realized how badly I was sunburned. Seriously. when will I ever learn? sun and my skin do not mix well...especially on hikes. Besides the sunburn, it was a great weekend.

Fifth:  The next weekend my dad took us for a "better late than never" birthday dinner.  We wanted to try a place downtown, Ichiaban. Keep in mind my sister and I do not eat Sushi, but the food was great.  The picture below is of the purple potato. Sooo goood. Then of course wince we were with my dad we each ordered a dessert and tried everything.

Last picture is just after dinner with my sister and my dad. :) Wow...May is over.

 Crazy month. Seems this year is flying by.

Eclipse 2012

Solar Eclipse 2012 pictures

Obviously I didn't take these myself, but I did find them on thechive.com.

Thought they were cool and wanted to share my favorites.

(guess I need to update my blog sometime too).

Bathroom makeover

    Over the weekend, I finally decided to start a project I've been wanting to do for years.  We've only been in our house for 9 years, but this is the first time I've painting our master bathroom. Not only that, but I've been wanted to frame our mirror (my sisters house gave me the idea). Super simple, and I found great directions on this blog post....HERE.  After seeing the finished result, I may do the same thing in my girls bathroom someday.

    Hard to tell the color, but I wanted to lighten up the room, so I used an ice blue.  Also went to Home Depot to find the trim boards I wanted, had them cut down, painted and then put in place (see link above for directions!) Really nice finish!  Love the feeling of a project done.

Glitter Jars

I've been seeing these on pinterest for a long time and decided to finally give it a try.

    i was playing around with them and wanted to try 3 different colors, 2 different ways.  The top jars are just hot water mixed with glitter glue (depending on how much glue you put in determines how slow the glitter falls..I've had to dilute mine a little).  The bottom jars I added color to the water.  Made them darker, but still works.

    These are supposed to be like meditation/relaxing jars, where you shake them up and then watch the glitter fall.  I liked it so much I took the light blue one to work with me. :)  Last week my boss was out of town for his "after taxes" cruise and I was trying my best to get everything done without him. There was one day that I almost pulled my hair out.  Even though it was a busy week, I got most everything done. Crossing my fingers I didn't make too many errors.  The point it, the glitter jars are fun and they are relaxing.  I would shake it at work and time how long it would take for the glitter to fall. 

   Fun project! Easy to do, and my girls love them. 

Easter Trip to the Farm

    Nothing starts a trip to the farm like a huge snow storm.  We had to drive through the canyon and I couldn't believe the size of the snowflakes. I felt like we were in a blizzard.  By the time we got out of the canyon, not only was the truck covered in ice, but blue skies and not a cloud in sight!  Couldn't believe how night/day that was.  Ah memories.  The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful....which is a good thing.

    A lot of people don't believe me when I tell them that my mother n'law has colored "easter" eggs. naturally from a chicken. So I took a picture of the eggs that come from her chickens and the ones you buy at the store. cool huh.  Her chickens lay green, orange, blue, pink and all the shades in between.  When we were there, she was getting almost 2 dozen every day.  For those that are curious, they taste great!  I boiled 2 dozen and then my daughter and I had them for breakfast for the next few days. yummy.

      Back to the farm. It was so nice to finally get down and see the changes that my husbands parents have made to the barn! For example: in-door plumbing!! I was able to take a hot shower..sooo nice.  Mom has all of her kitchen up (most of it) and it is beautiful and big.  We used to tease her that she used to cook in a toy kitchen (they lived in a trailer while the barn was being built...very small kitchen, if you can even call it that). 

    Anyway, it is always nice to visit his parents.  The farm is so quiet and a good place to just relax, play with the farm dogs, visit with the horses, or go on long walk.  Loved going down for Easter! can not wait to visit again.