Tuesday, December 11, 2007

ärt - the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects



Daddy, Mommy and Sarah - Original Artwork by Sarah - age 2
(Note:  Tim's goatee - the beauty is in the details)


Above are two photos I took after the recent ice storm that came through - then I played with the color and contrast on my computer - not really art, but almost.

Once Upon a Time . . .


So Sarah absolutely loves to play with my Nativity Sets when I get them out for Christmas.  The other day I caught her reading a book to "Baby Jesus and all the animals".  I also found one of my sets in the window sill with everyone (including Baby Jesus and manger upright) facing toward the window - I guess they wanted to see outside:).

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Who's Woods These Are . . .

A few weeks ago, we decided to take a walk in the woods behind our house - Tim calls them Kitley's Woods - to enjoy the fall leaves and just have a fun family outing.


The leaves really were pretty spectacular.



Sarah and I found a fun tree to climb.

And Sarah had tons of fun on 'Jumping Rock'.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Spookily . . . Kookily . . . Halloween Fun!

Sarah- "The Riding Hood"

Chocolate - Yummy!!!!!

Sarah designed her pumpkin "smile face" all on her own.

Carving Pumpkins - Tim and I learned that it is not as fun as we remembered - Our pumpkins had this wicked thick and almost impenetrable shell.

The finished product.


Monday, October 22, 2007

The Cider Mill

The leaves here in CT are in full color this weekend, and we just had to get out and enjoy the fall weather (it disappeared today and was in the low 80's - Sarah and I even went to the beach in shorts and t-shirts) we stopped by a local cider mill and picked up some super tasty apple cider and a dozen delicious apple cider donuts - YUM!!!!!!








Tim and Sarah raked up some of the leaves in our front yard and we all had a blast playing in the leaf pile - Sarah's first experience ever!

Friday, October 12, 2007

The Risks We Take

In writing this post, I am well aware that I and my family may forevermore be labeled "Rednecks" by one or more of my friends,  (see this post) but in the interest of historical accuracy, and moreover just to please all my devoted fans who have been wondering where I have been for the past week, it is a risk I am willing to take, and I feel compelled to write and attach photos of our latest escapade - in fact, my fingers are practically unstoppable in their rabid desire to tell the tale . . .

I suppose I must start at the beginning (well almost) For as long as I can remember, my father and brothers have been donning their blaze orange and setting out to hunt - the result being a delicious Sunday dinner of "roast beast" for the rest of us, skillfully prepared by my mom. When I married Tim, he caught on to the trend, and soon enjoyed it as much as the rest.

Fast forward: Last week, we flew out to Utah to join my family on the annual Elk Hunt. Most of the women and children stay in camp and just have a great time being together while most of the men get up before dawn to tromp around in the snow in the hopes of finding and shooting an elk. Here are a few photos of the fun.

Our Little Family

Proof that we really are literate . . .

. . . We even read to our kids.

And, we were technologically advanced enough to listen to General Conference on the truck radio.

Cousins enjoying juice boxes near the fire pit.

Daddy and Sarah

This is the view we get to savor every time we use the latrine - sometimes it can be a little chilly.

Tim, pointing out where he killed his elk (the only one of the trip) - across the valley and many miles of walking and hauling away (it took seven men to pull the elk cart to the truck, plus three of us hauling all their gear - and it still took us 2.5 hours to go 1.5 miles!)

The sunrise view that made the early mornings absolutely worth it!

To all you hunting naysayers out there, I make no apologies. In truth, I really rather enjoy the taste of hunted meat (clarification - not ALL wild meat - I usually don't like deer and definitely despise wild boar), and is it really more humane to eat an animal who has been raised for no other purpose than to be butchered for human consumption than to feast on an animal who, at least, had the chance of survival?

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

First Day of School

Today was Sarah's first day of pre-school. So, being the good mother that I am, I had to take her picture to commemorate this momentus occasion. She has asked me everyday since the beginning of July, "Mommy, can I go to school today?" Finally my answer could be "yes".

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Nothing much . . .

So, here I am in my living room watching my daughter watch my husband play on his new Nintendo Wii (his birthday present). And I am here because the Art class I signed up for through community education was cancelled due to lack of interest - bummer! I was so looking forward to one night a week just for me, to do something I am interested in, all alone - but, alas.

I just got released from my Primary calling (Valiant Girls Teacher) after a mere two months, and am now the Relief Society Pres . . . no, just kidding. I am the Relief Society Secretary. The President is my friend who moved to the area about a month ago from Seattle. Poor girl.

Sarah's phrase of the week is, "must be". Like, "my milk must be outside," and "daddy must be upstairs". She picks a phrase and uses it over and over again for a week or so and then moves on to another one. The other day she looked at me and said "Don't even think about it." Do you think I say that to her ever?

Monday, September 17, 2007

A Whole lot of Fun

Editors Note: I am posting this from my brand new laptop:) and I can't figure out how to get the "create" window to show my photos as photos instead of HTML, so I have to put all my text at the top because I am HTML illiterate!

My parents were in town this week and we had tons of fun - eating donuts and ice cream, touring a submarine, taking a ride on a sailboat with the cousins in Newport, RI (my brother lives in RI with his family), visiting an old whaling boat (think Moby Dick - I want to read it again) and just having a great time! Here's a small world anecdote for you all . . . the captain of our sailboat today grew up in Utah, and went to High school with my little sis! Seems he even went to a dance with her way back - pretty amazing. (We got to ride the boat for free because the captain is in my Bro's ward in RI).







Sunday, September 16, 2007

A Woman After My Own Heart

So this morning, on our way to church, we were in the car and my parents (who have been in town for the past week) and Sarah were singing "The Wheels on the Bus". They sang all the verses they knew, and then Sarah pulled out this little known gem of a verse (you can add it to your own musical exploits in the future): "The Chocolate on the bus goes eat, eat, eat . . . " Yummy!!!!! I got a good chuckle out of that one!