Hula Performance

Bella, Olivia, and Halia all performed as part of a Youth Conference this night. There were about 200 in attendance and they performed 3 numbers. Poi balls, the tahitian, and pearly shells. They all did so great!!

They look so grown up with the makeup on. I don't like it! Stay 4 forever!

Bella's sweet hula teacher, Barabara, aka "Grandma Bootie". 

It was such a fun year, and so fun to see Bella gain confidence in her hip shaking! 

She really loved Hula!!!

Girls day out

A little wishful-thinking shopping and some pizza factory for lunch! I love hanging out with this little girl! I tried not to care so much about manners, noise level or messes... It made our lunch date much more enjoyable. I wish I could eat out every time!!!

Poked in the face much! 

Flowers and Friends

I'm obsessed with gardening. I think I want to move because of that fact alone! I NEED A YARD!!!!! And an unlimited budget :)

Filled a few baskets I had laying around, since I was too cheap to buy more containers. I drilled  holes in the bottom of some for drainage, then used some fabric to keep the soil from running out. I think I've used every last container laying around! 

My neighbor gave me this garden box, which i LOVE. I added that square topper thing. Use to be an old frame thing. I liked having it raised. 

Left to right: Ruby lettuce, green onions (back), carrots, spinach, swiss chard (back), then more carrots, romaine lettuce and onions. 

Plants make me so happy!!!!!!!

I've been using the spinach an kale daily for salads and smoothies. It came at the right time, because guess what I found in a bag of spinach from the store??? A MOTH! (insert barf sound here)

Below: cucumbers (top left), peppers, kale

The green container there is the one I used for a larger basket - drilled the holes, lined with fabric. I love it! I also love my decorative door from the Henrie farm, as it blocks the noise of the AC unit!

Below plants: Herbs, zucchini (blue pot), yellow squash (yellow pot), cherry tomatoes (with cages), basil (small red pot), and arugula (bottom right)

Apple tree from seed! Aren't they so cute!? These were a complete experiment from a SUPER yummy Opal apple I ate. I recently learned that it's highly unlikely I'll get the same apple tree as the parent tree. More likely to be some super sour variety. Give them about 10 years and we will see!!!

Addison Roberts will be here all week with us while her parents visit Israel! She has adapted so well and seems to be really loving this extended play-date!

 

 

   

Getting dirty pre-church...

 

For the front porch... HAPPINESS IN A BUCKET RIGHT THERE!!!

 

Started off with paint...

Turned into body art. The bath after was blue!

North Ogden Community Garden

In March, Bell and I volunteered to help with the North Ogden Community garden, and now we are titled the "Garden Managers". Bella loves this title and proudly tells everyone.

For an improvement project, I decided the 32 boxes needed some nice looking numbers. Lowe's supplied & cut the wood (purchased by my generous donor mother, Judy Gaines!). Then I free handed the numbers & finished it up with brown outdoor paint.

It took a few weeks to get them all painted and dry. Thankfully, we didn't have any casualties with my little helper who likes to paint, too :)

My guy was lucky and got to screw in the numbers to the boxes! He was a willing help, which I so appreciated. It was hard work! 

  

Bella eagerly wanted to help, but she ended up playing in the dirt pile instead.

    

The Grand Opening was May 18th, and it was perfect. I had run all over town the month before collecting donations from local businesses and was kind of feeling down that not many people came. But honestly, it turned out perfect, even with the rain!

Lauren and her mom came to support me!  

 

Jerry from Jerry's Nursery came to speak to us and had some really great tips on making your pots last through the hot summer!

  

Sam and Brent Wiesenberg built this fence for Sam's Eagle Scout project, and it turned out BEAUTIFUL!!!!!  

  

Super happy with the numbers!!!

San Francisco Dream

Seriously, the best trip ever!

Completely humbled and grateful. 

SF Checklist:

- Drop off the kid with grandparents - CHECK

- Feel slightly guilty about it - CHECK

- Drive 13 hours in beautiful weather - CHECK

- Meet the coolest people ever - CHECK

- Have the best time ever - CHECK

Meet Zoe Flanagan: The cutest girl in SF!

We had the privilege of getting to know the Flanagans this trip, and I feel completely blessed to know them!! Below is Richard Flanagan giving his presentation during the Game Developers Conference. He told his story about how is game FRACT (See here) came to be...and how his "well-laid plan" quickly became "the darkness". Overdue deadlines, out of money, growing family, and how he and his team overcame obstacles. It sounded all too familiar, but in a comforting way.

Sometimes it's hard to explain to people just exactly what my husband does. 

He's making a game. By. Him. Self. 

Even for me, wrapping my brain around the "how" is overwhelming.

They way Ty describes it for people is this: it's like directing a movie, writing a novel, animating a cartoon, drawing a whole museum full of art, and coding 40 websites.

Richard Flanagan, creator of the game "FRACT"

I made a hat for Zoe, and completely guessed on the size - it was a perfect fit! She looked so cute in it!!

Union Square...a fun place to people watch!

Super fun market with yummy food and crafts.

This is the amazing multi-faceted Quynh! She's the mother of this beautiful girl & wife of the above Richard Flanagan. She's a talented runner & photographer, co-creator of FRACT, and a great listening ear! We talked about everything, and it was so refreshing! I just adore her and her sweet family!

Walkin' about...

Out for a run with Quynh and Zoe...

Best trip ever!!! :)