Home By the Creekside

So, I felt inclined to fix up a crappy black bookcase. I made so many mistakes. I should have primered it which I will do with my next project.  I almost threw the whole thing in the garbage as it fell apart when husband put it on the front lawn. I was shocked that my 10 dollar bookcase should have been worth a few bucks. A few spray cans later, some pegboard to make it sturdy, and fabric to make it pretty...Walla!  I know...I should have been painting my basement rooms. The flooring comes in next week and I still have to paint.   But now Lyndee has something to put into her new room that is twice the side of her itty bitty room. She moves in that room next week. So for now it will just have to been in her itty bitty room that will be for guests. Oh, and I get a craft room next week too....Ahhhhh! Thank goodness, you can't see the sides where the stupid spray paint bubbled and cracked. Not sure why....actually I do but that is my own fault.

Big brother has such a big heart. He helped Lyndee get on her two-wheel bike and then she rode it. She went on the grass and then went on the driveway. This is her today. UP and down the streeet and then again about 20 times..Sure tired Brayden and her out. I do hope she sleeps in tomorrow.   The only problem is she can't start without his help and she can't really stop that great either! SO, if you are on our street, please watch out she is learning how to control her bike.                                                   This is what a big brother is for, right?

Yesterday we went to Ogden for a future nephew's 8th birthday on husband's side of the family.  When we go, it gives our kids a chance to play with their cousins. We never see his side of the family cuz we always have to go down there. No one comes up here. That does have it benefits but the downside is that the kids  and me do not get to know Clay's side of the family. That is their choice I guess.  I am excited that his brother, the cousins, and his fiancee will be coming up here next month to spend the weekend with us.  We will be looking forward to that.  Anyways, we went through Logan because I love Logan. It was so beautiful. I didn't take any pictures of all the green and mountains with snow on the top.  We stopped at Hobby Lobby and bought some fabric and scrapbook paper for two projects that I am working on. Will post them later. Here is a shot of the fabric (a little something for Lynd's room) and the paper (a little something for the front room).

So I decided to try cakes in my jars last week. I whipped up some applesauce cake and then baked them in the jars. Then when I took the jars out, I put the lids and bands on it. And they sealed! The cake was delicious and worth the effort!

Last last Christmas, I received a pressure canner cooker from Santa. Well, I did it!!! I finally know how to use it. Today, the first thing I did was can a little stew meat in pint jars. I thought I really shoved them in but the little stinkers shrunk so it looks like I could have packed in more. I sprinkled some Lipton onion soup on top of them. Then I processed them for 75 minutes at 12 psi (thats what our thing is for up here).  Then I forgot to add vinegar to the water in the pressure cooker. Oh well..Here is what they look like below.  Kind of gross,eh? You what is funny.... that we are not beef eaters.  This stuff will be used though. I only did 7 pint jars. I wanted to start small. I am keeping my eye out for good deals on meats especially boneless chicken...Because this was too cool. I didn't stop there. I made homemade BBQ sauce from a recipe I saw online. I have already given three of them away. My bad side is that I am so proud that I have got to share it. I hope to kee

Over the Memorial Day week, Zane E. our family kitten of a couple weeks "ran away." We immediately went out and got Lyndee another kitty. Ya, we know that is the worst thing you can do. But actually it was really great! Sunnyside has long fluffy fur. He will do great in the garage in the winter with that coat. He does not scratch as much but he is a biter. It is the kitten in him. Not sure what to do about that! He is hilarious and I actually like him even though we are dog people. The dogs are fine with him as well. We bought him a kennel to keep in when we have the garage doors open or when anyone needs to pull in.

As you know, we used to live in the heat. I can't tell you how grateful I am that we live where we live. I love it here. Whenever I am in the car, I tell my husband how much I love it here. I love the scenery and the beauty all around. In the summer back in AZ, I let my kiddos roam around in their undies. What do you think she had for dinner? Spaghetti and then her favorite fruit. Can you guess what monkey liked? The pictures above..yay, their hair is not wet. That is Vick's vaporub. It does not come out with water, peanut butter, dawn, baby powder. It took a couple days for it to come out. I want to say that I used baby oil and it grabbed the vick's right out. This was not done on my watch..This is from having a babysitter that liked to text her friends and not watch my kids obviously. This..my watch...he got into my mascara. For the longest time, anytime, I took pictures of my kids. They would bend down like this. Cute, they are!

This week has been so distracting with thoughts of worry for the area that I grew up. I will always be drawn to Arizona. It has a tight hold on me. We moved here to this community in Idaho specifically because it reminded me of my hometown even down to the crappy wind which I didn't know about until after we moved here. I wanted my kids to have what I had growing up. When we were deciding where to move from the valley, I would have done anything to live in Eagar but there wasn't enough to sustain us moneywise so we chose here instead. And we love it. I have been praying for Wallow Fire in Arizona. It has ruined the places that I grew up and enjoyed with family and friends. I call it Round Valley but it is two towns that make it up, Springerville and Eagar. I worry for those that were evacuated and the heartache that people are feeling. This place means so much to me. My lifelong friendships that I created came from there, finding the church, and just a sense of hometown pride

Rigby, would you see a lamb on a leash waiting in line for a snow cone. Of course with his owner.  I asked my nephew what kind of dog that was. He responded, "I don't know." I thought it was goat. But Lyndee KNEW that it was a lamb. She asked me if she could pet but I said it was up to the owner. Here she is loving on it. Of course, here is Brayden that needed to get a picture with lamb as he was petting it too. My nephew petted it but wasn't too keen on a picture. Maybe some other time. This made me almost want a lamb if they stayed that small. Still thinking about a goat though.....I would put it totally in my neighbor's yard so I don't get stuck with all those nasty weeds in my nice green grass.  

Today I had the opportunity to attend Time out for Women in Pocatello with a good friend. What an awesome way to kickstart my summer vacation to renew and cleanse myself spiritually! My pictures did not turn out as well as I had hoped but hear I go. This program was a real life changing experience in the way that I am mother, wife, and teacher.  The Spirit was there and boy was it strong. At the beginning, the emcee told the audience to choose one thing that would help you  become the woman that you want to be. Who am I to become? The whole audience were women by the way. Can you think of one? I have two in mind. Here are some things that really touched me. They are from all the various speakers that were there. 0. Be a better friend to yourself and listen to yourself. 1. This life is about becoming better..making us more sacred. That change is possible with Christ. It may be easier to not go to church, not attend your meetings, believe in the Big Bang etc.. The Big Bang cannot