Thursday, September 30, 2010

Dancing in September

Wow, I don't know where this month has gone. A moment ago school was just starting and now the month is over. It has been so crazy, so very crazy. We have been busy. Three of us have gone back to school, one of us is working very hard on potty training, and one of us is working very hard to avoid potty training.

We have had a busy month. It seems that every weekend if full of a new adventure or two. We started off the month at one of my favorite festivals- The Greek Festival. I wish I could say I had been attending this festival for as long as I remember, but sadly I have not. My first visit to the festival was maybe 8 years ago. I have been attending ever since though. It has become a yearly tradition where I go and partake of that delicious food and eat enough Greek food to last me a year. We decided to take the kids this year and let them sample some of this great food.

We stopped off a the Farmer's Market first and picked up a few odds and ends. While Christian packed the treats back to the car the kids and I stopped and played at the play ground. It was so much fun. James decided that he was going to try the monkey bars but then decided that he was just going to hang by his hands till he couldn't hold on any more.


When we finally made it over the festival we realized that we had about forty minutes to wait before they opened, well we pondered the idea of going back over to the playground when we realized that a line had formed behind us and was wrapping around the block. Now the festival is known for its very long lines so we stuck it out. The kids thought it was fun to go and play in the double fence area where they found some very interesting twist ties that became their obsession.




When we finally got in to the festival we had to wait an extra fifteen minutes for the food line to open. Thank heavens we were first in line as the food line was very long behind us. We grabbed something of everything so the kids could have a taste of Greece. They enjoyed the rice and James seemed to like the spanikopita, a boy after my own heart.





A week later we decided to attend the fair. We saw big pigs, big cows, baby cows, rabbits, and bigger pigs. We ate cotton candy, sno cones, fresh lemonade, a baked good I don't remember, and hot dogs. Then of course with all this we had to ride the fair rides. My sister and her family actually met us at the fair. James, Eve, and Laine had a fun time riding all the rides with Lu while I took Birdie on the merry-go-round many times as that was the only ride she could ride. That and Birdie and I found a lot of Yellow. My camera battery was dying and I didn't have much time to snap pictures, but I did get one of Lu and Eve on the train.

The next day my dad, sister-in-law, and I canned 42 quarts of peaches. It was quite an adventure and despite some missteps it seemed to work okay. They looked good at least. And we were all very proud of ourselves.



My month at school was also busy. We ended it with homecoming week, which was a grand success. To top off our busy month we took the kids to their first live football game- The Riverton Silverwolves' Homecoming Game. We started at In-N-Out burger for a pregame dinner. The kids loved their grilled cheese sandwich and I enjoyed my Neapolitan shake.




James had fun but he thought the band played the fight song a little to loud.


The girls thought it was fantastic. They got ballloons and face paint. Plus they made a new friend, who wouldn't love that? Oh and our Silverwolves pounded West Jordan.














All in all here is to a fantastic busy September--bring on October!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

On the road to being a domestic goddess

When I was in college I found some great friends and together we decided that our goal one day was to become a domestic goddess. Not quite sure what that entails, we decided one day that it meant we became Martha Stewarts (as she is the ultimate domestic goddess) but we quickly realized that her staff makes her job quite easy. So we have each pursued our goal in hopes that one day we would reach our goal. Well, this summer I have made some pretty good strides in my road to domestic goddesshood. For Mother's Day Christian got me a sewing machine. My sewing skills consist of sewing a sort of straight line, but I was determined to win. I made a levi quilt top and only broke three needles. I also made Laine and James curtains...with a little bit of mom help.


James' curtains, he will be getting a quilt and pillow case out of his chosen fabric too.

Laine's curtains. She wanted blue and with fairies. Thank you Wal-mart fabric gods for providing.


Having proven my sewing skills I turned to my knitting. I have now completed the lovely pink afghan. I also finished a lovely purple baby sweater for a friend.

Then to finish the trifecta of domestic goddessesness I took on cooking.

I only wish that I had taken pictures when my 14 loaves (12 were mini) of zucchini bread were done, the twelve jars of jam, the three lasagnas, and the decadent chocolate cake with homemade fondant. Though the jam seemed to present a few problems all turned out well.

Next up- Canning!!!