The Best Things In Life Are Free

Christmas Dresses

2011-12-11T09:24:00.000-08:00

Madeline and Lillian are showing off their finery and excitement for the upcoming holiday and new year.

Singer 99 Memphis (Sphinx) Treadle Sewing Machine

2011-12-08T20:01:00.000-08:00

My new baby is older than I am by around a hundred years. It's estimated to have been made between 1895 and 1920, with the closest guess being 1904. I bought it today in less than admirable cleanliness from a gentleman on KSL, and I am so proud of it that I have to share pictures. I cleaned it up and polished everything I could. You'd hardly recognize it from the first picture I saw of it.

I think I am going to start collecting vintage sewing machines...

Christmas Fish

2011-12-06T12:40:00.000-08:00

A Festive First

2011-12-05T19:19:00.000-08:00

Do you know how much I love you?

2011-12-01T19:02:00.000-08:00

I love you this much.

Reef Tanks November 2011

2011-11-20T17:02:00.000-08:00

Above is a new picture of Justin's 45 Gallon Reef Tank. In three years it has changed dramatically and in my opinion looks its best today. If you look closely, you can see his awesome Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish in the bottom left corner. Justin worked hard to get this amazing fishie to eat frozen food from within a net. This keeps him from attempting to eat anything else that is peacefully minding its own business in the reef system.

Below are two updated pictures of my 29 Gallon Biocube. Today I mucked about in it a bit installing the new rock on the right hand side. You can tell it is brand new because it is still bleach white in color. I'm trying to branch out a bit and get some hard corals growing in my tank. Because of this mucking about a few of my corals are a bit closed up. Still I am very proud to say that this tank is also dramatically changed since I bought it two years ago.

I just have one thing to say.

2011-11-07T13:58:00.000-08:00

She can sit up!

2011-11-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

Lillian has grown in little ways, she may not be the largest child on the planet but she is brilliant. She's sitting up now and playing with toys in her crib and bassinette. She is a demanding baby, though they all are... and she likes to be tickled and to snuggle.

A Few Good Fish

2011-10-18T11:54:00.001-07:00

The Missing SD Card

2011-10-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

The Lost Table Shots and Why my Rooms are Swapped!

2011-10-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving dinner (Canadian) was tasty as all get out. I went so far as to take pictures of my pretty table, so I could show the folks at home that we did indeed celebrate to some extent. It also helped to document how pretty my dining room furniture is when it has enough room to put both leaves in the table and have all the chairs around it at the same time! :) Go figure though, I lost the SD card that I had been using for a while, and the images never hit the internet as I had planned. Finally I have the card in hand, and can show you how pretty our dinner table was.

Inevitably however, this is the arrangement in my real dining space. A bit unorthodox. That said, I absolutely loved having the couches in the kitchen/dining room! Not only do they look decent in there, if a bit cramped, but they allow the people enjoying the comfort of the couches to interact with the person doing all the cooking. Namely me. Ok? I get lonely in there sometimes! :)

Tonight they have to go back to the way they were originally. It is a melancholy thing. ;p

Cuteness

2011-10-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

Canadian Thanksgiving

2011-10-10T13:13:00.000-07:00

Having a Chat with Aunt Stephanie, Grandma McKnight, Grandpa McKnight, and Great Grandma Lewis.

Halloween Floral Arrangement

2011-10-06T13:15:00.000-07:00

So I have been looking for a new decorative piece to sit on my mantle at Halloween, and just could not find what I wanted. Today Lillian and I wandered over to Robert's Craft store and picked out Halloween roses, and made our own arrangement. :) We're still feeling the affects of this stupid cold, but it is rainy outside, there is snow on the mountains and I needed a quick break from the house. Now back to slowly muddling through housework. Booooo!

Family Picture Day

2011-09-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

Two for the Cuteness

2011-09-19T19:41:00.000-07:00

Talk Like A Pirate Day

2011-09-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

Dancing round the house to Pirate music makes me little matey giggle.

Madeline and her Second Grade Teacher

2011-09-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

Madeline and Mrs.Carter 2nd Grade

Safety Week Green

2011-09-16T07:59:00.000-07:00

Yes. I sent her to school like this.... Cause, see, Safety Week for their school is all about green for some reason. So today the class that wears the most green gets a brownie and pizza party.

I have done my part.

It's Almost Pumpkin Time!

2011-09-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

Lillian Caren, age 5 months (minus three days).

Labor Day

2011-09-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, Justin and Madeline decided that they would build a rocket together.

So, daddy built a rocket, because he bought a crappy glue and got a little irritated. So he went back out for better glue.

Then he was a bit happier.

BUT, the paint he bought was crap. Sooooooo, he borrowed some red paint from his dad.

Meanwhile, Madeline had grown fed up with waiting and rockets. She went down the water slide for a while.

Again and Again and Again...

And once more for good measure.

Then, as seen above, she sat in a bucket. Yes. A Bucket. I mean, why not?

After dinner we all went to the park to light off the rocket. It went off three times very well. It was pretty cool, and pretty loud. Lily was not a fan. She screamed after every launch.

If only she had been a little older, we could have made her feel better with the cheesecakes I made. We sat in the park on the grass and ate cheesecake. Hurrah for Labor Day!

Our Beautiful Second Grader

2011-09-05T13:03:00.001-07:00

It seems like time is passing so quickly that we can hardly keep track of how fast our babies are growing up. It is incredible that we now have a second grader. She was so excited to go to school again this fall that she even had her little sister rolling about in giggles. We are so proud of our big girl. Love you Madeline.

Mommy and the Girls/Lily 4 months

2011-09-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick update of pictures, the first being my two beautiful girls and myself in Canada at Grandma and Grandpa McKnight's house. The last few are from a photo shoot that I did with Lillian to commemorate her fourth month of life. I love my girls so much.

Things Have Gone Fowl

2011-07-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

This post being incredibly late, we've been building a duck run and we have been raising four ducklings. Last night we purchased two chickens. Madeline proved herself to be an amazing chicken catcher. :) Here she is with our Blue Andalusian hen.

Side Post: Sara's Shop

2011-06-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start making jewelry and selling it in my Etsy store MistsInTheAttic . Right now it's just an empty store front, but over the course of the next month I hope to make a huge selection of necklaces and earrings. The above were my very first ones, I'm keeping the first set, but can make another identical if anyone is interested. I made the middle one last night, and need to make its mate today. Next week I will go to the craft store and expand my bead collection so that I can have a more diverse selection for sale. I have to figure out pricing and shipping this weekend sometime.

Lily's Smile

2011-06-14T21:39:00.000-07:00

The first decent smile captured on camera. :) It melts our hearts.

They Say It's My Birthday

2011-05-02T15:14:00.000-07:00

Justin, Maddy and Lily bought me the bicycle trailer I have wanted for months, a picture frame and some shopping monies. But Justin didn't realize that he had already given me the best two presents ever. DUN DUN DUN

Justin and Madeline, somewhere around her 1st birthday.

Madeline and Lillian, May 1 2011

Madeline and Lillian, April 21st 2011

Sara and Lillian, May 2nd 2011

On Beyond Birth

2011-04-27T10:20:00.001-07:00

Our beautiful Lillian is now 9 days old, and she seems to be doing well. We are trying to breastfeed this time around and she is a little trooper. Every two and a half hours practically like clockwork. I had forgotten how sore it can make you in the first few days though, as obviously you can lose a layer or two of skin while they are nursing, and as you're trying to get positioning correct and all that fun stuff.

I know she is eating well though, as it seems that every diaper we change is a mess! And we change her a LOT. She's gone through two packs of newborn diapers nearly, in only 9 days!! :P

Today I've decided that I am going to pump at least once a day though, if only to increase supply, and give Justin a chance to feed her as well. It might not be a bad idea to have a bottle ready to go for car rides, just in case we can't get somewhere and stop for 45 minutes to an hour so I can feed her properly. I'm not planning on doing this often though, but it never hurts to be prepared.

Lily has incredible hiccups! Madeline was holding her, and looked at her pointedly and asked, "Lily, are you a Squeak Toy??"

It was adorable.

In other news:

Baron the Dachshund is a bit jealous, but he seems to like the baby and is most inclined to sniff at her when she is in her moses basket. I keep an eye on this interaction, but I really think it is healthy for both of them. This way the dog gets used to the baby and I can be sure that he won't nip or jump in to the basket with her. The cats could care less about her, although I think Evie may have had a pee on the rug when we brought the baby home, just to show that she thinks we already had enough pets and we could take this new one back to the store for all she cared.

Tonight Justin and Jeremy are going to a huge Soccer game here in Utah. This will be my first time alone with both of our girls. I don't foresee any issues, and I figure we can sit and play games until Madeline goes to bed. She's been promised ice cream though, so we will have to do that as soon as she is out of school. She did very well at her soccer game yesterday, and we've promised her an ice cream every time she gets a goal.

Well there's our update. Hope things are well with everyone!

Introducing our Easter Lily

2011-04-25T09:35:00.001-07:00

Lillian Caren Wootton, April 18th 2011 6 lbs 13 oz 18 inches long. Instantly the best little sister on the planet, holding the record for the most hicccups had by 5 days of life and therefore dubbed "Squeak Toy" by big sister Madeline, and the cutest sneezes in the world.

We love our Lily.

Oh the fun we had yesterday...

2011-04-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

Today's Baby and Bump Forum Post

2011-04-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

I'm having a scan in two hours to see where baby is

positioned, and I am so excited that I can not

contain myself. If it wasn't for the fact that I have

to fast for the 8 hours before, I'd really be having

a great time of it! So I've been keeping myself busy

by cleaning and having hubby take a picture of me

and my bump at 37 weeks.

But first, here's 27 weeks as a comparison:

Then 37 weeks. Sheesh can you tell I'm tired?

I'll update this thread with pictures from the scan today

once we get home! YAY

Edit:

So we got our ultrasound, but our little one was not

really co-operating much. She is head down, and

her back is towards my belly button, which they tell

me is a good thing, not that it matters since she will

be born via c-section on the 18th anyway.

The machine said she will be 7lbs +. We didn't get

any actual pictures because she was facing away

from the sonographer and was NOT willing to turn

for her under any circumstances. But we did get a

split second shot in the video she gave us that lets

us see her cute little chin, perfect little cherub lips

and pudgy little cheek. If you look closely you can

even see nostrils. She is laying on her side in this

picture, and the top of her head is to the right,

although you can not see it.

We are SO excited.

Crunch Time!

2011-03-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

Well we are into the -20 day area now and it is starting to freak me out. I've been trying to get the house in perfect order for all the visitors and such, but at this rate I am going to run out of time before I can get to the food storage room etc. At least most of the upstairs is clean.

Our lives are once again about to change. I like to think that this is going to be an easy transition, since Madeline will be in school throughout the day the baby will not seem like she is getting so much more attention than Madeline is.

She is so incredibly excited to be a big sister, and her list of things that she wants to teach the baby is astounding. She tells everyone that she is going to have a little sister and that she knows baby will be loud and need a lot of attention at first, but that babies grow up.

Sheesh, yeah, babies grow up. Look who's talking?! Madeline's almost 7!! It seems almost unfair how fast they grow up. Feels a bit like we have been cheated out of something. Though I hope when Madeline looks back at her childhood filled with vacations and camping adventures and plane rides and local excursions that she will not feel that she has been left out in any way.

She started soccer again this week, and she is doing incredibly well! Her first game was last night and they won the first game and lost the second one. (They do half games and switch up the teams.) Here's hoping that it won't be so cold for the rest of her games though. Grandma W and I froze our butts off out there watching her.

Anyways, I'm not too sure how much time I am going to have to post again until after the baby is born. I will make sure that there are pictures up as soon as possible though, so that no one is kept waiting.

*Hugs to all*

~Sara

It's A Spring Thing

2011-03-15T15:54:00.000-07:00

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day to get out and let the kids blow off their surplus energy! Danielle brought Kaden, Brinnley and Maggie out to our house and we took them to the park near Madeline's school. Don't let the snow on our mountains fool you! It was a great romp in the spring weather. :)

Crafty Things - Repost from baby blog

2011-03-13T13:39:00.000-07:00

So we ordered that Moses Basket and it arrived five days from our purchase. It got here, and I realized that to attach the hood to the base it was just velcro. Well, as sturdy as that is, I could envision it adhering to all sorts of things, be that the car, peoples clothing or even the dog.

So I rushed out to buy some ribbon that matched the theme in the room and I weaved it around the velcro to seal it all away. With the added benefit that it gave the basket a bit of color.

I was feeling pretty crafty that day, I seem to get a lot of crafty days lately, so I made a matching pillow for the crib and had some leftover fabric. I used that to make a summer blanket for the Moses Basket that we can also use for a changing pad surface if we need to.

The basket is pretty large, but the only way I could think of to show that was to have Madeline lay down beside it. :)

Today I had a moment where I could sit down and used that time to make this cute little clipie/bow/flower organizer for the baby's room. It was so easy! I promised Madeline we would go look for a large frame for her very soon so I can make her one backed in purple to match her room.

Photo Shoot with Madeline

2011-02-28T14:51:00.001-08:00

Madeline and I have had a very fun time taking pictures today. I figure, with all the baby things that are about to happen, and all the pictures that will be taken of JUST baby, it was time to do a photo shoot just for her. Here are four of the best. There are a few others that are fun, but these are by far my favorites. :)

Baby's room almost done

2011-02-25T08:52:00.000-08:00

Baby's room is almost complete! It's just short a throw pillow, a cushion for the back of the rocking chair, a toile cribsheet and a baby! Gee, this is going really fast!

A Rose, By Any Other Name

2011-02-14T07:56:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

We had our festivities yesterday so that Justin could participate. So for dinner we had lasagna, and drank apple cider from red hearted champagne flutes. Madeline LOVED the champagne flutes, though we had to teach her how to hold them without spilling. Justin brought me 12 dark long stem red roses (My absolute FAVORITES, one pictured above since I love to photograph them!) and a huge box of chocolate cherries. Madeline and I made him a "Fish Frame" with a picture of her and daddy in it, the four aforementioned champagne flutes, and an I <3 U Chocolate.

She was so excited to give daddy the frame that she had to tell him what it was before he even had it unwrapped! It was so much fun to decorate with her, and I thought it gave our Valentines celebration something that a purely store bought gift could never achieve.

We gave Madeline a plush dragon (because everyone knows that a six year old can NEVER have too many stuffed animals...), some silly bands and chocolates. The dragon was the sleep toy of choice last night.

I find that Valentines Day has lost a lot of the intended meaning since we were kids, but it is still important to remember to express how you feel towards each other. So in the spirit of how I was raised, I just wanted to tell you all how much I love you. Thank you for being such great friends and family.

A Onesie for Baby

2011-02-11T07:57:00.001-08:00

I saw this green onesie at the Dollar store, and honestly thought I was going to buy them all. I really should have bought at least two of them! I had the idea in my head of decorating them myself for uniqueness, and I was looking for something in the same color scheme as I have been doing the baby's room. This was perfect. :)

Maddy Wanted Butterflies

2011-02-10T17:47:00.000-08:00

Madeline asked for new stickers for her walls, as some of the small ones she had in her old room ripped while we were taking them down. I happened to know that they had wall stickers at the dollar store (Which is an UNBEATABLE price) and so off we went after school today. I bought both her and the baby some of these pretty butterflies. They go very well with the pictures of the Disney Princesses already in her room. I also bought her this cute phrase and stars. :)

New Playlist: Little Potato

2011-02-10T08:47:00.000-08:00

At the bottom of our blog there is a music playlist. If you click play on the first song you will hear the cutest song about being brought into the world that I think I have ever heard. :) I tried to make a baby themed playlist out of grown up songs. There are a few random songs at the end of the playlist simply because I like them though.

Lyrics to Little Potato:

You're my little potato, you're my little potato,

You're my little potato, they dug you up,

You come from underground!

The world is big, so big, so very big!
To you, it's new, it's new to you!

You're my little potato, you're my little potato,
You're my little potato, they dug you up,
You come from underground!

Let's talk about root crops (they dug you up),
And lamb chops (they chew on you),
And things to eat...like apples
and cheese and 'nanas and cream,
Jellies and butter,
it's late at night, I hope this little bottle helps you go to sleep!

They must have grown you wild,
you make a grown man a child,
I’ll go and play in the mud
to be with you my spud (potato).
When you came out looking red as a beet,
You had wrinkles on the bottoms of your feet!

Oh, you are so sweet potato!
You're my sweet potato,
you're my sweet potato, dug you up!
You come from underground!

You smile, a smile, a little smile!
The world is small, so small, it's very small!

You're my little potato, you're my little potato,
you're my little potato, they dug you up,
You come from underground!

You're my little potato, you're my little potato,
you're my little potato!

The OTHER hat

2011-02-06T15:31:00.000-08:00

Here's the hat to co-ordinate with Madeline's new hat in the previous post. But this one is a bit smaller, for the baby. :)

The Mad Hatter

2011-02-03T16:36:00.000-08:00

Madeline's hat turned out great too! She really likes it.

I think I probably need to make some of these and sell them on Etsy or something. They are way too much fun to make and take only a few hours worth of work. I'm planning to make the baby a hat that matches this one, only in reverse colors.

A Hat for a Head

2011-02-03T08:03:00.000-08:00

I woke up yesterday feeling like I needed a project. So I plunked myself down with the laptop and thought about all the crafting supplies I have in my house. YARN! I have that! So I looked up crocheting ideas and found a cute video on youtube to show me how to crochet roses.

But once you have a crocheted rose, you need something to do WITH it. So I made a hat for the baby. The hat took me way longer than it should have, and was a huge pain in the but, but I think it turned out pretty cute. :) And it will match the blanket I'm crocheting once it's done too.

Madeline's 100's Project

2011-02-01T16:52:00.000-08:00

Every year Madeline's school has a celebration for the hundredth day of classes. This year they sent home a poster sheet and asked that families help the child to make a poster representative of both the kiddo and their family as a whole. So after mild deliberation, we came up with this. Madeline did most of the glueing... I did most of the cutting out.... I think it's way cute. :)

Baby's Room Progress

2011-01-30T11:51:00.000-08:00

The lamp finally has a base! I think it turned out beautifully. Now to paint the walls and get rid of the blue for a pale green, hang some art work and finish with the baby bedding ( Crib skirt, decent sheets, a small pillow and a diaper stacker ) and we are good to go.

The canopy

2011-01-29T16:35:00.000-08:00

The next step in Madeline's room makeover, her long awaited canopy. Ikea is an amazing place. We also have three black shelves to put up for all of her collectibles.

Maddy's room finished, for now

2011-01-26T13:22:00.001-08:00

Last pic is the real color, other three are with the horrible light on and no flash...

You're Turning Violet Violet!

2011-01-25T13:22:00.000-08:00

Our arrangement with Madeline was that if she gave the baby her room upstairs that she could pick the paint color for her new room downstairs. Which was kind of melancholy since I had only a few months before painted this room blue. Such is the way of things. Justin's busting out the paint skills and painting her room purple as we speak. She's going to love it. :P

I Love Lamp

2011-01-25T10:40:00.000-08:00

Ok, so contrary to my blog's title, sometimes you DO have to spend a little money to get something awesome. However, in the case of the baby's nursery I've decided to try and keep us under the $300 price tag that usually looms over crib bedding and acessories.

White lamp shade: $7.99, Paper: Had it in the house, Paper punch: Had it in the house, Toile Ribbon: $2, Green Ribbon: Had it in the house, Mod Podge glue: Had it in the house.

I think I win this round. Stupid lamps for nurseries are like $40 online!!! NO WAY Jose!

This is the blanket I made for her last week. Cost me $20 total. Baby crib blankets online are roughly $100. And look! My lampshade matches!! YAY! (Wrinkles are because the glue was still wet, as it dries the moisture is removed from the paper and the wrinkles are smoothed out.)

Snow

2010-12-31T14:06:00.000-08:00

Tobogganing this year has been challenging, since we've not had much snow till now. Here is the celebratory "Jump" picture. If you look closely, you'll notice that only Justin's Bottom is in contact with the snow jump. Everything else is in the air. Good Form. :)

Gender Scan

2010-11-23T15:02:00.000-08:00

Oh yes, we found out allright. YAY! A baby sister for Madeline! We are THRILLED!

Ahead of the Gun

2010-11-15T11:11:00.000-08:00

Stockings are hung, wreath is up, one of my garlands is up. Fall stuff is starting to dissappear. Hey, Canadian Thanksgiving was a while ago. :) Not my fault American Thanksgiving is so close to December. :) 17 weeks 2 days pregnant today, gender scan on the 23rd of Nov!!

Halloween

2010-11-01T19:01:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few of our Halloween experiences, starting with the Annual Pumpkin Carve at the Mothership house, where Brad and Amanda who were up visiting from Canada got to carve their first pumpkins in years! Then on to Halloween Trick or Treat night (The saturday before Halloween here in Utah due to Halloween falling on a Sunday) and Madeline's awesome transformation into a Vampire!! It was a rainy chilly night, but our vampire still made off with two bags of goods!

October was a BUSY month!

Our Vampire

2010-10-29T08:41:00.000-07:00

Our Family Photos 2010

2010-10-29T08:37:00.000-07:00

First Grade Already?!

2010-09-21T12:42:00.000-07:00

Madeline's First Grade Picture!

Isn't it amazing how fast they grow up? It seems that only yesterday my munchkin was starting pre-school, and here we are in first grade already! I just wanted to share the picture with you all, since we are horrible at sending things parcel post.

Falling for Fall All Over Again

2010-09-16T08:07:00.000-07:00

Fall! Yay Fall! This is my favorite time of year, so I decided that since most of my fall decorations had Halloween written all over them I should take some time this year and find a few decorations that were just simply Fall themed. So I made this table centerpiece above, and bought two garlands and overlapped them for under the mantle. :) I think it's a good start, but I'm certainly not done yet!

3+1=4

2010-09-15T09:50:00.001-07:00

Guess what? :P

One more to add to our family! April 23rd 2011

Soccer Monster!

2010-09-01T17:47:00.000-07:00

Madeline started soccer this year and is really doing well, any pictures in a red shirt are from her first practice, the ones where she is wearing her "Watermelon" Jersey or a pink striped shirt are from her first game. She played Goalie for her first game and stopped FOUR shots on net. Click to enlarge images.

BELOW: First Soccer Practice

BELOW: First Soccer Game September 1st 2010 note: Jersey was late arriving she warmed up in her polo shirt instead.

HAH! No goals for you BLUE TEAM!

Maddy Wootton
Favorite Color: Green
Astrological Sign: Taurus
Purpose in Life: To play soccer and look cute doing it!

Becoming Someone Else

2010-08-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

So glad that dressing up is still the cool thing to do when you have friends over!

Bailey, Katie and Madeline were Tinkerbell, Ballerina Girl and Pirate Girl all at random times throughout their "Late-Night" party the other day. They had so much fun watching movies and eating popcorn and dressing up! It's kind of funny watching them, they have all grown up so fast. The changes in their personalities have been as dramatic as the changes in their clothing that night! Thank goodness for little girls. :)

Bathing Beauty

2010-07-27T18:01:00.000-07:00

Madeline has always been a water baby, but she HATES to get water in her eyes. So this year we decided that she should take swimming lessons. Here are a few pictures of her progress. Definitely something we will be doing again!

Top Marks!! We're so proud of her. :)

Blogging about Tasty Treats

2010-06-18T12:51:00.001-07:00

My new blog for recipes, food tips and more.

Things in the Clouds

2010-06-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else see what I see??? Click the image to make it

larger, I took this picture yesterday as the beautiful clouds poured in from California. I guess I just had this particular thing on the brain
yesterday. I'll give you a hint; It has a tail and is sitting on the rocks. :)

CRAZY huh?!? I love clouds.

So Much Crazy

2010-06-02T09:03:00.000-07:00

We've been running about for the past two months or so like chickens whom have been beheaded. There are so many pictures from our random adventures that I can only toss up a few here for you, at the risk of boring you to death with all the crap we did!! We went to Disneyland and California Adventure, rode all the rides in the rain but that was okay, it meant less people in lines!

Madeline purchased herself some snazzy ears (With Grandma and Grandpa's help) and we found her a Tinker-Minnie.

Then we all came back home to find that spring had finally arrived in Utah.

Though there was still snow on the mountains we would not see much more of it.

On his way home from work Justin obeyed the rules of the road, sadly the kid behind him in the Avalanche truck did not. So they wrote off our Eclipse. This made room for our new:

2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer. Leather and seats 7. We're excited for camping!

Because of our trip to Canada, Madeline missed her graduation with her class from Kindergarten. So she ended up walking with another Kindergarten class. This is Madeline and the teacher's daughter Alliscen.

She walked in to the Auditorium in hot pink sunglasses. I just about died laughing. She handed them to me as she continued to take her seat on the stage.

One more diploma for the scrapbook. At this rate she will be the most learned child in Utah.

On the last day of school, Madeline and Alliscen exchange phone numbers. School might never be the same, but the friends you make along the way are what make it exciting.

We are so proud of you Madeline. Now it is time for Summer!

Painting Cousins

2010-04-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

Today Kaden and Brinnley came to play at our house for a while. The kids had a great time playing in the toy room and painting pictures in the kitchen.

There was only ONE paintbrush. There was only ONE Smock. And amazingly enough, there were NO fights as they waited their turns to paint. I even got a thumbs up from Brinnley. :)

Spring Flowers

2010-04-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

Spring has finally brought out some color! We are so happy that the winter weather is gone now, and are looking forward to the warmth and the sunshine. Just thought I could share some of my garden with you.

Krishna Temple

2010-02-17T14:45:00.000-08:00

On Valentine's Day, Justin Madeline and I were lucky enough to visit the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork for their Shiva Rita festival. It was an absolutely GORGEOUS event, in a building that took my breath away. Dancing and singing and chanting, and a power-point presentation on Shiva and the symbolism of his appearance, and hand gestures.

I am so thankful that the world we live in is so diverse.

Back on the Bandwagon

2010-02-10T16:10:00.000-08:00

I am getting back on the Healthy Eating and Calorie Counting bandwagon. So here is a post I figure is interesting enough, and can store this info for me for later!

There are several fruits and vegetables that occur in nature that while they have calories when consumed, actually result in negative calories to the body after digested. It is because these foods cause the body to extend more calories to digest them than they have through their nutritional content that they become zero calorie foods.

These foods can basically be consumed in whatever quantity you want without feeling guilty. They are healthy and provide nutritional content your body needs. Keep in mind, however, that these foods only have this negative calorie effect when consumed without extras added to them like butter, sugar or dips.

Negative Calorie Foods
Asparagus	Apple
Beet	Cranberries
Broccoli	Grapefruit
Cabbage	Lemon
Carrot	Mango
Cauliflower	Orange
Celery	Pineapple
Chile peppers	Raspberries
Cucumber	Strawberries
Dandelion	Tangerine
Endive
Garden cress
Garlic
Green beans
Lettuce
Onion
Papaya
Radishes
Spinach
Turnip
Zucchini

Algae Free and Feelin Fine

2010-02-09T09:26:00.000-08:00

Here's an update pic on my tank. Stupid green bubble tip anemone is coveting the territory owned by my Green Sinulara, and has probably destroyed two of my SPS in the process, but the tank overall looks great. My Blue Tang has survived, for the time being. Hopefully he won't die in a few months of cyanide catch poisoning like my poor little blue eyed kole tang did.

My awesome brother in law gave me his Chromis (The three lighter blue fishies) and my clown fish are doing well. Justin gave me a huge chunk of Orange Digitata and I put it in yesterday. (See it by the clown fish's tail)

I'm so happy that the tank is looking good finally. Months of hand plucking algae have finally paid off.

Arizona- Where it Was Warm.

2010-02-07T11:27:00.001-08:00

Here are a few snapshots from our visit out with my parents in Arizona. They rented a condo, so we went out to play over a weekend, stopping at the Hoover Dam on the way and heading to the Phoenix Zoo on the second last day. It was a lot of fun!

For more pictures from our trip, you may be interested in my photography portfolio found Here.

January 22nd, with a VENGEANCE!

2010-01-22T20:31:00.000-08:00

Don't let this first picture fool you, it was taken at 9:30 pm on the 22nd of January with no flash. It's bright as day out there right now. The snow is coming down so hard, that I just BARELY shoveled the walkways and driveway. Can you tell? I sure can't.

This one was with the flash on, to prove that it is still snowing.

Today it almost feels like Winter.

Real Tree Pictures; As Promised.

2009-12-05T13:32:00.000-08:00

The real tree has been adorned. So pretty. :)

Madeline's Charlie Brown Tree

2009-12-03T19:45:00.000-08:00

So the story goes, as we went this evening to pick out our Christmas tree, Madeline was walking with her grandparents, and decided to pick up a tree the size of her and truck it around. The Tree selling man took Madeline over and made her a little tree she could take home for free.

It was a pathetic little thing, but she loved it instantly. Now that it is decorated and in her bedroom, I have to tell you, with the "Poor Little Christmas Tree" song playing on the radio, I was almost moved to tears.

Her tree, even if it is only a cutting pushed into a bit of a stump, is gorgeous, and really has brought out the Chrismas Spirit in our house.

Note: Once our branches have settled on our tree and it is decorated I will post pictures. It's very pretty too, but I think it just might pale in comparison to Madeline's Charlie Brown Tree. It just looks so proud to be lighting up a little part of a five year old's childhood.

One tree down, one to go.

2009-12-02T13:47:00.000-08:00

We decided this year to do two trees, one because we have set it up every year since we bought it, and the other because we wanted a real tree this year. Tomorrow we will get the real one. But here's the colorful one set up now. :)

Decking the Halls...sort of thing...

2009-11-21T23:15:00.000-08:00

Purchased some new Garlands today. I'm one week ahead of Christmas Decorating the entire house, but I couldn't resist putting these together as soon as we got home tonight. I'm proud of them, so I thought I would share.

New Fishies

2009-11-16T15:16:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I picked up some new fish on Saturday, and while trying to photograph them today I managed to catch a picture of my elusive Coral Beauty Angel as he snuck out of his cave to investigate the camera lens.

This is my "Yellow" Percula Clown Fish .

This is my Orange Percula Clown Fish.

And I got three of these cute little Blue-Green Chromis, and they school. But they are so fast that there is NO WAY I can catch a picture of them all together! :P

Hope you like them, Hope they live. They're pretty.

A post filled with words.

2009-11-13T11:40:00.001-08:00

It has been an incredibly long year filled with emotions and stresses and just round about life. Looking back at all of our picture posts it has occurred to me that we don't usually say much in sense of words, so much as we post the pictures of the things that happen in our lives.

This year, Madeline started Kindergarten, kissed her first boy (kiddie kisses are just so prescious!), got grounded for three weeks consecutively, wrote her name all by herself, started making her own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and learned to count past 30 all by herself. She has grown taller by at least two inches and is continuing to grow like a weed. She hates making her room tidy, loves watching tv and doing crafts. She shows interest in barbies, camping, road trips, dressing up, baking, making pizza and cookies and coloring.

She excels in artistic ability with each step.

I've been busy working most days, still with Infopia as a Contractor. Seems they have allowed me to keep my title of Senior Data Services Analyst, which is nice enough I guess since I am only working from home now. Justin no longer works for Infopia. He received an offer letter to work for a company closer to home and seems to be doing well there. I think he loves the fact that he doesn't have to drive so far to get to work in the morning. Over all, at the very least, we are financially stable, which sadly is more than I can say for a lot of the world right now. Not quite at the stage we were before, being able to spend a bit more freely in the past, but still able to eat out occasionally and buy the odd thing we want.

We are excited for Christmas, excited for a trip to Arizona in January, and a possible trip to Disney in February or March. Our friends Brad and Amanda have recently become engaged and are tentatively setting the date sometime fall 2010, so we are excited to go to Canada for that too.

Overall, we are surviving. Hope you are all doing well!

~Sara

Sara's Fish Tank-Salvaged October 3rd

2009-11-06T16:08:00.001-08:00

The Halloween Night Pics

2009-11-01T19:46:00.001-08:00

Pumpkin Carve 2009

2009-10-27T08:51:00.000-07:00

When we arrived at Casa del Wootton, the Bellman was in a grave state, but he let us in anyway..

Once the castle was fortified, we gathered together to spill the innards of the orange beasts.

Jared's beast refused to give up the ghost, and required some extra skill to pop the top. But Caren out skilled us all. (Must have been Grandma magic happening!)

Even the wee ones were encouraged to partake in the sacrifice. Here Justin shows Madeline how to reach in up to her elbows in gore. :P

The apprentice showed a keen interest in the implements of the Orange Beast's demise. Probably got that from my side of the family.

My allergy to pumpkins never stops me from being creative, but I sure wish that these gloves could go to my elbow...

Justin's beast finally submitted, and something tells me it liked it too!

Mine turned into a mighty fire breathing beast, Madeline's was gifted with five eyes and a gaping toothy grin!

Many orange beasts were slain this night!

There was even a visitor to escort them on their way!

Halloween Cupcakes and Table

2009-10-25T17:14:00.001-07:00

Good Shots from the Argyle (Hogle) Zoo Trip

2009-10-25T16:57:00.000-07:00

Madeline's Halloween Costume 2009

2009-10-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

She finally made a decision! It has been so stressful for her to figure out what she wanted to be this year for halloween, but her result should not really come as a surprise! She is so cute. :)

Pumpkin Baskets!

2009-09-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

Roberts has always got such amazing sales happening! We wandered over there yesterday and I found these cute weaved pumpkin baskets. I think I have more halloween stuff than Christmas stuff! It's my favorite holiday by far!

Grateful for Gardens

2009-09-26T18:03:00.000-07:00

This is one of the many Apple baskets that we filled this year. Along with a moderately sized Zucchini and a tasty looking Acorn Squash. Next weekend I think we will be done with picking apples. They DO make some tasty pies though! I love fall. :)

Madeline had a fun day today hanging out with Uncle Jeremy and Uncle Jared and seeing the fish at the fish store. There is so much going on, and so much to do! Can't wait till Canadian Thanksgiving!

The Katidid

2009-09-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

Madeline and I crossed paths with a BEAUTIFUL large Katidid today on our walk home from school. Thought I'd share.

Homework

2009-09-23T12:35:00.000-07:00

Madeline is enjoying school. She really loves to write her alphabet and to do her numbers and colors. The school sent home a homework paper for the parents, listing what is due on which days and our little trooper is a whole day ahead of the class schedule. I'm so proud of her.

Picture Day!

2009-09-08T08:30:00.001-07:00

This cute little monster trundled out the door to school this morning. Picture day! She is so excited! I just had to share. :)

Zoos, Parks, and Grandparents!

2009-07-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

These are all a bit jumbled as Blogger is being a bit of a pain today, but here are a few pics from the visit with my Mom and Stepdad. We went to the zoo, and to two parks and just had a lot of fun hanging out. I'll post more pics of zoo and visit tomorrow and hopefully Blogger will stop being arrogant. :)

Thanksgiving Point Locals

2009-07-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a random Princess photo. It could not be helped. They were playing yesterday and were just SO cute!

Anyway, the main reason for the post:

Thanksgiving point has a really cute little "Farm" that you can take your kiddos to for a really cheap outdoor activity. So on Saturday, Justin Madeline Caren and I all went over to take a look at all their critters. Of course Madeline gravitated towards the horses like an old biddy to a bingo barn.

In the end, it was either some time in "Jail" or we'd have to find someplace to put a horse here at home...

There were a lot of animals, but it was such a hot day that most of the poor things were passed out in the shade. Here are a few that managed to stay awake for us.

Tom the Turkey looked a little Henpecked, but he was still VERY impressive.

This gentleman was absolutely beautiful. No matter how I tried I could not get him to display his feathers though.

Ok so they're not all awake, but this little guy couldn't have been more than a day old! He was still wet behind the ears and he was SOOOOO tiny! That water can behind him is not much bigger than an ice cream maker!

We were graced with a royal presence as well. Yurtle the Turtle, King of his Pond.

Madeline had fun feeding the animals corn, but these two just could not wait their turns. So she scolded them!

Every day that passes I am reminded how much I love my husband and daughter. I am so happy that we got to spend a day just hanging out at the farm!

Belated 4th of July Pics

2009-07-08T08:05:00.000-07:00

This year's fourth of July was fun. There is nothing much that makes me happier than going to a huge parade with my family, then hanging out at Gardener Village and Ikea with Justin's Mom till late afternoon and kicking back to watch the fireworks at Thanksgiving Point.

A Happy Birthday for Cambrie Ann

2009-07-06T19:46:00.000-07:00

We wandered out to Eagle Mountain on Sunday to party hard for Cambrie's 4th birthday. BBQed burgers, cake, treats and fun party games ensued. It was really great to get out there and just hang out with the family. Everyone was there save for Dad who was out in JAMAICA of all places, probably puttering about in the sand on a beach somewhere. We missed you Dad.

Thanks Jason and Katie for the invite! Hope it was a great birthday Cambrie!

Baby done growed up. Tear

2009-05-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Madeline. You've made it through the first year of education. You've learned your alphabet and how to write your name. You've perfected your shapes and learned how to share and socialize with others. You make us very proud. Congratulations on your graduation from Pre-School. Love you.

Transitions

2009-04-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

On April 15th 2009, it snowed and Madeline played outside in her snowsuit. One week later, Spring arrived and the world was immersed in colors.

I am so glad that the warm weather is here. :) Only a few more days till vacation!

The Easter Motherload

2009-04-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

Wheeler Farms on the Saturday before Easter the family got together and saw all the animals and watched the Easter Bunny land in a helicopter. Madeline, Kaden and Brinnley got on a Wagon and trundled off to pick out a few eggs hidden (Poured in plain sight...) in a field, then they went on a bounce slide and we left for lunch. Rainy and overcast was just not working. But it was fun.

Easter at our house. The bunny brought our blonde so much candy that I think she might be on a three month sugar rush!

Off to Grandma and Grandpa's House! The dinner was amazing, the company was wonderful, and the kids had an awesome egg hunt out in the yard. Afterward, the adults had their egg hunt and wandered off with a pocket full of monies.

It was a good Easter Weekend.

Random Picture Re-Cap

2009-03-31T15:27:00.000-07:00

Madeline wanted me to take a picture of her room when she was going to bed, so that she could always remember her "Tinkerbell Lights". Jen gave them to her for Christmas last year. They are cute little stars, and look like the fairy Dust that Tinkerbell sprinkles on the children to make them fly.

She made this hat in Pre-School last Thanksgiving. I have no idea where she found it, but it made a comeback on Monday night. She's one VERY blond Indian Princess.

Danielle took me over to a Scrapbook Sale in Centerville yesterday and the kids had a ball just hanging out and having a road trip. Kaden and Madeline posed for this picture, but that does not make it any less cute!

Madeline and I wandered over to the dentist today to take care of a surface cavity on her back tooth. They gave her Nitrous oxide on super low (No topical or needle much to my surprise), a Visor video machine that played Bambi for her while she lay there, a balloon and a princess tiara AND a slinky afterward. I swear, she looked me in the face and said, "Mommy, that didn't hurt AT ALL." THEN she rolled her eyes. :)

So all is well in the world of Madeline and her love for the dentist still exists. Miracles. I never got all that stuff for having a cavity. I just got THE TALK about having to brush!

31 Days till Disney!! So today I bought a tote for the trip. C'mon April, hurry up and go away already!

Madeline's Fun Day/New Camera

2009-03-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

As you can see in Exhibits A-D Madeline had one absolutely incredible day playing with the kids in the neighborhood. I am so glad that I could document her fun! Justin's dad and brother helped me pick out an amazing Nikon D60 and some killer VR (Vibration Reduction) lenses so that we can keep some of these memories in awesome clarity. We're getting super excited to go on our cruise this spring and can barely contain our anticipation. It is much like looking forward to Christmas! We will definitely post pictures after THAT vacation!

St Patty's With the French....Bonjour! Hiccup...

2009-03-17T17:52:00.000-07:00

Madeline had a lot of fun at school today making hats and searching for leprechauns! She didn't catch one, but she did find his chocolate bars of gold! (Hershey bars covered in gold foil) Then for dinner tonight we made Green French Toast with Granny Smith Apples and Turkey Bacon. ( I found a maple syrup that is 15 calories per 1/4 cup of syrup! WHO EATS A 1/4 cup of syrup???... besides my friend Brad that is...)

Was a good day all in all!

What the White??

2009-02-09T15:04:00.000-08:00

Why oh why is it snowing out side?? We are so done with winter. Poor Madeline wants to go out and play in it, but it's a good inch of slush under that fresh powder. Think that image is in black and white? Guess again. Look at the yellow hire hydrant. Visibility just went from 100% to 50% in Orem ladies and gents. Drive safe out there.

Eat Your Heart Out

2009-02-05T21:28:00.000-08:00

More cookies! This time for Valentines day. Maddy and I made heart chocolate chip cookies tonight and they are SO TASTY.

Madeline is the BEST helper. She stirred the ingredients and helped me mold the cookies into the heart shapes. We had a lot of fun.