Week 30: Day at the Beach

Now, I know what you're thinking: "Don't you live in Utah?" Yes. Yes, I do. And we drove a surprisingly short time to get to this lovely beach in IDAHO. Perhaps you've heard of it? Bear Lake was discovered a bit by accident for us; my husband's family goes there every year in the summer to enjoy the soft sand and warm surf. (And, yes, Bear Lake really does have both!) I just love how the beach brings out our true personalities.

There are those who sit around, eat some, and attempt to keep mostly un-sandy:

There are those who like the excuse to get out, run around, and play:

And, then, there are those that just love everything about the shore so deeply that they become one with the sand and waves.

Week 29c: Best husband ever.

So, after being gone for three days, fixing up a rental place by doing things like install faucets and paint, my husband came home and was still willing to put up our new curtain rods after the kids went to bed. ... I know, right!? (AND, the finials will look so great with my new lamp!)

Week 29b: Rainy Day

Summer rain as enjoyed from the front porch.

Week 29: Thrift

The thing that I love about thrift stores, is that for $5 you can walk out of the store with this:

But come home with this:

Week 28: Baby Amulek

This here is living proof that if the baby is cute enough you CAN take good baby pictures with even the crappiest of point/shoot cameras... (Isn't he just such a little dolly!?)

And, okay, I have to admit that I just love the way babies make themselves understood, sometimes:

Week 27: Visual Love Letter to Seattle

Seattle=green. As evidenced by this view through my friend's kitchen window.

The Gum Wall (Yeah...gross, right?)

When in doubt as to whether or not you are in the correct restroom, please check your chromosomes. Yes, seriously.

A view from the inside of the Seattle public library. (We're sort of nerdy. Even on road trips.)

Some lovely peonies at the Pike Place market.

Three of my experiments with low light at Golden Gardens.

A spider-web at Gas Works Park

The fantastically beautiful reading room in the Suzzallo Library on the University of Washington's campus.

A view through the campus' sunlit cherry trees.

SAM (Seattle Art Museum)

Green Lake, Underexposed

Green Lake, Overexposed

The most AWESOME people to bomb around Seattle with!!! :D

Week 26: Annie and Eric

Took some lovely engagement pictures for a lovely couple tonight! Congrats to Annie and Eric, and here's a little sneak peek!

Week 25: Ah, Youth

My husband is off to be a leader for a youth camping trip this week and I loved the juxtaposition of our fridge pre- and post- the camping trip prep. We look like paupers. (Though I doubt many paupers have the watermelon...)

Week 24: Inside Looking Out

Yay for the stomach flu! :( No, not really, of course. Unfortunately, Week 24 was heinously full of laundry and fevers for us, and so I didn't actually think to take any pictures. Fortunately, my five-year-old has got my back. She actually took this shot through the blinds of the front window, and I felt it was a good sum-up of our quarantined state last week.

Week 23: Coloring

I love to color. Seriously. One of the things that kept me sane all through high school and college was whipping out the ol' Prismacolors and doing some SERIOUS doodling on my notes. Maybe I'll share some someday. Tonight, though, after the other little guys were off to bed (and Daddy was off to a meeting), La Princesa and I colored some paper dolls together. Now, the real question is how to duplicate that gorgeous hair of hers via Prismacolor...

Week 22b: Bruised and Broken

Just glad we've survived this week. (So far. Oi.)

Isabel's scraped knee.

Asher's bruised cheek. (You should hear the story about this one. It involves a clever older cousin and "gobblers" that will get you if you cry. Classic.)

Some of the bruises left over as my sprained ankle heals...

Crowning achievement: Abram falling on a stick in the yard. O.O (That was approximately what my face looked like when I first saw the poor little guy.) He *thankfully* did not poke his eye out OR need stitches. *Count your blessings, name them one by one...* And, sadly, that OTHER scratch on his cheek was from something ELSE this week. *sigh*

Week 22: "Seasonal" Visitors

First off, we have the UGLIEST bush in our front yard. It was once probably a well-behaved miniature Alberta Spruce, perfectly conical and nicely trimmed. Now it's overgrown to the nth degree and in places it has started to genetically revert to its larger (and less-containable) form, leaving large unsightly gaps. Now. I would like nothing more than to be rid of this monstrosity, but for the fact that every year we have these GORGEOUSLY colorful birds visit. And they LOVE that ugly bush! The Western Tanager looks like something straight out of the tropics; which is a pretty rare thing here in the Rocky Mountains. I look forward to their visit every year. (And, in case you are wondering, a group of Western Tanagers is apparently called a "season". Hence, the clever play on words for the title. Yuck, yuck.)

I apologize for the low photo-quality... this was taken through our very dirty window. :? At least it gives you a small impression of the beautiful color!

Week 21: Vivid

I had such a colorful laundry day on Wednesday that I just felt like sharing it with all of you. :D (This is what happens when you let your five-year-old pick out not only her own clothes, but her own bed sheets...)

Week 20: Epic Fail

So, this is late. And, for a minute I thought I had totally failed in my attempt to take at least one picture a week; then, I discovered that I DID take this quick snapshot of my kids as they headed off to a luau birthday party last weekend. It's a lousy picture quality-wise, but it makes me laugh that to go to a luau in MAY, my kids had to wear sweaters because of the frigid rain that never ceased. Fail, Utah. Fail.

Week 19: Highlit

So, a really nice girl I know offered to give me highlights just because she likes doing them. I have never dyed my hair because I'm so UBER-low-maintenance about my appearance, that I didn't want to have to upkeep anything. But, hey. I was up for a change, so I figured, why not!? Happy (early) Birthday to me!

Low-Sugar Dandelion Jam

Okay, so I would say that this dandelion jam is really more of a dandelion jelly, but now I'm just being nitpicky. My lawn inspired me to give it a try (and the nice weather we had all last week cooperated very nicely, as did my dandelion-pickers); this blog gave me a starting point. When I went to purchase the pectin, I decided to attempt a low-sugar one, just for laughs. (Please note: I have NEVER attempted jam because it completely terrifies me. So, this was me out on a very long and brittle limb...)

Here's what I ended up doing:


Low-Sugar Dandelion (Jelly) Jam:

2 Cups loose-packed dandelion petals
2 Cups boiling water
Juice and zest of one large-ish lemon
1 1/3 Cup sugar
1/2 packet of powdered low-sugar pectin (I used Ball brand "No-Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin"

Get your children to behead every bright yellow dandelion in sight. Then comes the hard part: take the flowers inside and carefully pull out the yellow petals until you have two cups worth. (You can include the whitish fluffy stuff, too, but DON'T get ANY green from the leaves or sepals, or you WILL regret it. Or so I'm told. :P ) Put a movie on for the kids during this part, because it will take awhile.

When you finally have two-cups-worth, put them in a medium bowl and pour the two cups of boiling water in. Steep overnight. Next day, strain through muslin (or if you're cheap like me, a simple flour-bag towel will do), into a large sauce pan. Discard petals. Add lemon zest and juice to the pan. (I wanted mine a little "chunky", so I even threw in some of the pulp. If you prefer a smoother jam consistency, you could put the zest in with the dandelion petals the night before.) Add sugar and pectin and boil according to package directions.


There! Done! Here's what I ended up with:

And, because I was already pushing my limits with this attempt (laziness and terror holding equal sway), I did not attempt to actually can it. Just dumped it all into a big jar and have been eating it on my toast nearly every day since.

In case you are wondering, it tastes tart and lemon-y. I honestly wonder how much leaving out the dandelions would affect the taste in the long run... (Lazy.)

Week 18: Knights of the Kitchen Table.

Oh, yes those are my bundt and tube pans; why do you ask?

And, in case you are wondering, no. This isn't the first time this has happened...

Week 17b: A Pirate and a Lady (and a Baby?)

What do you get when you mix my daughter's imagination, with my son's silliness, a pile of Daddy's shoes, and one tired baby? You guessed it! These pictures!