So Exciting!!
Posted By Cori on July 5, 2010
Taken about a week ago. There are several more as of today.
Keeping those fingers crossed!
Man! That Went Fast!
Posted By Cori on July 3, 2010
Recently Nikaela and her family came to visit. We had SO much fun with them! We did lots of fun activities and still managed to say, “Oh, we never…” after they left. It’s just so hard sometimes to live this far away from them.
They got here on a Sunday and the fun started immediately. I made a roast beef with all the fixings (including Grandma Eddie’s homemade rolls). And then we went out back for a fire in the fire pit and s’mores. By the time the sun went down (about 9:30 these days), the kids seemed ready to jump into the new Cars and Disney Princess sleeping bags Garret and I bought them. They snuggled right in and drifted off. I wish I’d gotten a photo of that!
Monday Nikaela and I went shopping and she gave me an official Image Consultation. We had a blast! And when we got home, the guys had BBQ’d steaks for dinner – yum!
Tuesday was Toastmasters and hair style day. Wednesday and Thursday we went camping in American Fork canyon.
Friday was Salt Lake City and photo shoots. And Saturday was packing-up and then a brief shooting session in the hills with Garret’s 22 before they left.
A few photos from story time and bath time.
Is there any more comforting place to be than Grandpa’s lap?
We love bath time with the grandkids. When our daughters were little we had a pretty strict bedtime routine. My Mom taught me that kids like routine and feel safe and comfortable when they know what to expect. We made bathtime – whether short or long – part of the good night routine and now our daughter does it with her kids. Such fun playtime for Grandpa, Gideon and Bela!
I love Garret’s deep, smooth voice and so do the kids. But then, kids just love Garret! We can be at Church, the store, just about anywhere and Garret can make googly eyes with nearby children and they will smile and giggle shyly. If I smile at them, they often just look back blankly. Garret is a charmer…
Gideon and I were working on making him a new hat on a hat loom. He says he can’t find the camo one I made him at Christmas. This one is dark blue with a light blue stripe.
Their visit just flew! But each moment was wonderful. It’s always hard for Garret and I to watch our guests drive away. We usually sit on the porch swing until we can talk without crying. But we just try to remember all the reasons we are here and remind ourselves of our great blessings. At least we live close enough to see each other every few months!
Yes, 37 Tomato Plants
Posted By Cori on June 28, 2010
So, as most of you know by now, tomatoes are pretty important to us. Garret and I love fresh salsa, homemade tomato soup, diced tomatoes in salads and with pasta, sliced tomatoes with anything, etc., etc., etc. So we decided if there was one thing we were going to be successful at in a home garden this year it was going to be tomatoes. If you’ll remember right, I planted 70 seedlings in four varieties. Of those, 65 grew well. And then we got a little… something. A blight perhaps? Not sure, but it affected several plants and we were down to a mere 45-ish! I truly wasn’t too worried because I didn’t expect to have half that many survive the seedling phase.
Then we planted them in the ground. It was after Mother’s Day – supposedly safe by almost all neighborhood friends’ accounts. And the following weekend it snowed.
A few more plants fell by the wayside.
After all that baby-ing, the tomatoes were not looking so hot. Garret and I were getting concerned that we might not get any homegrown tomatoes this year. Maybe we panicked a bit early, but panic we did. We had heard about Global Buckets from my sister so we looked them up. Pretty intriguing! On Memorial Day we went and got all the supplies to make 10 one-bucket Global Buckets.
While Garret cut all the pipes we needed…
… I cut the handles off the strainers that go in the bottom of the buckets. We got these at the dollar store.
Then we cut holes for the pipes.
We put the strainer upside-down in the bottom of the bucket, then put the large pipe with the cut-out down through the large hole in the bottom (now top) of the strainer.
Then Garret lined up the holes in the sides of the strainer and made matching holes in the buckets for the smaller, black drainage pipes.
Now we just need to add the soil. And the plants.
We got the soil good and damp before putting it in the buckets.
It was hard work stirring the damp soil, so I turned it over to Mr. Muscles.
*sigh*
We mixed lime in with the soil and then poured fertilizer around the outside edge of the buckets. Just following directions…
Then we put plastic over all that and…
… cut an ‘X’ in the center to put the plant in. We dug a deep hole in the center and buried the plant pretty deep – about 2/3 of it.
Now supposedly we water from the top of the white pipe only – never the center where the plant is. I must admit to a little skepticism. If my sister and her husband hadn’t had such huge success I would be dubious. I’ll be anxious to see how they do, though, as the “Ground Tomatoes” (as we now call them) don’t look too good at all.
All ready to go! We did turn the buckets so we could reach the water pipe a little easier. Now we’ll see what these babies do.
So… with 10 Global Bucket tomatoes and the 27 Ground tomatoes that have survived – we have a lot of tomato plants. And just counting the days til we see that first little tomato.
Wait a Minute…
Posted By Cori on May 24, 2010
Who ordered snow at the end of May? Sure, it’s pretty, but I’m a bit worried about my garden.
Have a lovely Spring day, wherever you are! Me? I think I’ll skip Spring Fever and move on to Summer Fever. It’s got to be right around the corner!
Good Morning, Spring!
Posted By Cori on May 17, 2010
I have to say that I love living in Utah; I have found very few things I dislike about life here.
But these ant piles completely freak me out!
This one was by our garage door this morning when we stepped out for our walk.
It seems like they’re all over instantly. It’s so strange because there was nothing – nothing – there yesterday. These huge ant piles appear literally overnight.
Coming from AZ, I’m extremely nervous around large piles of ants – and I’ve rarely seen them in hills this big there. But in AZ, if they’re fire ants, they are very aggressive and their bite is painful. In Utah, the mounds are huge, but they don’t seem to care if we’re there or not.
As soon as Garret poured ant killer on them, they started pouring out of the cracks – by the thousands. It is disgusting! They climb all over each other and create big hills of ants. Yuck
By the afternoon, there will be no trace of them whatsoever.
It finally warmed up enough for me to feel comfortable planting our tomatoes. Remember those tiny little seeds?
A pull-out view of the whole garden at this point. We’ve been able to plant a lot of vegetables in this one little strip of bedding. The peas are coming along nicely – even starting to grab hold of the trellis. And now that it’s warmed up a bit the radishes are starting to grow. But the carrots are still very small – I haven’t even been able to thin them yet.
Being a rental property, we didn’t have any control over the care of the home and yard before we moved in last year. And, in all honesty, I don’t think it’s physically possible for us to get rid of all the dandelions in the time we will spend in this home. They are everywhere! I pull a few here and there, but they are evil little things. In AZ, we thought they were kind of pretty. HA! (Well, yeah, they kind of are – they just don’t stay pretty for long!)
This little picnic table is just so sad it’s adorable! It was never sealed, so the wood has turned to pulp. You can’t touch the table without coming away with a ton of tiny bits of wood all over. I keep my pots and herbs on it, though, and it works great for that. Kind of chaming.
Many of you may remember my herbs from last year… sad.
But this year we are getting tons of seedlings! Again, they waited until the sun came out but now they are sprouting in force. I’m considering grabbing a couple packets of some other herbs to try.
This is one of my favorite things about living in Utah – spring with snow still in the mountains. The bases of the mountains and the fields are all green with tiny purple wildflowers, but the peaks are still capped with snow.
And here in the valley, there are blooms and seedlings everywhere. So pretty!
Have a great Spring day!!
Photo of the Day
Posted By Cori on May 11, 2010
Well, I am just SO thrilled! The Lay’s Happiness Exhibit has chosen my photo as Photo of the Day on their website!
To see it up close and personal go here (at least for today… tomorrow it will probably be gone…)
And check out some other photos while you’re there. There are so many fun and happy faces!
Seriously, I could never have imagined uploading a couple of photos going so far. But this has been a really fun ride. A shout out to Shannon at Juniper Park who originally asked for my photo to use in the Lay’s ad in People magazine. Thanks, Shannon!
And what have I learned from all of this?
Some times you just have to go for it!
What a Great Day!
Posted By Cori on May 10, 2010
It has now been more than three years since Garret and I stepped foot in the Magic Kingdom. Sad! We have some incredibly fond memories there and are always grateful for a chance to go hang out with Mickey.
We have many great friends in our neighborhood. The Back family (yes, that’s their last name) just spent some time in California and, of course, Disneyland. I just couldn’t resist asking my friend to bring me back a piece of Disneyland. We’re planning a trip there in December, but I needed a fix now!
THE fudge. *sigh*
When we visit Disneyland I buy four blocks of fudge: Chocolate, Chocolate with Walnuts, Tiger’s Milk, and Peanut Butter and Chocolate. That usually lasts me a few months. When Janet called me – from Disneyland! (I could hear and smell it through the phone) – and asked me which kind I wanted, I thought quick and went with Chocolate with Walnuts.
That turned out to be the right choice. Janet told me that if I hadn’t gotten walnuts, which she doesn’t like, she probably would have eaten my fudge before it got to me. As it turns out, I got a special dessert on Mother’s Day.
My very own Disneyland fudge!
Well, okay, I am willing to share with Garret. But before you think me ‘too kind’, I’ll admit that fudge really isn’t his thing.
Lucky me!
Garret and I had a lovely Mother’s Day. It’s still strange to spend holidays alone, but we find ways to make the day a little special from regular days and it helps. We started our Mother’s Day at Church with some wonderful sermons and visits with friends. Then home to make rolls to go with our pork roast and salad. While the rolls were rising and the roast was filling the air with delicious smells, we sat on the front porch and talked and napped.
When Garret asked, I told him honestly that my favorite way to spend Mother’s Day would be a backyard BBQ with my Mom and Dad, kids and grandkids. But spending the day alone with Garret would definitely be a very close second. We spend almost all day every day together, but I never tire of him. We have worked hard to build a strong relationship and there is nothing I value more.
Thanks for a wonderful Mother’s Day, Garret!
EQ7
Posted By Cori on May 5, 2010
Hey friends! Another short post to give a shout out to my dear friend, Mary. Mary’s having a give-away on her site, MEQUILTER, for EQ7. If you don’t know what that is, then I can’t help you…
Just teasing.
EQ7 (or Electric Quilt 7) is quilting software and it is amazing! I am a relative newbie to quilting and have only done small projects to date. But I would LOVE to learn to do bigger and better projects.
So if you’re even remotely into quilting, hop on over to Mary’s blog and enter her give-away.
http://mequilter.blogspot.com/2010/05/exciting-news-eq7-give-away.html
Heartistically Yours!
Happiness, part 2
Posted By Cori on May 4, 2010
Got word today from Shannon at Juniper Park that they will be using my photo in a Lay’s ad in the 5/17 issue of People magazine, on sale 5/7. I’m so excited! What a fun thing to have happen. So even if you don’t buy People magazine, take a few seconds to peek inside at the store and see if you can spot me and Amalie.
Heartistically Yours!