for the beauty of the Earth

for someone who has lived her entire life in the desert, a lot California - more specifically, Grass Valley - feels like a different country. last weekend our friends introduced us to this gorgeous, lush, pine-filled area of the Sierra and the wild flowers were in bloom.


Yuba River (where we spotted a bobcat) | Tom's future is bright


newt pond waterfall | Sierra newt with gold eyes


cat's ear | wild carnation


old covered bridge (Ash eating an apple)


dudleya | pretty face | purple Chinese house


lupine and ladybug


hiking up the grass stairs | if you get tired enough...


snakehead? | blue dick | white globe lily


Tom plays with a lizard tail (still moving) | hand prints


purple Chinese house pods


playing on the sand bar of the Yuba River


tree squirrel | a strong wind blew the kids over while napping


a 'vista point' on the way home

picnic in the charcoal forest

a Saturday afternoon in the Sierra...







and looking forward to more.

shaking it off

so i have a few thoughts about today, none of which would make a very interesting post on its own. so i'm letting them tag along at the end of this post of our Easter weekend.




i like Easter. so do these kids. we had a very nice, relaxing weekend dyeing eggs, searching for hidden Reese's peanut butter cups, watching some conference (first Sunday session of GC: President Uchtdorf's talk, awesome). since then, Ash and i have had at least one discussion a day about when we can have some candy and why we don't eat it for breakfast. but we do love those marshmallow Peeps!

today i got a ticket for going 26mph in a 15mph school zone. if i'm ever going to get a ticket for going too fast i'd prefer it to be in a school zone. however, (of course, there has to be a 'however') the major frustration here was that this school zone - in front of McQueen High - doesn't have the usual 15 mph sign with flashing lights. instead a small, 'FROM 7:00 AM TO 3:00PM' is printed under the standard 15 mph sign. yes, it's my fault i didn't see it. yes, i deserve the ticket. but it really, really ($255) bugs me. and i think they should get a couple yellow flashers over there.

but here's the weirdest part. as i was driving down the road, approaching the school zone a memory popped into my head: when i was about 17 i was in the car with my mom when she got a ticket for going 30 or so in a 25 mph zone on the way to my grandma's house. i remember thinking, come on cop. my mom is one of the best, safest, most speed limit-abiding drivers i know. this is not necessary. i was remembering how i felt bad for my mom when she got that ticket and then bam! real time. i see the motorcycle cop in the church parking lot and well, you know the rest. crazy. maybe my mom was trying to send me a message. i didn't get it quick enough, Mom. nuts!

but things are looking better. i just picked up the second batch of prints from our back-dated photo library. i made a goal a while back to get up to date printing our digital photos, then staying current. fall of 2004 through spring of 2007 is printed and in the process of being put into albums. that's pretty good, yeah? oh, and i'm a big fan of Costco's online photo center (13¢ a print!).

and though it doesn't quite equalize the stupid ticket, after thinking i was out of onions and forgetting to drop by the grocery store while we were running errands, i found one for the al pastor chicken tacos i'm making for dinner tonight. and the avocados are just right.

3 is a magic number

yes it is. and though it sounds cliché, i can't believe she's three already. i love this little kid. she's my best girl in the whole world. and she really knows how to enjoy a party!

happy birthday, Ash!

ah, Yosemite

there are few things more stunning than a massive solid granite rock formation. one of those few things is a massive solid granite rock formation with an incredible 2000+ foot waterfall cascading over its edge.

our spring break excursion to Yosemite with g'pa Rem was awesome (thanks!), Dramamine drowsiness and all (note: the less-drowsy formula does not mean non-drowsy formula).


example of an Ahwahneechee dwelling | hike up the Mist Trail


Tom enjoying the ride | Merced River with Bridalveil Falls


cooling off those feet | gardens at the Mariopsa Lodge

we're excited to go back again soon and see more of the park. oh, and i highly recommend staying at the Mariposa Lodge and the Pizza Factory in town is superb.

just around the corner

remember the Frog and Toad story about spring being just around the corner? Frog goes out to find the right corner to look around so he can find spring. i think about that story every other day as we go from 55° and sunny to 31° and snow granules. i know it's out there... just around the corner... in the meantime these spectacular daffodils keep us steady. such beauty and color!


it also helps that we have received three packages this week (so much birthday and Easter fun in the air) - thanks! the last of the three was from our dear friend back in Sanpete. inside was a super soft, hand knit item for each of us that is perfect in this weather. the kids sported theirs right away.



and so, we look forward to the calmer side of March with a nine-year anniversary and a three-year-old birthday to enjoy between now and then. those are a couple of great corners to come around.

55 years later, it's still great

when was the last time you watched Albert Lamorisse's The Red Balloon? up until 7:00 pm this evening it had been a good twenty-three years or so for me. but i just watched it with Ash and it's even better than i remembered. true, one of the reasons i liked it more was because i was watching it with my little Ash who really got into the story, asked several questions, and laughed every time anyone chased in vain after the balloon. but i also liked it more this time because i'm not seven years old and fixated on the part when those jerks stomp on his red balloon, forgetting all of the other great stuff. i guess that kind of thing happens when you're seven.


so check it out. there is a good reason it won so many awards back in 1956.

the breakfast of champions

a while ago my sister posted on the painfully forced recipes found on the side panels of some (mostly no name brand) cereal boxes. and it's true. no one wants a dessert bar made of frosted mini wheats or a plate of Crunchy Peanut Chocolate drops.

but the box of store brand cereal i bought on Monday takes it up a notch. no, ten notches. oh, where to begin? please click on the image and take a closer look.


... or just use a pair of old pantyhose after you've properly exercised.

only 2 UPC symbols, folks. how many of these do you think will ship from the warehouse?

the staff of life

this is what has been on my mind for the last four days:



it all started last Wednesday when we made bread with the yw. the 1st counselor's Bosch mixer was awesome, but thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's Bosch mixer. i always thought i'd get a kitchen aid to help me fulfill my bread-making dreams but i was wrong. someday, some how i will have a Bosch mixer.

we've talked before about how i am a bread snob and prefer Great Harvest bread above most, if not all other breads - especially their honey whole wheat. and you probably know that this superior bread costs more than your average loaf and a lot more than the WF cardboard bread i grew up on. i like to make bread as much a possible but since i do it all by hand, i'm not too consistent so i end up buying a lot of bread from Great Harvest. however, i'm hoping to put an end to that soon.

last year we got a state of the art wheat grinder for our birthdays (thanks Carolyn) and it's been so nice to have fresh ground flour not to mention the know how for grinding wheat. i have my recipe perfected and as close to GH as it gets. i did the math and in eight months a Bosch mixer would pay for itself. so i'm pretty excited to save up for one. yeah, nerdy. i'm blogging about it. but how much Bosch mixer talk can a guy take? (thanks English.)

in other news... the light dusting of snow that was forecast for today turned out to be 16 inches... and it's still falling at a steady rate. church was canceled (amen) and we worshiped in our snowsuits.

birthday sandwich

Tom was born on President's Day last year, which is lucky because for the rest of his life he'll have a day near or on his birthday to celebrate free of school and/or work. and his first was no exception. it was a beautiful sunny day and we got out for a family run/ride. the cake was an experimental coconut layer cake (simply marvelous) and as i was frosting it Ash exclaimed, 'a cake sandwich!'



indeed, it was a big hit. Tom even rubbed some of it in his hair (a custom that dates back several centuries, i am told).



and the handmade-with-love-by-your-own-mom dog doll was well received too. happy first birthday, Tom!

so very proper

upon my sister's recommendation recently i watched the new Masterpiece Theatre Classic Emma (you can watch it online through March 9th). it was superb. i loved it. that's no surprise.

i've never read an entire Jane Austen novel but i sure do love the movies based on them and this is no exception. great casting, costumes, cinematography, etc. i also highly recommend it.

Februarys past and present

for the last several years February has meant some sort of travel or, more recently, birth days...

in February of 2004 we went to Jamaica with our good pals the Pages.
February 2005 it was San Fransisco with more good pals the Hurtados and in
February 2006 the Las Vegas Scooter Rally with the Hurtados again.
February 2007 was full of preparing for the coming of Ash.
February 2008 we visited St. George and L.A.
February 2009 we welcomed Tom to Ephraim (and this world).
and of course i never forget my older brother and younger sister with February birthdays and there is always Valentine's Day, which i love.




so it makes sense that i'm a bit antsy these last few days. not that i haven't tried - i've already started making plans for Tom's big one-year celebration cake. yes, it will be wonderful. but i'm really itching for a little more sun and some good old sight seeing. hmmmm, a long weekend west may be in store.

compelled to take action: a resolution

the last few nights i've been having these dreams where my kids are in very precarious positions or about to cause some trouble. for example, this morning i dreamed that Tom is sitting in my window sill (which is five feet above the floor) reaching for a glass jar that will fall and break. right before the critical moment of these dreams i find myself waking up with outreached arms, slightly flustered. it's weird.

then a couple days ago my favorite wooden spoon that i bought at a market in Venice almost nine years ago cracked in half. bad luck or an omen?


also, my Lola plant has started to die. probably from over watering. it was such a pretty one.


so what lesson have i chosen to take from these random events? simply this: it is time to systematically go through the last five years of my digital photos and print out the good ones. then starting now, print the new ones off on a regular basis (i've decide every two months) and make real photo albums again. after all, digital is wonderful but as a friend of mine just experienced, it's painfully virtual.

checking in 2010

i didn't know they had it in them but these two kids rocked the nine-hour drive between Reno and SLC out and back. the borrowed, last resort, trick-up-my-sleeve DVD player never made it out of the box. you know what this means now? English and i are getting ideas - summer vacation ideas - and they are grand indeed.

in the mean time, hope your Christmas was swell beyond words (like mine was) and here's to a healthful and prosperous new year.

these guys are just begging for a piano duet recital opportunity

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year