. . . well deserved . . .

. . . you could count 

the number of times 

bill has golfed 

in the last seven and a half years

 on one hand . . . 

. . . so it was a happy occasion 

when he and drew 

played nine holes 

early one morning 

while we were in utah . . .

. . . they played at spanish oaks 

in spanish fork . . . 

. . . and quickly figured out 

why the course charges so little 

for their first tee times 

of the day . . . 

. . . howling morning winds . . . 

. . . a golfer's worst enemy . . . 

. . . hole three . . . 

. . . par three . . . 

. . . a hundred twenty yards . . . 

. . . pitching wedge . . .

. . . bill . . . 

. . . hole in one . . .

. . . witness: drew romney . . . 

. . . recorded in the pro shop . . .

. . . corn wagon quilt co . . .

. . . located just south of provo . . . 

. . . in springville, utah . . . 

. . . corn wagon quilt co 

was voted one of 

america's top ten quilt shops 

by american patchwork 

and quilting magazine . . . 

. . . this i gotta see . . .

. . . the fifteen minute drive 

was worth it . . . 

. . . i parked behind the store,

 which is pretty cute 

from the back, no? . . .

. . . how about from the front? . . . 

. . . i vote yes . . . 

. . . while not technically flowers, 

i found this planter 

of coleus and other greens 

a far better sight 

than the crunchy dead ivy 

that's waiting at home 

by my front door . . . 

{can it please be fall?}

. . . i didn't take any photos 

inside the store, 

but here's a sample 

of what you'll find there . . . 

. . . this is what came home 

with me . . . 

. . . darn that lori . . . 

. . . i took the bait and fell 

for her next blog project . . . 

. . . these pretties will play well

 with some fabrics 

i've already got at home . . . 

. . . ann amazing woman . . .

"i read somewhere 

that mitt and i 

have a 'storybook marriage.' 

well, in the storybooks i read, 

there were never 

long, rainy winter afternoons 

in a house with five boys 

screaming at once. 

and those storybooks 

never seemed to have chapters

 called MS or breast cancer.

a storybook marriage?

no, not at all.

what mitt romney and i have 

is a real marriage."

"[success has] . . . given us 

the deep satisfaction 

of being able to help others 

in ways that we 

could never have imagined. 

this is important. 

i want you to hear 

what i am going to say.

mitt does not like 

to talk about 

how he has helped others 

because he sees it as a privilege, 

not a political talking point. 

we are no different 

than the millions of americans 

who quietly help their neighbors,

 their churches, 

and their communities. 

they don't do it 

so that others 

will think more of them ~ 

they do it 

because there is no greater joy.

 give and it 

shall be given unto you."

"i can't tell you will happen 

over the next four years. 

but I can only stand here tonight,

 as a wife, a mother, 

a grandmother, an american, 

and make you 

this solemn commitment:

this man will not fail.

this man will not let us down.

this man will lift up america!"

i believe you, ann.

excellent job.

. . . primary colors . . .

. . . in honor of today's election,

{oh, and the start of the republican national convention, yo!}

i'm sporting 

the red, white and blue . . .

{i know ~ it looks like black. but it isn't.}

. . . sadly missing, though . . .

. . . is the ever fashionable 

"i voted" sticker . . .

. . . can you tell i'm a little bitter

 that early ballot envelopes 

don't contain one of these? . . .

. . . no fair . . .  

. . . they could totally 

be post dated . . .

. . . let's start a petition . . . 

. . . for amanda . . .

. . . manders will either 

be really happy for us . . .

. . . or {more likely} green with envy . . . 

{the fries were primo, dad really enjoyed his pastrami burger, 

and jessalyn requested a vanilla shake}

. . . totally worth it . . .

. . . best reason ever 

to drive 620+ miles . . .

{pictures of her are darling, but she is waaaaay cuter in person}

. . . please notice how seriously

 hayden takes her job 

as a real live spokesmodel

 for oops! . . . 

. . . furry friends . . .

. . . when you go out of town . . .

. . . there are so many details 

to take care of . . .

. . . i used to worry 

about what to do with maggie, 

our furry friend . . .

. . . she'd usually go, 

kennel and all, 

to board with her groomer . . .

. . . those days are long gone . . .

. . . but, this time, 

i decided these furry friends

could stand to be 

boxed up and boarded 

with a groomer . . .

. . . at the bernina store . . .

. . . sewing on chenille 

is a fuzzy, fuzzy job . . . 

. . . so a thorough cleaning 

is in order . . .

. . . and please, please bless 

that the shrieking 

bobbin winding situation 

is fixable . . .

. . . these machines are vintage . . . 

. . . parts are getting rare . . . 

. . . i will, no doubt, 

worry about these friends 

until i return . . .

. . . hopefully, i'll pick them up

in better shape then when 

i dropped them off . . .

. . . party on . . .

. . . time for the official celebration 

of colby's first birthday . . . 

. . . we ate 

the most enormous pizzas 

i've ever seen . . . 

. . . but, the birthday boy 

wasn't at all interested 

in pepperoni and cheese . . . 

. . . opting instead for baby oatmeal . . .

. . . he'll wise up soon . . . 

. . . he also {not so politely} declined 

his birthday cupcake . . . 

. . . on the other hand, 

there was another one-year-old 

who dove right in . . . 

. . . oh, cameron . . .

. . . colby with his dad, 

grandpa 

and great-grandpa . . .

. . . four generations 

of the awesome johnson family . . . 

. . . he's a lucky little boy . . .

. . . a year ago today . . .

. . . this little monkey 

joined our family . . .

. . . and after 

a slightly rocky start . . . 

{amelia might beg to differ with that!}

. . . with eyes that are 

constantly smizing . . . 

. . . this little guy 

has been 

nothing but fun and games . . . 

. . . happy birthday 

to the colbster! . . .

. . . the best day of the month . . .

. . . quilt group day again . . .

. . . yay! . . .

. . . show and tell time . . .

. . . first up? . . . 

. . . peg's "wonky all the way" . . .

. . . she was kidnapped 

by her sisters 

on her birthday last week 

and no one got to leave 

until they each finished a quilt top 

just like this . . . 

{i think that's what she said}

. . . cute, cute, cute . . .

. . . candice nearly finished quilting 

this adorable vintage modern 

chevron quilt 

for her granddaughter . . .

. . . she was using 

her brand spankin' new bernina . . . 

. . . nedra made some progress 

on the hand appliqued centers 

of this paper pieced beauty . . . 

. . . and renee put the finishing stitches

 in one of her 

signature silky baby blankies . . . 

. . . holly served a scrumptious lunch 

of green chili pork 

and all the fixin's . . . 

. . . a good time was had by all . . .

. . . slow boat . . .

. . . when i placed an order 

for six hundred 

woven oops! tags . . . 

. . . it was quite an adventure . . . 

. . . email correspondence 

between mesa, arizona 

and hong kong was 

~ shall we say? ~

 interesting . . .

. . . the labels finally arrived . . .

. . . thanks to my good friend lam . . . 

. . . and i thought i'd 

never ever ever ever

run out of them . . .

. . . i was wrong . . .

{whoa! ~ that was a lot of sewing}

. . . and now i wait . . . 

. . . a new shipment 

is on its way . . .

. . . and i believe 

there really is 

a slow boat from china . . .

. . . typical monday . . .

. . . i got to hang out 

with colby today . . .

. . . and let me tell you . . .

. . . he may only have two teeth . . .

. . . but, he takes 
his teddy grahams

 verrrrrrry seriously . . .

. . . cute couples . . .

. . . have you ever been 

to redlands california? . . .

. . . neither had i . . .

. . . it always seemed like somewhere 

to drive quickly past 

on the way to the pacific coast . . . 

. . . but i can now count it 

on the list of

"places i've visited" . . . 

. . . they have 

a teeny tiny temple there . . .

. . . size doesn't matter . . .

. . . it was absolutely gorgeous . . .

. . . the only un-pretty part

was the 97 degree temperature

with 50+% humidity . . . 

. . . nasty . . .

. . . the occasion? . . .

. . . the wedding of a cute couple . . .

. . . oops! . . .

. . . wrong cute couple . . .

{niece and nephew of the bride}

. . . not this cute couple either . . . 

 {brother and niece of the groom ~ tyler & jaydie}

. . . aaaaand ~ not this cute couple . . . 

 {sisters of the groom ~ chelsea & natalie}

. . . this is the happy couple . . .

. . . congratulations to the new 

mr. and mrs. davis! . . .

{kyle and beautiful bride jeanette}

. . . scotcheroos . . .

. . . there's a recipe 

i get asked for all the time . . .

. . . it might even be 

the one i'm "known" for . . .

. . . for you ~ it might be 

great aunt ethyl's lasagna . . .

. . . or your mom's pot roast . . .

. . . maybe it's your sister-in-law's

 chocolate cake . . .

{hi, molly!}

. . . mine? . . .

. . . it isn't even mine . . .

. . . it's the easiest recipe ever . . .

. . . it's scotcheroos . . .

. . . i just make them easier . . .

. . . one measuring cup, 

one pot, 

one rubber spatula, 

and one jelly roll pan . . .

. . . here's the list of ingredients . . .

{pay attention to size of jar/box/bag when shopping. you'll thank me later}
•2 c. sugar {the only thing you need to measure}
•18 oz. jar creamy peanut butter
•16 oz. bottle light corn syrup
•12 oz. box rice krispies
•12 oz. bag butterscotch chips
•12 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

spray a jelly roll pan with non-stick cooking spray. into a large soup pot, measure sugar, add entire jar of peanut butter and all the corn syrup. over medium heat, stir with a rubber spatula constantly. don't turn up heat, or rush. cook only until bubbles can surface on their own. remove from heat and immediately stir in the whole box of rice krispies until all pieces are coated. turn out into prepared jelly roll pan. smooth all the way to the edges and corners. quickly and evenly sprinkle on all the butterscotch chips, then the semi-sweet chocolate chips. make sure the pan is not in a drafty area - as in right under the air conditioning vent. set a timer for ten minutes and walk away. the heat from the cereal mixture will melt the chips. using the same spatula, smooth the melted chips all the way to the edges and corners. allow to cool at room temperature until you can't feel any warmth on the bottom of the pan. place the pan in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to set the chocolate. remove from freezer, cut and serve.