31 August 2012

. . . 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 . . .


30 August 2012

. . . corn wagon quilt co . . .

. . . located just south of provo . . . 
. . . in springville, utah . . . 
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 . . . 


29 August 2012

. . . 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.


28 August 2012

. . . 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 . . . 


27 August 2012

. . . 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}


26 August 2012

. . . 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! . . . 


25 August 2012

. . . 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 . . .


24 August 2012

. . . 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 . . .


23 August 2012

. . . a year ago today . . .

. . . this little monkey 
joined our family . . .
. . . and after 
{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! . . .



22 August 2012

. . . 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 . . .


21 August 2012

. . . 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 . . .


20 August 2012

. . . 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 . . .


19 August 2012

. . . 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}


18 August 2012

. . . 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.