fishing

I have fond memories from my childhood of going fishing with my family. I was hoping for something similar, but I forgot that little Claire would not enjoy sitting still holding a fishing pole. But she did find other things to keep her busy. Chasing after ducks, waiving at them, almost falling in the pond after them...

Canyon View Park Pond- in Spanish Fork, Utah. We didn't catch anything. But since it was free fishing day, we weren't too disappointed

Funny side note- a couple came up and decided to lay down alongside us. They seemed about high school age. The girl instantly was in love with Claire as she tried talking and entertaining them. The guy had a look of 'Come on, can't you control your kid. I am trying to make out with my girlfriend' We didn't stay long after they arrived. :)

Park City

Instead of driving back the same way, we took a different route and drove through Evanston, Wyoming. Although its a few more miles, it was faster because your not going up a windy canyon. We then stopped in Park City for a late lunch and walked around.

And then our little sweetie fell asleep! I was pretty happy as you can see! Then I successfully transferred her to the car (so exciting!) and she stayed asleep until we were almost home!

It was a great trip!

Bear Lake

After the hike we continued driving to Bear Lake.


Claire was stoked to be out of her car seat and free to run around! She is pretty good at entertaining herself

Sticking head between log rails

Checking things out upside down

Banging her snack cup along the logs

Her pants were drying in the car. She was a little unhappy while we were driving up the windy canyon, and we were trying anything to keep her happy. And she got soaked in water when she took the end off the tube of the camel pack. I didn't know it could come off, oh well, learn something new everyday.

Logan

Growing up in Oregon, I miss the lush surroundings. I had no idea there was a place in Utah that would remind me of Oregon! We started our drive at 6am, and stopped in Logan for breakfast then visited the temple grounds. Then we headed up Logan canyon (toward Bear Lake). While driving up the canyon we stopped for a short hike. And here is where I was reminded of Oregon! In a few parts we were surrounded by pines and their wonderful smell. Here are some of the highlights: Snow in June (maybe this is why people come up here in the summer)

Varying landscapes: some parts are covered in pines, others in alders, and others parts were sparse.

Fallen trees covering the path

Interesting trees and lizards

Squirrels

View of Bear Lake

petting zoo

Our neighbors have a cute little petting zoo. I say neighbors because although they don't live in our subdivision they only live 1/4 mile away. Today we visited the pigs, goats, and lambs.

(left) once they realized she had bread, all the pigs gathered around her (right) going to get more bread

(left) bending over to get a better look at him (right) this girl is fearless...

(left) more fearlessness (right) most of the time they just stuck their tongue out to get the food

Claire decided to sit down to check out the lambs... so cute! They were pretty cute little lambs too!

A few cute things Claire has done in the last few days...
- She moves Buddy's hand (Buddy is dad's old cabbage patch doll- we say buddy because we can't remember his name) as if buddy is waiving and says 'bye bye' as dad leaves in the morning
-Says 'numa numa num' as she pretends to feed buddy or mom/dad.
-Requests yogurt by saying 'gogurt'. This is the only food besides milk, that she requests- without me asking her if she wants it.
-Pushes mom away (from hugs) when she is totally immersed/busy playing with something (this reminds me of myself- sad but true)
-Gives me hugs after I get upset at her or after she hits us during a little meltdown (the giving hugs when I get upset/angry totally reminds me of Jason- I have such a sweet hubby)
... and a sweet little Claire :)

Random stuff

(left)We made these yummy whole wheat pretzels. We substituted all the regular flour for whole wheat (maybe a little less whole wheat) and they were so good! I am not a fan of salt, so we added some cinnamon/sugar on top and then baked them. They were gone fast!
(right) For Activity Days we made these cute church bags to hold their scriptures in. We had 7 girls at our activity (5 are from our ward)! We had moms there with their sewing machines to help their daughters. So fun! The bags are made out of placemats (from the Dollar Store) and ribbon to decorate/ handles. I found that Walmart has a great price on 1.5 inch grosgrain ribbon which is sold by the yard. (only 53- 83 cents/ yard) Which makes it cheaper than a 9 foot spool of 1.5 inch grosgrain ribbon which is $1.99-2.99. I think they messed up on their pricing, because that means I can buy 3 yards= 9 feet for only $1.59. Anyways, I like having options on ribbon and buying it by the yard- so I won't complain. Another thing I learned, don't buy Joann's ribbon by the yard. It's insanely more- $1.50- 1.99/yard. Instead use a coupon, even only 40% off (a standard coupon I get every couple weeks), to make their ribbon by the spool decent- $2.87 for 9 feet. Plus its really cute- its the brown ribbon with flowers in the picture below. Here is where I first learned about the bags and here are some good directions to make them.

Before /After pics- Used an old frame and attached ribbon with a staple gun. It was a two person job to keep the ribbon taunt. One person holding the ribbon taunt with needle nose plyers and the other person putting in the second staple (you don't have to do this with the first staple). I love projects that are not only cute, but make life more organized!

Skirt I made from McCall pattern 5812. I love it when Joann's sells their patterns for .99- 1.99. This pattern requires lots of fabric (7 5/8 yard) And they actually call for 60 inch wide. I used the 32 inch wide stuff of muslin (which is normally 1.40/ yard) but I got it on sale making the skirt only $6.50. i didn't do the last tier (thought the length was good and I am 5'8''). But it does require alot of time. If you have never made a ruffle before, I suggest starting on a smaller scale (the longer your piece of fabric you need to ruffle- the more patience you'll need... :)) One small tip on doing ruffles, you have to pull on the bottom thread (the one from bobbin) to make the ruffles. Well if I sew all the way to end of my fabric, then I have a hard time telling which piece of thread is from the bottom. When I stop sewing a stich or two before the end of the fabric, then I don't have this problem. YAY!