Fruit or Vegetable?

We have just spent the last half hour having a very in depth discussion on what defines a fruit or vegetable.  Really it came down to a lot of technicalities, shouting, laughing, arguing and Internet searching.  The boys seem to have the rules figured out, but as for Mike and me we have decided to just call all of them frugtables to simplify things.

Scramble

One of Andrew's favorite games is "Scramble".  We like to make up words and spell and ignore all the rules of the game.  Such fun.  We were playing the other day, and I walked out of the room for a bit.  When I returned this is what I found. Apparently there had been a little fight.  What a laugh 5-year-olds are!

I found paint on sale.  I couldn't help myself.  :)

Liquid Layers

Sometimes living with a science teacher can be an adventure.  Our kitchen regularly doubles as a laboratory - I have had beakers and household chemicals and crystal growing medium on my kitchen counter for two weeks now.

This experiment here is called liquid layers.  Everyone has played around with oil and water and watched the amazing way they separate.  Well, Mike took it a few steps farther.  Nine to be exact.  The layers are honey, corn syrup, maple syrup, milk, dish soap, water, vegetable oil, alcohol, and kerosene.  It is hard to believe, but the entire column is liquid.

I love that our kids are being raised with passion for science, music, and art.  Josh and Drew think it is the neatest thing in the world when Dad brings work home with him.  I have to admit, other than losing a little counter space, I think it is pretty cool too.

Halloween

Halloween 2011

 pirate and ghost at the carnival place
 having a laugh with a pie in the face
of teacher and friend - great Mrs. Hatch
when it comes to pies, she's quite a catch!

 spooky decorations abound
spiders, webs, and ghosts are found
with kids at home is quite a crime
to not decorate at Haloween time.

 Go ahead and be a ghost, vampire, or cat
 wicked witch, zombie king, or rabid spooky bat
but as for me, I don't show up dressed in something scary
I find it much more true to me to be a cute strawberry.

A haloween recital is the perfect time to play your song so spooky.

Its fun to play your scarry song then eat a gravestone cookie!

Sanpete Sunsets

You may think this rural area doesn't offer much by way of interest, but Sanpete has something great going for it :  the most beautiful sunsets in the world.  Since we have lived here there has been a "stop what you are doing and look at this" sunset at least once a week.  It is so amazing and fulfilling to take time to just enjoy the wide clean sky.  We caught this particular sunset last week.  These are not clouds; they are contrails.  Amazing.

Portraits

I love to have a current family portrait hanging in our home.  This year I wanted to add some color to the "family wall" as well as not spend any more money than necessary.  So I ordered our prints from Sams, and used a poster frame we had in the basement.  I already had the leaves and raffia from a fall decoration, so I just put it all together and slapped it up on the wall.  I think when spring comes I will change out the leaves for pressed flowers.

 Large family portrait collage:  $18.00  Woo hoo!

Rite of Passage

It finally happened!  Both the boys caught their first fish on a fishing trip up Mayfield Canyon two weeks back.  It was a proud moment for everyone!

Park City

We love Park City.  Andrew says it is his favorite place to go.  Lots of fun things to see, lots of great shopping, hotels with pools, awesome activities, and best of all, great food.

We recently met Mike's sister Karen there for a one day visit.  She was here with her daughter Andrea and her fiance Marcus from North Carolina.  How we love her!

After park city we stopped at Bridal Veil Falls on a whim.  It was so nice to walk and see the beautiful fall colors.  I grew up around the falls, but it has been a long time since I've stopped to really enjoy the area.

Aren't those boys cute?!

Impressive Heritage

What a great heritage we have.  With veterans day around the corner, please take a moment to remember those who have served, fought, and sacrificed for our country and our families.  We have many servicemen in our family.  Gene Peterson: Air Force WW2,  Harold Barlow: Navy WW2,  Tony Desimon: Navy WW2, J.L. Jaussi:  Marines WW2, Clair Jaussi: national guard, David Barlow:  national guard, and many cousins and uncles as well.  Some gave a short time, some gave all.  Thank you for your dedication, honor, and sense of duty.

Caitlins Room

I had such grand plans for Caitlin's room.  I was going to do a faux paneling around the walls, lavender paint,  and a vinyl wall decal along with the butterflies.  I was also dreaming of a new rocker.  But alas, my frugality (my brother would call it my tight-waddedness) scaled the project back to what you see here.  I still think it turned out really nice.

 These butterflies on the wall are a glittery card stock that has sticky on the back.  They look like they are actually flying.  I love them!  If you like this kind of thing, check out www.etsy.com.  One of my new favorites.

 The changing table turned out so great!  I took the old oak changing table I have had for all three kids, and bought at a garage sale before that, and painted it with the extra paint from our exterior doors.  The color almost matches the crib perfectly, and unless you look close you would think they were a matching set.  The bins are $4 at Walmart, and spray painted sage.

 These you have seen before.  Grandma Peterson's water colors have been hanging in my house for a decade.  But I thought they would make a nice soft feminine accessory in the baby room.

 The chair.   Ugh.  I love and hate the thing. Again, this piece of furniture has been with us since Joshua was a babe.  We bought it at DI for $10.  As ugly and faded and stained as it is,  it is also very comfy and fits well in the room.  So for now I have the curtain I sewed for the Mayfield house nursery draped over it.  Not too professional, but at least it isn't a big brown furry eye sore.

I sewed all the crib bedding when we lived in Mayfield.  I wanted to add a little something to the floor just to give the room a little distinction.  After shopping online for butterfly rugs I was very discouraged. $40 and up was what they were asking for.  So I went to Walmart, spent $7 on a purple towel, a green towel, and a yellow washcloth, and made my own.  It is so darling!  I have to say I am pretty proud of it.

So there you go.  A nursery decorating job on a uber-budget.  Fun!

Classic pumpkin walk

While up in Cache valley a few weeks back we went to the pumpkin walk with Ma. The face cutouts are always a hit, and the pumpkin scenes were fun and creative. Our families personal favorite was the plants vs zombies scene, but there was also angry birds, Winnie the pooh, tangled, despicable me, and lots more. I am glad we chanced to visit during this classic Cache valley tradition.