A road trip with the girls.....

Tomorrow I'm taking off with some friends for our
annual summer road trip.
(Is is considered a road trip when you go to the same place every year?)

My friend Sheila's parents have a cabin (sort of like this one)
near Yellowstone National Park.

We'll probably see some of these.

We'll take in a musical, go on a few hikes, play games, read novels, do some hand-crafts,
drive through the park, and be quite lazy.
(No house work!)

That is... if we can get all our things packed in the car.

One year we packed our luggage on top of the car.
It was a good idea until we discovered that Sandi's suitcase must have blown off
somewhere in the vast Southern Idaho wilderness.....

Another year we had the trunk of the car so loaded that we couldn't get it closed. We had to unpack everything and take a bigger car!

This year we decided not to pack so much food.
(Karen is going to put her frozen lunch meat in her suitcase with her underwear!)
Hopefully, everything will fit.

I'll be back soon!

June's best.....

June's best offering has got to be fresh strawberries....

and ripe red raspberries!

Who can resist?

I have a really, really, small strawberry patch and a few raspberry bushes.
Usually, I only get just enough to snack on while working in the garden,
but my family has discovered my secret.
Now it is a competition.

(Thank goodness for Costco!)


Strawberry Dessert:
Bake a white cake in a large cookie sheet following cake directions.

Frosting:
1 package cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
Mix until smooth.
Add
about 2-3 cups cool whip (I never measure, I just add until it looks right)

Frost the cake with the frosting.
Cover with fresh strawberries in pie filling.
(We like Strawberry Danish Dessert)
Chill in refrigerator.
This is also very good with canned raspberry pie filling and blueberry pie filling.

It not only looks pretty, but it is DELICIOUS!

Barbie's day at the spa....

Barbie is now in her fifties! (How would it be to still look so good?)
I am a fan of the Barbie dolls and have great memories of sewing little outfits
and building houses for Barbie and Ken. I even remember giving a few hair-cuts!
(I have to admit that the first dolls were much better quality than the ones that came after.)

Yesterday, as I was cleaning out the storage room, I came across an old trunk full of Barbie dolls left from my daughters. We counted 31 dolls (4 daughters + several years= 31),
including the babies!
Most of them looked like this.
(Doll hair does NOT age well.)

I thought we could eliminate all but a few, but my daughters said "No!"
Each one was sentimental to one of them.

That's when the real work started. (So much for cleaning the storage room!)
We scrubbed and scrubbed.We washed the clothes.Katie worked on their hair (not much you can do there),
Now the dolls are ready for one more generation to enjoy!

It's still raining.....

Sixteen days!
We have had sixteen days of rain this month.
(We do live in a desert, right?)

Happy Father's Day!

The $55.00 mystery.....

Remember when I told you about our $55.00 bargain?
($70.00 off sale, $15.00 coupon, extra $30.00 promotional discount)
It isn't solid wood, but this desk is so much better than what we had before.
(I won't even show a before picture-it was that bad!)

Ken's little assistant......

Thanks for helping, Maddie!

A day of dreaming at the Parade of Homes

My sister Linda and I made our annual trek to the
Utah Valley Parade of Homes last week.
We made a whole day of it and stayed until our tired bodies couldn't bend over even one more time to put on the bothersome shoe covers, our legs had turned to spaghetti from going up and down so many flights of stairs, and our fingers were numb
from taking so many pictures.

Why do we do it?

We're not sure.
We do enjoy seeing beautiful houses, new scenery, eating lunch somewhere different, visiting, and getting fun ideas that we can copy.
It was fun having my niece Melissa join us for part of the day, too!

Here are some fun organizational ideas we saw:

Look at this craft room!

I liked this idea for wrapping paper and ribbon.
Cute personal touches....

A dreamy girls' bedroom......and interesting architecture with great views.



My favorite one was in the river bottom area of Provo
and I had left my camera in the car
(it was raining)! It was a gorgeous house.
It was fun spending the day looking at million dollar houses (and drooling at the luxury),
and I picked up some fun new ideas that I can try,
but
It was nice coming back to my own HOME!

My first summer project....or is it my second?

After I made this apron for my give-away, I had some small pieces of fabric left over.

After thinking about this little girl...

and her love of helping.... (which really means getting messy)

I decided to make these.

Do you think she will make cinnamon rolls for me?

First week of summer- rain, more rain, and a funeral

(Aunt Verna's family and Aunt Mardene)
My Aunt Verna passed away this last week.
She lived a good life of 96 years, raised a big family, kept a neat and tidy home,
loved to garden, and was a great cook.
She will be missed!

I got to reconnect with cousins that I haven't seen in a long time,
(We had a lot of fun growing up!)

hang out with my little granddaughter Maddie (and her new friend),

spend some time at the "old homestead",

and enjoy the beauty of Cache Valley.

The rain has made everything clean, green, and beautiful!

I hope summer doesn't go too quickly.
My first week has flown by!


*******
Maddie in her new 50 cent Old Navy hat!

We are pleased to announce......

We are having a summer wedding!
Andrew and Irene are officially engaged.
Yeah!

My very first Wii fitness test

Today I took my very first Nintendo Wii fitness test.
(Thanks, Katie.)

I know I am over weight.
I know I am out of shape.
I know I am not as healthy as I should be.

But...

75 years old?
I have the body of a 75 year old senior citizen?
(I was also called the "O" word!)

(No offense to anyone in that age bracket, but I am not that old!)

I want my young body back!

I gave away my give-away!

On the weekend we traveled North to attend a birthday party and a baby blessing.
(Happy First Birthday, Ivy! Welcome to the world Preston!)

While we were there my daughter Liz helped me finish my give-away!
We got pictures from Tannie's blog (the winner) and Liz printed them.
I can say it turned out cute because all I did was add the word "smile" and glue on the buttons.
My husband and Liz did the rest!
(Thanks for doing the work so I can get the credit!)


I did sew this apron, however.
(I hadn't forgotten all of my old 4-H sewing training!)

(Thanks to Irene for letting me borrow her sewing machine.)
I also "borrowed" these pictures from Tannie's blog.
Thanks for letting me steal them.
It was fun hosting the give-away and maybe I'll do another one some time soon.

Meet our new neighbor!

Guess who my husband met this morning as he went out to feed the fish in the pond?
(The fish probably love him- in his startled reaction he gave them an extra dose of food.)

Standing at the top of the water fall was a cousin of this big guy.

Do you think we will be able to coexist this summer?

Will it matter that I was here first?

Does he have relatives?

Help!!!

Two more days of school! Yeah!

My tired body is craving some rest!

It has taken me a lot of years to admit this, but
teaching school is probably best suited for someone YOUNG.
I know, wisdom and knowledge come with age and experience,
but
the last two weeks have been brutal!
(O.K. I might be exaggerating a little.)
I have walked too many miles in the hot sun or the pouring rain
on field trips (not much money for buses).
I have faced the challenge of trying to sort and pack up as much stuff as I can
without my students noticing that anything is different or missing.
I have tested students and filled out mountains of paper work.
(Who reads all this stuff?)
I have tried to keep hot, tired, restless children busy and productive.

Yes,
this last two weeks have been a test of my stamina
(and a reaffirmation that I need to get in better shape)!

Next week you might find me lying in the grass somewhere,
hunting for animal shapes in the clouds, or reading a new novel.
I might even sleep in. Maybe I'll escape and go somewhere.

(My husband is probably hoping I will do some house cleaning!)

But....
After a few restful days I will probably start thinking about twenty-five little people.
I hope they are having a good summer vacation!

And the winner is......

Congratulations to Tannie for winning my give-a-way!

Tannie is a good friend of my daughter Liz.

We put everyone's name in a basket
and my daughter Katie pulled out
Tannie's name.
(Sorry it is blurry!)

We will be sending you your prizes soon. Thanks for entering my contest!

Thanks to everyone else who entered. I wish I could give each one of you a prize.
Thanks for supporting my blog!
JoAnn

*****************
Guess what my husband bought today for only $55.00?
($70.00 off two-day sale, $15.00 coupon, $30.00 promotional discount)
Hint... it looks great in our office/den!