Cousins and more cousins

We are back from our trip to Utah for family reunions.  It was really great to see my family.  Living where we do we don't get to see them often.  One thing that was surprising was the weather.  On the flight in there were people bringing their ski boots.  It has been an unusually wet and cold spring.  There will probably be skiing through the July 4 weekend.  I remember this happening when I lived in 1994 or '95.  It happens but it is definitely not the norm.  By the time we left summer had come with a vengence and there were concerns about serious flooding because of all the rapid snow melt. 

I haven't been back at this time of year for a long time.  The mountains were SO green.  It was really beautiful.

 

We stopped at Temple Square in Salt Lake City and also stopped by the Temple site in Brigham City.  We were in town for the ground breaking last summer.  It is fun to see the progress.  It is still just a shell.  The angel Moroni statue will be placed in July and the interior should be finished sometime in 2012, probably the end of the summer.

The first weekend we spent with my parents and brothers.  Saturday we went up the canyon for a picnic and campfire.  The kids hiked and played in sand at the volleyball court. 

There were also more shadow puppets.  This time it was Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  My brothers always add their take on the story.  It is fun to see.  Goldilocks was selling cosmetics door to door and Baby Bear spent time jumping on the beds.  We brought the puppets from last year and the kids played with them after my brothers did the Three Bears.

Since the spring is so late this year there were a lot of flowers out.  They are different from the summer sun flowers.  Gorgeous.

Not for me

I painted a scarf for gift.  It isn't actually my style, the geometrics or the colors.  I tend to do things with more organic shapes and softer, more natural colors.  I really like the squares, but the colors just aren't me.  They are however good for the person receiving it.

the centurian

Each week in Primary (Sunday School) a couple of the kids give short talks.  It is great to help them understand the gospel and also great public speaking practice.  Today was Buddy Boy's turn.  I'm never sure how he will repond to a situation like this.  He can be nervous and quiet or he might jump up in front of his class for a little interpretive dance.  I just never know, but I think it all depends on his mood at the moment.  We had prepared and practiced.  I wasn't sure I could convince him to even give it a try so we worked in ancient Rome, his favorite thing right now, and he seemed OK.  Before church he was really nervous.  But once he got started, with me by his side pointing to the words as he read, he did just fine.  I was really proud of him for working through his fears.  It is a big step for him.

Here's the talk.

I am very interested in ancient Rome. Jesus and his apostles lived when Jerusalem and the country around it were part of the Roman Empire. There was a Roman soldier named Cornelius who was a righteous man who believed in God, prayed, and gave money to the poor.


One day an angel appeared to Cornelius and told him to send men to go find the apostle Peter and invite him to come and visit. So Cornelius sent his men to find Peter.

One morning Peter was praying and saw a vision from God. It was a vision of all different animals together. After the vision Cornelius’ men arrived at Peter’s house and invited Peter to come to Caesarea to visit Cornelius. Peter went with them the next day. At that time Jews, like Peter, were not allowed to visit Romans.

When Peter met Cornelius he knew that he was a righteous man and that it was OK to visit him. Peter also understood his vision about the animals. It meant that everyone who is righteous and has faith in God can be baptized. Peter taught Cornelius and his righteous friends and family. They felt the Holy Ghost and wanted to be baptized.

I know that when we have faith in Jesus Christ and repent we can be baptized and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

For the full story see Acts 10.

a little time to spare?

Just in case you have extra time on your hands here is a great time sink for the visually inclined. (http://www.pinterest.com/) You just pin and repin things you think are fun, interesting, whatever.  You can find me and my pins here.

Stenciled T-shirts

I've seen freezer paper stenciling on other blogs like here and here and I decided to give it a try.  You basically take freezer paper, cut a design, iron it on, and paint away.  I used my new toy to cut the stencils.  It is a Silhouette SD cutter.  It's like a printer except that it cuts instead of printing.  The advantage to this over other similar cutters is that you can make your own designs and use any regular font.  You can also download and buy premade designs.  I made the mermaid and downloaded the dinosaur skull.  I found the bone font on Dafont.  It is just called Bone.

Before I started the stenciling I had to modify the t-shirt.  I was inspired by Dana and her t-shirt remakes.  The shirt is a size 6-8 and needed to end up a size 4T.  The neck was actually a good size.  I made a box pleat from front to back over the shoulder to get the shoulder seam in the right place and make it more of a dress.  I then took a seam under the arm to raise the arm's eye and made another box pleat on the sides.  The sleeves have yet another box pleat at the hem to pull them in a bit.  I didn't take any pictures of this process.  I was just winging it, trying it on Little Darlin' in between steps.  She loves her new t-dress.  Then it was time to paint.  I used my Silhouette to cut the stencils and ironed them on the shirts.

For weeks and months Buddy Boy has been saying he is a paleontologist.  He has moved on a bit to archeologist, but still returns to the dinosaurs sometimes.  The t-rex skull is sneaking up from the side to bite and then it says paleontologist down the front, not your typical t-shirt.

It was a lot of fun and pretty quick and easy.  I have plans for more.  We'll see when I get to them.