tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44510309856082391892024-03-12T20:15:51.811-04:00The Double StitchThat's some strong stitch, you bet.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04356080776040122819noreply@blogger.comBlogger182125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-15021472317147512322022-12-24T19:18:00.000-05:002022-12-24T19:18:01.308-05:00One song will open the Mountain of Faces and reveal its secrets. Enjoy your mystical Christmas quest!Beatus Est PisciculusS.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04356080776040122819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-67304626545403087342015-05-17T21:52:00.002-04:002015-05-17T22:02:19.756-04:00Hitting the HighlightsLast spring the state incentivized government workers to hit certain health goals by offering cold hard cash. I sunk the money into a wearable GoPro camera, and we've been playing with it ever since. I think even writing briefs would look interesting through a fisheye lens. We took far too much footage to cram into one video, but here are some of the highlights from the last S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04356080776040122819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-979717295890944212015-03-15T09:41:00.002-04:002015-03-15T09:41:33.724-04:00Kids' Corner: The Holly cat, by NoraNeow? Birdie? Karrot Souphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348150935341219269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-11072878424315556312015-02-20T10:39:00.004-05:002015-02-20T10:39:49.921-05:00 Kids Corner: By Lucy, Our Resident Maker
Hi! Lucy here! What you're seeing now is some paper outfits I made from a kit made by KLUTZ. This was my first dress.
It was so much fun to look at all the different patterns, trace them, cut them out, and glue them together!
This one is my favorite! I was surprised how good it turned out!
Here's a photo of every single one I made!
I like that pattern on the dress. I also Karrot Souphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348150935341219269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-76624789592306729392014-10-06T08:44:00.000-04:002014-10-06T08:44:10.841-04:00Honeyversary -- Ten Days, Eleven Pictures
Recreating one of our wedding pictures from nearly 16 years ago. Until now, we hadn't been back to that same temple.
One short, sweet day of catching up with loved ones.
S. and his sister, making marathon memories together.
Looking out over Canyonlands National Park.
At 'Park Avenue' in Arches.
Our unusual digs in Moab.
The most amazing place we've ever stayed. This Karrot Souphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348150935341219269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-78683546739902178802014-06-16T15:56:00.000-04:002014-06-23T08:25:13.269-04:00Father's Day in the Outdoors
We are very much a family of explorers; too often, though, mental exploring wins out (fantasy books, graphic novels, and piles of scrap-paper sketches sprawl everywhere) and S. tries but fails to get us all out for a Sunday walk. So for Father's Day, we made sure to visit one of our favorite parks, without any cajoling necessary.
It never fails once we all set aside our other Karrot Souphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348150935341219269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-85197827353636154852014-05-04T19:51:00.000-04:002014-05-04T20:09:59.104-04:00The Long Winter
"It can't beat us!" Pa said.
"Can't it, Pa?" Laura asked stupidly.
"No," said Pa. "It's got to quit sometime and we don't. It can't lick us. We won't give up."
Then Laura felt a warmth inside her. It was very small but it was strong. It was steady, like a tiny light in the dark, and it burned very low but no winds could make it flicker because it would not give up.
&S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04356080776040122819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-6343576847582117642014-01-13T13:55:00.000-05:002014-01-13T13:55:30.051-05:00Who Knew [Our State] Was So Beautiful in November?
We found two new places, an enchanting urban garden and a coastal bird sanctuary, and took a couple fall trips last year. I was really, really taken by the light and textures and took way too many photos, though I've tried to trim them down for you.
Above, poison ivy and holly all dressed up for autumn; and below, a snag simply crawling with ladybugs.
Karrot Souphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348150935341219269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-17149473954009403942013-12-25T22:09:00.002-05:002013-12-25T22:09:51.196-05:00Holly Jolly Christmas
Holly the Christmas Cat came to stay with us today. She's a very sweet girl--curious but not aggressive, and very, very friendly. Let's just say that the kids were especially vocal in their thanks to Santa this year.
New pet aside, it was a wonderful day--maybe our best Christmas yet--full of thoughtful gifts, good family, and generous hearts. I think we're S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04356080776040122819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-29834301936953089822013-12-17T07:18:00.001-05:002013-12-17T07:18:18.885-05:00Gingerbread
Lucy always lets us know what she wants. When she wants it.
She's been insistently demanding a gingerbread house for what feels like weeks now.
We finally got it pasted together and upright over the weekend -- with a few redos of cracked pieces -- and last night Family Home Evening consisted of decorating it.
The kids adorned each reindeer according to its name:
(Rudolph, Dasher, Karrot Souphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348150935341219269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-19330757365931490002013-12-03T23:07:00.000-05:002013-12-03T23:07:59.940-05:00Sage, All 'Growed' Up
She turned 12, and measured a cool 5-foot-3 1/2 at her checkup. We can't believe the grace and good nature she is learning -- she is kind and compassionate, and gaining more and more confidence in herself. She's keeping her friends from Primary and elementary school, and happily making new ones in Young Women's and middle school.
Her birthday fell on a Saturday, and since it wasn't Karrot Souphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348150935341219269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-47181553286281250302013-10-30T12:25:00.000-04:002013-10-30T12:25:44.604-04:00LucyLu, One Year Older
Our all-singing, all-dancing, queen-of-nonsense-words girl turned nine recently.
She wanted to watch a Harry Potter movie and make potions, so potions were provided...
It's certainly easy to please a gaggle of third-grade girls with a bunch of baking soda, vinegar, and red food coloring!
I also gave them some flour, cornstarch, and pepper, and they only stopped mixing when all the Karrot Souphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348150935341219269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-46341571031859236782013-09-26T10:35:00.000-04:002013-10-13T08:27:00.327-04:00Poor Kitty
I don’t remember exactly how we got into the game, but we started playing “Poor Kitty” around the dinner table one summer evening. Someone goes to their neighbor and begins meowing and butting their head to be petted, while the neighbor has to stroke their hair and say “poor kitty” three times without cracking a smile. Of course, once we each had a turn and were getting a little goofy, it Karrot Souphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348150935341219269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-27756703327597247182013-09-22T16:25:00.002-04:002013-09-22T16:48:18.747-04:00The Way We Live
[Advisory for the Faint of Heart: Among other things, this post will discuss, but not show, an autopsy and a slideshow of unpleasant corpses.]
Two days into my new job, I saw the top of a man's head taken off and his brain cut free. He was already dead, no harm done, but still--there's no putting things back together after something like that. I think that's what lingered S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04356080776040122819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-32570055254814978902013-07-28T19:03:00.001-04:002013-10-30T12:26:05.818-04:00Events, BelatedI got to attend a 'graduation' for Sage, who is moving from elementary to middle school next year.
So beautiful and grown-up-looking, she towered over most of her classmates. Luckily for her, the balance of height is evened out by spunk in her best friend Jessie...
Katie, the last one on the right, is also a cherished friend who loves art and small creatures in deep ways that only Sage can Karrot Souphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348150935341219269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-1629328418442856672013-07-21T19:44:00.000-04:002013-09-22T16:48:58.019-04:00Not Too Soon
K. can see the future. When we were still in law school, she predicted that, once all my education was behind me and there was nothing but work ahead of me, my restless soul would start climbing the walls of its cage. We laughed about this observation, but nobody said she was wrong.
Uncertainty I can handle. When our job plans fell through just a few months before graduationS.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04356080776040122819noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-23685836025497529102013-07-10T17:56:00.000-04:002013-09-22T16:49:18.655-04:00Once Upon a Galaxy Far, Far AgoI found Ian and Sage laughing helplessly at the kitchen table a few weeks ago. They had a composition notebook in front of them, and had undertaken to alternately contribute four words each to a saga. The story has a rocky start, as you can see them stuck in a four-word rut at cross-purposes with each other, but then it evolves in surprising ways. I can't help but think my kids are amazingly coolKarrot Souphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348150935341219269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-31332782018876434562013-07-01T08:00:00.001-04:002013-07-01T08:00:24.043-04:00Mother EarthWe all just spent a long, wonderful week in south-central Virginia, tapping into our outdoorsy side. We've always tossed around the joke that we'd like to chuck it all and just go farm; so we finally decided we'd regret it if we didn't check it out. The owners of this particular little farm are looking to take a break and were offering it for lease, equipment and house and all, and so we gotKarrot Souphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348150935341219269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-78226886851393615672013-06-10T15:13:00.000-04:002013-09-22T16:49:32.430-04:00May in Photos
Ian's Titanic project required a costume reflecting the era
Mother's Day
Not Mother's Day
Lucy's sewing creations
Tiny tadpoles
Karrot Souphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348150935341219269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-58884941893397279642013-04-21T20:50:00.000-04:002013-09-22T16:49:45.012-04:00Plenty of Things to Love
(Pretty Please, the horse who just wanted a sandwich)
When I get bored at work, which is most of the time now, I think of topics for this blog. Usually, they are somewhere in the neighborhood of "How Did I End Up Here" or "When Can I Do Something Else" or "What Else Could I Do" or, if depression is starting to set in, "Can This Even Get Any Better". I sat down fully intending to S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04356080776040122819noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-91079814441017147772013-04-09T15:07:00.001-04:002013-09-22T16:50:04.162-04:00Beautiful LucyAs long as we just posted Lucy's debut play, I'm going to post a little blurb I was asked to write about her for an activity this week. (It seems to be the month of "daughter letters" at church...) I was asked to describe her beauty, especially inner beauty:
Lucy is beautiful in a fierce kind of way -- loyalty and acceptance come easily to her. She gives hugs readily, shares with others easily, Karrot Souphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348150935341219269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-9402058587930317962013-04-07T19:39:00.001-04:002013-09-22T16:50:17.639-04:00Lucy's Corner: Peter and the Magic Dog
After General Conference today, Lucy wrote a one-act play. There was a part for each of us, so after dinner we performed it to thunderous (imagined) applause. Here's the work in its entirety:
Peter and the magic dog
narrator;Young Peter wanted a
dog.VERY MUCH!!!!
Peter;MOM!!!!!!!Can we get a dog?!
Mom;NO!!!! Thats the hunddreth time
you,ve asked me!!!We need as much money as we can!!!!!S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04356080776040122819noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-83206233536998043282013-02-25T15:42:00.000-05:002013-09-22T16:50:38.967-04:00A Little Bit of BoastingI got to take my first daughter to the New Beginnings program at church last night, which is basically a special evening introducing the program she'll be joining later this year when she turns 12. There are only 2 new girls coming into the youth program for 2013, so she got some spotlight time all of her own, and they asked me to write an intro for her. Here it is:
Sage was the first Karrot Souphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348150935341219269noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-74430510848087954672013-02-19T10:40:00.000-05:002013-02-19T10:46:18.811-05:00Valentine's Adventures
This may be a rush job, as I've already used up all my available writing time today on personal projects, but I wanted to give a quick rundown of possibly the most over-the-top Valentine's Day my husband has yet put on (which is saying something).
He spent all sorts of evenings and weekends on errands and holed up in the basement before the holiday itself, and then the day of he took the whole Karrot Souphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348150935341219269noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4451030985608239189.post-30657614320008900082013-02-14T15:01:00.000-05:002013-02-14T15:01:00.503-05:00Ooklay UnderwayS.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04356080776040122819noreply@blogger.com0