A couple projects

Here are couple projects I have been working on. I started this quilt about a month ago. It is a variation of a 9 patch quilt. My grandma Ricks used to make 9 patch quilts. I wanted to make a 9 patch like her, so I was looking on-line to see how to make them and got the idea to make a Crazy 9 patch quilt. It's very easy. You make the 9 patch squares.
Then, you cut them in half and then cut them in half again and rearrange them.
It's going to take me a while to finish, but I will post pictures on the finished project when I get it done.

For my other project, I got a Gocco printer for Christmas from my Mother-in-Law. A Gocco is a small screen printer. This is my first attempt at printing with it. I made some blank cards. I am very impressed with it. It is very easy to use and works very well.

Christmas in Idaho

We trade off each year where we are going to spend Christmas. This year, we spent Christmas in Rexburg with my family. We had such a great time. (well, at least I did. Caleb ended up getting sick and we had to take him to the emergency room on Christmas day. He's okay. He just had a bad case of Bronchitis.) It's so great to be able to relax, play games, eat and just be with family.

On Christmas Eve, we all got together and had dinner,
read the Christmas story

Kinsley sang "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" in her Angel costume,

and we opened some presents.



Grandpa made the twins some fun pull toys and Kinsley and Oliver banks.


Grandma made us fun quilts. They are levi quilts and she stuffed the pockets with fun treasures. Here we are looking for the treasures.

Keagan and Holden in a box.

We all went to bed and woke up on Christmas morning to a snow storm. It probably snowed a couple feet that night. We watched everyone open presents. Then, Caleb and I trudged through the snow to the Emergency room. Dad let us borrow his FJ Cruiser, so we made it there with no problems.

Later that day we played in the snow a little bit. We did some sledding and dug a little snow cave.

We are so grateful to have family and friends and that we are able to see them as often as get to. Thanks mom and dad for such a great time. It was a good break from life.

Christmas Program with the Barney's

All of the nieces and nephews on Caleb's side of the family put on a Christmas program the Sunday before Christmas. I think the kids had fun dressing up and acting out the nativity scene. We had fun watching too. I didn't get very many good pictures, but here is what I do have.

Joseph (Ben) guiding Mary (Megan) on the donkey (Brandon). The wiseman (Xander) walking.
The angel (Brooke) shining a light on Joseph (Ben). Mary (Megan) with Baby Jesus.
What a fun night.

Volunteer: Salvation Army

I'm a little behind on here. On the 6th, Mindy organized a little volunteer project. We went to the Salvation Army warehouse and helped organize toy bags for the children who need them. We had a great time.

Maria, Mindy, Bev & Myself in the "store" looking for items for the children.

Here is Bev at the checkout line making sure her sack is full of all the things the child has asked for.

After the event, we wanted to grab a bite to eat. Mindy suggested we go to the Soup Kitchen, so we headed on down to the Soup Kitchen. It turns out that the downtown location is closed on Saturdays, so we needed a different option. There was a man named Pokey outside of the Soup Kitchen working on some concrete. He suggested that we go to Duffy's on State street...just around the corner. He said they make a killer sandwich. We took his suggestion and were not disappointed. They DO make a killer sandwich there. The soup was really good too.



It was a great day and fun to do a little service. Thanks Mindy for organizing the event. It was a great time.

more Mexico

On our last full day in Mexico mom, dad, Melanie, Ashley and myself decided to take a tour. We went on a tour that went through 3 little Mexican towns higher up in the mountains. It was a such a great tour and we got to see the real Mexico.

Our first stop was Malpica. We went to a family owned bakery. Then to see a man make handmade mexican tiles.








Our next stop was Concordia. It was a cute little town with this gorgeous church and a fun little town square.





On the way to our last stop, we passed by this really neat cemetery.



Our last stop was Copala. This was probably my favorite place. It was the highest up in the mountains and had gorgeous views. It was a very small quiet town.

Mazatlan

We just got back from Mazatlan. We were there for a whole week for Thanksgiving with my family. It was such a great time. It was hard to leave. Caleb grew a mustache for the occasion. Oliver even told him that his mustache is cute.


We had so much luggage. There were 13 of us...9 adults and 4 children.



Here we all are on Sunday after church. We went to a ward in Mazatlan. It was supposed to start at 9, but they didn't get going until about 9:30. They had an older couple speak. The man had just turned 100 years old. They definitely didn't look that old though. They were adorable.



We spent a lot of time swimming. The resort had an amazing pool & the ocean was right there too. We even got Ben to get in the ocean and swim.



The weather was perfect the whole time. We were so lucky. This is one of the sunsets. What an amazing view.



On Friday went on a tour to some more authentic mexican towns. It was so interesting to see. I took a lot of pictures on my film camera that day. I will post pictures of the towns when I get my film developed.

We had a such a great time, and it was fun to spend time with my family. I don't get to see them enough. Thanks mom & dad and for taking us. The time went by too quickly, but it's always good to be home too. Now we just need a vacation from our vacation.

yeah, right!

I came across this little gem today. Caleb got this in a fortune cookie about 6 months ago, and I have been saving it. I think it's the best fortune I have ever seen.



We got it at this little Chinese restaurant here in Layton. Whenever we get fortune cookies, I am always eager to know what everyone's fortunes are. Caleb knows this about me and tries to keep it from me. On this particular occasion I asked him what his fortune was, and he wouldn't tell me. I kept asking and finally he read it to me. I thought he was telling me a made up fortune of his, and I didn't believe it until I actually saw it. Solid Gold!

Stoked on Socks

On Saturday, Maria, Bev, Mindy and myself went to an event called stoked on socks. You can read all about it on their website. It was at Z pizzaria. I had never been here before, but they had the best buffalo chicken pizza. We couldn't get enough of it. In order to go to the event you had to donate a package of socks. Then the socks are donated to various locations so the homeless have socks. Apparently there is a big need for socks in the homeless communities. We had a lot of fun, and it always feels good to know you are doing something to make difference. Even if it is just donating socks.

Ogden Ghost Tour

Last Saturday Caleb & I went on a ghost tour of Ogden. They take you on a bus and tell you stories of the ghosts that have been said to live in Ogden. Ogden is a haunted little city. It was a lot of fun. We heard about the ghosts at Union Station, walked down historic 25th street, drove by the old Godfather's pizza, Ben Lomand Hotel and went to the cemetery.

They do tours every year around Halloween time in Salt Lake & Ogden.
ghost tours