My Obsession

I am obsessed with making photo books - really. I LOVE doing it. I have probably made thirty different books over the last 3 or 4 years. It so much fun for me. I have made wedding albums, vacation books, missionary scrapbooks, story books, you name it! I have a friend who does weddings and I recently made a sign in book for her for one of her brides. My latest project was this ABC Book that I made for my grandson. I gave it to him last night and he LOVED it. He loves books anyway, and he was so excited with his new book that was all about him. This particular website is a great one. It is reasonably priced and offers discounts and coupons all the time. It is flexible and offers the ability to import stickers and backgrounds so that your book is fully customizable. Below is a link to my recent creation.

http://www.mixbook.com/photo-books/family/mason-s-abc-book-5588208

KIKI'S RULES FOR SUMMER

Thank goodness, it's finally here! SUMMER - That much anticipated long awaited season where bare feet, popsicles, wet swimsuits, and picnics are the order of the day. Here in Utah, we have to wait a looooong time for actual summer weather to arrive. We must suffer through January, February, and March with their wind, snow, temperature inversions and other kinds of horribly depressing weather. Then there are April and May which should be mild, spring-like months but are actually just extensions of January, February and March. Even when June finally arrives, we cannot count on Mother Nature to give us what we want - SUMMER! Sunshine, gentle breezes, warm temperatures . . . you know - SUMMER. But, thank goodness, summer has finally arrived in Utah. Sun, blue skies, temperatures in the high 80's S.U.M.M.E.R. Here are some rules (or more like guidelines) for making your summer the best it can be!

1. Go to the pool once a week. Preferrably with little kids. Read, nap, eat. I totally love it.
2. Go barefoot every second that it is possible, especially when walking on grass.
3. Get a pedicure and never wear socks (unless you have to in your running shoes)
4. Eat all the watermelon you possibly can.
5. Squeeze a lime wedge in your drinks. Lime makes everything taste better and more summery.
6. Take a blanket out on your lawn and lay on it and read a book. Then when you get sleepy, put the book down and fall asleep.
7. Listen to Jimmy Buffett.
8. Open the sun roof in your car even when the A/C is on.
9. Get a tan or use self tanner. Summer is more fun with a tan.
10. Celebrate the 4th of July - really celebrate. Go to a parade, have a barbeque, light fireworks, sing patriotic songs at the top of your lungs (my personal fav is "You're a Grand Old Flag".
11. Go to a live baseball game - little league, AAA, Major League - it doesn't matter. Eat a hot dog and sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (or "Sweet Caroline" if you're lucky enough to be at Fenway Park).
12. Eat a sno-cone or shave ice. Eat more than one.

I COULD go on, but you get the idea. Have a wonderful summer!

Best Friends and Roommates

As some of you may know, my sister-in-law Sherry Young, writes a column for the Deseret News. A couple of years ago, she published this article about children growing up and becoming your best friends. At the time, I felt impressed to save the article and am so glad I did. All four of my children are married now and gratefully, to people that I truly love and enjoy as individuals. I feel so blessed to have two darling daughters-in-law who are righteous mothers to my grandchildren, hard working and who love and care for my sons. I am also fortunate to have two sons-in-law who are righteous priesthood holdres, treat my daughters like queens and who will watch baseball games with me. I love spending time with my married children and their spouses. We play and laugh and enjoy one anothers' company.

In the LDS Church's Proclamation on the Family it states, "the family is ordained of God". It also states "we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets". The proclamation also tells us that "extended families should lend support when needed"

And that's why I'm writing this post. At different times, all our married children have had to live with us for a period of time in order to save money for a home. Currently, Kelsey and Kyle are living with us for that purpose. They moved in to stay this past weekend. Val and I are so happy that we have accommodations for our children in our basement that provide adequate privacy for them and for us. We are grateful that we can assist our children in this way so that they can purchase their own homes. We look forward to the time spent helping and counseling them as they prepare to make BIG CHANGES in their lives.

I am sure that as our older marrieds prepare to make the transition from "starter homes" into more spacious long-term family homes, we will be called upon again to provide a landing spot for them. And we will do it gladly.

Here is the link to Sherry's article. Take the time to read it - it's well worth it.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695206217/Someday-your-children-may-be-your-best-friends.html

Baby Feet Shower

May is always a busy time of year with sports starting up, end of year programs, awards banquets, dance recitals, etc. And of course, showers! During May I gave two different showers. This post is about my Baby Feet Shower. Here are the invitations I created. I was under a huge time constraint so there was no time to order or make the invitations. Since I come up with very few original ideas, I shocked myself by creating this invitation. I found a photo on Google of baby feet, saved it in Picnik, did a little editing, and added the text and the borders. I saved it as a jpeg file, sent it to Costco for printing and in just about 4 hours from start to finish, I had my invitations!

I gave the shower with my sister-in-law, my daughter and my niece. This is what greeted our guests when they arrived!

Mom-to-be baby feet sash.

Cake pop favors!

I made this banner and it was so cute but you can't really tell because of the backlighting.

Our baby feet cookies.

Baby feet cupcakes!

My niece Lara came up with these beautiful and delicious strawberry parfaits. They were fantastic!

Pink candy!

We did eat more than sweets!

It was such a fun shower to plan. The four of us had a great time putting it together!

Bridal Shower

The other shower that I gave in May was a bridal shower for the daughter of my neighbor and dear friend. I ordered the invitations from Mixbook. I love this site for photo books, invitations and cards.








For the centerpiece, I decided to make a towel cake. I have been wanting to make one of these for a couple of years and this was the perfect opportunity! I used the bride's wedding colors - hot pink and turquoise - to create this adorable cake.
I used white bath towels and checked out photos and tutorials that I found online to figure out how to put it together.


I decorated the cake with ribbon, silk flowers and various kitchen tools - wooden spoons, ice cream scoop, slotted spoon, spatula, kitchen shears (you get the idea).

I LOVED how it turned out and it was a big hit at the shower. Of course, the bride got to take it home as part of the loot.








And of course, don't forget the thank you cards in her wedding colors. I make a set for all the bridal showers I go to!

I love decorating with tissue balls!

Ribbon Sandwiches!

Ham and turkey rolls.

CAKE POPS! These little treats are so much fun to make and serve. Once again, I found all the instructions online. I can't wait to make more and try out some new ways to decorate them.

It really is a lot of fun for me to plan and give parties. One of the challenges is trying to keep the costs reasonable. I love trying to come up with decorating and food ideas that I can execute on my own, stay within budget, but still create a fun atmosphere and my guests and especially the guest of honor feel special. I love trying new recipes but I've been known to outsource if necessary. It's important to remember that the guests are more important than the decorations or the food.

What do YOU absolutely LOVE?

Here are some things that I truly, truly LOVE . . .

I LOVE hanging out in bookstores. I could spend hours

there looking at books and trying to decide which

ones to buy.

I LOVE the sound of bagpipes. When I hear them, I get

that funny tingly feeling in my tummy . The bagpipe

band is my favorite part of any parade.

And speaking of parades, I absolutely LOVE the

4th of July.

I think it my favorite holiday. I love the color scheme,

the parades,

the food, patriotic songs, fireworks, the whole deal.

---

I am obsessed with making photo books. I LOVE it!

I will make them

for any reason and for anyone.

Go ahead and ask me - I will

make one for you!

I LOVE to order cranapple juice and sprite when I

travel on an airplane. Never drink it any other time,

but boy oh boy, I sure love it at 30,000 feet!

---

I adore the smell of lilacs. I love to bury my face in

them and take a long deep breath. It is

intoxicating.

I LOVE foot massages - but then who doesn't?

---

I really, really LOVE good creme brulee. It is hard

to find. The best kind has the really crunchy

top.

And last but not least, I LOVE finding a bargain - combing

through clearance racks, getting a huge % off, buy one

get one free!

Shout Out to Teachers

As the school year draws to a close, I can't help but think about teachers - especially since I now have three teachers in my immediate family. My oldest son, Travis, teaches 6-8 grades at a bilingual charter school in Salt Lake City. My oldest daughter, Tara, teaches second grade in Kaysville, and my daughter-in-law Shayla (Wade's wife) teaches first grade in Ogden.

When my children were younger, I "appreciated" their teachers. I was grateful that these kind, patient souls took them into their classrooms for 7 hours a day and did their best to mold my children's young minds and teach them things that they needed to know. I was a Room Mother for one of my children every single year for 13 straight years as they made their way through JP Stewart Elementary School. I volunteered in the computer lab, served on the PTA board, chaperoned on field trips, manned the face-painting booth during 4th Grade Rendezvous, and provided the requisite Christmas and Teacher Appreciation gifts for my children to present to their teachers each year. But did I really APPRECIATE those teachers? Sadly, I have come to realize that I did not.

As I have watched my adult children obtain their education in preparation to teach, I have been impressed by the level of committment and effort it takes to become a teacher. I now appreciate that these people are highly trained to provide a well-rounded, quality education for the students they teach. I appreciate that many of these teachers seek additional training and advanced degrees in order to provide even richer educational opportunities and experiences for their students.

I have watched as my teachers have prepared their classrooms, largely at their own expense, purchasing bulletin board materials, maps, posters, flags, new and used books, pencil boxes, and numerous other teaching aids. I now appreciate the amount of time and effort that goes into creating a pleasant, stimulating learning environment.

I listen when, at family gatherings, my teachers discuss lesson plans, websites for teaching ideas, discipline strategies and other teaching-related topics with one another. And of course, there is always someone correcting papers, grading, or working on visual aids for an upcoming lesson. I truly appreciate how much non-contract time teachers spend doing their jobs.

I appreciate my teachers' concern for their students, as they ask my advice on dealing with a difficult or troubled child, or just express their frustration when all the techniques they try just don't seem to work.

I wish that I had had this type of appreciation for my children's teachers when they were in school.
Of course, I realize that there are teachers out there who could be described in less glowing terms. I know that our education system is far from perfect and that there is always room for improvement. But from my perspective, I think it's pretty darn good for public education and I also think that there are more teachers out there like the three I have just described than there are "bad" teachers.

So to all you parents out there who have children in elementary and middle school, please appreciate your child's teacher. Send them a thank you note or an email. And if you can afford it, give them a gift card to a restaurant, office supply, craft or school supply store. Donate books and materials to their classroom. It all makes a difference - to both the teachers and their students.


Mrs. Steed's FairyTale Puppet Show
(I wish I had pictures of Travis and
Tara in their classrooms!)