Home and Seasonal Decor

Today, my friend and I participated in the Queen Creek Farmer's Market. It wasn't just for produce, but featured a lot of vendors of arts and crafts and other homemade items. It was a lot of fun! Our booth was constantly busy and everyone loved our items. We had a TON. Jill made some beautiful picture frames that sold like candy.

We also had these wooden blocks that we've been working on for the last month. They were a lot of fun to make. I've decided to offer these on my blog to anyone who would like to purchase them! I can also do custom orders so if there's a word or coloring that you would like, you can let me know and I can make it for you. If you want to order any, I can accept payments thru paypal (unless you're local and want to pay with cash). Most of you I'd accept checks from too:)

Remember Mother's Day is coming up! Husbands, your wife may LOVE one of these. Birthdays, weddings, baby showers,

If there's any you'd like to see bigger pictures of, I can email them to you. If you'd like to order any, either post it in the comments or email me with your order! I can get them shipped to you next week (with a shipping charge, though).

Welcome-Cream front with Chocolate Brown sides and Olive Green letters

Size: About 3 inches wide each and between 4 and 8 inches tall

Cost: $20

Cafe-Burnt Red front with Black sides and White letters
Size: About 3 inches wide each and between 3 and 5 inches tall
Cost: $8

Friends-Cranberry Red front with Black sides and White letters
Size: About 3 inches wide each and between 4 and 8 inches tall
Cost: $20


Cherish-Light Pink front with Brown sides and White letters

Size: About 3 inches wide each and between 4 and 8 inches tall

Cost: $18

Dream-Sky Blue front with Cream sides and Silver letters

Size: About 3 inches wide each and between 3 and 4 inches tall

Cost: $10

(This one is not for sale but gives you an idea for a baby gift, etc)

Baby-Crean front with Sky Blue sides and Baby Blue letters
Size: About 3 inches wide each and between 5 and 9 inches tall
Cost: $15

USA-Red, White, and Blue (Same colors on fronts and sides) with Tan letters

Size: About 2-3 inches wide each and between 4 and 8 inches tall
Cost: $8
Spring: Colors as shown (Same colors on fronts and sides) with White letters
Size: About 2-3 inches wide each and between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 inches tall
Cost: $12 (Unless purchased in set)

Summer: Colors as shown (Same colors on fronts and sides) with White letters
Size: About 2-3 inches wide each and between 2 1/2 and 4 1/2 inches tall
Cost: $12 (Unless purchased in set)

Autumn: Colors as shown (Same colors on fronts and sides) with White letters
Size: About 2-3 inches wide each and between 2 1/2 and 4 inches tall
Cost: $12 (Unless purchased in set)

Winter: Colors as shown (Same colors on fronts and sides) with Silver letters
Size: About 2-3 inches wide each and between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 inches tall
Cost: $12 (Unless purchased in set)

The above 4 can be purchased as a set for $36 instead of the $48 buying them separately.

Spring: Colors as shown (Same colors on fronts and sides) with White letters
Size: About 3-4 inches wide each and between 4 and 10 inches tall
Cost: $18

Prayer-Deep Green front with Black sides and White letters
Size: About 3 inches wide each and between 3 and 9 inches tall

Cost: $18

Laughter-Light Green front with Brown sides and White letters
Size: About 3 inches wide each and between 4 and 10 inches tall

Cost: $24

Inspire-Cranberry Red front with Stained Brown sides and White letters

Size: About 3-5 inches wide each and between 5 and 10 inches tall
Cost: $27

Home-Brick Red front with Tan sides and Tan letters
Size: About 4-5 inches wide each and between 5 and 9 inches tall

Cost: $14

Hearts-Brick Red with distressed edges

Can be purchased as a set or individually with other word sets

Cost: $3 for the small and $5 each for the large or $10 as a set

Harvest-Colors as shown (same colors fronts and sides) and Tan letters

Size: About 3 inches wide each and between 6 and 10 inches tall
Cost: $28

Can Purchase the pumpkin with the set ($5) or separately ($7)

(My personal favorite!)

Halloween-Purple, Black, and Green fronts with Black sides and White letters

Size: About 3-5 inches wide each and between 5 and 9 inches tall
Cost: $28

Can Purchase the pumpkin with the set ($5) or separately ($7)

Believe-Cream front with Brown sides and Brick Red letters

Size: About 3-5 inches wide each and between 5 and 10 inches tall
Cost: $27

America-Colors as shown (same colors front and sides) with White and Blue letters

Size: About 3-6 inches wide each and between 5 and 10 inches tall
Cost: $26

If you see something that interests you but isn't exactly the colors you want, let me know! Otherwise, I'll get your order to you as soon as I can.

Playing Ketchup

Things have been so busy that I haven't had time to blog about anything that has gone on in the last month. So here is the fast reader's digest version with lots of pictures.
I "bought" this pool off craigslist. Actually, when I saw the listing and who and where is was posted from, I thought there was a slight chance it was my friend's posting, so I emailed her. Sure enough, it was. We took a little trip to visit them and came home with a pool. The girls loved it! (Un)fortunately, that was the first and last warm day we've had in a month. We've had such beautiful weather in the 60s and 70s, I don't think we're mentally ready for the near 100s next week.We tried to go to Luke Air Force Air Show this year, but failed miserably. Long story, not so interesting here. Anyway, I made homemade pitas for our lunch. Yummy! But I need a better, more reliable recipe. Anyone have one?

One day after breakfast, Taryn spilled her cereal. No joke, this is what her spill looked like. Keara exclaimed in excitement, "Mom, look! A hand!!" Sure is. Keara's 3rd birthday was a great success. The kids all seemed to have a great time and it was relatively low cost, time, and pressure for us. Keara felt like a queen and loved every second. She is so proud of being 3. We started things off playing parachute, running underneath, and then throwing things in the air.

Then we did pin the sprinkles on the ice cream cone. Keara was a little apprehensive about putting on a blindfold at first, but didn't mind once she saw her friends do it.What's a party without limbo? We had fun music and the kids enjoyed running under the bar. I think the adults had more fun, though. The music stayed on long after the game was over to the point the kids just played and ran in the yard for 20 minutes until dinner was ready. We had little homemade pizzas.After dinner, we broke out the pinata. At least the kids tried to break it. It took Braden beating the poor thing to death before it broke open. It had a lot less candy in it than I thought I had put in...Oh well.It was almost comical to watch these tiny 3 year olds try to swing a bat and hit with enough force to break the pinata.For Keara's cake, I made cakes in ice cream cones. I'm glad I got the recipe I did because all the other ones had the final product looking pretty pathetic. But these turned out great, though it tricked most of the kids who thought they were getting ice cream and were a little surprised when they bit into cake.

We put sprinkles on top and they really did end up looking like ice cream! On Keara's real birthday, we had to change plans because we found out Braden's maternal grandpa had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and was given 2 weeks to live. So we drove to Las Vegas to say goodbye. While we were there for a sad purpose, it was great to be together with all of Braden's siblings, his aunt and some cousins, and his uncle. We went out to dinner the first night there and Keara got a free birthday ice cream! Yeah! True to form, she only at the whipped cream...(which Braden had requested they put extra of on).Because Braden's sister flew out from Missouri and brought her daughter, we were able to meet our neice/cousin for the first time! Brieyn is just 11 days older than Taryn. They were cute together!And what is a cousin meeting without a bath picture?I love putting my babies in hand towels for bath towels. I think they're so cute!Grandma Moore spoiled Keara for her birthday with a new doll. Keara quickly wrapped her up in the wrapping paper and was SO excited about her! Meet Suzie, the yellow hair doll.But then, much to Keara's delight, Grandma gave her ANOTHER doll! Meet Dharma. She came with a bunch of accessories that Keara couldn't wait to get home to put together.The morning after we got home, Keara bounded into my room and begged to put all the pieces together. Here she is with her new toys and LOVING it! She plays with them everyday.Braden and I got her this tricycle after a long search and gave it to her after we got home from Vegas. She found it to be much more difficult to ride than I think she anticipated and it took a lot longer to get anywhere.

I love this video because it shows how much she struggled that first day!The next day, we went out again and she was determined to get it right. It took us a half hour to go one block to the park and she had to stop and resituate herself a lot. But she never complained and just kept trying. By the time we left the park, she was a pro! I was so proud of her. Since then, we've ridden her bike on a walk everyday.

Keara's new thing is to help with everything. She's always been afraid of the lawn mower, but got up the courage when she saw that Taryn wasn't afraid. Since then, she's been daddy's helper to mow the lawn. She also loves to help spray the weeds. She sprays and Braden follows with the weed killer and shows her where to spray. Please note, those are NOT our weeds. The house next to ours is vacant and Braden controls the line between the two homes so we don't get notices and fines.
We were able to go to the zoo on a beautiful day with one of Keara's best friends, Kloey. They hadn't seen each other in months before her birthday party and their reunion was SO sweet. So we quickly set up another play date and the girls had a blast!

They love each other so much!

About a week after going to Vegas, Braden's grandpa passed away. He had been so miserable that it was a blessing for him. We all got together for Easter weekend at Braden's parents' house where his mom had brought home items from her dad's house. He was a very classy man with good taste and a love for fine things. It was fun to learn about his past and go thru the items with Braden's family.The cousins all loved being together and even slept! Amazing. The Saturday before Easter, the Easter Bunny came to grandma's house, thanks to grandma. We don't do Easter baskets, but Braden's mom didn't want the girls to be left out, so she went to great efforts to put together milk, egg, peanut, dye free baskets for our girls. Keara and the boys loved helping Taryn open her basket since she was the last to wake up.Taryn enjoyed the dried fruit grandma had.Showing off her new shades.Keara's new purse and things.Easter dresses! I thought the girls looked so pretty.The day after we got home from Prescott, we went to my uncle's Easter party. I LOVE their party! They have so many grandkids that this event has evolved to a huge spectacle. I can't tell you how many hundreds of eggs they hide and/or put all over the lawn. All the kids made their own basket out of old milk jugs. It was cute!Keara started slow but quickly realized this was a race! So she picked up the pace and soon filled her basket.After most of the eggs were found, we put out 5 special eggs for Taryn and let her pick them up and put them in the basket. She was thrilled to have a couple treats too! I love that she is so content to have whatever we give her, rather than needing what everyone else has.

It has been a very busy but very fun month. I can't believe we're already half way thru April. Tomorrow is our big Farmer's Market event that my friend Jill and I have been preparing for all month. I think we're ready. Let's just hope someone buys our stuff! Do you want to?

We Did It!

I guess I should really give all the credit to Braden, but I helped a little and Keara and Taryn helped, too. But we grew something in our garden! We had a beautiful garden a year and a half ago with tomatoes, snap peas, broccoli, lettuce, carrots, strawberries, and peppers. But the peppers never grew, the strawberries froze and produced little crop, the carrots were small and bendy, the lettuce tasted like dirt, the broccoli grew really funny, and sadly we lost our tomatoes and peas to the frost.


We planted raspberries in January and everyone tells us we're not supposed to be able to grow raspberries in the valley. But today Braden picked a red one! It was DELICIOUS! The best raspberry I've had. He's watered them, fertilized them, and tried really hard to get them to survive. There's another red one on another stalk, but it's not quite ready. Probably tomorrow. There are a ton of flowers and little raspberries growing, so we're hoping they'll make it before the heat!

There are Just Some Things You Cannot Do Alone

For me, apparently pregnancy is one of them.

When we found out we were pregnant with Keara, we also found out Braden's sister and sister-in-law, as well as my sister, were also pregnant. On Braden's side, the babies were due within a few days of us. My sister was due 5 weeks later. The Moore babies were born 3 weeks before Keara and the Hicken baby was born 4 weeks after. Keara was the only girl out of the bunch.

When we found out we were pregnant with Taryn, we already knew that two of my sisters and two of Braden's sisters were expecting. Shortly after, we found out 2 more of my sisters and one of my sisters-in-law were also due. Jordan (boy) was born in September, Asia (girl) was born the beginning of November, Claire (girl) was born the middle of November, Brieyn (girl) was born the beginning of December, Taryn (ours-girl) was born the middle of December, Addison (boy) was born the end of January, Elysse (girl) was born the beginning of February, and Lily (girl) was born the beginning of June. So, Taryn has 7 cousins within 6 months of her age and 5 of them are girls.

When we found out we were pregnant with this baby, we soon found out that two of my sisters were also expecting. And then a couple weeks ago, we found out one of Braden's sisters is also expecting. Wow! My sisters are due within 3 weeks of me and Braden's sister is due 3 months after. We just found out one of my sisters (Tauna) is having a boy and the other (Kerri) is having a girl! We are SO excited about that! Our little girl will have (at least) 3 more cousins her age.

The best part of it all, is that my sister Kerri has been pregnant with her 3 kids at the same time as my 3. AND her babies all within a few weeks of mine. Carter is 4 weeks younger than Keara, Addison is 6 weeks younger than Taryn, and her baby girl is due 2 weeks before ours. I love sharing this time with her and truly it has brought us closer than we ever thought possible. She has become my bestest friend thru these experiences and I'm so excited to both have girls this time!!!

Maybe our last babies will be alone with no cousins born with them, but for now, we feel very blessed to have our babies have SO many cousins their age.

I Guess She's Really Growing

Keara has been showing so much interest in writing lately. I'm so impressed by how quickly she's getting this. She wants to write our names primarily, which doesn't give her opportunities to learn many letters since we share so many among the 4 of us, but she's mastering these letters. Our names only use A, B, C, D, E, H, I, K, N, R, T, and Y. So, I guess next week we'll start working on the other 14 letters.

But for now, here's what she's working on:

The B is hardest for her right now and she usually does the C backwards. But we're working on it. We're also working on writing from left to right and having the letters next to each other. She's so determined and will try again and again, even when I can tell she's frustrated. Yeah Keara!

(I stand corrected...Keara also knows how to write F, L, O, P, Q, S, and U. So we need to work on only 7 more letters. Wow!)

Berries!

It's strawberry season! I LOVE strawberry season! This week, however, strawberries are at the lowest price I have EVER seen in my life! 4 lbs for $3.48 (at Safeway, for those of you here in the valley who hadn't heard). That's 88 cents a pound! I'm in heaven!

We bought 12 lbs yesterday to freeze for shakes. Of course, we can't help eating a few (or a lot) and having it with every meal. Strawberries are great in cold and hot cereal, on dutch baby pancakes, and just to eat. Or, as we did last night, they're incredible dipped in chocolate! I've made way too many chocolate covered strawberries this season...and yet I'm making more tomorrow!

With our frozen strawberries, we'll make shakes, popsicles, and sorbet. I'm also tempted to try making thick fruit leather again. I love this time of year!

End of an Era

Today during the afternoon session of General Conference, my dad was released. He has served for 9 (?) years as an Area Authority Seventy. When I heard his name, I felt so many emotions all at once. Mainly, I wanted to cry. But why?

I think it was a mixture of sadness and relief. Sadness that my dad's, parents', and families' experiences and incredible blessings that have come from his calling over the last almost decade are ending, at least for now. Relief for my dad to have less pulling him from every direction. He's been so busy with this calling and I know he loved every minute of it, except for maybe that time his PDA dropped into the recycling bin at the office and got recycled right before Church Headquarters called and asked for a detailed report.

I guess I'm also a bit worried that now they'll get called to go on a mission. Exciting, true, but I am a mommy and daddy's girl and I can't imagine them being gone!

Anyway, if you've read this blog, you know how I feel about my dad and how much I admire and respect him. I love the example he has been to everyone of us and I'm so grateful for the hard work he puts into everything. Take a breath, dad! I love you!

Flashes of Inspiration

Before I start, this is my 100th post! Wow! Let's celebrate...

Okay, now that that's over, I wanted to throw out a new idea for our family. As many of you now know, we are so excited at the changes we've seen in Taryn's skin since we switched to dye and perfume free detergent. Every day it looks better and I just can't help rubbing my baby's SOFT skin! She no longer feels like a lizard, as my friend put it. Oh, it is so much better.

But I've still been worried about how much she's been vomitting lately. Last week, she threw up on 4 different days. Just threw up, no other symptoms, nothing after she vomited. I know she's not sick and I attribute it to allergies because I can tell by her behavior and mood that she feels great but just needs to get something out.

The other night, as I was saying my nighttime prayers, I was thinking about her throwing up and her improved skin and suddenly thought, "What if she's allergic to the dyes in food?" So for the last 3 days, I've been racking my brain to remember what she ate before throwing up. I knew that she had eaten fruit snacks on Sunday before throwing up, so I could easily connect that to food dyes. Then I remembered she had fruit snacks on Thursday too (and threw up Thursday night) when we bought them. And on Friday night, she had Smarties at Keara's birthday party (and threw up Saturday morning). But that didn't explain the 9 times she threw up on my birthday. Then, tonight, as we were getting the girls ready for bed, I suddenly remembered what I had as my birthday cake. Crown Jewel. With 5 different flavors of Jello. Of course, Taryn couldn't eat the finished product, but we gave her the plain jello. AND, after she threw up in the morning, we gave her more jello because we thought it might feel good to her since we didn't know why she had thrown up. After that, she threw up another 5 times.

Could it be she's allergic to food dyes? I've done a little reading about it tonight and found the 2 most common dyes people are allergic to are Red 40 and Yellow 5. So I checked the fruit snacks and jello. Sure enough, the ONLY food dyes in both are Red 40 and Yellow 5. Hmm...It's interesting too that if she is allergic to dyes, they flared after being heavily exposed to dyes in the Jello. The same thing happened with eggs. She could tolerate foods with eggs in them. But once she had straight eggs, the allergy became very pronounced and she could no longer tolerate food with eggs in it anymore.

If she is allergic or intolerant to food dyes, it will certainly make this kid the healthiest kid we all know. She will not be able to eat ANYTHING processed. Good for her. Hard for me, just because I really have to be creative and make everything homemade, but worth it.

I also don't think she's allergic to milk anymore. She's snuck some yogurt and cheese this week (off Keara's leftovers) and had zero reaction to both. Yesterday, Keara, Taryn, and Braden were all put back on insurance (YEAH!) and T's allergist is no longer in our network. So, that means changing allergists which also usually means repeat testing to get the new office up to speed. I'm looking forward to that. Unfortunately the closest doctor that I feel good about is in Tuscon...

Anyway, I'm hoping we can get to the root of Taryn's struggles so we can help her. I'm becoming more and more of a believer that the closer food is to the source the better. I love God made foods!!!