Rainbows are always beautiful which makes it hard to brag about one rainbow in particular but I am going to try on this one. The photo of this rainbow was taken in my front yard just before sunset on a rainy fall day. It was so bright and each color was so pronounced and intense, I wish my camera could have captured how truly bright it was. I don’t think I have ever seen a rainbow with such intense colors before. Maybe the fall colors around it made it seem brighter than usual but regardless, it was absolutely beautiful! I am glad I had my camera handy!

Vegas Vacation

On Thursday we packed up the car and headed South to Vegas.

Our first stop was at a gas station in Fillmore. Has anyone heard of Abba-Zaba? Adam says that this was a favorite treat for his family growing up so he bought me one (he ate most of it). It was ok, kind of like Bit-O-Honey but in my opinion not as good. I was just wondering if anyone else has ever heard of it?

My next story needs a little background information first. Now if you know Adam, every second from the time that we get up the morning of vacation until we reach the hotel is on a strict time schedule. Bathroom breaks are kept to a minimum and eating is usually done in the car, so this next story is quite unusual to say the least. We decided to stop at a McDonalds in Cedar City for lunch. Due to the love of his new car, he choose to let us eat inside the restaurant this time. As we entered the restaurant, there was a BREAKING NEWS story on the T.V. about a boy who floated away in a home made balloon. It was so unusual that we wasted 45 minutes inside McDonalds watching this story unfold! It was so funny to watch peoples reaction when they read the screen for the first time. We left right after it landed and no boy was found inside. We had to wait until we checked into our hotel (3 hours later) to find out what the new developments were. By then he had been found in the attic of their home and the speculations were already flying around about a hoax. To be honest, it would have made a better story if he was found alive & well inside the balloon but it sure made for an interesting story at first.

Here are some random pictures of Freemont Street and the U of U game.

One more funny story. I hesitate embarrassing Michael on this one but it's too funny not to share plus, it's my right as his mother to embarrass my kids whenever I want. On the morning of the Utah Game we decided that it would be worth it to pay more money for a big breakfast since we wouldn't be eating again until the game that evening. Well, Michael kind of threw a fit because he claims that there is never anything good for breakfast at the buffet. Well, we went anyway and Adam told me to not recommend anything to him and to just leave him alone to pick whatever he wanted. Do you want to know what his choice of food was??

I know your dying to know...

Corn on the Cob and Doughnuts! WEIRD!

New Rims & Tires















At the beginning of the summer AJ tried everywhere to get a job with no luck. He was very fortunate to have understanding Grandparents who offered him a job mowing their yards each week. He has taken this responsibility very seriously and has only missed his mow days when the weather didn't cooperate. He has been very good at setting goals and saving every bit of his earnings for his Jeep. Next on his list is a new stereo.

AJ















AJ's team has won all but 1 game so far this season. To be honest it has been a little frustrating for AJ. Until last week he really hasn't gotten much playing time. Just his luck during last weeks game he got a minor concussion on the last play of the game. As we were walking him to the locker room afterwards he said with a big grin on his face "I got playing time today". Even better, he did really well. Hopefully the coaches notice and he will continue to get playing time for the rest of the season.


Mike















Mike's team is un-defeated so far. His games are really enjoyable to watch. It's amazing what a difference a good coaching staff makes. Mike has learned a ton and has the desire to continue to improve. Last nights game he sacked the quarter back which he was really excited about.

As a mom, I have to admit that I am not looking forward to another month of cold, wet games. I have turned into a big wimp.

I haven't hit the "What was I thinking" stage yet...


My postage stamp quilt is turning out great and I am really enjoying this project! I try to work on it when I can which is only in the evenings a couple times a week at most.

One month has passed and I am almost a third done.
To be realistic, at some point I am going to hit the "I'm bored with this project" or "What was I thinking" stage and it will sit for awhile. I am concerned that I am going to run out of a few of the fabrics. I think I will go purchase some more fabric just in case I need it. I would hate to get it most of the way done and not have the same fabric throughout the entire quilt.

Postage Stamp Quilt Update...

I am making great progress on my postage stamp quilt. So far I have sewn around (300) 4 patch blocks. This weekend I pinned them all onto a blanket and arranged them into 16 patch sections. My only goal as far a pattern goes is to not repeat the same fabric in a 16 patch area. Once I get these 16 patch blocks sewn together I will start all over again by sewing more 4 patches together. It's hard to tell right now but I think I will need to do this process a total of 3 times to get the size quilt I want.

Don't mess with the Man Cave!

What's a man cave?

man cave n. A dedicated area of a house, such as a basement, workshop, or garage, where a man can be alone or socialize with his friends.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Adam was forced to watch his prized Utes on a T.V. anything smaller than smaller than a 60" screen? Well, ask Keith's T.V. Repair what happens when someone messes with Adam's "Man's Cave" during football season. Needless to say, we now have our big screen T.V. back just in time for the Ute game this Saturday. Wow, that was a close one!

6 New Posts! Wow I really slacked off this summer!

Postage Stamp Quilt"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together."
-- Vincent Van Gogh

This is a long post but its mostly just for myself...

I was inspired to make a postage stamp quilt at a time when I have no time for such frivolous nonsense. Football season is a time demanding season at our house. Both boys are in school; they both have practices at different times of the day and games on different days of the week plus other commitments that require us to be in three different places all at once. As strange as it may sound, that is exactly why I wanted a long term project. I liked the idea of a project with no pressure to complete or deadline to meet. But I am also the type of person that likes to see a project through to the end and it would give me something to look forward to and to work on. As a mom, there are times when you feel like you are nothing more than a cook, a maid and a ride from one place to another. It’s easy feel taken for granted and burnt out wishing you had time for yourself. I was determined to find a project that allowed me to use up some creative energy and something to look forward to at the end of each day or on the weekends. After I started constructing my quilt, I came across this quote which I love!

"Stop fighting your creative spirit that is struggling to break free inside you. You will not be the person you were meant to be until you free this creative spirit and find ways to put it to use. Freeing your creative spirit will not send you into financial ruin or cause havoc with your life, if you acknowledge the creative side of you and find ways to gradually blend it into your thought process. What will happen is that you will find happiness you didn't know existed and you will become the person you were meant to be."

-- Edward W. Smith, The One Minute Motivator

As I was searching for a quilt to invest my time in I came across one called a postage stamp quilt which consists of thousands of 1” pieces sewed together. It gets its name because the pieces are about the size of a postage stamp. They can be sewn randomly or rearranged into a pattern. I found a color scheme that I really liked and mapped it out the best I could on how to accomplish a similar design (above are the colors I chose to use). I purchased 19 print fabrics and 8 cream/plain fabrics. I then washed, dried and ironed all the fabric. Then came the fun part… no I’m not being sarcastic, I actually enjoy the cutting part although my right thumb is still numb a week and a half later after cutting somewhere around 6,000-7,000 squares in three days (I must have damaged the nerves in my right thumb).

I then organized all the colors and matched them up into color schemes. I store them in sandwich baggies with numbers on them to try to keep everything straight. As I get time, I pull out the baggies and sew the color schemes together, pop the seams then press them.

Here is some quilt math. I want a throw that will measure approx 70"x80". That will take 5,600 individual 1" squares or 1,400 completed 4 patch blocks.

It is going to take a LONG time but its fun to have something to be working on and something to look forward to completing (someday).

Here is an example of a competed 4 patch. As you can see, they are very tiny squares.

More updates to come...

To be continued...

Labor Day Weekend!

We had a great Labor Day Weekend. Our niece, Kammie flew in on Friday so we spent the weekend with her. On Saturday we went to the zoo with Adam's parents and enjoyed perfect weather! All the animals were all out and very playful. On Sunday, we took a jeep ride up through American Fork Canyon to Midway with Kindra, Lee, Dad & Lindsay. We then enjoyed lunch in Heber. On Monday we did absolutely nothing! I love days that we can take a two hour nap and not feel guilty about it. Unfortunalty, now its all over we all have to go back to work - UGH!

Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.
Bill Shankly

Football from a Mom's Perspective...

Hours of practice, cool nights, hot days, sweaty gear, bruises, ice packs, ibruprofrin, pep talks before a game, making dinner three times a night, talking in the car on the way to practice, enduring all kinds of weather to watch a game, eating on the run, running to Big 5 at the last minute for an essential piece of gear, the excitment of watching your kids play under the big lights, talking with family at half time, sending the kids off to school the day after a big win, words of encouragment after a loss, the prayer that automatically enters your mind when a player is injured, the selfish prayer that it's not your son, being so cold that you cant move your fingers, watching the scoreboard during a cold game wishing time would move faster, watching the scoreboard during a rivalry hoping for a win, I am the mom of a football player and I love every bit of it.

Michael made the 7th Grade A-Team!After a grueling 3 day tryout, we anxiously awaited the results of this years A-team. The coaches kept matching up Michael up against the biggest kid on the team and he proved to be very strong and aggressive. We knew just from watching that the coaches could not deny how much potential Mike has. Well we were right! He was moved up from the B Team to the A Team. This is a big accomplishment! Him and only two other boys were able to move up this year and he did it 100% on his own. Good job Mike!

5K Run

This was Michael's first time running a 5K and did very well. This was AJ's second year running and could have done better but was apparently to busy exercising his jaw.

Michael's final time was 37:19
AJ's final time was 42:40 (last year he ran it in 37:00)

Maybe we can somehow motivate them to train in the off season so they can try to beat this time next year.

Summer Vacation - Beautiful Bear Lake, Utah

Since I have nothing profound to say or interesting stories to tell, I thought I would post some good summer quotes for everyone to enjoy...

Being a child at home alone in the summer is a high-risk occupation. If you call your mother at work thirteen times an hour, she can hurt you. ~Erma Bombeck

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time. ~John Lubbock

"Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet
conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains..."
- Diane Ackerman

"Blessed be the Lord for the beauty of summer and spring, for the air, the water, the verdure, and the song of birds."
- Carl von Linnaeus

"A break in the heat away from the front no thunder, no lightning, just rain, warm rain falling near dusk falling on eager ground steaming blacktop hungry plants thirsty turning toward the clouds cooling, soothing rain splashing in sudden puddles catching in open screens that certain smell of summer rain."
- Raymond A. Foss, Summer Rain

"After winter comes the summer. After night comes the dawn. And after every storm, there comes
clear, open skies."
- Samuel Rutherford

"What a beautiful, sunny morning. It makes you happy to be alive, doesn't it? We can't let the sun
outshine us! We have to beam, too!"
- Takayuki Ikkaku

"People take pictures of the Summer, just in case someone thought they had missed it, and to prove that it really existed."
- Ray Davies

"Summer afternoon - Summer afternoon... the two most beautiful words in the English language."
- Henry James

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far!

When is Summer going to get here!

The past few weekends we have refused to let the cold, wet weather ruin our weekends so we have packed everything up and headed to our favorite summer hideout - the canyon. We build a fire and hide under the canopy. We play cards and listen to music and just enjoy being away from home and all responsibilities in general.

Leaving 6th & 9th grade behind and looking forward to the first year of Jr. High & High School

Both kids will be attending a new school next year which means a lot of new experiences for both kids. Honestly I am glad to leave the elementary years behind. Mike is excited to start his first year of Jr. High and AJ entering is first year of High School.

AJ

One of the highlights of AJ's last month of Jr High was his final project for his Teen Living Class. He had to be a daddy for a weekend and care for a simulated baby. He named him Buster Zane Medina. The baby was on a pre-programmed timer that would require him to feed, burp and change its diaper at all hours of the day. It was very entertaining to watch him care for this baby. Buster went to the movies with us and an indoor football arena game. I don't know if the baby was sensitive to all the noise but during the football game AJ had to leave every 10 minutes or so to tend to the babies needs. When we left at half time, we found AJ out on the front lawn with the baby. He got so fed up with having to leave when the baby cried that he decided to just go outside. Just like a real parent he didnt get nights off either, he would wake up the next morning so tired. Here is a picture of a note he left us to read before we left for work. He was unable to leave the baby unattended so he wanted to make sure we were available to watch the baby before we left for work so he could take a shower before school.




Mike

Mike celebrated his last month of Elementary School and along with it, his last recess, enjoying being the tallest kid in school, last dance festival and last field day. He also had the honor as a 6th grader to participate in the traditional end of year softball game aginst the teachers and staff. As a parent I will have no more spelling lists, reading charts or get to attend school plays & Christmas programs.

Michael...

Michael has had an eventful month. On St. Patrick's Day morning Michael called me at work asking me if he could dye his contacts green. I obviously said NO but I allowed him to experiment with dying his tongue green.

Over the past couple months I have seen his frustrations with being the little brother. As AJ gets older and gets to do more things I have tried to help Michael direct that energy into some positive things.

I am thankful to live in a day & age where we have cell phones because its a little easier to be a nervous mom. Its reassuring to know that I can call and find out where they are if I ever need to track them down. One day after school Michael gave me quite a scare. Earlier that morning he asked if he could walk home after school. When he walks he is always home before 3:00 but that particular day, AJ beat him home which never happens. AJ & I waited for a couple minutes then we decided to go out to look for him. We went to several of his friends houses and none of them had seen him. We drove up and down every street between our house and the school with no luck. After about 25 minutes looking I really started to panic. Should I call the police? Should I call and tell Adam? We went to the school and they called for him over the speaker with no luck... AJ & I prayed together. School had now been out 1 hour and 15 minutes. I didn't know where else to go or look for him? I was so mad, upset & scared and terrible thoughts started going through my mind that no mother should have to consider... School had now been out 1 hour and 25 minutes. Somehow my car wandered to a neighborhood just west of ours and I remembered him talking to Jessie on face book. I didn't really know they were friends but I knew where she lived and I knew she sometimes walked home. I pulled up to the house and asked the mom if she had seen Michael. She said that she had picked Jessie up from school and she hadnt seen him. She called for Jessie in the house and then checked the backyard to ask her if she had seen him. Well anyway, there he was with about 10 other friends playing in the backyard. I had never been to that house before and as far as I know, he had never even played at her house before so for me to find him there was truly an answered prayer.

Micheal also had a lead role in their school play Treasure Island as Captain Smollett. When I found out that he had a lead role I was quite surprised and nervous but as we practiced his lines together I realized he was quite talented and had memorized his lines almost perfectly. When it came time for the play he was very comfortable on stage, his microphone worked perfectly and he didn't miss any lines! Who knows, maybe I have a little actor on my hands?

Michael continues to enjoy drawing and art. Below is an egg that he painted and the shell happened to crack during the process. When he pealed it, there was a perfect spider web pattern on it. He thought it was pretty cool and used my camera to take a ton of pictures so he could draw it later.

AJ

AJ has also had an eventful month. After we got back from our cruise AJ had 6-F's and had to work very hard to get caught up. I felt bad that we put him in that situation and am reluctant to take the kids out of school for family vacations in the future because it was stressful to come back. As a result of the bad grades and being overwhelmed AJ decided not to join the track team. He has expressed an interest in Shot Put but decided that he should concentrate on his school work. Well a couple days before the first track meet the coach approached AJ and told him that he didn't have to come to practices or pay any fees but asked if he would come throw for the team at their first track meet. So he went, no jersey, no idea what he was doing and threw for the team. From what I remember he threw around 28 feet, pretty good for his first time with no practice. I don't know if he will continue doing it but it was fun to watch.


AJ also had an opportunity to go to a 5 star restaurant with his school class to La Caille near Solider Summit (I think). He got all dressed up left for an evening to learn about etiquette. He ate escargot, salad (but not the tomatoes or onions), chicken and a banana flam beau.

AJ has also started spring training with the high school football team. He goes to weights most days after school and on Wednesday mornings before school. His shoulder still gives him problems sometimes but hopefully he can get his strength back. Once a week they go to one of the coaches houses and do Strongman Competitions. They flip big tires, pull a truck uphill and try to get on the record board. The high school team is very goal oriented which I really like. I am hoping that it is motivating to AJ to keep working toward improving his skills. Click HERE see his Coach Russ Anderson doing one of these drills.

AJ has been anxiously waiting for his jeep to be functional so we can take it out when he practices his driving. It has been in and out of the shop for various reasons trying to get it to pass emissions. A couple weeks ago he was able to purchase some new (much needed) front seats and seat belts. Adam & him spend one Saturday morning installing those together. He also purchased a new antenna and spent several hours installing it so his radio would work better.

As St. Patricks Day approaches, AJ reminded me of a funny story....

When AJ was in 5th grade he asked me if we could dye his socks green for St. Patricks day. I thought that was a pretty clever idea, so the night before we got some socks, put them in water with green food coloring and then let them dry overnight. The next morning he put the socks on and went to school. That night we discovered that dying the socks with food coloring probably was not the best idea. The socks dyed his feet green and he had to live with "Hulk" feet for the next week and a half. Ha Ha!

Sky & Flowers

Sky & Flowers
Originally uploaded by smedina221

I found this fun tool on the internet where you can make your own collages from your digital photos. Here is my first creation.