my christmas registry

i really don't want much...just these few things:

ipod nano, clyde aspevig painting, ugg tall crochet boot, trek tri bike, kitchen including wolf range, hood, subway tile, etc., new running shoes, this living room with a white couch that will magically stay clean, another painting (these are only $60K by the way), ogio bag, beach vacation, k2 tough luv skis, my family (priceless)

i made this list this morning between 3:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m., at which point I finally became tired enough to go back to bed. lately i wake up at 2 or 3, lay in bed for an hour, finally give up hope of falling back to sleep and surf the web for a couple hours - it's starting to become very annoying.

merry christmas

this is our christmas card photo...that will not get made into a christmas cards because that would take effort. so lets just pretend i printed pictures, licked, stamped and addressed 100 handwritten cards for each and every one of our friends and family. Merry Christmas!

Simple pleasures

Here's what has made me happy the last few weeks:

For Halloween my mom gave Ellie a bag with random crafty ingredients (this is so my mom, to think of something other than candy). Ellie now wants to have daily card making sessions which I love just as much as her - I try to let her make them herself, but I can't resist.

Hiking with our "backpack, backpack!" (sung to the Dora the Explorer backpack song). (Is "sung" a word?) This picture makes me teary-eyed because before I know it my best little friend will be starting school.

Gymnastics class. All I can say about this is "2,4,6,8, gymnastics is really great!"

My first quilt, for Cody. I'll get a better picture of it but this definately had to be in my "happy" post because I just love it and I LOVE having a baby boy! I also made a dolly quilt for Ellie with the scraps.

Sunbeam

Jesus wants me to be loving; and kind to all I see,

showing how friendly and happy His little one can be.

A sunbeam! A sunbeam!

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam!

A sunbeam! A sunbeam! I'll be a sunbeam for him.



I know, so cheesy - but what a perfect fit for my little chicky and turtle. I took the costumes and book to nursery last Sunday - a complete hit. Hopefully this helps the whole "be nice" concept sink in.

Six new Karl Thomas paintings available

"Hollyhock Garden" 22"x28"

"Kolob Canyon - Summer" 30"x40"

"October Colors" 30"x40"

"Aspens near Koosharem" 30"x40"

"Sunset in Springdale" 24"x36"

"Deer Creek" 24"x24"

the oregon coast = lots of old people

Not that I have anything against old people. It's just that I never expected to go on the same vacation as them. And stay in the same timeshare, and workout with them in the mornings, and take pictures for them at lookout points, and eat with them at restaurants, and chat in the vistors centers. For five glorious days, we vacationed as the RVing, buffet loving, tourbus touring, denture wearing, retired generation do. If I ever go back to Oregon, I will either have gray hair and some super deluxe binoculars for whale watching, or a road bike to ride the Coastal Hwy. I really hope it's the road bike.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was a random stop at a fundraiser for the Neskowin Valley School. It's a private art centered school and reminds me of the Sundance School.

kids playing games at the school

inside the school where we ate yummy soup and hot chocolate

the coast, obviously. i was really surprised at how unpopulated the Oregon Coast was.

my little nubkin. we left ellie at home my mom, my aunt lisa and justin's mom- ellie loved it but i thought i was going to DIE of missing her by the fourth day.

this is as extreme as our trip got.

cabin on Cannon Beach that both Justin and I really liked. the window casings are red.

where we stayed the first two nights.

Ashley, Joe and Tanner at Silver Falls. A five mile hike took us to seven amazing waterfalls.

i am in love

with this house. we saw it when we were in CA this summer. it was for sale so i called on it, trying very hard to sound rich: "Yes, 5.5 million? OK, well it sounds like something we would be interested in, how many bedrooms again?..." This link probably won't work forever but until it gets taken down enjoy the tour...http://www.17027pacific.com/

Thirty-two reasons why I love Springville

Springville is my favorite town. It's just so darn cute! It's small, unassuming, classy, artsy, but not snooty artsy. It has a great sense of community, amazing homes, good food, and it's clean. So here are my favorite spots in Springville. Be sure to click on the image to see in larger format.

1.new home in river bottoms 2.Blaynes Cycling (best tune-up around) 3.cute old home 4.Art City Trolley Restaruant (order the Real McCoy Salad) 5.Peir 49 Pizza (okay, so the pizza's not that great but the building is cool! 6.another old home (almost made an offer on this a year ago) 7.the future "Artichoke Lane." Road leads behind the high school where we want to do a development similar to Daybreak 8.BeAddicted Antiques 9.Christopher's Herb Shop (Ginger Cafe is yummo) 10.Mark Anthony Aveda Salon (my favorite place to get a haircut 11.Gary Price sculptures (his sculptures also line Main Street) 12.Springville Museum of Art 13.Wandering Wardrobe (used furniture and clothing) 14.1930's dream fix-up (I will buy this someday) 15.immaculate old mansion 16.Cowboy sculpture

17.Cornwagon Quilt Co. (stay tuned for pictures of my first quilt) 18.by now I know a good playground, and this one is awesome 19.medical offices 20.Finish Hardware Showroom (support the little guy, buy here!) 21.Funfinity (simply the best toys and games ever made) 22.another great home, all stucco - one of my mom's favorites 23.moose on the loose 24.Hobble Creek Golf Course 25.Yummys (old fashioned goodness) 26.Sage Creek Salon (my second favorite salon) 27.this is where we want Artichoke Lane development 28.Mapleton City Center (perfect sized library and home of Ellie's gymnastics class 29.Springville High School (go Devils!) 30. Hobble-Creek running trail 31.Ledgends Vintage Motorcycle 32. vancant land! and land with sheep, horses, llamas, cows, chickens, etc.

One room down...

a rotating collection of art and pictures, aprons (so in right now), and a mini quilt.

the orange bins i bought at wal-mart when ellie was a baby - this yellow and orange room has been in the works for a while now.

wooden duck and magnet board from purchased at Swiss Days.

basket from a cute store in Heber.

ruler: from my mother in law jann - the dragonflys have little crystals on them.

rocking horse purchased last year at my favorite store in St. George, Urban Renewal. Bedskirt is from Dillards, it cost a whopping $3.50!

pillow: etsy.com, 1960's quilt: antiques mall in Springville, rocking chair: stolen from Jann

stool: Target, frame: Wandering Wardrobe, light: Target

Lanterns: The Flower Basket Boutique, Bed: can't remember, I had to spray it white though.

Dresser: Made by my super husband and myself. When we decided to name Ellie, "Ellie Peach"

we wanted to make her a "peach" dresser. This is the style of our lingerie chest from High Country Home days.

Adirondack Chairs by Kent Nicol, my dad and owner of Garden Furniture Mill in Provo.

He gave these to me for Mother's Day. Rug is from Costco. Lemon pillow left over from High Country Home days as well when we were selling Oi Pillows.

front pillow: Ikea, Yellow rose pillow: Roberts Craft

Pics from Ellie's room, pretty much finished. Just imagine it with wood floors and white walls... maybe one wall yellow. So cheery!

Update: After showing this to my mom she had two genius ideas - so now imagine this room with cork floors and the wall behind the bed orange, or a really cool orange wallpaper. Pefect!

boating in the winter

So here are some pictures from our latest adventure, Lake Powell. Our trip basically consisted of these three things: wind, cold, and wind. Combine that with camping and needless to say, we bagged it on Saturday and left. Joe and Ash went home (they also had the great experience of their tent blowing down on them during the night) and we went to Capital Reef. Powell was actually pretty fun despite the wind and I'm glad to say we were sucessful campers (meaning Ellie and Cody slept great). But Capital Reef is one of my favorite places ever. Growing up it was a favorite family vacation and I can't believe it has taken me this long to take Justin there. The entire day we were there we both kept saying, "This is my favorite day ever!"

An Apple or a Cody. Both so juicy and delicious; it's a hard decision, so I picked both.

The deer here are quite tame. When I was here 10 years ago, I huge buck ate an apple right out of my hand. This is about as close as we could get, probably because Ellie kept yelling, "COME AND GET THE APPLE DEER!"

This pioneer home is now a really cute little gift shop. We bought homemade strawberry ruhbarb pie ice cream. Ellie is modeling the apron I bought her as well.

Hickman Bridge. A fun little hike.

laura

Be sure to click on the picture to see it in a larger format. Both paintings are still drying but can ship by Monday. Hope you like them!