Movers and Shakers

We're moving!  On Saturday we're moving to Mesa.

This will be the fourth place we've lived in the three years we've been married.  And our shortest move, yay!

I remember when we were living in our first apartment and Stephen said that he was ready to move somewhere and stay there.  Yeah, it seems like that is never going to happen.  We have a nine-month lease and then we'll move where ever Stephen gets a job.  The company Stephen is looking into applying for once he graduates has a two-year "training period" in which you have two six month moves.  Oh, and all the main locations are not near by.  That will make it seven places we will live in six years.  Yikes.

We're both ready to settle down and plant some roots, but moving to new places can be fun and exciting too and it seems as if we're in the "moving and shaking" season of our lives.  I'll post pictures of the new place once we're all settled in.  It has a 1 3/4 bath, and they're in the same room.  Meaning there's one toilet, two sinks flanking it, and then a tub on either side, so two tubs in the one bathroom.  Funny huh?  

In the meantime I've been packing and laundering.  I am sure going to miss having a washer and dryer!

I am a Card-Carrying Member of...

Allergic Reactions Anonymous.  Although technically it's not a card, but a pen.  

No, not like the kind you write with, like the kind you stab into your leg to keep from dying.

Ooh, that sounds interesting to you?  Well, let me tell you how you too can be lucky enough to join the club and have to carry around one of these.

First you need to have an allergy.  Only one is needed, although more can up your chances.  Oh, you don't have allergies?  That's ok, you can develop them at any time and without any warning.  Sounds fun already doesn't it?

Secondly the allergy (or allergies) need to become severe.  Common threats include milk, peanuts, cashews, pistachios, and bee stings... really the list goes on and on.

Thirdly you need to have an allergic reaction.  Not just any reaction mind you.  You need to have an anaphylactic reaction.  In addition to the tingling, swelling, itching, throbbing, and rash you need to have swelling of your throat, difficulty breathing and vomiting.  Or you could opt for outrageous swelling that results in comical looking organs.  Like your lips for example.  ;)

Then if and only if you are lucky enough to take this one step further, you will need to experience shock because of what your body is going through.  

Sounds thrilling doesn't it?  No?  Well, if you ever do experience this, I'm totally prepared.  But mostly in case this happens to me again.  Mostly.

Strawberry Festival

A while ago (is it sad that I don't remember when?) the family went up to the Strawberry Festival in Strawberry/Pine.  I have such fond memories of going to Girls' Camp up there and I had been dying to go back.  Luckily my family felt this would be fun too.  Here's the little guy on the ride up.  He's just too cute.

We finally made it and little guy loved playing around in the grass. 

 

Here's Alex in front of the quilting store.  They had two long-arm quilting machines which was great for me to show Stephen what it was I wanted.  He was as impressed as I am.  

 

We also saw this fun covered wagon.  Stephen LOVES these and it's crazy to think that for how small it it, that's what people loaded up to come across to the West.  Crazy.

             

This is an amazing English Paper piecing quilt that we love.  We're totally gonna try it!

 

Ooh, this is the purse pattern that I want.  Did I mention that it was the Quilter's Show too this weekend?  Crazy huh!  I was super excited and we got some great stuff for some future sewing.

  

These next few photos capture my sister's and my adventure in the playground.  There was an actual teeter-totter and we gave it a whirl.

 

 Oh yeah, did I mention that she made me fall off?  Cause she did and it was awkward. And painful.

She'll hate me for posting this, but it's the only picture I have of her on the teeter-totter.

And then the ending picture of all the kids together.  We had soo much fun, even if Strawberry didn't actually produce any of the Strawberries in this festival ;)

Naughty Carrots

As I had posted before, we grew carrots in our garden.  Because I had never done that before, I didn't really heed the warnings I had been given, and I planted them all at once, so of course, they all were ready to be eaten at the same time.  Also, I (read "we"...correction, read "Stephen") planted the seeds outrageously close together because we A.) lacked the space for everything we wanted to plant B.) had ridiculous amounts of carrot seeds, and C.) knew that we could just thin them out as they grew.  Unfortunately when it came time to thin the carrots, I found that I didn't like ripping up plants only to toss them.  While you can eat them as is (they taste like carrots even as tiny strands), I happen to be allergic to raw carrots and so that was out for me.    Thus, I just left all the carrots in the ground to grow.  

Apparently (says my sister) we left them to grow too long, and they became "woody" so we pulled all of them out.   Surprisingly (or not so much), here's what we found.  My family aptly named them our "naughty carrots"  and the name stuck.  

They are all over each other and it still amazes me that they grew around each other like this.  Especially the first one that wrapped multiple times around each other.  Crazy.