Reminiscing

I was going through a few pictures my Great Grandmother had and I came across a few of the ranch.

I spent my childhood in Etna, Utah twelve miles from Grouse Creek on Red Butte Ranch! My dad, his brother, and their grand parents ranched sheep and cattle. I would help with the bum lambs and when I got to the age, I took a sheep to the fair. It was not my favorite thing but I did it anyways.

I couldn't have asked for a better place. There were so many places to visit and to 3 children the adventures were many.

 

 

My Dad and Uncle Tom completed the cedar fence. We spent many a days playing on the fence. Numerous times it acted as our horses while we played cowboys and Indians.

This is the old barn, my Dad and Uncle built a new one that was gorgeous. I'll find a picture and post one.

This was our house. Long and narrow but it was home. Inside this house I left my mark. My favorite spot in the house was by the washer with the bleach. I would tip it over and ride it like a horse. Needless to say, I bleached the lovely brown indoor/outdoor kitchen carpet.

This is the last picture taken of the Church in Grouse Creek on December 18th 1982.

Older picture of the ranch, I believe it was taken in the 1960s or 1970s.

Beyond the barn was a corral. Inside this corral where cedar trees. Some of the trees grew in odd shapes and figures. My brothers and I found this great little hide out and would play for hours. All we had to do was tell mom which direction we were heading and we would play until we got hungry. If we were really planning ahead, we would pack a lunch and come home late afternoons.

A different side of the ranch. The corner of the patio, this was my Great-grandparents home.

Grouse Creek Utah's school house. It still looks the same today but there are more trees and a playground out front.

When my grandfather was in elementary school he decided to play a joke. With the help of his friend, they would lower themselves down the hole of the light pole and dig. Bringing up the extra dirt with a bucket and rope. The next day when the light poles were placed inside the holes, each disappeared. It did not take them long to figure out who was at fault.

 

I love thinking back and laughing and the stupid things my dad and his father did. I just use this as examples of what not to do!!

30 years of Marriage

On December 18th, 2012 my parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary.

 

Tom, Dad, Mom, and Cindy

Dad wouldn't get a new suit, so Mom (being her creative self) used the colors brown and peach.

I just have to say, it's interesting and way to go Mom. I would have never imagined those colors but looking at her flowers, it turned out great!!

Left to right: Great-Grandma Beth Cutler, Grandpa Duane Thomas, Grandma Theo Morgan, Dad, Mom, Great-Grandma Mary & Great-Grandpa Bill Thomas

This would be my Dad's side of the family. Great-Grandma Cutler is Grandma Morgan's mother.

Great-Grandma/grandpa Thomas would be Grandpa Thomas' parents.

 

This is from a newspaper article. This is the old Grouse Creek Church, my parents were the last couple to get married here before they tore it down to begin building the new church.

 

I would have never guessed that my parents could have made it this far. They have had their moments, but they worked through each of those problems and have developed a stronger relationship for one another.  I am proud to call them my parents. I can proudly say, they are the best!! I know it's a biased thing to say but when it comes to my family I am biased!!

 

I just hope for myself, that I can work through the things my parents had to, in order to keep a family together!!

I love both of my parents and wish them 30 more years together!!

 

 

 



Cutter Jeff

I just had to post an update about Cutter Jeff. He will be 1 year on October 28th and there are a few outfits he is beginning to grow out of, so I borrowed by brother's camera and took some pictures. Cutter is so much fun and did a really good job of letting me take pictures.

Cutter just loved the dogs and that is all he would look at!!

 His smile is so precious. It just takes away all my worries!!

He enjoyed riding the horse!! He did so well!! This is my favorite picture of him on the horse. He looks like a toddler here. I can't believe how fast he has grown up!!

July 2012

 Summer Vacation: Ferndale Washington. Went to Lyndon, WA to watch the tractor show. Pictured above, the tractor pull. 

 Old time mill, that actually works!!

Old Ford Tractor.

After the tractor show, we went to Birch Bay and let Cutter and Holly play in the water!!

Here's the sunset!! So beautiful! Had to try a picture idea I got from Pinterest. It is fun to play around with a camera!!

It's been some time......

Yesterday was Mother's Day. It was the first Mother's day that I did not get to spend with my mom because she was miles away. It was weird for me to experience that. I am so used to having my mom so close. The move my mom and dad made in November has done two things for me: 1) I have learned about myself as an adult and 2) I have taken it for granted having them so close. I miss each of my parents everyday but thank them for helping me realize I can do this.

The last couple of months have been a whirl wind. The school year is winding down and I made it through my first year as a full time teacher.

This is my dad, uncle Tom, and Grandma Morgan.

Grandpa and Grandma Nye Twin Falls Temple

In March, I lost my Grandma Morgan (pictured above) and then two weeks later, I lost my Grandpa Nye, leaving me without any of my Grandparents. Oh, how I miss them. I now have a hole inside myself because there were so many questions I wanted to asked and never did. I guess I learned the  hard way not to take family for granted and don't wait to ask questions because you never really know how much longer you will have that person in your life.

Since I posted last, we have a new addition to our family. My brother, Bill, became a father to the cutest little guy ever.

This picture was taken hours after Cutter Jeff Thomas was born. He is such a blessing for our family. It is simply amazing how something so tiny can make such a large impact on people's lives. Cutter is so much fun. He'll be 7 months old in about two weeks and he is almost starting to crawl.

Cutter's happy face, which by the way, is something he does all the time!!! He little grin makes all my worries disappear!! How amazing is that!

Picture Frames

This is a picture frame my mom found at Tai Pan trading. I spray painted it black, added the window decal and put scrapbook paper behind it. I love how it turned out.

This is the same frame different decal and paper.

 The first is an old frame I've had for some time. I saw the an Idea on Pinterest (if you don't have a pinterest board, I highly recommend it). I wasn't sure how it would turn out but I was surprisingly pleased. The second is another frame (I believe I got it at a garage sale), scrapbook paper, vinyl lettering and a spindle my brother made. I am completely happy with ow it turned out. I also got the idea from Pinterest.

Notebooks for Volleyball Girls

Yes, this post is a little late but I thought I would share some pictures of the notebooks I made for the volleyball team this year. We gave them the notebook and pen during the Volleyball banquet. I loved putting the notebooks together. I was able to use some paper I got from JoAnn's, in some packets. I didn't have to cut to much off, because the paper was 4" x 6". I loved not having not to waste too much paper.

Answering some questions

The other day I was reading through my comments and I came across a comment that asked me a question, and I did not read it until months later. So here's the answer to your question Heather.

The ribbon flowers are just a wide ribbon loosely stitched on on side and gathered. As you pull the thread it will gather the ribbon for you and you tie it when the ends meet with each other.

They are so easy and fun to make.

My fabric flowers are a piece of fabric cut into a circle, then you fold the edge over (just a little) and loosely stitch along the outside of the circle, gather them together and tie it off. This is what they call a yo yo.

I hope that answered your questions.

Another question was from my cousin and she wanted to know what rolled oats are and in my Cowboy cookie recipe I just use what ever oatmeal I have on hand. But I am going to do some research and see if I can find a more specific answer.

Cowboy Cookies

Here's the cookie dough.

Baking in the oven.

Out of the oven and on the plate.

And the entourage, waiting for me to drop something on the floor. Gotta love those little wieners!!

Recipe: Cowboy Cookies

4 cups flour

2 tsp soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

4 cups rolled oats

2 cups shortening

2 cups sugar

2 cups brown sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups chocolate chips

Cream shortening, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Stir in chips. Bake at 350* for 15 min (could shorten time if your oven is hotter than normal).

This is a very easy recipe and it does not take long to get them stirred up. I love it.

Notebooks

I covered these four notebooks for the girls who helped line judge at our tri match volleyball games. I had them tell me their favorite color, then I went from there. I really like how they turned out.

Last of the Card Exchange

Here are my last two sets of cards for the exchange. We did Christmas cards and Family cards. For the Christmas cards, I used the Jolliest time of the Year stamp set from Stampin' Up. I love this stamp set. I also stamped the saying a piece of twill ribbon. In some places it turned out but it's still a little light in others.

For the family card I used the Tres Chic background stamp and stamped it in Baja breeze. I used some glitter paint that I got from a scrapbook store to highlight "family" and some of the swirls. It turned out better than I thought.

"Thanksgiving"

I usually don't make Thanksgiving cards but it was for the exchange group I am part of. I used the Bright Blessings roller from Stampin' Up. I thought they turned out kind of cute. At least I was happy with them.

Corner Bookmark

On Splitcoaststampers the other day they had a tutorial for this bookmark. So, I decided to make one. It was so easy. You start with a 4"x4" piece of paper. Then you mark the middle of three (3) sides. Line up the middles and score diagonally. Then you fold over the edges. You will then cut a 2 3/4" x 2 3/4" square, cut it in half diagonally. You can use one triangle to decorate the front and the other is used on the back to hold the folded flaps together and give it a stronger back so it stays on the page better. Then you decorate the front of it the way you want to. I am planning on doing this project for the August Stampin' Up party. This will be the make and take object. Still trying to decide on my other project. Instructions can be found on splitcoaststampers.com, then search for tutorials and corner bookmark. The author of the tutorial is Beate Johns (thanks for sharing this great project).