A THUMBS-UP WEEKEND.....

This past Saturday my husband and I went to our SIL's trials competition for the...
"Utah Summer Games."
My daughter Lindsey, who is a graphic arts designer, was asked to design the T-shirts and this what she came up with.
The owner who was sponsoring here her husband was really happy about her design.This the front of the shirts...

And the back of the shirts...

And this is my daughters logo and web site for her designs,
she can design anything! (www.LINDSEYNDESIGN.com)

This is our SIL Michael who was competing....every break he was looking after his

sweet wife Lindsey, who is due to have their baby in a couple of weeks!

She was such a good sport to follow him all over in the wind and sun!

Michael can fly up and down the steepest places with such ease!

My husband....he loves to sleep on rocks in the sun...quite the sun lizard!

Michael won the whole thing! He is the...

"Utah State Summers Games Champion"

Way to go Michael!

Michael with his Gold Medal...

we are so proud of him, he is such a kind, good young man.

Lindsey and Michael...a great team...they will be such good parents.

It was a windy weekend but the sun felt so good....

On Sunday we went to church with our daughters
and then we all had dinner together. Our little 2 year old
grandson Caleb with his new neighbor and friend, Ada.
She is a year older than him, so he is getting schooled about how girls are!

Our little 10 month old grand daughter Ella...squeezing the love out of Tinkerbell!

My daughter Tiffany's little ones...this reminds me of when their mommie

was tiny and how she loved the piano so much when she was just this age.

She grew up to be an excellent pianist on this very same piano!

Little Ella just started walking 2 weeks ago, this is the first I have seen her walking~
her little feet are so fat that shoes don't fit her.....too cute!

I love bath time with the grands...

This is darling baby "Tinkerbell"... she is Lindsey's new puppy~

Such a cute little girl~

And this is sweet "Ollie"...he belongs to Tiffany. We have lots of little dogs in our family.

It's quite the circus when we all get together but so fun!


Well, we had a really fun Fathers Day weekend, I hope you all did too.
It's good to be home... Summer is here, it's so mild and sweet and I
am loving it so much!
I need to get up earlier though for my morning walks
it's too hot for me and my dogs at even 60 degrees in the AM...then about 80 in the day.

~I hope you all have a great week~

THE WINNER...and...GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME....

The WINNER of my GIVE A WAY is.....

MARY SUE...from the blog....SNICKERDOODLES

Congratulations Mary...send me your address and

I will get this mailed off to you this week!

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I can tell it's Summer time, even though this weather is still so crazy!
We are seeing lots of bikers go by and lots of Harley Davidsons roaring past.

Lots of tourist stopping everyday to take pictures of us...

I think they love the red mountains behind our home.

Cougar says; "Welcome to our front porch!"

I have had this forever, love it...

This sits to the right of our front door....

This to the left of the front door....

And this is us..."The olde Farmhouse"....come visit us!

I took my new car for that spin the other day....it was so fun to sail
over the mountains,
watching the beautiful clouds dance across the sky!

"There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds."

I drove along...taking pictures...it's a long drive and a wide road...it is just breathtaking!

"When you have only two pennies left in the world,

buy a loaf of bread and a lily with the other."

"Perfumes are the "feelings" of flowers!"

"Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning can give a sense of quiet in a crowded day....

like writing a poem or saying a prayer."

"God writes the Gospel not only in the scriptures alone,

but also in the flowers and clouds and stars."

"Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair!"

"Bless the flowers and the weeds, the birds and the bees!"

(Can you see the little bumblebee?)

This is our little Jack....he is a special needs kind of kitty.

He came limping up to me on three legs one morning as I was out on a walk.

He had a broken shoulder and injuries...I had to bring him home with me!

Jack has recovered nicely but Cougar loves to drag him around the yard...

loving on him too roughly...chewing on him a bit! And Jack just lets him!

So I have him in the house for some R&R...he is doing better...as you can see,

he loves our parakeets!

Hope Summer has come to where you are...it's just getting here
and I am loving the warmth on my back and mild peacefulness of it all.
Yay for "Good Old Summertime!"

A GIVE A WAY and RECIPES....

Lindsey's baby shower...setting out the food~

~CHERRY PIE SALAD~

1 can (20 oz.) cherry pie filling
1 can (80z.) crushed pineapple
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 (12 0z.) cool whip
chopped pecans (or) sliced almonds
maraschino cherries

Combine all of this....chill

For the baby shower I left it all pink on top with cute sprinkles on top
for Christmas etc. I garnish with some cherries on top.

~Macaroni Lemon-Fruit Salad~

Prepare 1 pkg. (70z.) Shell macaroni, drain

Combine:

Macaroni
4 apples, unpared and diced
1 can (1lb.) crushed pineapple
1 can (1lb.) Lemon pie filling
2 cups red seedless grapes
(Can add bananas and mini marshmallows)
1 (120z.) Cool whip
Garnish with apple wedges...chill

~FRUIT COCKTAIL AMBROSIA SALAD~

1 can (30 0z.) fruit cocktail...drained
1 can (11 0z.) Mandarin oranges...drained
2 ripe bananas...sliced
1/4 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 cups mini marshmallows
Garnish with sliced almonds
chill...serve

~CHICKEN SALAD~

3 cups cooked chicken (4 lbs. breasts, boiled)
3 eggs boiled and quartered
3 sweet pickles, chopped or pickle relish
1 small bag coleslaw ( or) 1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 Tbs. salt, a bit of Tarragon, parsley, pepper

Mix all of this in:

1 cup miracle whip
1 (80z.) sour cream & 1 Tbs. lemon juice
Can add: 1 cup red seedless grapes
sliced olives
pineapple chunks
chill

Just before serving add:
Cashews


At the shower we also served...

A BIG bowl of fresh strawberries, layered with sprinkled brown sugar....

A relish tray...

A Spinach Salad with dried cranberries, nuts, peas...

and I just mixed it with Poppy Seed dressing.

We had pink sherbet with sprite poured over it...

And..." STRAWBERRY POKE CAKE"

Prepare one box of strawberry cake mix
as it comes from the oven, poke holes all
over in it...

Then pour this over the cake...
1 pkg. strawberry jello
2 cups bowling water
mixed together.

chill and serve with
a dab of cool whip


~I hope you can use and enjoy these recipes~
~~~~~~~~~~


And look at what else came to my house this week....

I wanted to show you what I got over this past weekend....

our car was starting to fall apart so my honey got this for me...

I can't wait to take it for a good long spin this week!

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Now for a GIVE A WAY....

For this months VINTAGE APRON...GIVE A WAY....look at this sweet thing!

The bottom front of it is covered with beautiful little flowers...it's in great

condition and will add a fun addition to your kitchen!

Along with this cute VINTAGE APRON I am sending
you TWO OTHER other nice surprises...so if you would
like to have this...all you have to do is leave me a comment...

Thats the way I love to do GIVE A WAYS, simple and easy
for you....good luck to all.

I hope you will enjoy these recipes and I hope this little
vintage apron finds just the right home!

And if you missed it, the diaper cake and baby booties
tutorial is in the post below....love ya all~

BABY SHOWER TUTORIALS.....(diaper cake/baby booties)

" DIAPER CAKE "

1 lg. bag of size 2 diapers
1 bottle of Martinelli sparkling cider
pkg. small, clear rubber bands
long straight pins
4 receiving blankets (in a pkg. complimentary colors)
ribbon (to go around each layer) 2 or 3 inches wide
8-9 other baby toys to fill in and decorate with
white yarn
Cake platter...to set it on (I found a silver one for
$2.00 at a thrift store)

Now...roll up each diaper and secure with clear elastic.
Place bottle of Martinelli in center of tray (to anchor cake)
For bottom layer, place rolled diapers around the
bottom of bottle...10 of them.

Then...another 18 diapers around the 10
with the white yarn, pull the diapers firmly around
the bottle and tie yarn in a bow, double knot it.

Second layer...wrap 3 flat diapers around bottle and secure with yarn.
Next layer...layer rolled diapers around the flat diapers, secure with yarn.

Top layer...Do the same way...2 flat diapers around the top.. (neck)
and secure with yarn. Then rolled diapers secure.

Bottom layer...Fold ( 2) receiving blankets so they will cover this
layer..in thirds. Wrap it around and secure with the straight pins.

Do other 2 layers...1 blanket for each of these layers.

Add ribbon around each layer, tie in a bow.

I used tiny baby socks, rolled up and turned
inside out...it makes a little flower!

Secure little toys inside ribbon (to hold them on)

The topper...a cute toy or small box with a gift inside.
I wanted it to be a bit tall so I used this (stitched her on)

You can use this idea for a kitchen themed shower etc. also.

Have fun with it ladies, it'll be as cute
as your imagination!

I set mine on a cake stand with a little Tu Tu around

it and stuck a..."It's A Girl" sign in the back!
It was the centerpiece for our buffet~

" BABY BOOTIE FAVORS "

Get a package of Small styrofoam cups

Cut each one down 2 inches and around.

Then...cut 2 slites in cup about 1 inch apart and
about 1/2" from bottom of cup.

Then...push the middle section inward and
fold the two sides over each other to make
it look like a little bootie...hold it and staple it shut.

Make a little bow and hot glue it over the staple.

Cut your netting into 6" sq. pieces...
hold it in your hand and put your little
treat in it...place it in the bottie

Easy-peasy...and so darn cute!!!

~I made about 60 of these~

Some of you also asked for instructions on how I made the dress (my first one ever)

I"m sorry...it just came out of my head! I sort of used the size I wanted...drew it,

cut a patten for the top part and just kept going...adding here and there...kind of

"going with the flow" of it I guess. I just used pieces of material I thought would be

cute together, from the scrape table in a fabric store. I want to do more!!!


Next post...I will share the menu/salad recipes you have asked for...
And another GIVE A WAY coming!
My love to each of you my sweet...kind friends!