I Can Choose the Right

The 2012 theme for Primary is "Choose the Right."  In preparation for the theme I choose to make a mirror that the children can see themselves in and say "I can choose the right."  Here are the pictures documenting the process:

 First find an inexpensive frame

 Tape off edges and cut out a shape using contact paper (i.e. CTR shield)

 Spray mirror with frosting spray paint (bought at Lowes)

Let frosting paint dry for recommended period of time.  Remove contact paper.  Ooo and ahhh over the simplicity of the process.

I'll present this in January to the Primary.  I'm super excited, but I kind of doubt the kids will be as excited.

Hello Madame President

Yes.  Someone greeted me today by saying, "Hello, Madame President."  I would've laughed out loud, but all I could manage was a nervous giggle.  I was sustained today as the Primary President for my ward at church.  We're all asked to serve in different positions as volunteers and as Primary President I will serve as the leader over the kids organization.  I'm nervous, slightly overwhelmed, but know that I can do it.

Salad in a Jar - Review

Photo courtesy of blog http://fatgirltrappedinaskinnybody.blogspot.com/

I've recently become slightly (ok Justus, I will eliminate the "slightly") addicted to Pinterest.  A wonderful place we're you've got a virtual pinboard to save all the things you find on the web.  I love it.

Recently I "re-pinned" a link to a blog (link here) featuring a Salad in a Jar recipe.  Last week I broke out one of my quart sized jars and stuffed it salad mixings.  Start with the dressing, then the toppings, and lastly the lettuce.  According to the blog, as long as the lettuce and the dressing don't touch your salad won't wilt. When lunch time came around I was pleasantly surprised to find that the salad was still crisp and wonderful.  It works! 

Now a few notes about my experience that may be helpful: I work construction and typically am out and about most of the day.  This means no access to a refrigerator and lots of time for the jar to move around.  I was impressed by the durability of the salad, but thought it would be easier for someone who works in an office (or had easy access to a refrigerator).  Another word of advice, be careful which vegetables you put directly adjacent to the dressing.  I used cucumbers on the bottom and found them to be slightly soggy by lunch time.  The blog also says that you can make them ahead of time and they will last for about a week.  This I haven't tried and the idea makes me skeptical that they will last that long.

Wow, who knew I could write so much about salad?  Anyways, give it a try :)

Trunk or Treat Recap

Happy Belated Halloween from Mario and Luigi!

This year I was on the team in charge of our church's annual trunk or treat.  (For those not familiar, it's similar to trick or treating, except you go from car trunk to car trunk instead of house to house.) A great time was had by all!

Since I was helping to plan, I decided that I wanted to have a great costume.  Justus and I chose to dress up as the Mario Brothers from Nintendo.  Every item, except the hats were thrifted.  It took Justus a whole month to grow his mustache and only five minutes for mine :) Everyone got a kick out of our costumes and the kids were baffled as to how I could grow a mustache so fast!

Brown and Blue Log Cabin Quilt

For the last few months my mom and I have discussed putting together a quilt for my maternal Grandfather. 
I have always loved the log cabin pattern, in fact, I learned how to quilt with this pattern (with the exception of a basic square pattern).  The block in very versitile and can be laid out to create many different effects.  I am sure that there are many great tutorials on how to put together a log cabin block, but if anyone is interested, I'll put together a quick tutorial and post it here.

Back to the quilt at hand... My mom picked these fabrics out at Hobby Lobby and combined them with a few that she had in her awesome stash.  We're excited to see how this quilt comes together.  I'm planning to rotate the colors, currently I've got it going from light to dark and I'll slowly alternate the colors through the blocks so that it will go from dark to light.  To help keep it consistent, we'll keep the polka-dot fabric in the center and we've got a cool blue and brown striped fabric for the borders.  The strips are 2" wide, and measure roughly 1.5" once sewn, so all together this block measures 15" square.  We're thinking of doing a lap-sized quilt of 3x3 blocks or 3x4 blocks.

It's a good thing I love to piece and my mom loves to hand-quilt.  We compliment each other very nicely.

Subway Quilt - Top without borders FINISHED!

Finished the top without borders today!   This is the last look at the quilt until it is complete.  It was inspired by Oh Frannson's Tokyo Subway Quilt.  In her words: "The construction of this quilt is both incredibly straightforward and deceptively complex."  It consists of 2.5" squares of fabric sewn together to create a copy of the New York City Subway Map.  I'm tempted to add stitching to the bottom that says "not to scale."
So last look as I get this ready to be machine quilted!

Riding in the Haboob

These are the results of Justus riding his bicycle in the sand storm we had on Tuesday.  The pictures does not do justice for the amount of dirt and grime across his face.  We're happy he survived the storm and only had the dirt and tired muscles to remind him of it.

Subway Quilt Ironing

This is what last weekend looked like... lots of ironing and tiny 2.5" squares....

but PROGRESS, so much progress on the NYC Subway Quilt.

Justus' Birthday

Today is Justus' birthday!  If you get a chance, give him a call or shoot him an email :)

Without going into a super-sappy description of how much I love him, let's just say I love him more than Dr. Pepper.  He's amazing! :)

Halloween Background Idea

At church we have a Trunk or Treat every year for Halloween.  This year I am helping plan and carry out this festive party.  My responsibilities include advertising, awards, and photographs.  I've decided that I would like to propose keeping the theme fairly simple and take some ideas from Martha Stewart.  Two years ago she posted simple black silhouettes of cats, owls, and spiders.  If any of you know me, I'm a keep it simple and elegant kind-of-gal.  So I'm proposing the following photo backdrop idea for the party.  Sorry for the poor quality photo, Justus is asleep and I'm working with low light.  I was thinking I would take a white sheet bought from a thrift store and draw on hanging spiders at various lengths.  Wanting to allow the people to be more of the focus, I figured this would allow the background to add to the story, rather than be the star.  
What do you think?  Would also having a prop that says "Happy Halloween" or similar phrase be too much?
Comments please :)

Subway Quilt Progress

There are days I wish I could move quilting up on my list of priorities. For now, here's the progress I've made this week: I made rough drafts of my lettering to play with the size of letters. I like the scale of the letters, but not sure about the font...

First of Football

Football season has begun again for all you football fans!

Ryan's No. 99 again this year, he's the blur below tackling the kid in the middle

(I know, how could I be less vague, huh? - future argument for telephoto lens purchase)

He played a majority of both games Saturday, August 20, 2011, but here's a good shot of him on the sideline.

Justus and Sami had a great time "flying" as well

The spectators made the best of the 110+ heat in the shade.

We look forward to a good, fun season!

It's my Party and I'll Cry if I want to..

This cute adorable face turned one a few weeks ago!

The small tear on Scarlet's cheek is a faint reminder of what happened just a few minutes before this picture was taken. At first she did not want to be in the high-chair,

but then she dug in!

Birthday bundt cake - double-chocolate deliciousness

Scarlet's Birthday cake - yum!

Mesa Youth Museum

A few weeks ago Lisa, Jenna, and Scarlet came to visit the Arizona Hickmans. While they were here we visited the Mesa Youth Museum. Our favorite exhibit featured Peanuts. The following are picture highlights of our trip.

Jenna enjoys playing in the kitchen... she made me a great lunch!

Scarlet enjoyed playing with the large blocks

Ryan and Sarah dressed up as Sally

Jana finds a psychiatrist she can afford.

Ryan and Kate dressed up as Woodstock and Snoopy

Hickman Girls Go to the Temple

Sarah always loves to go to the temple. When a youth temple trip coincided with Lisa's trip to Arizona, we jumped at the chance to go together. We have a wonderful time! It was a very spiritual experience and it was another testament that families can be together forever!

Wolf for your Wolf Badge

There are many ideas for handing out awards at Cub Scout Pack Meetings. One of the big achievements is earning your Wolf Badge. This past Pack Meeting we had two boys earn this award. Our Cubmaster used the idea of having the boys wolf down their Wolf Badge. She put the award in a ziplock bag, put it in a pie tie, and covered it in some whipped cream. The boys had to wolf down the cream to get the badge. It was a great idea gleaned from Roundtable and even the parents loved it!

Impromptu Photo Shoot

This is my favorite of my mother (although Sarah doesn't like the way she looks in it). We don't have nearly enough photos of my mother and I'm grateful that I took the opportunity to capture her.

Here's a fun one of the boys. I'm so glad the two of them get along so well.

This is my favorite of the day. I think Justus and Sarah look great, and the small blur in the bottom left hand corner is Max, the family dog. Thanks for enduring the heat with me!

Sarah had fun posing for me in the grass. I look forward to exploring and finding new places to take pictures.

And of course, I couldn't forget Max. I love this shot of him because his tail is a blur. It hints at his playful, friendly nature. When I take photographs I avoid using the flash and this required a slower shutter speed since we were inside the house.

A wonderful impromptu photo shoot. It was great to use my new camera and share it with my family.

Breakfast Surprise

Justus made me breakfast last week. It was a hard-boiled egg with a sweet message written on it: "Justus heart Kate." Such a nice gesture needed to be documented. I liked how I had the fork in the background, but overall I needed to improve on the lighting.

Camera Strap Cover Tutorial Review

Ignore the person behind the camera... last week I found an easy tutorial (click here if you're interested) for a padded camera strap cover. Choosing which fabric to use was the hardest step of the project. Truth be told, the handy pocket for the lens cap is what drew me in. Highly recommended.

The Misadventures of Lake Powell?

This year was an irregular year for the Hickman Family reunion at Lake Powell. We hit a few major speed bumps (houseboat repairs) and were unable to leave Antelope Point Marina. However, we did our best to have the "come what may" attitude. We still enjoyed riding the "hot-dog" (formerly the banana), knee-boarding, and wake-boarding the channel. Since we were at the marina, we also enjoyed exploring Upper Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend. Great locations for photographs, but not so good if you're claustrophobic or afraid of heights (there's no railing at Horseshoe Bend, you have to be careful with how far out you go).

We also more clearly defined the term "wiva" (wiva = wake-board diva), a term that is completely gender neutral. I'll have another post later that will list some of the characteristics of a wiva. Feel free to comment with any suggestions.

Sadly, I would always forget to bring my camera on our ski boats and so I don't have as many pictures as I would like to have. Maybe next year?

Also, hopefully Justus' schedule will allow him to come with my next year. It was hard to be apart for a few days, but it helps me appreciate what others go through who have to be separated from their spouse for much longer periods of time.

I love Lake Powell and always will.

Lobster

Justus and I often go to our local grocery store together. A few weeks ago we went on a Saturday night and ran into a bunch of different people we knew. One couple caught us doing one of our favorite things: lobster fighting. No, we don't dare put our hands in the container to grab our contenders. The container is pretty small and so lobsters have to either be on top of each other, or fight for their territory. Typically two lobsters are fighting for one corner of the container. I like to jokingly whisper "fight, fight, fight!" or "get 'em, hit 'em where it hurts!"

As a person who does not like seafood, I've decided that if I ever want to try lobster I would pick a fighter. And yes, I know this is silly, but it gives you a glimpse into our lives.

Work in Progress - NYC Subway Quilt

A few months ago I wrote about my plans to design a quilt inspired by the NYC subway. Here is a quick look at the work in progress. Hopefully I will have it finished by Christmas!

New Header

If it isn't broken, don't fix it. I love our blog background (haven't changed it in years), but I was thinking it was time for a change. I noticed a lot of my friends using custom headers featuring pictures they've taken and decided to make my own. Not bad for my first try, eh? Bonus points to the person who can tell where those pictures were taken (hint: one of my favorite places in the whole world).

Gunther Rite of Passage?

Can you see the happiness in this man's eyes? Justus was so excited to find Parcheesi at one of our local thrift stores. This steal of a deal contained not only one set of the game, but enough pieces that someone could play double! (Which I think is a rare find from a thrift store, don't you usually end up with missing pieces?)

Since we started dating, I've heard many stories about Justus' family playing Parcheesi. Stories of family teasing, fun, and competition. Having never played the game, I was anxiously excited to break it out. Justus, of course, beat me the first time playing and afterwards I felt like I had participated in some form of a Gunther Rite of Passage. Either way I'm learning and having fun.

Snow Canyon Take Two

"And the night was moist, no it was humid" (bonus points to those of you who can name that movie reference/paraphrase). Justus and I arrived to Snow Canyon covered in gloomy grey clouds. It was amazing how the colors of the canyon were enhanced by the lack of bright sunshine.

After we set up our tent we went for a small walk and then it started to rain. It rained hard for a few hours, but at last we got some relief near dinner time and Justus was able to make a fire. After some great hot-dogs and smores, we settled into our tent and watched The Office as it started to rain again.

The rain brought beauty to the desert in the form of wildflowers and wildlife. I was able to catch some rain drops on these cactus blooms. During our hike we saw a ground squirrel (large enough that I truly thought it was an over-grown prairie dog), rabbits, blue-backed geckos, and toads.

After our hike we headed into nearby St. George and spent some time with my grandparents before heading over to Jordan and Jera's (Justus' brother and sister in law). We enjoyed the weekend with them! One of the highlights for Justus was visiting the local St. George airport for an air-show with Jordan. It was great to capture the two of them acting like kids in a candy store. My favorite was watching Justus and Jordan compare the 1990's movie version of Jane Austen's Persuasion to the newer version of Persuasion. Those Gunther boys sure do know their Jane Austen movies.

We were sad to leave (as there were so many things to do that we didn't get to - like Jera, I promise we'll have fun with your grandmother's sewing machine next time!). Thanks everyone for such a great, relaxing weekend.