Paradise Found

Or the title I almost chose:

National Lampoon's Redfish Vacation

This is where we have been.

Looks like just another common beach scene, until you see the big picture.

Especially the really big picture.

We have been at Redfish Lake in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho, about 1 hour north of Sun Valley. One of the most beautiful places I have ever been. When you see the turquoise water and sandy beach you almost feel like you're at a tropical ocean paradise, but then you also have the splendor of high mountain peaks and a lush pine forest.

The above pictures were taken from Outlet Beach (my personal favorite spot), but we also spent time at the beach and docks in front of the lodge.

The kids loved tubing and being on my cousin's boat (thanks Shantay & Sam)!

When we weren't at the beach, we spent time checking out the local geography. There are many scenic rivers and lakes in the area. Like Little Redfish lake.

And Stanley Lake.

OK, now that I've shared the good, I'll share the bad and the ugly. We camped. In a tent (actually 2 tents) with our 4 kids. It was a lot of work. Especially with a 1 year old. I am pretty sure we were the Griswalds of the campground - National Lampoon's Redfish Vacation version. We had the toddler who screamed in the middle of the night, the dog that wouldn't stop barking and oodles of kids (ours, as well as their cousins) running around. Before we left home, our 4 year old swallowed a penny. On the 4th day of the trip the penny finally made it's way out. Of course we celebrated - no more searching through his "business". "Sparky" (a.k.a. the hubster) was the happy camper who found it. I'll spare you that picture. There were also injuries - bruises, stitches & passing out. And of course, a lot of DIRT. Had to buy Oxy-Clean in bulk.

But it was totally worth it. LOVED visiting with family we don't get to see often enough. And the scenery, well you can see for yourself. GORGEOUS.

Therapy (in need of)

I am feeling like such a slacker (blogging & otherwise), but I finally managed to put my rotary cutter to work - just had to dust the thing off before getting started. I can't seem to find enough time to finish the projects on my to-d0-list. Something about having a house full of kids (my own and usually a few strays) out of school for the summer...oozing nine months worth of pent up energy out their pores. I wish I was oozing energy. Even just a little bit of ooze - at least enough to keep up.
I know in my last post I conjured up relaxing images of us all lounging around by the pool and picking raspberries, but truthfully there has been more running around than lounging and those raspberry bushes caused my 4 year old's hands to swell up with hives for days on end until we finally solved the mystery. And he still doesn't have the will power to resist. I am sure there is an object lesson in there somewhere.
However, thanks to a few rare free hours this past weekend, I have a stack of pretty 60 degree triangles to play with when a free moment comes my way. I won't lie to you and say I will have this quilt finished this week, but hopefully soon. At least the top.

Here is another (the main) reason why it's so hard to get things done...

She is so busy discovering the world all I can do is chase after her and try to keep her from running into the road or playing in the toilet. She'll be 18 months old at the end of the month. I love how much she is learning and growing, but at the same time I miss the days when she took 2 naps instead of just 1.

There are good times on the horizon, but right now that also means more things to do.We had a dress rehearsal this past weekend for an upcoming vacation.

It involved searching for and digging out gear we haven't used in years. It's a miracle everything still works...

I am looking forward to relaxing and playing with family, but not sure a vacation like this, at least with our little peeps and a 6 hour drive, will bring much improvement to that overwhelmed mom feeling, but the scenery will be amazing!
And there's a beach. With sand, not just mud and rocks. Which = therapy for me. Maybe there is hope for that to-do-list after all.


*And, just to give you an update, spray paint totally rocks as shoe polish. Shoes held up great!

*Also, the pink flower (for those who asked) is called Jupiter's Beard - it's pretty when in bloom, but would take over the world if given the opportunity. If you know where I live, you are welcome to as many starts as you want. Quick... before we haul out the Round-Up.

Summer Job

Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. ~Henry James
Summer has brought new blossoms...


And lazy days reading by the pool...the blow up kiddie pool in the backyard. This is my new summer job. Full time. Never enjoyed working so much.

I also am also supervisor over corn husking...

Can you see what his shirt says? He's the best little worker ever. I didn't have to lift a finger.

He's so good at his job he's also been promoted to raspberry harvesting...

Although nobody else ever sees any of the berries...

When we have time off from these grueling tasks, there have been glorious moments walking barefoot on the warm sandy beach...

OK, sandbox. A girl can dream...

And backyard smores courtesy of dad...

Some of us have acquired new skills. This means bike rides everyday. I had forgotten how good it feels to have the wind blowing through my hair while cruising down hill on two wheels. I am having more fun then him...

And another spray paint project...

These two decided it was totally uncool for the little guy to be riding around on a pink bike. So they took matters, meaning SPRAY PAINT, into their own hands. Without asking. This is the only spray paint project I've seen where the before was MUCH better than the after. Hmmm, wonder where they got this idea.

Hope you too are working really hard this summer!

* F * R * E * E *, that spells free....

I dedicate this post to my husband, who is always singing that annoying jingle. Ay Carumba!!! OK, I can't exactly say the following makeovers were 100% free, but I can say I did NOT buy any new supplies - I only used fabric from my stash and paint already on hand.

I finally tackled the toss pillows on the living room couch and love seat, the lamps and the even the mirror.
For the pillows I used the fabric below...
The two prints on the right are from a king size comforter I bought on clearance sale a couple of years ago. I trimmed it down to make a queen, and had a bit of excess fabric that I have been hanging on to. The floral ticking is from the $2 rack at at Walmart - it's also been around for a while. The large scale floral print on the right is from a new Laura Ashley bed skirt I picked up at a thrift store for $2 a couple of months ago...just in case you were wondering.Here's the (tired) before...
And the after...
For the mirror and lamp makeovers, I used the following...
The lamps (there are 2) before...
And after...
Didn't even spend money on new shades - just swapped the shades in the living room, for the ones in the family room.
Here's a corner of the gaudy (you know it's true) mirror before...
And after...
Getting a good picture of the mirror was NOT easy, especially since I didn't want to see my cheesy mug in the reflection!
I'm kind of liking the new beachy, shabby, cottage (whatever you want to call it) look. You can see some before pictures a few posts down if you want to compare. I am pretty sure doing it all for the price of free-fifty, is one of the reasons I'm happy with the way it all turned out. Gotta love a bargain!
And to the person who kindly asked me to post these blurry pictures last week (hi, mom)...sorry - life's been a little CrAzY. Better late than never, right?

A little TGIF Action

My husband had a few extra days off this past weekend (Father's Day was also his birthday). We spent Friday taking the kids to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House - very beautiful.

Then we headed east, up through the canyon, past Park City and Kamas, to this 70 year old cabin...

On the banks of the beautiful Provo River.

And roughly 50 yards away from this smaller river which feeds into the Provo...

There were peaceful places to tread...

An abundance of foliage...

And cabins to admire. I LOVE this one (I am sure it has been around since the 1930's as well)...

Since we were there last summer, one of the older cabins has been demolished and this flashy new one is being built in its place. It will be beautiful, that's for sure, but not as charming...

The messages on the community bulletin board were entertaining...

BEAR sighting!

My oldest, and a few of his cousins, fished for small fry (they called them tadpoles, I think of them as trout-lets) ALL afternoon...

They ended up with at least 20, which were divided up and came home with us...

We also saw evidence of beaver activity in the area. Check out these tree trunks...

And pretty scenery all the way home...

Fridays are a good thing - especially when part of a five day weekend. Today we are off to the zoo.