Friday, July 29, 2011

Grand Tetons

And boy, are they grand! Please excuse my unorganized photo essay while I gather my thoughts! I can't wait to go back!
The jerky man, who parks his trailer literally in the middle of nowhere on the Idaho/Wyoming border. He was positively smitten with my MIL and asked if she was a "hugger!"
This is the lovely view driving towards Grand Teton National Park's via Moran.

For some reason this is one of the only group photos I have. This was taken on our short hike to Swan Lake by way of Jackson Lake.
Remi got too tired to finish.
Simply stunning!





To my great displeasure, we discovered at 4am that Marshall doesn't like camping in the cold. He cried at the top of his lungs for about 20 minutes and then settled in my arms for the next 4 hours.
How can something so sweet be so wicked???
On the bright side we got to see these young bucks walking through the camp at 6am a first for me!





The majestic Lewis Falls, set back from the road. About 11 miles north of Yellowstone's south entrance.

Bubba and Katie taking our rented canoe out on it's maiden voyage. I highly recommend a peaceful day on String Lake!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Two-Tiered Diaper Cake Tutorial

What to give a mother who is having her 5th girl??? Something practical, useful and a bit special! When my mom asked me to think of a baby gift, I was instantly reminded of the booth next to mine at the farmer's market. They sell two-tiered diaper cakes, diaper motorcycles, washcloth cupcakes, all with cute coordinating ribbon and plush toys. Problem is, they run about $60! I figured if I made one myself buying diapers and using crafty things I had on hand, I could walk away spending $30. Not bad.
My mom had a decorative 12" plate she picked up at a thrift store for a dollar, white tulle ribbon leftover from a previous project, dozens of rubber bands and safety pins. I picked up a package of size 1 Pampers Swaddlers with wetness indicators 40-count (a must for newborns-simply the best,) a 12 pack of Gerber baby washcloths, a giraffe rattle, three yards each of three coordinating ribbons, a 16oz bottle of Baby Magic baby wash, and Chips Ahoy cookies for mom to eat while I got started.

Step 1:
Using your stash of rubber bands, roll 36 diapers starting from the top. Try to hide as much of the color and the characters as you can.

Step 2:
Using a rubber band, secure two of the extra diapers around the base of the baby wash. You want your base form to be as circular as possible. Take your wrapped diapers and surround the bottle to make an inner ring. Secure with a rubber band.
While I opted for baby wash for my inner base, other good ideas include champagne or sparkling cider, baby powder or lotion, a piece of pvc pipe or a paper towel cardboard tube.

Step 3:
Form a second ring around your inner ring. Our rubber bands weren't big enough to secure this layer, so we used a small ribbon and two pairs of hands to get this nice and secure.

Step 4:
Repeat the step 2 on your second tier. We again used 2 of the extra unrolled diapers on the inside and used about 10 rolled diapers for the ring. A rubber band around the whole thing was perfectly snug.

Step 5:
Using tulle ribbon, we wrapped each tier individually. I cut it to size and tucked the top in over the top of the diapers to give it a more polished appearance.

Step 6:
Hide the rubber bands with the largest of the ribbon, securing it in the back with the super- nifty "as seen on TV" U-Glue. Secured coordinating ribbon just below.

Step 7:
Top you cake with whatever you like, silk flowers, ribbons and bows, stuffed animals. I chose to make 8 rosettes using the washcloths attaching them to the tulle with small safety pins. I shimmied the base of the rattle in between and called it good.


Place your cake on a plate and voila!


Attach a homemade card with a clothes pin and deliver to a very deserving mother!


Wrap in cellophane if you are traveling a long distance or if you want to present it as a wrapped gift. These cakes also make perfect centerpieces for baby showers!

After all was said and done we only spent a total of $21! Not bad!

Friday, July 8, 2011

4th Fun!

Even though Keith was gone over the 4th, we tried to keep busy with homemade t-shirts, running, dancing, fireworks and food! We enjoyed two incredible fireworks displays. One at Eaglewood Golf Course in Bountiful and the other at Liberty Park in Liberty, just outside of Eden. It was a quintessential small town affair with quilt raffles, mutton busting and a chicken catch. The fireworks in Liberty are hands-down the best show I've ever seen! I don't know if it was our proximity to where they were being launched, but I've never enjoyed fireworks so much, and I LOVE fireworks! Although we desperately missed Daddy as usual, we had a great 4th!





Tuesday, July 5, 2011

BALLOONS

Balloons. When brought into this household they bring happiness and tears, joy and pain, never-ending attachment. Remind me to never let Marshall see another in his life!!! He notices them everywhere we go.