simple project | sleeve pumpkins

 Well, hello fall. Yep, it's full-on here and gorgeous in Utah.

My friend Marci and I took a little jaunt to the Heber/Midway area last week. It was so, so fun. All the way through Provo Canyon, we were ewwww-ing and ahhhh-ing over the colors of the fall leaves against the dark green of the pines.

We arrived early for Marci's appointment, so we stopped at a thrift store we really like in Heber. (We may have planned it that way. ;)) The store is called St. Vincent's. We checked out the vintage clothing together and then split up.

arcadia california/president foster missionaries

Our oldest son, Patrick, served a two year mission for our church in South Carolina.

This photo was taken right before he left. He's so young. He was a cocky jock who knew pretty much everything. I still had a hard time letting him go. :)

Patrick LOVED his mission--the people, teaching the gospel, the opportunities for service and the experiences. And he loved and adored his Mission President, Leroy Barrett. Patrick served as Assistant to the President for a period of time, so they worked very closely together.

surprise! my new blog design

Sooo...what do you think? I've been working with Kate at 17th Avenue Design on a new blog design.

I told her I wanted something simple, fresh and clean (lots of white).

Then I sent her these  color boards I created.

awesome printable

I'm sharing my 5x7 "awesome" printable today.

It's another version of the fill-able frames we're doing for Super {Simple} Saturday 2012. This is Ella's favorite and the one she chose to be framed for her room.  

It's such a simple way to let someone know you appreciate them or give your littles--or bigs--positive reinforcement.

simple solutions: Easy Lunchboxes

You know I love anything that can simplify my life.

Our little Ella is the pickiest eater on. the. planet. The other day she told me, "I think by the time I'm 32, I will try a vegetable." Ughhh! But she lives on Grape Nuts. It's the "go-to" meal when she doesn't like what we're eating. And she'll even eat plain yogurt--with Grape Nuts. Go figure.

Needless to say, I was a little concerned about her eating lunch at school now that she's in first grade. Not only is she a picky eater, she's also a grazer, preferring little snacks throughout the day instead of full meals.

I was intrigued by all the Bento Boxes around and looked into different options. I decided to try these Easy Lunchboxes because they were one piece instead of a bunch of smaller pieces that fit inside a larger box. I couldn't be happier with them.

I love them because they're easy (and even fun) to pack. They come in a package of four, so I can put them together for the week on Sunday night and stack them in the fridge. Ella eats school lunch on Friday (pizza day--cheese only :)), so it works out perfectly. The drink looks frosty because I freeze them and they keep the rest of the meal cold until lunch.

simple recipe: chicken fajitas

We had a bittersweet weekend.

The bitter was that my nephew, Jordan ( a.k.a "Joe" to the family), was involved in a very serious car accident that sent him to the hospital in critical condition. I was scared. I prayed a lot. I immediately called and had his name put on the temple prayer rolls. I'll share more details later (when the legal stuff is done), but so you're not left hanging, his surgery for a broken femur went well, and he's no longer in critical condition. :) We love you, Joe.

The sweet was that our little granddaughter, Madilyn, turned four years old and came from Idaho to share her birthday celebration with us. (I'll share more on that in another post.)

The entire weekend was filled with noise and messes--oh, big messes--and craziness and laughter. It was perfect. We loved that we had so much family time together. 

Patrick and Ashlee came back over on Sunday for lunch. Lynn wanted fajitas. I realized we'd had them three Sundays in a row--twice when the kids came over and another when we went to their house. Guess I don't even need the say how much we love them. And I love how simple they are to make.

super {simple} saturday 2012

I'm excited to share our collection of projects for Super Saturday 2012. For those of you who don't know, Super Saturday is a sewing/craft day we have each October for the sisters in my ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My calling in the Relief Society (women's organization) is the Meeting Coordinator. This event is a great time to socialize, learn new skills, create projects that strengthen our homes and families and be treated to a yummy lunch.

We've focused on simple projects that focus on creating memories and traditions, celebrations, strengthening family and preparedness. Each project has a time element suggestion, so consider whether you want to work on projects at home or finish them at Super Saturday.

*To my ward: see RS announcements for date, time and location.
*I've updated this post with tutorial and download links.

A-FRAME TENT
Taught by: Ruth Dangerfield

we rock! + you rock printable

I've been consumed with Super Saturday projects and details lately, resulting in no posts for awhile. But I am super excited to share everything--soon.

Like many children, our Ella loves rocks. And they're all very special for different reasons. She has an extensive collection and can tell you exactly where each one came from. 

Last weekend, Ella created this family of rocks. There's me, her, Annabelle (Patrick and Ashlee's dog) Patrick (older bro), Ashlee (older bro's wife) and Dad.

Yep, she's the sparkly Princess one who's highlighted and covered up with a piece of toilet paper. The rest of us just kind of sit there being all boring and dull. I guess I know how we measure up. :)

Speaking of rocks, here's a little sneak peek at one of the projects for Super Saturday. (I know, I can't wait.) I created a series of 5x7 fill-able frame printables and this is one of my favorite. Place the print in a frame and use a dry-erase marker on the glass to write in the details. Just wipe it off (no water needed) and use it over and over.

Originally Ella wrote the message, but I smeared it when I was carrying it with a bunch of other stuff. It was so sweet in her 6 year old writing. Ella adores her older brother, but she also blames everything on him. "What is that smell?" It's Patrick. "Wow, this is a big mess!" Patrick did it, not me. "Why is there no chocolate left?" Patrick ate it. Of course he's never around when it happens. It's hilarious.

Patrick has special little dates with Ella where he'll pick her up and they'll go get a special treat, to breakfast, or somewhere fun. He really does rock as an older brother. :)

So I have an issue. Well many, but this one I'm willing to share. ;) Actually, it's more of a strong belief. I've seen the "I *heart* you because" printable on blogs and Pinterest, and I think it's darling. But, (here's the personal issue/strong belief part) I spent too many years telling and showing my children, I love you no matter what. We had a saying--"I love you and there's nothing you can do about it." Oh my, did my children test me to see if I really meant it! So...when I see, "I love you because you cleaned your room," I struggle. There. Now you know.

So I changed things up a bit.

Because you rock for stopping by--thanks so much!--here's the printable. (*For personal use only please.)

Remember, when you have this printed, make sure the "auto enhance" is turned OFF, otherwise the colors will be very, very different.

Let someone in your life know they rock.

P.S. I'd love if you'd leave a comment, letting me know who you're printing this for and one reason they rock. :)

I linked this project up here:

road trip 2012 | packing tips + busy bags

I was looking at some photos of our most recent road trip to Northern California last night. It was a perfect trip. Just the right amount of everything--adventure, day trips, visiting, rest and relaxation. Okay, possibly way too many goodies, but it was vacation, right?

And way too many times hearing this line:

Rule number 3. You will not cry...or whine...or laugh...or giggle...or sneeze or barf or fart!

Because we heard over and over and over. Name the movie.

Getting to the destination is always the most difficult part of any road trip--after preparing and packing, of course--yuck. Ella is a great little traveler, thank goodness. But I still have to do my part to keep things that way.

Here are a few tips that help us.

happiness | Macargi Tahiti

photo from Slim Paley

 It's no secret I love beach cruisers.

photo from Tumblr

And vintage bikes. Both with baskets.

helpful hints | window cleaner + post-it trick

Well, hello!

Yes, it's been awhile. The last few weeks have been crazy busy.

• We took our annual trip to Northern California to visit the grands. It was a perfect trip.
• Ella started first grade--woo hoo! I'm missing the simplicity of summer, but starting to enjoy the routine.
• We sent Kate (daughter) and Madi (granddaughter) off to their new home in Idaho (sniff, sniff), so of course we spent every last minute with them before their departure. (Kate just sent me a photo of her new house and it's darling!) 
• Super Saturday is coming up quickly, so I've been working on all sorts of fun project plans with the girls. Can't wait to show you!

And this weekend, we actually crossed two items off our projects list. Oh yah.

PROJECT 1: WINDOWS
I seriously LOVE clean windows. I called two different companies to come clean the outside of our windows and one cancelled on me three times and the other never called me back. We tried a "formula" from Pinterest, because it said we could spray, wipe, spray and it wouldn't leave any streaks, etc. (and we wouldn't have to get the ladder out). Didn't work for us--grrr.

checklist | five simple tips to living a healthy lifestyle

We have a great chiropractor, Dr. Paul Jensen. We've been going to him for many, many years. I get a massage and adjustment every month--just for maintenance--and more often if I need it. If I go beyond a month, my body reminds me it's time. :)

I've learned a lot from Dr. Jensen about living a healthy lifestyle. He takes a very holistic approach to healthy living which makes total sense to me. One of the most useful things he's taught me is the five factors for living a healthy lifestyle:

water
diet
sleep
exercise
stress reduction

water
Aim to drink 64 ounces a day.

free printable: back to school

Have you shopped for school supplies yet?

paper--check.
pencils--check.
crayons--check.
chocolate--check.

What, no chocolate? It's an essential you know.

My brother and sister-in-law--who both teach fourth grade--asked me to design a wrapper for chocolate bars they could give their students at their teacher meet and greet. Here's what I came up with.

my pinterest scores {chicken recipes}

My recipe for Monterey Chicken is by far the most popular on All Things Simple. It's been viewed over 23,000 times. Wow! I tried to figure out how many times it's been pinned on Pinterest, but no luck. I know there's a way though. All the comments from those who have made the recipe have been positive. It's still one of our absolute favorite chicken dishes.

our sand bucket list

Summer break is about a month and a half over. I can't believe the time is going so quickly! Last year we sat down at Family Night and created a bucket list of things we wanted to do during the summer. We called it our "sand bucket list." We were able to cross off almost every activity on the list!

This year, we created another list. I let Ella go through the photos on my kids board on Pinterest for ideas. I've added the links to some of our list (at the bottom), just in case you're running out of summer fun activities.

We're doing okay at crossing off items. Ella seems more content with just chillin' a lot of the time, so I'm going with it. :)

Slip n' Slide
zoo with Madi

quail fire in utah

It's raining, it's pouring...

And we couldn't be more thrilled!

Tuesday afternoon, after Ella and some neighborhood friends had settled in to watch a Disney movie after a full day of water play, I grabbed a tall glass of lemon water and snuck out on the front porch to enjoy a few minutes of quiet.

I was shocked to see this:

remembering: adoption day

 Three years ago today, we adopted our sweet little Ella.

It's taken me this long to be able to write about it. The events leading up to it were heart-breaking, stressful, painful, traumatic, even ridiculous--and yet amazing.

Our home away from home.

The case went on and on, far longer than it should have. We had a judge who was unwilling to make a decision. At the beginning of the case, he called all the lawyers involved to the bench and told them, "Okay, we all know how this is going to end, do you want to just settle?" And yet the case went on for many, many more months.

celebrate: family festival at Cedar Hills, UT

Our weekend was crazy. Crazy fun. Not only was it Father's Day, but our little city has the Family Festival every year and both happened to fall on the same weekend. The Family Festival has a carnival, movie and dinner in the park, band night, a fun run, a baking contest, parade and great fireworks. The fire department also shoots off their hoses for the kids to play in--always a favorite--but we didn't make it this year. (Don't tell the girls.) It's small town fun. Here's a little peek at our festivities. (*Heads up: lots of photos.)

Heading out for the parade.

memory keeping: take twelve challenge

I decided to take the "Take Twelve" challenge over at Ella Publishing. You shoot 12 photos on the 12th of each month. This is my first month. It was a bit difficult to get started. I tend to over think things. :) I actually spilled over into June 13th. Once I got started, I ended up with more photos than I needed though. Here's the result.

1. My favorite breakfast: plain yogurt, fresh blueberries, a sprinkling of Grape Nuts, and pecans. I eat it just about every morning.  2. Ella's roly poly. She named him/her Precious. We had a discussion about what they eat. We need to look it up. 3. Cleaned the front porch today. LOVING the new storm door.  4. On the bookshelf--me, First King of Shannara (one of Lynn's favorite series), Lynn, Beyonders. Next on my list, Little Bee and City of Bones (both borrowed from DIL Ashlee). 5. Grocery shopping. 6. My sweet granddaughter Madi. She loved making her own jewelry by stringing beads on pipe cleaners. 7. My favorite sunglasses. 8. Success in the garden. 9. Preston was selling his mom's cookies so I bought some oatmeal white chocolate chip with toffee bits for dessert. Sooooo good. 10. Best part of my day--lunch with my son, Patrick, then a little furniture shopping together. Back to his and Ashlee's new home to show me the new washer and dryer and what they've accomplished. 11. A new box of crayons for Ella. Life is good. 12. Ella's breakfast + Cheerios. We're a little more lax in the summer. :)

A little glimpse into our lives--simple stuff. Yep, it was fun.

Kim

summer fun: last day of school activities

Ella's last day of school was exactly a week ago today.

Ella's first and last day of Kindergarten

She had a great year, and has grown in so many ways. Now that she's on vacation, she loves sleeping in, staying up later, and playing longer. But she misses her teacher.

Ella called me Mrs. Reiber today. We laughed. I can't begin to express how grateful we are for Debbie and I can understand why Ella misses her. Besides structure in her classroom, her patience, love, enthusiasm and experience have given our Ella exactly what she needed for a successful year.

When Ella got home, we made sidewalk paint. It's the paint version of sidewalk chalk. It was so simple to mix up a batch and kept us busy for quite awhile.