halloween fun: monster slime kit

I went visiting teaching this morning (yes, I know it's the end of the month :)). I wanted to take along something fun for Halloween. We had such a good time and got so "freaked out" making magical monster slime yesterday, I thought I'd put together a kit with the supplies so Cami could make it with her own little monsters.

halloween fun: magical monster slime

There are a variety of recipes floating around Pinterest for Slime or Gak. My boys loved the stuff when they were younger. They probably still would. :) There's one special ingredient that the recipe we used forgot to add, which makes the slime "magical."

Ella, Gentry and Kate

 That's according to these three little monsters.

Ella and Kate wanted a play date this week. They both love to do crafts, so they dressed paper dolls with real fabric and made magical monster slime. Gentry (Kate's younger sister), hung out with us while her mom ran an errand.

10 tips for a successful super saturday

Whew! Another successful Relief Society meeting under our belts. Super Saturday is an activity held once a year for the women in our church. We get together to socialize, craft, learn new skills, and eat. Yep, it's good times. I was on the Relief Society Board for this event and there's a lot of planning and work that goes into it. I've put together a simple list of things we've learned.

1. Choose simple, quality, up-to-date projects that fit the needs of the sisters in your ward.

We hold our Super Saturday in October each year, so we focus on projects that can be gifted for Christmas and decorate our homes for the holidays. We also try to choose projects that teach a new skill. Our ward has a huge number of children, so darling hair accessories are always a no-brainer.

After making fifteen hair accessories, Sandra started teaching Melissa. :)  

Sandra's hair accessories (shhhh, they're Christmas gifts).

Projects that require painting add a level of mess and wait time. If you choose to include them, limit the number. Also limit how many projects you offer (and color choices you offer) for simplicity sake, kit prep, and teaching purposes.

out and about: sundance, utah

My sweet husband loves to plan surprises. And I love surprises. Yep, we make a great team. :) When we were first married, we spent a lot of time and weekends at Sundance. It's one of our favorite places to turn off the rest of the world and just breathe for awhile. I can literally feel the tension leave my neck and shoulders as we climb the hill to the resort.

About two week ago, Lynn told me, "Don't plan anything for this certain Saturday (last week)." He arranged for a babysitter and made reservations at my favorite place to eat at Sundance, The Foundry Grill. I had mentioned a couple of times that I really wanted to drive the Alpine Loop to see the fall colors. So after lunch, we did. It was a perfect day.

It was so peaceful and nice to just sit and soak in the light.

i love you, mommy!

Hi Mommy, I miss you so much. Are you feeling better?

an interest in pinterest: halloween goodness

A friend in my neighborhood posted on our Google group, looking for ideas her kids could make each other for Christmas. I suggested she look on Pinterest. Here's a follow-up to my reply:

I agree with Pinterest, but be warned, it sucks you in like a giant crafty black hole, never to be heard from again. Evil. Awesome evil.

Denise

I busted up. It's true. And yes, I was the one who shared the "awesome evil" with Denise. I'm so ashamed. :)

Yep, I'm officially addicted to Pinterest. I refer to it all the time in my conversations and a couple of times, I've even dreamed I was pinning--really.

I'm always surprised by how many people don't know about it. If you're not familiar, it's a place to gather the things that interest and inspire you and "pin" them onto boards you create.

pin + interest = pinterest.

It's the perfect organizational tool. I used to have a million posts and websites "bookmarked" on my computer. But trying to find them again was a daunting and time consuming task. Now I simply go to Pinterest, open my boards, and the information is all there, attached with a photo. It's pure genius.

activity days: secret service mission

I found another great activity days idea over at the fickle pickle blog. I love when others make my calling so much simpler. I changed things up a bit to simplify and the girls LOVED the activity.