Lizzy in the kitchen

We made some black bean brownies to see how they turned out. While I liked them fine, nobody else did. Lizzy's conclusion was:
"Once you know the black beans are in there, you just can't untaste them."

At another time I made scrambled eggs with onions and bacon. Lizzy now loves onions and bacon. This is how Lizzy cuts onions:

Disneyland June 2019

We got to go to Disneyland this year. This was the first time for the kids. We invited our home teachers Skylar Morgan and Nathan Erikson to come and give us their Disneyland tips. I'm so glad that we did because they told us great things!

The shuttle ride to disneyland.

The Tiki Room, our first stop.

Tom Sawyer's Island

 Pirates of the Caribbean

 Canoeing

One very cool moment was early in the day when we passed the Indiana Jones ride. It was closed. The workers told us to get a fastpass and that the ride would probably open soon. So we went to get the fastpass and at that moment the ride opened! So we RAN the whole way through the empty areas and waited only for a minute to get on the ride. While we waited the line filled in solid behind us. By the time we were done with the ride the line had filled in completely all the way back to the main entrance. 

Corn dogs for lunch. These corn dogs were so good! Our home teachers said they were amazing. We were really excited to try them, and wish I could get them all the time! I went to Disneyland so many times as a teenager and never experienced these. I understand they have them at Downtown Disney as well as cheese dogs.

Autopia.

Small world.

Toontown.

Splash Mountain. Jordan and I went. Lizzy and Morgan didn't want to go. Jordan and I loved it! Our home teachers told us to go on Splash Mountain last for shorter lines. There was still no line when the ride ended so they let us go again! We didn't even have to get out of the log!

When we were going up the incline just before the drop, Jordan tells the teenagers in front of us, "No turning back now!" It was very cute. The teenagers also gave Jordan a high five for surviving the dop. =) 

We did a penny stretcher after Splash Mountain and then headed home with wet feet. 

The ride back to Jessie's house:

A special quilt for my mom

An idea came to me. I needed to make a quilt for my mom. At first I thought oh, I'll just wait until all my other projects are done. But then I realized that I needed to start working on it NOW and finish it fast because I would be seeing her in a month.

So I started planning. The pattern came to me little by little. It would be made with lots of little squares in heart shapes, of course yellow since that's Mom's favorite color. Then I attended a class at UQSM Utah Quilt and Sewing Marketplace by Carmen Geddes that I had signed up for MONTHS earlier! Carmen taught a grid method used to sew lots of squares together. When I attended the class I had the pattern almost complete. That night I designed the border and finalized the pattern. I bought the fabric and materials the following day at the Quilt Show.

I sewed and sewed and sewed and sewed. I thought of my mom the whole time. It was a special thing to think of her while making her something special for an extended period of time. The quilt top came together and turned out exactly how I envisioned. It was a flow project. The quilt was meant to be made.

The quilt label took longer. I let the idea simmer in my head and it eventually came together perfectly, with tears of course. It was a last minute idea to make it patched and heart shaped

I took it to be quilted by Kathleen Schlesinger. She found the perfect quilting pattern with swirls and hearts. The quilting pattern shows up beautifully on the cuddle "minky" backing.

The wavy binding was also something that I may not have thought about if it weren't for the binding class I took from Carmen Geddes on the same day as the grid class. I used bias binding.

We went to CA in June and we were able to present the quilt to my mom. She loved it. I am so glad that it worked out that I was able to make the quilt and give it to her in person.

88 inches tall by 78 inches wide.

Rocky the Raccoon

Brenda is a friend who works at Nuttall's. She taught this class with these cute pillow pets made with Minky fabric. I was lucky enough to sign up before the class filled up. 

I was delighted to see that my friend Melanie, whom I met at my snow globe class, came also! She made the cutest pink kitty for her 5 year old.

The class was 3 sessions. I brought it home all finished on night #3. I set it on the piano thinking the kids would see it in the morning when they woke up. I named the raccoon "Rocky." 

The next day Jordan says, "Mom, did you get this?!" I told him I made it! He had it in his hands for the rest of the day. He said, "Thank, Mom, for making this." He melts my heart sometimes. 

That night he went to bed holding his doggie as usual. He's had this doggie since he was first born. Tonight he also had Rocky in his arms. He also had his new llama quilt that I made for his birthday. 

Lizzy asked if I could make another pillow pet. I said I would make one if she helped me make it. I think a pink kitty would be awesome. 

Mother's Day 2019

I woke up about 8 am and heard Jordan ask Lizzy, "How do you spell beautiful?" 

These were the cute things the kids made for me this year:

From Lizzy:

To figure out the exact reason Mrs. Clements is the Mother of the year we are going to have an interview from her daughter Elizabeth. "My mother completly has to have this award. She only gives me one to two chorse a day. Tow of them is always brush my teeth and give are pets there food. She almost never speaks up, lets me get any food out of the frighg or pantrey whenever I want, lets me use the oven, snuggles me, gets us treats when we go to the store togather, makes sure I ware good clothes to school, gets me all the cothes I need, gets us lots of food, and went on a diet and stoped eating suger so she could spend more time with us! I'm not done. She also walks to school with me and even had breakfast with me the day we're wrighting this. A lot of people I know are getting phones when there sixteen, but I'm getting one when I'm twelve! I can't say everything awesome about my mom because the facts are unlimented, and my mom is on TV.

Notes:
I had just been on TV because I was at a Quilts for Kids event and there was a small news story put on about that. Also, she was at a friend's house and the friend got in trouble for using the oven while the mom was out. So Lizzy became very appreciative that she could use the oven and get food when she wanted too! We've taught the kids how to use the oven and stove and they use it all the time.
Also, I wonder if perhaps FOOD is Lizzy's love language? haha!

I Love you mommy!

Love is what I do to you. There is

Opsickles in life sometimes. Daddy says, will you be my

Valentines? I hope we are together 

Eternity. I couldn't stand not being with

Mom. Even if we are

Opposites, You think the same as 

Me. I love you

More than anyone but daddy. (I love him too.)

You are the best mom yet. I 

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From Jordan:

I love you mom I loooove you a lot lets count the ways I love you One you gave me my birth two you have gave u this buatful home three I love your snuggles. from Jordan