Black Hills Roundup

I'll warn you that this post may be a bit long.

We decided to go to the Black Hills and invited my parents and younger brother and sister to join us (or we may have hi-jacked their vacation and told them where we wanted to go--you can decide what story to believe).

Only after we started researching and making reservations did we realize that Sturgis was going on. And we decided to go anyway. Because we are hard core like that.

First we hit up Wind Cave. It was awesome. Easton HATED the total darkness bit, but other than that did great. He we are inside the cave.

And here's the rest of the crew.
They had this awesome stuff all over the cave. It's called boxwork and is super fragile. Luckily I just broke off a little tiny piece for myself. [just kidding!]

And of course, we were able to see the main attraction. The sky was beautiful and weather fantastic. Not too warm, but warm (got that?).

And then we tried to get a few shots with the family. Harder than you think.
And here we see the parentals and the Wyo family that still lives at home.
We then took the presidential walk to get a closer look at the memorial. I was amazed at how they made the eyes look the way they do. Those columns for pupils? Brilliant. [and now you know how easy it is to amaze me--just carve a gigantic sculpture and show me the eyes]
And then Ronnie asked if that gray blob on Lincoln's head was supposed to be there or if they just didn't finish. And I informed him that that blob was his hair. It was precious.
After Mt. Rushmore, we visited Bear Country. All the men drooled over these babies.
And then tried to pretend that they weren't behind that huge fence. And then planned where they would hang the antlers if they could kill one.
We saw lots and lots of bears. This one had some pretty "human-like" tendencies. He looked just like Ronnie while watching sports.
Next, we took a drive up to Crazy Horse Monument. Here you can see the prototype of the finished mountain and well as what they have done so far. I'd say they have a ways to go--no?


Finally we visited Devils Tower. You can't live in Wyoming for almost 20 years and never see this bad boy.
We did a hike [and when I say hike, I mean walk on a paved path] around it and stopped to take obligatory shots.
Back in the parking lot, we realized that this was a much easier picture opportunity. Here's the whole group minus Ronnie.
And here is our little family.
Easton was a fantastic traveler--although I'm sure he would be okay with a rest from the car seat for a while. And that whole Sturgis thing? Not a big deal. In fact, all of the places we visited were less crowded than when we were there 14 years ago. We decided that families avoid this week and so, if you don't mind the constant roar of Harleys, it is a great week to take the trip.

Happy Day

Everything has finally finalized. (Yes, I am consciously typing that).

Beginning on August 25th, I will be working part time.

Hallelujah!

I'm so excited to be with Easton more often.

He is awesome.

Squash Book Winner (and where I am headed)

Random.org selected two winners.

melissapher who wrote, "Great variation on the accordion bind! The papers are really cute."

and

Alicia who wrote, "Oh man I hope I'm the lucky one!"

Congrats melissapher and Alicia! Email me at the email in my profile with your mailing address and I'll get your books right out to you!

Also, I'll be absent for the next few days. We are taking an impromptu trip to the Black Hills. Yes, it is the middle of Sturgis. Apparently we are crazy.

How about some preparedness?

A while ago, before our move, I helped to plan an event at my church. This was to educate the women on some good emergency preparedness ideas as well as allow them to make a 72-hour kit. (Well, most of a 72-hour kit. We decided that since food is such a personal preference, they would have to provide that themselves—as well as clothing).

So anyway. We made 72-hour kits. This came at the perfect time since just weeks before the event, Laramie experienced a few tornadoes and parts of the city were without power for over a day. You learn a lot about what you do and do not have when you are forced to pull out your emergency supplies. Like flashlights, and battery powered radios, and food.

I’m proud to say that we now have three 72-hour kits. Complete. Ours are housed in 4-gallon buckets, which have pros and cons. I love that I have something to hold water, sit on, one to use as a toilet, etc, but they are significantly harder to carry than a backpack. In a few months, when it is time to update them, I think I may buy some backpacks and put the heavy stuff in there and the light stuff in the buckets. That way I can have the best of both worlds.


Because researching what exactly to put inside of a 72-hour kit can be a bit daunting, I thought I would list the things that are in mine.

These items were at the church to get us jump started:
1 4 Gallon Bucket
1 Heat Blanket
1 Box Waterproof Matches
1 Bar of Soap
1 Can Opener
2 Pain Reliever
1 Burn Free single dose
1 Instant Cold Pack
1 Alcohol prep pad
1 Antibiotic Ointment
1 2 x 2 Gauze Pad
1 3 x 3 Gauze Pad
4 Standard Bandaids
1 Large Bandaid
3 Pair gloves
1 Hand Sanitizer
1 Toothbrush
1 Sewing Kit
1 Whistle
5 yards Duct Tape
3 Spoons
1 Toilet paper
2 Trash bags
2 Ziplock bags
1 Pkg Baby wipes
5 Emergency Candles

Pretty good start I think. I added the following to our kits:
Toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, lotion (I don’t even want to THINK about 72 hours without lotion), flashlights (two wind up, one battery powered with extra batteries), diapers, rice cereal, rain poncho, knife, rope, underwear, pants, shirt, socks, jacket, three lunches, three breakfasts, three dinners, snacks, water purifying bottles, water, cash and one of those mini, red Books of Mormon.

I feel pretty good, but I’m sure there are things that I will wish I had if (heaven forbid) I ever need to actually use these kits. What do you have in your kits?

Squash Book Tutorial and Giveaway!

What is a squash book you ask? It is a fun little thing that starts off as this size:

And unfolds to this:



Perfect to stick in your purse with pics of your family, or little ones, or dogs, or cats, or grandma, or...well, you get the point. You may remember that I mentioned being in charge of a mini-scrapbook at our Stake Girls Camp this year--this is what the girls made. It has a *slight* western theme to it (as the Girls Camp theme was Cowgirl Up!) but I think it is cute for any person (I may be a TINY bit biased).


If you want to learn how to make one of these little puppies--read on, if not--you can enter to win one of two anyway! [scroll down to the very bottom]




1. Begin with three square pieces of paper. You can make these any size you want. Mine are 8.5" by 8.5" purely because that is an easy square to make with an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper. This means that my finished squash book will be 4.25"x 4.25"

2. Fold each piece of paper in half. Now bend it backwards (on the same fold the other way). You want these folds to be "remembered" by the paper.

3. Unfold the first fold and fold the opposite direction. Remember to bend it backwards to get a really nice fold. *Note: the better you fold at this stage, the better your book will come together.

4. Unfold the paper again and fold diagonally. It does not matter which diagonal you choose, just be sure to bend it backwards to really crease that paper.

5. All three sheets should now look like this.

6. Line the papers up so that the diagonal fold is on the vertical (as shown).

7. With the adhesive of your choice, glue one paper on top of the other in one of the "solid" squares.
8. And then glue the third piece of paper on top of the second.
Your completed assembly should look like this.
8. Now comes the tricky part. Folding. Take the left hand side and make it fold under like this.
9. It will now lay flat, like this.

10. Do the exact same thing to the right side.
11. So that when those two are completed, it will look like this (only when your hands are holding it down though).

12. Now pick up the entire creation and make the middle portion fold under--as this picture shows. This is the hardest part of the whole thing--don't get discouraged!

13. Once that is done, your entire book should fold into a little square.

14. Now get out two 18" pieces of ribbon.

15. Apply your adhesive in the middle of the square (it doesn't matter which way) and place the ribbon on top. Don't worry if this is a little messy--it will be covered up in just a minute.

16. Now flip your book over.

17. And do the same thing on the other side.

18. now get the paper that you would like for the front and back cover of your book. Cut it into 4"x4" squares.

19. Adhere the paper over the ribbon. Repeat for the back cover.

20. And now, when you unfold your book, it will look like this on the inside.

21. Next select the papers you would like to use for the inside. You will need four 4"x4" pieces of paper.

22. Adhere them to the inside like so.

23. Now you will need the triangle pieces of paper. Twelve in total. To cut these, cut your paper 4"x4" square and then turn on your paper cutter and cut into triangles.

24. Adhere your triangles however you would like. And maybe add some stars and brads for good measure. At this point--you are done with the decorative base of your squash book. If this was for you, you might add pictures, journalling, etc.
25. Sometimes your book needs a little bit of a reminder on how to fold back the first time, so let's review. Fold the left side flat as shown.
26. Like this.
27. Now the right side should follow.

28. So that you have this.

29. Now we have to remind that middle part the way that it needs to go.

30. And then your book will lay flat.

31. Now tie the ribbons into adorable bows.

31. Now you may want some scalloped circles to embellish the outside.

32. These would normally be monogrammed on both the front and the back. I love me some monograms. I'm waiting until the giveaway winners are selected before I monogram these babies. I don't think everyone wants a "K" on the front of theirs.

Now enter to win!

Rules: Leave your comment by Wednesday, August 6th. One Comment per person. TWO winners will be selected at random and be announced Thursday morning. Good Luck!

Memory Round-up

It’s the end of memory week. Some of you are cheering that you don’t have to hear any more of my crazy stories and the rest of you are maybe a little bit sad (ok, “the rest of you” probably only includes my mother).

I have a list of memories in my “blog ideas” list and most of them are not detailed enough to deserve a post of their own, so I thought I would just give you the whole lot at once. Prepare yourself.
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When I was nine, I was outside riding my bike and my dad was getting in his truck to go somewhere. I yelled, “RACE YA!” and started pedaling down the sidewalk like a mad-woman. I looked up to see if I was beating my dad (as if my little legs could out pedal a car) and my bike veered to the right.

I ran smack into the neighbor’s mailbox. Ouch.
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I was kind of a know-it-all as a child. Come to think of it, I still am. But moving on with the story—I was over at a friend’s house when I was about eight and her ten year old brother was making us mac & cheese for lunch. The noodles had boiled for seven minutes and it was time to do the next step. He asked me if we were supposed to add the powder cheese to the water. I didn’t know the answer, but said “yes” just to say something. Needless to say, we made another batch before we actually ate.
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One summer, after I was too old for Barbies and Supermarket Sweep, the twins and I spent hours playing card games. Speed, California Speed, Nertz, War, Solitaire. We weren’t picky, we just wanted to PLAY. Because the entire summer was devoted to such a specific activity it sticks out vividly in my mind. I can remember teaching myself to shuffle and then learning to do the “butterfly” at the end of the shuffle. It is a skill that has served me well. As I was remembering this time, I tried to think of another time in my life when I have devoted that much time to gaining or developing a skill and I came up empty. Did you have anything you devoted a lot of time to when you were a child?
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And now, if you will humor me. I've left memories of lots of people's blogs and have not had anyone do the same (although I do believe that is what the tag "technically" promises). So for the heck of it--what do you remember about me?