Krista as Coppelia in Coppelia

Krista dancing the part of Coppelia.

Krista dancing the part of one of the maidens.

Krista auditioned for the Utah Civic Ballet Company production of Coppelia and got the part of the title character.  She was also able to dance a few other company parts when her character was tucked away somewhere in the shop.  She did a great job, worked really hard, danced until her feet were bruised, and made me very proud.
If you aren't familiar with the story of Coppelia, don't worry, we weren't either.  We checked out a lovely illustrated version from the library.  It's a bit of a Pinocchio meets The Bachelor kind of deal.

acyrologia

You can tell a book is real...

Denim Quilt I Helped Make

So this is actually something my mother, sisters, my kids, and I finished about two years ago but I wanted to put it on my Pinterest so I'm sticking it on my blog.  Ah, the wonders of technology.

It's actually a King size quilt which was a great present for my husband as he's a big guy but it can pretty much squash a small child with the weight.  We won't make one this large ever again.  The kids and the grown-ups each pieced together a square or two so it's got lots of individual touches.  It came out really well  The back we made from cheap flannel blankets we found on sale.  There is no batting or filling.  We used my mother's Bernina sewing machine and the denim foot attachment to put it all together.

To get uniform shapes we used a few pieces of cereal boxes cut into a square, a triangle, a rectangle, and a long rectangle, all measured to fit each other and leave a seam allowance.  Then we traced those onto old jeans of various sizes and colors and cut them out.  We messed around with the design a lot and had a great time voting on what squares were "artistic/creative" enough to add to the quilt (submitters ranged in age from two to senior discount so there was a lot of variety).

It turned out out so well we started on another SMALLER quilt and have plans to make one that is sort of a chess board with pockets for some kind of stuffed or beanbag chessmen or just checkers...  Check back in a few years to see if we finish that project.

Park-Bark Beetles

Last week when we went to the Orem Rec Center Park near our home, to play on the playground, we found dozens of these beetles.

Jared grossing out the kids.

This picture is oriented the right way on my computer...

Anyway, Jessica and Andrew holding the beetles they caught.

The paper cup method was a lot safer than picking them up as they could both cling and pinch.

April with the cup-o-bugs.

I held it but it was not a pleasant experience.  They have sharp little clingy feet and avoiding the pincers was not easy. 

Fathers Day Craft with my Cub Scouts

Saw something like this on Pinterest and decided to give it a try.

Not too many materials required; brown paper lunch bag, scissors, patterned paper (scrapbook paper), plain white handkerchief, needle, thread or embroidery thread, glue, some kind of filler like candy or treats.  Optional - iron on little patches, iron, ironing board, fabric to keep the patch from scorching

Found a good pattern for the tie and some "tie-ish" looking bits of paper in my scrapbook stuff.

Picked up the iron on patches (about an inch in size, the balls were the size of a quarter)

Gave the cubs a quick lesson in using a needle and thread.  You can see how big these handkerchiefs are, I picked them up at the craft store but next time I would look for them at kmart or something because these were more bandanna size but they worked.

The cubs did a great job putting the monogram on the handkerchief and we stuffed the "shirts" with little candy bars.  I drew the letter on the handkerchief for them lightly in pencil and then they did a simple running stitch to trace it.

Before opening the bag cut into it an inch and a half on both sides about an inch and a half from the top.  Make a careful slit in the front of the bag where the "pocket" will be for the handkerchief to stick out.  Glue the tie on where it looks good.  Put in the treats, arrange the handkerchief, carefully pull the flaps in and glue them down.  Great project for the cubs and mine got a kick out of doing the monogram.

My mom strikes again.

My sister, Lynn, posted this on her facebook.  So amusing, must share.

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My mother, the "misspelled-words-on-public-signs Nazi," strikes again. You can view her most recent work at the Macey's. Lynda Bauman

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Back when we were in school she would correct and return notes, fliers, and other information sent home by our teachers.  As she's gotten older she has apparently progressed to the alteration of private property in public places.  I hope the grocery store people appreciate her work.

Last Day of School

April and Kylie in front of Orem Elementary

Mrs. Baumgarten and April

Ms. Anderson and Kylie

Not just ducklings, BYU ducklings.

Every Spring we go looking for the ducklings at the pond at BYU.  The pond, if you haven't found it, is on 800 North at about 430 East.  The pond is home to turtles, fish, ducks, and other critters.  We love to visit on our way to or from the Provo Library.  My sister, Lois, lives much closer to campus than we do and keeps us informed about developments at the pond.  She told us there were ducklings and sure enough we found them.

There's also a great duck pond at Nielson's Grove Park in Orem.

My dad's birthday

Here's my dad.  He was born in 1949 so you can do the math if you want to.  He's a former government employee and is concerned about what "they" might find out about him on the internet or through "their" sources.  "They" showed up a couple of times during my childhood to check up on him so I know the MIB really do exist but I don't remember "them" having the flashy thingys, then again, that's no certain indicator that "they" don't.  Either way, I'll respect his wish (birthday or otherwise) and not divulge any more personal information on him.

Dad.

Dad and my little one and the cake.

The cake.

My little one and the packaging from a gift.

Party games.  I think Lynn set up Don't Break The Ice a dozen or so times before they gave up on it.

Andrew's Collection

Andrew is at the age where he likes to collect little things he finds out in the yard or out in the world.  He seems to have a real fondness for bits of wood and sticks.  I told him he could keep his collection in a little pile next to the front door.  Here's a picture of his current finds.  The brick is a doorstop for the garage side door and not part of the collection.

Stuffed Mushrooms - A work in progress

This is one of my favorite appetizers to order when we go out to dinner.  I've been trying to put together a good recipe.  So far we have determined that the recipes that list mayonnaise as one of the ingredients are not a good way to go.  Most of the family prefers a little bit of sausage or something in the mix, corned beef chopped up really fine worked very well.
Things I think should be included:

Minced sauteed onions
minced sauteed stems from the mushrooms
bacon/sausage/corned beef (something with a good flavor and a bit salty)
cream cheese

a creamy kind of something else sort of like cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup.  The soup my mom makes from scratch worked really well, my next experiments will involve a few different campbells varieties to see what I come up with

cheese for the top, so far mozzarella works about the best but not perfectly

Still searching for a recipe that really wows us.

So if you have a great recipe for these, please, share.

Thanks D.

The other night I had one of those dreams where I was late for a class I couldn't find and I was supposed to take the final that day and I couldn't remember ever having gone to the class let alone anything on the final.  I was so upset and frustrated and guilt ridden over it.
Then, as I'm walking across this campus I see Derek Hoerler from high school and he just smiles and says "I'll go with you." and it's such a relief.
So the dream really stuck with me.

Life is messy and we're all dealing with things but sometimes someone is nice enough just to walk with you a little ways and the burden is so much lighter.

Anyway, haven't seen Derek in more than a decade but I want to say thanks.  It was nice of you to show up in my dream and help me out.
Yup, I know that's weird, I have never claimed to be normal.

Link to a site with deep thoughts.

I found this website, http://sun-gazing.com/ and also a facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/sungazing1   full of pictures, quotes, thoughts, etc.  I can't say I agree with all of it but it was amazing how much it made me think and how many things were just kind of cool.  Here's the picture that caught my interest at first

then I went looking for sources on it and found the website.  I just really liked it.

I Resemble That Remark

For My Brother

Irish He Is
A strange blend of shyness, of pride and conceit,
And stubborn refusal to bow in defeat
He’s spoiling and ready to argue and fight,
... Yet the smile of a child fills his soul with delight.
His eyes are the quickest to well up in tears,
Yet his strength is the strongest to banish your fears.
His hate is as fierce as his devotion is grand,
And there is no middle ground on which he will stand.
He’s wild and he’s gentle, he’s good and he’s bad.
He’s proud and he’s humble, he’s happy and sad.
He’s in love with the ocean, the earth and the skies,
He’s enamoured with beauty wherever it lies.
He’s victor and victim, a star and a clod,
But mostly he’s Irish... in love with his God.


I just read this poem and it made me think of my brother. I'd love to know the origin of the poem but couldn't find an author on the internet. If anyone knows who wrote it, please, leave a comment.

Playing In The Snow

Lots of snow yesterday and last night so we played in the snow for a while today.

Jessica and Andrew

April

Andrew

Jessica

April doing an angel

The angel I did

Kylie doing an angel

Andrew, he said he was making a "glop", not an angel.

April trapped, she didn't want to mess up her angel

The Christmas Card 2012

December 2012



Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We have a tradition in our family where every year we think of something significant we have done as a family and then find a Christmas ornament for our tree to be a symbol of that event. Things like new babies, going to Disneyland, buying a house, etc. are some of the ornaments we’ve done over the last thirteen years. This year we tried to figure out something significant we had all done as a family and couldn’t think of a thing everyone had done. With the kids variety of activities and interests and how busy Jared has been with travelling for work it’s been crazy. So this past weekend we took a whole day to spend as a family riding the new commuter train and doing “touristy” stuff up in Salt Lake. It was lots of fun and we found at least one activity each person could enjoy.

Jared is working for a health supplement company in Draper, Utah. He’s had a chance to work with them from the earliest phase of growth to a point where they are now becoming profitable. It’s meant a lot of long hours and some international travel but Jared enjoys what he does and is an expert in financial management for this kind of marketing.

Amy has been able to tackle a few interesting family history projects for friends and acquaintances lately and finds a lot of satisfaction in dusting off that ol’ college degree. She is a Cub Scout Den Leader for the Bears and enjoys working with the boys. She is in a book club and loves the friends and books it has brought into her life.

Krista is in 7th grade at the Junior High this year. She’s taking honors classes and has joined the choir. In October she earned her pointe shoes for ballet, this is a major accomplishment and she continues to put hours every week into dancing. For her 12th birthday she got her ears pierced and now has a deep love of sparkly earrings, vintage earrings, dangly earrings, and earrings that may or may not go with her outfit.

Kylie is in 3rd grade and keeps us all informed about her various interests. Her biggest fascination right now is anything having to do with the TV show Monster High. She watches anything she can on TV or the internet that will further her knowledge of the show and the characters. She has a collection of the dolls and accessories and an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Monster High. Kylie enjoys her jazz dance class and is doing great at her piano lessons.

April started Kindergarten this year and has learned all kinds of excellent new things. Her homework yesterday was to demonstrate tying her shoes, spelling a few short words, and writing the numbers 1-20. She’s doing great in school and loves that her best friend, Clara, is in her class. April enjoys her dance class and likes to put on some music and show us all her flashy dance moves.

Andrew is four this year. He likes Spiderman, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Diego, and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. His best friend, Henry, lives next door and the two of them have a great time together. Andrew is at that great stage where he collects random rocks and bits of sticks and things and keeps them in his pockets so we have to be careful about checking his clothes before tossing things in the wash.

Jessica turned two a few months back and all the stereotypes apply. She’s a busy little whirlwind of activity and destruction and can somehow be louder than all of her other siblings combined. She’s also incredibly cute, snuggly, and sweet. She’s working on potty-training and is very close to moving up from a crib to a regular bed.

All our best to you and yours!
The Stone Family

Someone's David Stone

I was working on this little research project because I found it on one of the message boards for the Stone family.  No clue if we're related.

http://boards.ancestry.com/surnames.stone/7147/mb.ashx

I am looking for the generations before David Stone and any other information. He was born in 1835 and died in 1915. He lived in vestal and Binghamton, Broome County, New York. His wife's name was Rhoda and his mother's name was Mary Anne. I have no idea what his father's name was. Thanks for any assistance.

Yeah, so it's a tricky problem.  I found four pieces of information:

WWI Draft Registration Card
David John Stone, residing at 44 Second, Bingham Broome, NY, age 48, born April 29, 1876, occupation Carpenter, nearest relative Mrs Donna Stone, registration date 12 Sep 1918

New York, County Marriages, No. 3245
2 Mar 1912, Binghamton, New York
Jennie H. Stone age 26, residence 12 Rush Ave Binghamton, occupation Cigarmaker,
born in Binghamton, NY, father David Stone (American), mother Rhoda Ros (American)
married Frederik P Hendricksen age 44, occupation Teamster, born in Doraville, NY,
father Henry P Hendrickson, mother Polly Judd

1900 US Census, Binghamton, Broome, New York
12 Rush Ave
Stone, David, head, born May 1836, age 64, married 36 years, born in New York,
father born in New York, mother unknown birthplace, occupation carpenter
Stone, Rhoda, wife, born May 1841, age 59, married 36 years, 2 of 2 children living,
born in New york as are both parents
Stone, David J, son, born Apr 1876, age 24, born in New York
Stone, Hannah J, daughter, born July 1885, age 14, born in New York

1880 US Census, Binghamton, Broome, New York
Mary Street
Stone, David, age 44, Carpenter, born in New York as are both parents
Stone, Rhoda, age 41, wife, keeping house, born in New York as are both parents
Stone, Delphia, age 17, daughter, born in New York
Stone, Louisa, age 10, daughter, born in New York
Stone, David, age 4, son, born in New York
Stone, Mary Ann, age 72, mother, born in New York

The military card is for David the son of the man in the initial request.  I saw the address for the 1900 Census and for the residence of the bride matched so those link up.  The carpenter occupation and other pieces of information link the two census entries.  Searched all over for the 1910 or 1870 census for these people, not sure why I'm not finding them, I'm usually pretty good at coming up with people after a bit of looking.  I wonder why the 1900 census says she only had two children and they're both living when Delphia and Louisa would be 2+2=4 or so?

I'd like to know what the birthplace for the groom says.  I read it as Doraville, but apparently that's not a place in New York (there is one in Georgia but that's a stretch of the laws of the universe and whatnot).  Also, there's quite a bit of information on Henry P. Frederickson and his wife Polly from Broome County, New York out there on the internet but unless someone lied about their ages, this Frederick would have been a little too late to be one of their children.

I'd like to know what Rhoda's maiden name is here.  I read it Ros but the only clear letter is really the R and after that it's kind of a short name with a vowel and a consonant most likely or possibly two vowels, like Roe or something.

PS - The two pictures actually go next to each other but I cut them up to post them on here.

Library Books