Lemonade from Lemon's....

STORM #3....YES, it's still coming...ON April 16th we woke up to a FOOT of snow, 

yes, that's 12 inches...BUT thats not all, it kept snowing and snowing and snowing...we 

ended up getting 14+ inches at our house..MORE snow than we had ALL WINTER! 

I wandered out into the mess as soon as the sun came up, to measure, and as I stuck my ruler 

into the snow on a childs folding chair, it got buried...all 12 inches of it!

(thats my "green" ruler buried in that pile of snow)

The lilacs are bombarded with so much snow, I don't know if they will ever stand tall again....

THERE is my garden, buried for a 3rd time!

NOW take note, this is ALL NEW SNOW...the snow from the

 previous storm had all melted the day before.

....PILES of white stuff have filled the wheelbarrow....crazy!!

After coming inside from measuring the snow I decided I better head out and 

start shoveling, after all...it wasn't going to melt, not any time soon!

As I was pushing and shoveling, I couldn't help but be amazed at how HEAVY and WET

this snow was. THERE was definitely a lot of moisture in these last few storms. 

SOOOOO...being the crazy lady that I am, I decided

that I would start rolling that heavy, wet snow...which we all know eventually makes a 

LARGE ball....which in turn 

makes a SNOWMAN. 

IN my own personal protest against Mother Nature, I decided to make 

my very own "Spring" Sunbathing Snowwoman....

No sunbather would be complete without her flip-flops...my short, frumpy, snow-lady is all decked out

for a typical spring day in UTAH!

Happy Spring from me to you!!

Mother Natures WRATH~

The second storm came in and left ANOTHER 8" of snow...

It melted by afternoon because the sun came up and the temperatures flew from freezing cold to 

about 58 degrees....

The sun is trying to peek through the dark winter clouds...

a pretty big fight...Sun VS Clouds...

and the winner is.....THE SUN!!

Can't wait for the day that this lonely little, snow covered, swing 

has laughing children playing endlessly on it during the HOT SUMMER DAYS!

Maybe that will be.....someday?!?!

April SNOW brings May what???

April in Utah isn't like April in other parts of the country...we go from 

having temperatures in the 70's to having snow on the ground in just one day. 

A VERY cold, cold front has settled over our area....the first storm brought in 8" of snow, 

which all melted in just a day or two (Yes, because the temperature warmed up once AGAIN).

It was a very HEAVY snow that weighed down tree limbs, lilac bushes and 

my raspberry bushes......

It covered my garden that needs to be cleaned out....

(I guess that means I can't clean it out yet, oh too bad)

It buried EVERYTHING...even the lilies that were trying to peek through the ground~

so much for "May flowers".....Boo!!

Papa Time....

Little Mister LOVES to be read to. He picks 

up a story book and says "Papa" (or "Damma") read it now, please"...

Seriously, who can resist that??? NOT papa (or Damma)

Mister Smiley is jabbering and gooing so much. He loves people..and he loves

to interact...its adorable!

He loves to sit on Papa's lap and watch his brother do all the things that he

can't wait to do....

Isn't life GranD?!

Spring Break and a little R & R (that would be "Retail Therapy and Relaxing")

After a VERY LONG, cold and miserable winter...the snow started to melt, the sunshine

is more frequent and the roads are dry..SOOOOOOOOOOO

I decided that during Spring Break Halle and I would venture to the 

city for a little FUN IN THE SUN time with Dayna and get a little

retail therapy... after all, we hadn't been out to the city in MONTHS (snow seems

 to trap us here in our little valley...for what seems like forever).

We made a point to visit "The Sweet Tooth Fairy" for a little sweet treat... 

Ummmm...maybe we visited more than once during our little trip....it could happen~

We had so much fun taking pictures, playing and enjoying being together~

Halle had her first pedicure...which was a little tricky since her feet are SOOOO ticklish!

Dayna and I sat back and enjoyed our back massage as we waited 

(and waited, AND WAITED~ they were running short on "pedicurist" the morning we went) 

for our pedicures to begin...but trust me, time was not wasted....

we thoroughly enjoyed the massage!!...REALLY, it was fantastic!

...and then came the foot soak, rub, massage and polish....perfect way to 

pamper the part of the body that gets the most workout!

Our cute little toes are proof of springtime...bright colors and sandals...*sigh*

We ate anywhere our heart desired...Zupas, Cafe Rio, Apollo Burger...yep, it was fantastic!

...and yes, we paid many visits to the dressing rooms...in MANY different stores, 

IT WAS A BLAST!!

We all found a few fabulous finds....and some fantastic deals!

Don't mind me in this picture (thats not what I was taking a picture of)~
I just loved how looking in one mirror, that reflected another mirror, made the 

an eternity of reflection....Yes, I found entertainment all by myself

 as Halle and Dayna tried on clothes!

It was a fabulous, relaxing, crazy, fun kind of two days....Loved EVERY second of 

it and was sad to have to come home and get back to REAL life, but all good 

things must come to an end I guess...even though I would have liked 

them to continue for much longer!!

Guess I better plan on another trip? I say YES!

A SUNSHINY Easter day...

Easter is ONE of my favorite holidays...I love the reason we celebrate (my all time favorite thing about it),

the food, the family and of course the FUN!

Every year I dress up our Easter table in a little "different" way...something that reminds

me of spring. This year it was simple, done in blue and very classy (if you ask me!)

We had traditional Ham, cheesy potatoes, jello, frog eye salad, hot rolls and strawberry shortcake....

its the same thing we have every year, but we LOVE it and we all look forward to eating it. 

The Easter Bunny hasn't quit coming to our house....teenagers (and husbands) are just as much 

fun to hide eggs and baskets from as little kids are...so Saturday began the Easter Egg treasure hunt....

AND THEIR OFF.......................

Dad and the kids "discuss" where the next clues will lead them.....

all eggs must be gathered and placed in the basket (this assures there is NO cheating involved)...

 

Hmmmm....who's going to go dig through that pile of wet, stinky leaves
to see if there is an egg hiding somewhere beneath the muck?!

traipsing through the yard, looking for bright colored Easter Eggs on a 

warm spring morning...nothing gets better than that!

....except when one of the clues said to look someplace that "stinks" and the first

place the kids go is the dog pen...ha ha ha, only to find out after 

they searched long and hard that there were NO eggs in there (after all, the garbage "stinks" too)....

Baskets were found by all...safely awaiting in the back of the car~

 

Regardless the age, I think they ALL had a splendid time....

I for ONE KNOW that the EASTER BUNNY DID!

but SHE always does!!!

Generic VS Name Brand....the winner is?

I am USUALLY a bargain shopper....generic brands are my friend...but over the years I have definitely found some generic products that just aren't worth paying the cheaper price for. For example, in my opinion, Dole pineapple is by far better than any generic. Another BRAND NAME that is a must for me is, "Skippy Peanut Butter. I am a "Skippy" girl all the way. Its NOT that I won't eat generic pineapple or peanut butter, I just prefer the taste of the name brand better. ONE thing that I have found recently that I will NEVER USE or buy again are these "Grime Boss" wet sweeper pads for my "Swiffer" mop. I needed some new "Swiffer clothes" and these were actually significantly cheaper than the name brand ones. Right on the package is says, "Compare to Swiffer"...so I decided to take them up on it and I bought the cheaper brand. I figured that they were just "wet wipes", how could they differ from the name brand ones?!WELL...for starters, the cloth they are made with doesn't stay tucked down in the little grippers on my Swiffer, they are constantly coming undone and falling off. Secondly, they stink. Thirdly, and most importantly, they don't clean as well. I think because the fabric is stiffer and not as wet as the actual Swiffer brand cloths, I had to change the cloth often therefore using MORE than just one to do a job that was only a ONE CLOTH job. I will use this box of clothes until they are gone (which won't take long)...but I won't be purchasing them again, not at any cost....they just aren't worth it!

So there you have it...your very own consumer report :)