There'll be days like this

Those shards used to be a bowl.

And this company ripped me off!

I am currently torn between taking pictures with my little kodak easy share digital camera or my nice Nikon film SLR. The problem is I need my pictures to be digital so that I can photoshop them, post them here, make photobooks, ect. I used to develop my film straight to a CD but that gets expensive and the quality isn't that amazing. Plus, last time my negatives got scratched by some inexperienced employee.

So I was really excited when I found this online company that I could mail by film to and in a few days they would have files for me to download from their website.

I thought I would try them out and sent in a roll of film from Will's birthday. When I got back the pictures I wasn't really happy. I don't know if the film got hot in the mail or they are developed wrong but it looks like Will turned 1 in 1970. Kind of a fun effect, but not something I want accidentally every time!

 Anyways, I thought lesson learned I won't do that again. So today I went to download them from the site so that I could at least have retro 1970 memories, but guess what? I had to have paid extra to get a DVD of the files in order to download them! Basically, I paid to have my file developed ruined and I don't even get the files! Whatever! So I ripped them off the site by right-clicking on the thumbnails so they are super high quality now! I feel like I'm stealing my own pictures.

This makes me want to eat ramen for 3 months so that I can spend our grocery money on a new camera! The sad part is I really do like my film camera, and I like shooting film. But, with all the digital now a days I can't find someone who can develop film right anymore unless I go professional :(

I'll leave you with another blast from the past.

Bittersweet Cookies

Will's still sick as you can tell by his eyes, but this cookie made him feel much better!

So Wednesday I received a new calling to be the Relief Society 2nd counselor. I was so excited! No more activity days (I had 15 girls with 9 coming in), planning and teaching a lesson every week, juggling Will during Sunday school. Well, today it turned a little bittersweet. I forgot in the newness of it on Wednesday how much I had grown to love my Sunday school class. They were working towards a class party this summer. I guess that won't happen now, so I made them cookies to make up for it. (I never bring treats). When I told them it would be my last week because I got a new calling they asked "do you have to?". Then, I got pulled into the Bishop's office to be set apart and never actually got to teach my last lesson.

Standing up in Relief Society on Sunday was weird! I think I am really close to being the youngest there. I have no idea what I'm doing in the presidency but I guess sometimes the Lord has a different plan for us then we have for ourselves. So here's to a new adventure! We do think it's kind of fun that Danny's the 2nd counselor in Elder's Quorm and now I'm 2nd counselor in Relief Society.

Grow Grass Grow!

 Say "hello" to my lil baby

All 3,500 of them!

This is try 2 to get grass in our backyard after we seeded last fall. We planted, no kidding, 3,500 little plugs of grass a little over a foot apart across the whole yard! Yes it took forever!

After, 2 weeks we're still watching them grow. I guess we're learning patience?

Finger Painting

Will has a little bit of a cold and has been feeling under the weather lately. Thus, he needs tons of distraction during the day or he's cranky, cranky! It was too hot for me to want to go on an afternoon walk (I know it's April) so we finger painted instead. It was going alright until Will started licking his fingers... then it went all downhill when he picked up the watercolors and started licking them. We were done really quick after that! (that would be why his mouth is black). His masterpiece now resides on our fridge. Our first refrigerator art!

Thursday Thoughts

 Always eat your Greens!

Never forget to Aspire to Something Higher!

Activity Days!

Today was my first and last activity days with my 8&9 yr. old girls.
We had a lesson on the Atonement and the Sacrament then, made bread to be used for Sacrament on Sunday. It was a lot of fun. I thought I would share my white bread recipe with you. enjoy!


White Bread Recipe

Based off of bread formula from:
The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart

Ingredients:
4 1/4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 large egg (slightly beaten, at room temperature)
1/4 cup butter (at room temperature)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk or whole milk (at room temperature)

1. Mix together f lour, salt, sugar, and yeast.
2. Add egg, butter, buttermilk and mix (If the dough seems stiff add a trickle more buttermilk until the dough is soft.)
4. Sprinkle the counter with f lour. Knead adding more f lour if needed so the dough is soft and tacky, but not sticky. Knead for 6-7 min or until the dough passes the window test.
5. Lightly oil a bowl, put the dough in it, and cover with plastic wrap.
6. Wait 1 to 2 hours. until the dough gets twice as big
7. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide into loaves or rolls. 8. Shape the dough then put into a bread pan. Mist with oil and cover with towel or plastic wrap.
9. Wait for 60 to 90 minutes. until the dough gets twice as big
10. Preheat oven to 350* for bread or 400* for rolls
11. Bake bread for 35-45 minutes and rolls for 15 minutes.
12. Let loaves cool for at least 1 hour before cutting.

Practicing for Easter

I was looking for a distraction  enriching activity for Will so that I could get something done around the house. I came up with practicing for Easter by filling a couple of plastic eggs with some snacks. Will had fun pulling his snacks out of the eggs. Though he still needs to work on getting the tough eggs open by himself.

Adventurous Will

 

Will is getting more and more adventurous every day! This week decided why go around the table when I can just wiggle my way through. The squeeze is so tight that his has to turn his head to get through. Excuse the poor pictures I took th48em .0000056
+*8-++9////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// and now Will is telling his side of things :)

Monkey Bizness

While we were in Denver I was able to catch up with a friend at Monkey Bizness. Amy is actually my High School band director/ yearbook advisor's wife, but we went on all our crazy band trips together and became friends. She's been to my bridal shower, wedding, baby shower, you name it. It was great seeing her and her two adorable kids. I just wish we could have found some more time to catch up. I guess we'll just have to use the internet :) Thanks for coming though Amy I was really excited to see you!

On a Side note Will loved Monkey Biz! He particularly loved the inflatables. 

Aunt Crystal Spotings!

I promise my lil sister was in Denver too, but some how I missed taking a full picture of her. I guess I was too focused on the kids they grow up so fast. So here's the evidence I've collected that Crys did exist.

Thanks for a great trip everybody!

Head'n Home

On the train at DIA headed back home to Austin.

Prehistoric Times

The Mall in Denver has this awesome soft Dinosaur play area in the food court. Will had to go play there with Madi twice while we were visiting them.