One short day

It is not often a mom gets a day off. Even on vacations there are still fighting children, poopy diapers, and nighttime wake ups.  So when Christian suggested that I take a day and go down to the fall Shakespeare Festival with the "Coco Ladies" I was all in.  After emails we were set and the four of us headed down to see one of my favorite plays- "Stones in His Pocket."

The Coco Ladies, so named by my husband, are a group of four friends who at one time all taught at Riverton High. We got together at least once a quarter at the local Starbucks to unwind for a few hours. Later those meetings became monthly and as most of us left Riverton for various other jobs the time to see each other became more dear.   

This was our first trip though and I have to admit I was nervous the night before. It had been ages since I had talked to another adult for such a long period of time, if I broke out into Blue's Clues songs would they still be my friends? What if I had nothing to say that didn't revolve around Matty's latest words or James' latest defiance at the dinner table? i don't know why I worried, though I think if I had broken out into a rousing chorus of "Mail Time" they might have looked at me funny. 

The trip was fabulous. The 3.5 hour drive seemed quick and conversation abounded. Then there was the trip to The Pastry Pub, a local favorite, where we had to sample the chocolate cake. Then we took a walk down Main Street before the play. Of course the play itself was incredible. It was preformed down at the Festival 7 years ago by my two favorite actors. These two actors returned for this performance.  The Festival several years ago surveyed the audience on what shows they should bring back (they usually only repeat the Shakespeares) and I filled out 10-20 ballots requesting this show. I had to laugh when they announced before that this was the most requested show on that ballot, I feel somewhat responsible for that and all of you who go and see it can thank me later.  Oh and I introduced everyone to the Festival favorite...tarts!

It was just a wonderful day.  A day free from cares and a day spent with dear friends.  

On the way home we stopped in Scipio and found the petting zoo in the gas station parking lot. 

Darlene introduced us to a great restaurant in Provo called Sparks. They had the BEST french fries I have ever tasted and some fun non-alcoholic drinks.Oh and for dessert a brownie float with ice cream and chocolate milk...yum.

While out we planned next year's trip...we might even be adventurous and try going both summer and fall.

It was such a wonderful day I was sad to see it end, but when Amy dropped me off at home I was reminded of a line from one of my favorite series-

 "Gilbert dear, it's been lovely to be Anne of Green Gables again, but it's a hundred times lovelier to come back and be Anne of Ingleside."

Thanks for the wonderful day ladies!

Craft- Back to school and welcome home banners

Back to school, the time of year most kids dread and most moms look forward to with gleeful anticipation. As I child I loved going back to school, I loved pouring over back to school ads and deciding what school supplies I wanted buy, what Trapper Keeper was going to go best with my new folders and pencils.  I would drag my parents to five or six different stores to make sure I got the best deals my babysitting money could buy.   Yeah, I was unlike most kids. 

My kids however cringe whenever I mention how many days are left till the school bell rings. They are even now holing up in the rooms hoping beyond hope that August 27th will never come. 

Recently I was reading the Disney Family Fun magazine and I ran across a craft that was so simple and easy that even I could do, and would solve the kids back to school blues. 

The idea was simple enough. Celebrate summer's end by picking a few activities that we hadn't done yet and pack them into the last few weeks. I just had to make a banner.

Now I like to be crafty, but I am not very good at it. So this was a low key craft for me. 

I made a template first off to have something for my banner.

 And then I got my letters and paper ready

 Look how nice all this looks, really I should be barred from Hobby Lobby, I am just grateful the closest one is about a half hour away.

After the letters were put on I went and got them laminated.  

I had to think about this one for a minute. How do I keep the fun activities on...turns out all those envelopes that I had lying around finally came into good use.

Then I strung and hung the banner. It looked pretty good if I do say so myself.

It worked so well I made a Welcome Home banner too to celebrate the kids arrival from their super long trip.  

This turned out to be one the best crafts  I had ever done and one that I am thinking of repeating for several other holidays.

Oh Christmas Tree

Growing up finding a Christmas tree was the pinnacle of Thanksgiving weekend. I remember driving from one Allied tree lot to another looking for the perfect Christmas tree. This would take a full two days. Rain, snow, or sub-zero temperatures we would trudge out and drive from one end of the valley to another looking for a tree that would fit our needs.

Then came the year that for one reason or another I decided that I would start naming the trees we looked at. You have to give me a break- I was nine or ten and very silly. I named every tree I ran across that year. One of the saddest moments was when my then six-year- old brother decided that he needed to use the restroom thus ruling out Arthur as a family tree choice for the year.

As the years went by we changed our traditions. Instead of one tree we started getting three to put next to each other creating a forest. Then we started going to the forest service and cutting down our own trees. But the naming of the tree has always continued. I have cycled through many names. Names from literature, names of British monarchs, names from kids at school, and one year names from The Magic School Bus.

This year we started a new tradition. I love having a fresh cut tree in the house. Since I put the tree up so early I like having something that will last to the New Year. Christian likes the ease of going to the tree lot. This year we decided we would go to a tree farm.

This is the perfect idea for our family. It just works for us. So without further ado I introduce you to our tree...
He is a wonderful Spruce but he is a tad prickly. When I texted a picture to my dad the first thing he asked was "What's its name?"

Now here's the thing. I hadn't even thought of naming the tree yet. But my husband and kids left me alone with the tree so when they returned it did have a name. So I present to you....

Brem the Christmas tree.