Tuesday, May 24, 2011

You're A Peach!

We've been working hard to show our appreciation for Caroline's Kindergarten teacher, the para in her class who is so sweet and our fantastic bus driver! For the para and the driver, this is what we came up with:






In August I bought 2 boxes of Utah peaches (I try to buy locally, but as a Utah girl, this is my once-a-year splurge that I treat myself to. (Along with the Cache Valley cheese curds that some locals here bring back with the fruit from the orchard near Logan, Utah that they have shares in.)


I bottled half the peaches and turned the other half in to peach jam and peach salsa. It turned out fabulous! It is delicious with grilled chicken or pork chops and I usually serve it with a side of cilantro rice on a bed of lettuce or spinach.


For the Thank-You gifts, I created a tag that gives suggestions for using the salsa. I glued it to the top of the lid and just screwed the ring down around the top of it.





I wrapped some cute scrapbook paper around the jar and glued it in place.




Then I made the "You're A Peach" tag, added a metal rivet for stability and tied it to the jar neck.



Voila! Instant thank-you for the peachy-keen ladies in our life! If you're lucky enough to find some juicy peaches this summer for salsa, and are interested in printing labels to go with them, you can find them here!




Saturday, May 14, 2011

An extremely belated Easter post. Or in other words, I'm useless at documenting holidays.




It's always fun when the baby figures out what's going on. I think he ate twice as many jelly beans as ended up in his basket. Oh, well. Breakfast of champions, right?

I didn't take many pictures of our Easter celebrations this year. We had a ball! Saturday morning started us off with the early visit from the Easter Bunny (he likes to visit us on Saturday, because he knows we focus our Sunday on Jesus Christ - the REAL reason we celebrate Easter!) When the bunny comes to our house, he leaves a trail of jelly beans on all furniture surfaces. Clayton described it to his Primary teacher as "the Easter Bunny came to our house and left a big mess!"





The kids wore the cute T-shirts (uh, no pictures) they found in their baskets and loved the books they each got to read, as well as coloring and activity books!




We had a wonderful brunch with the whole Nebraska Butler bunch - including Aunt Sue, Uncle Josh, H & E who were visiting from Washington State! Following was a rousing Easter Egg hunt outside the barn. Again, useless and forgot the camera (Sue and Sarah, if you're reading this, I'd love some pictures!)



Sunday was very sweet and relaxed. Caroline was quick to remember to thank Heavenly Father for the gift of His son's atonement and resurrection when she said the Family Prayer before we left for church. It brought tears to her momma's eyes.




The boys looked darling in matching ties. Caroline's dress (an upcycled find from a rummage sale) turned out perfect. Alas. No photos. Maybe I'll try to recreate some Easter morning shots.




We enjoyed our farm-raised ham for dinner. And a pie buffet later with the whole crew. It was a pretty perfect weekend.

Like Mother, Like Daughter...



I don't think I even attempted creative lettering until I hit Jr. High. Caroline is already practicing her bubble letters! I guess the little notes I write for her lunchbox, labels I make for the treats she's taken to share with her class, and other writing I've done has made an impression

Caroline's Spring Music Concert




She just looked so cute with her long, curled hair and pretty outfit! We were proud of how well she did. It has been so much fun to watch her learn, grow & progress this year. I can't believe she's almost done with Kindergarten!