Antelope Island - The Great Salt Lake

 Another Utah adventure checked off the list!!! This past weekend we visited Antelope Island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake.

The whole outing had a pretty rough start. We started going on a little nature walk to a lookout point when Jordan pointed out that we were surrounded by huge spiders and spider webs! They were everywhere, I'm not even exaggerating. Hiking became more of an unlikely option.

We did explore the ranch though. It was definitely my favorite part of the trip. We walked through tool sheds, cellars, sheep barns, and the ranch house. I loved that we were allowed to touch EVERYTHING! One of my ancestors was a foreman of this ranch. We found his name and a picture in one of the exhibits.

Checking out the fireplace in the ranch house. Below is a picture of my ancestor, "William H. Ashby".

My little sister Witlee! You can see Cory and Jordan in the background checking out some old tools.

Jordan and Madison trying out the lasso.

We saw an Antelope as we were driving. Though I think the technical name is a Pronghorn.

Next, we tried a REAL BUFFALO BURGER!!! It was good.... worth $10?? Probably not, it was about the experience though!

Split into thirds for Jordan, Witlee, and me.

 Last, we swam in the Great Salt Lake! It really is true that you float. It was a pretty amazing feeling to just be able to float on your back or even in the sitting position.The water was FULL of salt and as we dried we could see the salt drying to our bodies. We were pleasantly surprised that the water was fairly clean and not at all as nasty as we were expecting it to be.

You could skip rocks really well on the lake. (probably because of the salt content) I even got a couple of skips in.

Madi dipping her toes in the Salty Lake

Chilling on the beach with mommy

No Sew Fabric Bows

I don't want to be the household that people stress to come over too. Meaning: their child is allowed to play with anything out and reachable, they are free to eat their snacks in the living room, change their diapers anywhere, and of course nurse at their convenience. I tend to tell people when they come over with their babies and toddlers that "There are no rules at this house!" 

However, I do take that back... With Madison, I am pretty consistent with one rule: "We always wear a bow!" Unless we are camping, swimming, or sleeping, Madi has worn a bow basically every day since the day she was born. I started early in hopes she wouldn't refuse to wear them when she could pull them out. So far, it has been quite successful.

Madison with her bows throughout these 7 1/2 months!

Before Madison was born, I received a gift of a ton of fabric bows and a few different sizes of headbands that I could clip them on to. I have loved this gift and decided to make a set for a friend who is having a baby girl. We have talked about how she wants this baby to be willing to wear bows and she is going to be better about putting them on consistently. (This is her second little girl).

These bows are so easy! I made eleven of them during one afternoon nap a couple of days ago. They take hardly any fabric and I didn't even have to take out my sewing machine.

Materials:
Fabric (Any cute scraps you have)
Alligator clips
Glue gun
Iron
Scissors

Start with desired fabric. Different sizes make different sizes of bows (obviously). If you want a bow that measures 4"x 2" you want to start with fabric that measure 8"x4".

Fold fabric in half towards horizontal center. Glue. (You don't need a lot)

Fold in half again towards vertical center. Glue.

Next, make the middle wrap. Take about an inch and half wide fabric by about 4 inches. You will trim it in the end. Fold both ends towards center and glue.

Take bow and scrunch the middle together with fingers. Apply glue in between creases.

Wrap and glue middle around bow.

Make sure you can clip the alligator clip in the back.

For the headband, I just use elastic (the softer headband kind), glued the ends together, and then created a loop for the bow to go through.

Yay for bows!!

Camping at Bear Lake

For some reason I love camping. Thinking about it, I actually really dislike heat or being to cold, putting on sunscreen, sleeping on the ground, birds, bats, going to the bathroom in nature, and cleaning up the mess when I get back home. I even have an astronomical fear of mice. Regardless, I almost never say no to a camping trip. Why? ............. hmmmmm, I guess I like doing things out of the ordinary. It all comes down to the adventure.   .... and probably the Smores. :)

Last week we took a trip north to Bear Lake. I always hear about Bear Lake and was excited to see it for myself. We camped out on the beach, went swimming, cooked hotdogs, pancakes, and of course Smores.

The view from our tent

Helping Dad set up the tent

This girl LOVES being outside

My super attractive husband

Soaking up some sun rays. She loved swimming and floating in the tube.

Madison loved the feel of the tiny pebbles. She would constantly try to scoop them up. However, they would end up in her mouth. We had to put a stop to her fun. Needless to say, she was quite annoyed with us.

Enjoying the soft evening waves.

We went with some of Jordan's buddies (and their families) from work.

My crew

Mommy and Madi

America the Great

I love America. It makes me sad to see facebook posts about articles that demean America. The one I glanced at recently had the head line: "No, America Is Not a Great Nation". While the author had some worthwhile things to say, the title was horrible to me. Independence Day is a day to celebrate America and the great things that come with living here. While you may not agree with all things going on, or unhappy with the leaders that run our country, America is still great.

Think of all the GREAT things that come with being an American and living in America.

- We have opportunities to Education, no matter if you like the common core or not. (the Government even seems to help college students out with that)
- We are free to have families and all the children we want
- We have National Parks, and our country seems to take some pride in preserving the beauty of our land
- We can believe what we wish to believe. We can attend worship services of our choosing.
- We can vote for our politicians and leaders.
- Information (though sometimes tainted on biased shows) is available, and if willing to put forth time and research, facts can be found.
-Our Government seems to encourage critical thinking and progression. Science and Research is funded and supported
- Right to bear arms (at the moment, as Jordan would say) 

This is my short list and the top things that come to mind of why I personally love living in America. Over time things may change, but for now, I am lucky to be born and live in such a GREAT nation.

On to happier and more festive patriotic thoughts. After a camping trip to Bear Lake, which I will post about later, we had a relaxing fourth. As cheesy as it is I made matching shirts for Jordan, Madi, and I. They turned out so fun.

I just used the end of pencils to dot around a star stencil

I then used a toothbrush to create some 'neat' splattered paint around the star

I made a little tutu, and BIG bow to go with Madi's outfit

Look at that little smirk and those cheeks. I love them so so much!

We went to the parade for a while, but it got long and boring. Plus Madison fell asleep. Oh and we saw the new Cinderella later that afternoon. It was wonderful. I loved it!

Madison asleep at the parade

She is all ready for fireworks!

Happy 4th of July from us!

4th of July Oreo Pops

I LOVE July, and it is basically here!!! I get to put out my patriotic decorations all month for Independence Day and Pioneer Day. (What is more American than pioneers!?) Plus it is the month of barbecues and cookouts!! Jordan and I live to grill and play outside. We have plans to go camping, and I can't wait to take Madison to the parade. Pretty sure this is my favorite month and time of year.

I saw these cute little patriotic Oreo Pops on Pinterest and they looked like the perfect little project to make, eat, and deliver to the ladies that I Visit Teach. I followed this tutorial. I am not going to make my own tutorial. It would be a waste of pictures and time. The tutorial I followed was perfect and her pictures are cuter then mine. :)

Here are how mine turned out.

Best Visiting Teacher (me) EVER!!!

I just cut a tiny hole in a bag to drizzle the chocolate.

Aren't these SOOOO ADORABLE!!??

P.S. Follow the tutorial. They are really simple and fast and when you look at them they look self-explanatory. However, there are little hints and steps that could ruin the Pops if you don't follow them.

Hill Aerospace Museum

Along with our trip to Welfare Square, we decided to make the most of the day and visit a museum in Clearfield, called the Hill Aerospace Museum.  Every time we drive to Idaho, we see the museum and Jordan expresses his desire to stop someday. We finally did! We loved it! It is a pretty big museum with a ton of planes and displays. And guess what.... It is FREE!

First, however, we stopped for a picnic at a park called, The International Peace Gardens. We are guessing the majority of this park was built for the Olympics. It was kind of cool to walk through. Different areas represented different countries around the world. I wish I had more pictures, but it was so hot and very little shade along the walkways. I did get a few pictures of our lazy little picnic though.

Exploring the International Peace Gardens. (You can see a part of the Chinese Garden in the background)

Madi can get on her knees and rock... but still can't move forwards.

She wishes she could eat this!

So happy to be in the great outdoors.

 Now on to the Museum! I was amazed that Jordan knew most of the fighter planes by number and even their nicknames. He informed me that he used to be OBSESSED as a child. He said he carried around a book about planes like my brother, Fielding, carries around a book on elements.

This is the first half of the museum.

Looking in an old helicopter

The A-10.... aka: "The Warthog" One of his favorite planes!

Most planes have this little "pole" (forgot the actual name) on the front nose. We weren't quite sure what the point of it was. (I guessed it was for 'poking' or 'jousting' in the air.... :) ) However, we were informed it is to measure the speed of the aircraft by measuring how fast air is flowing through it.

Our happy little explorer!