A Memorable Memorial Day

The waterleaf is out in Maple Canyon. . .
. . . as are the Forget-Me-Not's (or Stickseed, to be more precise and persnickety) and caterpillars.

We had a fun day hiking up to the arch taking pictures along the way. Neil was a good sport - I tell him "You will thank me someday - I think."

The mosquitoes are here. Time for West Nile virus vaccinations. Anna and Neil took turns (notice the syringe in her hand)

Horsey kisses for Big Kyle.

A tramp romp with Twins and Neil and Fale.

A man and his dog

Kyle, Mark and Fale

Another rest in front of the arch.

Elder Neil Olsen

Neil speaks in sacrament meeting Sunday May 31, 2009 at 9:00 at the Manti Tabernacle. We will be serving a Cafe Rio lunch at 12:00 noon for family and friends. Come on over to our house!

The Grand Canyon was Grand

A couple of weeks ago we took a family trip south; one last big thing together before Neil leaves for Brazil. Papa and Liisa and Kristen came too. Here's a sample of things we saw and did. The Mountain Meadows Memorial. It is so peaceful and beautiful there, now. The cleanest "out house" ever too.

We hiked in Bryce Canyon,

Ooooo'd and Ahhhh'd at the Grand Canyon,

rested on a hike,

laughed it up and camped with Papa and Liisa,

looked some more,

swam and posed a little,

grinned for the camera,

and marveled "How Great Thou Art".

A Pre-missionary shoot

If ya wanna see more of these handsome fellows go to my photo blog (photosbylauri.blogspot.com)

Cakes to Behold

These are images of cakes I've loved creating but not posted before. Now, for convenience, they're all in one place.
One bride was married on her birthday. This is her birthday cake - a gift from Him.

A Nativity centerpiece cake.

A practice sampler.

A grooms' cake. Each little wedge-shaped box is filled with the couples' favorite candies.

Cheep Entertainment

Kyle and Mark began a summer venture with a 6:30 am phone call from the post office. There was no time for primping, there were baby chicks to be gotten. Several weeks ago, they had looked at the McMurray Catalogue and chose some chickens they would like to have. Now they are here! The post man made it extra fun talking to the twins about their plans for the little peepers, and teasing that maybe he would like to keep them himself. This man knows kid physcology. The thought of someone else taking care of the precious contents instantly instilled a deep maturnal committment and affection for their tiny wards. They could hardly wait to get them home to see them, hold them, feed them, name them . . . have them lay eggs . . . sell the eggs . . . buy lots of cool things . . . The dream was alive!

The mysterious, peeping, scratching box:

The blur of jostling, downy babies.

Twins, meet chicks. Chicks, meet your Mommies.

Cheep entertainment for Neil too.

I love a horse; the smell of its hide, its big soft eyes, velvety nose, pink, round tongue.

Have you ever thought what paisley and horsey noses have in common? Look at Polly's nostril - paisley all the way! This picture has it all, even a chap fringe and temple in the background.

Emily came over for a ride with Neil. Clarification: She rode ON Little Joe WITH Neil.

Neil is spending his remaining pre-mission days doing things with cousins and friends and us. These are happy, golden days.

Pink Crystal Cake

This one is for a beautiful bride and her handsome groom whose idea it was to have PINK crystals! Yep, some grooms really do care. "Sharee "

Vacuum Sealing - COOL

Now I'm not one to have many small appliances (I like clear counter tops), but I am happy to own this little vacuum sealer, and it has its own handy place in a handy cupboard and this is why: Many pantry items that I couldn't seem to use up before they started deteriorating or getting weevil now get vacuum sealed and I no longer worry about wasting. Things like: nuts, oatmeal, brown or white rice, granola, chinese noodles, chocolate chips, candies, corn meal, homemade and store bought mixes (i.e. pancake), seeds, brown sugar, etc. This is great for long and short term storage. It is $49 at Wal-Mart and comes with an accessory hose. The jar sealer accessory is purchased separately and has a regular or wide mouth size. I got mine from foodsaver.com. Click on the accessory tab and follow the pictures, $10. You can use wide or regular canning lids, and you can use them over and over. Just make sure they are clean and not bent. You must use glass jars but they need not be mason. If you are short of jars like I was, try putting out the word to family and neighbors who may want to clear out old bottles. Lots of people have dozens of unwanted jars and don't can anymore. I offered to pay .25 a jar. One nice lady was glad to give me a couple of boxes if I wanted to take care of the 30 year old contents! We composed it and the jars cleaned up nicely.

The wide mouth jar sealer accessory.

After filling your jar, place a clean, dry lid on the rim and press the accessory firmly over the jar. Follow the instructions from your seal-a-meal appliance and the whole process takes a short minute.

Mark is not a neccesary part of the sealing process, but his newly lost tooth provided a distraction while I was taking pictures. He was anxious to show how his tongue liked to squeeze through the new gap.

It's doing it's thing!

After the lights blink off, press the Open/Cancel button. A soft hissing sound, and you're ready to take the sealer off the jar and . . .

Wa-la! Your oatmeals' freshness is sealed for . . . a long time! Dark and cool will extend its life even longer. Of course you can take off the lid any time, use what you want and reseal it again and again. COOL!

Note: If you're sealing something powdery you need to put it in a plastic bag like a zip-loc, squeeze out the air, then put it in the jar. Otherwise, the powder may gum up your machine. You can seal storebought things too, like individually packaged granola bars. You need to cut into each wrapping, put it in jar and vacuum seal. No oxygen - no spoilage!