A little like Lelly, I thought I probably didn't have too much Americana in my home because I don't think of my decorating style (or lack thereof) as "country". I was pleasantly surprised to find a few pockets here and there.

A small part of the display above my kitchen cabinets
Includes (from l. to r.)
a pony express spitoon,
a pony express Jim Beam bottle
(we have a relative who was instrumental
in the establishment of the pony express),
a reproduction bottle,
an egg basket,
and a Coca Cola sign (if that isn't Americana, what is?)!

Also, although not uniquely "American",
the spinning wheel I use feels like Americana to me...

... and my antique spinning wheel (circa 1890).

Thanks Lelly for a chance to look around the house with a different perspective!

Teacher Appreciation Party

Friday we hosted our 14th Annual Teacher Appreciation Party! After hearing about Cristin attending one as a teacher (when A. was tiny), we decided that it was something that we wanted to incorporate as a family tradition. Over the years we have done a variety of things - it is always fun to sit down at the beginning of May and begin planning. This year was a little smaller than usual - only two students, rather than three, and Cara only has a 1/2 day schedule.


We served a Sundae Bar - who knew when we planned early in the month that Friday would be the hottest and most humid day of the year so far?! Ice cream was a perfect choice. Craig even made homemade hot fudge, mmm. Next year will be Cara's last year and then it is just Emily - we've gone from small to large and now we are headed back to small. I remember one year when we sent over 40 invitations for just the three girls.

It has always been an amazing experience for me to look at our list and see the names of all of the teachers that have been a part of our girl's lives (school, music, dance, drama, church, etc., etc.) throughout the year. I'm grateful for those who are willing to share their time and talents with our children. Grateful for men and women who at times have been able to reach out when my own reaching has felt inadequate or maybe disregarded - it is a reminder to me that it really does "take a village".

College Stuff

Our mailbox is full almost everyday - thanks to C's college search which seems to be in full swing. So many decisions...

small liberal arts vs. large state institution
in-state tuition vs. out-of-state tuition
majors, majors, majors
close to home vs. far from home
small college towns vs. large urban settings
public vs. private

Things have definitely changed since I was making similar decisions - basically I don't remember that there were very many decisions to be made. I could either get a scholarship which would enable me to move a couple of hours down the road (which I did) or get a scholarship and stay at home and attend a state university. Grad school decisions were made even more easily (it was nearby, could be attended part time and I got in - decision made)! I also don't remember studying for the ACT - we just showed up with a couple of pencils, an eraser and a calculator. Today there are tests, prep classes, coaches, counselors, etc., etc.

What an exciting time!
Would you approach college differently if you could do it all over again?

More Sushi

Had to post a picture of this candy/chocolate sushi that I received as a b'day gift. It looks amazing - we are waiting for Craig to get home from San Francisco before we do any sampling. Funny, it is made in San Jose - we never heard of it when we lived there. If you have any sushi lovers (or chocolate lovers for that matter) in your life you've got to take a look at their website. Amazing!

SPT - on Wednesday

Favorite colors - whenever anyone asks I usually just say blue - I don't really know why though because other then wearing jeans I don't really have much blue in my wardrobe and really none in my home. I think it is just a safe/easy answer. However, as I thought about it I realized that I have surrounded myself with lots of different greens in our home not to mention that our home is surrounded by an amazing variety of greens in the woods behind our house that I treasure. In addition a few recent purchases have me definitely leaning in the green direction. I fell in love with the Tess Designer Yarn in a slightly variegated green (for a sweater) and I absolutely love my new VB bag that I helped to pick out for my b'day. (Thanks again, girls!) So green it is!





Loved seeing that my sis, also chose green for her SPT!

Sushi

Once somebody asked me what we like to do as a family - the first two things I thought of were eating out and traveling. Often we like to eat out while we are traveling! :) We are a family of five very different individuals all with different outlooks, different interests, etc. Our family dinners out and the trips we have taken together keep us close - especially when the rest of our lives have us heading in a million different directions. The picture above is at a sushi place that Cara introduced us to.

Yikes!

I can't believe I haven't blogged since the 15th...
In an effort to play catch-up here are a few pictures.

I received this beautiful cookie bouquet as a Mother's Day gift and enjoyed a wonderful day. I think I only had to use the phrase "All I want for Mother's Day is for everyone to get along" once! In case you are wondering, the cookies are fish - somewhere along the way one of my nicknames has become "mother fish". Believe me when I say that the etymology of the nick name would be far too convoluted to try and explain...



A couple of pictures of the inside of the Zion's house - Craig and I were able to slip away for a few days to oversee the furniture delivery, lots of last minute details and a shopping trip to St. George for incidentals (mostly kitchen stuff and bedding). I am not a shopper and that shopping trip just about did me in. At one point I was standing in an aisle at Wal-Mart and I realized I had been standing there for five minutes debating with myself over buying metal or plastic measuring spoons. I may not shop anywhere for a very long time...