This Is Us

Water is wonderful! It brings life to everything. It can also be devastating and destroy things. Here are some fun facts… Adults need to drink about 16 cups of water a day. Drinking more water than your kidneys can handle (about 27 to 34 oz. per hour) could cause hyponatremia, water intoxication. It can cause seizures, brain damage, coma, and even death.  Since 1991 there have been an average of 14 hurricanes per year. They cause an average of $148.4 billion a year in damages. All plants need water. Some more than others but on average they need 1 inch per week. Double that in the summer. Tap water has calcium, magnesium, and potassium. The oceans, seas, and bays make up 96.54% of the earths water. They cover 321,000,000 cubic miles on the earth.  We have a pond in our front yard and are seriously considering making it bigger. Did you know that having a pond is actually beneficial? You can read about the benefits in  This Blog Post .  What do you love about water?

For a long time, I wanted to make bread.  I was so afraid that I would mess up that I never tried.  Silly, I know.  Well, I just decided one day that I would make french bread.  Guess what... It turned out so good.  Nick and the kids love it!  Once I felt comfortable with it, I started making sourdough. It's been over a year now of making sourdough and I have eaten and shared several loafs.  It's so fun to make and yummy to eat. Here is the post I did on  Sourdough 101 . This has post has some basic information on how to start sourdough, the definitions you need to know, the supplies you need, and how to make a starter.  Here is the link to my post for my  Sourdough Bread Recipe .  I am going to see if I can shorten the time on making it, so I'll let you know how that goes. We also use the sourdough to make Sourdough Pizza Recipe . I found the recipe for the french bread that I make from my cousin, and it's on pinterest.  ...

  Today is the first day of spring.  Yay!!!  I am so happy to have spring here.  Now, that doesn't mean we won't be getting anymore snow.  Utah is known for having snow clear until April, sometimes even in May.  But... for the most part we can start planting our garden and getting our seedlings going inside to plant outside after our last frost (which is in April this year!). For our photo challenge today it’s signs of spring. Well, I woke up today to rain. Lots and lots of rain. I am so grateful for the rain. I was just hoping today would be sunny and a little warmer. Although spring usually brings lots of rain. Lol! But, it might be sunny later today! Anyway… Here are the signs of spring around here...

  I know most people cringe when they hear dad jokes, but I find them funny!  Like the jokes they say on the jungle cruise ride at Disneyland and the ones in the movie. lol Here are some dad jokes that I found on the internet. Dad Jokes: "Dear Math, grow up and solve your own problems!" "What did the janitor say when he jumped out of the closet? SUPPLIES!" "I asked my dog what is two minus two? He said Nothing." "I got carded at the liquor store, and my Blockbuster card accidentally fell out. The cashier said never mind." "I don't trust stairs.  They are always up to something." "What do you call it when a snowman throws a tantrum? A meltdown." "What concert costs just 45 cents? 50 cents featuring Nickleback." "What does a bee use to comb it's hair? A Honeycomb." "That car looks nice, but the muffler looks exhausted." "I made a pencil with two erasers. It was pointless." "I...

  For our photo challenge today, since it's St. Patrick's Day we chose Green as the prompt. We have a fun day of having green food, wearing green, and watching a movie.  You can read all about our St. Patrick's Day Parties  HERE . Here is some green from our yard.  It's a nice sunny day today.  It's not warm, but it's not cold or windy either.  The kids have spent most of the afternoon outside.  It's been wonderful!

Good morning. Day 16 of our photo challenge is Morning.  I love seeing sunrises and sunsets.  The glow from the first sun rays of the morning to the colorful sky at night. They bring happiness. I haven't been much of an early bird nor am I much of a night owl.  Mostly I'm a form of tired pigeon. HaHa! (Have you seen that meme?) However, the last year or so I haven't been able to sleep in past 8:00 a.m. So, it looks like I am becoming more of an early bird, which is an answer to my prayers. Are you an early bird or a night owl? Here is today's beautiful morning.

it’s been raining most of the night, so our ground is covered in wet and puddles. There is also a little left-over  snow, piles of leaves, kid’s toys, sleeping grass, dead flowers, but there are a few signs of spring starting to come up. Day 15 for our photo challenge we picked On The Ground. I wish we could post about sand on the ground because we are on vacation to a warm beach, but I can't because we are not.  One of my favorite songs is Dirt by Florida Georgia Line.  Have you ever heard it? If not here is the link to their official video  Dirt, by Florida Georgia Line . It's a good song. Here is our ground today…

Today is pi day. So for day 14 of our photo challenge we chose your favorite pie. My favorite pie is cherry, pumpkin, or triple berry.  Nick loves chocolate pie.  Our children love those too. I have only made a couple of pie from scratch before.  One was a pumpkin pie for my work (when I was working) several years ago.  I made it with a sugar substitute, because we were trying to be healthy, and it was not good.  The ladies in the office liked it, but I did not.  The others have been chocolate pie, which I used a pudding mix and oreo crust. We usually buy the frozen pies in the freezer section of the grocery store, and they are pretty good. JoElla makes the best pumpkin pie I have ever had!!  Costco has the second best. Instead of trying to make a cherry pie, I just bought one. We bought pudding and a crust to make the chocolate pie. Here is the  Chocolate Pie Recipe For dinner we had pizza pie. I was to tired today to make pizza so we just b...

Tomorrow March 12 is national plant a flower day.  Since it's a Sunday, I decided to plant a flower today and make that for my photo challenge. I love flowers.  They lift my spirit, make me happy, and bring joy to my day. Some of my favorite flowers are zinnias, sunflowers, roses, calendula, gladiolus, tulips, daffodils, and cosmos. Did you know that each month has a different birth flower?   Here they are: Birth Month Flowers January - Carnation or Snowdrop February - Violet, Primrose, or Iris March - Daffodil or Jonquill April - Daisy or Sweet Pea May - Lily of the Valley or Hawthorn June - Rose or Honeysuckle July - Larkspur or Water Lily August - Gladiolus or Poppy September - Aster or Morning Glory October - Marigold or Cosmo November - Chrysanthemum or Peony December - Narcissus or Holly They each have a meaning too. January - Love, Admiration, and Devotion February - Love, Faithfulness, Modesty, and Virtue March - Prosperity, Rebirth, and Cheerfulness Apr...

Day 10 is what we are dreaming of. We have big dreams...  We would love to have at least 10 acres with a big farmhouse, a huge garden, and lots and lots of animals and bees.  I would have a little farm shop that we could sell our homemade and fresh food out of.  Oh how wonderful that all would be. What are your dreams?

For today's photo Day 9 it's your favorite view.  We have so many, how can we choose? haha! We love the view in our family room as we are all watching a movie together. We love the view from our deck of our backyard and our children playing in the pool or running around the yard. We love the view when we are in the mountains and at the ocean. We love the view of the Temple when we are attending. There are so many views and places to love and be thankful and grateful for. Where are your favorite views?