Baking Bread and Rainbows

I decided to try one of my mom's money saving ideas. Bake my own bread. So, the house smells great, I'm feeling really domestic and who doesn't love fresh bread? Well, we really love fresh bread. I'm finding that we go through it so quick that my two loaves recipe has to be made every other day to keep up. What the? So, our house smells great every other day. :)

A quick moving, but heavy summer storm brought us a double rainbow.

Lastly, I'm not ready to talk about it yet, so don't ask. But, my worst fears have come true. Please keep me and my little family in your prayers.

Oh March...

I know you are always a trickster, but I was hoping for something better today. I heard the weatherman say to expect snow. But, as I laid in my bed this morning I could hear the birds chirping and I had visions of the sun shining. I would not have anything to do with that snow. I had hoped to take my kids out to play on a nice spring day. You, March, had different plans and you were only playing one of your games. You thought you would start this day out with dark gloom. You added a little drizzle that turned into heavy rain. Now, I sit here in my kitchen watching the heavy snowflakes fall outside. Oh March, I long for when you will turn into a warm spring.

Do you like it chilly?

I think there are a select few in my office that feel this way. It may have been in the 80s and even 90s outside, but it's been cold in my office. There are a lot of us, including pregnant me, who are wondering about in jackets and sweaters. Then we take a jot outside and wonder why in the world we are bundled up so warm. I thought the baby was suppose to be an internal heater, but it's no match against this building's air conditioner cranked to the max. I know of at least 3 space heaters that are running nonstop. It's a little backwards, huh? I can understand being comfortably cooled inside when it's toasty outside, but this is a little extreme.

Rain, Rain... I'm glad today was "Another Day"

I know when I was a kid I would always sing "Rain, rain, go away..." with great enthusiasm. But now, I adore rainy, spring days. I love how even though the skies are completely grey the grass, trees and flowers become so vibrant. I'm sure the contrast of the grey with the colors is part of it. I like to imagine that all the plants are soaking in the rain and showing off their colors brightly because of it. These kind of days always remind me of being in Virginia on my mission. I think I truly fell in love with rainy, spring days there. When I was there I could walk from one door to the next, or to another appointment and soak in all the bright colors and the fresh smell. I know it is all incredibly sentimental and Charity is probably hating the mushy stuff, but I love days like this.

Plus, here is the added bonus when I walk in the door...

Aren't they adorable?

Thoughts of the Day

To all readers, before proceeding be warned that this is going to be a random post, with no pictures. It has been a little bit since we last posted so these are my little tidbits for the day. You've been warned, continue at your own risk.

Spencer and Aine have both been real troopers this week. After a long, hard and stressful week at work I was excited to get on with my weekend. But, lo and behold, my throat started to hurt Friday night, just as we were starting to get out and about. I guess that is just what happens after a week of stress, but it definitely is not my favorite way of celebrating a much needed weekend. So, now I've got a cold. It is running it's course and I'm grateful for the patience of my husband and daughter. Spencer has been especially helpful is doing things like taking Aine grocery shopping with him so I could have time to get some much needed rest.

I've also been a bit down because as I've been walking to and from work lately the tulips have been disappearing and the temperature has been getting hotter. I think that spring graced us with her presence only for a few short weeks and then turned it over to summer. I'm not quite ready for summer. The spring flowers have been much too beautiful to give up that soon.

I have consoled myself with the anticipation of a camp out. I got a call from my mom (that rarely happens... love you, Mom). She is planning a family camp out in her backyard. She was afraid that it would be a hassle for us because of Aine, but I couldn't be more excited! There, of course, will be the added convenience of a house close by, just in case the little one can't hash a camp out. Plus, there's the added bonus of a shower! I'm hoping that it will be reminiscent of my younger years, when we used to camp every summer. Plus, I think Catherine needs more camping experiences with the family, since she missed out. :) I can't wait!

Okay, that is enough of my randomness, thanks for your patience. And for those out there who keep tabs on our blog just to see updates of Aine pictures... here's a couple of her right now... sleeping. Also boring. :) But don't you love how she sprawls out. It kind of reminds me of how our old cat used to sleep.

I guess we were doing the green theme today. Oh, I sneezed and woke her up while loading those pictures. It is too quite in our house for her to get used to sleeping with noise unfortunately. So, here's a couple more of her awake. Lucky ducks, you got away with reading a post that wasn't too terribly boring.

Colorful Flowers around Temple Square

We took some great pictures of the flowers around Temple Square on a beautiful day. I hope you enjoy them.

Snow

Beclouded

The sky is low, the clouds are mean,
A travelling flake of snow
Across a barn or through a rut
Debates if it will go. A narrow wind complains all day
How some one treated him;
Nature, like us, is sometimes caught
Without her diadem.

Emily Dickinson

Charity and I were discussing how our blogs can get mundane, so we thought of a little challenge to help one another put more thought into it.

Today's challenge: Write about snow; your feelings about it, likes/dislikes, memories, etc.

Photo is from the KSL website, submitted with the following caption: Church admin building with flag at half mast during today's snow storm. - Photo Submitted by Dan Bierman

Monday's snow storm was incredible. I walked from school to work and I could see blue skies to the west and threatening, black clouds in the north and east. I got to work a little after 10 am and that was the only signs of a coming storm we had. Five minutes later I was looking out the window with my co-workers and discussing how ominous the skies looked. Only a minute later we were in the middle of a white-out. I thank Heavenly Father for holding off the storm long enough for me to get safe inside.

With all the walking I have been doing downtown I have had a lot of opportunities to walk in the fresh fallen snow. There was one morning I remember especially when the fresh fallen snow was coating the trees of City Creek Park. Everything looked so white and pure. It was so peaceful. When I got to work everyone was talking about the trouble they had commuting in the snow and all I had to say was my "commute" was beautiful.