DOMESTIC DAY

Today I decided to stay home and do stuff around house.

Chores I tend to put off.

Laundry.

All my kids do they own laundry, but because of this sometimes the laundry room looks like a very undesirable place.

I also decided to make some rolls.  

I like baking, but not when it is hot outside.  We have been spoiled with cooler temperatures these past few days, so I thought I would take advantage of it and heat up our house with our oven :)

I mixed up my bread roll dough.

It has all kinds of great stuff in it, like honey, apple sauce, oats, and freshly ground wheat flour.

I let it rise while I took Scooby on a walk.

When I returned the dough was ready to be made into rolls.

My mom made the best rolls.  I have such good memories of my childhood.  Eating warm rolls, topped with butter and cheese.

House having that fresh baked bread smell.

I want my own kids have the same experience.

P.S.  The secret for fluffy rolls, even when using whole wheat flour is to keep the dough very soft.  Little harder to handle, but the results are worth it.

WONKY WILDFLOWERS

I went to church to practice organ playing, but the building was occupied.

So I returned home and decided to finish one of my quilting projects.

It needed to to be quilted and binded.

The wall hanging is called Wonky Wildflowers.

It had little bit of everything; quilting, piecing, paper piecing, embroidery, applique.

It is fit for Spring.

Glad I got it finished now, and not when the Spring is over.

COMFY AFGHAN

I recently finished this Block of the Month Afghan.

The pattern was called Four Seasons

It was a fun project, because each block had a different pattern to learn.

I used some of my old yarn, I brought from Finland years ago.

100% wool, so it is super warm.

I love when I can use my stash!

LATE SOCCER

Maija had a late soccer game last Saturday.

They played great, and ended up winning 4-3.

It was a cool, breezy night, but sunset was pretty.

Here we are walking to the soccer fields.

BENEFIT CONCERT

Markus was one of several students who got to perform for the Keep Memory Alive convention.  It was held in MGM Grand, and some of the performers included  Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, John Secada, Taylor Hicks, and Queen Latifa. 

Foothill High School Band opened the show and Markus lead all the trumpets to the stage.  He is the first trumpet from the left.

After their performance they left, so they did not get to mingle...but it was still an exciting event.

CHEERING, MARCHING, AND RAIN

It never, ever rains here...except when there is an important outdoor activity planned.

Like this past Saturday.

Henderson Heritage Parade.

Markus and Kai were marching with Foothill HIgh School Marching Band.

I could not get a picture of Kai

But here is Maija with her Cheer Team

It is kind of hard to locate Maija but she is the small one :)

Left from the sign, with purple shoes.

As soon as Foothill was done marching it started to rain (Smalley went before Foothill).  At least the timing was good.

MOVIE NIGHT AT THE SCHOOL

Maija and her friend are getting ready for a movie night at their school.  

The movie tonight will be Frozen. One of the favorites!

READING NOOK

I love reading, so I think every home needs a cozy little reading nook.

Here is ours.  

It is in the basement, by the staircase landing.

I installed some shelves to the wall. 

I stained some 2 x 10's and used some brackets, which I spray painted to give a little more weathered look.

I also painted some reclaimed 2 x 4's, glued some trim to one side to hold books, and installed them to the wall using some small L brackets.

This is what you see when you come down the stairs.

I found this ladder from a garage sale and painted it.

The quilt I made, is called Run-A-Round Sue. Super easy quilt to make out of strip of fabric.

Comfy chair I found from a furniture store clearance area.

Some end tables I made of old tree stumps I found from desert. Somebody had just dumped them.

Comfy ottoman pillows I made few years ago.

A cozy little rug I made years ago for Maija's room.

She is more into blues than pink nowadays,

so the rug ended up here.

How it looks from our main level.

Colors do not match, but my theory is that if nothing matches...then everything kind of does.

RUN-A-ROUND-SUE

Here is one of my latest quilts I put together.

It was an easy and fast quilt.

Made of 2.5" strips of fabric.

I found the ladder from a garage sale one day.  

Bought it with couple of bucks, painted it white...and voila...a great little quilt hanger...and it still functions as ladder as well when we need to change those light bulbs.

NIKO IS OFF TO PALI

Each year the fifth graders have a field trip to Pali, in California.

It lasts three days and two nights.

You could not tell from these pictures that Niko's was excited to go.

I asked why the frown and he pointed out that it was 6 in the morning.

He did have a point there.

Well, I hope he has great time

and comes home with lots of stories to share!

Here is a little movie about Pali

UPDATE:
Each day Pali posts pictures from their daily activities.  Here are some pictures of Niko after arriving to Pali.
I let the pictures tell the story...

BEAUTIFUL MORNING IN THE TEMPLE

Yesterday was a crazy windy day.

But at the temple it is always so calm and peaceful.

When I go there it is like the time stops

no worries...

no places to rush to...

I can truly live in a moment and just enjoy...

Probably one of the most enjoyable service opportunities there is...

..at least to me.

Always a good place to visit.

I feel so blessed to have a temple so close.  

Only a 30 minute drive away.

Growing up in Finland

my parents would have to travel to Switzerland to serve in a temple.

..and that was the first temple I visited when I was 13 years old....

Later a temple was built to Sweden, which made it much closer...

...and now there is one in Helsinki, Finland.

I remember the day when it was announced that there would be a temple build in Finland.

I was so excited.

I started to cry the tears of joy.

...and then I called my parents

it was a middle of night in Finland.

I could not wait to tell them the news

...but they already knew :)

If you want to know more about temples...

You can also read this.