More Idaho Scrapbook Pages

Canning Meat

Canning beef in Vernon, AZ on January 17th, 2009.

Jack's First Bath

Well, after coming home from Vernon, I decided to give Jack his first bath, since he was pretty dirty. He wasn't exactly excited about it when I first put him in the tub, but he tolerated it pretty well. Then, when I started to rinse him off, I accidentally dropped the tupperware I was using to scoop the water and he freaked out. He tried to escape out of the tub, getting me totally wet in the process. He looked pretty sad all soaking wet, kind of like a drowned rat! It was hilarious! I eventually ended up sitting on the edge of the tub, with my legs straddling him so that I could keep him still while Ammon dumped the water on him. He didn't seem to be too mad at us when it was all said and done!

My beginnings

Since I shared a few pictures of myself, and I was already looking through the pictures in one of my old, scanned in picture files, I thought I would share my parents' senior pictures. Doesn't my mom look so beautiful! Her hair was so long, and permed, of course! Motherhood has kept it short since then!

Let's all just say it together: WOW! I never saw this picture until I was about 20 years old, and I can see why! I'm loving that shirt, and the shell necklace! What style my dad had in high school!

Caitlin Through the Years

I just thought you all might want to get a taste of what kinds of styles and phases I went through during my growing up years. Don't make fun, because I know you have some that are just as bad! I know! I'm so cute at 2 years old!
I think I'm probably 3 here!

Don't say a word, not a single word. Actually the hair isn't too bad in the picture because I actually let my mom curl it under, which I hardly ever let her do!

Love those missing teeth! The freckles were cute!

Wow, my hair sure was long here! It has never been that long since, that's for sure!

Blue eye shadow, enough said!

Prom: don't I look so glamorous!

My Senior picture!

Just for the entertainment!

I know that I've been writing a lot about Jack, but since we don't as yet have any kids, you are just going to have to endure it! Jack has finally started playing with a ball, a blue racquetball to be exact. He doesn't, however, play with it like a regular dog, but more like a cat. He carries it in his mouth, drops it, then bats it around for awhile, then picks it back up and lies down to chew on it. Tonight I decided to see if he would fetch, so I grabbed the ball and threw it down the hallway. He fetches, all right. I'm pretty sure I continued to throw the ball for the pure entertainment aspect of the game of fetch. He would chase it down the hallway, but since we just have linoleum, he couldn't get any traction, so he was slipping and sliding and running into the wall. Oh it was so hilarious! I love fetch!

Trip to Idaho Scrapbook Pages (July 2007)

Here are some of my latest digital scrapbook pages. I just thought I would share the ones I've been working on lately!

Is this normal?

So, I know that our dog Jack is not the most normal of dogs. He has an interesting personality, and certainly fits right in to our small family. When we first got him, if we bounced a ball near him, he would flinch and leave the room, quickly. I'm thinking that this is probably because he received some abuse from his previous owners. How you could hit a dog, I really don't know. Not only was he afraid of the ball, but his list of fears included the broom, the mop, Ammon's guitar, the pressure cooker (when it starts to steam), Ammon's air compressor (though it is really loud, so it's understandable), and he only recently started coming into the garage when we called him. Even when he finally comes into the garage he skulks about as if we are going to suddenly start beating him. It's really sad, and nearly breaks my heart every time! Well, he has slowly started to warm up to the idea of playing with a ball. BUT...he is as unlike any other dog I have met. He will not chase a ball if he is standing next to me and I just throw it for him to chase. He just looks at it and then looks at me as if to say, "Do you really expect me to go that far for a silly ball that you are just going throw again when I bring it back?" He will chase the ball, however, if he is already running, and you throw it past him. When he sees it go by, his killer instincts must kick in and he pounces on it. Today, though, he has been enjoying playing with his new tennis ball that he got for Christmas (thanks Allyssa, he really likes it!). He will grab it and start chewing on it, when it will suddenly bounce across the floor and he will chase after it, batting it with his paws and pouncing on it yet again. Our rugs are heaps of material rather than floor coverings, and more than a few things have been knocked off our small end table.

So, I am just wondering, do most dogs chase balls like this, batting and pouncing, or do they prefer the chase and retrieve method?

Ah, friends!

Over the Christmas holiday, while we were down in the Valley, Ammon and I were able to go hang out with some of my old friends. We went to Randi and Aaron's house, where we were able to talk and catch up with Alicia and Ryan, and Nick, Christine and Callie. Here are some pictures to go with the occasion. The pictures are, as you can see, the wives + Callie, and the husbands.

Hallelujah! It's finally done!

I have been working on my first quilt for 2 1/2 years now, and it is finally done! With the help of my mom I was able to finish the edge over the Christmas holiday while we were down visiting. We set up our two sewing machines and each did two sides simultaneously, it was cool! I cut out the squares for the quilt in the summer of 2006 when we were in Payson for the summer. I sewed them all together to complete the top when we moved back to Flagstaff, and I also basted the top, batting and bottom together. I then handquilted the entire thing while we were back in Payson. I think the handquilting definitely took the longest, since I have never done that before. I just used a hoop so that I could quilt while sitting on the couch watching TV. I am totally in love with this quilt, even more so now than when I first began. This quilt is huge! It more than fits our king sized bed, as it hangs over on all sides! The pattern is Trip Around the World on point. The "on point" part makes the edges zigzagged like you can see in the picture. That was the hardest part about doing the edges! But, hooray it is finally done!

This second picture is of where I signed it with my free-motion quilting foot. If you can't read it, it just says, "Caitlin Wilhelm 2008." And of course the final picture is of me posing with my beautiful quilt!

Christmas 2009

My family has decided that for Christmas this year we are going to do handmade gifts. Sometimes Christmas just becomes about getting, and I think that by handmaking all the gifts, it will really become more about giving. One of my favorite things is seeing someone's face when they open a gift that I have spent so much time making especially for them! So, I am asking you, if you have any good ideas for gifts that can be made by hand, let me know, share a link to some photos, or just feel free to brainstorm with me! Thanks! Happy New Year! May 2009 be a wonderful year.

My husband loves me!

Well, of course I already knew that Ammon loves me, but sometimes he does things that really let me know! Since it is the Christmas season we have been trying to decide what to get each other. My wonderful husband got my gift today, and gave it to me (actually I was with him when we bought it) since he didn't think he would really be able to hide it from me. My amazing husband bought us a Wii, with a couple games, and an extra remote and nunchuck! We are already enjoying it and are excited to have it! I know that material things really don't bring true happiness, but they sure do help us have a lot of fun!

A few more scrapbook pages

This is from our trip to Tombstone, AZ with Ammon's sisters and cousin in May 2007.This is the birthday celebration for my sisters, Janelle and Meghan, and I in May 2007.This is a page about Ammon's work for the Forest Service studying bats.

Memorial Day 2007

I have started to do my scrapbooks digitally, and thought it might be fun to share some of the pages that I have done recently. This page is of the Memorial Day Breakfast in my parent's ward on May 28, 2007.

Merry Christmas 2008

Meet Jack

We got a dog! We got Jack right before Halloween, which is how he got his name (after Jack-O-Lantern). At work, we had been contemplating getting a dog to use for the classroom. One that could come to school and help the kids to calm down when they were upset, and help teach them life skills (such as walking a dog, or grooming it). Another teacher at school asked if we were interested in a dog that she had, a stray that she and her husband had found wandering the neighborhood, and possibly the victim of abuse. Ms. Tague and I went to take a look at the dog that day, and instantly fell in love with him. I decided to give him a trial run at home, which happened to be while Ammon was out camping for a few days for work. He did so well and he was such a good dog that we decided to keep him. When Ammon got home I was glad that they got along so well, because I was a little nervous about how Jack would react to a man, since it seemed that he was more afraid of men than women. We have really come to love this wonderful puppy even in the short time that we've had him! I just thought I would post a few pictures of him on here, so that you could get to know him, too!

Jack is about a year old, though we aren't exactly sure of his birth date. He is a yellow lab, possibly a mix, though we don't know what he's mixed with. As you can see, he almost looks like a pure lab. He is already house broken, and doesn't even chew on things! He is really great on the leash and absolutely loves to go to the dog park! He is really good at school and loves to go with me. He has even learned to just ignore the screaming that happens all too often in a special ed classroom.

Though he is a super great dog, he does have some quirks, and is still getting over the trauma of his past abuse. He is afraid of loud noises, runs from the mop and the broom, is afraid of the pressure cooker, and for some reason doesn't like it when Ammon plays his guitar. We love him dearly and are excited to have him in our lives! Isn't he just so cute and sweet!

What is your favorite family holiday tradition?

I don't remember which year we started doing this tradition in my family growing up, but it was an instant success! We decided to choose a country each year and on Christmas Eve we have a meal of foods native to that country. We also learn about their holiday traditions (usually Christmas traditions, but other holidays if they don't celebrate Christmas) and sometimes watch a video tour checked out from the library. We also have an ornament for the tree to represent that country! Some of the countries we've done are Mexico, China, Denmark, Equador, Taiwan, Australia, Hawaii (not a different country, but very different traditions), and Native American (also not a different country, but one of my favorites). I am probably missing a couple, but it's hard to keep track after so many years of doing this! We are currently trying to come up with a country for this year's celebration, so feel free to leave any ideas, especially if you have an idea of the food we could prepare. We do try to stay away from disgusting sounding things, no matter how popular they are in the country (such as dog, or goat brains). This is definitely my favorite holiday tradition, because it has opened our frame of knowledge to realize that not everyone celebrates the same ways that we do here in the U.S. and it is also really fun to just learn what other people believe!

What do you love most about the holiday season?

I have a lot of reasons why I love the holiday season, but I think being able to get together and be with family tops the list. I truly love my family and know that I can really be myself when I am around them. It's like that commercial that shows the boy doing some robot moves by himself, and then his friends come up and start doing the exact same moves, and then the commercial says, "People who understand you: priceless." That's how I am when I am around my family. They know me, so when I do something crazy (as I am always apt to do) I don't get strange looks. My family helps me to be happy, and they bring a sense of peace into my life that is hard to find with others.

Another thing I love about the holiday season is how much it transforms people, even complete strangers. I notice people talking to each other in the grocery line, people are more generous and kind, and they just tend to smile more.

I also love being able to decorate my house, and put up my Christmas tree (this may surprise you, or it may not, but I put up my tree and decorated it yesterday), and burn candles that smell like cinnamon, or evergreen.

I also love being able to wear my coats and scarves! It's hard to find an excuse to wear those when it is pushing 100 degrees outside, but during the winter, I can wear them all the time!

And, as much as I love Christmas and receiving gifts, I love even more, being able to make special gifts for people! Few things give me more joy than to see someone's face when they open a handmade gift made just for them, and then to have them ask, "Did you really make this?" Oh, the joy!

So, I hope you enjoyed some of my rambling about Christmas, but more importantly, I hope you were able to think about why you love the holidays, or if you don't, why you should.

Holidays At Home

I decided that I wanted to participate in Sew Mama Sew's Holidays at Home blogging activity. What I am going to be doing is using some of the writing prompts that they came up with on the blog to write about some of my favorite traditions, gift ideas, and anything else holiday related. I hope you enjoy reading about them, because I love writing about them!

Heaven in a Jar

I found this recipe on Sew, Mama, Sew in one of their handmade holiday idea blogs. I made it last night, and it truly is heavenly. It is a recipe for Pumkin Butter, which is sort of like apple butter, but even better. I thought I would share the recipe with you.

Pumpkin Butter Recipe
6 cups pumpkin (eaither canned, or fresh from your own baking pumpkin)
4 cups sugar
4 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger

Mix all ingredients together and cook for 20-30 minutes or until thickened. Ladle into pint jars and process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.

(I did add some water while making this, just so the butter would be a little less thick, but make it according to your heart's desire)