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)

We got a dog yesterday!

Yes, the subject line is telling the truth! We got a dog yesterday through one of the teachers at work. She and her husband found the dog, and no one claimed him, but they couldn't keep him because they travel a lot, so...we took him. Actually I took him, because Ammon is out of town until tomorrow, so he hasn't even seen the dog yet. He is about 1 year old, a yellow lab mix (we aren't really sure what he's mixed with though), and he really loves to be patted and loved, and is so excited to be here in our home. Almost as excited as I am! I took him on a long walk this afternoon around the neighborhood so he could get to know the place and to get a little of his excitement out. He seems to be pretty pooped right now as he is laying by me with his eyes closed as I type on the computer. I'm thinking of possibly naming him Jack, as in Jack-O-Lantern, since we got him so close to Halloween. Any thoughts or input on the name? He is already house trained, and hasn't had any accidents, and I am just trying to make him understand that he isn't supposed to be on the couch, since I've caught him on it a couple of times now. I'm going to try leaving him in the yard during the day tomorrow, since I tried leaving him in the house today, I'll see what he does better at. He did really well in the house, aside from crunching the blinds in our front windows. I think he was trying to look at the window to find out where I'd gone after I left for work. When I came home from work at lunch and saw that, I made sure to pull the blinds up before I left again. He is such a good dog, and he did especially well on the walk. He didn't pull on the leash, and he pretty much ignored all the dogs that barked at us, except for one that looked like if it hadn't been in the fence it would have killed both of us (how can you ignore that?). I'm excited to have him and hope that it will all work out beautifully!

A Picture I Love

I was just looking through some of the pictures we have saved onto our external hard drive, and I found this one of Ammon and I that we took at the Albuquerque Temple while we were in New Mexico for Ammon's work meeting a few months ago. I really love the silhouette against the fountain!

Handbag giveaway

Handbag planet is having a bag giveaway on the 15th. Check out this cool giveaway! It is totally free to sign up and you could win one of 24 bags!

Graduated to brunette

After seeing some of my nieces and nephews this last weekend, I was reminded of how I looked as a toddler, with my blonde hair and wanted to show you all a picture! I love thi spicture of myself because it really shows how blond my hair was, and I'm just a cute little kid! =)

My hair slowly changed over the years and was pretty much all brown by about the fourth grade as in the picture below. It's also interesting that my little sister, Meghan, also started out with very blonde hair and then it eventually changed to brown. Her hair, however, wasn't fully brown until just a few years ago.

All of my other siblings had brown hair to begin with, and have all kept it through the years.

Since I know you are all totally interested in the evolution of my hair, I will mention just one more thing. About a year ago, I was looking in the mirror and found a hair that completely stood out from the rest (no, it wasn't a gray hair, though I have found a few of those and promptly ripped them out). It was pretty much orange! I guess it could have been considered red, but it was really bright! I have noticed since then that I have amazing natural highlights of both red and blonde. So, now you are fully briefed on the in-depth goings-on of my hair color.

Prickly Pear Jelly

Since I've started having to ride the afternoon bus with some of the kids in my class, I have noticed a huge prickly pear cactus in front of one of the banks in town. I also noticed that it is covered in ripe fruit. I went into the bank yesterday to ask if I could pick some of the fruit, and the woman said, "Well, for insurance purposes we can't give permission, but after hours if we don't see you take them, how can we know you were here?" So she pretty much said, "No, wink, wink." At 5:30 Ammon and I went back and picked a few pounds of prickly pears so that I could try my hand at making prickly pear jelly, which is very delicious.

Last night I boiled the fruit so that I could mash them to get the juice out and then I made a batch of Prickly Pear Jelly. It is pretty much a bright pink, fuschia color and tastes wonderful! I am thinking I might sell some, so let me know if you might be interested in it. If there is enough interest, I might post some for sale on my craft site.

Winter is Coming

Fall has officially started and the mornings here are starting to get a bit of that crisp feeling or flavor that tells you that winter is on it's way. It still warms up quite a bit during the day, but each morning when I walk out the door to head to work, I just have to smile to myself when I feel that wonderful morning air! I love this time of year, because not only does the weather start to become extremely wonderful, but it signals the start of all of my favorite holidays. Halloween is just the beginning and, I must admit, is not really one of my favorites. Next comes Thanksgiving and then, my all time favorite, Christmas. I hope that all of you enjoy with wonderful time of year as much as I do! Happy fall!

I played a trombone today!

So, I had my first experience of ever playing a musical instrument (minus the piano) today. I don't think I have ever even tried to blow into any instruments, even though Breanne, Janelle and Meghan always had instruments that I could have tried out. I take a few of the kids to band each day mainly so that they can have a little bit of interaction with the regular ed. kids. One of the higher functioning kids I bring was given the opportunity to actually play an instrument, and since the only ones that were left were trombones, that is what he got. After assembling it he couldn't figure out where to put his hands, and since we weren't supposed to be talking the kid next to him wasn't being very successful on showing him how to hold it. By the time I came over to try to help him, he'd already given up and didn't really want anything to do with it. So, I decided to give it a try. The kids weren't really playing today, since it is beginning band and most of them barely know how to put the instrument together let alone play it, so they really just got to blow into the instruments a few times during the class. I was surprised that I was actually able to make any amount of sound come out of it since I never imagined myself as a trombone kind of girl. It was pretty fun, even if the D that I was supposed to be playing sounded more like a sick elephant. Maybe Trent won't want to play in the future and I'll get to have another chance. Why didn't I ever do band?