What's a few months...

In the grand scheme of things a few months is just a blink of an eye, but in the blogger world its years. I can't believe how long it's been since I have blogged, but I kinda got took over by life and a little social thing called Instagram. Don't shoot me, but I'm loving it more than Pinterest. I know, crazy right??

Well how do I sum up a bit of whats been going on...pictures. Enjoy!!!

Exploring new territory

(October 9th-10th 2010)

My big Sis was able to come up for the weekend and there was only one thing on the agenda...Enterprise.  All of The Hubby's had to work so it was an all Girls weekend and Papa J was once again the Man of the House! We always have so much fun up there, but it is a lot funner when cousins are around. A lot less "I have nothing to do" comments. Us girls wanted to take the kids on a little adventure so Papa J suggested a hike up in Holt's Canyon. Believe me it was just what the doctor ordered...literally. Explanation later ;)

Miss Maddie and Ethan were inseparable during this little adventure. These two run on the same wave length and have a lot of fun together.

We happened to come upon a carcass of a cow and the Doctor side of Papa J sprung into action.

He went into Vet mode and happily explained the anatomy of the cow to the kids. Some were grossed out, but the majority drank it up! We found it in a dried up river bed so we had fun dreaming up how it ended up there. Possibly floated down from higher elevation was the general consensus.

We also happened to come across this little guy! I am definitely not a fan of spiders and to find a tarantula on the path just about gave me a coronary. The kids were in heaven and amazingly the spider stuck around to let them all have a look.

With all of the grand kids together I took the opportunity to snap a picture. It was a lot of work trying to get them all to hold still and look at the camera at the same time. I definitely look up to all you photographers with your mad skills. How do you do it?!? I took about 15 pictures and this was the best I could get, yikes! But aren't they just the cutest kiddos ever!!!

Afterwards we went back to the Ranch to build a fire and roast Hot Dogs. While we waited for the fire we sat around and enjoyed some apples. There is nothing like the taste of apples in the fall!! At least I remembered my Hot dog sticks this time which was a good thing since we had so many to roast. We needed every stick we could find ;)

 

Papa J had found some giant salt rocks for the kids and they had a lot of fun with them. They couldn't eat a bite until they had thoroughly rubbed the apple with it. How they could eat that much salt is beyond my, but kids will be kids!

HOT!!

So way back in September Boo, Bug, and I hitched a ride with Mama and Papa J to visit my sister and her family in Arizona. They had recently moved there so that her husband could attend dental school. It was a fun little get away and at the time I thought where I lived was super hot! Holy cow Arizona was HOT!!! It was fun to hang out and visit a place I had never been. We drove all over so that I could get a lay of the land and I couldn't believe all the cool stores! And yes I did visit a couple yarn stores ;) I had just purchased my camera and so most of the weekend was spent taking pictures and fiddling with settings. I was in heaven!!

These cute little girls are the "thumb" sucking queens! Of course Isabel prefers two fingers instead of one, but you get the idea! As soon as I looked over and saw them, I coudn't help but snap the picture. Two peas in a pod!! Cole (my nephew) was my little shadow the whole visit. It was fun to spend some time with him, without my big kids there or it probably would have never happened! He is super smart and so helpful...all I have to say is my big Sis has her work cut out for her with that one ;)

Pretty much the entire weekend was spent jumping on the tramp. From the minute the kids were up till bedtime they were out there! It was perfect for me, since I was practicing with my camera. All I had to do was hang out in a lawn chair and snap away!

Sunday we were able to drive down and visit the Temple. It was so beautiful and a perfect way to spend the sabbath!!!

I couldn't believe all of the flowers and especially the fruit trees surrounding it. It was truly an amazing place!! All in all it was a great weekend full of fun and laughter! I can't wait til we can take the whole family for a visit!!

Hot in Arizona

My lovely older sister moved to Arizona a bit ago and last weekend I took a few of the kiddos and went for a visit. Of course, for me, it was not all play seeing as I was going to be surrounded by the best models ever (besides mine of course). And with having a few new cameras to try out I just couldn't pass up the chance.

I was in dire need of some product shots of my Henry Beanie and with 3 boys to chose from it was fantastic! Of course asking them to dress warm under the HOT Arizona sun was a bit much, but we all survived! Thanks "J" for letting me take the time to snap the shots!

And I just had to include little "I" in the shoot. I just love her and with three brothers to contend with it was fun to bring out the girly side!

(This is a new flower clip that will be up for sale soon)

Being Unique

In a business like mine it is hard to be unique.  It seems that every day someone has copied my work, called it their own, and makes a profit. To stand out among all the competition is always a bit daunting, but not impossible.

On our recent family vacation my daughter fell in love with hunting. Hunting seashells that is. Every moment we could find her on the beach collecting little shells. All of them were the exact same kind except one. This one little shell was so beautiful and delicate...in a league all its own. And that got me thinking. Yeah there could be hundreds of items that look like mine, but they won't be from me. For I am unique and everything I make comes directly from me. So there may be copycats, but if you look extra hard you will find the subtle difference that is Treasured by Holly! And to say thank you to all my loyal customers I am offering another Giveaway. So check out my Giveaway page for all the details, Good Luck!

Vacation

It's vacation time and I couldn't be more excited! It will be nice to hang out with family and really enjoy each others company. As soon as I return I have a little surprise so check back for that, lol!