ORANGE you glad to see me?

Last night, I came up the hill to hang out with my brother and his family. I had promised my nephews a sleepover and last night was the night! When I got there, we went to the Apple Valley High vs. Granite High football game. As some of you know, my brother is an assistant principal at Apple Valley, so of course we went ORANGE! I was super excited because I now had a reason to bust out my orange nail polish, orange flip flops, orange shirt, and put an orange flower thing in my hair. Orange is my favorite color, so I love that the colors at Apple are orange and white!
The football and cheer uniforms are orange! And all the administrators and guys on the sidelines wear orange. There's my brother, looking all official, on the right side.Here's my B-E-A-uitful sister-in-law and me at the game...Joey, all bundled up. It was the first the first sweater weather of the season, by the way!David and WissDavid and me
It was a fun night!

Scary, Spooky, Boo!

On Labor Day the family got together for our typical family barbecue. We just hung out and enjoyed each others' company. On Saturday I woke up with a hankering to do something crafy, which never happens to me because I'm not very...well...crafty! So, I visited the craft blog of a friend of a friend and found a super cute craft to make. She did hers in a Spring theme, but I decided to change it up and do a Halloween theme instead. It's really cool because you really can make it fit any occasion or time of year. Her blog is called "Part Time Crafter" and there's a link on the right hand column of my blog, if you're interested.
The project was especially awesome because my sister and my sister-in-law decided to make one too!

Here's my before shot:













Here's the "during" shot:














And here are the finished products:



"Boo" is Wiss', "Scary" is Nancy's, and "Spooky" is mine!




The project was quick, easy, and lots of fun!

Tick Tock

Once upon a time, there was a clock. A beautiful clock. It hung on our living room wall since before I was born. My parents had bought it in Solvang many years ago; my dad says they got it on their honeymoon and my mom says she doesn't remember one way or another (lol). As a child, the clock was hung high up above my reach, but I remember always looking up at it and thinking that it was the most amazing clock there ever was. I loved the bright red color, the cool mushroom outside of the little chalet, and of course, the little boy and girl that told the weather. I loved that clock.

Ok. Now fast forward to present day, semi-grown-up Rachel. My mom and I took a little trip and stopped by Solvang last March and as we perused the shops, we came across a shop that sold the very same clock! Well...close to it. It had the same bright red trim, the little boy and girl, and even the same adorable mushroom! I had to have it, so now I do! It hangs in my bedroom and everytime I see it, it makes me happy. Also, when my nephews come over, I see them go over to my clock and look at it. And what do they notice? The bright red color, the little boy and girl, and, of course, the mushroom! I love it!

So, when I move away...potentially far away from my amazing family (*tears*), I'll be glad to know that I will still carry with me a little tangible piece of home.

This is the clock that started it all and...
















...this is my new clock!