tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53884878873380713612024-03-12T20:04:32.269-07:00Mrs. Olsen, I Presume?If there's some lovin' on the offspring, reminiscing on the childhood, and growin' into some country air...then just presume, it's Mrs. Olsen.Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.comBlogger288125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-2006992020791636852018-03-14T20:12:00.000-07:002018-03-14T20:12:14.738-07:00In Honor of Troy Leishman, my Sister's Husband
Troy joined the Anderson family through marriage nearly 26 years ago. When Monica started dating Troy there was a general inquiry by the younger siblings about who Troy was. Since there seemed to be an army of Leishmans in Rexburg, exactly which Leishman was this Troy? One of the first identifying pieces of information was the front window of the Anderson home on Apache Avenue. A pair of Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-31929097598268865832014-10-05T19:38:00.001-07:002014-10-05T19:38:58.329-07:002014 Farm CampThis poor old blog. I actually really miss it. I'm not sure where to start so I'm just going to upload some pictures and go from there and try to do a little catch up.
Okay, so here was one of our many summer highlights. This was our second annual "Farm Camp". We had cousins visiting from Connecticut, some from Salt Lake, and second cousins from down the street. &Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-42246250114961320852013-09-05T23:21:00.000-07:002013-09-05T23:29:49.990-07:00The 8 Year Old SwimBack in aught-five there was an explosion of babies. Just in August, came my son and 3 girl cousins. Four months later 2 more cousins arrived, yet another girl and finally a boy. With cousins spread here and there, we were able to track down at least one to share a special day with....8 years later.
I remember my baptism day. A couple of months prior, my mom was Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-55952898629014196332013-07-27T20:49:00.001-07:002013-07-27T20:49:40.183-07:00Kidd Family Camp 2013Since 1999 I have been invited to The Mister's extended family camp. Back then, it was aunts and uncles, Grandma n' Grandpa, and cousins. Being the oldest grandchild, The Mister of the House was the first to bring in an "outsider" via marriage.
The tradition for family camp was going strong for a couple decades before I showed up. Grandma and Grandpa and Aunts and Uncles have watched theMrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-80420835827421396672013-07-24T22:51:00.000-07:002013-07-24T23:03:42.885-07:00Summer SnippetThe summer is whizzing by. I don't quite have the heart to tell my kids that school is starting in less than a month. Our cousins that moved to Connecticut last year have been back "home" for much of the summer, so it has been great to play catch up with them.
Dude, look at those ribs.
This girl is now twelve, a big number in Mormon-dom. Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-34084705475210517462013-04-28T09:37:00.002-07:002013-04-28T09:40:33.252-07:00How to Make a Veggie Arrangement (in Pictures)Last Christmas my mom gave me a fun carrot peeler. She learned how to make veggie bouquets at Relief Society, then became veggie connoisseur to me and the granddaughters during our family Christmas party. She gave us a fun tutorial, then slipped in the secret peeler into our Christmas stash.
I think these pictures are quite self-explanatory.
The only tips I could give wouldMrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-27622660801176399662013-03-22T08:44:00.000-07:002013-03-22T08:44:32.423-07:00Winter is Over
This picture is telling. Isn't it pretty? This was taken on one of the very few cold crisp winter days that did not have a valley inversion. Of the roughly 60 days that make up January and February, over 50 had horrible horrible air quality, like pretend you smoke-a-pack-a-day air quality that makes national news.
But this day? This day was striking and beautiful. The twiggy Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-39070659757171833972013-03-15T12:39:00.002-07:002013-03-15T12:39:30.738-07:00Easter Nature Basket Bursting with Life and Easter CountdownI often feel like Easter doesn't get enough attention, so we are hitting it early this year. I was very excited when I saw this Easter Countdown. It is a full 30 days! We started it late and so will finish just after LDS General Conference, which seemed appropriate and a good prep for hearing the Prophets words.
My mother-in-law gave us a mitten tree for Christmas. SinceMrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-66318808447516732112013-03-15T12:12:00.000-07:002013-03-15T12:47:37.110-07:00Home Teachers Still Allowed but No Longer Reserving a RoomOver the past year, I have slowly been trying to make our front room more A) Pretty and B) Useful to our Family. Most homes have them nowadays, the pretty front room that's small but stuffed with couches, always clean and without toys. Around here it's often nicknamed "The Home Teachers Room". It serves its function in that there's a nice place to visit but guests don't have to Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-26022917870522587242013-02-28T23:06:00.002-08:002013-02-28T23:07:17.542-08:00The Winter Lull but Still Eating the Fatted CalfOne of my goals in 2012 was to lessen the garden waste due to end of summer burnout. Are you familiar with this? You have buckets and buckets of corn and you take the time to pick it, haul it, shuck it (*ahem, this taken a few days in years past) and by the time you're ready to process it for the freezer it's starchy and gross.
In July, I spent 2 weeks to find the perfect shade of Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-14878196749886626972013-02-17T19:27:00.001-08:002013-02-17T19:27:35.564-08:00Valentine's Day and Boys BewareThe blah factor of winter always gets an uplift in February. Just as I was contemplating a fun toy or goodie to make for the kids school Valentine's, the kids started coming up and asking: "Mom have you done my Valentine yet?"
It's so fun to make it personal, that I sat right down and started making their Valentine's.
Isaac's obsession with mustaches found a perfect outlet in a Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-90489887689758689712013-01-22T16:28:00.001-08:002013-01-22T16:28:46.908-08:00Quiet Giants and Why Feeling Small is Good for the Soul
Back in the 80's when I was a mutt, my parents loaded everyone up and took us to Oregon and Northern California. It was such a stark contrast to my Idaho and it's own form of beauty. Luscious, deep, and bursting with life, I fell in love first with the city parks in Oregon. I remember everyone having lunch in a park in Medford, Oregon, marveling at a bicyle world that I couldMrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-79590945364781042422013-01-01T12:33:00.000-08:002013-01-01T12:56:30.995-08:002013 Begins with a Good Omen
This morning was a slow start, and I didn't even party last night. I welcomed with some relief, the vigilant cold (flu?) that forced me to stop the frenzied partying, eating, consuming, gifting, and worrying that comes during the Holiday Season. The past two days have found me in bed sucking lozenges, sleeping, and watching Netflix on my phone. Laaaaazy bones.
Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-35226312487293736162012-09-30T11:27:00.001-07:002012-10-01T08:06:37.762-07:00Garden Tour: The Careful Gardener
Today's Garden Tour is a quiet, thoughtful, garden in the back of a comfortable cottage. The tended gardener is always quick to say he's not fit to give advice, but his raspberries look about forty-eight thousand times better than mine, and they speak louder than him.
Having a grandparent endure when you yourself forge into motherhood is a good thing. You get that eternal Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-80775573495852795252012-08-24T23:34:00.002-07:002012-08-24T23:34:59.230-07:00Garden Tour: Norma's Weekend Garden
I'm so excited to give my second garden tour on ye olde blog. Today we will be visiting the garden of a woman who has been drawing house plans on scratch paper since she was about 9. When I see an empty room waiting for a move, and plan for a dining room, sectional, and buffet table, she will wisely tell me I just have room for ONE of those. And why is this woman helping me Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-20931513695552995802012-08-23T22:57:00.001-07:002012-08-23T23:01:44.038-07:00Seventh Heaven at the Piggly WigglyEarlier this month we sent our pigs to the county fair. After 3 years of raising pigs over the summer, we finally figured out:
A) How to get the pigs from the very back of our one-acre lot- through the farm gate, past the garden (which they could destroy in point-five seconds)...and between the yard gate into a waiting trailer.
After much hoo-hawing and general running around, my Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-41742276370766547952012-08-04T22:58:00.000-07:002012-08-04T22:59:09.390-07:00When You Stick With It (In Marriage)Inevitably, every young new mother who flusters her way through church or the store, will run into some sweet Grandma who lovingly states "Oh, appreciate them when they're young...they grow up so fast". I heard this so many times that I thought Ya Ya, come over and nurse a baby all night and then tell me how lovely it is. Not that I didn't enjoy nursing my kid, I was just so tired. &Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-82570110728189442282012-07-22T23:10:00.000-07:002012-07-22T23:17:02.768-07:00Garden Tour: Hoser's Garden on the Edge
A few months back there was an article in the local paper about a young couple that just moved to Cache Valley. The young mom had grown up in a big family with a HUGE garden, and she was getting her new garden set up. The article talked about sharing knowledge and produce with neighbors, and I thought to myself: Man, I want to see her yard.
So I sat down on facebook, tracked her down, Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-61157904990570043282012-06-24T22:15:00.002-07:002012-06-24T22:15:36.892-07:00Blue Looks Good on YouMy girlfriend, and The Mister's numero uno secretary is experiencing some stress with a very very sick little boy (and her only son).
So my question is: Have you bought your shirt yet?
Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-62993706533455525382012-06-19T09:44:00.001-07:002012-06-19T09:44:59.224-07:00Baby Meets Beach Part IIIn a movie only a Grandmother could finish, here lies the Olsen kids in 2012. Tell me with these sights, sounds, you couldn't pretend you were at the beach. Better yet...ALONE at the beach.
If this shore was 58.6 miles from your home, how often would you go?Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-73746064362905833252012-06-18T21:53:00.000-07:002012-06-18T21:54:33.329-07:00My Own Private IdahoOn the very northern shore of the big Bear Lake, lies a beach with the swoosh and whir of the ocean tide. The lake is sooo big, the background mountains so perfectly blended into blue sky, the rolling waves so consistent, I told myself "welcome back to the Pacific".
The Mister and I both love the coast. Not in the bikini way mind you. Oregon Coast = perfection (you get my drift: rocksMrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-3078190544164392252012-05-23T10:14:00.000-07:002012-05-23T10:15:40.849-07:00One Thing To Do With Overgrown FlowerbedsBut watch out, because fruit trees are a delicasse to these goats.
Today I sprayed weeds with a straight vinegar wash (mixed with a touch of dish soap so it clings better).
That means no masks or dangerous chemicals, and hopefully a knock back to the weeds.
Hopefully I'll see some good results in a couple of days.Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-29317984969611115662012-05-23T07:51:00.000-07:002012-05-23T07:52:24.030-07:00Back room sausage factorySaw this yesterday on the farm? What the?Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-31836456772436932802012-05-21T08:04:00.000-07:002012-05-21T08:04:11.043-07:00Perfection ReflectionWhen you crawl out of bed and greet yourself in the bathroom mirror; or get ready to go out and try to look skinnier and prettier than you feel; or catch a glimpse of yourself in the grocery store's window front and wonder who the raggedy-haired scrounge in front of you is...do you smile? Cringe? Avoid yourself?
I find myself watching black and white golly-gee-goodness sitcoms and Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388487887338071361.post-15050050218662720792012-05-16T18:59:00.000-07:002012-05-16T19:03:14.595-07:00Guns N' Mothers
This Mother's Day found me content and very blessed. I couldn't help contrasting from a year before:
Baby coming out of NICU
Whooping cough in my kids schools
Me hiding from the world and Whooping Cough (in Idaho)
Plus a deep underlying stress about paying an intensive care bill without insurance.
This year I have 4 healthy beautiful kids, no hospitals, not even hospital bills! The Mrs. Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16220855664418119065noreply@blogger.com9