Fox in my kitchen.

I have a fox in my kitchen. A really awesome-fun-to-be-around-fox. He's a chef. And he cooks things. And while you never know what you are going to get, it's always really really good.

Massaman Curry? Yum. Chocolate Torte with Raspberry? Yes please. Rustic European loaf with imported cheese? Love.

Today was cranberry apple bread and homemade turkey soup. Tomorrow will be something completely different.

But here's the problem. He's an artist in the kitchen. And like me, he's hard to pin down. He is sneaky and mysterious and you never know what he will invent. Although, you never worry, because it's always a.maz.ing.

The problem? I can't get him to write a single thing down. Mostly because he is a busy father. But also, because he never makes the same thing twice. And really, that's what it takes to write down your recipes. First time is the playing, and the second time is the recollecting.

So this is where I am putting on a little pressure. We all need a little, right?  I've been wanting to illustrate more food lately, and I've convinced him that I'd illustrate his recipes if he wrote a few down. How does that sound? Pretty wonderful. His mother will love us for it. He's going to love me for it. And every one else who has been privileged to be at his table.

So, 2012...the year of some illustrated recipes? Maybe even prints? Hmmmm.....smells good;)

Hana Part 1.

I'm back! Oh my goodness. Talk about a week of recharging and getting back to my roots. I don't even know where to start! Kenneth and I spent our honeymoon Kauai, my first time taking him to my favorite place on earth. He "got it" right away, and fell in love with the locals, the islands and the island culture after having spent time with my mother and her pigeon-english, her obsession with water and the color green. We've planned on coming back (without kids) all these years, and finally made it! My parents were planning a trip as well, and so we combined our stay.

So, everyone has their "home" place, right?  Home is wherever I am with my husband and children, but there are certain places that take me back to my real authentic self....free of all the hats that I tend to wear. The place where I can just "BE."

Hawaii is that place for me.

But maybe not for the same reasons that people like to travel to Hawaii. The islands are that place for me, because that is where my mother, and her mother and her mother call home. Since the early 30's my mother's side of the family has history on that island. My Father as well, with 3 generations of his father's serving their LDS missions there. There's a story of my Great Grand Father helping princess Lelekulani from tipping in a canoe. There are lots of stories.

And lots of memories. My very first memories are of the color of the ocean looking down from my Great grandmother's apartment. I stood up for the first time on the beach on Oahu and my first car-sick experience was at the age of 1 on the road to Hana. To this day, I still get carsick.

My first experiences and memories of color are from when I was 2 1/2 visiting my family. It's a really special place.

Hana is a remote town 2 hours from anything or any major location on Maui. It's one of the few places that locals have been able to keep "real Hawaii." Probably because it's only accessable by car, on a windy one lane road (well, 2 lane, but it's really the size of one lane!) that only lets you go about 15 miles an hour because (and my mother and grandfather counted once) 397 switchbacks one way.

My Great Grandfather purchased a small plot of land there in the 30's. And I'm so glad he did. Land filled with roaming cattle, horses, and chickens. Rain forest jungle and jetting black cliffs covered in green mossy grasses. Waterfalls by the hundreds. 57 bridges. Hikes you won't find on any map. There is only one real beach, and it happens to be the most amazing beach I've ever been to on any of the islands. There are 2 tiny stores crammed with random imported goods, horrible cell reception and we didn't even seem to notice that the internet would cut out several times a day. And finally, my favorite local people who always remind me how to truly live in the present. It was heaven.

I can't even share all that we did and didn't do on our trip...there is too much! But I do want to say how much I love this place.

We hiked every morning, and swam every afternoon. It felt so amazing to move my body this much. Working as I do, and with 3 kids, I don't get out much any more. I'm usually sitting in the car, on the computer, at my art table or standing in the kitchen or laundry room. And I've been terrible about exercise these past 2 years. Ooooooooh it felt so good. Every morning I'd have a fresh papaya from the tree in the back yard, hike on mostly unmarked trails and explored the back jungles, have fresh fruit and veggies from the road side stands for lunch, and then go swim in the ocean for hours on end. It was such a wake up call to the busy crazy life we've been pulling.

So, I won't bore you with all the details of the trip, but rather shower you with pictures and maybe you can have a moment of paradise just looking.

God really smiled when he made Hana. I think he must have been just giddy. I mean, just look!

And see how cute my parents are? I love that we got to explore and be little kids together....it was so perfect to be with them with out the kids, and actually have uninterrupted time together. Precious.

And the pictures don't even do it justice. I almost cried when I looked at my camera on the last day. It just doesn't touch the smells, the sounds and the feeling of this place. It's honestly sacred ground!

And in Hana, it's a colorful feast. Flowers growing everywhere. I think I'll save an entire post on just color. So much color! I feel like I've been starved and this was just the feast I needed.

But really. I just unplugged. I'm kinda not ready to get back. And I don't think I will all the way. Spending a week using all of my senses all day every day, without the buzz of what can be unecessary business and time wasters, I'm definitely my full self again and don't plan on going back to any old habits that kept me from living in the now.

Which, of course is easier said than done. But this was a for sure jump in the right direction. Mahalo, Hana!

Aloha!

Aloha! Ok. So, I can't tell a lie.

But this week, I've been here.

This has been a dream of mine for 11 years now. Kenneth and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary a year late, but better late than never!

I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to this. The past 2 years have been so incredibly full for our family, and it's so important to recharge! And being in paradise helps with that a lot!

My mother's side of the family goes back to Old Hawaii, with 75 years of history there. My first steps were taken on the islands. My first memories are of the color of the ocean.

I can't wait to tell you all about it.

So, no, I wasn't blogging from here....are you kidding me?

But I can't wait to send you pictures. It's been absolutely perfect to get away and hear nothing but the earth for a while.

Have a lovely weekend!

xo

sarah

Family Portraits.

Last week, my dear friend from college called me up to say she was going to be in town for just the day and that she had one more slot left for a family photo shoot. It was totally last minute, and I tried to make every excuse under the sun not to go...It had been a full weekend, I had had a really hard day, and I knew it would be a scramble to get everyone ready, I would most likely have wild hair, messy kids and who knows if they'd be fed!

But we haven't had family portraits in years...and I always seem to be putting it off! No more.

Tara is amazing. I met Tara the same day I met my husband. We were in the same freshman year at BYU studying musical theater, and became fast friends. When it came time to create our senior projects, I wouldn't have wanted to pair up with anyone but her. I went on to perform for a bit, and teach voice, and she went on to tour and then to New York to get her master's at NYU. She is one of the most driven people I know! But after years of all that, she settled down and started a (booming) photography business a little after I settled down and started my illustration work. Funny how two girls who had eyes set for broadway so long ago, both ended up starting businesses that could support our families at home.  She looks through lenses and captures moments. I draw mine on paper.

So, these are the first pictures we've taken as a family since before Ella was born. And it's about time.

She does such a wonderful job just capturing the moments that count. No fluff. We just played in the meadow in the mountains, and she took pictures. My kind of evening.

Moments. Real moments. No posing. No fake-y stuff. Ask my kids to pose, and you get Charlie Chaplin.Well, that's cute too.

Thank you Tara! There are even more pics on her blog if you want to go see....they are bigger and and so precious!

And PS: (cause I know you will ask me!) Yes, she travels. It's so worth it.  So glad we scrambled in the car and made it happen. We drove home singing the whole way and had a pizza night afterwards. Perfect day.

His Giant Pet

Every year that we've had a garden, we've grown a giant pumpkin. If you've ever grown a giant pumpkin, you know the risks involved. I mean, this is really risky stuff.

How get a pumpkin to be as big as possible has been the subject of many books and websites. And then, of course, there are secrets. Deep dark secrets.

None of which we know actually.

But...basically, you have to cut off all the pumpkins that grow on the vine, except for one. And you water and nurture and care for ONLY that one.

This is serious stuff.

(The joke is, that the summer Kenneth and I backpacked through Europe B.C. (before children), Kenneth grew his first ever giant pumpkin. We were gone for 6 weeks, and we asked my college aged brother to care for the garden, and pick any squash for himself. Well, he thought that the pumpkin was squash for picking. Kenneth had taken 4 months to care for that one pumpkin. But miraculously, a late bloomer appeared that was growing between 2 loose fence beams, and we actually had to alter the fence to let it grow. It of course never had time to get much bigger than any normal pumpkin, but that didn't matter. The pumpkin even had a name. Halloween came, and we took a road trip, in which this pumpkin was buckled in a seat belt and traveled with us. This is how we feel about our giant pumpkins, folks.In our house, it's as serious as growing children. Um....ok, maybe not that serious...but you get the point!)

Last year, Ian's giant pumpkin was rather small. Too shady. This year, it was Addie's turn for bad luck (although she grew a watermelon nearly that weighed nearly as much as she does!)

Ian has been caring for this big guy since April. Seven months has watered, tended to and checked on his pumpkin. If you have been a house guest in the past 7 months, you haven't been able to walk in the door without him grabbing your hand and dragging you to the garden to show off his pumpkin.  It's almost become a pet!

I have no idea how we are even going to get it inside. He's determined to carve it, but right now, we're not even sure if it will fit in the wheel barrel without denting a side.

But I don't think he really cares about that. Can you tell?

Sunshine Girl.

Ok. You have to indulge me today. But this week is Ella's birthday, and I just can't get over how much I am in love with this girl.

She is my sunshine. And even though her favorite words right now are "NO!" and "I NOT!" she is one of those toddlers that is adorable even when having a fit.

She's been a beauty ever since she first came. And I don't just mean her darling face and smiling eyes. But her soul is pure sunshine. I just can't get enough of her!

This week I'm rather sentimental. She's my baby, but is she really 2 years old? I was in a really interesting place two years ago. We were between moves, I was between big illustration projects. I spent several months with post-partum depression...trying to work through a lot of emotions and life plans. But Ella, even when I was pregnant with her, has been my light. Just seeing that smile makes it all melt away. And now that I am in a much better place than I was 2 years ago, I realize even more how much that big person inside that little body is capable of. She's my joy!

The Best Babysitter: Or how my children are not deprived because their mother is a working artist.

So I texted my husband this afternoon with the usual: "Hey Hot Boy. See you soon. PS: Can you take over when you get home from work? Deadlines."

"Sure. No Biggie"

"Oh, and can you do dinner & bedtime? xoxoxo?"

"You got it."

My husband is a school teacher, and is always home before dinner, which is so nice! He leaves at the break of dawn however, and so I'm hardly alive to even mention the usual reminders.

But he is so good about coming home and playing with the kids for an hour while I play catch up in the studio. I work at night when the kids go to bed, and I don't do the late-nighter thing very well (although that's what usually happens.)

So.....

Let me preface this by saying that the past few times I asked him to watch the kids and have him make dinner and do bedtime, this is what happened:

He ended up going to the thrift store and purchasing an original 1970's-ish Clip Clop for the back patio. He started small.

And then it was the tree swing, complete with climbing 50 feet into our backyard locust and sawing down branches while the kids waited for their cue to yell, "TIMBER!!"

Then it was the teeter-totter that was built in the empty space in our deck supports made with a palette, a left over fence board, and some cut up branches from said tree swing.

Most of the time, it's working on a new project in the garden. Which is always a huge hit.

And then last week, it was a zip line from our mostly-dead cherry tree at the top of the hill, to a locust beneath.

Remember: this is all in response to "Can you watch the kids, make dinner and put them to bed?"

And today's babysitting activity?

Oh, you know. Just building a platform for them to zip from. No biggie.

Just some power tools that he always seems to have in his back pocket. I mean, don't you?

Some oh-so-coveted-snacks for the Princess to keep her occupied away from said power tools.

And Voila! A safe place for feet with nothing fancy...but left overs in the garage after building the booth for Quilt Market.

And one.....

....two...

...three...

....Oh, ya....

So there you go. All my worrying that having to work on my "art" while the kids are with Dad somedays is all in vain. They got so excited this afternoon...and when they get excited, they get super cuddly.

But you know, who's taking all these pictures? Me. How am I supposed to get any work done when they get to have all the fun? I still don't know.

Pretty soon our backyard will be Disneyland made from scraps around the yard. Just you watch. Man...if I stopped designing in the afternoons, these kids would have a pretty boring back yard.

Actually, no. Instead, the new tree platform would just have curtains, floor pillows, and be painted turquoise. Hmm......

We got ourselves some chickies...

We've wanted to get chickens since we've moved to our new house, but my husband and I are VERY good (well a lot better than we used to be) about putting off projects until we can do them properly. Ok, so we're not VERY good, but we're getting better. We really wanted to get chickens for the summer, but with Quilt Market just weeks away, and other projects we want to do this summer, we decided to hold off.

Until....

Our Renaissance-man next door neighbor told us he's been wanting to get chickens too, and offered to build the coop himself right between our two fences, and we'd just take turns tending to them. We both have been wanting to have our kids learn a little work, and so we told the neighbors that we'd be selling our extra eggs. We started out with 12 chicks, but once the neighbors found out ,they all wanted fresh eggs too. So now we have 18.

And they are all, as I type this, inside my living room sleeping all snuggled in a ball inside a clear bin. With fresh worms from our garden and a special stick from Ian so they have a toy to play with.

This one is called Lemon. Don't be fooled, he actually likes being held like this, and is quite fond of Ian. He loves being snuggled next to his cheek, and will stay in his hands nice and calm, for minutes. Ian has taken to quite a few of them. He even named his favorite one 'Sweetie'.

My husband and I have been learning how to care for the chickens, and lucky for us, our neighbor is quite the expert too. I hate to see them grow though....aren't they just adorable? We've had them 4 days now, and they've already gotten so much bigger! By the end of the week, they'll be able to fly out of the box we've made for them. But it's still too cold to let them sleep outside, and frankly, my 3 kids are tickled to have 18 chickens sleeping over in the front room right now.

Just look how darling! And honestly? Constant entertainment.

And possibly my favorite photo of the weekend:

Growing babies, and growing birdies. And a growing garden. Heaven.