Ariana and Jared's Wedding (Weekend in Cali)

Since we've moved to Utah our days in California have been very limited.

This past weekend we were able to go visit for Ariana and Jared's wedding! 

They were married in the L.A. LDS temple.

We got to see so much family and if you can't tell by my lack of pictures we all just wanted to talk.

For once mum had to remind me to take pictures (usually its the other way around.)

Here we are waiting for the newly weds to come out of the temple.

the boy cousins found rocks to play with. This is Thayne and Jose.

Jose taught Thayne how to throw rocks and Thayne showed Jose that rocks are 

actually pretty yummy to suck on.

Shauny climbing a tree. They had so much fun with the landscape. 

What I needed to get a picture of was how good Shaun was to Thayne. He helped keep Thayne in safe areas and made sure he was always in sight. I appreciated it so much!

Here is the beautiful couple! 

Thayne and mum

Grandpa (Thayne's great-grandpa) feeding Thayne an orange. I think

Grandpa couldn't believe how much Thayne could eat.

The wedding cake.

Table decor

The reception room. Can't even tell its in a church cultural hall!! Go Mandy!

Because a lot of their family couldn't go in the temple they exchanged rings at the reception. 

I thought it was a wonderful idea. They just told each other how much they meant to the other 

and gave the ring. It was simple, it was sweet, it was perfect.

Congrats you two! Thanks for letting us share your sweet uniting!

Labor Day

This is not your ordinary Labor Day post.

We are crazy remember? 

My mum, sister, and husband decided to do a sprint triathlon in the morning.

Thayne and I went and supported and took pictures. 

While at the race I met a guy from ebay who bought a sweater from me and

asked if he could come and pick it up.

So I met him there at the race. (I felt confident to do that because I was in a 

very public area.) And he bought an abercrombie "S" I could probably take him down

if all else failed. 

Luckily he seemed like a nice honest guy.

Anyway... so family runs the race does amazing!

Thayne saw the camera and immediately wanted a picture of him taken.

Shortly after this picture I had a guy yelling at me telling me that Thayne was rolling away!

(A nightmare that I have quite often) we weren't on a hill or anything we were actually in a parking lot so I don't think he would have gotten very far but it was enough to make my heart skip a beat.

Adam on the run part of the race!

Mom and Lauren sprinting to the finish line.

Everybody is an Olympian.

Then afterwards we all head back home. 

Adam starts doing some homework then after a while suggests that we play catch.

We get our gloves and ball and head outside and start playing just the two of us...

My dad (who is aprox. 16 at heart and head) wants to jump in. the only problem is he is on the upstairs patio. He finally convinces us to throw the ball up to him clear up there.

Here is a picture of how high up it is. 

So Dad throws the ball to Adam and in my parents backyard there is a little ledge. Like 1ft high.

And Adam wanted to catch the ball so bad he went OFF the ledge into the neighbors yard. which is actually a bit of a drop. Enough that he was very lucky the only damage he got was this...

His toes were a bit bloody and he has a huge bruise on his back. 

Oh and a scraped up leg. 

Luckily Adam knows how to do flips because he said he was head first towards a rock when he thought to tumble. 

Crazy kid he was pretty shaken up.

Did he catch the ball? YES

Did he scare the crap out of me? YES

this is also another nightmare I have that someone will fall off that ledge and go into the neighbors yard.

Reenactment. This is where Adam falls off our ledge and goes into the neighbors yard.

After Adam calms down and realizes the consequences could have been a lot worse we all decide to play a nice game of croquet. 

While playing croquet I realize that I now know where Thayne gets his recklessness from.

His DAD!

Then I realize that from stories from Adam's Dads younger days were also pretty 

reckless. It must be a Hassell thing!

Somehow Russ and Adam survived so I can sleep a little better at night I guess. 

Thats our Labor Day. It got a little scary and luckily no serious injuries occurred.

Learning things from minimalism

Disclamier: I don't profess myself to be a minimalist in anyway

 

I think it is so awesome we can share things so quick via internet, radio, TV, and ect.

A trend right now is minimalism. But really is it a trend?

I wouldn't call those who migrated over to America long, long ago hoarders.

They traveled with just a carry on bag long before we ever did!

We are designed to live on less.

It seems like my generation and the generation before mine just got spoiled by lazyiness.

Why make something when you can just buy it?

And if you can just buy it, why not have 10?!?!?!

 

That seems to be what started the problem.

Now we have a recession (mini great depression?)

People are learning that living with less is not only ok but it feels great.

Bringing us back to our senses.

 

Any true minimalist that came to my basement apartment would probably freak.

"Look at all those jackets! I could fit everything I own into that coat closet!"

Might be something they would say.

Something I've realized for minimalism (I'm talking about extreme)

is that it isn't "kid" friendly.

Teeny Tiny Cars that fit 1 person. 

Houses that are 1sqmeter

Those wont fit a family.

 

Back to our long, long ago ancestors...

Have you ever been inside a replica of a log cabin that was used when people came out west?

Tiny!!! I think my living room and kitchen have twice as much sqft.
Not only that but then the tour guide said, "this house was probably for a family of ten"

Where the heck did they sleep?

Super simple times total family minimalists.

I'm not saying I want to live like that but I think its important to remember what matter most to them.

They were outside probably 90% of the time.

Worked together, Ate together, played together, and slept all in the same room!

And they were happy.

 

I give props to these ancestors I consider true minimalists.

What I take from them is the less the merrier as far as things.

They cooked awesome meals without 5x as much stuff we have.

You can be happy without a bunch of technology and all the latest stuff.

Simplicity is great.

 

Here are a few things I have learned from minimalism:

Minimalist don't get attached to things.

Stuff is just stuff. It seems like they let go of items easier.

I love this idea i don't want to be someone who holds on to something just to hold on to it.

That doesn't mean that I don't have sentimental things I just have less and ones that

mean more. Like I don't have my favorite sea world shirt from when I was a kid.

But I do have pictures of me having fun wearing it.

 

Something else I have been thinking about is my favorite cartoons as a kid.

One thing every cartoon show had in common is that each character wore the SAME outfit every time that character was on.

And it never bothered me. It was part of the characters trademark.

I definitely could not wear the same thing everyday but I do think we have our favorites and we could wear

that at least one a week maybe if our closet is big once every 2 weeks.

What if we could have less shoes?

Maybe less jackets (I am working on it!)

 

Another minimalist idea I want to adapt is IN N' OUT's menu

Its our favorite! Why?

There are like 3 choices.

Hardly any thinking, good quality, and good price!

That is something I think we all could implement more of.

What if my menu was like that?

It would make my life a lot easier!

We didn't narrow it down to 3 things but we did find out our favorites and usually once a week I try a new recipe (just to

spice it up a bit)

And sometimes the new recipe becomes a favorite and replaces something similar.

I have started a "pinterest" cookbook at home where I print out our favorite online recipes. why even buy a

cookbook anymore?

 

 

 

 

This is a room upstairs in my parents domain.

I love it because the decorations are simple yet impactful because there is less.

There is color but not too much. Comfy couches that invite but aren't overbearing.

Everything flows for whatever reason when I think of my minimalism I think of this room.

 

 

Have you adapted any minimalist ideas into your life?

 



How to make your kitchen stuff apartment friendly

I have a small kitchen and a small budget.

But every time we move it feels like I could fill a whole room full of kitchen labeled boxes.

But every move I feel like I get rid of a ton of stuff!

I used to complain about my small kitchen (especially when dining space is small)

but now I'm not only learning to cope, I'm learning to love my small kitchens. 

This is our kitchen we have right now... Super open and at first glance seems pretty spacious. 

Which really it is for a second kitchen in a house. 

How we made it work. Right by the stove was the microwave.

Now we have the kitchen aid. It added a lot more counter space.

Now microwave is right by the table. It uses up counter space that was hard to use anyway.

Now there are a lot of cabinets in this kitchen but only 4 drawers. Compared to our last place that felt like it was all drawers.

Now that you see the space this is what I have and don't have to help make it work.

I bought this restaurant style shelving unit to help with even more storage. 

Its right next to the fridge.

I realize that not every space can fit something like this but get creative. On the top I have gifting stuff. The next one down games, extra heavy food, 72 hours worth of water, more kitchen stuff, camping, ect.  

Storing/cooking/freezing food. These glass snap wares do it all. 

Very multifunctional, very good looking. I can use them for serving

as well and store sauces in the small bowls. 

What I don't have: tupperware, plastic containers. 

They always melt in the microwave and get nasty. 

Pyrex mixing/measuring bowl 

I love this for so many reasons. Its pourable, It has a lid for storing. What isn't there to like?

What I don't have: seperate serving bowls (note this isn't the only mixing bowl I have)

I used to have some very nice big fancy bowls for serving food. If I mixed in them the bowl would 

damage. So I quickly got rid of those and now stick to mixing/serving bowls. 

Dish ware for year round. 

In this picture I'm trying to show you a chip in these dishes. When they chip its really not that bad. 

Which was actually why I bought them. The dishes I had before when they chipped it was so obvious.

These ones almost seem like chips are ok.

They work all year around and are nice enough for everyday and special occasions.

Cute storage.

I love these containers and at $1.00 a piece I couldn't pass it up. These act as decoration and store my sugar.

Also important is this little nook. I use it to store dry beans, pasta, brown and white rice. And Fruit!

Also important to apartment kitchens is child safety. I like these clamps because you don't instal anything and can move around with us.

This is the pantry. You can have a ton of food and live in an apartment. You just need less kitchen tools.

More of a list of dos and don'ts

Do have: cast iron pan

Don't have: Tons of cheap pans 

Do have: A blender

Don't have: bullet, and all those other things they say you need to chop and grind

Do have: enough mugs for a week (I like my hot chocolate)

Don't have: A mug for every plate I own (yuck)

Do have: manual can opener

Don't have: electric (just takes up space and constantly breaks)

Do have: Crock Pot, Rice Cooker

Don't have: unnecessary appliances (think about what you cook the most)

I hope this is helpful. I feel like you get a lot of kitchen stuff when you go to college and get married. 

If you are thinking about downsizing its great. Much easier to find things 

and keep track of everything. More important though is multifunctional. 

Small spaces need multifunctional.

Using Organic Deodorant

Just so you know I'm know as the hippie in the family.

I'm always being teased that I'm "going green". I feel like being "green" has become a political statement.

So I just say I like taking care of God's earth.

I've also noticed though in "going green" I've saved a lot of green.

One of the ways I've done this is by buying natural deodorant.

I actually tried to make my own.

Well, let me back up and tell you why I am so picky with my deodorant anyway.

I have tried so many deodorants and each one seems to:

1. Make my sweating worse

2. Because of reason one I seem to stink worse

3. Stain ALL my tops!!!!!!

Because of these reasons I had to find a deodorant that didn't do any of those things.

So the hunt was on. I found out that anti-perspirants were out for sure for me.

(look up health risks and how you need to sweat! Not completely block it out!)

But the only true deodorants without anti-perspirants were men ones

 and for whatever reason Adam didn't like me smelling like a man. Ha ha

So I turned to the internet to see if I could make my own more feminine version.

I did! And it worked good for the first 2 reasons why I wanted a new deodorant.

BUT it still stained! UGH!

FINALLY I found Tom's

aluminum-free

baking soda free (I think that's the biggest problems with the stains for me)

Environmentally friendly

Cost?

I think I got it at about $4.00 on sale. Ouch right?

I know what you are thinking you can get other stuff A LOT cheaper... but for a few dollars more

you can spare all your clothes.

Never thought of that now did you?

I have gotten rid of a ton of shirts because of stains. Its embarrassing!

Thank you Tom's for a great product that helps me feel confident and saves me money on clothes!

I've also heard a lot of good things about Kiss My Face products (they are a bit more expensive)

What kind of deodorant do you love?

Dad's 50th Birthday Surprise Party

My Dad just turned the big 50 this past week!

I don't know about your family but nothing says I'm 50 better than boating right?

Here is Dad wake boarding away!

Adam and I on the tube. I think Mom was trying to kill us. 

My back and arms hurt for days!

Although boating was super fun it just wasn't big enough for a 50th bash...

Surprise Part...

I volunteered myself as honorary person in charge of the surprise party.

I didn't realize how hard it is to pull off a surprise. 

Luckily my mom and dad have amazing friends who helped so much! 

The Clingers even offered to have the party at their house (which was a HUGE blessing!)

After a bit of planning, some stress, and a phone call we somehow got dad over to their house without 

having a clue what was going on.

Here we are...

Yes, that is a depends diaper cake in the middle of the table!

The fabric banner mom and I made. Turned out amazing!

We are not even allowed to say sucks at our house so I thought only in this context is this ok.

Lauren made this for Dad. It is too true! She did an amazing job!

Group photo! Happy birthday Dad I hope you wont ever forget your 50th!

Haircuts

Am I allowed to blog more than once a day?

Well I am!

Thayne is finally down for a nap and he slept in this morning so I got my chores done early!

This is my favorite.

Adam told me Thayne's hair was just too long. Next thing I know Adam is setting up shop.

He cut Thayne's hair all on his own!

This is Thayne's 5 or 6th hair cut at 13 months!

This is one way we save money. I have been cutting Adam's hair since we have been married and now

we cut Thayne's hair. This saves so much!!!

Pretty soon when I need a hair cut... well I am even going to try to cut my own.

Just to give you an idea of how much cutting your mans hair can save...

The cheapest hair cut I have been able to get adam at is $15.00 (total tip, tax, cut everything)

He likes his hair cut about every month BUT when he was paying for it he would let it grow out pretty bad.

About every 3 months. that would be 4 times a year.

4x15=

$60

Now add our now fast growing hair Thayne (I think kid cuts are cheaper.) Shall we go with $8.00?

$60+ 4x8=

$92.00

Yikes! We got our clippers for $13.00 less than one visit to the barber for Adam.

We have been using over 3 years saving us $180.00 (thats just Adam).

I have had a few friends that have been chicken to cut their husbands hair but after trying out our clippers

have been convinced otherwise. Its super easy.

Do you cut your spouses/kids hair?

What about your own?!?!?