Some fun little critters!

So, have you caught the bug to start some fall projects yet? Here's a fun one that turns out so cute! I made them from the salt dough recipe I used for the Easter project earlier this year. Add a little paint, trim and ribbons and you've got some cute vintage inspired pumpkins! Can't you imagine a fun Halloween party with these used as the table markers. Just write each guest's name on the little flag and send it home with them when the party's over! Or keep them for yourself, they're cute lined up on a shelf or in a wreath!

Creativity

I've had a chance to expand my talents lately and it was fun. Our primary children had an end of summer water party, and I was one of the ones in charge of putting it together. We thought of having a photo station where the kids could dress up as little surfers and I happily volunteered my talented mom to paint a backdrop for it! Well, she helped me pick out the fabric, but there was no time to have her paint it....It was all up to me. Yikes!

Well, I jumped in and did it, and I think it turned out ok. Best of all, the kids pictures turned out cute. (Thanks Cindy for taking the photo's at the activity!)

This next project was a birthday present for Sean's Grandma in California. It's a plate rack, or magazine rack, or plate/cookbook rack...you decide!

First Day of School

Ridge and Carly did an awesome job on their first day of school. I was expecting tears from at least one of them (from past experience) but got none! It was refreshing!

They kind of had a madhouse for the first day. Before they go to class, the kids meet outside in lines with their class to say the pledge, etc. They were all squished, but did well considering. I was really nervous for Ridge, but he loves learning. I asked him what he did and he says he learned all day! Good! Oh, and for the record, he made a friend and it's a girl. She sits by him, but he can't remember her name, just that she has blonde hair. No boys to mention yet.

Carly has three kids from church in her class. She loves her teacher and her class already got a "caught-cha award" for being good citizens. Her spelling words start this week. Lotsa work ahead! Ty misses his big brother and sister but he should start preschool next week.

Surprise!

We went on a quick trip to California before school started last week. We were going to surprise Sean's Grandma Shirley, aka "Muma", for her 80th Birthday, but we snuck in a day to Yosemite. Sean's dad lives just outside the park, so we can't go visit him without a trip to see Heavenly Father's handy work! It is amazing! We highly recomend the visit to anyone, but especially during the spring when the snow melt off makes the waters fierce and the waterfalls are falling at full force. It's both humbling and uplifting to know the same Creator made both the beautiful earth all around us and each one of us tiny little special people. What's even more amazing to me, and I love to ponder the very thought whenever I am out in nature, is that Heavenly Father has created such things that my mind cannot even imagine, yet He knows me individually (and you too)! He cares about us. Even as He cares about all of His creations. Doesn't it just make you want to pray and thank Him! (and cry just a little, because we're just little peon's in the eternal scheme of things...but we still count!)

OK, on with the pictures:

Just to put this into perspective, Sean is 6'5'' and I am 5'9''. The picture of us in front of the roots of the fallen tree is the same tree in the picture with Carly standing on my shoulders. Standing two tall, we still don't quite make the diameter of the tree. I know! Crazy huh! You have to go see for yourself. AMAZING!

Getting Ready for School...

I thought I would do a little interview with Ridge before school starts, just to see what he thinks about the whole thing. He's surprisingly calm and confident!

Me: How do you feel about school?
Ridge: Good.
Me: What are you excited about?
Ridge: Lunchtime and playtime...the fun things!
Me: What are you nervous about?
Ridge: I don't know how to make the words.
Me: Are you excited to make new friends?
Ridge: Yeah, but I just don't know what friends I want to make first. But if I see a girl that's pretty, I will ask her.
Me: You'll ask her what?
Ridge: I'll ask her if she wants to be friends. That's all.

End of interview....leaving mom cracking up and just a little bit worried!

Tag...I'm it.

My sister tagged me, so here it goes:

Four Places I've Lived:
1. Idaho Falls, Idaho
2. Lubbock, Texas
3. Chuluota, FL
4. Orlando, FL

Four Favorite Books:
1. The Gable Series by Anita Stansfield
2. Ride the Laughing Wind by Blaine Yorganson (I read this a long time ago, not even sure if this is the correct title or author, it may have been his brother…but I enjoyed it!)
3. I love books with pretty pictures. I like to read a good book, but I devour pictures! I love decorating and landscape books and magazines and picture books of other countries. I love a good blog as well!
4. I am currently reading the Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyers and enjoying it. Oh, and some parenting help books as well.

Four Favorite Movies:
My sister had some favorites for sentimental reasons…and I guess I follow that reasoning as well:
1. While You Were Sleeping (Not my favorite now, but it was for a long time.)
2. I love old movies with Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Gene Kelly, Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn…the list is long. Let’s just say I loved the AMC (American Movie Classics) channel when we had it! (I was just thinking I should add Elvis, Gidget, and the old Beach movies with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funachello to this list! My sisters and cousins probably remember watching these during spring breaks.)
3. Anne of Green Gables
4. The “Bourne” Movies

Four Embarrassing Facts About Me:
(Shish, this is getting personal!)
1. I think just about every one of my boyfriends hit me in the face with a basketball. This makes me sound klutzy, but I’m not. It’s just a weird fact!
2. This isn’t embarrassing, but it’s a cool trick I can do: I can blow bubbles out my eye when I’m under water.
3. I accidentally flashed my grandma once… She took it a lot better than I did!
4. I blush really easily.

Four Dreams of Mine:
1. I used to have a silly dream of being a motivational speaker. Now, I’d just like to be a really calm and positive person/mom.
2. I would like to complete a triathlon.
3. Finish college.
4. To live. Really live. In the moment, every day. A fulfilling life. With meaning. On purpose. Happily -as a conscious choice. With my husband and kids and friends and family.

Four Pet Peeves:
1. Excuses.
2. Being lazy. (Not to be confused with a lazy day or moment)
3. Blaming others.
4. Not cleaning up after one self.
(I’m not saying I’m not guilty of any of these…they bother me about myself as well.)

Four things that make me Really Happy:
1. Happy Family.
2. When people are nice to my kids.
3. Soft served ice cream cones (These seriously work like magic! The best cure for grouchiness and nausea! Thank goodness we’re getting a McDonald’s soon!)
4. Being outside during that “magic hour” just before the sun starts to set and the sky turns everything golden! It's my favorite time of day!

"TAG" four people. They are:
1. Stephanie H.
2. Keriann
3. Emily P.
4. Sean

(No hard feelings if you don’t want to participate in this tag!)

Vampires....

Wierd title...I know.

My sister Katie has been reading the Twilight book series by Stephanie Meyers. I was not interested when she said it involved a vampire. That's not usually my cup of tea! But I have noticed so many of my friends are fans of the books, so there must be something to it...so I borrowed Katie's book...and now I'm hooked. I've read books 1 and 2 and soon #3 and woo hooo, book 4 comes out this week! Yeah!

The movie comes out in December! Diana and I have a date for the midnight showing....any one else want to join in?!

9 Years...and counting!

If you don't like pictures of married people kissing...consider yourself warned!

Sean and I have been married for a total of 9 short years as of today! If I could have imagined how wonderful married life was going to be...I wouldn't have waited two years to marry him! I am truely thankful for such a loving and kind husband. I won't gush but I will say that I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have dibbs on this guy!

Happy Anniversary Sean. I love you.

Just engaged.















Wedding Day.

Playing in the park!

My best friend!

I love you.

My kids have a great Daddy!

I love Sean. I love my dad and I have to confess that I didn't think anyone could ever be such a great daddy. But I was wrong. Sean is so awesome. He is the "calm one" in the family. He comes home happy -no matter how long, hot and messy his day has been. The kids usually get excited and run and hide when they hear the keys in the door. (I love this tradition, even though they usually hide in the same places!) Ty can't keep his excitement in and runs up to give his daddy a good punch in the mid-section. (Luckily, Sean has learned to expect this and will dodge the well placed punches!) The boys, of course, have had enough of us girls and immedietly demand some wrestling time. Sean makes some mean pancakes (which Ridge requests for 3 meals a day lately). He plays with the kids, watches Star Wars and Indiana Jones with them. He plays in the water, takes them camping, and has even painted Carly's fingernails. He has also been helping to coach Ridge's t-ball team. I haven't mentioned that he does all this and still manages to work with the boy scouts and fit in a few other projects of his own.
We are so thankful for a daddy that is so unselfish, kind and loving.
We love you Sean!

Carefree days of summer...

I love summer. I remember loving it as a kid. I could play with my sisters all day long and most of those days were spent outside. We grew up with a trampoline in our back yard and we spent countless hours jumping and living in our own little world. When we were very young, our trampoline had an imaginary dome on it and we lived inside. In our world, we were always under the attack of the mischevious "beastie boys" and luckily the brave and cute "beach boys" always came to our rescue! We jumped with the sprinkler spraying us from underneath and slept out under the stars.

We were amazed at the tricks our dad and uncles could perform on it and as we got stronger and braver, attempted our own amazing stunts. We played hours of "add-on" and "seat-send" and spent many more on a blanket in the sun with our homework or a good book.

We had our own little "secret signal" that we would flash in the house to call each other out to the trampoline. Sometimes we used it so that we wouldn't be followed by the younger ones, and occasionally, we used it to "quietly" sneak out and get out of doing our chores! I'm sure my mom never guessed! We grew up outside with plenty of room and encouragement to grow strong and free and confident.

Naturally, I have wished for the same experiences for my kidos, so I was so pleased to look outside today and see them enjoying the carefree days of summer!