Bows & Bugs

My sweet little Valentines

2012-02-15T22:13:00.001-07:00

Well we have had a VERY busy week with Valentine's day parties, lots of sugar, heart shaped meatloaf and biscuits! My wonderful hubby got me an Iphone which I LOVE! The best gift ever though is my little family itself!

Sending kisses to Daddy!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tiana recently outgrew her khaki pants, just as I was thinking that I need to go buy some, I remembered that I had this fabric in my stash! I had it given to me a couple years ago so I whipped up a pair of ruffle pants. I made them plenty long so that they will fit next winter too. Once again it is the Portabellopixie Ruffle pants pattern that Tiana loves!

This time though I added these cute pockets! I love them and think that they will become a regular part of this pattern!!

What a cutie!

This is my first knitting project as a gift!! I have a scarf that is similar that I love. It is a short scarf that as a pocket on the back. (see photo below) I love it because it is warm without feeling strangling! It is a really soft yarn... and I think that the recipient likes it which is the best part!

Love this flower! Took me a bit to figure out how to do it but once I got a little help in reading the pattern... it was easy!

The back side of the scarf tucks through the pocket on the back!

New Meadows

2012-02-12T22:23:00.001-07:00

I have been wanting to do the masking tape road idea that was on Pinterest a lot... I finally remembered last week to buy masking tape! We tried it out and it entertained the kids all week long. I even vacuumed right over it!

Last weekend we went up to New Meadows with Tom and Shanna. We went to the Ice Carnival in McCall and relaxed while the kids had tons of fun together.

Nana made Camden pj's and had just enough fabric left to make a pair for Remington too!! The boys were SO excited with their matching pj's. This fabric was from my grandma from when my brothers were little!!

Waking up with cartoons!

They wanted a picture with the robot fire hydrant!

Cute cousins!

Superman muscles!

Tiana wanted a muscle photo too... but not in front of superman... that was scary!

Getting eaten by the dino!

In an ice cave!

Sweet little Winston!!

All the kids loved to entertain Winston! Camden was giving him toys when Winston threw them off the jumper.

Playing peek-a-boo to make him laugh!

Awwwww!

Going to throw a snowball at Mommy!!

Getting ready to go sledding!

Showing me their "excited" faces as Daddy gave them one last shove!!

Oh no....

CRASH!! Camden was not very impressed!

Teaching Keaton a game that Daddy and Uncle Tom made up when they were little boys!

From the sewing machine:

2012-02-12T14:30:00.003-07:00

I got this LilyGiggle pattern a while ago and wanted to try it out. I thought it would make cute leggings to go with this dress. I am sad to say that I am not happy with how these turned out. They are cute for lounge pants but they are HUGE for leggings. I went off the measurements on the pattern which of course was for someone 3 inches shorter than she is. I added the length to the pattern and they ended up being at LEAST 6 inches too long... so I cut off a bunch of length!!! You can tell how baggy they are, the top is rolled down twice!! While they will fit her forEVER, I like instant gratification! They did look cute with this new little vest but she won't be wearing them with dresses or skirts. I know I need to make this again in a smaller size but right now I am in no mood to try it again!

This dress is a little big right now but I want it to fit all next winter. I used the Oliver+S Class Picnic pattern. I was very excited with how this turned out since the pattern is made for a woven fabric and I did it out of KNIT!! I lengthened the sleeves and made it into a dress. I was hoping that I will eventually like it with the above leggings... it will depend on if it fits long enough for her to grow into the pants! Until then I LOVE it with the striped leggings!

They keep us Laughing

2012-02-11T20:19:00.000-07:00

Daddy: Camden, Are you getting fixed by the doctor?

Camden: Yes, I am dead!

Tiana fell off the bunk bed today....

Camden: Tiana, can not fly! I tell Tiana to be a butterfly but she no can fly!

No serious injuries occurred, except for her pride!

Sawdust is Tiana's "pixie dust".

Bath Time

2012-02-07T23:20:00.001-07:00

It is not very often that we take a bath while it is still light outside! I took advantage of the opportunity and got some photos to update our bathroom pictures!

Cousin Time

2012-02-07T22:32:00.002-07:00

I am a bit behind on blogging but here are some cousin photos from a couple weeks ago!!

Cora and Tiana, best buds.

Remington and Camden are quite the pair of goons.

We started getting them ready for a bath and they started playing again....

... without pants of course!

They had lots of fun together of course!!

All the grandkids together for Grandma's birthday!! I know I am a bit biased but seriously... this is one cute group of kiddos!

Daddy and his princess!

A sign that times are changing:

2012-02-01T09:41:00.002-07:00

For years kisses have been a cure-all in this house... until today that is! Camden fell and hurt himself this morning, when I asked him if I could give him kisses to make it better, he replied:

(sigh) "No Mom, that would be GROSS!"

It has been years, but I can now say that there are no more babies in this house.

Conversation with the Kiddos

2012-01-31T20:03:00.003-07:00

Conversation with the kids:

Keaton: Did you know that the moon is made out of CHEESE!?

Me: Did Daddy tell you that?

Keaton: No, I am just smart! I know these things!

This prompts Camden to look up at the moon....

Camden: (GASP) The moon is BROKEN!!!

This prompts quite the conversation about what could have happened to the moon.

Daddy said that someone took a bite out of it.

Tiana's idea was that a huge fire ball hit it and broke it in half.

We mentioned that the Sun was made of fire.

Keaton: Now that is just ridiculous!!

Quality time with my Sewing Machine

2012-01-29T22:15:00.002-07:00

I have always enjoyed working with knit but haven't done much for my boys. I have been on the lookout for some cute boy knits though and have found a few! This one I used to make a shirt for Camden using the LBB Hoodie Pattern. I love how easy the pattern was and it went together so well! By the way, if you are ever needing an inspiring story just read a bit of her blog... she is going through so much and maintains such a positive outlook.... seriously inspiring! The Cancer Chronicles on the left hand side will pull up all of her posts about her journey these past few months.

Anyways, I used orange and cream t-shirts out of our "rescued from goodwill" pile for the hood and the pocket.

My knitting has been going great. The first washcloth on the left had a few problems and is far from perfect but hey... it is just a rag after all! The next two look great and I love them. I am over halfway through my forth and learning a new technique. I love knitting for being able to pick it up for a few minutes here and there.

Love these two!

This isn't any new sewing but I wanted to get a photo of her in her ruffle pants with better lighting. This is one of my favorite outfits on her!

New shirt! I used the Oliver+S Class picnic blouse pattern. It is a quick sew and is very cute on. I can't say enough about Oliver+S patterns. The construction is amazing... hands down the best patterns out there! I really should admit though that this should have been a lot faster... I sewed for 15 minutes one morning and UN-sewed for an HOUR!!! Note to self: read the directions... even if you feel confident with the construction. Oh well got that all done, she wore it to Wednesday night meeting and got home... I was hanging it up and I noticed two holes in it!!!! SERIOUSLY!!!! She was laying with Izzy on her mat and Izzy's teeth must have caught on the back! SO... I spent another hour making flowers out of some knit that matched perfectly. Luckily the front and back of the shirt don't have a huge difference so I was able to turn it around and salvage her brand new shirt that I just spent WAY too much time on! Needless to say, I have used this pattern again since and whipped out a shirt (in knit no less) in an hour. Fabric, by the way, is Amy Butler scraps that I had leftover from a bag I made a while ago!

Chicken Strips Milano

2012-01-19T20:45:00.002-07:00

Another recipe that was a hit with the kids and us!

Chicken Strips Milano
sinple&delicious Dec-Jan 2012

12 oz. linguine (or pasta)

1 Tbsp minced garlic

4 1/2 tsp olive oil plus 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided

3/4 tsp dried parsley flakes

3/4 tsp pepper, divided

1/4 cup flour

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. salt 2 eggs

1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts, cut into strips

Cook Noodles. Meanwhile saute garlic in 4/12 tsp oil for 1 min or until tender. Stir in parsley and 1/2 tsp pepper. Remove to a small bowl and set aside

Combine flour, basil, salt and remaining pepper in a shallow bowl. Whisk eggs in another bowl. Dredge chicken strips in floer mixture then dip in eggs.

Cook chicken in remaining oil over medium0high heat in same skillet for 8-10 minutes or until no longer pink.

Drain noodles; place on a serving platter. Pour garlic mixture over and toss to coat; top with chicken.

FINALLY some snow!

2012-01-18T17:10:00.001-07:00

We have had a week of lazy days with sick kids! Keaton actually got a cold for the first time in a VERY long time! He spent quite a few mornings cuddled up with Izzy in the sunshine.

Camden has been really cranky lately (today he got the cold that the other kids had which explains that). He wanted to cuddle in the morning and I had to finish getting breakfast ready so he cuddled with Keaton!

Today we finally got some snow to play in!! The kids were so excited!

It is so nice that Tiana is old enough to not get upset with a snowball fight but try to get even!

A wet but happy puppy. She ran around all day in the snow, not even taking a break to eat!

And my favorite photo from the day:

Tiana was looking at the tiny piece of snow hanging from her hat!! It was making her go cross eyed!

Camden-isms

2012-01-11T18:17:00.000-07:00

We hear "follow me" when he doesn't want you to just listen but to show you something.

He always asks, "Why because?" I think we use "because" as an answer too much to all his "why" questions! Yes we are getting "but why" and "its not fair" from our TWO year old!!
He is always saying "Guess what" and "that was close!"
He tells us 20 times a day "Watch this game" and then proceeds in doing something funny.
If one of his siblings makes him mad you will hear "You not my friend!". (Yes we are working on that one!)

Sandwiches are "Samich"

He "wubs" us.

He will tell anyone who will listen about his birthday that is in a long time and that he is 2, Keaton is 5, Tiana is 3. He also adds that on his next birthday he will be 3!

He is always reminding us that "I's a big boy" UNLESS he doesn't want to do something and then it is "I's NOT a big boy".

He is now wanting to go potty all by himself... without any help to make sure that he actually gets everything IN the potty!!! He is BARELY tall enough to do this... makes life interesting!

When he is wrong about something he just adds "Just kidding" as a response... just to make sure we knew that he knew what he was talking about.

He gets himself dressed now with no problems... we just have to lay out his clothes.

He will dip ANYTHING in Catsup or Ranch.
He loves anything spicy.... in fact a favorite is "spicy Catsup" aka salsa!

He is tracing letters now on his Leapster Explorer!!

Favorite color is Green.
He talks very clearly but he also talks VERY fast and ALL THE TIME! He makes up his own songs and talks to everybody and nobody! He also is VERY random so I feel like my main job is a translator. For example... monkeys were mentioned off hand and here is what Camden says "Monkeys, jammies, Nana got em, fire truck ones, like the song, listen to me Mom, listen, FIRETRUCK FIRETRUCK, I wanna ride in a firetruck...(song continues).." This sentence is all said in one breath with no pauses in between! I happen to know that Nana got him monkey and firetruck pj's and he loves a firetruck song so it all made perfect sense... however to those sitting around... they were LOST!

And he is very much still a cuddle bug which this Mommy loves!!

A Few New Projects

2012-01-11T16:44:00.000-07:00

I used the Silhouette again to make Camden a scooter shirt. I knew as soon as I saw this stripe at Old Navy what I wanted to do. The other fabrics were from old T-shirts.

Daddy finished Izzy's dog house and we got it moved around onto the porch. She LOVES it!!

A few of the Angry Birds we made using this tutorial.

Our bunch. We made twice this many and Mark and Kyla have a set. They have been played with every day for hours on end. They were worth all the time it took to make them.

Goofy puppy... as soon as anyone walks anywere close by her mat, she rolls over with hopes that she will get a tummy rub!

Tiana didn't have a BSU sweatshirt that fit her and I had one in my closet that I wasn't wearing any more... so I cut it up and made it smaller!!! I used this pattern which I LOVED! So easy and fast!

It fits her great and she loves it. She loves that it used to by Mommy's!

When Daddy was home this weekend they set up the Angry Birds and actually played a couple levels!

Christmas Break

2012-01-11T16:32:00.000-07:00

We went to New Meadows during Christmas for a relaxing week. They didn't have enough snow to ski so we passed our time playing games, ice skating and eating!

Opening one present before Christmas!

I love Tiana's expressions when she opens presents!

Nana made them pj pants and robes! They are very much loved!

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out some vinyl to add the dino's to the shirt.

There was just enough snow for the kids and puppies to enjoy.

Izzie wasn't used to the snow so her feet kept getting cold. After the first day of course she got used to it and loved it!

Talya and Auntie Kyla.

Christmas! These kids are so spoiled... getting gifts from Nana and Papa, and their uncles and Auntie Kyla

Cute new hats from Auntie Kyla and Uncle Mark.

Playing a new game and playing with Moon Dough!

Meanwhile we were in the middle of making LOTS of Angry Birds!!!

Tiana wanted to go ice skating and since the ski mountain was closed it made the perfect thing to do.

This little guy just HAD to ice skate too!!

The kids LOVED it!

This is the way that it was most of time... Camden hanging on and not even trying to stand up! He loved it though!

Keaton trying to skate by himself!

After New Meadows we went to Grammy and Poppy's house for a couple days. Not many photos but we had some VERY dirty puppies!!!

We made it home to go to the BSU game and then had Jace, Lily, and Troy over for New Year Eve.

At about 9 we counted down, yelled Happy New Year, and then put the kids to bed!!! They all went to sleep great and we got to stay up and play games! So much fun.

Lasagna Soup

2012-01-05T19:44:00.001-07:00

I just had to share this recipe that I made tonight because it is a keeper!! This way I don't forget about it either. I saw the idea for Lasagna soup on Pinterest and took that idea and made my own crockpot recipe.

1 lb Sausage

3/4 cup onion

1 jar of Spaghetti sauce

32 oz of Chicken broth (mine was homemade that we had in the freezer)

1 container of Philadelphia Cooking Cream (I used the garlic flavor)

1 tsp of minced Garlic

Basil

About 8 Lasagna noodles broke apart.

Brown sausage and onion then put all ingredients into the crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours. Add Lasagna noodles for a half hour and turn crockpot to high.

YUMMY!!!

Happy Holidays

2012-01-01T21:18:00.001-07:00

We hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday break! I will be back with lots of photos from our little getaway to the mountains soon!

It's an addiction really...

2011-12-18T21:36:00.002-07:00

I needed to get/make a baby gift and of course the thing that comes to mind is to put our new Silhouette to use! I just can't leave out big brother and big sister either! This machine sure makes these crazy ideas of mine easy!

Forgotten photo

2011-12-17T22:18:00.000-07:00

I just realized that this photo was never posted. This was taken before one of the last cold BSU games! It was a quick snapshot that all of the kids are looking and smiling!! That never happens!

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-17T22:13:00.001-07:00

I must say that my kids are the luckiest kids... they have the best Aunties and Uncles a kid could EVER dream of having!! We love that Auntie Kyla and Uncle Mark live close now... they watched the kids yesterday so that we could go to Daddy's work Christmas dinner. They brought over homemade gingerbread and made houses... from scratch! This Mommy is VERY impressed, this was VERY optimistic with three kids!! As you can imagine the kids had a blast and ate their fair share of sugar!! Sorry we missed it but so glad that they took photos. I love that our kids will have these fun memories!

Eat some...

...stick some!

Uncle Mark's house!

Lil Miss Tiana's house and gingerbread girl! Notice the PILE of sprinkles on the roof!!

Camden's house!

Keaton's masterpiece!

Uncle Mark's finished house!

It looks like they had a blast with story time!

It doesn't look like we were missed much!!

Some news and some crafting

2011-12-17T22:03:00.002-07:00

We had Keaton's MRI on Tuesday... talk about an ordeal with a little one! They had to put him under which made me a bit nervous but I was also relieved to think that he wouldn't be laying in there scared. We had to wait over an hour past appointment time for the MRI machine which didn't go over real well for Keaton! He kept telling us that we were boring! He did great taking deep breaths to go under but the image that I can't get out of my head was him twitching and flailing about before he relaxed. Of course they told me this was normal but it still was nerve wracking to watch. They had told us and him before they took him back that Mommy and Daddy would be there when he woke up! Well he woke up before they came and got us. A confused alone 5 year old in strange room with an IV in... when we walked in to him really upset and crying it just broke my heart! I am so glad that we are DONE with appointments... yes... we got results and all is well! HUGE sigh of relief! One really funny thing that happened is while he was recovering we were told that he had a little accident while under so they took his underwear off. We talked to him about it and explained that we would get some as soon as we got home! Well we forgot about it so quite a few hours after we got home I said "Oh yeah, Keaton you still aren't wearing any underwear!". He looked at me like I was CRAZY and argued that he put on underwear... I told him to look... he pulled out his pants and said "Huh, that's weird" (he was VERY confused but laughing). About a half hour later he came up to me and said "Where did my underwear go? WHO took them off!?!?!". Apparently he doesn't remember the conversation in recovery and couldn't figure out how his underwear had disappeared!

Now on a crafty note:

We just got our Silhouette Cameo in this week! The Silhouette is like a printer only with a blade so it will cut out paper, fabric, vinyl, etc. We got it on the Black Friday deal which was awesome! I have been dreaming of having one for a long time but a while back my wonderful hubby mentioned wanting one for his fly tying business (he can cut out the boxes he used to ship his flies in)... well of course I didn't need any convincing!! We have been waiting for the new version to come out and a good deal to happen! Well it happened and we got it! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! I am sure you will be seeing LOTS of projects done with it.

I had a few t-shirts that I picked up really really cheap at Old Navy at the end of the season last year. This first shirt applique was made with Iron on Vinyl... talk about easy! The Silhouette cuts out the aviator sunglasses and all I have to do is iron it on!

Cool dude!

I love how they look like they are hanging on the top of the shirt. Keaton loves it too.

This next one isn't a Silhouette project but I finished another MODKID Maya dress for Tiana. This time I made it into a shirt and a skirt so that she can get more wear out of it since she can wear the skirt this summer. She really does love it... however... by the time I took photos she didn't want anything to do with them. Hence the no faces in the photos! She was glaring at me something fierce!!

This shirt is another one from Old Navy. This time I had Keaton go through some options and pick what he wanted on it... he fell in love with the fox and so did I! This one I put double sided fusible interfacing on knit fabric and let the Silhouette do it's job!!! It cut it all out and I just layered it on and ironed. Easy Easy and oh so cute! On a side note all the knit that I needed was found in the knit t-shirt pile I have rescued from the goodwill pile. SO nice to finally get some of those cut into. I love being able to sit down and have an entire selection of knit colors to choose from.

Don't ya just love this pose! He has adopted this new thinking pose!

This little guy is just adorable!

Keaton took one look at it in the morning and told me "It is just PERFECT!". That sure makes a Mommy feel good!

Medical Update

2011-12-12T22:37:00.000-07:00

As most of you know Keaton is healthy as a horse... he doesn't really ever get sick and when he does it is a cough for part of one day and that will be all. However, at 18 months he had Bells Palsy and then again at age 3. Last summer he got the mumps.... which he has been immunized for. This prompted some concerns with our Doctor so we made an appointment with a Pediatric Infectious Disease and Immunologist. While I know he is a good doctor he has NO bedside manner and does not know how to deal with parents. He recommended a hearing test which we had done. Just a bit of background here... Bells Palsy is when something happens to the facial nerve and you lose all control of your facial muscles. While Keaton has only had this twice we have noticed a lot of weakness on one side or the other when he is tired or going through a growth spurt. The 7th Cranial nerve is the nerve that controls facial muscles and it is located next to the hearing nerve. When we did the hearing test (his hearing was great btw) they ran sound waves down the hearing nerve and then they recorded them as they bounced back through the 7th Cranial nerve. They discovered that there is no response from the 7th Cranial nerve on the Right side. This as of now, has not affected his hearing but we should have his hearing tested every three years or if there are any changes. As we left the first appointment Keaton said "So basically, I am normal!" Love the perspective of a child!

We went back into the Immunologist to discuss the test results and he felt that we should see a Pediatric Ear Nose and Throat specialist. At that point I mentioned that my theory was that his Bells Palsy was stress related since in corresponded with the birth of Tiana and the birth of Camden. He told us that there was no way that could be the case. He also mentioned that maybe it could be that the nerves had been damaged sometime in birth or in utero but that we may never know. He said that he may lose control of all facial muscles at some point.... but not to worry! (yeah right) Within the next breath he would say that he didn't know enough to be able to tell us that everything would be alright! Thanks doc that is just great on this mommy's nerves! He told us that he would talk to the ENT and get back to us.

He called us back the next day to say that she wanted to see us and he reiterated that they don't know enough to tell us not to worry. He also asked if he could have HIV..... just threw it out like now big deal!!! I told him I didn't think so but I couldn't say for sure. I couldn't imagine that his birth mother and/or him wouldn't have been tested at some point with the adoption... but I couldn't say for sure. I asked why.... He told me... "Because it would explain everything... the mumps... the bells palsy... everything". At that point I am a mess and say that yes we need to have the test done. He told me that he wanted to rule out cancer at the same time! HIV and CANCER in the same phone call! You can imagine my surprise and panic! Oh yeah but don't worry he says! I mentioned too that even if he did lose all facial muscle that while this was VERY cosmetic that it wasn't fatal. He told me "Not really, adults with no facial muscles have LOTS of problems!" my doctor would have said something like, you are right, he may have complications but it wouldn't be fatal. Totally different connotations.
He did mention at this point that after talking to the ENT that they are not discounting my idea either... if the 7th Cranial Nerve was resting on the carotid artery then when he is stressed then it could inflame the nerve and show weakness. Needless to say when this is said in the same couple minutes as HIV and Cancer it doesn't hold much weight. So, we had a blood test done last Saturday. Talk about a week of looking at your children in a different light, getting a few more hugs, being a little bit more patient and generally being a nervous wreck! He was a trooper with the blood test and got to pick out two new Cars cars as a reward for doing so well. We waited a VERY long week for results... the poor receptionist had to deal with me calling for results every day... at least once!

Thursday we had his ENT appointment and on the way in got the results back... everything looked great! So a week of stress for nothing... he even said... I hope you weren't worried about this! Yeah... no bid deal dude just the possibility of my son having cancer or HIV... nope not worried at all! We LOVED the ENT and the first thing she said is that she sure hoped we didn't stress about the tests too much because there wasn't a very high chance of either being the problem! That would have been nice to know. She said that she is most worried about his facial "weakness"... that the weakness is more worrisome than if he just had Bell's Palsy again. As for no response on the right side the weird thing is that the weakness we see is on the left side! She said that he may have a syndrome in which everything controls the opposite side but if that is the case it wasn't a big deal (unless he had to have brain surgery of course). We are doing an MRI tomorrow to look for anything on the nerve aka a cyst or tumor... she did say though that even if there was something it would be easy to remove and he would be good as new. While we don't want that road it sure is nice to have a doctor reassure you so you don't worry about it. If the MRI is clear then it is probably just stress related and he will probably never have another problem and if he did to get him in to see her again. She took the time to ask him if he had an questions and to explain to him that even when we talk about facial weakness that we see, his friends don't even notice. LOVED THAT! So MRI it is... he has to be put under which makes me nervous but I am also grateful for that because I know that he won't be scared. They will have him under before they put in the iv which is also a relief. He is a bit worried about it, he asked me if he was SURE he would be asleep... and what if he didn't fall asleep... what if the medicine didn't work and he was awake and everyone thought he was asleep. (wise little boy) I assured him that I have had an MRI and while they are a little scary it really is just noisy and you can't move while it takes photos and that yes he would be asleep and we would make sure. He can't eat after midnight so he ate lots tonight for a snack. He told Daddy that he wouldn't like it but he was picking Olive Garden for lunch because he got to choose!! I asked him if he was liking these appointments and he said "Well SO far... but I don't know about any more". Jury is still out on future appointments but he is milking the benefits of Mommy and Daddy time and lots of special treats for the time being!!

Daddy's Birthday!

2011-12-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

Last week was Daddy's birthday!! We had a wonderful dinner with family on Wed and then Saturday we had dinner with the other side of the family! We are so lucky to have such a kind, loving, patient Daddy and Husband!

While we were at meeting Wednesday Talya and Izzy got into something outside! We came home to little black noses! Notice Abby outside looking in, watching over her little friends.

Singing to Daddy.

He had lots of help blowing out candles!

As soon as they were out Camden took out the candles and declared "Let's eat cake!" He then proceeded in trying to pick up and eat the ENTIRE cake! Love Tiana's face!

No hands horsey ride!

Saturday we all got together for a late Thanksgiving dinner since most of us were gone on Thanksgiving day. We also celebrated Daddy's and Grandpa's birthdays at the same time!

I got lots of baby time with my little nephew Winston and niece Stella!

Tiana washed most of the dishes for Grandma!

She told Grandma very seriously that "She (grandma) was a very good helper!".

Remington and Tiana.

Yummy Popsicles!

Last but not least: Thanksgiving

2011-12-07T16:35:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday we went to some tide pools. The tide was really low, which made this the perfect day to go! The kids had a blast and so did we. What a beautiful day on the California coast.

All the kiddos looking at a 21 legged starfish.

Tiana loved touching everything!

Camden... not so much!

Our climber!

She spent most of her time looking for pretty rocks and shells!

Found one! If we would have kept everything she found I wouldn't have been able to hike out!

Adorable Liliana.

Big muscles!

Lucas

More big muscles!

hmmmm

All our kiddos. Gracie (6) Keaton (5) Lucas (4) Liliana (1) Tiana (3) Camden (2)

On Thanksgiving day I told the kids that I wanted some acorns so I would give them a penny for each one they found!

Gracie got smart and started picking them off of the tree!

The kids made turkeys.

Camden didn't wait for a photo, he just ate it as soon as it was done.

We had a wonderful time enjoying great company and beautiful weather! Let's hope we can see a little more of this little family!

Thanksgiving Part Two: The Beach

2011-12-06T22:19:00.001-07:00

Monday morning we headed north to T&H's house! Daddy was the designated story teller each night. He had them all in fits of laughter each time he read!

Of course the next morning we headed to the beach! Gracie had school so we took Lucas with us to spend the day at the beach.

Tiana "planted" her flowers in a pink bucket!

Keaton wrote his own name (he can now write Tiana's also)... his E is usually lowercase now but it was easier in the sand to have it uppercase.

How did he grow up so fast!?

Lil' miss wrote her name too! I LOVE the tails of her a's and n!!

Lucas helping Camden... which was adorable and lasted all of a few second until Camden realized he wasn't doing it himself!!

As per normal, she is dancing!

It was all he could do to lug this bucket full of sand!

"Where my toes go Mom?"

Hmmm what to do with this hole now....

Sit in it!!

Designated sand turtle builders!

Making the fins, oh so carefully!

We had lots of shared giggles, which these parents LOVE to hear!

And since we have reached the stage of funny faces being oh so fun... here are a couple funny face photos. These are way easier to get then cute smiles!

Making eyes for the turtle.

There was lots and lots.... and lots... of racing between these boys!

At the starting line...

Camden getting a lift.

Meanwhile... Tiana danced (surprise surprise) on a sea turtle stage!

Dancing in the water!

My little model.

Cheesy smile for annoying Mom with the camera!

Playing tag.

Holding hands!

This went so wrong... we told Keaton that Daddy was going to jump over him but must have forgot to mention that he was supposed to stand still. He jumped right as Daddy was in the air! Knocked him flat of course! So we had to try again!

Sneaking up on waves! "shhhhhh"

Crazy girl, that water was COLD!

After the beach we stopped by the cutest little farmer's market place!

The boys and the flowers! Love it!

Beautiful!

Thanksgiving Part One: San Diego

2011-12-06T11:10:00.001-07:00

We had been talking about going down to San Diego and meeting my cousin and his family since last July! We made it work and planned it around the Boise State vs San Diego State game. We drove down which surprisingly went very well. We left REALLY early and made it all the way to Las Vegas in one day. The kids did awesome this day and we got a great deal on a room at Circus Circus which was a hit of course. It was great to be able to have lots to do without ever leaving the resort for that evening!

With the room we got vouchers for a few rides! Keaton loved this airplane ride and the lady let him ride on it twice... just because!

Of course Miss Tiana chose this ride, which she LOVED!!! The guy let Keaton and I ride on it with her!

And yes, this is how excited she was!

They loved the moving sidewalk! We rode lots of "alligators" (elevators) and "excavators" (escalators) the moving sidewalk was called either of the above.

The next day we made it to San Diego in time to get checked into the hotel and see the beach right before it was dark!

They were so very excited to see the beach again! This was the only time that we actually spent on the beach in San Diego since the weather was a bit chilly (by San Diego standards) and we had lots going on.

So cute when we catch them cuddling up being loving sister and brother!

The next morning we headed out to Sea World. Our only adventure was when we got there we discovered that the tire on our jogging stroller had blew over the pass so we had to go buy a stroller at Target real fast. Of course they didn't have an umbrella stroller of any sort in that store but we got a Sit Stand which we actually REALLY liked! As if we needed to add ANOTHER stroller to our collection!!

New skirt for Sea World!

My own pattern with MODKID knit by Patti Young.

This is the first time that I have done the lettuce ruffle hem and her and I both love it!

Because of our stroller incident we missed the feeding of the dolphins but we did get to see them up close!

Tiana and I both got to touch a dolphin which was the highlight of our Sea World experience!

Tiana was amazed at the dolphin show, she loved it!!

During this part where the dolphin was "walking" on the water Camden said "I can do that!". Every show he kept saying, "I can do that" like what was the big deal! So funny!

Love this photo, Lucas and Keaton were best of friends and fought like brothers toward the end of the trip! They were our little guides!

This show was very funny, a lot of it was over the kids' heads but us adults thought it was quite funny!

Of course this show was amazing!

One of my favorite photos!

Waiting in line with Gracie, Lucas, and Emily. (One of my other cousins and his family met us in San Diego also) Between the three of our families we had 6 adults and 8 kiddos all 6 and under! It surprisingly was very enjoyable and not stressful at all!

Camden and Lucas.

This is what happens when you are two and dress yourself already... sometimes things don't go quite right!

He didn't seem to notice or care!

Saturday us girls went shopping at an outlet mall while the guys had the kids. That evening was the BSU game. We rode on a Trolley (aka choo choo train) to the stadium. This was a very exciting thing for our kids!

Camden had a lot of fun at the very opposite end of the row in a seat all by himself before the game started!

Lucas and Keaton got to go to the VERY top of the stadium to check it out!

While we were gone Nana and Papa took care of Izzy for us. Abby (their dog) is such a little mommy to her. They had a great time together. We got this photo of doggy buck beds from Nana. Abby wouldn't leave her even to take naps so she slept on top of her crate.

Fall Family Photos

2011-11-11T17:16:00.000-07:00

We took these a bit ago and I am just now getting them up! The family ones were done at Katherine Albertson Park and the individuals were taken at Lake Lowell.

The entire family!

I love the times when they love each other!

Keaton and his goofy Uncle Ryan.

I never want to forget these kisses. He grabs my face and squeezes and pulls me in for a big kiss! Melts my heart.

Quite fun and interesting... getting three kids and one puppy to all look at the camera and smile!! We have come to the conclusion that Izzy and Camden are at the same stage right now... our puppy is like a two year old! Mind you a VERY cute one!

Love this one!

What a cute five year old!

I can't decide between this one...

and this one!?

Oh so cute!

The latest projects

2011-11-10T23:57:00.001-07:00

And here is the latest project!! The pattern is Portabellopixie's Gracie dress. I had read that the construction of the dress was not well written and people didn't like it... so I threw the instructions out the window. I constructed it similar to the way the Oliver + S bubble dress bodice is constructed. No hand sewing and no bias tape. Next time I will take photos and post them just in case there is anyone out there that reads this blog and has this pattern. I almost took photos this time but I wasn't really sure if it would work how I had constructed this in my head. I dreamed about this and thought about it more than I care to admit but it was worth it because it went together easily! The fabric is from Hobby Lobby actually... it is a fine wale corduroy. One more mistake in the pattern is that it doesn't have you cut four of the bottom tier of the dress... after I discovered that I needed two more pieces I decided to go ahead with the hem band instead of a ruffle. I am really glad that I did, I think that I prefer it this way anyways! The ruffle pants are from the same Portabellopixie pattern as before. She loves this outfit and it looks so comfy and warm. Oh and just for my records, it is a size 4 with a size 8 length.

This shirt I made quite a while ago for Keaton but forgot to take photos of him in it. I did the painting this time more by hand with shading so it didn't have a solid white look.

More sewing!

2011-11-09T15:59:00.000-07:00

And my favorite dress as of late... Sandi Henderson's Knot dress (Claire Pattern). VERY VERY easy... the only reason it took me a while to get done was that I only followed the pattern for the bodice... the rest I made up myself and added a bunch of extras to it. This is out of the Sandi Henderson Secret Garden fabric (with some Moda thrown in too). I LOVE this fabric and discovered that it matches our (very hard to match) khaki green couches. There will be a blanket and some pillow covers coming sometime in the near future! I made the skirt out of four different fabrics instead of the recommended two and then added a ruffle on the bottom and a few ruffles on one of the panels. I need to take a few detail photos of this dress but for now, these will do.

The color on these next few photos is off but it was raining on the day that she wore this outfit last week. Oh well... the pants are from the Sandi Henderson ruffle pants pattern and I LOVE them. The size four with extra length fits her ADORABLE! The pants go with the jumper but I think I like it way better on their own since she has a top that matches perfectly.

The background color of this main print is the same color as our couches. It will make some fun summery pillows and I have been dying to make a blanket like this one or this one.

I love the ruffle pants so much that I whipped up another pair that I will take photos of tonight. There may be a third pair in the works for preschool! I want to try some out of denim and maybe a khaki pair when her khaki pants that she has now get too small.

Sewing and such

2011-11-08T17:48:00.001-07:00

I have been sewing up a storm lately but just had not had a chance to post about it! My grandma got me these two skirt patterns and the fabric and they turned out SO cute!

This one is a wrap skirt that will probably become a go-to pattern. Start to finish took 30 minutes and it looks so cute on! This would also be easy to make reversible.

I also made these two monograms for a close friend and my mom for their birthdays. I just love the way they turned out!

Close-up of the flowers and buttons.

Puppy and growing up

2011-11-08T17:41:00.000-07:00

Izzy is always so cute after she gets a bath. She hangs out on her mat, warming up by the fire looking all fluffy!

I can't even tell you how much I LOVE this picture Keaton drew. Each one in our family... plus Izzy!! And look at that name!!! He wrote it all by himself... this time he needed some prompting because he couldn't remember what an N looked like. Since then though he now can write his name without any help or prompting!!!! His E and A are caps but we are working on that. I don't want to discourage him at all since we are SO proud of him for getting his far! He worked REALLY REALLY hard this last weekend so that he could write his name all by himself to show his teacher. It is so good to see him this interested in writing and coloring since this hasn't been his interest in the past!

Camden discovered that markers do not taste good!

We had Talya over here one of the last days it was raining and boy oh boy they had fun but they were wet and cold! They warmed up by the fire looking so cute together!

Once again after bath!

Halloween Costumes

2011-11-08T17:34:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to the studio for some photos in their Halloween costumes! Tiana was a butterfly, Keaton was a veterinarian and Camden was a monkey.

Monkey eating his banana!

Showing us his monkey muscles!

Halloween

2011-11-08T17:27:00.000-07:00

My cute little butterfly at her Preschool party.

Introducing out photographer of the evening. Keaton runs our camera like a pro and just loves taking photos!

Keaton, Tiana and Camden's pumpkins.

Daddy and his monkey.

We went trick or treating with Jace, Lily and Troy. The kids had a GREAT time together!

Cute girls.

Mean boys!

Pumpkins

2011-11-08T17:18:00.000-07:00

Wow, talk about some catch up on photos!!!

We enjoyed an evening at the lake with the Workers.

We had two trips to the pumpkin patch this year. One with each of the kids' preschool classes. First of all we went with Tiana's class and got our big carving pumpkins!

Keaton and his puppy.

We then went with Keaton's class to the pumpkin patch. Daddy got to join us this time!

Keaton and his good friend Owen.

Tiana was SO excited about her "polka-dotty" pumpkin!

In the dog house!

From the lips of babes

2011-11-04T09:25:00.001-06:00

Tiana: Mommy, look at me!

Me: Ok, I am watching (as I was turning around).

Tiana: NO, put your face on me!

Camden tells me something...

Me: Mmmm hmmm.

Camden: You NO Mmmmm hmmm me, answer me right now!

The other night we had the workers over for dinner. As they left Tom told the kids that he had to leave before he turned into a pumpkin.

A few days later at the dinner table.

Keaton: How do people turn into pumpkins?

Daddy: (laughing) Oh, they don't, Tom was just pulling your leg.

Tiana: (SHOCKED and a bit horrified) Well, that is just NOT very nice!!!

In Wednesday night gospel meeting Tom had said "King of the Jews". Keaton starts giggling and I asked him what was so funny. He said, "He just said 'King of Juice'! Every time that Tom said it after that Keaton would just get the giggles!

This morning as the kids and I were cuddling in bed Keaton sits up and very seriously says...

Keaton: MOM, we have got to take you to the doctor!!

Me: Why do you think that I have to go to the doctor!?

Keaton: Because Mommy, there is something really thumping in there (pointing to my chest)!

Me: Honey, that is my heart and let's hope it is really thumping in there!!

Birthday Parties

2011-10-16T16:44:00.000-06:00

The first birthday party we had on Friday with some of Keaton's friends and kids from our play date group.

Yummy treats and party favors.

It really was amazing how much blue and orange candy I found!

My big 5 year old!

The decor. I sewed up another pennant banner to decorate with... I love how simple it makes decorating!

My adorable kiddos!

All of the big kids. The babies were inside.

Friday night we gave Izzy a bath, she smelled very bad.... which is to be expected since she came from a breeder that had 18 puppies running around!!

Wet, cold, Izzy. She liked her bath though!

Cuddling by the fire.

Fake smiles!

Whatever the puppy does the kids copy! Too bad they don't sleep as much as Izzy still does!

Saturday we had his family birthday party!! Since we have Vandals and Ducks in the family Keaton wanted this sign to go up!!

We then had extra shirts! Notice the Coach Keaton.... he wrote that!!!!!

I loved how the cake turned out! We ordered the logo from a company that printed edible images! It worked great!

His "mean" look!

My boys!

Daddy found this apron and just had to get it!!

Uncle Ryan and Uncle Derek thought it was time for Keaton to get his first set of real legos... and of course you can't go wrong with anything Cars! They have been a hit, he LOVES them!

Keaton is going to be a Veterinarian for Halloween and has been asking for this little vet kit for months!

And a football helmet that he has been wanting for the past couple years!!

Camden loves the helmet too.... Uncle Mark DID have a Bronco shirt on over his Vandal shirt with the logo cut out so the vandal one showed through! Tricky Tricky!

This little girl has become VERY attached to Izzy! She plays with her for hours and takes good care of her. Izzy is very tolerant of everything the kids do to her.

I love this series of Izzy getting Tiana, you can see that she just thinks it is funny.

Does it get any cuter than that!?!

Izzy has been great for Camden. Camden has always been really afraid of dogs but he loves his little puppy! Izzy loves him because he is just her size so he is great to chase.

She puts up with him carting her around too!

Blurry since it was getting dark but this shows their favorite game... racing circles around the yard... works wonders for wearing out the puppy AND the kids!

Little Surprise!

2011-10-14T17:09:00.001-06:00

We have been keeping a little secret for the past few weeks!!! We got a little puppy as a surprise for Keaton for his birthday!!

Meet Izzy, she is a goldendoodle and sweet as can be. Here she is at almost 3 weeks old.

5 weeks old.

On Keaton's birthday we headed over to pick her up, Keaton had no idea what his present was!

Waiting while we got her....

Closing their eyes... well Camden wasn't....

LOVE this!

Noticed the look of confusion on Keaton's face... and Tiana with her eyes still closed...

Camden has it figured out... Keaton still a little shocked... Tiana still has her eyes closed!

There we go, all kids have realized what is going on! I love Tiana's look on her face, I can just hear her, "aaaawwww a puppy!"

Keaton then says, "But we don't have any food!" He was just trying to figure out how we could have a puppy but yet we didn't have any dog things. Of course we had been sneaking puppy things in for weeks without him knowing!

They are all in love with their new puppy!

There she is in all her cuteness!

Mark and Kyla got a puppy also from another litter so we have little cousin puppies! We then headed over to Mark and Kyla's for dinner and the puppies played.

Talya, their little puppy, is a lot more active, outgoing and vocal than little Izzy. Here Talya is chasing Keaton around.

Keaton was very worried about Talya getting Izzy.

We kept telling him that it was just how they play!

All tired out. Talya is the lighter one on top and Izzy is the one on bottom. Izzy is more curly, darker and a bit smaller than Talya.

Izzy did great last night out in her pen in the garage. She slept until about 5:30 or so and then she cried and whined on and off until about 8. Come to find out she didn't want to go potty in her pen... poor girl! Oh well, now we have it figured out! She has been great with the kids and is just very mellow. We had a birthday party today for Keaton with lots of little kids around and she just had a blast and wasn't overwhelmed by the noise and commotion at all.

Keaton is FIVE!!!

2011-10-13T15:52:00.001-06:00

I can't believe that I have a FIVE year old!! That just sounds SO big to me!! It doesn't seem like that long ago that we got to hold him for the first time... he was SO tiny! We loved him from the moment that we got a phone call about him. He was born on a Friday the 13th and I remember specifically thinking on that day (as everyone was talking about bad luck) that it wasn't bad luck for everyone and that there were babies being born that day so it could be a very lucky day! Little did I know that my first born was being born that very day! He has been such a joy to us every day.

Keaton is my literal child which can lead to some very funny conversations! This morning he woke up in quite a tizzy since everyone FORGOT about his birthday!! I tried to explain to him that he was sleeping when Daddy left so he didn't forget! He called his Daddy and had a little talk to him about it! He has so loved the phone calls that he received from family telling him Happy Birthday.... each one PROVING that they didn't forget his birthday! I guess he expected everyone to come in the middle of the night and wake him up to have his party!!

Right after this he asked me, "WHEN am I going to be SIX!!!" As if he had been five for long enough already! Slow down big guy, this Mommy wants to enjoy you being five, for it is going by WAY to fast!

This was our breakfast conversation:

Keaton: "Since I am big now am I going to get a beard?"

Me: "No, you have to wait a while for that to happen..."

Keaton: "Like when I get to be Jace's age (he is 6)!"

Me: "Nope, big like your Uncles age!

Then Tiana asked.... "When am I going to get a beard Mom."

Me: "Sweety, hopefully never!"

Playing what he loves most... football! He is SO athletic! This kid can catch just about any throw you give him!

LOVE this one! It reminds me so much of this next photo of him...

Keaton at 15 Months!

*Update* We just got back from the doctor and Keaton is 45.5 inches tall (93%) and 46 lbs(86%)!

Day to Day

2011-10-12T16:22:00.001-06:00

We have been really busy with the day to day things around here. With two separate preschool schedules and an upcoming birthday it seems that we are having fun but not doing that much that is photo worthy!

Keaton... after a long no-nap stretch... has started napping again!! YAY!! He always falls asleep in funniest possitions though! I was talking to him here and found it odd that he didn't respond! Sound asleep!

Keaton's good friend Jace just had a birthday so I made him a couple super hero capes and masks. I used men's t-shirts to make them which makes them kid friendly and easy to care for. The mask is just two layers of knit with really thick interfacing on each side. I used the super soft fold elastic for the mask.

I made Keaton a Captain America one that he LOVES! Now to remember to get photos of him!

Close up of the mask!

Last weekend we went to New Meadows for a weekend away! This is what I saw while I was trying to get the van loaded up! What cuties I have!