Utah Trip Part II

The next day we went to the Sweets Candy Factory for a tour to see how they make candy. It was very interesting and a fun thing for the kids to do. They especially loved the end of the tour when everyone got to pick out taffy from their big wall'o taffy.

Notice Hannah in her hair net leaving the factory. She wore that for the better part of the rest of the day. Funny girl!



That night we were supposed to have a BBQ at the pool, but a huge thunderstorm came rolling in, so we had to take the dinner inside. But that didn't stop everyone going to the pool. After the storm blew through and the danger passed, everyone went to the pool for a little fun. But it was a little cold... at least out of the pool.



Then later that night (it didn't get dark until after 9:30 pm), we got out the fireworks. This year in Utah, you could buy aerial fireworks that everyone would shot off in the street. The cousins had a blast taking turns lighting the fireworks. Wendy had bought deflection glasses for a science project for her class and so she brought them out as we watched fireworks. Man oh, man was that fun. The glasses turned the fireworks into a kaleidoscopes. It was so much fun to watch the fireworks through these glasses. I highly recommend it if you can do it someday. It makes street fireworks a completely different and fun experience.





This is everyone dancing behind one of those strobe light fireworks. The kids loved this!

Summer Vacation Part 1

This begins several entries recapping our summer vacation in Utah. During the end of July, we headed to Salt Lake CIty to spend time with the aunt, uncles and cousins.
Our vacation started with a bit of a scare. On Monday, we were going to go up to the mountains for a hike and campfire dinner. Ella went to bed that night with a fever and woke up at 1:00 pm the next day. So, I knew that she and I wouldn't be going on the mountain adventure. Ella had come upstairs and was lying on the floor near the kitchen. I was getting all the preparations ready for everyone to go, and I heard a weird noise coming from Ella. I ran to see what was going on and she was having a seizure. It was the worst 40 secs ever! We called 911 and the paramedics came and informed me it was a febrile seizure caused by her fever spiking too fast. But to be safe we rode in the ambulance to Primary Children's Hospital and had her evaluated and cleared to go home. Ella has pretty out of it for a few hours, but finally her fever broke and she gradually became herself again. It has like night a day. The prior 24 hours, she was lethargic, quiet and so sick. The next 24 hours, she was active, bubbly and full of personality.

The next day, all the cousins headed to Hogle Zoo. We had a great time together and seeing all the fun and exciting animals. Jake especially, couldn't get enough of the animals. We took a ride on the train. Ella isn't too happy in this photo, but it was the end of the day and getting hot.



We went to the bird show and the highlight for me was the American and Bald eagles. They are amazing creatures. So, when we were asked to donated $5 to the zoo and could get our picture with the eagles, I jumped on it. I think they are so pretty and majestic. And how often do you get to see one up close. (not very often).



Jake got to touch a snake. I think Ella touched it too, but Hannah didn't want anything to do with it when she found out it could bite.



Here are all the cousins playing on the rhino sculpture. I have a picture of them on the same statue about 5 years ago. I will have to find it. Pretty soon there will be too many and all too big to climb on it.



Here is a picture of all the cousins in 2007. Same sculpture at the same zoo. Things have changed :-)

Summer Craft Club

Last summer i did a craft club for the kids in my neighborhood, we had such a great time that I thought I would do it again this year. (You can find the crafts I did last year in my "kids craft" category on the sidebar). But due to my pregnancy and everyone's busy schedule, this years craft club wasn't quite like last years. But I did manage to get a few craft sessions in this summer.

Here is are a few of the crafts we have done.


The first one was our Hawaiian theme. We read a book about Hawaii and then we made leis. The tutorial for the lei's can be found here. Instead of using yarn, I used lanyard string. It is easier for the kids to use and thread. And of course I used my cricut machine to cut out all the flowers. For the treat, I made Hawaiian floats. I used orange sherbert, pineapple juice and sprite.




The next craft was a Three lIttle Pigs Theme. I read the cutest book "Wait, no Paint!" and then we made houses make of straw, sticks and bricks. For the snack, we had pigs in a blanket. As you can see, I used shredded paper for the straw, popsicle sticks for the sticks and I cut out red construction paper for the bricks.




The last craft was a rainbow theme. We read the book "Have you Filled a Bucket Today." This book has a great message and although it doesn't have to do about rainbows, it uses rainbows to show it's message, so I thought it worked. The kids then made rainbows out of pasta wheels. The tutorial can be found here. Then I made Rainbow Cupcakes like the ones found here. The kids loved these!

Craft Club wasn't in session very long these year, but the crafts were really fun and the kids always love it!

4th of July Weekend

We had a fun and eventful 4th of July weekend. It started out with our ward's annual 4th of july breakfast on Saturday. They had a kids parade and the girls were so excited to decorate their scooter and bike. We spent some time getting them all spiffied up! Then it was time for the parade and the girls were so proud of their decorated bike and scooter. They just rode around and around until Hannah bit it and then the fun was over. It was a hot day (106 degrees), so even in the morning it started out hot, hot, hot.






Then on Sunday evening, we decided to get away from the heat and head up to Shaver Lake to watch the fireworks over the lake. We packed a picnic and headed to cooler weather. We had to wait a few hours for it to get dark but the kids loved it, because they got to play in the water. They kept busy and were as happy as can be. Then it got dark and we watched the fireworks in the beautiful Sierras!







Monday we took it easy and just lounged around all day and then it was time for our annual neighborhood block party. We had fun with our neighbors. The kids had a ball using spray bottles. They were meant to keep us cool (since it was 105 that day, but the kids used them to spray each other, the ground, the food, bugs, etc. We then went to the elementary school to watch the fireworks at the high school stadium. Then we headed over to our friend's house to do our own street fireworks. The kids were too busy playing with each other that they didn't even watch the fireworks. We had so much fun, we stayed there until 11:30 pm. Then it was too much... I had to go to bed. The kids could have played much longer, but the night had to end sometime, so leave it to mom to be the party-pooper!

All and all it was a fun holiday weekend. I love the 4th of july... but maybe next week, it can not be so hot! Pictures of our 4th are coming soon.

Yosemite Day Trip

Chris' brother and girlfriend came to town and so we had to take them to Yosemite for the day (neither one of them had been). Too bad his girlfriend got the flu, but we were there and we couldn't get back home very easily, so she suffered through and was a trooper!

We love Yosemite! It is truly one of the most beautiful places in the U.S. We would go more often if it didn't require getting car-sick and and although it is only 2 hours away to the valley floor, it seem like so much longer. But nevertheless, we go at least once (usually twice a year).

This year, it was crazy. Although the weather was beautiful, the crowds were not. We were in a parking lot for 2 hours just to get through the park. But the waterfalls were amazing. The run off was insane and the pictures showed it. The kids went up to Bridal Veils and Yosemite Falls and came back just drenched! We have never seen them that booming! The water was so high at my favorite spot (the meadow at Swinging Bridge) that it was about a foot or two from the bottom of the bridge.

But we had a ball. The kids love to get out and just run around and enjoy nature.... so what could be better!

Q&A

The one question I get asked the most is "How do you make the all those "cute" tags?" So, I thought I would answer the question on my blog for all you that are wondering.

First, I design the tags in Photoshop. These I create on my own. Photoshop is expensive and has a high learning curve, but if you were really interested in wanting to create some fun, cute tags on your own a great way to get started is to use Adobe Elements. It is a lot cheaper and easier to learn.

Second, I print the tags on cardstock or white labels.

Third, I cut the tags out. You have probably noticed I like circles and use them a lot. I have several circle cutters. I have this Martha Stewart one that I like, but it doesn't go smaller than 4 inches, so it doesn't always work for my tags. I have what is a Coluzzle. It is my favorite, but unfortunately, I am told them don't exist anymore, so I am not sure where to directly you to find it. Maybe ebay, I have seen people selling old ones there.

Another tool I love when making tags, is when I am not using a circle, I always use a rounded corner hole punc like this one. It just cleans up the tag and makes it look a little bit more special.

Hopefully, this is enough information to help you create your own cute tags. If you have any other questions, let me know and I will do my best to answer them.

Playing Catch up

Oh man, do I have several photos and experiences to write about since I have been sick. So, this post is going to be a catch up post with lots of old events and photos all in one.

The first is the award Hannah got at school during the month of April. She was the Wolverine of the Month. The things her teacher said were so kind and thoughtful and shows just what a great child and student Hannah is.

Then we headed to St. George for Spring Break. The Easter bunny visited us while we were there. The kids had a ball searching for eggs around grandma and grandpa's big, rocky yard. They hunted for eggs for an hour or so. The other great treat for the kids was roasting s'mores at their "wall of fire". Jake in particular thought it was the coolest thing. He loved sticking the marshmallow in the fire and then directly to his mouth. And grandpa was a lot of fun too in his aviator, marshmallow roasting gear.





For Hannah's birthday this year, we decided to go to Disneyland for the day. Her uncle went on his birthday and told her about the "happy birthday pin" he wore and how everyone wished him happy birthday all day. She loved that and so we thought, why not. So, we took a quick trip to Disneyland and let the birthday wishes fly that day. She loved it! Me not so much, that was a horribly morning sickness day and it was 94 degrees. I suffered through (barely).






The last of the photos. Hannah's reading spot she put together so she could read. I love it. It reminds me of when I was a kid. I need to teach them to build forts now.

Baby #4

I case you didn't catch it in my brief mention of it in my last post, we are expecting Baby #4. I am just starting my 2nd trimester and just coming out of the morning sickness fog.

Hence the reason my blog has been sparse and uneventful. It is so nice to feel a bit back to normal after these last two months. Hopefully, I can get back to blogging a bit more. I am still a bit fatigued, but nothing like I used to be.

The baby is due on Dec. 23rd, but since this is my 4th c-section, the baby won't make it to the due date. We are excited to add another member to our family and can't wait for the day he/she arrives.

The Phur-fect Slipper

I have to say I love slippers. I have all hard floors on our main level of the house, so I love to have something on my feet and slippers are it. I have owned about 7 slippers in the past few years and still keep looking for the newest, best slipper. Well, i found some wonderful slippers.

You are not going to believe where they are from. You have heard of LoveSac, right? They make the jumbo, comfortable "bean bags". Well, they make super, jumbo comfort slippers. They are the Créme Phur Slippers. They are so soft, so luxurious, so comfy, cozy. I love wearing them, I just feel like such a rock-star.... like a celebrity.

And my 7 year old daughter loves them too. I have had to fight her for them. Every time I take them off, I find them on her feet. She always tells me... "Mom, they are just so soft." She knows a good thing when she feels it. If you are looking for a nice slipper, look no further. Love these things!

And now that I am pregnant, I keep wondering what their body pillow would be like to sleep with.... very tempting if it is like these slippers :-)

Puppy Paw-ty

We had Jake's birthday party this weekend. We were torn between throwing a puppy party or a cow party, but in the end the dog theme won. Mostly because I found so cute inspiration on the web to help me through my party. Here are the details of his 2nd birthday party.

Here are the invitations I sent out. I got the rope bone at the Dollar Store and attached a ribbon to it. I got the invitations from here and altered the text a bit to fit our party.

Here is an overview of the table spread in all its brown, red and white glory. I loved how it all turned out and it was more or less simple.

I got puppy ear headbands from Oriental Trading Company and each kid got a pair. They loved their puppy ears. They were a huge hit.

We had the kids act like dogs and go to Obedience School. They got candy each time the obeyed. So, they rolled over, shook hands, sat, laid down. etc. Then we played fetch and each kid got to fetch a doogie toy and bring it back. They loved all of it. So, simple and yet so fun!

Here is the birthday boy as our Lil' Puppy. I made Jakey's shirt to match the theme of the party. I just added the paw-print to a shirt I bought at Target.

Here is Jake trying to figure out how to blow out his candles. He didn't quite figure that part out. I got the idea of the dog food cake from this blog. So, clever! I actually got a lot of ideas from this blog, so thank you so much!



Here are all the little favors I sent the guests home with. I dipped Scooby Doo graham cracker bones into chocolate and sprinkles and wrapped them up. I had dog bone cookies made for each guest in the party colors. I found the stuffed dogs at the Dollar Store and used kraft brown bags with dog prints and tags for the kids to capture all their goodies and treats.

I found the dog print paper at the Dollar Store. I couldn't believe it. It matched perfectly for my party and it was only a $1. I made the banner months ago in preparation for the party.

Like I said I got the idea for the dog food cake from another blog and decided to make some cupcakes too. I got the dog bowl at the Dollar Store too. Again it matched perfectly.

I had the kids do a little craft, where they made doggies out of paper. Keep them busy for a bit.

Jake loved his doggy party. Especially his doggy ears. And I liked it because it was relatively easy and relatively cheap. Since I got most of it at the Dollar Store. Can't get much better than that. And now i am done with birthdays until next year... yippee!