Disneyland Holiday Trip 2011

The kids annual passes were about to expire, so we decided we better get them to Disneyland one more time. But with me being 9 months pregnant and barely unable to get around Target, I decided that I better not go. So, Chris took the kids to Disneyland for the weekend. I have to admit I was terrible sad and missed them a lot. But at the same time it as nice to have the whole weekend to myself and I didn't have to do anything.... no dishes, no meals, no laundry, nothing I didn't want to do.

I went and saw Twilight with some friends, I had lunch with another friend, did a little Christmas shopping and some projects while i watched TV and hung out on the couch.

But the kids had a blast (and why wouldn't they) with their dad and their aunt and uncle who joined up with them! They got to enjoy the holiday decorations and the fun holidays rides (the Haunted Mansion and It's a Small World). When they got home Jake told me all about "it's a Small World", I think it was his favorite ride (mine too).

Fall Pictures

Our fall starts sometime around Thanksgiving. The leaves don't really start falling until around this time, so they other day, our peach orchard (near our house) was full of vibrant fall colors with beautiful leaves on the trees and blanketing the ground. So, I told the girls we are going to get some pictures taken.

They loved it. They loved playing in the leaves and running around the orchard. I should have let them play longer, but I was tired and couldn't stand around that long, so we had a little fun and i got a few pictures that I just love!

The next day I took Jake back and got one picture that worked. Being 2 1/2 makes it a lot harder to get a good picture. But thanks heavens I did it. Because after that we had rain everyday and a huge wind storm and now the orchard is bare and brown. Perfect timing! I am so glad, because I wasn't able to get my annual blossom pictures this year, so the fall pictures were a good alternative!

Coaches Thank You's

I updated my soccer coaches gift from last year. I put a bunch of movie goodies (twirlers, raisinets, junior mints and microwave popcorn) and 2 movie tickets into a personal popcorn bucket and inserted the tag. They did so much this year and were so great that i wanted them to know how much we appreciated all they did!
Here is the tag if you want to download it.

Christmas Crafts

I just wanted to show a little something I have been working on for a table centerpiece for our church Christmas Party. I wanted excuse to make these cute paper lollipops and this was the perfect occasion. More to come when I actually decorate the tables. I will post pictures if they turn out cute.

Happy Birthday to me

For a few years now i have wanted a Christmas place-settings, but haven't been able to find one I like or willing to spend the money. But, this is the year. I just got them for my birthday (thanks honey!). I love them. They are subtle, yet Christmas-y and I think somewhat timeless. The best part is that they were on sale.... I mean really on sale. I got dinner plates, salad plates and some platters and serving bowls. Combine that with red chargers and nice glasses I already have, red silk placemats and napkins i already have and some festive napkin rings . I have myself a nice Christmas Table Setting now and for years to come! I am so excited.

If you want to know where I got them and the killer deal... here you go! And as an extra surprise, I also got $45 in Kohl's cash. I don't typically shop Kohls, but if Kohl's cash is just like money, than I will be doing some Christmas shopping there this year.

The other Soccer Girl

Here are some pictures of Hannah's soccer season. The funny thing is that I wasn't going to put her in soccer. It was so much time and commitment, I wasn't up for it and I didn't think she would really like it. Boy, I was wrong. She loved it and it was the best thing for her. She had the best coaches, great girls on her team and it taught her to play hard, be tough and do your best. It was a lot of time, but well worth it.

And to make the season even better. She scored a goal on her last game. I don't think the team won a game all season, except this last game and goals were hard to come by, but she did it. I was at the goal taking pictures, when all of the sudden I saw that she was open and I thought, she is going to get a goal. Then she kicked it and did. We were both in a bit of shock, but then we started cheering and she turned and ran to the side line all excited with the biggest smile on her face.

It was a great ending to a great season!

Christmas Wish List

So, it is that time again, when my husband needs a little help. So, I always post my Christmas wish list for him to see.... just to help out a little. So, here you go honey... happy shopping!

1. Another jewelry item. I love this ring. It is unique and beautiful. It is reminds me of a Peach Sapphire, which is kind my new favorite gem right now.... second to diamonds of course.

2. Love, love this necklace. Of course it would be "a hearts c". So romantic and simple... just my thing.

3. I am ready to upgrade from my Cricut to the new Cameo Silhouette. It appears that I can do so much more with this little guy and considering how much I love my Cricut, I know I will love my new Cameo.

4. Love this idea. A great way to keep memories without committing to a full book, which I haven't done very well at. But this might work to capture the kids cute doings and sayings.

5. To go with my new iPhone, I need a new case. And this one is classy and cute all at the same time. Love the colors!

6. Soon I won't be pregnant and I will want to be fashionable again. A great way to look cute while I lose the weight are these adorable scarves. Love them.

7. It is time to update my iLife software. Now with the iCloud, I need to get the latest iPhoto in order to use it to the fullest potential. So, this is on my christmas list. Beside it wouldn't be a Christmas list if I didn't ask for multiple Apple products :-)

8. I need a new flat iron and this one gets great reviews. Any iron by this company and 1.5 inches would work for me.

9. So, I might be a little late to jump on the Tom Shoes craze. But I am ready. What is not to love about a pair of shoes that are so versatile and you can wear with almost anything. And they help kids too..... This is a cause/product i am willing to support. I would love the Oatmeal Herringbone in size 9, please.

10-12. I love Rachel Ray products, so I have a few to put on my list. I have her bubble and brown set and I think this Casseround would be a great addition. Also, how doesn't need a 9X13 pan with a lid for leftover brownies or transporting dinner and the carrying case to go with it, to keep it all hot or just easier. And then I always need hot pads and these look better than your average pad, they protect all the way around.

13. I am ready to look a little more put together (after 9 months of not being). And pretty eyeshadow would help me feel a bit more glamorous. These pretty Mac Eyeshadows in pretty warm tones is a great start!

14 and 15. And I am ready to get back into shape and I need to do more than run, so I few little items around the house to help... like 10 lb dumbbells and a resistance Band (which my mom does every day and she has killer arms, so I am willing and ready to give it a try).

16. And last but not least, Of course I need the new iPhone 4S. I can't get it until Dec 27th, so it is the perfect christmas gift!

perfect slippers on Sale

Last winter, I talked about my new favorite slipper .... LoveSac Slippers. (See post here). They really are great slippers. Well guess what? They are on sale now through Christmas. Check them out. They really are great and now at 50% off (only $30) they are well-worth the money. I thought I would pass the deal on... since Christmas is coming soon and who doesn't love a new pair or slippers!

Just realized

I just realized I didn't post pictures of the other kids in their costumes and a little post about our halloween.

We had the ward halloween party on Friday. Which the Primary Presidency was in charge of, so we put a lot of time and effort into it. But I think it turned out great. Then Saturday the girls went to a birthday party for 3 hours while I recuperated from the day before. Being on my feet all day, really did a number on my body. I laid down the night before after all was said and done and literally could not move or get up.

Sunday, we carved pumpkins (more pictures to come on that), and the kids didn't have school on Monday, so the kids got to stay up a little later than usual.

We had friends over for dinner on Halloween night. We all went trick or treating with the 4 families. Tons of kids running from house to house. I know my kids love trick or treating with their friends. Hannah kept trying to recruit me to invite more families so we could have a lot more kids with us.

Jake cried and cried in his costume. I had bought him a Buzz Lightyear costume, but he would have nothing to do with it. So, then last minute I got this elephant costume. We eventually got it on him. The first house he said "trick or treat" through his sobbing and Thank you through his tears. It went that way until about the 4th house and then he figured it out. If you say "trick or treat", you get candy. He grew to love it. He looked so funny in his elephant costume that didn't really fit (floods and snug around the crotch). But it made him look cuter somehow.

Then after trick or treating we went to a friend's house that was having a halloween party too.
So all in all it was a fun night. The kids loved the night and I am personally so glad in is November!

One of Three costumes

I haven't gotten pictures of the other two kids yet, Jake won't even get near his two choices of costumes (buzz and an elephant - his two favorite things). But I thought I would share the flamingo costume I made for Ella. Since she got to wear her's to school. They had a silly day where the kids got to parade around the school wearing their costumes. She loves her costume, to bad she really only gets to wear it three times. Here is the first of a few posts of our Halloween!

Soccer Girl

Ella's soccer season is coming to a close. She loves soccer and although I am ready for the season to be over with, she is not. She always asks if she has soccer today. She has been the best player. She is always out on the field running and giving it her all. The last few games she has been scoring a lot of goals and you can tell it gives her such excitement that she tries really hard to make goals because it is so much fun. A few games ago, she got 7 goals in one game. She was on a roll and loved each and every goal. Soccer is definitely one of her things!

The last picture is supposed to say "7 goals", I will try and fix it soon.

Crazy Hair Day

Today is crazy hair day and sock day at hannah's school. I saw this post on someone else's blog and they had the most fantastic crazy hair, so I got motivated! I really had no idea what i was doing, so I was super relieved when it actually turned out half way decent. (I am the worst when it comes to doing my girls' hair. I can't even put a clip in their hair and my parts are always crocked, hence they rarely have things in their hair).

But here is what I came up with. All it took was some ribbon, spider web and some glittery spiders to finish the look. It was pretty simple and I love the way it turned out.

Wedding Memories

Wedding memories, but not mine :-) Although weddings do remind me of the many years ago we got married. But this wedding was for my brother-in-law who got married two weeks ago. It was the event of the year. We have been waiting a long time for him to get married :-)

We had so much fun together as a family celebrating his marriage. What better reason to come together than to witness two people love each other, commit to each other, experience such happiness and be sealed for time and all eternity. Here are just a few pictures from the reception. There was dancing and the kids loved it! The bouquet was a hit too. And my favorite picture is my dad dancing with Ella. So cute! The best part is we get to do it again in March for my sister-in-law!

Wall Projects

I think I mentioned that i was making a wall collage for each of my girls. I am waiting for my dad to come and visit to get them up on the wall, but until then here are some of the other pieces that I have been working on.


I have seen these felt flowers on Pinterest and thought they might be fun on some fabric and a stitching ring (is that what they are really called?). I love how they turned out. One took about an hour to make. It was a lot of cutting and hot gluing, but super simple. Here is a tutorial on how to make the felt flowers.



I saw these on pinterest too and thought they were cute and easy to make. So, i made one for both girls and where they were born. I got the canvas at Michaels, use Martha Stewart's new paint (the color is Surf in Satin). I used the technique in the tutorial to get super crisp lines and it worked like a charm. Such a cute way to highlight where someone was born. Here is a link to the tutorial for the canvas state.

Halloween Pumpkins

I just love Pinterest!!!! Such cute ideas to copy! Yes, sometimes I just plain, straight out copy someone else. And that is the case with the spider pumpkin. I saw it and thought, so cute and simple and classic.... just my thing! Here is a link to where I got the idea from. As you can tell, I literally copied her. I got the a white pumpkin at Michaels, used Martha Stewart's new paint (in Pearl) and painted about two coats of paint. Then stuck the Martha Stewart Spider (I think it is MS) and added some other rhinestones for the path. So cute, right?

The other pumpkin I made up on my own (not that everyone else hasn't seen them all around the web). But I painted the smaller white pumpkin Martha Stewart metallic (this time i had to do 4-5 coats of paint) and used black vinyl and added the BOO!. Again, so simple, cute and classic. Two easy projects done in a day (and the only reason it took a day was because I had to wait for the paint to dry in between each coat and I had to do my day job.... life :-)

Latest Logo Designs

It has been awhile since i have showcased any logos on this blog, but i thought I would do one big post of the latest logos I have designed. And if you are interested in having a logo created, check out my logo site here.

My Project Table and the letter H

About September every year, my dining room table becomes to project station as I prepare for the holidays. I wish i had another place to put everything, but this is it. And here is a look at the table these days.



It is one big mess of finished and ready to finish projects with a lot of Halloween stuff thrown into the mix. One of the projects i have been working on is the cute yarn covered letters that have started popping up everywhere. They are so cute and so easy. Here is the letter H I made and I have an E done too. You can find tons of tutorials online, so I am not going to reinvent the wheel, but I will share a few tips I learned.



* the thinner the yarn the longer it will take. I think it looks nicer, but keep in mind it will take twice as long. Just be aware of the yarn thickness, it makes a different.

* I used a glue gun. I used it around all the edges of the letter and then about every 5-8 wraps to keep the yarn in place.

That is about it... they are so simple, yet so cute.



And I had these tiny shadow boxes that I bought from ebay years ago. They were an had ugly butterflies in them. So, I decided to rip off the ugly butterflies and cover with paper and add my own cute butterflies. I am going to be using these for a wall collage in the girls rooms. Good thing I saved the frames years ago. They are now coming in handy.

Halloween Poster

The Primary is in charge of the Halloween party this year for our church. I and a friend was put in charge of marketing and advertising. Here is what we did for the posters. We were so happy with the end result, I had to put it up on my blog to share.

And here is the flyer I designed too.

Hallowen Treat for Friends

My kids love Tic Tacs. Especially the orange ones. They get them every time we go to Target. So, when I saw some inspiration over at Pinterest using Tic Tacs, I knew I was going to do something with Tic Tacs for Halloween. I thought that might the a fun little treat for Hannah to pass out to her friends on Halloween. There are a ton of cute ideas to decorate the tic tac container, but I kept mine simple. (I'm just that way). Super cute and easy and cheap. What's not to love!

For everyone that is looking for the tags to use, please go here and you can download them. thanks