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!

Wonderland Photo Booth

At Hannah's birthday party I had a make-shift photo booth. Let's just say I could have done a better job, but the pictures are fun nevertheless. Here are some fun photos of the party guests.

Alice in Wonderland Party

It has been awhile, but i finally have photos of my daughter's 7th birthday party. It was a Wonderland party and boy, oh boy was it fun to prepare for. So many ideas out there in the blog world, that i had to finally put a stop to the planning and executing. I could have gone on forever.

Here are all the details of her big day!

One of the activities was decorating Mad Hatter hats. The girls got to use everything from gems and feathers to stickers and pom-poms.


For the favors, I got notebooks at Target in the $1 section (that was all I found that day that had to do with Alice, it must have been fate). Then I made floral pens (with eyes), included capri suns and a cookie and taffy.

I put out all our Alice in Wonderland books and I framed different quotes from the movie and had them displayed throughout.

For the decorations, I made paper chains from an Alice in Wonderland book and sowed crepe paper together and then made the circular hanging pendants. And lots and lots of satin ribbon! I really love how all of it worked out.

Another activity we had was painting tea cups and saucers. The girls got to paint their own set and then I will go and get them fired and return them to the girls as their thank yous.



This was the sign that welcomed the guest when they walked through the door.

We had a photo booth like set up. Here were the props the I made and purchased for their photo shoots. More pictures of that to follow.



In case you didn't see my earlier post, here are the invitations i sent out.


Here are all the yummy treats we served in Wonderland. I got the cute idea of using Cheshire Cat smiles on cupcakes from this blog. I made lollipop rice krispy treats dipped in chocolate with sprinkles. We served ham and cheese sandwiches with "eat me" tags, I used playing cards and "drink me" tags for the drinks in mason jars. Made napkin pockets for the utensils and eclairs and cookies dipped in chocolate and sprinkles. The girls asked if they could "eat" everything and when I said "yes" you should have seen their eyes... they were so excited.