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Sell Out and Sign a Record Label already!

2011-08-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

I come across indie bands now and then that I love and want to have their songs on my Ipod and it drives me crazy when I can't purchase their stuff. I've been stalking Alison Gingerich ever since I saw her on Project Runway as a model two years ago- and I still can't pay to purchase her stuff- listen to this one:

Dream dream dream by Alison Gingerich

came across this video and love it- it must be mine!

So like I said, Sell out already so it can have a home on my ipod!

4 months down, 5 to go!

2011-06-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

A few new things for us:

Here we have baby #4- a very hungry, perfect, wiggly little bean- due 11/11/11 (coolest due date ever!)

Those first few months weren't pretty, but the morning sickness has subsided and now we can focus on other things, like finding something that will actually fit this body of mine that doesn't make me look like I'm wearing sausage casings or a tent (don't you love the in-between stage), oh, and I guess we've also got to start getting ourselves packed up for the big move- 15 minutes away! We have such mixed emotions about this move- we're so excited one minute, and then the next so sad to be leaving so many people we love, but the great thing is we're still close enough to see our friends (even if it won't be carpooling to cubscouts, soccer, or school!) It's amazing what 15 minutes drive-time can do, new school, new district, new ward, new stake- and all of this with a new baby~ we're in for an adventure!

2 years and 2 months later.....

2011-01-22T07:02:00.000-08:00

With my love for most old-fashioned needle arts, it's no secret that I have a little old granny that resides within my body- generally she quietly sits twiddling her thumbs, hidden inside biding her time until the day when she will start dying her hair wacky shades of blue and cackling over donuts with friends each morning down at Chuck's (oh sweet Chucks) because she and I will have little else to do, but for now- I let the old biddy out for an hour or two each night while I work on whatever cross stitch that tickles my fancy for the moment as a way to unwind each night. You may remember when I posted a little over two years ago that my sister and I decided to tackle a few designs by Scott Gustafson- these are crazy hard, super detailed projects that are 18 inches wide and 22 inches tall on 25 count fabric (625 stitches per inch)- don't do the math, it's crazy..... Anyways, my first of the projects is finished, I put off the laundry yesterday long enough to complete my Princess and the Frog design (which I started before I even knew Disney was recreating the story- it's always been a favorite of mine). So here are a few shots of the finished product- it's not framed yet, so please excuse the rumpled look to it-

Here's a shot of the process- this is two pages of the design, and there were 36 of them to do:

and here's the final product:

a close up:

a few more close ups:

4th of July- Picture HEAVY!

2010-07-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

And when I say picture heavy, I really do mean it! We had many, many hilarious-pee your pants funny moments:
*Lucy shooting like a torpedo in the water
*Diane trying to catch the frisbee and ending up doing a perfect ballerina impression
*Me trying desperately to get Jana's trunk open only to find out it was someone else's car

A few scary moments (involving our stinkin' dog):
*Hazel climbed a 15 foot ladder to the roof of the cabin only to slide down the slippery tiles and fall all the way to the ground (which was also kind of funny because I got to see the look of shock on the man's face who was up there pressure washing when he saw Hazel up on the roof with him- "Doggy- No, no! Get down doggy!")
*Hazel getting lost on Lopez, chasing cars on the a main road, and us having to drive all the way to the south end because a kind woman found her and kept her until we could get down there.

And so many wonderful memories with my dearly-loved In Laws and our wacky kids. Here are some of the things we did:

We spent time with our cousins:

We spent lots of time at the lake, fishing and catching tadpoles:

We spent even more time down on the beach:

We played in the water:

The boys built a "Boys only" Fort:

So of course, the girls built one for themselves too:

K worked on some of his cubscout requirments:

I made the kids pose for me waaaaaaaaay to much:

(see how happy she is about it)

(once again, thrilled)

The kids were in the parade this year- they loved throwing the candy:

While we watched and caught the candy on the sidelines:

And we spent time with these two special someones:

(mmmm- smores!)

Happy 4th of July!

Snake Hunting

2010-07-08T00:24:00.000-07:00

We've found a fantastic park over near us that the kids love because it's crawling with snakes, and for my odd children, it's heaven! Last week when we were there, J found an especially big one and thought she'd share it with a 12-year-old boy who happened to be walking past. He wasn't especially fond of the idea, I believe he said something like, "Dude! Girls aren't supposed to touch snakes- and your sister's doing it in a tutu- what's wrong with you!" That was just the sort of encouragement J needed to find 8 more before we left for the day. Here are some pictures of the day's catch:

Catching Up- K's Baptism

2010-07-07T08:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I have an 8-year-old! How is it possible that time has gone by so fast? I started my planning for his big event by sending out these:

(I've changed the info of course!), and by assigning food for the family to bring. We also have been making our family home evenings all about his preparation for the last few months to get him all ready for the big day. I was so happy my parents could fly up for the weekend (even though life was very crazy for them at the time), and we also had all of Foo's wonderful family and some very dear friends come to help us celebrate this big step in our K's life.

I've been to many, many baptisms, I've spoken and felt the spirit at many, many baptisms- but I've never felt it so strongly as when I watched my newly-turned 8 year old enter the waters and receive the Holy Ghost for the first time. What an amazing day! Congratulations to our K for his decision and next big step! Here are some pictures from our day!

Here's K and Foo before the service:

Kaden wanted to sing with his cousins for the special musical number- M was up there pulling faces the whole time:

The extended family:

And while we were trying to get a picture of just our family I came across this one on my camera- I thought it was "Classic Kristie" (you have to say that like J.T. on SNL)- me thinking something was just absolutely hilarious (probably something annoying I did) and everyone else looks thoroughly bugged and ready to get the heck out of there:

Yep, at least I think I'm pretty funny-
But we finally got a family picture where everyone is looking near the camera at least and smiling, notice Foo having to pin M's arms up in the air to get her facing in one direction long enough to take a picture.

We've got bunnies!

2010-07-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

J has discovered her thrill and love in life- and it is animals! She is my nature girl, she loves bugs, snakes, reptiles and animals of every shape and kind, at any given moment she is caring for one of her 5 butterflies, two frogs, 6 tadpoles, 1 dog, or any number of other wildlife she has apprehended for the moment. I LOVE that she is passionate about something, and am even more THRILLED that she is the one who is so responsible with the feeding and upkeep for our little zoo we have going on.

We were supposed to pick up our two bunnies on Tuesday (July 6), but we got the hutch ready sooner than we had expected, so last night I snuck out and picked them up by myself. When I got home, I put them in a cooler with the lid on and asked J if she would help me put some groceries away, she lifted it and found her sweet bunnies inside instead- I love the look on her face when she realizes what's going on:

Introducing J's Silvermist

and K's Smokey:

They are little gray Holland Lops- don't know the technical term, just excited to have them in the family. More pictures you say? Well, if you insist.

Catching Up- J's Fairy Party!

2010-07-06T09:05:00.000-07:00

For J's party this year, she was absolutely determined to have a fairy princess party with one of her good buddies Supergirl. Supergirl also happens to be the daughter of one of my best buddies Kristin, so with our party/decorating-powers combined, we came up with one smashing success of a 6-year old fairy soiree.

If you were one of our 24 little guests, you would be greeted at the door by four us us-
two little fairies, Supergirl and J:

and their two fairy godmothers- me and Kristin!

You'd be asked if you believed in fairies and if you answered in the affirmative, then J would splash you with some fairy dust- you'd be turned around three times and then presented to our fairy helpers:

who would take your gift and escort you over to the wing-decorating station-

as you can see, it was pretty crowded, but the girls had such a great time! Once all of our guests had arrived and were finished with their wings, they were brought into the fairy circle Kristin and I had created the night before to learn all about the different talents fairys have. I've got to say, I don't know why Kristin isn't working in Disneyland or something- those girls were hanging on every word she said- she spoke quietly and had their full attention, I'm pretty sure they bought the whole fairy godmother thing :).

Once they knew which talents to look for, they were off on a scavenger hunt to find all 8- a different colored marble symbolized each one, and the girls loved running around looking for their marbles.

Once each fairy had found their required talents, they earned thier own magic wand that they would need to use as they practiced their fairy dance moves during a wild game of fairy freeze dance!

Next, we split them into two groups and then swapped halfway through the time, the half that came with me earned their tiaras after they learned to jump from flower-to-flower, flourish their wands, tiptoe quietly so they wouldn't get caught, etc, the half that went with Kristin went over to get their nails polished up and earned a spectacularly jewelled flower ring.

The fairys had worked up an apetite with all of that dancing so we fed them some light snacks and cupcakes and then sung to the girls and let them blow out their candles on their fairy-sized cakes.

The girls opened presents and then had about 5 minutes to watch the Tinkerbell movie before parents started arriving to pick up their little fairies. We had so much fun, all of their friends were so sweet and it was definitely a party my J will remember forever!

Father's Day Questions

2010-06-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

My friends big sister has a blog that I really love- and every year for Father's Day she asks her kids these questions about their dad. It's really fun to look back and see how her kids have changed over the years since she began posting these, so I thought I'd get in on the action- Here are the following responses my kids gave for 2010.

1. What does Dad do at work?

K- He gives money to the poor, and goes to lots of meetings and I don’t know.

J- He helps people on the computer, and he works at I don’t know

M- Gives a present to me

2. What does Dad do at home?

K- He likes to wrestle and he likes playing Lost Planet with me, and go play on the tramp.

J- He plays with us and wrestles with us, and he gets excited when we show him things

M- He wrestles at home and I don’t know

3. What are Dad’s favorite sports?

K- Basketball, football- wait, not football, volleyball!

J- Basketball, football, and baseball

M- Yellow ones

4. What does Dad like to watch on TV?

K- He likes to watch Deadliest Catch, Monster Quest, and the hunting show.

J- The crab movie and basketball

M- Mickey Mouse

5. What does Dad do after you go to bed?

K- Sometimes goes to the game, he watches tv with mom or goes somewhere else not in our house.

J- He stays up and watches tv and he reads a book when mom’s sleeping.

M- He goes to bed

6. What does Daddy like to eat?

K- Ummm…. he likes to eat beef jerky, apricots, and protein shakes.

J- Pears, grapes, apples, I see him eating apples all the time!

M- Fishes and hmmmm, oh! I know! Chicken!

7. What does Daddy do at church?

K- He baptized me and he gives talks sometimes.

J- He has a presents meeting and he sings songs

M- gets a present meeting

8. Does Dad like to clean the house?

K- No he doesn’t

J- (Laughs) No! I guess…

M- Yeah, he wants to help you

9. Who does Dad love?

K- He loves our whole family, including grandma and grandpa.

J- Me and K and M and Mom- and his mom and dad.

M- Fishies, K, J, Momma, and me!

Girls Room Redo- part two

2010-05-22T21:08:00.000-07:00

Quilts are finished! And I love them! My friend Janet has an amazing quilt-binding machine that does lots of different patterns, so after pieces my quilts together I got to pick a neat stitch to tie the two sides together. I also now have the beds put together and set up in their room, and I've painted the walls to a new beautiful shade of buttery yellow.

Here was the room with a brown paint when I started:

(Don't you love those sweet birdcages- go here to get yourself some)

And now here is a picture with the fresh paint, newly put together bed, quilt and pillows:

Those walls look bare- can't wait to get some artwork and accent furniture in there!
Here are more pics of the quilts-

Next I'm working on painting the shelf to go between the beds and a cute little stool I stole from Rachelle's Goodwill pile

Redoing the Girls Room Part 1

2010-05-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

It's finally time to move J in with M, they aren't going to like it- but it's time! Since M was born, my middle child has been bounced back and forth from room to room as we tried to figure out our bedroom dilemma which is that the girls should be in the same room together, even if they're sworn enemies once bedtime hits. I can't blame J- M sings herself to sleep and stays up for hours after we put her down (bedtimes 7pm and she's usually still talking to herself in bed at 10pm), so we've been hoping that having a pretty new bedroom will soften the blow for J.

As of right now, I have four pillows made and am in the process of getting two quilts finished for the beds, so I thought I'd post up some pics of the progress

I'm redoing the room in two of my favorite fabric lines by Heather Bailey- Pop Garden and Bijoux- here are a few samples from the lines (the first two are the ones I'm making the quilts out of)

And here are the pillows I have finished so far:

These are the owls (that were so fun to make!)

and here are the tree pillows I made with lots of different scrap fabric I had laying around:

I'm planning on painting the walls yellow and bookcase red or turquoise while I wait for their beds to get here, then we'll start thinking about what we're going to decorate the walls with!

Love this weather

2010-01-20T16:45:00.000-08:00

Man I love these two stinkers:
and this one is so much fun:

and this one is my crazy girl:
and I don't think these two together could be sweeter if they tried:

but what I'm loving the very most today is the fact that we could be outside with our friends while the sun is shining with relatively warm weather-- I love a good spring day mid-January! Hope this helps us get through the rest of the winter!

The Year of the Dog

2010-01-12T08:50:00.000-08:00

Seems like everyone got a Christmas Puppy this year in Foo's family- we like to do things in threes, and this Christmas was no exception.

It started with the idea to get this little girl:
Foo's dad, Mike, has been wanting a dog for many years, but has put it off to go on a mission and because of all of his many other responsibilities. This year we got together with his siblings and decided it was time Mike got his dog. We knew he shouldn't have a puppy due to his schedule and the time it takes to train one, so we found this perfect little one-year-old, already trained yellow lab named Zoe.

Mike likes her, like really really really likes her! Grandkids, eh? Wife, eh? Zoe- she's amazing!!! We hear every detail about what she likes, what she does, what sounds she makes, how he prechews her food (oh wait, that last statement might not be entirely true). We brought her over Christmas day and surprised him with her, and this is the look he's had on his face ever since:
See! We did good this year!

While we were researching getting Mike a dog, I came across a listing for a breeder in Maple Valley that had newborn Chocolate Labs for sale that would be old enough to go home on Christmas day. I've also been promising Foo he could get a puppy to train to be the perfect bird dog ever since M was born 2 1/2 years ago- the deal was that M had to be potty trained before I'd potty train another dog- well M's getting pretty close, and I thought it would be a fun surprise to have a Christmas puppy. I loaded up the family in the car a month and a half before Christmas without telling them where we were going, and 2 hours later we had picked out the dog we'd bring home Christmas day. Meet our little Hazel:
She's pretty darn mellow, a very quick learner, and potty training has been frustrating, but I think we're getting close! She loves to put a blanket over her back and run around the house like crazy- I think she's pretty proud of that particular skill.

Foo's sister Jana also got a puppy this Season- her names Lucy and she's darn cute too-
The three dogs got to play together over New Years, and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves (even if it did cause a slight rise in anxiety for my understanding MIL to have three dogs running around the property)
and now, I do believe I've reached my yearly quota of dog/puppy pictures allowed for one blog- so I'll be signing off.

New Years

2010-01-12T08:34:00.001-08:00

Hi Mom! Hi Dad! I can just address you personally because I'm certain there isn't anyone else out there who has held out faith that I'll ever update my family blog again. Maybe I should make one of my new Years resolutions to update this baby more than just quarterly.

For New Years we headed up to Lopez Island to spend the weekend with my fantastic IL's- Foo's parents and youngest brother (our Andyroo who we can't get enough of) and Jana and family. This was the first year both K and J stayed up until midnight to toast the New Year. It is so fun to see these guys getting older and quirkier- they are so enjoyable, especially little J at 11:30 at night- the girl was hysterical.

We had fun playing games, toasting smores while sitting fireside, watching Diane actually holding and enjoying our new little puppy, watching movies, pigging out on yummy food, playing with the dogs, hiking, going on Kubota rides, FISHING, and lots of talking.

Now here are the pictures- sorry there are so many (and I'm still workin' on my skills)- I'm in love with my new Christmas present Foo got me that I've been wanting for three years- yes, I've now officially become that obnoxious lady that has to take pictures of every little thing :).

I LOVE FALL.... that is all.

2009-10-29T12:05:00.001-07:00

FHE Pumpkin carving- this year we invited some of our buddies over, and had a pumpkin/pie baking contest. We'll go ahead and name Mike as the winner for his crooked-smile pumpkin, but I may have just won the pie contest. Sadly, I didn't take pictures of the pumpkins (go figure, or the pie), so you get to see some pictures of cute kids instead.

I love the modely poses in this pic: Look at K, he's obviously been studying out his Blue Steel, and S definitely has the pout down.

Oh my goodness, angel child- could D be any more beautiful?

Pumpkin guts!!!!

When did this kid get so big? Seriously- I want to know.. how is this possible?
C made the very wise decision to go shirtless for this activity- for this brilliance I gave him just a little bit more pie than the rest- now he will forever have bragging rights.M's sporting one of my crocheted hats that my buddy Mel Zim showed me how to make- Now I must go find my baby and squish her- goodbye!

Foggy Mornings

2009-09-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

I don't know why, but I absolutely love a good foggy morning! As the kids were getting ready to go to their first day of school this year, we woke up to a beautiful lightly foggy scene- and I snapped a few cool pics.

(not sure why M was the only one who would hold still long enough for me to get her pic- but thanks to little M!)

Halloween Advent Calendars are Done!!!!!

2009-09-16T13:48:00.000-07:00

or at least one is! While Karalenn and I frantically work to get the rest of them done, here are some pictures of the one we've complete for your viewing pleasure- we've put them up for sale in Karalenn's new etsy store- The Lost Button:

A mishmash of crafts

2009-08-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

Wanna see a cute new bag I'm in love with? I call it the Lulu purse- and I've been having so much fun buying up all sorts of fabric and cool vintagey buttons and storing it away to be made at a later date- here are three of the bags I've finished.
You're welcome to admire my lovely model-

Also- Kare and I are getting ready to work on our new advent calendars for the year- so be watching for those updates.

2009-07-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

OK- I finally took that horrifying picture down! I think it was the fear of what the heck was wrong with my eye, or maybe I was possessed or something, but I have no idea what drove me to allow that picture out into the public. You'll be happy to know that a week ago, a wonderful optometrist in my ward told me not to worry about the eye- that it would go away, and sure enough it is now a little less creapy! It should be all clear in a few days. I have had so much fun going around in public with it though, the stares, double-takes and "Mommy! What's wrong with that ladies eye!" I've heard have been every bit as enjoyable as you could expect. I don't know what I'll do without all of that lovely attention, maybe I'll start walking with a horrible limp- yeah! that'll do it!

Doc or no?

2009-07-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

For my first post in almost three months, I thought I would stick up a picture for you to be shocked and horrified by. Please excuse my first-thing-in-the-morning hair, and left-over makeup residue, I have this lovely, creepy red eye to share with you today. I woke up yesterday with a pea-sized "bloody" (as J calls it) spot on my eye, and today it's way bigger- so what do you think? Should I go into the doc? Or will he tell me, "let's watch it," and I've just wasted $80- opinions very much needed!

Ta-dah!

2009-05-16T08:17:00.000-07:00

Welp- I did it, I got a new website up for the crafts, wanna see it?

http://www.wildcoriander.com

Maybe I'll have a little more time for blogging now???? Who am I kidding.

The Bag With a Plan

2009-03-28T08:35:00.001-07:00

What started out as a fun craft project with some good buddies has turned into yet another money making scheme that I'm totally excited about- here is the best diaper bag pattern I've found- paired with yummy fabrics! AJ and I'll be selling these at The Creme Brulee Kids Sale in May- wanna see some pictures?

Here's the diaper bag I made for Flem and baby Penelope-

and here's the one for Mo and baby on the way!

Rachelle posted the bag she made with Sis on her blog here- traipse on over if you'd like~

New pics of K

2009-03-23T08:20:00.000-07:00

Jessica is the greatest ever! Thanks for these newest photos of K- I can't believe how big he looks, I love those pop-out ears and his sweet half-smile. Love this little guy.

My Pickle Paint Before and Afters

2009-03-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

Everytime Foo goes out of town I like to find a project to both keep myself busy and hopefully make the trips fewer and farther between (out of fear on his part)- so here for your viewing pleasure is the before and afters of my pickle-colored paint adventure.

This was my breakfast nook when we first moved in (boring!!!! But look at how nice and unblemished my table set was!)-

Then we decided to paint it red last year around this time (Foo liked this way the best- I'm thinking he's not the biggest fan of my beloved color!)
And now here we have the green that I love!

My buddy AJ and I ran to Ross's and picked up a ton of great accessories in "pickle" to fully incorporate the new paint color in- now I just need Rachelle to whip me up some vinyl lettering, and we'll have it all ready to go! So what do you think? Are you a pickle fan?

She's terrible at this blogging thing-

2009-01-28T11:40:00.000-08:00

I know you're all thinking it- or maybe, scarier yet- you didn't even notice...... anyhoo- I've been so busy I can't think straight, but if you asked me what I'm busy with- I wouldn't even begin to know what to tell you!

Lest you think I'm ignoring you all, I'd like you to note that I finally changed the random picture of the moment (a really, really long moment)- and get ready, because I'll shortly be posting up pictures of all of my recent craftiness, ie- ruffle pants, a bunch of pillowcase dresses, pinafores (is that really how you spell pinafore? Looks weird to me), two gorgeous diaper bags, and other random stuff. Yep- I'm a sewing geek- but a sewing geek who finally updated my blog- take that!

Welcome Sweet Penelope!

2008-12-19T13:06:00.000-08:00

My sister had her sweet new little girl- Penelope Calypso Jane Hippen (but I'll be referring to her as baby Edna from now on since she's got my almond-shaped eyes). Here's the announcement I made up to send out for Karalenn and Seth- Congrats Hippens! Now when do I get to hold her?

2008-12-09T22:44:00.000-08:00

The trees are finished- and my sister blogged about them- so I'm going to send you over there for you to see more detail on the final product-
http://nerd-bucket.blogspot.com/2008/12/finished-result.html
My tree is happily hanging up on my wall and the kids have been loving pulling a new treat or Christmas activity out each day.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-05T22:42:00.000-08:00

Going out in the mail this weekend:

And thank you so much to Jessica again for the great Christmas mini-shoot! You're the best Jes!!!!!

Random Craftiness

2008-12-01T23:51:00.001-08:00

Geez- here I go again- bad weather mixed with the holiday season always gets me looking for projects, so while you wait for me to post the final pics of the advent calendar (Don't you love it how I just assume you're as excited to see the final product as I am?) here are two other projects-

The first one was a one-hour project, simple and easy and lots of fun because I got to do it with my mom while she was here. A 2-piece outfit for M-

the shirt is Gap- but the embroidered applique on it and the pants are mine. I've never done to much pattern sewing- so this was a pretty fun and easy project.
I've been working on this second project since March- and I don't mean that I picked it up now and then to work on it- I'm talking an hour or so a night, just about every night while I watched my previously tivoed programs (I love that I can use that word as an adjective and you know what I'm talking about). I couldn't find a cross-stich pattern for any Liz Lemon Swindle art- and I really wanted one because I love her style, so I created my own pattern using a handy-dandy computer app. It's from her painting "She Shall Bring Forth a Son" which has been one of my very favorites since I had my first little guy. This crosstitch was a doozy- the hardest one I've ever done, and I'm so excited to give it to my mom for Christmas (don't worry- I didn't give anything away- she's constantly complaining about how she can never find the bookmark my dad made for her to see my blog- I'm sure a few weeks won't make much of a difference).

full pic:

detail:

G'night.

My very talented sister- and an update on the craft situation

2008-11-25T22:29:00.000-08:00

Here's Karalenn's latest entry on her blog- and it's also an update on our Christmas tree advent calendar. I got my embroidery machine and have proceeded to embroider my guts out on these 9 trees. The first one took me about 6 hours, and each one after has taken closer to three- yuck! But after looking at Kare's blog and at her darling pockets she's finished, I'm SO excited to see the finished results. Yes, I now understand why people just go pick up an $80 advent calender from Pottery Barn- but think of all of the hours of crafting they're missing out on (and by hours I mean about 20 total). Stay tuned for pics of the completed project in all of it's beauty.

By the way- Happy Thanksgiving! My parents are in town, and it's so nice to spend the day having more adult conversation, shopping while the baby's sleeping at home, and planning for our big meal on Thursday! Anyone have any killer sweet potato crunch-type recipes? I think that's the last thing needed on our list.

Christmas Craft 2008

2008-11-15T10:42:00.000-08:00

OK you crazy ladies I roped into my latest craft project- how are you doing this morning???? I'd like to make an apology here and now for any 4am TMI that may have been going on last night- I guess that's what you get for staying up until you're loopy with lack of sleep. Why did I get three girls to stay over here until 4 am last night? Well- let me introduce you to our Christmas craft for 2008.

My sister and I have been wanting to make advent calendars for our kids for the last few years now, and decided to go for it this year. We extensively researched our options (and by that, I mean we spent five minutes google image searching other people's ideas) and when I came across this Telluride Pottery Barn Kids calendar- I knew we'd found it! You probably saw it in the latest magazine they send out (because if you're anything like me you drool and pour over every issue until the next one comes out)- but here's a pic or 2 for those not on the mailing list:

Darling right? Anyways, it's a pretty spendy little item- to the tune of $75, and we knew we could make it for a quarter of the price- plus make it way cuter, so Karalenn and I have been hording up wool felt and notions for the last few weeks- and I even went so far as to buy myself my Christmas present early- hurray for my barely-used, new-to-me embroidery machine!

While the idea of making a 5 foot tree with 25 individual pockets with lots of detailed embroidery on each one may sound like a lot of work to most people, I'm a gal with lots of vision, and a bit of a lack in logic- so why make 1 tree, when you could rope others in and collectively make 9???? We should probably ask my poor, sleep deprived, buddies what they think of my vision now! They arrived at my house around 8pm after we all put our kiddos to sleep, and were deliriously walking out the door at 4 am, grateful to only have 7 pockets left to do.

You may think this little ballerina looks sweet-

Don't let that innocent face fool you- with the background beading, cutting out of body parts, dressing her, fashioning her crown just right, affixing the ric-rack and hand-embroidering on her face for four trees- she took a good hour and a half by herself.

Yes, it's going to be absolutely beautiful, and yes, our children will probably be beat if ever they pull off one of the many, many felt dots so lovingly tacky glued on the pockets, but I think I'd like to hear the sleepy ladies opinions on this subject- so comment away gals- are you happy or deliriously angry you got suckered into my latest scheme? You have to admit- it was pretty fun hanging out, eating our weight in M&M's, and listening to a Kristie music mix while sitting around that table for 8 hours straight!

I'm in a blogger funk....

2008-11-03T08:13:00.000-08:00

and I can't seem to break out of it- I've started at least a million and one posts, and they're all either piling up in my drafts or instantly deleted. I was telling Foo about this and asking him for ideas on what I could blog about, when K overheard and insisted he choose what my next blog entry would be- so here you go folks, this one's thanks to K!

Last night, while we were sitting around in that lovely after church, just broken your fast and stuffed your face full-euphoria most of you probably know and have experienced, the kids and I decided we were feeling crafty and wanted to CREATE! I've had many a crafty thought rolling around in my head for months now (yes folks, I'm starting to come out of the baby-fog, crafting slump I've been in since M hit the scene 14 months ago), and I was just getting ready to try making my own BabyLegs from a great tutorial my sister sent me, when I realized the kids would certainly not have fun with it. Instead, I pulled up a picture I saved on my computer of these guys for some inspiration-

I was thinking about making my own version for the kids for Christmas, and decided instead that they would probably have way more fun making their own- and I was right, they loved it!

I made the patterns and the kids were having a really difficult time cutting out their own shapes, not to mention trying to embroider on the face pieces. I found that I was the one doing all the work, which is fine, but totally not the point of all of us working on a project together, so we scrapped that idea.

Things went much more smoothly once we changed it up a little, the kids came up with their own patterns and used a permanent marker for the faces instead. They loved sitting on my lap to use the sewing machine and stuffing thier new little buddies full of the fluffy batting.

I'd like to introduce you to K and J's newest creations- K named his Crazy Michael Cub (it's the blue one), and J named her's Amanda Girl Cub (the one that looks red but is actually a nice raspberry color)

Yes, you get two differently posed pictures of the new little guys because the kids have been kind of into the picture thing ever since my friend Jessica took them out to take their pics (they even wanted to make sure these little guys were up against the garage because it would make a really nice back for the picture- J's words, not mine!)

In case you didn't have enough information on these two yet, here's a little fact sheet on each of them-

Crazy Michael Cub
Favorite Food: Captain Crunch Cereal
Favorite Color: Red
Favorite Thing to Do: Play with K
Favorite Animal: a deer
Favorite Book: Poisonous Animals
Best Friend: Amanda Girl Cub
Crazy wants to be a babysitter when he grows up.

Amanda Girl Cub
Favorite Food: Strawberries
Favorite Color: Purple
Favorite Thing to Do: Get Made
Favorite Animal: Zebra
Favorite Book: Anything about cats
Best Friend: Katie-girl (J’s cousin)
Amanda wants to be a bear when she grows up, she loves to climb on trees, and read books.

I have this amazing photographer friend.....

2008-10-28T00:04:00.000-07:00

Who asked me if she could take pictures of my kids- yes, that's right, she ASKED me? Are you kidding? Of course! We headed out to Issaquah last Saturday so Jessica could try out her new lense she got- and here are a few of my favorites that she came up with:

You can see the full photo shoot here:

http://feelyphotography.blogspot.com/2008/10/bumsteads.html

Thank you so much Jess! It was a blast hanging out and watching you work your magic!

Back-to-School!

2008-09-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

Time to join the hordes of bloggers and post up my kiddos on their first day of school! K is starting kindergarten this year- and he's beyond excited. He's an old kindergartener, a summer birthday, so we decided to give him an extra year at home, and I'm so glad we did! He's more focused, more mature, (and at least a head taller than everyone else in his classroom). Here's the smart little guy on his first day of school: J is heading into her second year of preschool- she's at a new school that's a little bit more academically-based than her last (though we loved and adored her old teacher, man we miss her!) Here she is all ready to go!

Macie, of course, was hanging out too, watching all the action:

And here are the kids together, don't you just wanna squeeze 'em? Good luck with the new school year ya stinkers!

I've been tagged!

2008-09-03T13:46:00.001-07:00

I've been tagged my my new buddy Jessica- I love your blog by the way m'dear!

3 Favorite things to do:
1)Graphic Arts (Digiscrappin, website creating, etc)
2)Volleyball
3)Cook & Collect Recipes and try new foods!

3 Places you have visited:
1)Thailand
2)Ecuador
3)Mazatlan

3 Places you want to go:
1)Australia
2)Europe (especially Bavaria)
3)The Cook Islands

3 Favorite pets you've had:
1)Ki-kers (my cat I had for 12 years)
2)Skaget
3)Mona

3 Favorite foods:
1)Thai Food
2)Claim Jumpers Lemon Brulee Bar (Jenn- I fully expect to have this when we go out next week!)
3)Greek

Pet peeves:
1)When people don't follow through- are unreliable
2)I'll copy Jessica on this one- Being underestimated or unappreciated.
3)Being late- whether it's me or someone I'm waiting on

3 Goals in the future:
1)Lose the baby weight (all the way from baby #1)
2)Go back to school to finish my degree when M gets a little older
3)Be a more positive person- complain less, enjoy people more

3 Most important things in your life:
1)My sweet family
2)My sweet testimony
3)My sweet friends

3 Favorite colors:
1)aqua
2)brown
3)periwinkle

3 People who need to fill this out:
1)Kristin- supermom- get postin' lady!
2)Karalenn
3)Emily K.

and everyone else who wants to join in!!!

M turned 1!!!!

2008-09-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

I CANNOT believe my little M is now a one-year-old! The first six months were a little rough- I've worried and had more health troubles with this little girl than I have with my two older, but at one-year-old she's such a loving, quirky, excited, happy stinker, and I love her to bits! We celebrated her bday up at Lopez with all of our family on Foo's side because we were already up there for the family reunion! Grandma made her a delicious cake with chocolate frosting- and after stripping her to her diaper, Foo gave her a huge hunk of cake and we let her go! Some babies are tentative when they first get their hands on a piece of cake of that magnitude, not M! I was proud of my little chunker- it's like she was training her whole first 12 months for this moment- I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking!

First she nicely opened her presents:

And then came the cake!

Happy Birthday M!

My Summer Blog Break

2008-08-28T18:24:00.000-07:00

What a nice little break me and my blog have had this summer- I've really been focusing on my digital scrap designing and my website designing- I spent so much time on the computer I wanted to spend every other minute I could with my family. So to catch you up- this summer we did a whole lot of nothing! Glorious nothing! No major schedules or classes (except K's Karate) and the only vacations we took were up to Lopez Island to enjoy the new cabin. Here's what we love to do up at Lopez:

We spent most of the summer thinking we were going to move- the first house we were under contract with was this one:

a short sale that was beautiful, but we decided the yard was just way to tiny for the kiddos- it had a tiny patio with two patches of grass in the back and that was it.

The second home we almost bought was a lot bigger than our current home, is on 5 gorgeous acres and had wildlife like crazy everywhere around the place (I even saw a bear across the street) and best of all was a simply amazing deal- here's what it looks like:

but we decided it was too far of a commute for Matt, and there were too many unknown factors and things that needed to be fixed on it- so here we sit in our same home getting K ready for kindergarten that starts next week, and J ready for her second year of Preschool

and M is just a happy, smiley, silly little bit of sunshine that gets to stay at home with Mom all day- and I think we're both pretty darn happy about that!

Workin' the Crochet Hook

2008-07-03T22:02:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I had one of my friends, Onica, invite me to go and learn how to crochet at a really great local Knitting/Crocheting store in Kent (go check it out, you won't be disappointed). I was excited to go and learn, but even more excited to go and people watch- you never know what you're going to get with a hobby like knitting- and I was definitely not disappointed.

After a quick lesson from Onica I was off and crocheting like a mad woman staying pretty focused until the older lady next to me began spouting off about conspiracy's in King County and how if the authorities knew she was privy to such secret information, her life would be in danger (so it makes perfect sense to speak loudly about it in front of a group of strangers- right?). Yes! I love me some crazies- there's something about getting the crazies riled up, maybe it's because for just a moment it makes me feel a little more normal. For the rest of the evening I enjoyed listening to stories about a wild night at Comic Con 2007, her love for all things Furby, and how she and her husband work out their penchant for bondage- all while wielding my new crochet hook.

I did enjoy learning how to crochet and have since finished my first project- so here it is- the big reveal, are you ready????

I made this scarf (yes in the middle of the summer) for my sweet J-

and here's close-up to see my fancy stitching!

Thanks Onica, both for the lesson and the entertainment!!!!

Salt Lake Trip

2008-06-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

I was able to go on a trip all by myself (leaving the kids to have fun with Foo at home) to Salt Lake early in May- it was a quick three days, but I was so excited to be there for my niece's baptism and to see lots of family that I haven't seen for a long time. This was a much needed break for me, as Foo had been gone the previous two weekends-

he went to Palm Springs with K for a long guys weekend two weeks previous:

and the weekend before had been out Turkey Huntin' with the fellas:

so now it was my turn! And I enjoyed every minute of it. Usually when I've gone to Salt Lake I try to see all of my old friends and family, so this time I just decided to focus on family so I didn't feel so divided. The first day I was there my old roomie from college picked me up and we went to a great Thai Food place called Sawadee on her way to drop me off at my Aunts house (Thanks Suggies for letting me hitch a ride with ya!) Sawadee's Thom Yum was pretty good, but they had the best Glass Noodle Salad I've ever had!!!! If you're ever downtown you've got to go try some!

Makenzie's baptism was wonderful- she asked me to give a talk for which I was very nervous, but once I finished with that, I loved being there to share such a big step in her life. The baptism itself was the best part, but I also highly enjoyed watching Jack almost go head first into the font water, getting to hang out with my cousin Teed and his talented wife Tara, and watching the scramble that always occurs before an enormous family photo can be taken. Before Kenzie's baptism I took a few quiet moments to bring her outside and get some pictures of her in the beautiful dress Karalenn spent forever making for her- I figured Kare would be having a crazy time inside getting everything ready, so here are a few from my little mini-shoot.

and my personal favorite:

While I was there I got to go to Chuck E. Cheeses with many of my nieces and nephews for a bday party for Kenz, and was able to spend some time at my Aunt Mermaid and Runcle On's, and me and my dad went to check out the homes Foo and I lived in before we bought our first one in the very West- West Valley.

This is the first home Foo and I ever rented, I wanted a home so badly after we found out we were pregnant with K, so we moved out of our little tiny one-room apartment into this cute little two-bedroom home in the Sugar House area. We lived here when K was born, so this place holds many new mommy memories for me, ie- many sleepless nights, his first bath, my first garden, and this is also where we lived when we got our dog- Skaget.

This is the second house we lived in while Foo went to the U- this one was in the Glendale area- this has to be one of the worst areas we've ever lived in. The home itself was fine, but we lived right across the street from a park that had "deals" going on all the time- there were shifty characters everywhere. When we moved in we had a visit from a guy that lived three doors down. He let us know that he was an FBI agent assigned to this area and gave us the rundown on ways we could keep ourselves safe- yikes! That probably should have been our first clue that we needed to find a new place to live. We only stayed here for about 5 months, but in that time we had a high speed chase end a block down the street and the escaped prisoners got away from the cops and were lose in the neighborhood all night. We had police officers knocking on our door all night long looking for them.

We also had a family living in the house just to the right of us that were wonderful cooks- they're specialty- Meth. People would come and knock on the window that was right across from our bedroom window looking for drugs. We didn't know this was going on until I was reading K a story on our porch one night and heard men shouting, "Police! Police!" I got up and ran inside with my baby and locked the door. I cautiously opened a window and said, "Do you need the police, or are you the police?" Wondering if I needed to call someone- it was a SWAT team next door and they were busting the Meth Lab- such nice people. It was fun to go see the old sites, to remember funny things that I had forgotten about, and to realize how much I both love and miss Salt Lake, and also how happy I am in Washington.

Newcastle Beach Park

2008-05-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

Wow! I think that's the longest time I've gone without blogging since I started last August- where does the time go? I'll try to catch you all up to speed, and I'll start with pictures from our trip to Newcastle Beach Park three weeks ago.

We found this great little beach park right off of I-405 that was simply beautiful! They had a great dock for the kids to play on, a swimming area (which we'll keep in mind come July and August), some sand that the kids had a ball digging around in, and a really great children's playground with a cement-block border that we had fun playing chicken on (yes, I'm sure all sorts of parents were watching us pushing our children off the border and thinking we were nuts- but they loved it). Next time we go we'd like to walk the trail along Lake Washington that goes through there. The only bad part of the day was when I dropped my camera in the sand and ended up destroying the lense- whoops! So here are pictures from our trip before I went and wrecked our only camera.

The dock:

The beach:

The Playset:

On our way home after the fun:

More Onsies

2008-04-16T16:17:00.000-07:00

Hey! Remember these:

http://busybeetle.blogspot.com/2007/07/embroidered-baby-onsies.html

Well, I made a few more this week, and will probably finish off with two more- I'm planning on selling these at my good friend Jen's big Consignment sale this June (Like the website? I made that one for her!) Anyways- here's the new onsies I came up with:

Looks like I need to make a few more boyish ones to even out the collection!

K's 1st Photo Shoot

2008-04-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

K has been getting really interested in photography lately. He saved up some of his money and bought himself a disposable camera a month or so ago and absolutely loved taking pictures of everything around him- including many (very) candid shots of yours truly. Somehow- eh hem- we seem to have misplaced many of those terrble, I mean very realistic photos.

The weather got nicer towards the end of this week, so I promised the kids we'd go out for a picnic in the backyard and I'd push them on the swings. While we were out there, I grabbed my camera and let K go around taking pictures of things that reminded him spring was here. He had a blast being able to take all the pictures he wanted and I took the opportunity to show him some cool little features that can make a big difference for his photography. Here are a few of the resulting photos. I LOVED seeing the world from his perspective through his photos.

I love this one! I love that he took a picture of his own foot in a flip-flop, and I love the backdrop he used for his subject!This photo is a little blurry- but the subject and movement are fun- he was totally chasing our poor cat down to try to get a shot- and she's having none of it. I love how he caught her mid-step and with her ears back- she's obviously not happy.

I showed him how to use the macro mode and was impressed with how he centered this one.

Beautiful Lopez!

2008-04-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

We just spent a long weekend up at Lopez with Foo's good friend Nick and his friend Emily who we totally love and want to adopt right into the family! The weather was crazy up there! One minute it would be hailing like crazy, then snowing, then sunny, then raining, then you'd look out the windows and see this-

The terrible weather was just fine by me though, because that just meant more cuddling up by the fire. Here's little M with grandma:
and me and J getting comfy on the couch:

When it was sunny we would race outside to do some skeet-shooting, fishing, and crab-hunting! Foo caught the biggest fish of the day here:It measured in at 25 inches and almost 10 lbs!!!! We of course put him back so that we might be able to catch him again next time we're up! K was a wonderful netter- he designated that job for himself when we first got up there, and by the end of the four days he was a regular pro.Here's one of my many tiny fish I caught- I was trying so hard to get something bigger than Foo's but never could catch a big one.(looking at that previous picture, I no longer wonder why the heck so many people have asked me if I was part-Asian). K found the biggest crab of the day down on the beach and I snapped this photo of him- he was so cool:

And after playing in the dirt and getting terribly grubby:

We gave the kiddos baths: and then headed out for some more fun.

(I love that picture- There's absolutely nothing I love to see more than my sexy husband with our kiddos!!!).

Now I'm home with an enormous pile of laundry that I really should be working on- but instead I'm blog-surfing- guess I better sign off for now.

Before and Afters

2008-03-27T15:22:00.000-07:00

They're finally here! I don't know if you'll be able to see a major difference in the actual paint color- it seems obvious to me, but I live here. The big differences are the painted nooks, ceilings, and awesome new bonus room color.

Entry before:

Entry after: (the way the lights reflecting on the wall makes it a lot lighter looking in this pic than it really is)

We had them put up a chair rail on the stairway as well, because this seems to get the brunt of the fingerprints:

Dining before:

Dining after:

Sorry- couldn't find a Living Room Nook before, but here's the after:

Breakfast nook before:

Breakfast nook after:

Bonus room before:

Bonus room after:

Like I already said, I love this color- if we ever have to repaint our exterior, this'll be my first choice- it's called Steamer from Miller Paints D'vine paint line.

That's it- I'm so glad to have it done and to no longer see dirty fingerprints and streaks everywhere I look!

Mazatlan 2008!

2008-03-06T08:44:00.000-08:00

I know- my next post was supposed to be pictures of my new painted walls, but I haven't had time to clean my house enough to take pics since Foo, M, and I got back from Mazatlan- so I'm going to post pics of our trip really quick and then if my sick baby allows it, clean the house so I can get those pics posted too!

We went to Mazatlan last week and many thanks to my parents for coming and staying with J and K so we could have a little break from this dreary Pacific Northwest weather. I can't believe how many other people we met there from our same area trying to escape! The weather was a nice 85 degrees the whole time we were there, it sometimes rained at night while we were sleeping, but the sun was shining anytime we were awak and ready to go play on the beach, go swimming, or hang out by the pool sipping virgin Pina Coladas.

M was wonderful on the plane- she slept the entire first leg, then a lot of the second after our overlay, and was happy while she was awake. Really the only bad part of the trip was our second leg on the way back- it was too full for M to be in a carseat, so we ended up holding her and she doesn't sleep as well that way. As I was holding my steamy little oven-baby, the plane was also pretty hot and there was an obnoxious little girl kicking my seat and singing at the top of her lungs right behind me. I was getting pretty close to the edge by the time we landed at home.

Pueblo Bonito was a beautiful resort. It was pretty spread out, so there was a lot of walking, but a few great places to eat so we actually needed to be doing that walking to work off a little of the excess poundage put on. You know how there are two kinds of vacations- one is the kind you almost need another vacation after you get back- running from place to place to see and do everything you can possibly fit into 1 week, and then there's the kind we had last week- we did nothing! It was wonderful, we sat next to the pool, or swam in the pool. We layed out on the beach, or we played volleyball on the beach. We took naps in our room, or we watched TV in our room- those were the big decisions we had to make. So.... here are some pics of the trip

Here's a picture of M's little floater for the pool- of course, she decided she just wanted to be held in the pool of the whole time once we actually got it to the water

This is how M took some of her naps- on a beach towel under a shady tree on the beach's edge-

Random shots of us on the beach:

and of course, what trip would be complete without shooting some kind of animal- the guys got to go for two days and hunt Mazatlan's duck and dove population. No, I didn't get to try any fresh duck- they took all of the animals and donated them to the local orphanages- it's for a good cause, right?

M sat in her own high chair for the first time while we were there and loved it- hurray! We can start eating out at resteraunts again!
Here's the whole group- All of Foo's siblings, spouses, and his parents- it was so fun to be there all together!

New Paint

2008-02-20T22:14:00.000-08:00

I'm writing this new post from my IL's computer, because we've been kicked out of our house for the next 4 days while a team of painters comes to fix the terrible original paint job in our house. I know what you're thinking- wait! You just moved into your brand-spanking new house 2 1/2 years ago! I know- and we knew we'd have to get the place repainted about two weeks after we moved in when I went to wash some dirty marks on the wall and it took all of the flat paint off as well as the dark marks. "OK, I'll just break out the old paint can and fix that faded spot." No such luck, the painters sprayed the paint on but didn't back brush it (or some other painter lingo), so there's no way to cover up that spot and not leave unsightly streaks.

I'm excited about the new colors for our home, and I'm very excited about having a nice egg-shell paint finish that I'll be able to touch-up monthly, but I dread receiving that bill!

So, here's what you've all been dying to see- the new colors we've picked out. We went with Miller Paint's D'vine line, and I love their stuff! Here are our colors:

I'll post actual before and after pic's when I'm allowed to return home.

Krisser's new haircut

2008-02-13T16:37:00.000-08:00

Here you go Kare- the pics you requested:

Out with the old:

In with the new:

What do you think? I think my nose looks bigger! :p

In honor of Valentines Day....

2008-02-10T23:12:00.000-08:00

OK, so we aren't huge celebraters (is that a word?) of the Valentines Day Romancy-Shmancy (now I know that's a word!) stuff. In fact, we like to involve the kids in our "romantic evening" by having a fun family night with chocolate fondue, yummy dinner, etc at home- so to celebrate Valentines Day this year, I thought I'd maybe find a quote each day that I like about real love- the kind that happens every day of the year and not just on February 14th. So here's my quote for today that I saw and totally loved in the 2008 February Ensign entitled "Dating and the Eternal Perspective":

“True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well being of one’s companion."
-Gordon B. Hinckley

and *gasp* no photo today- I'm sure you didn't think it was possible for me to post without one!

J's January Journal

2008-02-06T21:42:00.001-08:00

(Why are the cranky photos always my favorites? Who knows... now onto her journal)

My Christmas Vacation:

-For Christmas vacation I visited Ellie and Adam (not true, though I wish it was)

-I had candy and a little mermaid in my stocking on Christmas morning.

-Christmas Eve we gave a candy bar for Santa and apples for the reindeer while me and brother were asleep.

-I didn't give anything to my Mom on Christmas, just my Dad got her a present. (also not true- I picked out a lovely purple i-pod shuffle for myself and made sure to address it: To- Mom, Love, Jillian).

"J" Definitions:

Jacket- you hang it up.

Jam- it is food made from butter.

Jar- I don't know what that is.

Jeans- are pants.

Jeep- is a kind of leaf.

Jet- is an airplane.

Juice- you put it in cups made from apples and you put it in the fridge.

Snow:

-Snow comes from Christmas.

-Snow is made out of snow.

-Snow makes me feel good.

-I eat snow.

-I play in the snow with my brother. My brother and me don't know how to build a snowman. Maybe when snow comes again I will ask Mom and Dad to help us build a snowman.

Kittens:

-Kittens play with toys.

-Kittens eat a mouse.

-Kittens lick their bottoms to take a bath.

-I have two cats, they are a type of a kitten. Cleo is a fat kitty and Mona is my kitty she is gray.

Polar Bears:

-Polar bears live at the snow.

-Polar bears snuggle right in the snow to sleep.

-Polar bears eat grass and fish. Polar bears catch the fish with their teeth. I eat fish. I caught a fish and my Daddy just caught the fish at the cabin and I ate it because it didn't have blood on it.

-Polar bears roll in the snow because they like to.

Rhyming Words (Obviously a skill she's still working on):

Book- Horse

Cat- Kit

Dog- Table

Toes- Duck

Bed- Cat

Pants- Dog

A Trip to the Moon:

-On my Trip to the moon I will take bananas, apples and apple juice to drink.

-I will wear a space suit to the moon.

-I will take my family to the moon.

-I will get a rocket and Mom would fly it to the moon because Dad is not a very good flyer (smart girl!)

-I will look at the stars when I get to the moon.

-I will play games with my brother when I go on the moon.

Happy Birthday to Foo!

2008-02-05T10:59:00.000-08:00

OK, so it's not until tomorrow, but I have fun pictures to post from his birthday gift, so I thought I'd wish him an early birthday! A few years ago Foo and I decided it would be really fun to take some cooking classes together, and then we never did it, so I took the chance to take him out for a night of fun for the big 29!

I signed us up for a romantic couples dinner-cooking class (ooo-la-la) through the community college a few weeks ago for tonight, but a received an oh-so-thoughtful call THE NIGHT BEFORE!!!! that it was going to be cancelled. Now I'm scrambling! I searched high and low for a replacement class that we would like equally as well. Luckily, I came across this great site, that has one or two night classes available a week for the average joes (i.e-me and Foo). Tuesday night's course was Cajun cooking, and while I enjoy a good Jambalaya now and then, the menu didn't excite me, that's why I was so thrilled to find the Monday night class was Thai food cooking- and not just any Thai food, Kao Soy was on the menu- the same Kao Soy I have been searching for ever since eating it at the Elephant preserve in Chiang Mai, that no resteraunt here knows how to make.

I raced to secure a babysitter- quite the feat on not only a school night, but a family night- and thanks to my friend Julie's daughter (and a sweet Julie for giving her up), we were able to sign up for the class two hours prior to it starting.

I really wanted it to be a surprise for Foo so I didn't even tell him where we were going as we headed out the door. I could tell he had an inkling, so I flat out lied and told him we were going to be exploring our more creative side by participating in a pottery class for the evening. He tried really hard to act excited but I could only imagine the thoughts going around in that head of his (he's not really the artsy-fartsy type). The look of relief on his face was evident as we drove up to a building that had Blue Ribbon Cooking on the outside.

The evening was a success- Foo got to wear this little beauty-
(it reads- "My idea of a balanced diet is a beer in each hand"- aint that the truth :p?) and we got put in charge of making the Thom Yum, and did a darn good job of it. Our instructor was so sweet and funny and we had such a blast! Happy Birthday babe!

Our classroom:
Me with my beloved Kao Soy!!!And the two of us with Pad Thai in hand- delicious!

2008-01-29T14:06:00.000-08:00

Anyone else tired of looking at my son's gaping tooth-hole? I don't really have much to say, but I wanted to have a different picture on my blog as I pulled it up- so here ya go- M trying to crawl earlier today- yikes! Can she really be getting this big?

More toothy news

2008-01-24T11:16:00.000-08:00

My little guy has lost his first tooth! This is what the tooth fairy got to see:

scary right? (not to mention the disgusting view of his under-tongue) You might notice another tooth poking up behind it- that's because my son was half-shark for a few weeks, sporting two rows of teeth. His adult tooth came up behind instead if under, making this a very stubborn loose-tooth, requring a lot of yanking, pulling (and crying). It's crazy that K is ready to join the ranks of all the millions of crooked-mouthed, pre-orthodontic little kids running around out there- this boy's sure to need braces. K has yet to spend his $1 from the tooth fairy- I'm a bad mom and haven't run him out to the dollar store yet- looks like a trip is in order for tomorrow.

M's First Tooth

2008-01-24T11:08:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update since I've become awful at this blogging thing (seems to have started right around the time I started designing those darn digital scrapbook kits)! M got her first tooth with #2 close on its heels. She has been pretty cranky lately, and it's good to know there's been a reason behind it. Congrats little M!

2008-01-12T08:24:00.000-08:00

I've seen these for a while now, and when I saw them on my sister's blog, I thought I should give it a try. The first one really surprised me:

I fully expected her to be 100% like dad. Then I tried J-

What?!?!?! This thing cannot be accurate, 7% both times? Well, people do say that the girls look exactly alike. Here's K's-

This is the kid I thought looked the most like me. Everyone tells me that Foo and I look exactly alike and I always say it's just becuase we're both chubby, but they might have something there!

New Year, New Primary Classes

2008-01-06T20:51:00.000-08:00

The first Sunday of the year is always exciting because the kids get to have new teachers, but today was especially exciting because our little J has now graduated from nursery and gets to come into Primary with K, M, and Me.

K is really excited about his new teacher. He said his favorite part of church was “Carrying my CTR inside to make a necklace.” (I have no clue what this means, I was just happy to get more than the typical response of, "I don't know.") On a completely different topic, at the dinner table K announced that he was going to marry Emily (from preschool) when he grows up, lucky girl!!!!

J’s old teachers moved up with her, so she didn’t get a new teacher. Her little class has 7 sweet girls all born within 6 months of each other, they were so cute up at the front of the primary room as we welcomed them for the first time. J said her favorite part of church was “Going into a new class and making a crown and sun”.

J's December Journal

2007-12-19T14:01:00.000-08:00

Yep- it's that time of the month again (I guess a little early actually), but since the kids are out for the rest of the month, J got to bring her little book home early.

Christmas:
-Christmas is about food like Lunchables, Oranges, and apples.
-My Mom and Dad and me and brother put the Christmas tree in the family room.
-I helped Mommy wrapped up some presents last night.
-I don't have a stocking (Which I may add is absolutely not true- lest you think we left out that important tradition.)

Dear Santa:
Does your reindeer eat grass? How do the elves come to the North Pole? I will leave you carrots to eat when you come to my house. I share toys with my brother. Can I please have a puppy for a present?
Merry Christmas,
J

Angels:
-Angels fly with their wings.
-I don't know what Angels do for a job.
-Angels eat food.
-I don't know where Angels live.

The First Christmas:
-Joseph and Mary and the cat lived in a house.
-The Angel visited Mary and said for her to be Jesus Mother and Mary said yes.
-Mary and Joseph went to far away.
-The Innkeeper said there was no room.
-Mary and Joseph had to sleep in the hay.
-They put baby Jesus on his hay.
-Mary looked happy.

Dear Santa.....

2007-12-10T00:53:00.000-08:00

We've got Santa-fever around these parts. We got to meet the big guy on Saturday night at our ward Christmas party. Each of our kids took a turn on the old lap to tell him the number one present they were hoping for, here are a few of the pictures we got:

K was very intent on making sure Santa knew exactly what he wanted-
J was a littl bit more shy, though she did still manage to tell Santa she would like a pet doctor kit:

M, who's become quite stranger wary already, didn't enjoy Santa very much, but she put up with him,
And then we got a nice picture of the whole family- can you tell Kaden just wanted his candy cane and to high-tail it back to the gym where they were currently serving desserts?

Santa part 2

2007-12-10T00:10:00.000-08:00

When we got home from meeting Santa, the kids wanted to write him a letter because they weren't quite sure he'd gotten all of the information he might need. Here's J's letter- I wrote it down exactly how she said it, then she signed it herself:
K wrote his all out by himself, Translation:
Santa, I would like a nerf gun, DS-Lite, Transformer.
Love, K
This letter took him at least 1/2 hour to write as I had to tell him letter for letter how to spell everything, but all of the hard work is sure to pay off come Christmas morning!

Overheard this morning.....

2007-12-07T08:41:00.001-08:00

I woke up this morning with a very hoarse voice, so when I went to get the kids dressed this is was our conversation:

Me: Hey guys, take your clothes off and get some new underwear on.

K: What's a matter with your voice? (In a whisper because he was involuntarily copying me).

Me: I just lost my voice.

J: Well, I will help you find it!

Me: Oh! (Surprised because I forgot how literally she would take that). How do you find a voice?

J: (All said very seriously) We need to go look for it, we will go outside and when we see it, it will jump back in your mouth!

Photo for Christmas Cards

2007-12-06T11:01:00.000-08:00

I didn't have anytime to take the kids into to get their pictures done before I needed to send out Christmas cards, so here's my attempt at photography in my frontyard. The shadows are funky on their faces becuase of our lovely Seattle weather, but I think it still turned out really sweet. Merry Christmas everyone!

GIRLS NIGHT OUT!!!!!!

2007-12-02T20:57:00.000-08:00

Matt and I got tickets to the Sonic's game last weekend, but before we could call another couple to come with us, we both got cold feet about bringing Macie- she's way too cranky after 7:30pm, and the game didn't even start until then. We figured we wouldn't get home until at least 11pm, so instead I decided to leave the kids at home with Matt, and I called up a few of my wonderful friends Kristin, Loretta, and Monique and we headed out for a trip to downtown Seattle and the Key Arena! Ahhhh how I love grabbing dinner at one of the many places to eat in the food court across from the Arena, and oh how I love watching the jumbotron, hoping they don't plaster my face up there for all to see(like they did with Kristin)- it was so fun to do these things with these girls I love! Oh yes, and don't let me forget to mention how much I also love seeing Luke Ridnour (who sadly wasn't playing because he's injured)- I don't know why I have such a crush on that guy, but here's a picture to prove it- yep- I'm a total geek!

The Sonics beat the Pacers 95-93, it was a close game and I think we were all a little horse from screaming when it was all said and done. Here are the rest of the pictures of our amazing GIRLS NIGHT OUT!

Me and Loretta getting ready to head out and pick up the other girls:

Just after settling down into our seats before the game:
Yep, even Squach wanted to hang out with us- I think having Squatch sit on her lap must have been Loretta favorite part of the evening :)Thanks girls for the fun time!

Yearly Gingerbread House

2007-12-01T14:08:00.000-08:00

Okay, okay- I'll admit it, we don't do this yearly- this is, in fact our first ever Gingerbread house- and it all came packaged nicely from Costco for us to put together with decorations, icing, the works- while I love doing the decorating, baking up all of the parts to one just doesn't sound like my thing, so we got to do all the playing without the work! I think we'll make it a yearly tradition to decorate our Christmas tree for the first Family Home Evening after Thanksgiving, and decorate up a gingerbread house the following Monday night- so here are the pictures of our beautiful- prepackaged Gingerbread House in all of it's glory. You might note that our kit came with four little gingerbread men to decorate too- I thought that was a particularly good idea on the manufacturers part, since you have to put the house together then let it set up for 15 minutes, can't think of a better way to fill up that time!

Yes, the sad little half-eatin, frosting-but no decorations gingy is mine- I don't like the candy on them, and got a little hungry while everyone else was making thiers fabulous.

Our beautiful finished house-

No Mom's Allowed!

2007-11-20T09:23:00.000-08:00

They just stocked the fish up in the lake at Lopez but the weekend Foo wanted to go up at the beginning of this month was the same I was helping to throw a shower for one of my dear friends, and Foo couldn't wait- so he decided to take K and J up with him for a Dad's weekend. I have to say, it was really weird (but nice) not hearing them running around the house like crazy all day long- when I'd put M down for a nap it was just me, heaven!

They had such a blast! Foo said they pretty much spent the whole time out casting for fish up at the lake. They caught some really huge fish, and the kids loved eating it for dinner- they still ask for Rainbow Trout pretty much every night if I ask them what I should make. They ate junk food, played in the mud, and learned how to cast a fly- sounds like their perfect weekend. If you want to see the pages I scrapbooked for their weekend, you can go here. Now let the pictures begin!

On the dock, ready to start a good day of fishin'

J bringing in a fish

This wasn't even the biggest catch of the day!

Completely worn out from all that hard work

Our Boise Trip continued

2007-11-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

I love and miss Boise so very much, so spending a good long weekend there helped to give me my B-town fix.

Wednesday- Trick or treat! See my previous post for that info.....

Thursday- We went with Grandma and Grandpa to Boise's new Cabellas. I was a little wary that it would turn into a shopping trip for my hunting-loving husband, but there was actually a ton of things for the kids to look at (and by a ton of things I mean dead-stuffed-animals) which they love! They also had a really neat floor-to-ceiling aquarium area where we spent at least 1/2 an hour watching Bubba, the enormous catfish, pick on all of the other fish.

Foo didn't spend any money- it was me, surprisingly, that found myself a beautiful new winter coat and a great new sweater!

Friday- Foo and I took the kids to our favorite Sushi resteraunt- Shiges. Living in Seattle, you'd think we would have found some pretty amazing sushi places around, but our favorite still remains in Boise! On Friday night I made up a delcious dinner-in-a-pumpkin after reading some other blogs that mentioned it, and I must say- it was delicous! We brought it over to share with the Smarty-Pants family, and Sunny made some wonderful homemade french loaf bread ( I totally would have swung by and picked some up at Albertsons- I'm too lazy). We put the kids down to bed after some of this:

and then we played games and watched our two favorite shows (Pushing Daisies and the Office), and didn't get back to my parents house until 2:30am. You may be thinking, "Wow! That's early- if so, YOU NEED MORE SLEEP! I know I did all the next day!

Saturday- I went with my mom to the Eagle High School Craft Bazaar in the morning, and then we met up with the Smarty's again and went to play at my favorite park growing up- Camel's Back. That mountain we always hike up has gotten way taller and way more steep! Here's a picture of me (since Foo says I need to post more of those- yikes!)

Yes folks, I hiked it with M in the Bjorn carrier- that added to the difficulty level. The kids all ran up ahead and were frustrated with the adult slow-pokes. My favorite part of the climb is when you get to the very top and get to see the incredible view. What a great skyline! On the way back down I snapped this sweet little picture of Adam helping J down the trail-What a sweet cousin! We headed to Fanci Freeze (The world's best Milkshakes!)and then back over to Joe and Sunny's to eat, hang out, and let the kiddos play.

Sunday- We went to church and then had to say Goodbye- Thanks for the yummy homemade chicken and noodles Padre! And thanks for getting a comfy pillow-top mattress Ma- I miss you already Boise!

J's October Journal

2007-11-07T12:06:00.000-08:00

Cars:
-I want to drive my Mom's car the gray car when I grow up like my Mom and my brother will be a grandpa and my other brother will be a dad.
-To be safe in a car I need to put on seatbelts.
-I will take off my seatbelt if my car brakes down.

Dinosaurs:
-There are no dinosaurs here because teh dinosaurs are in a different place.
-Dinosaurs like to march around.
-Dinosaurs like to eat branches
-My favorite dinosaur is a T-Rex but at the beach I got a green dinosaur for my brother.

If I Had an Elephant:
-I would name my elephant Al.
-I would keep my elephant in the garage.
-I would teach my elephant to do a sommersault in the family room.
-I would ride a saddle on my elephant.
-My elephant's favorite food would be a jelly fish.

Bats:
-Bats fly in the dark.
-Bats crash into the ground.
-Bats like to eat fruit and bugs.
-Bats live and sleep in nests.
-I saw a toy bat at my school.

Halloween and Pumpkins:
-On Halloween we carve pumpkins. We have four pumpkins at my house.
-I will be Snow White for Halloween that's my costume then we will play.
-I will get candy from Halloween and I will say, "Trick or Treat!"

Halloween 2007

2007-11-05T07:47:00.000-08:00

We had such a great time in Boise this last long weekend! We flew there on Wednesday and got to go trick-or-treating with our fun Smarty Pants cousins. Here's a rundown of the kids costumes for the year, K wanted to be a Jedi and J wanted to be Queen Amidala, so we thought- "Hey! Star Wars theme!". Well, right before purchasing our costumes, K decided to be Hulk:

And J chose to be Snow White:

But poor M couldn't voice her oppinion, so she was stuck as Yoda:

Which turned out to be a nice warm costume for her anyway.

We chose to go in Joe and Sunny's neighborhood because the people really go all out in that area! This is a picture we took in front of one of the houses we went to- Sunny said the man had been working on his haunted house for weeks, even going as far as staple gunning on all of that plastic to his siding. Did he take it too far you may ask? I say he didn't take it far enough! Why use staples when you could epoxy the stuff on?

We got a lot of great candy, but the best part was Joe and Sunny's friends that were giving out homemade donuts! We went and hung out in their place for a while and stuffed ourselves silly while warming up, and then we were on our way again!

I'm a definite candy lover, but it tastes even better when you're stealing it from your kids candy buckets the days after Halloween, which reminds me: Anyone who says the phrase, "It's like stealing candy from a baby!" has never tried to steal candy from a baby.

Oh ps- If you want to see some pretty incredible costumes, and a family that goes all out- you've got to go look at my sister's blog and her family blog.

Add another item to the list....

2007-10-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

Of things I want to learn how to do better. I've just decided to start scrapbooking digitally because I'm at a point in my life that the less mess the better. It's much easier to open up a file on my computer than to pull out all of my papers, cutters, embellishments, adhesives, ribbons, etc... plus, I think it should be much cheaper in the long run. I'm not giving up on handmade scrapbooking forever, just for now so that I can get caught up- 2 years behind is pretty sad. Anyways, here's my new digiscrap blog- http://krisserscrap.blogspot.com, because any reason to have another blog is ok by me.

Bum-kin.

2007-10-26T09:08:00.000-07:00

Going from blog to blog, I've realized that it has become a very necessary custom for families to attend the yearly pumpkin patch. I don't know if this is a new phenomenon, or if I was just jipped as a wee one- but I thought I'd go ahead and add ours to the bunch.

We went to Kelsey Creek Farms for K's Pre-K field trip. It was fun for the kids to see and feed the animals, as well as help out on the little farm (Ahhhhh child labor!) K loved feeding the pigs pieces of pumpkin, and J loved petting their 32-year-old pony (I didn't even know they could live that long!).

After working and petting the animals, the kids got to each pick out a pumpkin. J, of course, picked out a small one because it was "just a sweetie little one." K, on the other hand, searched and found one that looked just like a butt. He was laughing hysterically about it and it quickly received the nickname Bum-kin.

The kids with one of K's buddies from PreK:K's class (notice how outnumbered the fellas are):

Involuntary hiatus

2007-10-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official. Our dinosaur of a computer is on it's last leg- it's acting up again, and this time- even my ever present techy-geekiness is not strong enough to take care of the issues. All of my usb ports have stopped working, so I'm not going to be able to post pictures of our happenings for another week or so. Why a week? That's the exciting part- a shiny new computer is on it's way! One that has a working webcam so I can finally Skype with my dad and brother Jason. One that doesn't take forever to load up on MSN. One that I don't have to system restore monthly. One that doesn't freeze up every now and then, booting me out of programs I'd been working on projects in for the last hour. Hurry Computer Fairy (AKA Dell and FedEx), bring us our new family member, sweet baby Inspiron 531.

Whirlwind weekend part 2

2007-10-15T15:18:00.000-07:00

OK, so the next day Joe and Sunny were here, we decided to brave downtown Seattle- Foo and I took them down to the pier to have some genuine Ivars fish and chips, see our amazing aquarium, and check out Pike Place Market. I say brave because it's always interesting taking a large group of small people anywhere, especially when you're getting nasty looks from every person you pass. I guess 7 kids, 7 years and younger between 2 families must look like a lot, especially to people who think the world is already over-populated.

The fish and chips were yummy of course (this is what happens when you give warning that you're going to take a picture- no smiles, just goofy faces),

but my favorite part was feeding the Seagulls our extra "chips" (come on, let's just admit they're nothing but french fries). Foo went out there first and held up a fry for the birds- the kids were hysterical when he put his hand up and one swept down and bit his finger as he took the fry. This laughter quickly turned to mortification when we attempted to convince them to go out and try it for themselves. They were pretty timid, and then our J became ultra confident and was feeding them like a pro. This is my favorite picture from the whole day because I actually caught the bird in flight coming to take the fry:

Sam and Joe then got in on the action:

And soon most of the kids joined in.

After a quick trip into the wonderful Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, we headed on into the Seattle Aquarium. I love the fact that it isn't just a lot of standing around staring at fish- there are quite a few interactive spots throughout. I think everyone's favorite was the touch-tide pools, a petting zoo of marine life,

I was amazed at how adventuresome all of the kids were, they wanted to touch and feel every single thing- even the slimy sea-cucumbers and the weird squishy things that grabbed at your fingers if you rubbed the top of them.A few more pics of what we did before moving onto Pike Place:

Pike place was lots of fun, but pretty crowded- next time we go I think we'll leave the kids with a sitter and head out without strollers. There was so much to see, and so little patience as nap time drew nearer that I think Joe and Sunny got a very small glimpse of the market vendors there. I was able to grab a quick snapshot of Foo and the kids (minus M who was strapped to my tummy with a Baby Bjorn carrier). Sadly, I didn't get one of the Smarts- hopefully they got one in front of the famous Pike Place Pig for their own scrapbook.It was so much fun spending this time with my big brother and family, I can't wait for them to come up and see us again! (I know what you're thinking, "Gasp! What about General Conference?" Don't you fret- I've already expounded enough in previous posts about my love for tivo!)

Whirlwind weekend part 1

2007-10-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

My big brother Joe and his family came to visit us for the long weekend. It had been a long time since our kids had seen each other, and it was so much fun to watch them interact and play during the outtings we had planned. Adam and K were best friends immediately, bonding over their love for video games. Ellie and J were "sweethearts" as J put it because they loved to play pretend together (we hardly saw them the whole weekend because they were holed-up somewhere with dolls, stuffed-animals, and themselves making up some new story). M spent most of her time with Sunny or me, Sunny loved holding our sweet little pink baby, it's always nice to get your baby fix then pass the baby back to her mom. That left Jack and Sam, who bounced back and forth between the other two groups and the adults for their entertainment. Other than K and Jack (who we've come to find out are mortal enemies :P), they really had a wonderful time together.

The first day they were here Foo had to work so Joe, Sunny, and I took the 7 kids to the Kid's Hands-on Museum in Bellevue. We spent four hours there and they were still entertained by the time we left. There was a fun water area, a tree fort, a music section, blocks, a big truck to play in, Thomas the train-track area, and more to keep them busy.

Highlights of the day:

Ellie and Jack working for at least 1/2 hour on building an enormous tower out of some very heavy blocks just to have some random kid walk by and push it over- it was so big the crash practically shook the building, and everyone in the whole museum came over to see what happened, thank goodness there weren't any kids where the blocks fell.

Seeing Jack emerge from the water area soaked from head to toe.

and seeing the looks from other parents as Joe worked his magic on the fake guitar:

If I look tired in this picture- it's because I was! And of course, here's Sunny looking gorgeous next to a haggard new mother.

Blessings I found from a blessing

2007-10-04T09:20:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday was our sweet little M's blessing day and it really made me realize how fortunate and blessed I am for several things, shall I list them for you? I think I shall....

First is that I have an amazing husband who stood up with our baby and gave her the most beautiful and inspired blessing. The spirit was so strong and confirmed the things he was saying in my heart as he spoke them. She is lucky to have the daddy she has, and I am lucky to have a partner who I love so dearly and who sets such a powerful example of a good man for my son.

Second is that I love the many in-laws I have and am fortunate enough to live so close to. My FIL and MIL were there, as well as Foo's two older sisters and their families, and his younger sister and her family. There were only two members of Foo's immediate family who couldn't attend, and they have a good excuse (they're in Provo going to school at the moment). Along with all of that family, we also had some extended members making our circle pretty huge (and slightly embarrasing). I can't wait to scrapbook this for M to see how many people she has that love and support her. I wish I had some of my family a little closer but I had my turn while we were living in Utah, so now it's Foo's turn. My mom and dad were pretty disappointed they couldn't make it, but while we were blessing our baby Mom and Dad were moving out of their condo they leased while on their mission in Salt Lake City and were heading home after serving 18 faithful months there on Temple Square (you can look here for a little more info on that). We are blessed to have such a strong supportive backing here in this area.

And lastly, I'm thankful for delicious food that people bring when they're coming to a blessing luncheon, because we ate like Kings my friends! Chicken Salad Sandwiches on Croissants, three different kinds of soup (Butternut squash, split pea, and cheddar broccoli), chocolate covered strawberries, BBQ Pork, veggie trays, fruit salad, P-picken cake, and more, it was delicious and another fun opportunity to hang out with all of Foo's family.

Some of the goofy cousins:

M has two cousins very close to her age- Aubrey who is three weeks younger:

and Bryce who's a few months older:

J's September Journal

2007-10-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

In J's preschool class they do a little journal each month with pictures of the units they've been working on and dictation she does with the teacher. The following are the brilliant remarks of my three-year-old for the month of September.

School:
I was thinking school was scary before I came. Now I think school is fun.
I liked to play with dolls at school.
I liked playing with Rebecca at school.
I want to learn about painting at school

Friends:
I will be sad if I didn't have friends.
My friends smile by themselves.
I am sharing the baby dolls with my school friends, but if you don't share you will not get gummies.

Animal stats according to Jill:

Strongest- Lion

Fastest- Jaguar

Biggest- Monster

Funniest- Brother

Beautiful- Girl Lion

My Favorite animal is my brother.

Fall:

In the fall the leaves are falling off the trees because it's going to be wintertime.

The weather in fall is cloudy.

I jump in the leaves in the fall.

Birds:

I have a lots of birds in my yard.

The birds are flying up in the sky. Birds like to fly that's what they do. I like birds to fly around in my yard.

I didn't touch a bird but It touched a bird feather but my Dad shoot a bird before when he went hunting and he gave me a feather.

Colors:

My favorite color is pink and purple.

I don't know what color my bedroom is.

My blanket is blue and green.

My bike is pink.

My cat Cleo is stripy and my cat Mona is gray.

I don't have my dog anymore he died my dog was yellow.

I'm a photo blogger- a phlogger?

2007-10-01T09:15:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's right, I let my pictures do my talking for me. While reading through other blogs I'm amazed at what witty and talented writers I have as friends and family. Whenever I try to duplicate these talents, I feel a little inadequate. So yes folks, I'm a phlogger- not proud of that, but coming to terms with it. I think I'm going to blame it on the lack of time to write since I usually have a newborn on my lap who likes to be bounced, or maybe on the lack of brains and focus I have since becoming a mom. Any way you look at it, I hope you can forgive my short and snappy blog, and please enjoy my phlog!

Funny Random Memory

2007-09-29T19:28:00.000-07:00

From about the time K was 2 until he was almost 4 he had two invisible friends that lived in his hands- they were two spiders named Hank and Hero. His little fingers crawled all over the place, he really believed that they were alive and would often interact with them. Everywhere he went his "spiders" would come along, often sitting on his shoulders because that's where he told them to ride. He'd get angry and have conversations with them telling them to leave him alone, like when he was putting together a puzzle I'd hear, "Stop buggin' me, I's tryin' to do dis." They were his constant companions, and I have many funny memories about these two friends- one of my favorites was when we were on our way to Enumclaw for Jana’s birthday lunch and K was sitting in his seat. He told me, “Mom, my Spider’s dead.” I looked back and he had his hand all crumbled up in a ball. I thought he was going through some ordeal with his little friends and was all concerned so I said, “No- it’s not dead, he’s ok.” And he was determined, he said, “It’s not moving! It’s asleep?” And I said, oh, yeah, maybe he’s asleep. K fretted over it most of the way and right before we got into town I looked back again. In K’s hand was a real spider and sure enough it was dead- all crumbled in a ball with it’s legs up. He was watching it and trying to be very quiet because helpful mama had said it was asleep. Here I thought he was talking about his imaginary friend spider so he had held onto this dead one trying to be quiet for it for 45 minutes. I told him that in fact his spider was dead so he proceeded to open his window and throw it outside- I still don’t know where he got that spider and it totally grosses me out that he held it for that long in his little hand.

Nope- not just old ladies do it.

2007-09-27T15:46:00.000-07:00

When I was younger I remember thinking that cross stitching was something old women did with all of their ample spare time, after all- they were the only ones patient enough to stick to a project that long; I guess I'm now an old woman. This last year or so I've been able to finish several larger cross-stitching projects (in my little spare time) and have really enjoyed them, even if I feel dorky admitting it.

My sister Karalenn and I finished this cross stitch a year or so ago for my mom and dad as a going away gift for their mission:

http://nerd-bucket.blogspot.com/2006/11/cross-stitch-gift.html

Ever since then I've wanted to make something similar for Foo's mom, and today I finished my newest piece!!!! Hurray!!! I cannot even begin to calculate the time these take (maybe I just don't want to think about it), but they do turn out really beautiful. I wanted to take a few pictures of it before passing it off to Diane (Foo's mom), she is going to frame and hang it in the new lodge at Lopez. So here it is, Greg K. Olson's Lost No More-
Finished Size: 12"x16"

Floatin' the Green

2007-09-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

Foo and I handed M over to her Grandma for a few hours last Saturday so we could take J and K floating down the Green River on our Pontoon boats. The kids had a lot of fun, and my arms got a dang good work out (If I just did that more often, maybe I could get rid of my flappy Relief Society arms). Anyways, after a very nutritious picnic of a bucket of KFC we got our rigs ready and strapped the kids on for the ride. I took K since he's been with is dad before, and J went with the more experienced rower for her maiden voyage on the river. The weather was beautiful and we loved having Grandpa along!

Chef J's Recipe for the "Bestest Chocolatey Cookies in the World"

2007-09-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today while K was at school, J and I made her favorite cookies. The following is J's pictorial recipe for her favorite chocolate chocolate-chip cake cookies!

First: Dump a cake mix into a mixing bowl.

Second: Crack two eggs and add them to the mix

Third: Add 1/3 cup vegetable oil and 1 tsp of vanilla into bowl

Fourth: Mix it all up with a beater

Fifth: Test the beater whisks to make sure everything tastes okSixth: Add 1/2 bag (6 oz) chocolate chips- though we usually "accidentally" use the whole bag

Seventh: Drop by spoonfulls onto a cookiesheet

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes and enjoy with a big glass of milk!

Simple Cards

2007-09-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

I've been working like crazy on cards with the little spare time I have for a Christmas Project I'm working on. Yes, I may be thinking a little bit ahead, but fall time always does this to me. Here are a smattering of different cards I've been putting together, all pretty simple. Though they are basic, if you're wanting the Pazzles .wpc file for any of these, leave your email in the comments.

Another one I made from an idea in Paper Crafts Magazine:

You know you're getting pretty desperate when...

2007-09-14T17:34:00.000-07:00

while flipping through your tivo'd programs all you can find are the likes of Manticore (A sci-fi gem, script and fighting scenes so cheesy it's actually painful) and On The Line (Lance from N'Sync's first "attempt" at acting) on your lineup. Hurry new fall season! Save our family from this evil!

OK, ok, I guess I'm a bit of a tv junky, it all started when we got our tivo two years ago- suddenly I didn't have to rearrange my life around nightly programming and I could wait to watch my fav's once the kids were in bed for the night. Imagine, actually getting 1 hour to yourself without shouting at the kids to keep it down every 5 minutes. Anyhow, all through May I dreaded the draught of watchable tv I knew I was in store for, and aside from the few summertime shows I do enjoy (So You think You Can Dance, Top Chef), my tivo has been empty of anything remotely watchable. So now, folks, is the time to do your research and get your recording button fingers ready. In honor of the new season, I thought I'd post the top 5 shows I'm looking forward to the most, and I want to hear everyone else's lists!

1. The Office (undoubtedly the best show on tv right now)
2. Project Runway
3. Prison Break
4. Grey's Anatomy (can't wait to see if it's spinoff show Private Practice is any good)
5. Heroes

Not to mention Beauty and the Geek, Survivor, Men in Trees, My Name is Earl, and ANTM

Go ahead- spill it, what are your favorites?

All sorts of new stuff.

2007-09-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

Like everyone else, this time of year always brings new changes for our family, so I thought I'd share some of the changes that have been keeping our little family busy. First of all, K started pre-kindergarten. This was a hard decision for us, as he turned 5 this summer and is old enough to head off to kindergarten, but we decided he could use one more year before hitting the public schools. He's thrilled to be starting a pre-kindergarten class with several other kids in the same boat- barely old enough to start, but not quite ready. He loves his new teacher and is thrilled with (as he puts it) all of his new girlfriends as there are only he and one other boy in a class full of cute little girls.

Picture of our new Pre-K'er off to school:

K also has started up in the soccer micro-leagues and is absolutely loving it! He's been doing soccer for a year now and it's a great way to work off all of that extra boy-energy. And lastly for
our guy- he's now a 4-eyes! Yep, we took him in to get his eyes checked because he's been a little squinty and watches the tv way to closely, and sure enough he needs to wear glasses. I swore if my kids ever had to wear glasses they would get to pick whichever frames they wanted- and this is what K chose- I love 'em!

J also started school- her first year of preschool! She did absolutely great! She's excited about getting to have her own backpack and loves to look through those wonderful Scholastic Book Orders.

Picture of J on her first day:

And lastly, M turned 4 weeks this week, and she's still pretty darn new, so I thought I'd throw in a pic of her new trick- smiling! Here she is faux-hawk, flared nostrils and all!

Long Weekend= A Much Needed Break

2007-09-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

For the first time since M was born, I was able to take a few hours for myself to work on making a few new cards and pazzles files. Foo had a lot of projects planned for us, but he sprained his ankle pretty badly on Saturday morning so his official job became baby holder, and I got to pull out the scrapbook supplies. Daddy and baby got some extra bonding time:and this is what I was able to do with my small break-

Three variations of the same card (made from an idea I found in my fav. magazine- Paper Crafts):

And just a basic card I made trying out freehanding the flowers and the flourish because I didn't have a stamp I wanted for it:

Another kid funny

2007-08-30T20:03:00.001-07:00

A conversation overheard on the telephone between me and the kids from my sister's perspective and a cute conversation between her two cuties-

http://thislittlefamily.blogspot.com/2007/08/two-cute-conversations.html

J's helpful addition to the nursery lesson

2007-08-28T18:07:00.000-07:00

I got a call from J's nursery teacher yesterday, she was laughing when she said she just had to tell me what J had shared with the class on Sunday. They were having a lesson on "Our Bodies are Temples" and were learning about proper nutrition. The teacher was asking the kids where different foods came from, they had discussed pork was from pigs, beef comes from cows, and chicken comes from, well.... chicken. Her teacher than asked where we get milk from. J is so certain of her answer she forgets to raise her hand and shouts out, "BOOBS!" Yes folks- we've got breastfeeding on the brains here.

Heading out in the Mail tomorrow.....

2007-08-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

I've got M's announcements all finished- I just need to upload them to costco.com, pick them up tomorrow and ship them out!

Welcome Baby M!

2007-08-18T16:50:00.000-07:00

Our new little one has finally made her appearance! M arrived at 10:26pm on August 13th- she was 7 lbs 11 oz, and was 20 inches long. My labor was fairly quick compared to the other two kiddos- only about 7 1/2 hours from the very start of the pitocin drip to when she arrived. I'm still working on getting her announcements ready, but I thought I'd post a few quick pictures to share of our families first moments together with her when the kids arrived the next morning to meet their new baby sister. She has such a sweet little personality and is a bright little thing- K and J love to hold her and talk to her, and she responds so well to their voices. It's amazing to me how a family can feel so complete one day, and then after a sweet new baby arrives you wonder what it was like before they were there. Welcome Sweet Macie Jane! We love you!!!!!

K, Foo, and J checking out the new baby:

Tag- You're it.

2007-08-02T12:57:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you check your friends blog everyday to catch an update on her apartment situation and don't leave comments- she tags you for an online quiz- here you go Kristin!

4 jobs you've had:
1. MOM
2. Admin at Solar Turbines
3. Ricks College
4. New Horizons Day Care

4 movies I can watch over & over again
1. Bridget Jones' Diary
2. About A Boy
3. Any British Romantic Comedy
4. Orange County

4 places I have lived
1. Sugar House, UT
2. Renton, WA
3. Rexburg, ID
4. Boise, ID

4 favorite TV shows
1. Gilmore Girls (Yes, I'm still in mourning)
2. Gray's Anatomy
3. So You Think You Can Dance
4. America's Next Top Model
5. I'm adding another- Project Runway

4 of my favorite places I have been
1. Thailand
2. Hawaii
3. Puerto Vallarte
4. Lopez Island, WA

4 favorite foods
1. Fresh Crab
2. Godiva Cheesecake
3. Sushi Rolls
4. Astro Pops

4 favorite websites I check daily
1. my favorite blogs
2. My Online Friends- the MOF's
3. Etsy
4. http://www.blossomst.com/

4 favorite hobbies
1. scrapbooking
2. cross stitching
3. blogging/ website design
4. playing the guitar

4 places I would rather be
1. At the hospital having this baby
2. Lake Kachess relaxing on the beach
3. At the Melting Pot dipping apples in the cheese- yum!
4. Hanging out with my husband anywhere

4 friends I would like to tag.....tag you're it!
1. Karalenn
2. Sunny
3. Jaime
4. Loretta

It's done! An Update.

2007-07-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

And good riddance! We have successfully put the swingset all together and the kids have been loving it! I think we figured that the total man hours on this thing added up to no less than 50 hours with ground prep-work included. Foo said he's glad it's done, and he'll never do it again! We have about three more hours of work left to put in the peet gravel around the entire area, but after that- we're home free. Here's a few final pics!

Photography Challenge: Week #1

2007-07-28T10:14:00.001-07:00

My granola fabulous- talented friend Misty is the greatest and is helping me and some friends learn how to use our cameras a little more proficiently. She's giving us a challenge every week, and I'm super excited to try this out. For our first week we are learning about using a low aperture and a narrow depth of field- sounds fancy, but in my own terms- focusing on one main thing and letting the rest blur out. Here's what I came up with:

Our EASY Weekend Project, or Why our Harry Potter 7 Book has been Grossly Ignored.

2007-07-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the summer Foo and I decided that we wanted to do something for the two older kids before the baby got here so that they'd have something to have fun with for the rest of the summer while I'm holed up with a newborn. We decided to put our little plan into action last week, thinking that we'd get it done that weekend and be completely prepared for our new little bean. Well...... our little weekend project has turned into a monster of a much bigger size, let me explain. I was walking through Sam's Club and happen upon their yearly playset they put out on display- you know, the big beautiful Cedar ones with the fort, swings, slides, rockwalls, etc- and this one I saw had it all!!!! Awesome- and the price wasn't bad, so after I called Foo we decided this was the project we would do for the kids.
As I'm waiting at the back of Sam's with Foo and his truck to pick up the boxes with the parts in it, I'm thinking, we probably could have just got all of this into the back of my mini-van, until I see the forklift coming out of the back of the warehouse laden with 4 ENORMOUS boxes that I couldn't have even fit one into the Odyssey. When we got home, we opened box 1 of 4 to get out the instructions for a better idea of what we'd gotten ourselves into- the first thing it says is that it will take two skilled workers 16 hours to complete- 16 hours!!!!!! Skilled Workers!!!!!! Neither of us are what you'd call really skilled when it comes to this sort of thing, I'm no help as far as lifting things go, and I didn't bargain on 16 hours. To top it all off- that doesn't even include the ground prep we had planned for the backyard.
After a call to our oh-so-skilled brother-in-law R, we have at least one person on board who knows what they're doing, but after at least 20 hours of work, this is where we're at, and I'll include the lovely picture of what it should look like when finished- just so you know how much farther we have to go........ wish us luck, and hope that baby M doesn't decide to show up early!

After 10 hours of ground prep:

After about 8 hours of construction (it took so long to get all of the wood and hardware organized so we could find what we were looking for)

At least J still looks happy about it all.....

The stock photo of what it will look like when it's all said and done:

Hopefully my next post will detail how easy the last 20 hours of contruction went- I'm guessing no, but one can dream.

Father's Day Card for 2007

2007-07-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

This is the card I sent out this year- comment your email if you want the .wpc file for this card!

and here's a closeup of the detail

Finally posting about the 4th!

2007-07-23T22:30:00.000-07:00

I'm just now clearing out pics from my camera from the 4th of July and thought I should post a few. We had such a blast! We head up to our cabin on Lopez Island every year for the "big" community parade, the fireworks displays, and all of the family fun. Foo took a much needed break from work, so we got to stay up there for almost the entire week! He and K camped out in a tent, while J and I stayed in the cabin, I imagine sleeping on the ground at 35 weeks pregnant wouldn't be to comfortable, so I wimped out and kept my bed!

We spent the whole week fishing, catching crab, relaxing in the sun, beach hopping, and trying to read Harry Potter 6 again in preparation for #7 (yes, we're geeky Potter-Heads). The kids loved lighting off our own fireworks and as always spent most of their time down on the beach trying to catch baby crabs that hide under the rocks. It was exciting to see all of the progress with the new lodge being built, and to try out swimming in the new pond the family just had dug at the property (Can't wait for the zip-line to go in!!!)

Baby Shower Invite and Cake

2007-07-19T17:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Kristin and I made these up for our friend Monique's baby shower- they were so much fun, and turned out exactly as we had hoped. I've got the .wpc file for this one as well. My friend Loretta and I made the cake to match the invites that I've put a picture of below- it was really fun to work with the fondant, I've only done it once before and felt like a little kid playing with playdough or something.

The Outside:

Close up of detail:

Inside:

The Cake:

My Biggest Project.....

2007-07-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

right now is growing this baby and staying a nice, sane mom to my other two little ones. This pregnancy has been quite a bit easier than the other two, but my patience is wearing thin, and I'm ready to be finished. K and J are both very excited to meet their new little sister- it's all J can talk about really. K asked how the baby was going to get out of Mom the other day, and that was a fun conversation- hopefully that's as much info as he wants for now.
So....... here is a picture of me 36 weeks pregnant, and a recent one of what the kids have been up to this summer for good measure- I'll update with a pic of the new baby when she decides to make her appearance and maybe post her birth announcement I created using Photoshop as well!

Something for your sweet tooth.

2007-07-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

I saw some pictures of felt food online and fell in love with the idea of making my own. I didn't have a pattern, just pictures to go by, so I decided to go with a very basic idea of sugar cookies. They were very simple, I just stitched on different colored beads for "sprinkles" and sewed up the edges after stuffing them with some fluffy batting.

Me and the two kids put together a bunch of these for one of J's little friend's birthdays and bought a sweet little cookie jar to put them in- they were quite the hit with her little friend. I never got a picture of them all put together, but here are a few pics of the ones we've done since. I've ordered a catalog from etsy with many more felt food patterns- and I can't wait to try some more complicated designs out!

I used a simple jar like this one and put a cute label on it for the present:

Embroidered Baby Onsies

2007-07-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

So..... Because I've got a baby on the way (3 1/2 weeks left btw!) my friend Loretta and I decided to spiff up some plain onsies for gifts for friends and for my own little bean. They were so very easy, and it was really fun to pick out all of the different fabrics and thread colors.

Here's an example of how the whole onsie looks:

and here are the closeups of the 4 different animals:

Elephant:

Whale:

Pelican:

Giraffe:

While I'm posting cards I've made......

2007-07-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here's my card I created from last Halloween- I also have the .wpc files for this one, so I thought I'd make it available to those who might be interested- once again, leave your email in the comments section if you want me to email it to you!

Here's the outside:

And here's the inside:

Birthday P"art"y Invites

2007-07-16T07:43:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine was looking for a clever birthday invite for her daughter's upcoming party- she wanted something with an art theme and knew I have a fancy paper cutter at my home that I love to use. After making up a design template for the Pazzles Cutter, this is how it all turned out- if you want a copy of the .wpc file, leave your email in the comments section and I'll send it to you! Here're the pics of how it turned out: