Merry Christmas

May you all have a VERY Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !!!

My Budding photographers

This weekend, Jake and Alexis took over the camera for a bit and this is what we ended up with:

OK - so they may not be perfect but those two are mine - I guess I'm a little partial.

Happy Birthday Shoutout

Twelve years ago today my life changed forever. That was the day we doubled the number a children in our family. Yes, my twins were were born this day 12 years ago. Life at our house has never been the same. I wouldn't trade that day for anything.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKE and ALEXIS - I LOVE YOU !!

We welcome you to October

October in New Mexico means two things:

1. The weather starts to cool down

and

2. The balloons come to town

It's always so much fun to see all the balloons in the air and welcome back some of our favorites. Balloonists come from all over the world, as far away as China and England. If you ever get a chance to come visit, I highly suggest coming during this time of year. It starts the first Saturday of October and runs for 8 days- you won't be disappointed. We went and got some close-ups this morning.


Isn't the Kangaroo cute?

Our favorite villian:

The Best part -- I didn't even have to zoom in to get these shots.

Bedroom Makover

Remember this Picture? This is what Sierra's room used to look like:



Now it looks like this:

We have a little ways to go yet. But you get the idea. After we got it painted, we just kind of gave up on it. I still have curtains to make and get on the window and we are hoping to put up a chair rail on the wall. It went from purple and lime green to beige and black with lime green accents.

Hopefully I can get back into the mood of working on it. We still want to get more stuff on the wall and get the headboard done.

A quick trip

Earlier this month I was able to fit in a quick trip to Wyoming. While there I spent two days in Yellowstone Park. Here are a few of the sights I got to enjoy:

Mammoth Hot Springs:

The water falls at "the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone"

Can't miss Old Faithful:

And last but not least - some of the local residents:

We even got to see a brown bear in the wild but I couldn't zoom in close enough to get a good picture. And of course I wasn't going to get too close.

Washer Pendant Necklaces...

I have seen these necklaces all over the blog world and we thought it would be fun to make our own. So I went looking for instructions and found a great one here. Soon after we headed to the craft store for the acrylic and to the garage for the washers. It's amazing, the things you can find in the garage to make craft items out of - Who would have thought.

Anyway, here is our version. I actually ended up taking it one step further and made them double sided. How fun is that to have a reversible necklace?

Back To School

Well it's back to the books for us. School started this past Thursday-the 12th. Sierra started her junior year at the high school. Jake and Alexis headed off to the middle school this year for 6gth grade. It's their first year there. They were pretty excited about the change this year. It means they get to ride the bus.

Here are Alexis and Jake on the first day. Sierra leaves too early, so we didn't get one of her. Early morning seminary can be a killer you know (according to her).

Our crazy, busy summer

No I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Time has just flown way too fast. Here are some highlights of our summer so far:

1. Sierra attended girls camp - her first year as a YCL.

2. We traveled to Utah for our annual summer visit. Spent a week with my dad, went to the pool with some cousins and of course visited Great Grandma who turned 92 in March (and still looks wonderful)

3. My nephew Paul drove back from Utah with us and spent a couple days hanging out with Jake and Alexis. He took them to the movie, the mall, the aquarium, the botanical gardens and swimming

3. Sierra attended EFY at University of Utah for a week and had a blast.

4. Next week we get to go register for school. Our school starts in 3 weeks.

5. Found a great decor item while in Utah that I brought back with me. It's one of those repurposing items - so watch to see what it is and what I do with it :-)

6. Sent a friend off to Afghanistan for a year to serve our country.

Let me know what you've been busy with this summer.

Colors in my yard

I've been going to post this for some time and keep forgetting. Here is some eye candy for you from my yard:



These are miniature roses.







No idea what these are called but I love them.

One of many roses:

Hope your having a wonderful spring/summer

It's officially HOT here !!!

So yesterday I was out running errands and doing my normal saturday afternoon things. I knew it was hot but I didn't think it was this hot:



This was when Jake and I were heading home from the grocery store - Yes the time is right- it was almost 6 o'clock in the evening. Normally we don't see days like this, we may get to 100 degrees maybe once or twice during the summer. I think we may be in for a hot one.

Where's the lemonade? I guess you could say summer has officially arrived here.

Homemade birthday gifts

Sierra's friend Rachel (see previous post) recently had her 17th birthday. We wanted to do something special for her but wasn't quite sure what. We decided that we wanted to make her birthday gift this year. So we dug in the craft room for supplies I had on hand and came up with two separate gifts. The first was a keepsake box. We started with this:


And finished with this:

We did have to buy a few items: the tin and the flower on the front. Everything else I already had. Now Rachel has a box for all her "keepsakes" or "treasures".

Next it was on to this: I hate to admit it but this project cost exactly $.60 - don't call me cheap, just thrifty. I found the frame at a yard sale last fall for $.10 and just knew that it would come in handy for something - just didn't know what at the time. The letter was $.50 at Micheal's and the ribbon and the spray I already had on hand , so that cost doesn't count.

So this:

turned into this:

There is no back on the letter it just hangs there freely.

16 and a first date

Sierra turned 16 a couple weeks ago and things have not been the same - She's ready to drive - in fact she has her learner's permit. And the biggest event was her first date.

Two of her really good friends surprised her with a date on her birthday. As part of their gift to her, they bought her a dress and came to the house to do her nails and hair. She was completely in the dark as to what was going on. They even arranged the date.

It just so happened that at the high school that night was the prom, but they decided to have their own prom. They first went to Joseph's house for dinner, then to Katie's house to learn some dance steps and then to Rachel's house for ice cream and games. She had a great time.

Here are the cute girls all ready to go - now if the boys would just be on time:

(Sierra, Rachel, Katie)

AHH - the boys show up - with flowers:

(Joseph, Sierra, Rachel, Collin, Katie, James)

Sierra and her date Joseph:

A year later and a bunch of yarn

Yes, it has taken a year but I finally got this afghan done. It has been a long time in coming. I couldn't even tell you how many skeins of yarn it took - I quit counting after 8. What projects have taken you at least a year to complete. I would love to hear about them.

Are you prepared ?

With all the recent natural disasters recently, it has got me thinking, am I prepared? Don't think so. I decided that this was the year to do something about it. One place to turn to for just that thing is Emergency Essentials. A Utah based company that has everything from water bottles to dried food to sleeping bags. They have everything you need to be prepared. I have been in their stores and they are to die for (ok not literally but you get my point).

The last time I was in there I took one of their catalogs and you should see all the "dog-eared" pages and the "X"s and items marked in red. I can't wait to get started. First on my list: a grain mill. I think they are just the coolest thing. Then I think I might just start on the dried foods and flours and wheats - they come in those great #10 cans. You name it, they have it. And they ship out of state - yeah.

If you are ever in Utah stop by one of their locations. You will love it. They have one in the Utah County area and two in the Salt Lake County area. I would say "tell them I sent you" but they would have no idea who I was :-)

One more thing, check out their website at beprepared.com or click on the button on the left hand column. You'll be glad you did.

Words of Wisdom...

I received this wonderufl e-mail and thought it was a good reminder for all. I'm sure you've probably heard this before but it's a good thought to review.


A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. 'We must do something about father,' said the son. 'I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.' So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner.

There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, 'What are you making?' Just as sweetly, the boy responded, 'Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up. ' The four-year-old smiled and went back to work. The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks.

Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

On a positive note, I've learned that, no matter what happens, how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles four things: a rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

I've learned that, regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.

I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as making a 'life.'

I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back sometimes.

I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.

I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.

I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day, you should reach out and touch someone.

People love that human touch -- holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.

I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

On to our next project

I thought we were done painting but no such luck. Sierra has decided that it is time to give her bedroom a face lift. After all she will be turning 16 pretty soon and thinks she needs a more "grown-up" room. So we emptied it out and are on our way to a makeover (I have ever mentioned that I love makeovers?)

This is what we have started with. Yes the walls used to be purple and white with lime green trim - don't ask.

Check back to see the results.

My favorite toy and a theme

Ok, can adults have a favorite toy... I sure hope so because I do. This is my favorite:

This is my Cricut machine or "my big bug" (I have a smaller version too aka "little bug") as it is so affectionately called. With this machine I can cut out shapes and letters on paper, material, vinyl and oh so much more. This machine and I spend a lot of time together. We have made scrapbook pages, cards, school projects and most recently, the theme for my hobby room.

I had some vinyl that I found at Lowes, and cut out this saying:

I think this says it all. I plan to make this my motto for this year.

Homemade art work

I'm still in the process of working on my hobby room. It really needs some things on the walls to make it look complete. I went looking through stuff that I already had to try and come up with something new. I found three artist canvases that I had bought sometime along the way but never did anything with them (don't even remember what they were for). I dusted the cobwebs off my "filing cabinet upstairs" and came up with this:

(I know they are crooked but they are acutally just laying on the counter)

I did have to go to the craft store and buy some wood cutouts to put on them - the other circles are just stamps that I had. Of course I already had the paint so this was actually a pretty inexpensive project. Total cost: (not including canvases) $3.00

These kind of match my new curtains. They are red with black and white polka dots. I told my kids that my room is starting to look like Mickey and Minnie Mouse. But that's ok because I love it.

Is it a junk room or a hobby room ???

My husband and kids called it the junk room, I called it my sewing/craft/work in progress room. But it just seemed to attract clutter. So three days after Christmas I decided something needed to be done about it. Plus, I was tired of the color and bored with everything in the room. So I took action. I got busy cleaning it out and put Carl to work. The cabinets came down and the paint went up. Same cabinets just repainted them. This is what it looked like before:

And now for the reveal.... Here is what it looks like now:

The walls went from a light blue to a nice creamy beige. The cabinets are now black - new curtains and I am loving it. We even moved the countertops around a bit and the setup works so much better.

Oh, and as for the shelf I found at the thrift store (see previous post)... here is what it looks like now:

I still need to add a few items to this shelf but you get the idea. Now if I could just get everything put back away.

Thrift store find...

Yesterday while I was out and about running some errands, I made a quick stop at the thrift store. I didn't really think that I would find anything but I was wrong. I found this:

Now I know it may not look like anything wonderful (and it's not) but I knew that it would work great in my recent makeover. And speaking of my makeover, it's about ready for it's reveal. Check back this next weekend when it should be ready to go.

See you then.

Happy New Year and a look back....

Wow, is it already a new year? Where did the last one go? Join me in a look back at some the highlights from our year:

- Sierra gets her cast off after 8 weeks (foot surgery from November 2008)

- Jake particiaptes in his last Pinewood Derby - watch out boy Scouts

- Alexis competes in her first dance competition - ended up doing a solo dance - brave little girl

- Sierra participates with the youth from church on a pioneer trek. She didn't make it the whole way because of her prior foot surgery, but was a real trooper.

- Took a road trip to Utah to see family - got to spoil Kaden - however he did break out in a rash so we sent him back to his mom.

-Visited Great-grandma Wright who had recently celebrated her 91st birthday.

- Jake played both basketball and flag football

- Carl and Paula both started new jobs this year.

Not too many highlights but enough to keep us very busy this year.

Check back soon (hopefully) to see the makeover we did after Christmas.