after our 'mostly graduated' graduation, I had a wonderful time scratching my crafty-itch. I completed all of these projects quite a while back...and haven't done a whole lot (crafty-wise) since. It's been back to the grindstone for us over here, but soon I shall craft again! :D



A picture we got for our wedding that was nice, but not really our style. So, I created a new version on the other side and painted the frame.



The frog hoodie towel I made for swimming. The fish will be pictured after i figure out how to sew its lips on..


A bread box i bought a the thrift store for $3. I painted and sanded it- the after picture really doesn't do it justice. :)


Cards I made with my new craft machine :)

5 kids and a minivan...

Heads Up: This may be a boring read and is more for my memory than anything else (i.e. your entertainment..)

Since saturday, we have been getting a little preview of life down the road.

My oldest brother and his wife are taking a much deserved break and are spending the week in honor of Becky's parents' 40th anniversary in Puerto Vallarta.

After shipping the 7 and 9 yr olds off to cousins in Idaho, we are tending the 12 yr old, Robbie, the 5 yr old, Alaina, and the 2.5 yr old, Timmy. Thus, we are currently the 'parents' of 5.

It has been an adventure! (our camera is dead, we dont have the charge, thus there are no pictures..)

Rob has been the BIGGEST helper- I honestly don't know if I could handle it without him. I haven't had to change a single poopy diaper of Tim's, and Rob reads stories to Alaina and Tim before bed. He helps watch them (when he's home), does loads of chores, and is very cooperative and agreeable. He's be a total champ.

Another sanity-saver is that the upstairs room is just a big playroom. Right now, the 3 youngest (Rob is off to soccer) are up there playing. The room can become a huge and total disaster, but hopefully after our hour-long session of cleaning it to the point of being vacuumed (this is big stuff, people), it can stay relatively clean.

Rob has just started learning the tuba and it's been lots of fun giving him lessons and playing along with him. I brought my own tuba over and it's been so nice to get reacquainted with it. It's pretty amazing to hear how much he has improved since last Thursday, when honestly, you couldn't tell if he was playing notes or not. He sounds pretty darn good now. I think he could be great!

We have been: making fun Father's Day cards, eating lots of fruits, playing outside, dinner outside, the park with Nate & Molly, coloring, working on sharing, trading off a nasty bug- 1st Timmy, then Channing, now Christian..., movie nights, pizza nights, putting way more cheese on quesadillas and sugar on cereals than Mom (Becky) would ever allow... :P , reading stories, playing upstairs, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, watering gardens, and lots of singing.

We also spent Father's Day in American Fork with Mom and Dad S--thank you so much for letting us all come over and join in the family festivities. We had a great time being with you and really appreciate the extra work you went through to accommodate us all.

In store: backyard fire pit and hot dogs, game night, soccer with Uncle Patrick, and whatever else we can come up with.

In other news: both P and I REALLY like their mini-van. It drives beautifully. :D

Groceries:

Last night at approximately 11:15 pm I had a fabulous shopping trip.

The goods are as follows:

4 cans Manwich sloppy joe sauce
1 bottle Hunts Ketchup
6 boxes Smart Pasta
1 4-pack tapioca pudding
4 Healthy Choice All-natural dinner entrees
3 Marie Callendar Al-Dente dinner entrees
1 box Apple Jacks
1 box Kellogs Rasin Bran
1 box chocolate mini-wheats
2 boxes Eskimo ice-cream bars
1 box dreyers all-fruit bars
1 tub of Dibs ice-cream
4 cans Hunts Spaghetti Sauce
4 something-i-cant-remember-right-now...

34 items.
For a whopping total of : $23 plus tax.

That's about .76/item.

( I could have gone slightly cheaper w/ different flavors of cereal, but these were more exciting! :D )

Thank you thank you to my dear friend Michelle J. (if you ever read this blog anymore...) for showing me the Light! :D

( i have to record things like this to remind me that it's worth the extra effort to get the good 'dills' ( Love ya, Becky!)- otherwise I poop out. )

Seven Peaks, BABY!!

So- We're staying at my brother and s.i.l.'s house watching their kiddos. and I have no pics on their compy to be able to post.

But..... I found some pics of a recent adventure on our sis and b.i.l's blog- so I'm stealing them, since i didn't have a camera to document the occasion anyway. (thanks, aly!)

WE ARE EMBRACING SUMMA SUMMA SUMMMMMMMATIME!!

last fall, P & I bought ourselves 7 peaks passes (on killer discount) as our birthday/christmas presents to ourselves. Our apt. is about a 10 min walk to the waterpark, plus kids 3 and under are free.

I am SO, SO glad we did!

We also bought the boys matching swim suits, swim shoes, and swim shirts for about $3 each last fall. yes, I do love matching.
I also sewed the boys special hoodie beach towels (pics are on other compy). The 1st time we told Christian we were going, he was so excited and wanted to get himself and channing dressed about 2hours before go time.

Man. Those boys are so STINKING CUTE. I will have to remember to photograph them in all their swim-gear glory. Trust me- it is AWESOME. :)

Anyways- the 1st time we only stayed for about an hour- channing was pretty much just sleeping in my arms in the water. poor kid was so tired.

2nd time Jon and Alyson (who also bought passes) came with us. We started the eve off with probably the BEST homemade pizza I have had. seriously. awesome. We stayed this time for only about 40 min, since the water was pretty chilly (it had been raining all week)- and Christian had a blast, though purple and trembling. :(

We went again last friday- and it was awesome. the water was a little warmer and christian was in kid-heaven. Channing had tons of fun splashing in the water and going down the slides. It was so fun to be together with our little family. Again, we didn't stay terribly long, but that is one of the hugest perks of the passes- no stress or pressure to stay longer than the kids body temps can stand, and we can just get out for an hour or so.

(these pics are from our 2nd trip which was freezing cold...)

Poor kid just laid on my arm clinging to my swimsuit. :(
Nevermind the Alfalfa 'do..:)



Happy at last!

Chopping Block

So- I chopped off my hair. My beautiful, wonderful hair. :)

I thought it would be a fun summer 'do. But it ended up NOT AT ALL how I was planning. Aka many many INCHES shorter than desired.

Yes. I cried. Many times.

At least enough got chopped off to donate. So that's happy.

Patrick likes it. But he didnt like that his wife was so distressed about it all.

Anyways. Im over it now. Mostly. :) And it IS a 'fun' haircut. SO, we officially dubbed this the Summer of Fun 2009.

Just before:


After:
(so, i was waiting to post this post until i had a picture I actually liked of myself and my hair- but...I'm too lazy/forgetful to actually take a picture when Im looking decent- and this one is already uploaded...and I realized: It's easier to let go of vanity than to cease being lazy. :) )

...Okay- actually- the front view pic is pretty awful. and not a good rep. of what it actually looks like- so i promise to have P. take a pic tonight on our hot date for a front shot. maybe vanity wins SOMEtimes... BUT- you can see the drastic shortness still;



Maybe while I'm at it, I can finally photograph the long red braids currently being housed in our little white vases.... (yes, it IS a bit creepy...)

p.s. Im really not as distressed as it sounds. And yes it will grow back, and it is a change- and no it is not easier to take care of, nor does it feel lighter or cooler. but it DOES take much less shampoo and esp. conditioner. And I am not as cranky as it sounds. or as negative. :D