summer's last hurrah!

It hit me that I would be tied down to school forevermore in just a few days so I hit the road with the kids to see my sister and her kids in Idaho for a nice long weekend. We had a great time!

stuff we did:

• saw their beautiful new house for the first time
• played and played
• ate homemade pizza and other delicious meals (my sis is a great cook)
  
• swam, kayaked and played at a nearby fun lake
• sleepover on the trampoline
  
• went to church together
• the moms had little chats in between caring for their combined 10 children
• rode bikes
  
• crafts
• Wii

I love my sister! She is an inspiration and someone I hope to become more like. She is organized, a consistent good parent, she is so faithful in having family prayer and scripture study, and an active volunteer in the community, and is just a compassionate down-to-earth awesome girl!

Mr. Wonderful

Being a grown-up/Mom/Mormon/housekeeper/cook/volunteer/toddler chaser is hard. The only thing that is not so hard is being a wife. But it actually IS hard when you have to be all those other things, too. But it really isn't so hard when you have a GREAT man called your husband.

Thanks be to a loving Heavenly Father for giving me this guy who totally picks up the slack when I really need it.

He is a way cute dad! That in and of itself is priceless. But there's more.


He installed a new dishwasher..what an awkward pain in the butt. He had to break the counter to get it in...

He built a roof over our back stairs. Also he has bailed water out of this same stairwell and our basement (especially this year with the way wet spring/summer), and shoveled snow off the stairs after every storm. We can't wait for another storm to come now that they are COVERED!

He entertains Mack so I can have a break. The kid is CONSTANT and needs a lot of attention and direction. Dax took him to work the past 2 days in a row and it has been a life saver for me (and probably Mack, too).


He plans and cooks meals, he takes the high-maintenance Miss Quinn every Sunday to Elder's quorum (even though he is the secretary of the quorum) so I can play piano in primary. He always mows the lawn, waters the garden, grills the meat, packs the car for trips, comes to parent-teacher conference with me, fixes the sprinkler heads, rolls the garbage to the curb, let's me decorate how I want (he DOES sneak antlers here and there when I am not looking), and is just a sweet good husband and gives me hugs whenever I want.

I feel so lucky to have Dax. I think about how crazy I am and wonder why he could possibly love me sometimes but I am SO so So glad he does.

7 different sewing projects using the same fabrics

I made these six projects using Sandi Henderson's Portabellopixie Analise pattern. Fabric was from Hobby Lobby back in early 2010.

I did some more of those fun rosettes for the apron on #5..

I used a pattern from etsy and scraps to make this:

It was my first time sewing doll clothes from a pattern. The small seam allowances and the stretchy knit fabric made it a little tricky, but I enjoyed the challenge.

town celebration

I like where I live. The winters are brutal, but the summers are FUN. Our town throws a great week-long party the first week in August every year. Preslie got to attend a dance clinic with the local drill team and perform at the park one night. There are shows, pageants, competitions, performances, sports tournaments, food, venders and activities. It ends Saturday with a fun parade in the morning and a free concert in the park followed by fireworks.

My boys came home with 10 pounds of loot from the parade. Preslie got to be in the parade. We enjoyed the musical talents of T Minus 5 and Chuck Wicks. Small town people know how to have fun!

back 2 skool accessories: headbands & handwarmers

3 new headbands:

Preslie and I made these one night instead of going to bed. It took us maybe 30 minutes to make all three. She already had the headbands-all we did was add a little embellishment to take them to the next level of cute. Just in time for back to school.
We already had the black and white flower from a hair elastic we never wear. We just pulled the elastic off and hot glued it to the headband.
I made the pink roses a few months ago using this tutorial. We hot glued those to the pink headband.
Preslie and I made the turquoise ruffle using an old t-shirt and following this tutorial. Way easy.

Handwarmers (so 80s!)

Preslie had a friend over the other day and they love to dig around in my fabric and craft stuff in the basement. They brought me a pink turtleneck from my discarded knit box and asked me to make them some handwarmers out of it. I'm always up for a sewing challenge! I cut the cuffs off of the long sleeves, and hemmed them to fit Dakota's wrists. I had another (and equally unattractive) turtleneck in teal and did the same thing for Preslie's handwarmers. Too hip and sassy! (and notice they are wearing the cute headbands!)

FREE: my favorite 4-letter word!

Christmas in July

I have had so many great blessings in my life this past month, it truly is Christmas for me.

First off, my awesome parents bought my family and me an early (and way too extravagant) Christmas gift: a beautiful piano! This is a gift that keeps on giving. Playing the piano used to be such a big part of my life but after I moved away to college, got married, and had kids, it has really fallen by the wayside and my talent has suffered. I have had a keyboard to practice on which has been nice, especially because it was more apartment-friendly and way easier to move. But when I sat down at my new, real piano there in the store and started playing songs for my Mom, it felt like a spark ignited inside me. I bought some books so I can teach my kids lessons; I hope they love the piano as much as me! So far we've had a blast..



My darling baby Quinn turned 1! She has been a gift since the day she was born. Her first year has gone so fast but I've enjoyed it so much. I love her smile, her beautiful blue eyes, her mouth-open/tongue-out kisses, and her little hands that reach out to me and pull my hair. She immediately starts dancing to any tune or beat that she hears, even the sound of a motor, the washing machine, etc. She is a sweetheart and we all adore her.



Preslie, Hunter and Mack went to St. George for a week! They partied their guts out with Dax's Mom and Dad. It was so wonderful to have such a flexible schedule for just Dax, Quinn and me. Dax and I ate yummy grown up meals whenever we wanted, watched a few movies of our own choosing (not kid movies), went to lunch a couple times, listened to an entire sacrament meeting, played with Quinn a bunch, and did not discipline or nag anyone for an entire week! It was so relaxing! Of course the 3 kids had SO much fun with Grandma and Grandpa- it was unreal all the fun stuff they did. How neat to be able to spend so much quality time together. I love my in-laws.

Quinn and I enjoyed going out to work with Dax overnight while the kids were gone. Can you tell why he likes his job so much?



I got shelves in my garage! Everytime I think about my awesome shelves, my heart goes pitter-patter. It just makes me so happy to have a place to organize things. Dax and I went and bought all the lumber for them and then he and his Dad built them. I can't believe how much stuff they hold. And to think that all that crap was all over the floor in my garage. I love how organized things are now and how much more space I have to actually park my cars and walk around in there! But really, how many gas cans and coolers does one family need???


Happy days.

Day at the Lake (a Haiku)

Fun day at the lake.
Dax and I wakeboarded, YAY!
Great weather and friends.